Pickled Beets

Beets are a weekly ritual around here. Usually we boil them and toss them in a sweet sour vinaigrette and keep them in the refrigerator to eat all week. The vinegar in the dressing “pickles” the beets, helping them last longer in the fridge.

Many pickled beets I find are much too vinegary, hiding rather than enhancing the naturally sweet flavor of the beets. This recipe is my mother’s approach to preparing the beets, using cider vinegar balanced with a little sugar (you could also just use balsamic), along with olive oil and some dry mustard. We love it! The vinaigrette complements the sweetness of the beets without overpowering them.

Do you love beets? Check out all of our beet recipes here.

Updated from the recipe archive, first posted in 2006.

Pickled Beets Recipe

This recipe uses a basic vinaigrette, heavy on the vinegar to offset the sweetness of the beets, but you could easily use any favorite vinaigrette. A little olive oil with salt, pepper, and balsamic is lovely. Try sprinkling a little orange zest in with the beets, or adding some lime, lemon, or orange juice to the dressing for a citrus note.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch (4 or 5) beets
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• Salt and pepper

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Panaché

Hello my friends, you are just going to have to trust me on this one. The first time I had a panaché (pan nah SHAY), a popular French drink that is simply a combination of a light beer and a citrusy soda like 7-Up, it was in Orlando at Disney World, on a typically hot May afternoon.

My friends and I had been wandering the park for hours. My legs were tired. I was tired. If I had been 3 years old I would have been on the verge of meltdown requiring a nap or time-out.

My dear French sweetheart found us a table in the shade and ventured off, returning with a platter of glasses filled with ice, a few beers, and a few cans of 7-Up. Now, if the thought of mixing 7-Up with beer makes your head want to explode, you’re not alone.

But we were tired, our resistance down. We had a taste and with it, every reservation vanished. I can now tell you that on a hot day, there is no better drink in the world.

Why? Because a panaché is truly refreshing. Not cloying sweet like straight soda. You can drink several glasses before you even notice that there is a touch of alcohol from the beer in it. In France it isn’t usually served with ice (in general ice in drinks isn’t as popular in Europe as it is here) but in my Frenchman’s opinion, it’s even better with ice, and I agree.

I was going to wait until Bastille Day to share this with you, it being a French favorite and all. But here we are, it’s 104°F (40°C) in Sacramento today, and is forecast to be well over 100°F all week. Our friends in Arizona have it even worse (117° in Phoenix, yikes!). Wherever you are, stay cool. And try a panaché!

Update: Many readers have commented that this combination is known as a “Shandy” in many parts of the English speaking world, and goes by other names in other countries as well. ~Elise 

Panaché Recipe

The proportions can vary from 1/4 beer to a 1/2 beer, with the rest being 7-up or Sprite. Just make sure you use a light (not dark) beer. It doesn't have to be a "lite" beer, though that would work too.

Ingredients

• 1 part beer (not a dark beer, but a light one, like a Bud, or Miller)
• 1 to 3 parts 7-up or Sprite

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Quick Beef Stew with Mushrooms and White Beans

Hmm. “Quick stew” is somewhat of an oxymoron isn’t it? Most stews are braised in plenty of liquid for long slow cooking. This stew is barely “stewed”, and the main reason it comes together so quickly is that you are using top sirloin for the beef, a much more tender cut of beef than chuck, which is what is usually used in stews and requires long slow cooking to become tender.

This recipe is updated from one I posted several years ago, with slight modifications to extract more flavor from the ingredients given the short cooking time. The revised stew has passed the parent approval test, with two thumbs up from both mom and dad. Enjoy!

Quick Beef Stew with Mushrooms and White Beans Recipe

Ingredients

• 4-5 ounces of cremini or button mushrooms, quartered
• 4-5 ounces some other fresh mushroom, shiitake, oyster, chanterelle, etc.
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1 medium onion, cut lengthwise into thin wedges
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup dry white or red wine (can sub beef or chicken broth)
• 16-ounce can small white beans (such as Great Northern, navy, or cannellini), rinsed, drained
• 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained
• Chopped parsley for garnish

Read More: Quick Beef Stew with Mushrooms and White Beans

Traditional Roast Beef Hash

Hash is a great way to use up leftover cooked meat. We tend to use roast beef, but leftover pot roast or other meats could easily be used.

What really helps making an excellent hash is an old fashioned meat grinder.

If you don’t have a meat grinder, you can use the grinder attachment of a KitchenAid. You can also chop the meat, potatoes, and onions very fine with a knife, though the resulting consistency will not be as blended as what you can achieve with a meat grinder.

