In Conversation: Gale Gand on dessert, simplifying things and her new book Lunch!

James Beard award-winning pastry chef Gale Gand talks about her new restaurant, her new cookbook and other red hot irons she has in the fire.

Gale Gand wears a lot of toques. A co-founding partner of Chicago’s Michelin-starred Tru, world-renowned for its contemporary French tasting menus, Gale hosted the Food Network series “Sweet Dreams” for eight years, the first nationally televised all-dessert show. She appears regularly on TV shows like“Good Morning America,” “The Today Show” and “The Rachael Ray Show.” She produces her own artisanal root beer, volunteers, teaches, speaks and does cooking demonstrations. Gale also lists “mom” in her description on her website; she and her environmentalist husband Jimmy Seidita have a teenaged son and twin daughters.

Most recently, Gale opened a burger joint, SpritzBurger, with the Hearty Boys, Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh. And her eighth cookbook, Gale Gand’s Lunch!, hits bookstores this week. It seemed like a good time to check in with her. Continue reading “In Conversation: Gale Gand on dessert, simplifying things and her new book Lunch!” →

Navarin d’Agneau: a French lamb stew for spring

Lamb Navarin combines lamb, peas, carrots, new potatoes and turnips for a spring stew that is hearty, but lighter tasting than beef stew. Recipe below.

MANY RECIPES HERE ARE INSPIRED BY COOKBOOKS. THIS ONE WAS INSPIRED BY A NOVEL. The World at Night is set mainly in Paris, in the early 1940s, during the time of German occupation. To call it a tale of intrigue and romance is accurate enough, but falls far short of doing it justice. Continue reading “Navarin d’Agneau: a French lamb stew for spring” →

Two cookbooks explore the art of cooking, with humor and poetry

Cooking Comically takes a comic book approach to presenting “recipes so easy you’ll actually make them.” A Commonplace Book of Pies redefines everything we thought we knew about pie through prose poems, humor and, yes, recipes.

We know we all need to cook more. Stuff we cook for ourselves is generally healthier and can save us money. There are many serious efforts out there to get us doing that. Here’s a refreshingly silly one that’s seriously effective. Tyler Capps, a freelance graphic artist and self-taught cook, started Cooking Comically as a website after an online comic strip recipe he created, “2 A.M. Chili,” went viral, racking up millions of views. And now it’s a cookbook. Continue reading “Two cookbooks explore the art of cooking, with humor and poetry” →

A quick, easy* spring lunch: Roasted Asparagus with Poached Eggs and Lardons

Roasted asparagus spears are topped with sautéed bacon and shallots and a poached egg for a light lunch. Recipe below.

Asparagus season is upon us again, a promising sign of the reluctant spring. (Yes, asparagus is available pretty much year-round, but now is when it’s at its best.) First, the pencil-thin spears started showing up in the produce department, requiring little more than a quick blanch to render them bright green, crisp and delicious. Continue reading “A quick, easy* spring lunch: Roasted Asparagus with Poached Eggs and Lardons” →

Top cheap cuts: five flavorful, budget-friendly meat choices

FOR MANY HOME COOKS, MEAT TAKES THE BIGGEST BITE out of the food budget. There are plenty of cheap cuts, though. Some require a little extra care to tenderize them (or acceptance of the fact that their extra fat is what makes them delicious as well as affordable), but all will reward you with big flavor while saving you money. Here are five cheap cuts we love.

Lamb Shoulder Chops

Lamb’s wonderfully rich flavor is often matched by its price tag. Not these guys. Lamb shoulder chops (like the one pictured above) deliver as much or more lamby goodness as pricier (and tinier) lamb rib or loin chops. And their sometimes chewy texture can be tenderized quickly with a citrus marinade or dry brining. They also respond well to braising. Continue reading “Top cheap cuts: five flavorful, budget-friendly meat choices” →

Pan-grilled Lemon Tarragon Lamb Chops, weeknight quick and naturally tender

A lemon juice/olive oil/tarragon marinade quickly tenderizes lamb shoulder chops and adds a lively citrus note. Recipe below.

