BLUE KITCHEN IS CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAYS. We’ll see you soon. Wishing you a joyous season and a happy, healthy, prosperous new year.
Seven cookie (okay, and brownie) recipes for the holidays
COOKIES—AND BROWNIES—MAY BE THE PERFECT HOLIDAY TREATS TO BAKE. You can make them ahead in batches, ready to serve to guests or take to a party, scaling the amount up or down as needed. With a cake or a pie, once you’ve cut into it, you can only offer it to family or really good friends afterward without looking, well, overly thrifty. Here are seven recipes for you to bake and share. Or keep for yourself, no judging here. Continue reading “Seven cookie (okay, and brownie) recipes for the holidays”
Seven pot roast recipes make the most of cold weather and our favorite cheap cut of beef
THE ARRIVAL OF COLD WEATHER HAS US THINKING POT ROAST. Hearty, flavorful, soul-satisfying slabs of meat, usually accompanied by root vegetables that have cooked with it, everything swapping flavors and becoming better for it. And usually, an excuse to have the oven on for hours, warming the kitchen and filling the house with divine meaty smells. If you’re thinking this sounds good, here are seven recipes to try. Continue reading “Seven pot roast recipes make the most of cold weather and our favorite cheap cut of beef”
Buttery, airy, slightly tart: Blackberry Lime Scones
Blackberries and lime juice and zest offer a nice tangy balance to these buttery, airy scones. Recipe below.
SO SCONES HAVE APPARENTLY BECOME A THING FOR ME. I like making them and we both love eating them, so I find myself looking for different kinds to make. Our daughter Claire and her boyfriend visited over Thanksgiving and—over our apple cheddar scones, appropriately enough—they mentioned some blackberry lime scones they can no longer get (the place has gone out of business, sadly). Let’s just say some synapses fired. Continue reading “Buttery, airy, slightly tart: Blackberry Lime Scones”
Four surprising ways to use sweet potatoes—for Thanksgiving or anytime
See you later, sweet potato casserole—with these four unexpected recipes, you can change it up with your sweet potato sides.
AS A THANKSGIVING SIDE, TOO-SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE does sweet potatoes no favors. It turns these delicious, colorful, super-healthy root vegetables into a cloying, gooey mess. Try one of these surprising recipes instead—you just might start a new holiday tradition. Continue reading “Four surprising ways to use sweet potatoes—for Thanksgiving or anytime”
Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken Thighs: a simple marinade, an easy dinner you’ll put on repeat
A simple marinade of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and herbes de Provence makes roasted chicken you’ll happily make again. Recipe below.
“WE’LL DO SOMETHING WITH IT.” We say this pretty much every time we’re grocery shopping, throwing some “it” into the cart without any clear meal or recipe in mind. As often as not, that “it” is a package of chicken thighs. This recipe was born of just such a shopping moment, and it’s so delicious and easy we’ve already made it three times. Continue reading “Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken Thighs: a simple marinade, an easy dinner you’ll put on repeat”
Seasonal, savory and sweet: Apple Cheddar Scones
Chopped apple provides a sweet foil to the savory cheese and buttermilk in these crisp outside/airy inside scones. Recipe below.
A quick note: with this post, we have now been doing Blue Kitchen for 16 years. We’re as surprised as you are!
THESE SCONES WERE INSPIRED BY AUTUMN AND A READER’S COMMENT. The changing season has filled farmers markets and supermarkets with apples. Falling temperatures have put us in the mood to bake, which for me, often means scones. Which reminded me of a comment by Sherry when we posted lemon lavender scones here last spring. She said she tended to like savory scones, with herbs and cheese. We’d never done savory. Continue reading “Seasonal, savory and sweet: Apple Cheddar Scones”
Cool weather and traveling friends: two perfect reasons for Duck and Andouille Sausage Gumbo
A COLLEAGUE AND HIS WIFE JUST TOOK THE TRAIN TO NEW ORLEANS. They do this every year, getting a sleeping car for the long ride from Chicago and then back again. Besides inspiring a certain amount of travel envy in us, they had us remembering a gumbo we’ve made here. More specifically, Duck and Andouille Sausage Gumbo. It combines onion, celery, bell peppers, garlic and plenty of seasonings to make big flavored Creole/Cajun comfort food, the perfect foil for chilly autumnal weather. You’ll find the recipe and the inevitable backstory here.
Korean cold-weather comfort food: Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)
This traditional Korean stew of kimchi and pork belly is a savory, tangy, spicy dish perfect for cold weather. Recipe below.
THE ARRIVAL OF FALL ALWAYS GETS US THINKING OF STEWS AND SOUPS, hearty cold-weather fare to fill us with warmth in the months ahead. So we’re delighted to add kimchi jjigae, a traditional Korean kimchi pork stew, to our arsenal. Continue reading “Korean cold-weather comfort food: Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)”
On the road yet again—Columbus, Indiana, and Louisville, Kentucky
APPARENTLY, WE REALLY LIKE ROAD TRIPS. Just got back from yet another one, first to Columbus, Indiana, and then to Louisville, Kentucky. Columbus, a small city of about 49,000 people, is the improbable home to a collection of modernist architecture by some of the leading international architects of the time. It has been called the sixth most architecturally-important city in the US. Louisville is home to bourbon, of course, and to beautiful, varied neighborhoods tucked into rolling hills. Both cities are home to friendly, smart people and sooo many good places to eat. Hi-Five Doughnuts, a woman-owned shop, was our last stop on the way out of Louisville, heading home. And those doughnuts were among the best things we ate. No recipe this week—we’re still recuperating. Please stop by next week.