Traditional Roast Beef Hash Recipe

To make the hash you want approximately equal amounts of cooked beef, raw potato, and onion. The amounts listed here in the ingredient list are approximations. Scale up or down as needed.

A grinder makes a big difference here because of the way it grinds the beef into the onions and potatoes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups roughly chopped cooked roast beef or pot roast beef
• 1 large russett or 2 smaller yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Ketchup

Read More: Traditional Roast Beef Hash

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

Flank steak is a lean, somewhat tough but flavorful cut of beef that benefits from the tenderizing effects of a marinade. It is best cooked medium rare and thinly sliced at an angle across the grain of the meat.

Prepared this way, marinated, cooked quickly at high heat, thinly sliced, flank steak practically melts in your mouth. This recipe calls for grilling the steak, but if you don’t have a grill, you can prepare the steak on a large cast iron frying pan as well.

For more Southwestern flavors, see our carne asada recipe. Do you have a favorite flank steak marinade? or grilling trick for flank steak? If so, please let us know in the comments.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak Recipe

My mother likes to score the flank steak with 1/4-inch cuts about an inch apart across the grain of the steak before cooking. It helps the marinade penetrate more deeply and the steak cook more quickly.

Ingredients

Marinade Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Other ingredients

• 2 pounds flank steak

Read More: Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

Mexican Three Bean Salad

Do you love a good three bean salad, you know, the kind with a sweet vinegary dressing? I do. It’s sort of that last minute pantry item type of dish that is quick and wonderfully filling when you are hungry.

This Mexican-inspired bean salad is a riff off the standard. It’s not really Mexican per se, but uses typical South-of-the-border ingredients such as crumbly Cotija cheese, black beans and pinto beans, jalapeño peppers, cilantro and a sweet dressing made with sugar and lime juice. All items that we happened to have in our pantry or fridge this week. So good!

Mexican Three Bean Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 pound green beans
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1-2 jalapenos, seeded, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, sliced thin
• 1 cup Cotija queso seco cheese, crumbled (can sub feta)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup sugar

Read More: Mexican Three Bean Salad

Easy Tuscan Bean Soup

The best bean soups have a lived-in quality, as if they have been simmering on the back burner for hours, just waiting for you.

You can achieve this by cooking the dried beans from scratch, of course. Or you can skip the long simmer and pop open a can!

Bean soups have the distinct advantage of tasting terrific either way. Today’s soup uses canned beans to make a 30-minute meal that tastes like it took all day.

When you start this soup, sauté vegetables first to give the soup lots of flavor. Let carrots, onion, and celery cook with sprigs of oregano, then stir in the beans and chicken stock.

To make sure your soup has that appealing “simmered all day” quality when using canned beans, just mash some of the beans before they go into the pot. This will give your soup the slightly distressed texture that a good bean soup should have.

Simmer the soup briefly, then add baby kale or spinach for their pretty green color and texture. Parmesan toasts are an easy side dish to make while the soup is simmering and they give your dinner plenty of crunch.

Sprinkle the bowls with olive oil and more Parmesan. You’re done in less than half an hour, but your soup will taste like an afternoon’s effort.

Easy Tuscan Bean Soup Recipe

If eating gluten-free, use gluten-free bread for the Parmesan toasts, or replace the toasts with another gluten-free side dish.

Ingredients

For the soup:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, thickly sliced
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Black pepper, to taste
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans or other small white beans, drained and rinsed
• 5 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 4 cups baby kale or baby spinach, stems removed if tough
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, for garnish
• Olive oil, to serve
• Extra grated Parmesan, to serve

For the parmesan toasts:

• 1/2 baguette, thinly sliced
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Read More: Easy Tuscan Bean Soup

Barbecued Chicken on the Grill

Along with hot dogs and hamburgers, barbecued chicken is about as classic as it gets when it comes time for grilling.

But chicken takes longer to cook than either hot dogs or hamburgers, and loves lower cooking temperatures, so it’s easy to mess up, either under-cooking, over-charring, or both.

The trick to good barbecued chicken?

Patience.

Done right, it will take at least an hour, and even up to 2 hours. Remember that barbecue is slow and low, grilling is hot and fast. You can grill a chicken breast, but chicken thighs, legs or wings are far better barbecued.

The key here is to moderate your heat, however you can. Either set the coals of the grill all on one side so you have a cool spot, put the chicken on the top rack of the grill, farther away from the heat, or, if you have a gas grill, just turn the heat to low. Slow and steady makes the best BBQ chicken.

The following is more of a “how-to” than a recipe. We recommend using your favorite barbecue sauce; we have several homemade barbecue sauce recipes which would work beautifully with chicken.

