Cooking up a lucky start to the new year: Black-eyed Pea Soup with Thyme

Thyme and white wine add a little complexity to hearty black-eyed pea soup.

EATING BLACK-EYED PEAS ON NEW YEAR’S DAY has long been claimed to bring you good luck, especially in Southern culture. One possible explanation for the origin of their status as a good luck meal dates back to the Civil War. When Union soldiers advanced through the South, destroying food crops as they went to hasten the end of the war, they spared black-eyed pea plants, which they called cowpeas, apparently considering them merely livestock food. Continue reading “Cooking up a lucky start to the new year: Black-eyed Pea Soup with Thyme” →

Happy holidays from Blue Kitchen

THE KITCHEN IS CLOSED FOR A SHORT BREAK, traveling to visit family. Enjoy celebrating the holidays deliciously—maybe even at a hot dog stand, if you can find one open.

Lancashire Hotpot—English comfort food for a cold night

Lancashire Hotpot—traditional English food at its most comforting—is made with lamb, onions and carrots topped with sliced potatoes and baked until fork tender.

IT’S NOT EVEN OFFICIALLY WINTER YET, but you wouldn’t know it here in Chicago. Or in a lot of places. But snow and cold and more snow and ice are having us craving warm meat-and-potato meals, stick-to-your-ribs food that ideally requires firing up the oven. Like Lancashire Hotpot. Continue reading “Lancashire Hotpot—English comfort food for a cold night” →

Neapolitan Style Soup with Beans and Dandelion Greens, quick and easy

This hearty traditional Italian soup with bitter greens and white beans comes together quickly. Recipe below.

WE HAD A BIG DAY THE OTHER DAY, full of traipsing and talking and seeing people we love and getting home after dark all worn out. After all of that, all we wanted was something simple and comforting. As so often when we feel like that, the answer was: soup. Continue reading “Neapolitan Style Soup with Beans and Dandelion Greens, quick and easy” →

Pecan Tassies (think teeny tiny shortbread pecan pies)

Pecan Tassies are buttery, rich pecan pies made bite-sized with shortbread crusts. Recipe below.

AS IT HAPPENED, THIS YEAR, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS, we did not host Thanksgiving. One of our daughters got married in the spring, and we now find ourselves part of a big new family of the nicest, kindest, most fun people walking the earth. We spent Thanksgiving out of town with them, in Milwaukee (which admittedly is not that far out of town for us). I committed to bring a number of dishes, and among them were pies. Continue reading “Pecan Tassies (think teeny tiny shortbread pecan pies)” →

Thanksgiving on the road

Looking Along Broadway Toward Grace Church, Red Grooms, Cleveland Museum of Art

FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE WHO CAN REMEMBER, we’re not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but traveling to a potluck celebration with family and friends. We’re still doing some cooking because we can’t not do some cooking. But we’re (and by that, I mean mostly Marion) not doing all of it. Mostly, we’re looking forward to spending time with everyone and enjoying a dazzling array of treats. Including, yes, a turkey. However and wherever you’re celebrating, if you are, we wish you a wonderful day and a wonderful meal. Happy Thanksgiving, all! Check back next week for a new recipe here.

Tasting the world in a Detroit weekend

A RECENT DETROIT WEEKEND REMINDED US YET AGAIN of how much richer migrants make us all—including on our plates. Our daughter and her boyfriend are major explorers of international cuisines in the Detroit area, and we are always happy to tag along, feasting on their finds. Like this Salvadoran pupuseria tucked between a quiet residential neighborhood and an industrial area in the city. The pupusas were amazing, our first time trying them. And the trio making them in the food truck, a family from El Salvador, was friendly, helpful and generous. We left with more food than we ordered, at their insistence. Continue reading “Tasting the world in a Detroit weekend” →

Wild Rice Mushroom Soup

Wild Rice Mushroom Soup is a hearty, savory, satisfying vegetarian soup, perfect for cold nights. Recipe below.

I’VE NEVER HAD LUCK WITH WILD RICE, which is my way of saying that in the distant past I’ve made some really awful things with it. So when our friend Carmen gave us a beautiful bag of black, shining wild rice from Minnesota, it took me some time to get over my fears and figure out, already, what to do with this thoughtful gift. No one should be surprised that the gateway to a wild rice dish that I actually love was: soup. And mushrooms. Continue reading “Wild Rice Mushroom Soup” →

Savoring seasonality: Poulet à la Normande (Normandy Chicken)

This luscious traditional northern French chicken dish, made with apples, apple cider and brandy, is a perfect autumnal meal. Recipe below.

FALL—AND FALL INGREDIENTS—ARE UPON US. For us, it means enjoying being back in the kitchen. This classic French recipe includes both apples and apple cider, true autumnal ingredients. As a bonus, it also calls for turning on the oven, warming the kitchen. Continue reading “Savoring seasonality: Poulet à la Normande (Normandy Chicken)” →

Linguine with Sautéed Fish and Parsley Anchovy Sauce

A bright, savory, umami-rich way to add more seafood to your diet. Recipe below.

ON OUR RECENT TRIP TO BOSTON, our diet consisted mostly of seafood and cannolis. Since we’ve been back, we’ve been craving more seafood in our regular diet. Well, and cannolis too, but our doctor encourages only the former. So when we came across a recipe featuring fresh and tinned fish, and pasta, we were all in. Continue reading “Linguine with Sautéed Fish and Parsley Anchovy Sauce” →