Sara’s Weeknight Meals
Eggs Baked in Ham with Sofrito
photo by Jessica Leibowitz Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes Eggs baked in ham cups with creamed mushrooms underneath appeared on the February 2002 cover of Gourmet magazine. I made them on my show and was astonished (I don’t know why – everything is…
Egg, Canadian Bacon, and Cheddar Biscuit Sandwiches
Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 20 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes All right, I’ll be honest. This is a take off on you-know-what served by that fast food restaurant. Only they use English muffins, which actually makes for a pretty lean breakfast sandwich. You can use English muffins also…
Pork Tournedos with Sage and Prosciutto
Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 20 minutes Total preparation time: 20 minutes This is a take off on the Italian dish called saltimbocca, which literally means “jump into the mouth,” because that is how tasty it is. The traditional dish has veal scaloppine, prosciutto, and sage. This variation, made with pork tenderloin,…
Green Chicken Posole
Photo by Jessica Leibowitz Makes 4 to 6 servings Hands-on time: 25 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes Posole is a hearty soup from the Jalisco region of Mexico that is traditionally made with pork and hominy. Hominy is dried corn kernels from which the hulls and germs have been…
Det Burgers
Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 25 minutes Total preparation time: 25 minutes My first official cooking job was in the midseventies at a bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan (where I went to college), called the Del Rio. They featured live jazz on weekends. It was a democratic place; all decisions…
Quick Salmon Cakes with Corn Salsa
Makes 4 servings Hands-on-time: 20 minutes Total preparation time: 25 minutes Canned salmon has come a long way in terms of quality, and when combined with chiles, crushed tortilla chips, and cumin, moistened with mayonnaise, and topped with corn salsa you almost wouldn’t know that it was canned. I have long…
Parsley Pesto
Makes 1 1/4 cups Hands-on time: 5 minutes Total preparation time: 5 minutes This recipe has all the elements of traditional pesto with a couple of crucial substitutions – parsley instead of basil and walnuts instead of pine nuts. Still, it goes wherever a basil pesto would. Toss it with cooked…
Sautéed Duck Breast with Gingered Grape Sauce
Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes Duck and fruit are a classic combination, humans having long ago figured out that the acid in oranges, apples, or pears acts as a great counterbalance to the richness of the duck. Here I’ve used grapes, because I think grapes…
Cheatin’ Jambalaya
Makes 4 to 6 servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total preparation time: 15 minutes In its authentic form this Cajun specialty is so wonderful that Hank Williams wrote a love song to it half a century ago. My version is much simpler than the classic. It does indeed boast many of…
Adobo-marinated Chicken (Pollo Adobado)
Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes plus marinating time For the adobo: 2 guajillo chilies, wiped clean, stemmed, seeded and toasted very lightly 2 chiles de arbol (with seeds) or less, depending on heat, wiped clean and well toasted 3 large garlic cloves 1/2 teaspoon cumin…