Basil, garlic and Italian sausage help you make the most of fresh tomatoes with this weeknight quick dish. Recipe below.
THE GOAL WAS JUST DINNER. FAST. With what we had on hand. Marion had picked some tomatoes and fresh basil from our suddenly productive garden. I’d gotten some Italian sausage in a grocery order. And we always have olive oil, garlic and various pastas around. Continue reading “Muscle memory and blind faith—Penne with Fresh Tomato Sauce”
Dijon mustard, minced shallots and herbes de Provence create a quick, easy, surprisingly delicate grilling sauce for salmon. Recipe below.
AFTER MORE THAN A WEEK AWAY, we spent our first full weekend at home. It was glorious. Marion spent time taming our overgrown garden. We caught up on laundry and household stuff. And we cooked and ate. At home. Continue reading “Classic French ingredients, deliciously simple fare: Grilled Dijon Salmon”
WE ARE BACK HOME NOW after more than a week in Detroit. Finally eating home cooking again, but nothing postworthy—just comfort food we’ve made a million times. Honestly, dinner the first night home was bowls of cereal, absolutely what we needed then. But as happy as we are to be home now, we’re also glad for the time we spent there—helping our daughter with some things, but also just being in the city, being around Detroiters. Because the mural above tells you a lot about the place. Come back next week for a recipe, we hope.
WE ARE IN DETROIT THIS WEEK taking care of family stuff. Working hard, staying up late, and eating mostly curbside and drive-thru takeout. All is good, but no recipe this week. See you next week.
When life hands you lots of great peaches, make this lively Peach Habanero Tarragon Butter. Recipe below.
THIS IS BEING A GOOD YEAR FOR PEACHES, so we’ve been looking for ways to eat more of them. Out of hand, sliced up on ice cream, on salads, in cereal… And when we were looking for ways to spice them up, we found this lively peach butter made with habanero peppers right in our own archives. It’s worth a revisit. Continue reading “Making the most of a good peach year: Peach Habanero Tarragon Butter”
An innovative chef in Wisconsin and a new Netflix documentary series highlight how Blacks have shaped—and continue to shape—American food.
WE ATE A LOT OF GOOD FOOD on our visit to Appleton, Wisconsin, last weekend, but nothing surpassed our dinner at Wilder’s Cutting Edge Bistro. Co-owner and executive chef Terrance Wilder is known for his innovative cooking. When he opened his own place, he created a menu that honors his family’s Mississippi roots with inventive, contemporary takes on their recipes. Continue reading “A taste of Black food’s role in defining American food”
TO US, CHICKEN AND GRILLING JUST GO TOGETHER. It’s flavorful and forgiving, even when overcooked. It’s also versatile. Here are seven of our favorite recipes, borrowing ingredients and techniques from all over the globe. Continue reading “Seven grilled chicken recipes with a world of influences”
These so-called ribs deliver meaty, grilled flavor in a fraction of the time of true ribs. recipe below.
THE GREAT THING ABOUT GRILLING BABY BACK RIBS is eating grilled baby back ribs. The not so great thing is grilling them. It’s not the prep work so much—it’s the time. To come out fall-off-the-bone tender, baby back (or spareribs or other pork ribs) need to be cooked low and slow. Two-plus hours minimum, but more often three or even four hours or more. By way of contrast, the country style ribs above cooked in 15 minutes. Continue reading “Not really ribs, really delicious: Grilled Country-style Pork Ribs”
Fresh mint, gin, lime juice and simple syrup create the eminently drinkable summer classic, the Southside. Recipe below.
THIS COCKTAIL HAD US AT ITS NAME. THE SOUTHSIDE. Since moving into our new old house more than five years ago, we have embraced living on Chicago’s south side. Well, this is a city of neighborhoods. Technically, we live in Pilsen (and the Heart of Chicago), west of the Near West Side. But we have never lived south of downtown before, so we think of ourselves as south siders now. Continue reading “Keeping it simple, sippable and seasonal: Southside Cocktail”
WE CELEBRATED A MILESTONE WEDDING ANNIVERSARY this past weekend with a visit to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. We drove around in the beautiful Midwestern countryside, embracing our Midwesterner histories—our separate upbringings and our long-shared togetherness, more than half of our lives now. We visited numerous antique shops—watch for some finds in future editions of Liz’s Crockery Corner. Our folding kayaks got their maiden voyage on inland canals in the city’s beautiful Lakeside Park; the park’s bandstand is shown above, photographed on an evening drive. And we ate in some of Wisconsin’s ubiquitous supper clubs, glorious throwbacks to ’50s dining. Lots of woodwork, loyal locals crowding the bars, and hefty plates of comfort food. Pan-fried walleye, giant slabs of prime rib (“until we run out”), fried chicken, au gratin potatoes…
What we did not do is cook anything. We’ll be back next week with a recipe.