Do you have a favorite barbecued chicken recipe? Or tip you would like to share? Please let us know about it in the comments.

Barbecued Chicken on the Grill Recipe

Chicken thighs and legs will hold up better to long, slow heat than will breasts which can more easily dry out. If you barbecue breasts, keep them on the coolest part of the grill.

This recipe assumes fairly large chicken pieces (like the main pieces from a 4 to 5 pound whole chicken). If you are working with smaller chicken pieces, they may require a shorter cooking time. If you are cooking wings, they too may be done before the other larger pieces.

A note about the skin. Even if you do not plan on eating the chicken skin, it's best to barbecue it with it on. The skin will protect the chicken pieces from drying out.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds of your favorite chicken parts (legs, thighs, wings, breasts), skin-on
• Salt
• Vegetable oil
• 1 cup barbecue sauce, store-bought or homemade

Read More: Barbecued Chicken on the Grill

Chocolate Banana Bread

One of the most loved recipes on the site is our banana bread, and one thing people seem to like to do to change it up is to add chocolate chips to it. That’s sort of a no-brainer, right?

Dear banana bread lovers, putting chocolate chips in your banana bread is like having your bananas and chocolate go on a date. Lovely and sweet, yet still separate and distinct. After a while both want something more—a merging of wills, a commitment!

Well, if chocolate and banana were going to do the deed, this would be the result—a richly chocolate banana bread, infused with cocoa, speckled with chocolate chips, with warm hints of butter, vanilla, and allspice.

 

Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe

Do not use Dutch processed cocoa for this recipe, only natural unsweetened.

Melted coconut oil can be used in place of the butter. The flavor will change a little and you may get a hint of coconut in the result.

There is only 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of baking soda in this recipe for leavening, so make sure your baking soda is still good! (See more info on baking soda and baking powder.)

Ingredients

• 3 large ripe bananas (easily mashable)
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed, light or dark)
• 1 teaspoon salt (1/2 a teaspoon if using salted butter)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

• 1 5x9-inch loaf pan

Read More: Chocolate Banana Bread

Slow Cooked Boston Baked Beans

Ever wonder why Boston baked beans are called “Boston” baked beans? It’s the molasses. Boston has been tied to molasses since colonial days, when the city was a trade center for rum from the Caribbean. Molasses is used for rum production and is a by-product of sugar refining and was easily available to the colonists.

And then there’s the Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919, when a huge tank of molasses exploded and sent a sea of the gooey stuff flooding the streets of the North End. I lived in the North End of Boston in the early 80s and at the time you could still pick up a faint scent of molasses on a hot summer day.

Now to the baked beans. Boston baked beans are by definition, slowly cooked. According to Shirley Corriher in CookWise (great book, btw), either sugar or calcium will make beans hard, even after long hours of cooking.

Molasses contains both sugar and calcium, which is why adding molasses to a pot of beans will enable you to cook the beans for what seems like forever, without the beans getting mushy. But it also means that if you cook the beans in molasses to get that wonderful flavor, you have to cook them a good long time.

Although traditionally cooked in an oven, Boston baked beans lend themselves perfectly to slow cookers, which is the method we prefer here.

Slow Cooked Boston Baked Beans Recipe

Why pre-soak the beans? You don't have to (see this great Russ Parsons article in the LA Times about why you don't need to soak beans), but not doing so in this recipe will increase the cooking time. With the beans pre-soaked, they'll still take 8 hours to cook and soften in a slow-cooker. Once beans come in contact with the molasses, the sugar in the molasses will keep the beans firm. That's why they take so long to cook.

Ingredients

• 1 pound (2 to 2 1/4 cups) dry white beans such as Navy beans or Great Northern beans (can also use kidney beans)
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3-4 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 cups hot water
• 1/2 pound salt pork (can sub bacon), cut into 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, (1 1/2 cups) chopped

Read More: Slow Cooked Boston Baked Beans

Roasted Cabbage with Bacon Gremolata

Cabbage doubters, prepare to be seduced.

Here we have thick slices of cabbage roasted until the edges are crispy and golden, and then served with a crunchy, salty, nutty, bacon-y gremolata scattered over top. Plus Parmesan cheese. Helloooo, gorgeous.

This recipe comes from a new cookbook from my friend Andrea Bemis, the farmer and co-owner of Tumbleweed Farm up in Oregon. She lives and breathes vegetables every day, so if anyone knows how to give veggies some serious curb-appeal, it’s her.

