Thai meets Italian—“ThaiTalian?” Our first thoughts, what an odd combination—Rotini with Ground Pork and Spicy Peanut Sauce, with its bright, Asian-inspired flavors paired with Italian rotini pasta—but it’s a great choice for holding onto the sauce. And the flavors were amazingly great, much to our initial skepticism.

And because we love spicy, we intended to make a side of Spicy Roasted Broccoli and Snow Peas with a few fresh Thai bird chiles, sambal oelek, minced ginger, garlic and a bit ‘o honey. But when I opened the bag of broccoli florets (which we usually don’t buy bagged), they were in pretty bad shape so into to the compost bucket they went. Instead, Russ wok-fried the snow peas and Thai chiles with some minced garlic and ginger then added a tablespoon of Chili Bean Sauce at the end—an excellent accompaniment!

Because we only had about a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter on hand, I improvised and made my own with enough smooth peanut butter and finely chopped peanuts to equal the requisite 1/2 cup. This way I even had some of the chopped peanuts leftover to use as a garnish along with chopped cilantro and scallion greens.

Not a pork eater? Try using ground turkey or chicken. To make it low-carb, swap spaghetti squash for the pasta.

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 12 oz. rotini (we used gluten-free)
• 1-1/2 Tbs. Asian sesame oil
• 5 medium scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
• 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 3 Tbs. soy sauce
• 2 Tbs. unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 Tbs. sambal oelek or other Asian chile paste; more to taste
• 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter, preferably natural
• 2/3 cup lower-salt chicken broth
• 1 medium lime, cut into 4 wedges
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rotini and cook according to package directions until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat a 12-inch heavy-duty skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, then the scallion whites. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring for 30 seconds.
3. Crumble in the pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until it loses its pink color, about 5 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce, vinegar, sambal oelek, and sugar and cook until bubbling. Add the peanut butter and stir until incorporated. Pour in the broth, stir well, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot. Stir in the pork mixture and scallion greens. Thin the sauce with the pasta water, if necessary. Divide among plates or bowls, squeeze a lime wedge over each serving, and top with cilantro, if using.

First sauté the scallion whites, ginger and garlic before adding the meat.

Browning the meat with the garlic, ginger and scallion whites.

Adding the peanut butter to the meat mixture.

What the final sauce looks like before adding the pasta. We didn’t feel the need to thin with pasta water.

Stir-fried snow peas before the chili bean sauce was added.

by Bruce Weinstein, Mark Scarbrough from Fine Cooking

Wow, this Cod with Pancetta, Artichokes and Olives had us feeling fine on Cloud Nine. It was really a flavorful and delicious recipe that came together quickly. Despite the ease of preparation—the fish, sauce, and side dish all cook in one skillet—this is a restaurant-worthy dinner. If desired, serve it with good crusty bread to mop up the sauce. For a more low-carb dinner, we just paired with a side salad.

Can’t emphasize how much we truly loved this Mediterranean-style dish… and talk about healthy! Plus, we definitely almost doubled the amount of olives and increased the marinated artichokes too.

My only complaint is with Step 4 “Add the wine and cook until the pan is almost dry, about 1 minute.” It was more like 4-5 minutes for most of the liquid to evaporate. Minor issue I know, but it’s good to know ahead of time.

All of the ingredients are measured and prepped.

Ingredients

• 4 6-oz. pieces fresh cod loin fillet
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 15-oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes in juice
• 1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup large green olives, such as Castelvetrano, pitted and halved

Once cooked, the pancetta is removed with a slotted spoon.

The cod filets start browning in the oil after the pancetta is removed.

Remove the fish, then add the onion, thyme, and pepper flakes to the skillet.

The onion is stirred until soft, about 4 minutes.

After the wine is mostly evaporated, add the tomatoes and their juice, artichokes, and olives.

Nestle the fish into the sauce, keeping the seared side exposed.

Directions

1. Pat the cod dry and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring, until crisp and golden, 2 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a paper-towel-lined plate, leaving the fat behind in the pan.
3. Add the fish to the skillet and cook until slightly golden, about 3 minutes. Flip and transfer to a plate, seared side up.
4. Add the onion, thyme, and pepper flakes to the skillet; cook, stirring, until the onion is soft, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and cook until the pan is almost dry, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juice, artichokes, and olives. Simmer, stirring occasionally, to meld the flavors, about 2 minutes.
5. Lower the heat to medium and nestle the fish into the sauce, keeping the seared side exposed. Cover and cook until the fish is opaque and just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with the pancetta, divide among rimmed plates or wide, shallow bowls, and serve.

OUR NOTE: If not using a non-stick skillet, double the amount of olive oil.

by Christine Burns Rudalevige from Fine Cooking

This classic, comforting dish (who doesn’t love succulent roast chicken?) takes a bit longer that the usual 3o minutes, but it’s almost entirely hands-off. Now Baked Chicken with Herbs, Garlic and Shallots is sure to be a staple of our weeknight dinner repertoire.

