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Two Sangrias The first recipe is a classic, not very sweet sangria with a moderate yield and a minimum of odd ingredients. It’s the little black dress/white oxford of sangrias. Susan Spungen recommends trying it with white wine instead of red in the summer, and adding peaches or berries too. The second is the one [...]
Greek Salad with Lemon and Oregano Serves 2 generously, 4 as starter or side 1/2 a large, seedless English cucumber (about 6 to 7 ounces), chopped 1/2 a green bell pepper, chopped 1 cup (about 6 ounces) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1/4 cup kalamata olives (you can also serve these alongside) 1/4 small red [...]
Japanese Vegetable Pancakes [Okonomiyaki] with Cabbage, Kale and Carrots Adapted, just a little, from Josher Walker of Xiao Bao Biscuit, in Charleston, SC via Tasting Table Okonomiyaki are traditional served squeeze with a generous criss-cross of Japanese mayonnaise and a okonomiyaki sauce, tangy-sweet-salty mixture I’d liken to Japanese barbecue sauce, which is sold in bottles [...]
Essential Overnight Raised Waffles Adapted, only in language, from Marion Cunningham’s Breakfast Book, where it was adapted from an old Fanny Farmer cookbook I’ve gushed enough about the smell/texture/flavor/ease of this recipe so let me cut right through to the scary part: Cunningham, terrifyingly, instructs us to leave the batter — a batter with milk! [...]
Spring Vegetable Potstickers This is a flexible recipe, so don’t fret if you don’t have the exact ingredient list. Scallions could be spring onions. Garlic chives could be regular chives, or scallions tops instead. The tofu could be silkier. If you’re not into tofu (like this guy I married, but he will still eat it [...]
Yogurt Panna Cotta with Honey and Walnuts As far as panna cottas go, this is on the soft side but will still slice or hold a form. For a firmer panna cotta, reduce the milk or cream by 1/2 cup. I used this recipe as my starting point but altered the proportions so it used [...]
Ramp Pizza Inspired by Motorino’s version Yield: 1 thin 12-inch round or roughly 9×13-inch rectangular pizza; will serve 2 hungry adults (we double this for the three of us and end up with leftovers, which I call dibs on). I don’t usually double the garlic in the puree when I make two pizzas. 4 ounce, [...]
Bee Sting Cake (Bienenstich) Cobbled together from other yeasted cakes I’ve known and loved, much trial-and-error, and with some helpful guidance from a version translated from a German cookbook, link forthcoming (Thanks, Luisa!) This is a tender, yeasted lightly sweetened cake with a honey-almond-caramel crunch topping. Needless to say, the topping is one of the [...]
Spinach and Smashed Egg Toast I use this spinach method, scaled up, all the time to make a quick, lazy creamed spinach with dinner. (A more classic one is here. An even more gussied one is here.) Creme fraiche could replace the cream (unlike yogurt or sour cream, it doesn’t curdle when heated). 1 large [...]
I have an uneven history with chef cookbooks. I have learned the hard way more often than I’ve wished to that just because I might enjoy sitting down at someone’s restaurant table does not mean that their work will translate into an enjoyable home cooking experience — you know, one without sous-chefs and dishwashers, plural, [...]
Chocolate-Hazelnut Macaroon Torte Adapted from these two tortes Serves 8 generously, and up to 12 or possibly even 16 in thin slices (which is what is always demanded at our gatherings, where there are multiple desserts) Macaroons Oil or butter for greasing parchment rounds 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (225 grams) granulated sugar 6 large [...]
Coconut Bread From Bill Granger, via Wednesday Chef, via The New York Times I had to practically physically sit on my hands to keep myself from tweaking this, because I love coconut with so many other flavors — lime! (I’d add some zest) mango! pineapple! (I’d add chunks, or slather it with mango curd) banana! [...]
My Favorite Buttermilk Biscuits Adapted from Dot’s Diner in Boulder via Bon Appetit I shared these on the site way back in its youth, 2007, but I’d adapted them as chive biscuits and it was buried in a post without any photos of their deliciousness. They never got the spotlight they deserved. These can be [...]
French Onion Tart I tend to fiddle around with different crust ratios each time I make a savory tart shell because I’m still looking for my favorite. Below is (roughly) the one recommended by Larousse Gastronomique. If you have a go-to crust that you love, feel free to use it here. If you can’t be [...]
