What are you cooking for the 4th? 15 surprising recipe ideas

Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange

ANOTHER MAJOR FOOD HOLIDAY IS UPON US. Everywhere, magazines, emails, friends and online food sources are sharing recipes. Seemed like a good idea to us too. So good that when we checked our archives, we found we’d done a pretty bang up job a few years ago. Unexpected dishes, like this one, chicken tea-smoked with star anise and orange, then grilled. You’ll find this and 14 other surprising recipes, from grilling to appetizers, sides (including three potato salads) and desserts, right here. Have a great, delicious 4th.

Aptly named, make-it-again delicious: Weeknight Spicy Tofu Stir Fry

Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp adds crunchy, garlicky spiciness to celery, bell peppers, garlic, ginger and extra firm tofu in this quick vegan stir fry. Recipe below.

IN RECENT DAYS, WE’VE SEEN A NUMBER OF ARTICLES in which food writers and chefs stuck at home and even regular folks talk about the extras they need to have in their kitchen—not the basic pantry items like beans or tinned fish or unbleached flour, but basics-plus—the things that bring a dish to life, that are the foundations of their palates and styles. Preserved lemons, black garlic, 5-year cheddar, harissa paste, Plugra butter, fish sauce, Tabasco, gochujang. Continue reading “Aptly named, make-it-again delicious: Weeknight Spicy Tofu Stir Fry” →

Hearty, flavorful, vegan: Indian-style Butter Beans

Fragrant and spicy (but hot overly hot), this vegan dish with canned butter beans is a quick, satisfying main course when served with rice, naan or roti. It can also be a flavorful side. Recipe below.

LIKE MOST EVERYONE, WE’RE COOKING AT HOME. A LOT. So we’re trying to mix things up as much as possible, keep things interesting. A recent grocery delivery included canned butter beans. We both love butter beans, and I primarily equate them with the American South. But when Marion was too busy to cook one evening, she nudged me toward dishes of the Indian subcontinent. Continue reading “Hearty, flavorful, vegan: Indian-style Butter Beans” →

Black Lives Matter: ways we can help, learn, make a difference

NO RECIPE AGAIN THIS WEEK. With so much going on everywhere, we’re just not ready to write about sautéing and braising and such. Events continue to roller coaster, even now. But along with the pervasive anger, fear and hopelessness, there are true signs of hope. Signs change may be finally coming. Continue reading “Black Lives Matter: ways we can help, learn, make a difference” →

A pause, but not a silent one.

Forgive

WE’RE NOT SHARING A RECIPE THIS WEEK. You’re reading this post when you’re reading it, but we’re writing it on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Eight days after the death of George Floyd. Right now, in these unprecedented—and many would say unpresidented—times, no one is thinking much about cooking. We’re thinking about safety. And justice. About something so broken for so long.

Take care of yourselves. Care about others—even, and maybe especially, those you don’t know. And may never know. Do what you can do to help, and be safe. We’ll be back next week.

Based on, based on, based on: Tuna White Bean Casserole

This twist on the classic comfort food tuna casserole swaps cannellini beans for pasta. The recipe, with many options and substitutions, below.

THIS IS AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE CONNECTEDNESS OF ALL THINGS. It’s based on a recipe in The New York Times by Melissa Clark, who in turn based her take on a recipe by London-based food writer Diana Henry, which in turn is a take on a French recipe, Breton tuna white bean gratin, which leads to that foundation stone of American home cooking, the tuna casserole. Continue reading “Based on, based on, based on: Tuna White Bean Casserole” →

Chicken with a side of history, substitutions allowed: Country Captain

A Southern Lowcountry curried chicken dating back to the 1800s welcomes variations and tastes comfortingly old-fashioned. Recipe below.

FOOD CHANGES, TASTES EVOLVE. Yes, there are some enduring classic dishes that will forever be made, but many have their moment, then fade from memory. I only heard of Country Captain recently, when I read about a baker in Savannah giving it a makeover as a salad. I immediately wanted to know more about the non-made-over original. Continue reading “Chicken with a side of history, substitutions allowed: Country Captain” →

Yes, that ridiculously easy, amazingly delicious bread: No-knead Bread

Five or six ingredients, including water, and no kneading, no fuss, produce a bread you’ll be happy to eat and proud to serve. Recipe—and a lively buttermilk variation—below.

HELLO. PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF PROCRASTINATION HERE, reporting from the land of quarantine. Finally, what? 14? years after Mark Bittman published the no-knead bread recipe in The New York Times, the single most popular recipe that paper has ever run, we’ve gotten around to making it. Continue reading “Yes, that ridiculously easy, amazingly delicious bread: No-knead Bread” →

Dressing for dinner and a good cause: Chicken Tomato Campanelle

A quick, improvised lunch of chicken, tomatoes and campanelle—little bells—cooked up in support of the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s LunchTime to End Hunger. Recipe and how to get involved below.

THE AD AGENCY WHERE I WORK likes to up the degree of difficulty—in fun ways, of course. So when our client the Greater Chicago Food Depository announced its LunchTime to End Hunger fundraiser, the agency challenged us to cook our own lunches and dress to match them. Challenge accepted. Continue reading “Dressing for dinner and a good cause: Chicken Tomato Campanelle” →

Fennel seed finesses Instant Pot Pork and Cabbage Stew

Pork, cabbage and potatoes create a hearty, peasanty stew; fennel seed subtly elevates it. Recipe below.

IT IS NOW DAY WHATEVER IN THE SHUTDOWN, and we are still self-isolating. I said three weeks ago that we hadn’t been inside any building that is not our house for some time. That remains true. We also have not eaten anything that was not cooked by one of us. I’m happy to report that we are okay with that. Continue reading “Fennel seed finesses Instant Pot Pork and Cabbage Stew” →