It’s unbelievably easy, resulting in beautifully crisped flavorful chicken! And the aromas while cooking are to die for. You may want to, as we did, add additional garlic and shallots because once roasted they are heavenly. Don’t overcrowd the baking dish, use lots of kosher salt and you will be rewarded with crispy chicken and nicely roasted garlic cloves that can be slathered onto warm crusty bread. If you prefer soft, creamy garlic, make sure to tuck the cloves under the chicken parts.

Vary the herbs as you like, but stick to the hardy ones—thyme, rosemary, sage, and oregano. They’ll roast without burning and have a stronger flavor. While the instructions don’t mention chopping the herbs, I did give them a rough chop because the narrow pointed rosemary leaves were quite large.

The recipe calls for a whole chicken, and that’s what we use because Russ likes to cut out the back and keep the neck—to add to our bag of chicken parts in the freezer—and save for making stock at a future date. Plus, he likes the dark meat, I, the white. You could save time by buying pre-cut chicken parts, just remember to reduce the roasting time by about 10 minutes.

The next time we make this, and I’m sure it will be soon, we will add a 1/2 cup chicken stock to mix with the pan juices, and then bring the liquid to a boil and reduce in a small pan to make jus.

Our side was a Warm Potato and Watercress Salad (recipe follows chicken recipe) that paired well with the chicken and can be roasted in the same oven. Once the potatoes are removed from the oven, simply toss them in the homemade vinaigrette, add the greens until a bit wilted, and divide directly onto the dinner plates, not need to dirty another bowl.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (3-1/2 to 4 lb.), cut into quarters
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 6 medium shallots, cut in half and peeled
• 8 large garlic cloves, peeled
• Leaves stripped from 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• Leaves stripped from 8 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1-1/2 tsp. coarse salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

The chicken pieces are rubbed in the butter, herbs and oil and well salted.

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Cut away any excess fat and tuck the wings behind each breast.
2. Put the butter into a large, shallow baking pan (the 10-1/2×15-1/2-inch Pyrex pan is ideal for this). Put the pan into the oven while it’s heating. When the butter is melted (about 10 minutes), remove the pan and set it on a heatproof surface or on a couple of potholders.
3. Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, and rosemary, and swirl the pan to coat the ingredients in the butter.
4. Dredge the chicken, skin side down, in the butter and herb mixture, and arrange, skin side up, in the pan. Sprinkle the chicken generously with the salt and pepper. Bake until the chicken is browned and cooked through, 50 to 60 minutes. (Ours was done after 50 minutes.)
5. Serve with the shallots and garlic along with a drizzle of the pan drippings.

by Abigail Johnson Dodge from Fine Cooking

Just look at these gorgeous little purple potatoes getting happy in olive oil and salt.

Olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper make up the ingredients for the vinaigrette.

Whisk the dressing ingredients well before tossing with the roasted potatoes.

Warm Potato and Watercress Salad

Ingredients

• 2 bunches stemmed watercress
• 9 oz. fingerling potatoes, any color
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Halve the fingerling potatoes and toss them with the olive oil and salt. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast in the same oven as the chicken, putting them in the oven 20 minutes before the chicken is done. Turn the potatoes after 10 minutes and cook another 10 minutes (20 minutes total) until golden brown and tender.
2. Meanwhile make a simple vinaigrette with the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper; whisk well.
3. When the potatoes are done, pour some of the dressing over them on the hot baking sheet and toss. Add stemmed watercress and toss until it starts to wilt. Season with salt and pepper and serve with additional dressing on the side if desired.

Ever get to the end of the week and find a hodge podge of little bits of leftovers in the fridge? It certainly happens to us on occasion. What to do other than throw the food out, or into the compost pile? Make a dazzling frittata of course! We even have a special Spanish frittata platter which adds an artistic touch to the presentation.

The difference this time around was that Russ saw an episode on “Cocina con Bruno”—Cooking with Bruno, a Spanish cooking show he watches religiously— where Bruno flipped the frittata in a pan to cook the other side instead of finishing it in an oven. Sounded simple enough? Well it wasn’t. But we all know practice makes perfect, right?

But I digress… A well-made frittata is one of the world’s most perfect foods. It’s cheap, quick-cooking, and an efficient vehicle for leftovers—not to mention equally delicious at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A frittata makes use of fully-cooked leftovers like last night’s roasted potatoes or this morning’s leftover bacon. And it tastes as good (and arguably better) cold or at room temperature as it does warm.

The first side is starting to set before it is either flipped in the pan, or finished in the oven.

Russ sprinkles on some grated parmesan before the flip.

If you’re starting from scratch, it’s best to fully cook any addition that might release moisture into the eggs—mushrooms, tomatoes, and summer squash or zucchini are common “wet” culprits than can water down your eggs. Sauté them separately.

This also holds true for aromatics, like onions, and sturdy veggies, like raw potatoes. They won’t get much more tender once you add the beaten eggs. Don’t be afraid of getting a little color on the vegetables: That’s what makes them so delicious!

Frittatas are easy to make, but that doesn’t mean you can throw caution to the wind and guess at the proportions. For every dozen eggs you use, some experts say you’ll need a half-cup of dairy, i.e. six-egg frittatas get a quarter-cup. Want to go smaller than that? Don’t bother. The beauty of a frittata is that it serves a crowd and keeps well. Russ doesn’t use dairy in every case, and this was one of those times.

