Recipes
Crispy Buttermilk Soaked Pork Chops
The key to this recipe is the buttermilk, a great tenderizer. On the inside the chops turn out very juicy. On the outside the panko breadcrumbs create a wonderfully crispy crust. It’s almost as if you had deep-fried them. Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 30 minutes Total preparation time: 1…
Cucumber Tomato Salad with Yogurt and Toasted Cumin Seed Dressing
This salad would go especially well with a spicy dish because it has sugar and dairy in it, two ingredients which naturally tame a chiles’s heat. But it would also be a delightful side dish for any fish, poultry, or meat entree. Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total…
Seafood Gazpacho – The Perfect Summer Soup
This is a very adaptable cold soup. You could substitute any kind of seafood for the shrimp and crabmeat or replace them with cooked fish–or another cooked protein like chicken, pork, or beef for that matter. Whatever protein you use this is a very refreshing yet filling summertime entrée. Makes…
Southwestern Chicken Salad
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, or beef too. You…
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 about any cracker will do.…
Indonesian-Style Chicken with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Chicken thighs should be more popular. The meat is much more flavorful than the white meat and almost always cooks up moist, which is not something you can say of chicken breast meat. Yes, the thigh is slightly more caloric than the breast, but I prefer it anyway. This is…
Antipasto Salad with Parmigiano-Reggiano Dressing
This is the perfect lazy day summer salad since you never have to turn on the oven. You could even buy the blanched broccoli or cauliflower and prepared pasta salad at the salad bar and never turn on the stovetop. Feel free to substitute any meats or cheeses for the…
Chilled Two-Melon Soup with Balsamic Marinated Strawberries and Sour Cream
1 small very ripe cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped (about 6 cups) 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or to taste 1/2 very ripe honeydew melon, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped (about 6 cups) 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice or to taste 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh mint, plus several…
Cheeseburgers Steamed in Beer
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,” a quarter…
My July Fourth Recipe in People Magazine !
And here’s the actual recipe: Red, White and Blue Stuffed StrawberriesServings: 16 stuffed strawberry halves, serving 4 8 large strawberries 2 ounces Neufchatel or one third less fat cream cheese 1 ½ teaspoons sugar 1 ounce white chocolate, finely chopped 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 1 teaspoon fresh lemon…
Asian Green Beans and Pork
The original version of this Chinese dish is deep fried. I didn’t think most home cooks would want to deep fry on a weeknight (let alone at all.) I also wanted to lighten it up a bit so I figured out a way to crisp the beans without the…
Three Citrus Flan
1 lime 1 orange 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar 1 cup whole milk 1 cup heavy cream 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise 2 large eggs 2 large egg yolks Pinch table saltRemove the rinds from the lemon, lime, and orange and cut away the bitter white…
Tomatillo Salsa Clams
Photo by Jessica Leibowitz If you think about it, the liquor in which a clam swims is nature’s own clam sauce, a great source of the clam’s appeal whether you eat it raw or steamed. When they’re steamed the clam shells open and the clam liquor flows into the pot. …
Eggs Baked in Red Wine
At first glance this recipe might seem a little odd – eggs and red wine? – But it’s based on a French classic called Oeufs en Meurette, and who am I to argue with the French? Everyone will be delighted with their own personal little ramekin of bacon and eggs.…
Onion Beer Bread
A larger-than-usual crowd meeting up at your house for dinner soon? This onion beer bread would add a lot to the menu. It’s delicious, of course, but it’s also very easy to whip up. Unlike more conventional breads, this one doesn’t involve yeast or require multiple risings. And, except for…
Eggs Baked in Ham Cups for Easter Breakfast
Photo by Jessica Leibowitz Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes 1/2 large red bell pepper, coarsely chopped (about 2/3 cup) 1 small onion, coarsely chopped (about 1/2 cup) 1 large plum tomato coarsely chopped (about 1/2 cup) 1/2 cup packed rinsed and dried fresh…
Korean Style Burgers
Makes 4 Servings Hands-On Time: 15 Minutes Total Preparation Time: 25 Minutes Suggested Accompaniment steamed baby potatoes with parsley Ingredients Quick Cabbage Pickle (recipe below) or store bought Kimchi 4 medium scallions One 3/4 inch piece fresh ginger 3 T soy sauce (low sodium if you prefer) 1 1/2 T…
Roasted Ratatouille Crêpes with Goat Cheese
My mom made ratatouille from the New York Times Cookbook all the time when we were kids, and I just loved it. This venerable vegetable stew from the south of France with its many flavors layered together has all the complexity of a meat stew without the meat. All the…
Moroccan Spiced Leg of Lamb with Preserved Lemon Relish
Butterflied boneless leg of lamb is a great dish for a crowd. I have used a Moroccan-style dry rub here, but you could substitute any chicken or meat marinade, wet or dry. One of my old favorites is a Jacques Pepin recipe that we ran when I was in the…
Chocolate Orange Lace Cookies
Here are my “Chocolate Orange Lace Cookies” cooling on the parchment paper on top of the rack. They were very easy to peel off the parchment after they had cooled and they held their shape just fine.
Warm Cabbage with Bacon and Gorgonzola
This is a wonderful wintertime side dish and a great way to glorify the humble cabbage. It would go well with lean grilled sausages (lean because this is a relatively heavy side dish), pork chops, or my Blasted Chicken (Sara Moulton Cooks at Home, page 66) 6 thick slices bacon,…
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…
Berry Rice Pudding
I love rice pudding, as does the husband, but I am certainly not going to make it from scratch on a weeknight. However, there is a good chance you have leftover rice every so often from a take-out meal, and this would be a very tasty way to recycle it.…
Grilled Salmon, Arugula & Grilled Corn Salad, Sweet Pea & Avocado Crostini
Makes 4 servings Suggested Accompaniment Serve with a Chardonnay Ingredients Four 6-ounce boneless, skinless filets of salmon seasoned with extra virgin olive oil to coat and a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper Sweet Pea Hummus (recipe below) Crostini (recipe below) 2 ears of fresh corn shucked, grilled and cut…