Sara’s Weeknight Meals Season 15
The Soil Farm
When Sasha Marsh and Jock Pettitt noticed that 98 per cent of the island of Guernsey was reliant on imports for food, and those who did farm used small plots scattered over the island that were depleted from centuries of use they decided to set up The Soil Farm. At…
Weeknight Soy Sauce Chicken
Serves 4 Jeannie replaced the whole chicken from the original recipe for soy sauce chicken with boneless skin-on thighs so that the recipe can be prepared more quickly. She kept the skin on for flavor. If you only can find boneless, skinless chicken thighs then use them. You can also…
Poulet Basque (Pollo a La Vasca)
Please note: on the show we made a half batch of this recipe Serves 10 4- 5 pounds chicken on the bone with the skin, cut into medium pieces salt and pepper 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 glass of white wine 4 white onions, sliced thin 4 garlic cloves,…
Episode 1502 Has Started Airing!
In Episode 1502 I visit a goat farm, a soil farm, and an honor vegetable stand on the island of Guernsey. Then I learn how to prepare the local iconic dish, the Bean Jar and finally make my own bean dish – a white bean soup with bread dumplings. Tune…
All Things Guernsey!
If you happen to be planning a trip to Guernsey, you’ll be in excellent hands if you reach out to Jo Ferguson at Visit Guernsey (@VisitGuernsey and https://www.visitguernsey.com), where you’ll find everything you need. You’d also have plenty of fun if you checked out Ant Ford Parker’s Tour Guernsey company (@TourGuernsey and https://tourguernsey.com) for a delightful guided trip…
White Bean Soup with Greens and Bread Dumplings
Servings: 4 2 large eggs 2 cups fresh white or whole wheat bread crumbs 2 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 4 ounces chopped pancetta 1/2 cup medium chopped onion 1 cup medium diced carrot 1 ½ cups medium diced fennel…
Guernsey Bean Jar with Buttered Chard
Serves: 8 1 pound dried haricot beans 1 pound dried butter beans 2 pounds beef shin 1 large onion, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 2 bay leaves Salt and pepper 4 cups beef stock 1 beef bouillon cube dissolved in 2 cups water Soak the beans overnight in water. Place all…
The Best Butter In France
When we were shooting my show this last May, I got to taste what many French chefs have called the best butter in France. It comes from a shop in St Malo called Bordier. I have actually sort of been an olive oil girl for many years but I have…
Sara’s Weeknight Meals Season 15 Has Started Airing!
Episode 1501 has me tasting the best butter in northern France at the mother store, Bordier, in St Malo, visiting Cancale, a seaside village in Brittany where I slurp some local oysters and learn how to make savory buckwheat crepes with an American ex-pat, Mary Margaret Chappell, and finally, preparing…
Season 15 Starts Airing on October 6!
On Season 15 I travel the Atlantic coast of Portugal, Spain and France on food adventures with weeknight cooking at its heart. I explore the sandwich culture of Porto, make a classic Basque chicken dish with a men’s gastronomic society in Bilbao, learn a quick version of Steak a la…
Tiny “Honor System” Farmer’s Markets
When we were on Guernsey Island shooting Season 15 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals,” we visited one of their “hedge veg” stalls. Guernsey’s “hedge veg” stalls are a long-standing tradition of small, roadside honesty boxes where residents sell surplus homegrown produce and handmade goods. Rooted in a culture of communal trust,…
Cooking with the Locals on Guernsey Island
In May, when I was shooting Season 15 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals,” our last stop was Guernsey Island where I learned how to make a Bean Jar, a local specialty consisting of beans and pork layered and cooked low and slow for hours. Ours, was delicious. The Guernsey butter was…
Cheese Curds
When I visited the Alluitz Natura, a sheep farm in Basque Country, Spain, they showed me how they make cheese curds from the sheep milk. It is a very simple process. The curds are usually served as a snack or dessert with honey. The taste of the curds is unique…
Pollo a la Vasca
When I was in Bilbao, in Spain’s Basque country, I got to cook with two members of a txoko. A txoko is a traditional Basque gastronomic society — a private, invitation‑only club where members gather regularly to cook, eat, drink, and socialize. There are 1500 altogether in Basque country. They…
Dunes Blanches – Cream Puffs in Bordeaux
Stop 2 on our sweets adventure in Bordeaux France was a place called Chez Pascal Dunes Blanches, s pastry shop that only sold whipped cream filled cream puffs. They are crispy on the outside and explode in your mouth. There are several rotating flavors but I for one fell for…
Savory Crepes in Brittany
In Cancale, Brittany, I learned how to make one of the local specialties – a buckwheat galette (essentially a savory crepe) filled with local scallops and leeks, sauteed in butter and finished with a white wine creme fraiche sauce. My teacher, Mary Margaret Chappell, an expat American, gave us all…
I May Have Come Over to the Butter Side!
For years I’ve been reaching for the olive oil for just about everything -cooking, vinaigrettes, finishing drizzles, but now that I have visited this store and tasted this butter, I might have to reconsider butter. The butter from La Maison du Beurre, in St Malo France is considered by chefs,…
The Highlight of My Trip to Europe
Well, you can tell by the look on my face that I am a happy camper. On the last day of our shoot for Season 15 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals,” we visited the Golden Guernsey Goats in Guernsey https://www.visitguernsey.com/experiences/activities/golden-guernsey-goats-farm/ and the goat keeper, Peter Girard, offered to let me hold a…
The Best (Alcoholic) Chocolate Covered Cherries!
Who knew Bordeaux France was not only known for its wine but also for its incredible sweets? I got to taste a few of them while shooting Season 15 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals.” While in Bordeaux we checked out an amazing chocolate shop called Saunion where the specialty were these…
The Oysters of Cancale!
In Cancale, a charming seaside town near St. Malo, I got to taste two of the local oysters at the oyster market. The flat oysters in the photo are called Cancale flats (I know them as Belon) and the other oysters are called Pacific oysters. The woman who sold them…
The Francesinha Sandwich
Just got back from Europe shooting Season 15 of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” and here’s one of the first things I learned to make in Oporto Portugal – a sort of alcholic Dagwood sandwich called a Francesinha, a take on the French Croque Monsieur. It’s an assortment of meats stuffed between…
I Got to Hang Out with the Sheep
While we were shooting “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” we stopped in Bilbao, Spain to be educated about sheep herding and cheese making. I learned two things while standing in the very wet muddy field: 1. If you give sheep a bottle of milk, they will come and 2. Sheep like to…
White Bean + Greens Soup with Bread Dumplings
This tasty, hearty, soup for supper featuring ridiculously simple bread dumplings will be part of the recipe line up in “Sara’s Weeknight Meals,” Season 15 which starts airing around the country on PBS this October. I’ll let you know then where you can find it in your town. Stay tuned.
Scallion Crepes with Egg
Sneak peak at another recipe featured on “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” Season 15: Taiwanese Dian Biang (scallion crepe with egg), from my Culinary Producer, Jeannie Chen. So tasty and so easy – perfect candidate for breakfast for dinner. You must tune in to the new season which starts airing in October.