A good frittata should have the texture of custard: trembling and barely set. You may want a deep golden-brown top, but the reality of it is, when the crust is golden, the interior is over-baked. If you must have a tanned top, try sprinkling cheese over it in the last few minutes of cooking time (if cooking in the oven.) 

Frittata is an egg-based Italian dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, vegetables or pasta. The word frittata is Italian and roughly translates to “fried”

I found this ideal infographic by June Kim which might help you in deciding (although the specs may differ somewhat) how much of what to throw in, and how long to cook. That is if you don’t do the flip method!

Our ingredients for this frittata:

• 6 eggs, slightly beaten (we only had 5 on hand)
• 2 oz. pancetta, cut in 1/4” dice
• 1/2 yellow pepper, 1/4” dice
• 1/2 yellow onion, 1/4” dice
• 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, cut in vertical slices
• 2 Tbsp. finely minced fresh herbs: parsley, sage, chives
• 1/4 cup (at most) parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup dairy (if using)

The whole point of a frittata is that you can make it anytime, with almost anything. Just keep these few tips in mind:

SIZE IT RIGHT

If baking entirely in the oven, any 2-quart baking dish works well for this frittata. For a classic look, cook your frittata in a 12″ cast-iron skillet, then finish in the oven. Larger dimensions will work, too, but will yield shallower frittatas and require shorter cooking times.

GO EASY WITH THE BEATING

Beat the eggs only enough to blend the whites and yolks. Overbeating will cause the frittata to poof in the oven, then fall into a denser layer when cooling.

PRE-COOK YOUR MIX-INS

While just about anything can be stirred into the egg base, you should stick to ingredients that are already cooked. For anything with excess moisture, such as sautéed greens, be sure to squeeze out any liquid first.

A little slice of yummy goodness any time of day.

The Mexi-Tattata

The following weekend Russ made another frittata, this time incorporating leftover baby fingerling potato slices, red pepper, onion, and heavy cream. However, he also wanted to use some cilantro and a jalapeno that were getting past their prime. Plus we had just purchased a hunk of Habanero-Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese from the Newtown Farmer’s Market.

The veggies (potatoes, peppers and onion) are precooked to eliminate any moisture.

Some habanero-jalapeno cheddar cheese is grated into the egg and dairy mixture.

As a final touch to the newly christened “Mexi-Tattata,” he sprinkled in about a 1/4 teaspoon of pimenton to the egg mixture. And instead of trying the flip-method again, he finished it under the broiler. Excellente!

Curry-scented coconut milk simmers down to a thick and flavorful sauce for carrots, cauliflower, spinach, and chickpeas in this fragrant Indian Vegetable Curry one-pan dish. Eat hot, or not? That is the question.

With no hot curry powder on hand, we used regular Thai Red Curry paste with a touch of cayenne powder. In the end, it was a bit too much on the mild side for our tastes. Maybe actually using hot curry powder would be enough to take it up a notch or two. Point being, if you prefer bold and spicy, try to find hot curry powder, otherwise stick to the Thai red curry paste without any cayenne added.

Like a dingbat, I went and tossed in the entire can of coconut milk instead of just one cup, and wondered why Step 2 mentions adding water if the pan looks too dry. Mine wasn’t even close to dry! However, turns out is was a fortuitous mistake, we like our dishes saucy.

Definitely want to serve over long-grain or Basmati rice.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, stirred (not lite)
• 12 oz. cauliflower florets, cut into bite-size pieces (about 3 cups)
• 1 large carrot, sliced . inch thick on the diagonal
• 1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced engthwise
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 tsp. hot curry powder, such as Madras
• Kosher salt
• 3 oz. baby spinach (about 3 lightly packed cups)
• One 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 medium plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice*
• 3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. In a 12-inch skillet set over medium-low heat, stir together the coconut milk, cauliflower, carrot, onion, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and 1 tsp. salt.
2. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook, stirring often, until the cauliflower is tender when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes. (If the pan looks dry, stir in water. cup at a time.)
3. Stir in the spinach, chickpeas, and tomatoes and continue to cook until the chickpeas are heated through and the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the cilantro, season to taste with salt, and serve.

On the side: Cook long-grain or basmati rice according to package directions, crushing some saffron threads and adding to the cooking water. Toss chopped fresh cilantro with the cooked rice.

—Robin Asbell, Fine Cooking

How to dice plum tomatoes

Plum tomatoes tend to have big seed chambers and less inner flesh than round tomatoes, so the most efficient technique for dicing them is a bit different: First, cut a thin slice from the bottom to create a flat surface on which to stand the tomato. Cut wide strips from the top, curving down to the bottom, to separate the flesh from the inner seed core. Cut all the flesh away in this manner, leaving the seedy core of the tomato; discard the core. Cut each strip of flesh lengthwise as wide as you want your dice to be, and then cut these strips crosswise into dice.

