Recipes
Mushroom String Cheese Dip
10 sliced mushrooms (Refika used Fairy Ring Mushrooms, which I am not sure are easy to find in this country), your choice 2 big strips string cheese, separated into strings 5 garlic cloves salt and pepper 3 sprigs fresh thyme 3 tablespoons olive oil flat bread as an accompaniment Preheat…
Spanish Omelet
Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Omelet) Makes 4 – 6-Servings Hands on time: 20 minutes Total preparation time: 40 minutes 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 large onion, sliced 3 potatoes Kosher salt 1 cup dry white wine 5 large eggs Place a medium size sauce pan, filled with salted water…
Pork Medallions with Prunes and Spicy Mustard Cream Sauce
Start to finish: 45 minutes Servings: 4 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large pork tenderloin, about 1 ¼ – 1 ½-pounds, cut at an angle into ½-inch thick medallions Kosher salt 2 tablespoons minced shallots ½ cup dry white wine 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary ¼ – ½- teaspoon…
Raspberry Almond Rugalach
To get an idea about what rugelach means to a certain generation of Jewish Americans, there’s no better guide than Philip Roth. American Pastoral, his 1997 novel, begins with a reunion of the Weequahic (New Jersey) High School’s 1950 graduating class. At the end of the evening, everyone is given…
Love biscuits but don’t have biscuit mix on hand? Here’s how to make your own.
These days we are all baking a bit more than usual and if you love biscuits, you can get them in the oven a lot faster if you have homemade biscuit mix on hand. You will find a number of recipes on line for a homemade substitute for commercial biscuit…
Butterscotch Bread Pudding
When I was a kid, one of my all time favorite desserts was coffee ice cream and hot butterscotch sauce. I’m not sure if I loved it for the slightly bitter coffee taste counterbalanced by the sweet buttery sauce or for the canned whipped cream and Day-Glo red cherries on…
Holiday Recipe Collection
Each year as the Holidays approach, I get requests for many of the traditional recipes that everyone wants to make for entertaining. Here are a few of my favorites. Links to the recipes for the Collection appear below. Appetizers: Crispy Zucchini Sticks with Olive Dip (recipe) Oven-baked Rosemary Potato Chips (recipe)…
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds – Plain or Spicy
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right? In the same vein, I propose that when fall gives us pumpkins, we should make toasted pumpkin seeds. We have to scoop them out anyway when we cook the squash itself, so why not turn them into something delicious instead of tossing…
Comfort from your Kitchen: Recipes for Pandemic Times
Earlier in the year I shared a collection of recipes that you might find helpful during these stressful times. You can find them here as comfort can often be found in the kitchen. There are comforting soups, pantry based recipes, a variety of entrees, breads and a few easy desserts.…
Arroz Con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas)
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)…
Chicken Scaloppine with Fresh Tomato or Salsa Sauce
Although none of us wants to devote more than 45 minutes to getting dinner on the table during the workweek, we still want to eat well. Now that children are back to school, time is even more critical. In Sara Moulton Cooks at Home, I included four quick family-friendly chicken…
Southwestern Sweet Potato Sauté
Discovering the grating disk on my food processor many years ago was a eureka moment for me—ten minutes later I was grating and then sautéing every vegetable I could put my hands on. Talk about convenient! Baking a whole sweet potato takes about an hour, but sautéing the grated potato…
Mini Meat Loaves
One evening I was making individual free-form meat loaves on Cooking Live when a viewer called in and said she used a similar recipe but always mixed up a double batch and then froze half in muffin tins. On evenings when there was nothing else in the fridge, she‘d just…
Church Ladies’ Crab Soup
Serves 4 to 6 5 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup finely chopped onion ½ cup finely chopped celery ½ pound cooked crabmeat (the church ladies use canned) 2 ½ cups whole milk, divided 2 cups heavy cream 2 cups half and half ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or to taste ¼…
Crawfish Etouffee
Serves: a crowd 2 sticks of butter 3 onions, finely chopped 1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped 3 stalks celery, finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 3 pounds cleaned crawfish tails 1 to 2 tablespoons “Slap Ya Mama” seasoning (or other Cajun seasoning) 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with water (enough to…
Pimento Cheese Sandwiches
Serves 2 to 4 people 8 ounces sharp cheddar, coarsely shredded ½ cup jarred pimentos, drained and finely diced ¼ cup mayonnaise Homemade style whole wheat bread Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Spread the cheese on the bread to make sandwiches and cut into quarters.…
White Chicken Chili
Makes 6 servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total Preparation time: 40 minutes 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon) 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne…
Martha Lou’s Fried Chicken
Martha Lou’s Fried Chicken Note: if you don’t have Lawry’s products handy substitute the homemade seasoning salt for both the Lawry’s products in the ingredient list Serves 6 1 1/2 tablespoons Lawry”s Seasoned Salt 1 1/2 tablespoon Lawry’s Garlic Salt ½ teaspoon Black pepper one 3 to 4 pound chicken,…
Kielbasa, Cheddar and Kimchi Sandwiches
Serves 4 1 cup well-drained Quick Kimchi (see recipe below) 4 hero rolls 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 1/2 pounds kielbasa 2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese Prepare Quick Kimchi. Heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Split the rolls horizontally to within 1/2 inch of the…
Bahamian Fish Chowder
Norman Van Aken, © 2001 Serves 8 to 10 2 ounces diced slab bacon, rind removed if any is on it ¼ cup olive oil 4 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced 1 Scotch bonnet, seeds and stems removed, minced 1 medium sweet onion, peeled and diced medium 4 celery…
Key West Backyard “Cut Up” Salad
©2019 All rights reserved by Norman Van Aken I first learned of this salad like creation from a woman born and raised in Key West by the name of Sheila Sands-Davenport. We were at a party at her home having dinner when talk turned to true ‘conch’ cooking. ‘Conchs’ are…
Chicken Paillard with Greek Salad and Tzatziki
Makes 4 Servings Hands-On Time: 30 minutes Total Preparation Time: 45 minutes Suggested Accompaniments Greek Farmer Salad (see recipe below) Tzatziki (see recipe below) 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves Olive oil 2 large cloves garlic, minced 3 lemons, 2 zested and 1 cut in wedges 1 teaspoon coarse sea…
Two Melon Prosciutto and Feta Layered Salad
Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: about 15 minutes Total preparation time: 15 minutes 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, sweet or hot Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/8 medium watermelon (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into bite…
Steakhouse Salad
Makes 4 Servings Hands-On Time: 30 Minutes Total Preparation Time: 35 Minutes 1 pound russet Potatoes (2 medium) 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper One 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pound beef sirloin steak (about 1 1/2 inches thick) 1…