Sara’s Weeknight Meals Season 3

One evening, when I was cooking sautéed duck breasts, a favorite at our house, I thought of Peking Duck and wondered if I couldn’t dream up a quick version . Peking duck is a great classic of Chinese cuisine, “a dish fit for an emperor,” according to writer Emily Hahn, but making it damn near requires an emperor’s kitchen staff. Ms. Hahn, writing in Time-Life’s “The Cooking of China” (1969) laid out some of the details: The traditional version calls … more »

Recommended side dishes: coucous and butter braised baby carrots Makes 4 servings Ingredients 6 Peking duck breast halves Kosher salt 1 shallot, minced (about ¼ cup) 1 cup chicken broth ¼ cup dry red wine 2 teaspoons coarsely crushed black peppercorns 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons water 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Directions …Score the skin on each duck breast half in a crisscross pattern and sprinkle it lightly on all sides with salt and more »

Chicken, Shrimp, Peanut and Cashew Stew This stew is about simple ingredients but with an exotic result. The favorite Bahian combination of chicken and shrimp comes together in a creamy sauce. The nuts serve as the perfect binding agents for the coconut milk and chicken stock but they have to be finely ground – if they are too coarse, they just won’t do the work. On the other hand, you have to be careful not to turn the nuts into … more »

Salt Cod with Onions, Eggs, Potatoes, and Olives Suggested Accompaniment: shredded collard greens, sauteed with garlic in olive oil Cod and onions have a love affair. Throw in potato, olives, and olive oil and you have a complete mixture of ingredients that absolutely love each other. Serves 8 to 10 Ingredients…2 lbs salt cod 2½ cups milk 3 medium onions, thinly sliced 2 lbs small young potatoes (or Yukon Gold) 3 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced thinly ¼ cup Kalamata more »

Suggested accompaniments: tossed green salad and crusty bread Yields 4 servings Hands-on time: 35 minutes Total preparation time: 45 minutes Ingredients…2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 8 bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds) Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 medium onion 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves or ½ teaspoon dried 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried 4 garlic cloves Two 15 1/2-ounce cans white beans 1/2 pound kielbasa, bratwurst or high quality more »

This is a cross between an omelet and a soufflé and doesn’t take too much work as long as you have electric beaters. Make sure you only beat your egg whites to soft peaks, otherwise they won’t fold properly into the egg yolk base. Any leftovers you have would make a fine filling for this souffleed omelet so consider this a clean out the fridge dish. Suggested accompaniment: tossed green salad with cherry tomatoes Makes 2 servings Hands-on time: 15 … more »

Recommended side dish: buttered green beans and roasted potatoes tossed with parsley Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total preparation time: 40 minutes IngredientsFour 6-ounce pieces, skinless, mild-flavored fish fillets, such as trout, tilapia or catfish 2 cups milk 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons vegetable oil Grenobloise Sauce (recipe below) Directions… 1. Cover the fish with the milk, cover, and chill for at least 30 minutes. Spread out the more »

Serves 4 Side dish: sautéed baby bok choy Ingredients 1 teaspoon coriander seed 1 green cardamom pod ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns 1 teaspoon fennel seed 3 cups Frank’s hot sauce 1 pound plain yogurt 1 tablespoon fish sauce 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon paprika one 3 ½ pound chicken, quartered Directions …In a medium skillet toast all the whole spices over moderate heat, shaking the pan until more »

Serves 4 Ingredients… 1 pound Pad Thai noodles 1 cup Pad Thai Sauce, recipe follows Vegetable oil for deep frying plus a little extra for stir frying Dozen shucked oysters Rice flour for dusting 1 Thai chile, thinly sliced 1 bunch scallions, green part only, cut into 2 inch lengths 1 thinly sliced red onion 1/2 cup bacon lardons, cooked until crispy 1/2 cup julienned carrots 1/2 cup bean sprouts ¼ cup preserved radish 2 tablespoons roughly chopped peanuts 2 more »

Episode 304 of Sara’s Weeknight Meals…, “I’m Cheating on You” airs this week. How does Sara get great food on the table every night with no effort at all? She cheats! Lucky for you she’ll reveal all her tricks and secrets in this episode. She’ll show you fast Sticky Buns without the yeast, a way to bake risotto instead of stirring it with Baked Risotto with Red Wine, Sweet Potatoes and Duck Confit, and cheaters Wonton Ravioli stuffed with more »

This is a great recipe based on cream biscuits. Normally, sticky buns are made with yeast dough, which scares off lots of folks. These are blessedly yeast-free. But you don’t have to tell your brunch guests. Let them assume that you got up at the crack of dawn to give the dough time to rise. Makes 18 Small Buns Ingredients For the glaze …1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup honey 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 cup more »

Makes 4 servings Ingredients 3 cups Quick Tomato Sauce (recipe below) or your favorite store bought brand ½ cup squeezed, chopped, cooked fresh or frozen spinach ½ cup coarsely grated mozzarella ½ cup ricotta (whole milk or low fat) ½ cup freshly microplane grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus extra for sprinkling ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 32 square wonton wrappers shredded basil for garnish. Directions …Bring a large pot of salted water to more »

Risotto, is a great one size fits all dish because it provides the perfect back drop for any foreground ingredient. But it needs to be nursed, stirred constantly so the rice absorbs the liquid at just the right pace. No one has the time for that on a weeknight.  I discovered that if you bake the rice instead of cooking on top of the stove, it requires much less tending. Baked Risotto isn’t as creamy as the stirred version, but… more »

“Philly Style,” episode 303 of Sara’s Weeknight Meals…  starts airing this week. I‘ll be shopping at the old Italian market with local boy celebrity chef Marc Vetri and then making two of his signature dishes with him back at my kitchen – Sal’s Old School Meatballs, and Spaghetti in Parchment with Clams and Scallions. You’ll find the recipes here. more »

Note from Marc: My father instilled three things in me: (1) Always work for yourself—no matter what, be the boss; (2) Always have integrity—you are only as good as your word; (3) Always use veal, pork, and beef in meatballs. Life really is that simple! Makes about sixty 1-ounce meatballs (thirty 2-ounce meatballs or twenty 3-ounce meatballs) Ingredients…1 pound ground veal 1 pound ground pork 1 pound ground beef 4 slices white sandwich bread, torn 1½ cups milk 3 more »