Quite by accident while driving home from a dinner out, we passed Samarkand Kebab House, self-described as “the best Uzbeki kitchen in the Philadelphia region.” It’s a BYO on Bustleton Pike in Feasterville, PA, and it caught our fancy.

Several weeks later I called to make reservations for a Friday night to include our friends Barb and Brad. During the res conversation I had some difficulty understanding the woman due to a heavy accent, but we managed to finalize the details, or so I had hoped. She asked which floor we would like to dine on (or words to that affect), and I inquired what the difference was. Apparently on weekends they have loud music and dancing on the first floor. Knowing we would want to converse over our meals, I opted for a second floor table.

Brad’s image is reflected in the mirrored post across from our booth.

First impressions upon arriving? Well, you walk into the second floor from the parking lot. And for 8:00 on a Friday night, it was all but empty. We were promptly seated at a booth and given menus, although it took a few requests before we finally got our water.

Barb getting ready to press the “Call” button.

Intrigued by the button on the wall, Barb’s curiosity got the best of her and she pressed it. No loud sirens went off, in fact nothing happened. I’m sure the staff get a kick out of the “Americans” who seem compelled to touch it. During this curiosity phase, we began to peruse the extensive menu.

Both couples decided to split beautifully plated salads and share Stuffed Cabbage (pictured up top), which came with two delicious rolls per plate. Russ and I loved the Mushroom Salad, with marinated mushroom, green peas, black olives, green onions, vegetable oil and spices. And Brad and Barb split the highly recommended Vostochny Salad, with roasted eggplant, tomatoes, red and green peppers with dill, garlic and spices.

The salad portion of the menu.

Russ and I really liked our Mushroom Salad.

Barb’s friends recommended she order the Vostochny Salad.

For dinner we all zeroed in on the Shish Kebabs, which are ordered per skewer (vertel in Russian.) Russ and I each chose a Veggie Shish Kebab assembled with tomatoes, onion, zucchini and red peppers. Our other choices were Salmon Kebab for me, and a Rolled Beef Kebab and Boneless Lamb Kebab for Russ. For our dining friends, Barb got a Chicken Kebab and Brad also chose the Rolled Beef.

The kebabs were accompanied with a small pitcher of spicy tomato sauce which some liberally poured over their entrees.

An assortment of shish kebabs are reasonably priced per skewer.

Two veggie, one kebab each of rolled beef and boneless lamb.

Salmon and veggie kebabs topped with thinly sliced onion and a sprinkle of dill.

Brad and Barb’s chicken and rolled beef kebabs arrived on the same platter.

Yes, we all agreed, the food was very good and we plan on making a return visit. Let’s just hope that there’s an uptick in patronage in the meantime so that they don’t shutter their doors.

Bring out that EASY button again. Some nights (many?) you just don’t feel like cooking, and Spinach and White Bean Salad with Tuna not only fulfills that wish, but you’ll be bowled over by the fabulous taste and healthy ingredients.

The bright, fresh combination of endive and spinach makes this salad an elegant lunch or light dinner. Water-packed canned tuna works fine, but oil-packed tuna has a richer, more satisfying flavor. Whenever possible splurge for the good stuffed packed in olive oil. We wait until La Tienda is having a sale, then we order a lot of Spanish ingredients—in this case, Serrats White Tuna in Olive Oil.

And if you’re using the high-end tuna, drain the oil into a container and use 3 tablespoons of that for the dressing instead of tossing it out. However, if canned tuna in water is what you have, then you will want to incorporate a good extra-virgin olive oil.

As an added bonus we sliced up some pitted black olives as a garnish on the salad. While it is best eaten shortly after tossing the ingredients, we had enough leftover for two lunches the next day. Yes, the spinach was a bit more wilted, but the flavors were just as wonderful.

A make-ahead option is to assemble the salad up to the point of incorporating the endive and spinach, mixing that in just before you serve. This will be a perfect recipe for the hot summer months…

The capers, garlic, salt and pepper will get minced together as a paste.

Cut half of a red onion into very thin slices.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs. brine-packed capers, rinsed and drained
• 1 medium clove garlic
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
• 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 5-oz. cans albacore tuna, drained
• 1 15-oz. can cannellini or navy beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• 6 oz. (6 packed cups) baby spinach
• 2 heads red or white Belgian endive, coarsely chopped

Draining the oil from the good Spanish tuna for use in the dressing.

The garlic caper paste gets mixed with lemon juice and the drained oil.

Large tuna flakes are mixed into the dressing.

Just prior to adding the greens, toss in the beans and onion. If you’re not going to eat right away, wait to add the spinach and endive.

Directions

Using a chef’s knife, mince and mash the capers and garlic with 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Scrape into a large bowl and whisk in the lemon juice and mustard. In a slow stream, whisk in the oil until emulsified. Add the tuna, flaking it into large pieces, then the beans, onion, spinach, and endive. Toss gently with the dressing and serve.

by Liz Pearson from Fine Cooking

Mushroom slices are stir-fried until lightly golden brown.

The beef mixture is added to the mushrooms and stir-fried a few minutes more.

