Entrees
Onion Soup Omelets
One week on “Cooking Live” we devoted all our shows to the culinary challenges faced by newlyweds. We chose a representative couple and planned on setting them up with all the right equipment and a few basic recipes and launching them into their brave new life together. As usual, however,…
Three Mushroom Tart
When I developed the original version of this recipe for a Gourmet column on mushrooms in the mid-eighties, porcini and enoki mushrooms were considered very exotic; the white button mushroom was still king. These days you see all sorts of once exotic mushrooms in the supermarket—portobello, shiitake, chanterelle, etc.—and they…
Sautéed Shoulder Lamb Chops with Skordalia Sauce
Shoulder lamb chops are a wonderful bargain. They’re a lot cheaper than rib or loin chops, and they cook up at least two different ways: You can grill or sauté them quickly to rare or medium (they get tough if you cook them any longer) or braise them slowly in…
Esther’s Chicken Fricassee
Esther Adler, my mother-in-law, gave birth to three sons in less than three years (yikes!) and a daughter three years later. All four kids had hearty appetites, and all four turned out to be fairly strapping individuals. I’ll confess that I’ve often wondered how in the world she managed to…
White Chicken Chili
There is one good reason—other than chicken and chilies—why I love the white chicken chili on the menu at the burrito palace in our neighborhood: sour cream. This quick-to-make home version is delicious unadorned. Add the accompaniments and some homemade or store-bought cornbread and it is over the top. Makes…
Italian-style Onion Soup with a Poached Egg and Parmigiano-Reggiano
One of our favorite neighborhood restaurants used to be Beppe, where Chef Cesare Casella had created a menu bursting with the big sunny flavors of his native Tuscany. He made a mean lemony fried chicken, succulent spareribs in tomato sauce, and French fries fried with fresh herbs. But I was…
Black-Eyed Pea Cakes with Salsa Mayonnaise
Once upon a time Gourmet magazine ran a recipe for an appetizer of black-eyed pea cakes with jerk pork. I loved it as it was, but it occurred to me that we could conjure up a great vegetarian entrée by losing the pork, making the cakes bigger, and then topping…
Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagne
This is a delicious alternative to the classic meat-and-tomato-sauce lasagne. The squash comes on surprisingly big; roasting it caramelizes it and concentrates its flavor. I made a relatively light “cream sauce”—half milk/half chicken broth—because the two cheeses contribute a ton of richness. The big news here is that you don’t…
Turkey Club Salad
This salad is composed of all the elements found in the classic turkey club sandwich, except that the bread has been turned into croutons and the mayonnaise into herb sauce. The bacon is cooked my favorite way—on a rack in the oven. The bacon turns out less greasy, and…
Crispy Pumpkin Ravioli
Stuff a wonton wrapper with something delicious and you’re looking at nearly instant “homemade” ravioli. This recipe calls for a filling of super-quick canned pumpkin, but you could use fresh mini-pumpkin, butternut squash, or acorn squash purée. Just cut the pumpkin or squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and…
Short Ribs Ravioli with Tomato Sauce and Ricotta Salata
Chef Mario Batali really has a genius for big flavor. His television appearances give you a pretty good idea of that genius, but go to his restaurant Babbo in New York and he will knock your socks off? I love just about everything on the menu, but one of the…
Cheese Sandwich Soufflé
This is a recipe from my grandmother Ruth that I love for its simplicity. It is nothing more than a ham and cheese sandwich over which you pour some beaten eggs and milk, let it soak, and then bake. (I confess that I dressed it up a bit by adding…
Bistro Duck Breasts
Duck breasts are one of my favorite things to make for a quick and elegant dinner. Originally created for Episode 308, Season 3, of Sara’s Weeknight Meals, this “cook once, eat twice” recipe gives you a head start on the next night’s entree, Peking Duck Wraps. Recommended side dishes: coucous and butter…
Matzo Brie 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…
Creamy Lime Corn Soup with Cumin Salted Tortilla Strips
Here is a luxuriously thick soup that is very low in calories, especially if you leave out the tortilla chips. You really boost the corn flavor by adding cobs to the broth. Indeed, anytime you have leftover cobs kicking around, especially at the end of the summer, you might want…
Tomato, Basil, and Cheese Tart with Pancetta Crust
I developed this tart in the mid-eighties for a column in Gourmet magazine called “Gastronomie Sans Argent,” which loosely translated means “eating well on a budget.” It was for an August issue, and the theme was tomatoes. Not a tough assignment; I can’t think of a cheaper and more satisfying way…
Summer Salad
I think of this recipe as the perfect backyard cooking for a crowd summertime salad because it features three of the shining stars of summer—corn, tomatoes, and basil—and because all the parts can be prepared ahead of time and tossed together at the last minute. When I’m in the country…
Fresh Corn Spoon Bread with Broccoli and Sharp Cheddar
I have always loved Southern spoon bread—that creamy, airy cross between cornbread and a soufflé. I have added sharp Cheddar cheese and broccoli so that it becomes a substantial breakfast for dinner. One cup of any cooked vegetable would work here—cauliflower, peas, carrots, green beans, spinach, and so on—and three…
Corn and Jalapeño Cakes with Goat Cheese
When I made the first batch of these corn cakes and topped them off with a slice of tomato and goat cheese, they were so substantial they reminded me of a burger. The fresher the corn the tastier these cakes will be, because the minute you pick an ear of…
Smoked Chicken or Turkey Salad
This is an adaptation of a smoked chicken salad recipe sent to me by Mary Collette List of Kalamazoo, Michigan—a frequent visitor to my Web site—who tasted it for the first time at a friend’s potluck dinner and then went home and figured it out. I added the option of…
Smoky Fish Chowder
There are two things that my dad makes, one is scrambled eggs (especially on Christmas) and the second is fish chowder which he must have learned from his Mom, Ruth Moulton, who was a wonderful ye olde New England cook, or possibly from a guide on one of his fishing…
Stuffed Zucchini Greek Style
Throughout the Mediterranean, vegetables stuffed with various fillings, including meat, often fill the role of entrée. But when I tried to sell my meathead American husband on this recipe at any early stage in its development—the lamb then thoroughly camouflaged by bread crumbs—he squinted at it and, without venturing to…
Mom's Meatball Stroganoff
This was one of my favorite dishes as a kid. It is a less expensive version of the classic dish created and named for a Count Stroganoff in late-19th-century Russia. Very popular in America during the sixties and seventies, the original recipe for Beef Stroganoff called for thin slices of…
Pork Cutlets with Spanish Olives
This technique of pounding boneless pieces of meat or poultry to make them thin, coating them in seasoned flour, sautéing them quickly, and making a sauce with the drippings can be varied to create dozens of different quick and easy dishes. 1 pound pork scaloppine cut from the leg or…