Get the Book! Dishing Up the Dirt: Simple Recipes for Cooking Through the Seasons by Andrea Bemis

Andrea’s enthusiasm for vegetables is absolutely contagious. Her strength in Dishing Up the Dirt — as it is on her blog — is a kind of quiet, but persistent joy when it comes to cooking with produce from her farm.

Cover to cover, the book is packed with stories from the farm, smart tips for shopping and cooking produce, jokes about spirit vegetables (Andrea’s is a beet!), and ideas for turning vegetables into full meals — all of which are offered with the intention of making you feel comfortable with vegetables at the center of the plate.

Andrea also has a way of taking familiar, homey foods and giving them one simple upgrade — something that makes you sit up and think, “Oh, I never thought of that!” Like her Miso & Honey-Glazed Radishes, a combo that surprised me when I first saw it on the page, but that I can’t wait to try for myself. Or her Sweet Corn & Summer Squash Coconut Milk Chowder, which is such a smart way to turn a favorite summer recipe into a vegan dinner.

The recipes tend toward vegetarian, but meat shows up in several of them. And while there are enough salads and veggie bowls to satisfy any healthy eating resolutions you may have, Andrea keeps things grounded with plenty of recipes for hearty pizzas, tacos, and pasta dishes.

The cookbook is arranged seasonally, starting right now with spring. If you enrolled in a CSA this year or are a regular visitor to your local farmers market, then this cookbook will be your guidebook over the next few months!

A few notes about this recipe for Roasted Cabbage with Bacon Gremolata: I’ve adapted Andrea’s instructions slightly to give you a little more detail on prepping the cabbage and bringing the whole dish together, but the spirit and flavors of the recipe are all hers.

When shopping for cabbage, pick heads that are tight and feel heavy for their size. Keep your slices fairly thick and don’t worry if a few of the outer layers fall away or unfurl. As long as the cabbage holds together as a slice, you’re golden. (And those unfurled bits will crisp up very nicely in the oven.)

If you cook your bacon or make the gremolata ahead of time, save your bacon fat and use it to oil the cabbage. Olive oil is perfectly fine, but bacon fat would be heavenly.

Also, don’t be intimidated by the idea of the “gremolata.” This is really just a fancy word for what is actually a very quick and flavorful herb-based topping. You probably won’t use all of it for this dish; the leftovers are great sprinkled over other roasted vegetables, chicken, or fish.

Plan to serve the cabbage right away, while it’s still hot and crispy from the oven. It’s fantastic as a first course to a larger meal, or served along side something like roast chicken or pot roast.

Get the Book! Dishing Up the Dirt: Simple Recipes for Cooking Through the Seasons by Andrea Bemis

Roasted Cabbage with Bacon Gremolata Recipe

From Andrea Bemis:

"This is one of our favorite winter side dishes, and we get rave re­views each time we serve it for company. I've brought back the bacon gremolata yet again because it pairs so nicely with the roasted cabbage. I hope you and your guests find as much joy and pleasure in this simple recipe as we do."

Adapted from Dishing Up the Dirt by Andrea Bemis, copyright © 2017. Published by Harper Wave, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.

Ingredients

For the cabbage:

• 1 medium-sized head of cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the bacon gremolata:

• 3/4 cup roasted unsalted almonds
• 4 strips (about 1/4 pound) good-quality thick-cut bacon
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• Pinch of kosher salt

To serve:

• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Read More: Roasted Cabbage with Bacon Gremolata

Vegan Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pudding Cups

This quick, easy chocolate pudding can be thrown together in less than 10 minutes, and it’s so rich and creamy you’d never guess it was dairy-free!

The secret is using avocados. You won’t really taste the avocado in the finished pudding, but it helps give it a thick and creamy consistency.

Depending on the size of your avocados, you may end up needing to add a tad bit more coconut milk or sweetener to get the right pudding-like texture. But add gradually, as you don’t want to make the pudding too thin.

The coconut cream also comes together quickly once you’ve chilled the coconut milk. I always keep a can of coconut milk in my fridge so I can make this delicious dessert for last-minute dinner guests.

Read more: How to Make Coconut Cream

I love the addition of strawberries on top of this pudding, but you could use any berries you fancy. Either way, this little pudding is s’blended.

Vegan Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pudding Cups Recipe

Ingredients

For the coconut whipped cream:

• 1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

For the pudding:

• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk or other dairy-free milk
• 4 medium ripe avocados, pitted and peels removed
• 3/4 cup raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

To serve (optional):

• 1/2 cup sliced raw almonds or peanuts
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced lengthways, or other berries

Read More: Vegan Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pudding Cups

Flank Steak Stir Fry with Asparagus and Red Pepper

This Flank Steak Stir Fry is perfect for a midweek meal when asparagus are in season. It’s easy enough to make and everyone raves about it!