Preparation 

1. Combine the tenderloin tips, garlic, 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil, soy sauce and Worcestershire in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat the beef thoroughly. Set aside for 15 minutes at room temperature. (Ours sat in the marinade closer to 45 minutes.)
2. Heat the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large, heavy skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the beef mixture and stir fry until browned on the outside, 2 to 3 minutes for medium rare.
3. Add the tomatoes and scallions and toss to combine. Add the butter and continue cooking just long enough to coat the meat with the pan juices. Remove from the heat.
4. To serve, plate individual servings of rice and top with the steak mixture.

We ladled the completed stir-fry over brown rice.

What to do with some leftover spring veggies? Taking stock of what was lurking in the crisper, I uncovered several ounces of fresh sugar snap peas and a handful of asparagus stalks. And then it occurred to me that our latest issue of Cooks Illustrated featured an article on sautéed sugar snap peas, which seemed like a good place to start.

Once I zeroed in on the ingredients, I was hooked! Pine nuts (love ’em), fennel seed (oh yeah), lemon zest (you bet), garlic, red pepper flakes and fresh basil, all winners! Of course there was no mention of asparagus, but since I didn’t have enough snap peas to start with, I decided to combine the two. This was also a teaching moment because I found out the combination of herbs and spices is called a dukka—an Egyptian condiment made of finely chopped nuts, seeds, and seasonings… and now I can pass this knowledge on to you…

The toasted pine nuts and fennel seeds before they are chopped.

Starting to finely chop the nuts, seeds, lemon zest and red pepper flakes.

Recipe title: Sugar Snap Peas with Pine Nuts, Fennel Seed and Lemon Zest. Insert the word “Asparagus” and I’m good to go! To ensure that the pods and peas cook through at the same rate, use a hybrid method that steams the sugar snap peas and asparagus briefly before sautéing them; the trapped steam transfers heat more efficiently than air does so that the veggies cook through more quickly.

Cutting the peas in half and the asparagus at a strong angle, further reduces the cooking time, so the pea pods retain more of their snap, and the pockets capture the seasonings rather than letting them slide to the bottom of the platter. Sprinkling the veggies with the dukka dresses up the simple preparation with distinct (but not overwhelming) flavor and crunch.

This veggie side dish is really, really good! Some other seasoning combinations could be: almonds, coriander seed and orange zest; or sesame seeds, fresh ginger and lemon zest. Because I always tend to measure seasonings on the broader scale, we had enough dukka leftover for a future vegetable side, so I put it in a small ziploc in the freezer until ready to use.

The ingredients prepped and measured.

INGREDIENTS

Our snap pea and asparagus side paired with a salmon patty.

DIRECTIONS

This Chicken, Shiitake and Watercress Stir-Fry gets deep complexity from Chinese fermented chile-bean sauce, also called toban djan, which can be found in the Asian section of well-stocked supermarkets. Grace Young, award-winning chef-author, extols the virtues of this sauce in her Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge cookbook and we’ve become avid converts.

We couldn’t resist stirring in an extra tablespoon of toban djan at the end. The dish comes together in a snap and is great with rice. Also fabulous as leftovers.

By Laura B. Russell from Fine Cooking

Pasta night just got a little more interesting. Not just because the chef-author is Pamela Anderson—from Fine Cooking, not Baywatch—but if it gets you to try Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Arugula and Prosciutto, so be it. Your plate will resemble a foodie artist’s palette layering texture with color and flavor with bits of salty prosciutto mixed perfectly with roasted cauliflower, sweet grape tomatoes and peppery arugula.

A mouthful of satisfaction might be a good way to describe it. It’s too bad that most grocery stores only sell a limited amount of gluten-free pasta shapes. Because of that, we used rotini instead of orecchiette.

Our addition: As an extra bonus, add some toasted pine nuts for a mild, sweet, buttery crunch.

Fresh sage leaves, and yes, a few more than 4 garlic cloves.

Sage leaves and garlic cloves are put in a mini food processor.

After the sage and garlic are minced, prosciutto is pulsed until coarsely chopped.

Ingredients

The cauliflower starts to turn brown after 15 minutes in a hot oven.

The herb mixture is added to the cauliflower and tomatoes and roasted for another 5-7 minutes.

Mix the roasted cauliflower mixture, arugula, and cheese into the cooked pasta, and top with pine nuts if using.

Directions

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
2. Toss the cauliflower, tomatoes, oil, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper on a rimmed baking sheet; spread in a single layer. Roast, stirring once or twice, until the cauliflower begins to turn golden and tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, pulse the sage and garlic in a food processor until minced. Add the prosciutto and pulse until coarsely chopped. Once the cauliflower is golden, toss the herb mixture into the vegetables and continue to roast until fragrant and the cauliflower is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Boil the orecchiette until al dente, 9 to 10 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Stir in the roasted cauliflower mixture, arugula, cheese, and enough pasta water to moisten. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Top with toasted pine nuts (optional.)

by Pamela Anderson from Fine Cooking

During one grocery shopping adventure we spotted breast of veal in the meat case. Russ mentioned he always wanted to cook one of those babies, so we bought it, and froze it for a future dinner. Encouraged by author Molly Steven’s cookbook notation in All About Braising “If you’ve never cooked or tasted a breast of veal, this is the place to start. The simple directness of the recipe brings out all the goodness this inexpensive cut has to offer.” Say no more…

The following photos of Breast of Veal Braised with Garlic, Parsley and Lemon tell a visual story of how gorgeous the meat looks during every stage of the cooking process. The taste was undeniably delicious, however I was not too thrilled about the amount of fat, in some portions, layered within the veal. Yes, you can remove it, but it’s something I’d rather not have to contend with. C’est la vie.

