Linguine with Ragu Bianco and nose-to-tail tales

Ground pork and pork liver are cooked with mushrooms, shallots, garlic, fennel, thyme and wine, then finished with cream in this traditional Italian pasta sauce. Recipe and substitution ideas below.

I’ve been having offal thoughts lately. They started with a piece I recently wrote for the Christian Science Monitor on nose-to-tail eating. The current trend of using the entire animal—and indeed, the phrase nose to tail itself—began with publication of Fergus Henderson’s seminal cookbook, The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating. As chefs are increasingly embracing the idea of cooking and serving “odd cuts,” the CSM editors wondered if diners and home cooks were taking to those odd cuts. The short answer is yes. You’ll find the entire article here.

When I got the assignment, I immediately thought of Rob Levitt, owner of Chicago’s first whole animal, locavore butcher shop, The Butcher & Larder. We met Rob when he was chef at Mado, one of the city’s first whole animal, locavore restaurants. Rob and his staff butchered, cooked and served pretty much every part of every animal delivered to the kitchen. Continue reading “Linguine with Ragu Bianco and nose-to-tail tales” →

Gifts that give back: three do-good gift ideas

Three last-minute gift ideas that help others in need with every gift you give.

The idea behind FEED is simple: fight hunger and malnutrition around the world by providing free lunches at school. Through the UN World Food Programme and UNICEF, FEED does just that—and more. School feeding is one of the most effective solutions to stopping hunger and helping children break out of the poverty cycle they were born into. When boys and girls are given a free, nutritious meal in school, research has shown that attendance and performance greatly increase.

To raise funds, FEED sells a wide array of stylish gifts, from tote bags to toys, apparel, accessories and more. And each gift tells you exactly how many meals you’ll be providing and where. You’ll find great gift ideas for everyone on your list at the FEED website. Continue reading “Gifts that give back: three do-good gift ideas” →

Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes: an easy, healthy, smoky, spicy, delicious side

Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce bring smoke and a little heat to this quick, sweet/savory side dish. Sliced scallions add brightness. Recipe below.

I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING. Sweet potatoes? Isn’t Thanksgiving over? But how can you not love a good-for-you root vegetable that actually gets healthier when you add fat to it? According to Whole Foods, “Recent research has shown that a minimum of 3-5 grams of fat per meal significantly increases our uptake of beta-carotene from sweet potatoes.” Continue reading “Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes: an easy, healthy, smoky, spicy, delicious side” →

Tea and cookies, pre-assembled: Chocolate-dipped Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

Japanese matcha green tea and bittersweet chocolate make these buttery shortbread cookies deliciously decadent, with coffee or tea. Recipe below.

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN when people are streaming in and out of our house, and we are streaming in and out of lots of other houses too. To help with all the festive to-ing and fro-ing, we like to have some lovely treats on hand. This year, for the first time, we’ve added green tea shortbread cookies to our arsenal.

Shortbread cookies are so wonderful—buttery, delicate, crumbly goodness. Adding matcha (Japanese powdered green tea) gives them a faintly herbal, haunting note—still delicate, but with a slightly sophisticated edge. Continue reading “Tea and cookies, pre-assembled: Chocolate-dipped Green Tea Shortbread Cookies” →

Learning from Lidia: Ziti with Sausage and Fennel

This hearty pasta dinner layers flavors of Italian sausage, onion, fennel bulb, crushed red pepper, tomato and Parmesan deliciously. Adapted from Lidia’s Favorite Recipes. Recipe below.

WHEN DOES LIDIA MATTICCHIO BASTIANICH SLEEP? The star of PBS’s popular Lidia’s Italy, she is also chef/owner of restaurants in New York, Pittsburgh and Kansas City. She’s a partner (with son Joe, Mario Batali and Oscar Farinetti) in New York’s wildly successful Eataly. She and son Joe have a winery in Italy. Lidia and her daughter Tanya design a line of cookware (they’ve also launched a line of pastas and sauces). Oh. And in her spare time, she writes cookbooks. Continue reading “Learning from Lidia: Ziti with Sausage and Fennel” →

Spicy Shrimp with Tomatoes and Cheddar Grits deliver the down-home Taste of Tremé

Adapted from a recipe in Todd-Michael St. Pierre’s Taste of Tremé, this dish combines seafood, peppers and Creole seasonings on a bed of creamy grits—comfort food with a kick, quintessentially New Orleans. Recipe below.

