Entrees
Spring Soup with Bread Dumplings
photo by Jamie Tiampo First things first: This is a spring soup. It’s meant to be made when asparagus and fava beans are in season. Just because you can find these items in the supermarket in November, when they have been flown in from the other half of the world,…
Antipasto Salad with Parmigiano-Reggiano Dressing
Photo by Jessica Leibowitz This is the perfect lazy-day summer salad, since you don’t have to use the oven. You could buy the blanched broccoli or cauliflower and prepared pasta salad at the salad bar and never even turn on the stovetop. But this salad would be equally good…
Green Chile and Zucchini Quiche
Green Chile and Zucchini Quiche This quiche gets its heat from canned chiles. But if you have a little more time, you should lose the canned chiles and make the recipe instead with roasted fresh poblanos, which are even more delicious. I like the contrasting crunch of Triscuits, but just…
Mexican Style Chicken Salad
Photo by Jessica Leibowitz This is my favorite kind of salad because it has so many elements and, from the creamy avocado to the crispy homemade tortilla chips, they all have different textures. I have cheated here by using leftover or rotisserie chicken. You could substitute leftover cooked pork, shrimp,…
Asparagus and Goat Cheese Souffléed Omelet
Photo by Jessica Leibowitz 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 beat your egg whites just to soft peaks; otherwise they won’t fold properly into the egg yolk base. Any leftover…
Matzo Brei with Creamed Spinach and Crispy Onions
I didn’t know about matzo brie, that wonderful breakfast dish consisting of matzo and beaten eggs cooked in a lot of butter, until I started dating my now-husband (who is Jewish) in the mid-seventies. His mom, Esther, made it for me and I thought it was absolutely delicious. I always…
Ham, Egg and Cheese Galettes with Butter Lettuce Salad
Makes 12 Galettes 2 cups buckwheat flour 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt 13 large eggs 1 cup whole milk 1 cup water clarified butter for brushing the pan 6 thin slices ham, cut into julienne strips 6 thin slices Emmenthaler, cut into julienne strips In a medium…
Cracker Fish
Photo by Jessica Leibowitz I love crunch in a recipe and particularly when the star of the dish is soft and bland like most white fish. Bread crumbs are usually the crunch we reach for, but why not consider a cracker, particularly one that is presalted, like a saltine. This…
Middle Eastern Meatball Sandwiches with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
Photo by Jessica Leibowitz My favorite meat for these meatball sandwiches is lamb but if you are not a lamb fan go with beef or even turkey for the leanest option. Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 20 minutes Total preparation time: 35 minutes 4-inch piece seedless (English) cucumber…
Penne a la Vodka
photo by Jessica Leibowitz Penne à la Vodka, Classic and Lite My daughter Ruthie is a big fan of penne á la vodka. I love it, too, but I wanted to figure out a way to make it less fattening than usual. That’s why there are two versions of penne…
Seared Beef in Autumn Broth with Wasabi Cream
Makes 4 Servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total preparation time: 33 minutes This dish began as a variation on a French recipe called boeuf a la ficelle (literally “beef on a string), which requires the cook to tie a string around some filet mignon and lower it into a pot…
Green Chicken Posole
Photo by Jessica Leibowitz Makes 4 to 6 servings Hands-on time: 25 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes Posole is a hearty soup from the Jalisco region of Mexico that is traditionally made with pork and hominy. Hominy is dried corn kernels from which the hulls and germs have been…
Sautéed Duck Breasts with Apricot Szechuan Peppercorn Sauce
photo by Jessica Liebowitz It’s much quicker to sauté duck breasts than to roast a whole duck, which is how you can manage to have duck for dinner on a weeknight. Whether or not you eat the skin, be sure to cook the breasts with the skin on. They’ll turn…
Beer Steamed Cheeseburgers
Det Burgers My first official cooking job was in the mid 70’s at a bar in Ann Arbor Michigan (where I went to college) called the Del Rio. The most famous item on the menu, invented by a bored cook one slow day, was a burger called the “Det Burger,”…
Chicken Saltimboca
Saltimbocca, which literally means “jump in the mouth” in Italian, is a no-brag-just facts description of the wonderfulness of the classic recipe made with veal scallopine, prosciutto and sage. My version substitutes chicken for veal and adds an artichoke sauce. This recipe would work well not only as a special…
Chicken Vaca Frita
CHICKEN VACA FRITA For the mojo: 10 garlic cloves, peeled 2 teaspoons salt ½ teaspoon black peppercorns ½ cup fresh orange juice ¾ cup fresh lime juice done 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil For the Chicken Vaca frita 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast 3…
Chicken Vaca Frita
For the mojo: 10 garlic cloves, peeled 2 teaspoons salt ½ teaspoon black peppercorns ½ cup fresh orange juice ¾ cup fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil For the chicken 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 large white…
Duck Tacos with Quick Refried Beans
Makes 6 servings For the spice blend: ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon oregano, crumbled ½ teaspoon chili powder ¼ teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cayenne For the filling & toppings: 1 half, cooked rotisserie duck (for a mail order source, please go here) 1 tablespoon vegetable…
Chianti Tortelli
(Recipe courtesy of Allesio Bagnoli based on the family recipes of Veronica d’Entreves) Makes: 6 to 8 Servings Hands on time: 45 minutes Total preparation time: 3 ½ hours For the pasta dough: 3 ½ cups semolina flour 3 large eggs 2 to 2 ½ cups of Chianti Wine For…
Chianti Tortelli Filled With Asparagus and Goat Cheese
(Recipe courtesy of Allesio Bagnoli based on the family recipes of Veronica d’Entreves) Makes: 6 to 8 Servings Hands on time: 45 minutes Total preparation time: 3 ½ hours For the pasta dough: 3 ½ cups semolina flour 3 large eggs 2 to 2 ½ cups of Chianti Wine For…
Sushi: California and Cucumber Rolls
Serves 4 Hands-On Time: 45 minutes Total Preparation Time: 1 1/2 hours For The Sushi Rice: 2 ½ cups Calrose medium grain rice 2 ½ cups water 1/3 cup rice vinegar 1 ½ tablespoons Kosher salt 1 ½ tablespoons sugar For The Sushi Roll Fillings: 1 seedless English Cucumber 1…
Sushi “Burgers”
Serves 4 Rough note for inspiration: Matthew took the liberty of coming up with a Sushi Burger, using the the same rice as we did – with the vinegar seasoning and used the same toppings Billy and I used in the sushi rolls. That said, his creative use of creating…
Shrimp Tikka Masala with Mango Chutney
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine 2008 (developed by Melissa Jones) Makes 6 servings Hands On Time: 45 min Total Time: 1 hour For shrimp: 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 (1-inch) piece fresh jalapeño, chopped (about 2 teaspoons) 1 (1-inch) piece peeled ginger, chopped 1 large garlic…