Browning both sides in shimmering oil.

The end cap gets browned by holding the breast with tongs.

Once browned, the meat is moved to a plater where juices will collect.

About that sauce. You can purchase the veal stock, or demi-glace, at the supermarket, usually sold in the meat counter. Demi-glace is one of the rich brown sauces from classic French cuisine, made by simmering bones, aromatics and wine for days, which extracts the gelatin from the bones, concentrates the flavors and thickens the sauce.

D’Artagnan (our choice) offers a classic veal demi-glace made according to traditional methods, beginning with the bone stock, which is slowly simmered until reduced by about half its volume. The liquid is strained, then red wine is added, and finally, a little tomato paste is stirred in. No additional gelatin is needed because the bones are rich in natural collagen. Nor is any salt or flour added. The result is a very concentrated stock that can be used as a base for other sauces, or by itself.

Mashing garlic cloves and salt with pestle and mortar.

Adding parsley and lemon zest to the garlic paste.

Smear the garlic-parsley mixture all over the veal; pushing the seasoning into folds and crevices; then set the veal into a heavy lidded casserole and pour over any juices.

After 2 hours the veal is braised uncovered for another 30 minutes.

The process from start to finish takes about 4 hours, so plan accordingly. Instead of using both a skillet and heavy-duty casserole as described in the directions, we just used the casserole pot from the get-go. One less item to clean, in our humble opinion.

Our sides included Butter Braised Radishes—something we’ve never tried before—and Mashed Parsnips—a dish we recently tried and fell head-over-heels for! (See blog on mashed parsnips under the Bits N Pieces tab.) Now back to the star of the show…

Once the veal is fully cooked, set it aside to cool somewhat. Gorgeous!

With your hands, tug on the rib bones extending from the meat until they come loose, and feel around for any cartilage that may be present, wriggling and tugging until they come free.

Set the veal (whole or sliced) into a shallow baking or ovenproof serving dish and pour over the degreased pan juices.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 lb. bone-in breast of veal
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• Coarse salt
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• Grated zest of one lemon
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth
• 1 cup veal stock, homemade or store bought

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat oil in a heavy skillet large enough to hold the veal comfortably, over medium heat until it shimmers.
3. Pat the veal dry with paper towels, and lower into skillet with tongs.
4. Cook turning once until meat has a deep roasted appearance on both sides, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter to collect any juices that seep out, and let cool slightly.
5. Discard fat from skillet and wipe out any charred bits with a damp paper towel, being careful not to dislodge the precious caramelized drippings. Set skillet aside.
6. To make the garlic paste, drop the cloves into a mortar, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, and smash and grind into a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and add the parsley, lemon zest, and a few grinds of black pepper.
7. When the veal is cool enough to handle, use your fingers to smear the garlic-parsley mixture all over it; pushing the seasoning into folds and crevices as deep as you can without tearing the meat apart.
8. Set veal into a heavy lidded casserole (3-4 quart), and pour over any juices that seeped from the veal.
9. Return skillet to high heat and add the wine. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to dislodge and flavorful bits stuck there, and reduce down to about a 1/3 cup, about 8 minutes.
10. Add the stock, bring to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes. Pour this liquid around the breast of veal—but not directly over the meat. Cover with parchment paper, pressing down so the paper nearly touches the veal and the edges hang about an inch over the sides of the pot. Set the lid in place.
11. Slide the pot into the lower part of the oven to braise at a gentle simmer. After about 15 minutes, check to see that the liquid is not simmering too vigorously. if it is, reduce the oven by 10-15 degrees. Continue to braise gently for another 15 minutes more, then, using tongs, turn the veal over.
12. After 2 hours, turn the veal again, more carefully this time as the meat may be starting to fall off the bone.
13. Continue to braise, uncovered, so that the surface can caramelize, until the veal is completely tender, about 30 minutes more (2 1/2 hours total.)
14. Remove the veal from the pot onto a platter or cutting board with a moat to catch the juices.Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes, until cool enough to handle. Turn the oven up to 325 degrees.
15. With your hands, tug on the rib bones extending from the meat until they come loose. Discard. Feel around the veal for any cartilage that may be present, wriggling and tugging until they come free. You may have to pull the meat apart in a few places, but don’t worry.
16. Degrease the pan juices as best you can, and taste for salt and pepper. There are two options for serving: carve the breast of veal in the kitchen, and then warm the pieces; or warm the whole glorious thing, present it at the table, and make a ceremony out of carving it!
17. Which ever way you choose, it’s best to cut the breast into rustic hunks instead of neat slices. Set the veal (whole or sliced) into a shallow baking or ovenproof serving dish and pour over the degreased pan juices. Heat until warmed through, 15 to 25 minutes.