When it comes to stir-fry, it’s all about the prep. The dish itself cooks up so quickly that you need everything prepped and ready to go before you start adding the elements to the hot pan.

A couple elements of the recipe to note. We are blanching the asparagus in boiling water a couple minutes. This will ensure that the asparagus will be cooked in the short stir-frying time.

Flank steak is a lean cut of meat, which can be tough and chewy if it isn’t cut properly (across the grain of the meat) for this dish. It helps to freeze the meat for a few minutes before starting the recipe to make it easier to slice thinly.

Updated from the recipe archive, first published 2009

Flank Steak Stir Fry with Asparagus and Red Pepper Recipe

If you are planning to serve this dish with rice, in a separate pan, prepare 2 cups of white rice, following the instructions on the rice package.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp canola or other high smoke-point cooking oil
• 1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed, cut on the diagonal into 1 1/2 inch lengths (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 lb of flank steak, sliced in half lengthwise (along the grain) and then cut into thin strips (across the grain), 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide (put the steak in the freezer for 15 minutes before slicing to make it easier to slice)
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, de-ribbed, and cut into thin strips 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide
• 2 teaspoons of cornstarch dissolved into 3 Tablespoons of water

Stir Fry Sauce

• 3 Tbsp soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce for gluten-free version)
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped, peeled, fresh ginger
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 green onion, including green tops, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon chili oil

Read More: Flank Steak Stir Fry with Asparagus and Red Pepper

Strawberry Arugula Quinoa Salad

When I first encountered strawberries in a green salad years ago I didn’t quite know what to make of it. They’re red, but they’re not tomatoes, what are they doing there? One bite and I was a convert! Strawberries are juicy, tart, and sweet and make a playful addition to salads of all kinds, including a quinoa salad.

Our quinoa salad is pretty straightforward but with layers of flavor. There’s the nutty quinoa base, with a zesty orange vinaigrette. Baby arugula provides a peppery green. There are toasted almonds for crunch, and sliced green onions for the necessary allium. Interspersed are chunks of ripe strawberries for the wow factor.

Perfect for a potluck gathering or a festive lunch. Enjoy!

Strawberry Arugula Quinoa Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 10 strawberries, cored and quartered
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
• 2 cups of baby arugula greens

Vinaigrette ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp orange zest
• 3 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Read More: Strawberry Arugula Quinoa Salad

Artichoke and Shrimp Risotto

Is it just me, or does everyone seem to be in a hurry these days? Sometimes I think in our mad dash to do everything and live life to the fullest, we shortchange ourselves and forget to take the time to relax and enjoy what we’re doing.

Risotto is one of those dishes that forces us to slow down and smell the roses. It’s easy enough to make, it just requires patience. And a lot of stirring.

The risotto rice cooking process can take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the type of risotto rice you are using. You stir gently, almost constantly, throughout the cooking process, slowly adding liquid as the rice absorbs it.

The stirring not only helps keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan, it loosens up starches from the rice which helps create a creamy texture to the risotto. A good risotto is creamy without ever having to add cream!

As the risotto comes close to being done, you add chopped artichoke hearts and some paprika rubbed sautéed shrimp, and it’s ready, your patience rewarded. Enjoy!

Artichoke and Shrimp Risotto Recipe

If starting with frozen shrimp, thaw by placing in a bowl of cold water with a teaspoon of salt stirred in. Peel and devein once thawed.

We are using artichokes canned in water for this recipe and we suggest including the artichoke water in with the risotto. Taste the artichoke water first. If it tastes good to you, then include. If not, then don't.

You can also use frozen or fresh cooked artichoke hearts instead of canned. For frozen you'll probably need about 8 ounces. For fresh, you'll probably need the hearts from 2 globe artichokes, cooked and finely chopped.

See How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke for instructions on cooking artichokes.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces raw shrimp (26-30 size), about 18 pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp butter + 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup minced shallots
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cup risotto rice (recommend carnaroli, can also use arborio)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (like a Sauvignon Blanc)
• 8 ounces clam juice
• 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained (reserve the water!), and finely chopped
• 2-3 cups water
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Read More: Artichoke and Shrimp Risotto

Apricot Chicken

Every year about this time we are inundated with fresh apricots from our neighbor’s tree. And every year I tell myself I’m going to make a chicken dish with them, but never get around to it.

Instead, we’ll make apricot jam, apricot cobbler, apricot tart, or just eat them straight.

Finally this year, we’ve experimented with apricot chicken and I love the result!

