A simple, versatile sauce makes this dish: Seared Scallops with Orange Gastrique

Orange gastrique—a simple, classic French sauce of reduced sugar, vinegar and orange juice—adds an elegant touch to quickly pan-seared scallops. Recipe below.

You never know what will send us down some culinary rabbit hole. This week’s recipe was inspired by a restaurant review in a back issue of some magazine, now misplaced and forgotten. What caught my eye was the term gastrique. Unrepentant Francophile that I am, I had never heard it. Continue reading “A simple, versatile sauce makes this dish: Seared Scallops with Orange Gastrique” →

In anticipation of true autumn: Duck Ragu with Brown Ale and Pasta

Ground duck, brown ale and an international mix of umami-rich ingredients put a delicious spin on traditional Bolognese sauce. Recipe (and some substitute ingredients) below.

THIS RECIPE SHARES CERTAIN BASIC ELEMENTS WITH LAST WEEK’S: shallots, onion, carrot, pasta, bay leaf. In fact, as I was assembling it, at one point my hand strayed over to my fallback, tarragon, and I had to tell myself to make another choice. Continue reading “In anticipation of true autumn: Duck Ragu with Brown Ale and Pasta” →

Comfort in the kitchen: Dijon Beef Stew with Brandy and Shallots

Beef, brandy, two kinds of mustard, generous aromatics, carrots and mushrooms braise into a robust, soothing stew. Recipe below.

Comfort food. Are there two more comforting words? They conjure up very different things for all of us, I’m sure, but for me, they often look/smell/taste like this meaty, stew-y dish. But comfort isn’t just in the food—it’s in the making of food, time spent in the kitchen. Continue reading “Comfort in the kitchen: Dijon Beef Stew with Brandy and Shallots” →

Savory, satisfying, meatless: six of our favorite vegetarian recipes

I claim to be an omnivore, but if I’m being honest, I’m more of a carnivore who also appreciates decent sides. I’ve been known to say, “A day without meat is like a day without sunshine.” That said, some really delicious vegetarian recipes have appeared here over the years, some of them even cooked by me. Here are six of our favorites. Continue reading “Savory, satisfying, meatless: six of our favorite vegetarian recipes” →

A light, herbal farewell to summer: Gin, Elderflower and Campari

Gin, elderflower liqueur, Campari, lemon juice and club soda make an easy-drinking, end-of-summer cocktail (that you just might drink year-round). Recipe below.

Gin plays a big role in our summer cocktail rotation. So does Campari and soda for Marion. And we always seem to have St-Germain elderflower liqueur around. So when I came across a cocktail recipe combining all of those, I knew we had to try our own version. Continue reading “A light, herbal farewell to summer: Gin, Elderflower and Campari” →

Eggplant. It’s what’s for dinner. Again. Linguine with Japanese Eggplant and Basil

Some eggplant roasted ahead of time is the base of this weeknight quick vegetarian pasta. Basil, garlic and Parmesan are the other key ingredients. Recipe below.

Our tiny, abundant garden continues to be, well, abundant. So one recent evening, I came home to find Marion roasting eggplants, beets and potatoes. Okay, the potatoes were from the fridge, not our garden, but they weren’t getting any fresher. The beets and potatoes were sides for dinner that night. A few nights later, I turned the eggplant, some basil from the garden and a few always-on-hand ingredients into this quick dinner. Continue reading “Eggplant. It’s what’s for dinner. Again. Linguine with Japanese Eggplant and Basil” →

What can you do?

This week’s post was either going to be a cocktail or maybe a compound butter with fish. I had the ingredients for both, more or less, and some basic ideas on how I was going to make them. Only I didn’t. So instead, you’re being treated to an image I nabbed off the Internet. There was no name listed with it, so I can’t even give credit where photo credit is due. Please come back next week. I’ll try to have one of these two recipes or something completely different.

From our small, abundant garden: Japanese Eggplant with Miso Sherry Sauce

Miso paste, sesame oil and soy sauce turn slender Japanese eggplant into an umami-rich side. Recipe below.

Our tiny garden is going gangbusters. We have one shishito pepper plant, and it is giving us enough peppers for a very ample side for four at least once a week. We have three Sun Gold tomato plants, and they are giving us a couple of generous handfuls of tomatoes every day. The basil, the beets, the beans—all crazy. Continue reading “From our small, abundant garden: Japanese Eggplant with Miso Sherry Sauce” →

Five burgers, no beef

Lamb and turkey stand in for ground beef in these five burger recipes.

I’ve been thinking about burgers lately. Big, juicy, beefy burgers. So imagine my surprise when I dug through the Blue Kitchen archives and didn’t find a single beef hamburger. But I did find these lamb and turkey burgers, and I remember every one of them fondly. Continue reading “Five burgers, no beef” →

Arroz verde peruano: Peruvian Green Rice

A traditional Peruvian dish, green rice gets its green from cilantro and its plentiful flavor from onions, carrots, peas, garlic, cumin and chicken stock. Recipe below.

Since moving into our new old house a little over a year ago, we often talk here about how much we love our neighborhood, Pilsen. And we do. But Marion and I also both fell hard for our first Chicago neighborhood, now called Lakeview, but back then, New Town (and less officially but more permanently, Boystown). So we’re always up for an excuse to visit our old nabe. This time, our excuse was a new fast casual Peruvian chicken restaurant, Chopo Chicken. Continue reading “Arroz verde peruano: Peruvian Green Rice” →