I’ve always adored mashed potatoes. They are to me that quintessential comfort food that brings back fond childhood memories of Sunday family dinners. Even the pickiest of kids (which I was) usually eat mashed potatoes.

To kick it up a notch yet keep the “mashed” theme, we substituted parsnips for the potatoes and added sweet and savory notes with ingredients such as dijon mustard and honey. In a word “divine!”

This is the second time we cooked them and made sure that we purchased a larger quantity than the paltry 4 little “snips” our first go around. You can use a food processor, ricer, or potato masher to obtain your preferred consistency. Use as a side dish for anything that you would normally include mashed potatoes with. You’ll be surprised how much you like them!

About 8-10 parsnips equal 1 1/2 pounds, depending on size, and yield about 3-4 cups of mashed parsnips.

Ingredients and Directions

1. Peel 1 1/2 pounds parsnips and cut into 1-inch pieces (cut out the cores if they’re woody, which is the case in most of the larger parsnips.)
2. Cook in boiling water until they can easily be pierced with a fork, about 7 minutes. Drain well.
3. Purée the parsnips in a food processor (preferable), ricer, or masher.
4. Add 2 tablespoons melted butter,
   1-2 tablespoon(s) cream or milk,
   1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard,
   and a 1/2 teaspoon honey.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Peeled, cored and sliced parsnips are ready to be boiled.

A “Make It Tonite” weeknight recipe, Sear-Roasted Pork Chops with Balsamic-Fig Sauce—has amazing flavor, is elegant and so easy and quick—and the sauce… oh my … you have to try this sauce! Even if you’re not a fig fan, I guarantee you’ll like this sauce.

Sear-roasting is a restaurant technique you can easily do at home. For the best sear, you’ll need to get your pan extremely hot first. Then, once you add the pork to the pan, no fiddling! You’ll be rewarded for your patience when the pork takes on a rich, browned crust.

After browning, the pork heads into the oven where it finishes cooking. Be sure that the oven has reached 425°F before starting to sear—most ovens take 20 to 30 minutes to heat up thoroughly.

Rounding out the meal, along with a salad, our side dish was a heavenly Mashed Parsnips with Dijon and Honey, a fabulous change of pace from mashed potatoes. (Stay tuned, will post the parsnip recipe in the near future.) Unfortunately the grocery store only had four relatively small parsnips, which in the end made a paltry 3/4 cup to split between the two of us. But we’re definitely going to add this to our short list…

Season the chops with salt and pepper.

Browning the chops in a very hot skillet.

Ingredients for the Pork:

• 4 boneless center-cut pork chops, 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick (2 to 2-1/2 lb. total)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbs. olive oil, canola oil, or peanut oil

Dice up the dried figs.

Cook the broth and vinegar until reduced to a 1/2 cup. 

After adding the figs, honey and thyme, swirl in the butter.

Ingredients for the Balsamic-Fig Sauce:

• 1 cup homemade or low-salt chicken broth
• 3 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped dried figs
• 1-1/2 Tbs. honey
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into four pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions for the Pork:

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Turn the exhaust fan on to high. Pat the pork chops with paper towels. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper (about 1 tsp. of each total).
2. Heat a 12-inch heavy-based ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until a droplet of water vaporizes in 1 or 2 seconds, about 1 min. (If the water skitters around the pan and doesn’t evaporate, the pan is too hot; take it off the heat for about 30 seconds to cool.)
3. Add the oil, swirl it around the pan, and then evenly space the pork chops in the pan. Cook without touching for 2 minutes. Using tongs, lift a corner of the pork, check that it’s both well browned and easily releases from the pan, and flip it over. (If it sticks or isn’t well browned, cook for 1 to 2 more min. before flipping.) Cook the second side for 1 minute and then transfer the skillet to the oven.
4. Roast until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145°F and is just firm to the touch, about 5 to 8 minutes. Using potholders, carefully remove the pan from the oven, transfer the pork to a large plate, tent with foil, and let it rest while you prepare the sauce in the same skillet.

Directions for the Balsamic-Fig Sauce:

1. Pour off any excess fat from the skillet. Return the pan to high heat and add the chicken broth and balsamic vinegar.
2. Cook, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to incorporate any browned bits, until the broth is reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the figs, honey, and thyme and cook until the sauce is reduced by another 1 to 2 tablespoons., about 1 minute.
4. Add the butter and swirl it into the sauce until it’s completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the sauce over the pork chops and serve immediately.

The balsamic fig reduction is poured over the cooked pork chops.

by Tony Rosenfeld of Fine Cooking

As you may or may not know, shallots are from the ALLIUM family: a bulbous plant of a genus that includes the onion and its relatives (e.g., garlic, leek, scallions and chives). With our Slow-Roasted Chicken with All the Garlic stuffed with shallots and scallion greens and surrounded by a cup or more of garlic cloves, a side of Crispy Shallots and the White Onion, Fennel and Watercress Salad, we were definitely on allium overload. Great for your health, not so much for your breath. But we didn’t care, no one else was around.