The additions of rosemary, Tabasco, and especially cinnamon really brighten up the flavors and make the dish more interesting than you would expect.

We served it over rice, but it would also be excellent with egg noodles.

Apricot Chicken Recipe

If you don't have fresh apricots, you can use a combo of dried pitted apricots and apricot jam. Chop up about a dozen dried apricots and add them, with a half cup of apricot jam, to the stock in step 4 (skipping steps 1 and 5).

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds apricots, pits removed and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces
• Salt to taste
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter (or substitute with olive oil)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons Tabasco or other hot sauce (or more to taste)
• Black pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)

Read More: Apricot Chicken

Sour Cream Apple Pie

You know that when your friend’s smile fills the room as he speaks of his wife’s “sour cream apple pie with a brown sugar crumb topping” that it has got to be good. Dad and I couldn’t wait to try it. My oh my this one really is good, and easy to make too. Big thanks to Jean and George Rosenfeld for sharing with us one of their favorite recipes. (Can you tell it’s apple season here?)

Sour Cream Apple Pie Recipe

As you slice the apples, put them in a bowl and toss them with a little lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. The acidity of the lemon juice or vinegar will help keep the apples from discoloring while you work and will intensify the apple flavor in the pie.

Ingredients

Filling:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 2/3 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 1/2 cup if you like your apple pies a little less sweet)
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 3 cups peeled, sliced tart apples (about 1 1/4 pounds of slices, cut 1/4-inch to a 1/2-inch thick)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
• One 9" unbaked pie shell, frozen or chilled in the freezer for at least 30 minutes (see sour cream pie crust recipe, use half a recipe)

Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 a stick), chilled, cut into cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix together all ingredients until the mixture resembes coarse crumbs. Chill until needed in the recipe.

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Apple Upside Down Cake

Last year my father got it in his head to make an apple upside down cake.

Every fall our trees are loaded with apples and dad is always looking for excuses to bake with them.

Well, he tried three different recipes, and each one turned out with the same problem—they appeared to be cooked, had cooked the proper amount of time as called for by the recipe, the tester came out clean, but when he went to cut into the cake, the inside was gooey.

The last time this happened, dad swore like a sailor, threw the whole cake in the sink, and vowed to never attempt an apple upside down cake again. (Ever have days like that?)

I don’t know what possessed him to try his hand at it again.

Perhaps the intervening year softened the pain of the memory of three failed cakes?

Or perhaps he is just easily seduced by cake recipes, and the combination of this recipe he found in an old issue of Bon Appetit and apples on sale at Whole Foods for 99 cents a pound was just too tempting to ignore.

Or perhaps it had finally dawned on him (us) that the Granny Smiths we had been using to attempt similar cakes gave off too much liquid to work properly in the recipes.

In any case, his perseverance has paid off with this cake. It’s terrific! We can’t wait to make it again.

Apple Upside Down Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups white, granulate sugar divided (1/2 cup and 3/4 cup)
• 1 1/2 pounds Braeburn, Jonagold, or Golden Delicious apples (about 4 medium), peeled, quartered, cored, each quarter cut into 2 wedges
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup whole milk

Special equipment needed:

• 1-9-inch cake pan with 1 1/2-inch high sides

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Apple Crostata

I planted an espaliered apple tree when I moved into my house a few years ago. It came with apples on it, and seemed so full of promise.

For the next 3 years the tree flowered, but alas no apples. Not until this year, when I spied 7 beautiful apples on its lowest branches. Hurrah! Finally!

At least until the raccoons got to them.

Fortunately, my parents’ trees are loaded with more apples than they can possibly use. And my father’s been making applesauce and apple treats practically every day.

He loves making this crostata—a rustic apple tart—because it’s not too fussy. It tastes great, and he doesn’t have to attempt to make it look pretty.

My father, at 85, is a practical man. He doesn’t have time for pretty (unless it’s my mom, who in both of our opinions is the most beautiful woman we know), but he does love apples baked with cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, and butter.

This simple crostata is a perfect way to enjoy apples of the season. The crust is on the thin side, meaning you get mostly apples with a serving. He tops it with heavy cream that he has whipped up with some powdered sugar and vanilla.

Apple Crostata Recipe

We've included directions for making a simple butter crust. You can also use a store-bought crust (flat or folded, not in a pie tin) to save time.