Lamb is one of our favorite carnivorous pleasures. And shoulder lamb chops are one of our go-tos for scratching our occasional lamby itch. They’re typically one of the cheaper cuts, they cook quickly and they’re big on flavor. Unfortunately, they can also be chewy. The good news is there are simple techniques to tenderize these delicious chops. Continue reading “Pan-grilled Lemon Tarragon Lamb Chops, weeknight quick and naturally tender” →

Celebrating National Grilled Cheese Month with American cheeses expert Laura Werlin

April is National Grilled Cheese Month. Cheese cookbook author Laura Werlin shares her thoughts on the iconic comfort sandwich as well as tips for making great grilled cheese. And yes, she shares a recipe too.

Editor’s note: Blue Kitchen is now publishing twice weekly. Wednesdays, you’ll find fresh recipes. On Sundays, we share stories about food—new tools for the kitchen, cookbooks we like, interviews (like this one) and more. Subscribe to our RSS Feed or sign up for email updates, so you don’t miss a thing.

Laura Werlin is an ambassador for American cheeses and author of six cookbooks on the subject. She won the prestigious James Beard award for The All American Cheese and Wine Book, published in 2003. To celebrate National Grilled Cheese Month, we caught up with the San Francisco-based Werlin to talk about her favorite subject. Continue reading “Celebrating National Grilled Cheese Month with American cheeses expert Laura Werlin” →

Refreshing the taste of comfort: Pork Meatballs with Juniper Berries

Juniper berries add a subtle, light freshness to pork meatballs. Wine, sherry and sour cream create a simple sauce. Recipes below.

This weird and messy winter just won’t quit us. Today it is a pleasant 50 degrees, and sunny, and all our windows are open. But Saturday was cheerless and frigid, and not that far in our future is “damp and raw,” “periods of rain” and even a nasty “wintry mix.”

The term wintry mix always sounds so dull and industrial. And it always makes me remember Sonny Eliot, a “weathercaster” in the Detroit of my youth, who brought the spirit of playfulness to TV reporting. Continue reading “Refreshing the taste of comfort: Pork Meatballs with Juniper Berries” →

Kids in the kitchen: French knife maker creates serious, safe cooking tools for young chefs

Opinel introduces Le Petit Chef Set, kid-friendly cooking tools that help teach proper kitchen skills. And Michelle Obama hosts a cooking contest for children. The prize is a Kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House.

As a nation, we need to be eating better. What am I saying? As a planet, we need to be eating better. Obesity and diet-related diseases are becoming worldwide health issues. In fact, obesity is second only to smoking as the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

The best way to eat healthier, it turns out, is to cook at home. When we cook, we can control how much fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar we’re consuming, especially if we use fresh ingredients as much as possible. And the best way to set our kids on the path to a lifetime of eating healthier is to get them cooking in the kitchen with us. Continue reading “Kids in the kitchen: French knife maker creates serious, safe cooking tools for young chefs” →

Butterflies and a taste of spring: Farfalle with Peas, Bacon and Sage Butter

Farfalle—butterflies in Italian—is tossed with peas, bacon, butter, sage, lemon juice and zest and Parmesan. Recipe below.

Circumstances converge, synapses fire. And sometimes, recipes happen. Recently, we were at the International Home + Housewares Show here in Chicago. We try to go every year, looking for new kitchen tools and trends. (In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing various finds from this year’s show.)

There are always big, exciting discoveries and great conversations at the show. But there are also little asides, quiet incidental moments that we almost miss. One happened at Eataly’s booth. The giant purveyor of all things food and Italian opened a Chicago outpost this winter, as Marion reported here. At their Housewares Show booth, they were showcasing some of their wares and brewing up cups of amazing espresso. As Marion chatted with the barista, I picked up a recipe card. It was for squash-filled ravioli in a sage butter sauce. I ignored the ravioli and stowed the simple sauce (sage leaves browned in butter and mixed with reserved pasta water) away in my head for a future pasta dish idea. Continue reading “Butterflies and a taste of spring: Farfalle with Peas, Bacon and Sage Butter” →