New Orleans is one of our favorite cities for food. Everything tastes of history, blended cultures and spices. Lots of spices. Some of them hot, of course, but more often just big flavored. And from the diviest dives to the fanciest white tablecloth spots, you have to work hard to find a bad meal.

It’s been too long since we’ve been back to New Orleans. Fortunately, Taste of Tremé: Creole, Cajun, and Soul Food from New Orleans’ Famous Neighborhood of Jazz, delivers. Published just last month, it is stuffed with doable recipes, from breakfast right on through to dinner, dessert and cocktails. Continue reading “Spicy Shrimp with Tomatoes and Cheddar Grits deliver the down-home Taste of Tremé” →

Miso Braised Pork Shoulder: Because nothing comforts you like umami

Japanese miso paste adds a satisfying umami note to chunky pieces of pork and carrots braised with garlic, fresh ginger and onion. Recipe below.

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]W[/su_dropcap]hat’s the traditional sixth anniversary gift? If it’s a food blog anniversary, I’m going with pork. Yes, Blue Kitchen is six years old this month. A lot has changed for me foodwise in that time. For one thing, I feel like I know more about food than when I started—including how ungodly much I don’t know and will never know. But some things have remained the same, like my willingness to borrow ingredients from the global pantry and use them authentically or otherwise. This week, that ingredient is miso paste. Continue reading “Miso Braised Pork Shoulder: Because nothing comforts you like umami” →

Inspired by Columbus, again: Baked Eggs with Tomato and Spinach

Eggs baked with cream, tarragon and a compote of tomatoes, spinach and garlic are a simple vegetarian dish that feels luxurious and is infinitely tweakable. Recipe below.

Columbus, Ohio is a city that invites walking, from German Village up through downtown, Victorian Village, Short North, the University District and beyond. Which is fortunate, because it also encourages overindulgence at just about every turn. Inspired food options abound, from locavore breakfast spots to taco truck tours and the best small batch ice cream I’ve ever eaten.

I visited Columbus for the first time last fall on a press tour (you’ll find that story here), a guest of Experience Columbus, a non-profit organization that promotes the city as a travel destination. The tour was orchestrated by Weirick Communications, a Columbus-based tourism marketing firm. The city utterly charmed me, and not just because of the food. So a couple of weeks ago, Marion and I visited. It was her first time there, and she was as taken with the city as I was. Continue reading “Inspired by Columbus, again: Baked Eggs with Tomato and Spinach” →

Small Bites: Spooky sweet bites and donating to Hurricane Sandy relief

Vosges Haut-Chocolat offers sophisticated spooky treats. And a couple of places to provide help to Hurricane Sandy victims—including pets and farm animals.

First, the sweet stuff. Halloween and Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations offer a perfect convergence of excuses for enjoying Vosges Haut-Chocolat’s trio of Skull Lollipops. The Barcelona Skull Lollipop features hickory smoked almonds, grey sea salt and 44% cacao deep milk chocolate. The Red Fire Skull Lollipop heats things up with Mexican ancho and chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon and 55% cacao dark chocolate. The Leche Skull Lollipop combines pink Himalayan salt and 44% cacao deep milk chocolate. All are much too good to waste on kids. Find them at the Vosges Haut-Chocolat website. Continue reading “Small Bites: Spooky sweet bites and donating to Hurricane Sandy relief” →

Fair Trade Month gives “good eats” new meaning

October is Fair Trade Month, reminding us that buying Fair Trade Certified foods improves the quality of life for farmers and their communities—and the quality of the imported foods we eat.

We were out of the kitchen last week on a food-focused road trip to Columbus, Ohio. Look for a new recipe next week—and a Columbus report soon.

Food is in an interesting place right now. Increasingly, we are urged to eat locally—and farmers markets, locavore chefs and even grocery stores are bringing us ways to do that. On the other hand, our palates have never been more global. Exotic spices, produce and pantry staples are transitioning from ethnic markets and gourmet shops to supermarket shelves. They’re doing so because we’re using them in our kitchens more and more. And then there are those staples so ingrained in our daily lives that we don’t often even think of them as imported—coffee, chocolate, bananas, tea… But how these foods are grown, harvested and processed has a major impact on lives around the world. And on the health of the planet. That’s where fair trade comes in. Continue reading “Fair Trade Month gives “good eats” new meaning” →