Recipes
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…
Creamy Butterscotch Pudding Cake
When I was a kid and we visited Cambridge, my parents used to take me to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor in Harvard Square. They served a butterscotch sundae made of coffee ice cream, hot butterscotch sauce, and whipped cream. Boy it was good! This pudding cake reminds me…
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…
Deep Hot Chocolate
The most extraordinarily delicious hot chocolate I have ever consumed was served at a teahouse called Angelina’s near the Louvre in Paris. Dubbed chocolat africain, it was so rich you could nearly stand a spoon in it. I am not quite sure how they make it, but I suspect from…
Pumpkin Flan with Ginger Whipped Cream
One of our favorite neighborhood restaurants was La Taza de Oro, a great little Puerto Rican spot on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea. The menu always featured five or six entrees, accompanied by your choice of yellow or white rice and several different kinds of beans. (When Ruthie was three and…
Quick Sautéed Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Balsamic Vinegar
Photo by Jessica Leibowitz When I first started doing “Cooking Live” in 1996, Sue Fenniger and Mary Sue Milliken were co-hosting the Food Network’s “Two Hot Tamales.” I had been a fan of these talented chefs ever since I ate at one of their restaurants in the late eighties,…
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…
Rice Puppies
Rice Puppies 1 cup long grain white rice 2 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cayenne 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper 1 can (10.5 ounce) French onion soup 1 tablespoon butter 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup dry bread crumbs oil for frying, preferably rice bran oil…
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…
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…
Alsatian Onion Pie
Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes Servings: Makes three 10- x 12-inch pizzas 6 ounces bacon, sliced thin crosswise 4 cups thinly sliced onion salt and black pepper 8 ounces crème fraiche 1 large egg yolk pinch nutmeg 3 ounces coarsely grated gruyere cheese Pizza dough (recipe below) or…
Baked Penne Pasta with Prosciutto and Fontina
Start to finish: 1 hour 30 minutes (25 active) Servings: 6 10 ounces penne pasta ½ teaspoon kosher salt plus extra for salting the water Olive oil for oiling the mini casseroles 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1-inch pieces 3 ounces coarsely grated Italian Fontina cheese 1 ½…
Fried Plantains (Tostones)
1 to 2 large green plantains 5 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil or enough to reach ¼ -inch up the side of a large skillet Kosher salt Peel the plantain and slice it on the diagonal ½ – 1-inch thick. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high…
Chinese Barbecued Pork
Adapted from Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge If you don’t want to make it yourself and you live near a Chinatown you’ll see it hanging in the windows of some Cantonese restaurants. The homemade is of course far superior to store bought which often has red food coloring. For the…
Souffle Omelet filled with Broccoli and Goat Cheese
Makes 2 servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total preparation time: 27 minutes Ingredients 1/2 pound cooked broccoli, coarsely chopped 3 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 5 large eggs, separated 2 tablespoons all purpose flour Directions Preheat oven to 375°…
Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Chorizo and Greens
This is a very substantial and satisfying soup, perfect for these last cold days of winter. Thickened by pureed cauliflower and potato, it is luxuriously creamy without any cream. The sausage, greens, and paprika give it heat, and the cauliflower florets give it crunch. Serve this soup with garlic bread…
Salmon with Crispy Skin and Pepperoncini Lemon Sauce
NOTE: On the show I mentioned that I like East coast salmon because it has a higher fat content than the west coast variety, but I want to clarify that in general wild salmon from the Pacific west coast is a much more sustainable and healthier choice than east coast…
Pigeon Peas with Rice (Arroz Con Gandules)
Note: you can make this dish without the meat for a vegetarian version Hands-On Time: 30 minutes Total Preparation Time: 1 hour Serves 4 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 pound pork, cut into ½-inch pieces (optional) 1 ounce of pancetta (optional) 1 tablespoon annatto oil (see note below) Carmen’s Sofrito:…
Salt Cod with Onions, Eggs Potatoes and Olives
Suggested Accompaniment: shredded collard greens, sauteed with garlic in olive oil Serves 8 to 10 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 olives, pitted and halved ¼ cup…
Shrimp Rolls
Start to finish: 40 minutes Servings: 4 4 ounces seedless cucumber, cut into ¼-inch dice (a scant cup) 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning 1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp (about 24- 26) ½ cup mayonnaise 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons…
Wonton Ravioli Stuffed with Spicy Greens
Servings: 4 Start to finish: 40 minutes Hands on time: 30 minutes 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 9 cups packed spicy or bitter greens, such as arugula, escarole, watercress or, mustard, chopped fine 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons homemade ricotta cheese (see recipe below) or store bought ricotta 3 tablespoons…