If you can, use a mix of apple varieties for this tart. The result will be more interesting.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cup (160g) flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (skip salt if using salted butter)
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick, 113g) chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Filling:

• 1 3/4 pounds (800g) good cooking apples (Fuji, Jonagold, Pippin, Granny Smith), about 3-4 apples
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Small pinch of salt

To Finish:

• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon cream
• 1 teaspoon sprinkling sugar (can use plain sugar)
• 1 teaspoon butter

Whipped cream:

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream, very cold
• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic, Herbs, and Parmesan

When I was a college student living on my own years ago, one of my go-to quick dishes was spaghetti noodles stirred in with a little olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and rosemary.

It’s still a favorite comforting side dish, though I’ve fancied it up a notch with the use of angel hair pasta (so quick!), more herbs than just rosemary, sliced garlic, some red pepper flakes, and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

In this recipe we are using rosemary, oregano, and thyme, sturdy herbs that grow year round outside my kitchen window. You could easily use other herbs. If you use more delicate herbs like tarragon or basil, I would recommend not heating them in the oil, but tossing them in at the end with the Parmesan cheese.

Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic, Herbs, and Parmesan Recipe

This recipe can easily be doubled. If you use delicate herbs such as basil or tarragon, toss them in at the end with the Parmesan.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces angel hair pasta
• Salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (or more to taste)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

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Almond Crescent Cookies

This week’s Christmas cookie is presented to you by guest author Garrett McCord. ~Elise

When I was a child my parents hated me enough to put me into a table manners class called Ms. Etiquette. I learned to say please and thank you, how to identify nine types of forks, and all of it culminated in a High Tea final exam.

The tea party was boring as heck, but there were these delicious little almond crescent cookies.

Almond crescents are a very basic tea cookie recipe. They’re very buttery with a pronounced almond flavor. Matched with a cup of Earl Grey or Almond Rocker they’re a great excuse to call over friends on a rainy day for a small tea party of your own.

Almond Crescent Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup of butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of almond flour (can substitute ground almonds*)
• 1/4 cup of powdered sugar for sprinkling

*You can use slivered, blanched almonds and grind them up, but you will have a very crumbly, hard to work with dough. It’ll still taste good though.

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Corn Salsa

During the summer when corn is in season, I look for any excuse to buy it, it’s so wonderfully sweet! We’ll have it in chowder, salad, grilled, and of course, simply on the cob.

Corn also makes a fabulous salsa.

The sweetness of the corn balances the acidity from the lime juice. Along with some jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, and oregano, it’s a fiesta of flavor.

Although not the kind of salsa that one can easily balance on a chip (though that doesn’t stop us from trying), it’s terrific as a side to any southwestern dishes like tacos and enchiladas, or a straight up side with chicken or steak. It would be great to serve for a game-day party or summer potluck. 

A friend told me that corn salsa is one of the most popular menu items at Chipotle. I’m not surprised! (This one is better.)

Corn Salsa Recipe

This recipe uses fresh corn, from corn on the cob. You can also use frozen corn that has been defrosted. You'll need about 2 cups.

Use a mini-chopper or food processor to save time on mincing the red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and oregano.

Ingredients

• 2 ears fresh corn on the cob
• 1/2 cup minced red onion
• 1 jalapeño chili pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, including tender stems
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dry)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp lime juice

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Stewed Okra and Tomatoes Creole Style

There’s a reason why the Southern dish of stewed okra and tomatoes is timeless. It’s just plain good. First you start with browning some bacon, then you add the holy trinity—onions, bell pepper, and celery, then the tomatoes, okra and spices. Everything is cooked together until tender and almost falling apart.

Okra is a summer vegetable so we are seeing it in the farmer’s market right now. But you can get frozen okra all year round which is perfectly fine stewed like this. If you don’t have access to okra at all, you can prepare green beans in a similar manner (see recipe).

Do you have a favorite summer okra dish? Please let us know about it in the comments. I love okra and am always looking for ways to cook with it.

Stewed Okra and Tomatoes Creole Style Recipe

You can use either whole or thickly sliced okra for this recipe.

Obviously we believe this dish is best with bacon, but if you don't eat bacon or want to make a vegetarian dish, leave it out and use a tablespoon or two of olive oil instead.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch wide slices (lardons)
• 1 cup diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
• 1 cup diced bell pepper (about 1 bell pepper)
• 1/2 cup diced celery (about one rib)
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic (about 1 clove)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 15-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes and their juices
• 1 pound (16-ounces) of frozen or fresh okra, whole or thickly sliced, trimmed of tough tops if whole, defrosted if frozen
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 pinch of cayenne
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 scant pinch of ground cloves (watch it on the ground cloves, a little goes a long way, and you can easily overdo it!)
• 1/2 cup water

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Zucchini and Spinach Gratin

Another week, another refrigerator drawer filled to the brim with garden zucchini. Sound familiar? To take a break from our usual (almost daily in the summer) way to cook up the zucchini (see mom’s summer squash), we prepared a classic French gratin, with grated zucchini, spinach, onions sautéed with bacon, a persillade of parsley and garlic, all bound together with a few eggs, tossed with Parmesan, and baked until golden brown.