This beauty is almost frame-worthy!

About that chicken. Words can’t almost describe how succulent and flavorful this bird was with perfectly crisped skin! And while one of the ingredients was green garlic, we were not successful in obtaining it, stuffing the cavity with shallots and scallion greens instead. Then you let mother nature do the rest. No need to turn, baste or otherwise touch it until time to remove from the oven. Easy button!

Once finished roasting—and we cooked our 4-pounder the full 3 hours, which seemed extreme to us—but the bird was fall-off-the-bone tender, and not dried out at all. We did not turn the garlic and lemon wedges either, as noted in the directions, (we thought it would be difficult given how tightly packed the baking dish was) and they both were roasted to perfection and made tasty accompaniments to the chicken. Lip-smacking good as they say…

The chicken, lemon wedges and garlic cloves in a 2-quart baking dish ready for the oven.

A close-up of the somewhat caramelized garlic and lemon after roasting for 3 hours.

We added thinly sliced radishes to our White Onion, Fennel and Watercress Salad.

And the shallot side dish, it just might be our new addiction. Fung Tu’s miraculous crisp-tangy shallots appeared in a small sidebar in the back of a recent issue of Bon Appétit (recipe follows.) What I didn’t realize, until after we had shopped for groceries, was this sidebar linked to a main article with a recipe for Stir-Fried Asparagus with Bacon and Crispy Shallots.

It was our intention to have the crispy shallots as a side dish—as opposed to a garnish on a side dish—to accompany our roasted chicken dinner. So with that intent, we quadrupled the amount of shallots and increased the other ingredients; eliminating the asparagus and bacon altogether.

The pickling process lends an irresistible acidity and “funk,” so it’s important that you don’t overlook this step. And the key to the crispy coating is the dredge of flour and cornmeal. Thinking regular table salt would stick better than Kosher salt, we liberally sprinkled the shallots immediately after placing them on the paper-towel lined rack. Of course you can make them as a garnish, in which case decrease the amounts shown in the recipe below.

The concept of black vinegar was new to me. Shouldn’t be a problem finding it at our local Asian foodmart, right? Well they carried “brown” vinegar, but no black. Russ swore he previously saw it at our regular grocery store and that’s where we were headed next. Sure enough, in the ethnic aisle with the other Asian ingredients, there it was!

Lessen on black versus brown vinegar:

Chinese black vinegar is an aged vinegar which is typically made from rice, but can also be made from wheat, millet, sorghum, or a combination of any of the four. It has a deep black color, similar to that of balsamic vinegar. It is less sweet, less acidic, and has a strong fragrant flavor that is almost spicy in nature.

Brown (or malt) vinegar is made by malting barley causing the starch in the grain to turn to maltose. Ale is then brewed from the maltose and allowed to turn into vinegar, which is then aged. It is typically distinctive dark brown color. However, most supermarket vinegar is actually extracted from beetroot. It has a strong flavor. As its name implies, malt vinegar has a distinctive malt flavor.

Slow-Roasted Chicken with All the Garlic

Ingredients 

• 4 green garlic bulbs
• 1 3½–4-pound chicken
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup peeled garlic cloves
• 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges, seeds removed
• ½ cup olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Trim dark tops from green garlic and place in chicken cavity; loosely tie legs together with kitchen twine.
2. Halve green garlic bulbs and pale-green parts. Place chicken in a 2-qt. baking dish; season with salt and pepper. Tuck green garlic, garlic cloves, and lemon wedges around (make sure everything fits snugly to keep garlic from getting too dark); pour oil over.
3. Roast, turning garlic and lemon occasionally, until chicken is very tender and garlic is soft and deeply caramelized, 2½–3 hours. Serve chicken with garlic and lemon alongside.

Recipe from Alison Roman of Bon Appétit

Crisp-Tangy Shallots

Ingredients (our version, reduce quantities if using as a garnish)

• 1/2 cup black vinegar
• 1/2 cup sherry vinegar
• 8 shallots
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free)
• 3/4 cup fine-grind cornmeal
• Kosher (or table) salt

For safety, Russ wears a kevlar glove to thinly slice the shallots on a mandoline.

We found marinating them in a zip-loc bag was easier than in a bowl. This is the color after one hour.

The marinated rings are dredged in a 50-50 ratio of flour and cornmeal.

Even though we tested with a thermometer, we a wanted to make sure the oil was hot enough before we added the first batch.

Working in batches, we fried the shallots for 3 minutes each time, making sure to let the oil get hot enough again between batches.

Removing the onion rings with a slotted spoon.

Each batch is placed onto a paper-toweled lined rack over a baking sheet.

Directions

1. Lightly pickle thinly sliced shallot rings in a mixture of the black and sherry vinegars.
2. After an hour, drain, pat dry. Whisk the flour and cornmeal in a shallow bowl, then dredge the shallot rings in the mixture, shaking off excess.
3. Heat 2″ vegetable oil to 300 degrees. Fry shallots, tossing occasionally until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
4. Drain on paper towels and immediately season with ample salt.