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Chicken Piccata
Although none of us wants to devote more than 45 minutes or so to getting dinner on the table during the workweek, we still want to eat well. In Sara Moulton Cooks at Home, I included “ four quick chicken recipes” that all start with the same easy prep and…
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…
Meringue: How to make a hard meringue pie crust.
Jane e-mailed the Kitchen Shrink for help making a hard meringue crust for her chocolate pie. She said, “As much as I whip it up, it shrinks while baking. What can I do to keep it from shrinking? If it is a dry day and you have headed all the…
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…
Two Beard Foundation Broadcast Awards nominations!
Nominations for the Annual James Beard Foundation Awards were just announced and I am a finalist in two categories. Sara’s Weeknight Meals was nominated for Best TV Program in Studio or a Fixed Location and I was nominated for Outstanding Personality/Host. The winners will be announced on May 3 at the…
Wedding reception: How can you plan a special yet affordable wedding reception menu?
Last week I received an e-mail from the mother of a bride asking for help planning the menu for her daughter’s wedding reception. She wanted the meal to be one that everyone would enjoy but needed it to stay within a moderate budget. My suggestion is to create a theme…
Hope you tuned in to see me on Rachael Ray!
I was on the Rachael Ray Show on March 19th talking about how to save money by making the most of your freezer. Here is a link to the video.
Grilled Polenta with Mushroom Ragout
It seems to me that mushrooms must mean to vegetarians what steak means to carnivores. They are both stick-to-your-ribs, center-of-the-plate comfort foods. These days our supermarkets always boast a huge selection of mushrooms, many of which were terribly exotic a generation ago. My advice for this hearty vegetarian entree is…
Çökertme Kebabı, Refika Style
Ingredients ½ pound beef tenderloin 2 garlic cloves, minced 4 to 5 sprigs oregano 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds, crushed 1 teaspoon milled four peppercorn mix 1 dried hot pepper Salt ¼ cup olive oil 2 medium potatoes Sunflower seed oil for frying the potatoes 2 cups tomato sauce 1…
Walnut Poppyseed Bread
According to Refika, “The best thing about having a bakery in my neighborhood is that on the way back from work you can stop by to buy bread dough. I strongly recommend this; in this way, only in ten minutes, you can make a pizza, lahmacun or pita and make…