Zucchini has never tasted so good.

I think the bacon might have something to do with it. And maybe the Parmesan. And the onions, and garlic. Okay, everything. The combination is perfect.

The recipe looks more involved than it is. Most of the time is in the baking or in the allowing the zucchini and spinach to drain excess moisture. The hardest part is grating the zucchini (a breeze if you have a food processor) and the Parmesan. The trick to a successful recipe is squeezing out as much moisture as you can from the zucchini and spinach. Tossing the zucchini with salt and allowing it to drain for half an hour will help draw out a lot of its moisture. If you don’t do this I’m guessing that you might end up with something that is too loose, with too much moisture for the eggs to do their work as a binder.

Best part? The recipe uses two whole pounds of zucchini! Which in our case should use up at least a day or a day and a half’s worth of garden produce. Enjoy. ;-)

Zucchini and Spinach Gratin Recipe

The recipe calls for bacon and I think it's an important flavor component. For those of you who don't eat pork, or meat, you can substitute butter and or olive oil (a couple tablespoons) to sauté the onions.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs zucchini
• Kosher salt
• 1 lb frozen spinach*
• 3 slices of thick cut bacon (about 3 ounces), cut crosswise 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 large onion
• 1 handful of parsley (about 1/2 cup of leaves, lightly packed)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 eggs
• Olive oil

* Or 6 packed cups of fresh chopped spinach leaves, blanched and drained

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New England Apple Cheddar Galette

“An apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze.” 

There is a tradition in New England, and some parts of the midwest, to serve a slice of cheese, usually sharp cheddar, alongside a piece of apple pie, or even melted on top.

For those of us who didn’t grow up with this tradition, even though we may love eating apple slices with cheese, the whole idea of cheddar cheese with a pie is well, just wrong. As in, “are you kidding?” wrong.

If this is you, I understand.

But just let the idea percolate a little while. Apples and cheese are good together, right?

A slice of apple with a slice of cheese—bare, naked perfection. Why? Because apples are both sweet and a little tart, and cheese is salty with plenty of umami. So your taste buds are firing on all cylinders when you eat them in combination. 

Still, the idea of cheddar with or in a sweet apple dessert is weird, to those of us unaccustomed to the idea. So, you’ll have to just trust me on this one.

It’s good. Like “where has this been all my life?” good.

I’m speaking from experience here. I have shunned the idea since the first time I heard of it. But this week I decided to take the plunge and make a simple galette, a rustic tart with apples, some maple syrup for sweetener, cheddar, in a buttery, cheddar speckled crust.

All I can say is WOW. Thank you New England.

New England Apple Cheddar Galette Recipe

If using a tart apple such as a Granny Smith, you may want to add a little sugar or more maple syrup to the filling to balance the tartness of the apple.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups (200g) of all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cups, 6 ounces, 170 g) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp (85 ml) sour cream (full fat, not light)
• 2 Tbsp finely grated sharp cheddar cheese

Filling:

• 4 good cooking apples, such as McIntosh, Courtland, Jonagold, Pippin, Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Fuji, or a mixture of various cooking apples (NOT red delicious)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 half of a lemon, or the juice of half a lemon (to acidulate the water for holding the apples while you peel them to keep them from discoloring)
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons minute tapioca or instant tapioca for thickener (can substitute corn starch)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup lightly packed grated cheddar cheese

Finishing:

• 1 egg for egg wash
• Coarse sugar for sprinkling on the crust

Read More: New England Apple Cheddar Galette

Lemon Chicken Chickpea Soup

Now here’s a soup to brighten up a cold winter day! I looked to the flavors of Morocco for inspiration for this lemon chicken chickpea soup.

The soup is seasoned with turmeric, cumin, and ginger—spices that not only warm the belly but give the soup its vibrant golden hue.

The sharpness of the lemon is balanced by the warmth of the chickpeas, and we’ve added some basmati rice to give the soup more body.

The result? A bright, warm, and wonderfully satisfying chicken soup.

And, if you, like me, are fending off a cold, you need this chicken soup! Ginger, turmeric, and of course the chicken, are all power fighters when it comes to cold season. Enjoy!

Lemon Chicken Chickpea Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 celery rib, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (or powdered ginger)
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2-3 strips of lemon zest from one lemon
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/3 cup basmati rice
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
• Cilantro or parsley for garnish

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