Blood Orange Margaritas It’s been over seven months since the last SK drink recipe. Let’s fix that. Note: If you don’t have triple sec or cointreau, simple syrup will make for an equally sweet but less boozy result. Serves 2, but only if you share. 1/2 cup blood orange juice 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime [...]
Italian Stuffed Cabbage [Mondeghini al sugo] Adapted from Rachel Eats, who adapted it from from Giorgio Locatelli’s recipe in Made in Italy and Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book. This dish is a mid-winter delight, budget-minded, not terribly complicated to make, hearty and delicious — wilted cabbage leaves, a tender meatball and a simple, bright sauce. It [...]
Salted Caramel Brownies I used my standard approach to salted caramel, but I dialed back the heavy cream so that it would be less soft, and therefore better able to hold up in the batter. The brownie is my one-bowl favorite, with less salt and sugar to compensate for the sweetness and extra salt in [...]
Egg Salad with Pickled Celery and Coarse Dijon As I learned here, there are about as many ways to hard-boiled eggs as there are people who make them. If you’re looking for a new technique, you will delight in the comments. Here, I use my approach, the one that works for me every time. If [...]
Pasta and White Beans with Sizzling Garlic-Rosemary Oil Adapted, barely, from Sara Jenkins via Bon Appetit For the pasta, I used pennete, because I thought it nicely matched the little white beans (Rancho Gordo’s Alubia Blanca). Sara Jenkins called for ditalini to go with chickpeas. You can use whatever you’d like — short tubes, even [...]
Intensely Chocolate Sables Inspired by Balthazar, adapted quite a bit from Miette I prefer these cookies with Dutched cocoa power, which is darker and little nuttier, but if you only have natural cocoa, you can use it, although the cookies will puff just a bit more. Technically speaking, baking soda and Dutched cocoa powder don’t [...]
Lentil Soup with Sausage, Chard and Garlic Adapted from Secrets of the Best Chefs, where it was provided by Gina DePalma This soup is hearty and intense and the absolutely best remedy for a brittle, cold winter day — a meal in a bowl that also leaves your home smelling amazing. (I kinda wanted to [...]
One year ago… Coming in a bit! Gnocchi in Tomato Broth From The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook Yield: 2 1/2 to 3 cups broth and 85 to 100 gnocchi, serving 4 Tomato broth 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil 1 medium carrot, chopped 1 medium stalk celery, chopped 1 small yellow onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, [...]
Ethereally Smooth Hummus Recipe adapted from Ottolenghi’s stunning new dream of a book; technique is my own madness This is probably where you expect me to give you a soapbox speech about why it is so important that you soak your own chickpeas. And you know, think they taste wonderful, especially if you treat yourself [...]
Carrot Soup with Lemon, Tahini and Crisped Chickpeas My soup vice is because I’ve already confessed to finding it a little dull, that I overcompensate with add-ins. Here, there’s a dollop (lemon-tahini), a crouton (cumin-crisped chickpeas, which might sound familiar as they’re also here), wedges of toasted pitas (brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with za’atar) [...]
Fromage Fort As I mention above, there are no rules as to how you put this together. Maybe you want more wine, or less. Maybe you want a heavy hand with salt and pepper, or you want the natural flavors of the cheese to shine through. If you’re using a lot of hard cheeses, a [...]
Cashew Butter Balls Inspired by the Tasting Table Test Kitchens It was one of my favorite food newsletters that put the idea of a cashew spin on one of my favorite cookies into my head last winter, however, in the end, I preferred my go-to formula (with slightly less nuts and slightly more flour) to [...]
Cauliflower-Feta Fritters with Smoky Yogurt, Pomegranate Makes 18 2-inch fritters I prefer fritters with a lot of vegetable and just the faintest amount of batter, loosely tethering the vegetable chunks to each other. It will seem weird as you put the piles of batter in the pan — “these are going to fall apart!” — [...]
Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Adapted from several places, but my favorite version is Alton Brown’s To hard-boil eggs, well, there are a million approaches out there (see this comment section if you don’t believe me). Mine is to cover a large egg with cold water and put it on the stove and bring [...]
Granola-Crusted Nuts My preference here is for walnuts; my husband prefers pecans, so we compromised. Any nut can be used but those bumpy, craggy ones will manage to stow more granola coating. These are as excellent with breakfast as they would be for a travel snack or gift. 3/4 cup rolled oats (quick-cooking or old-fashioned [...]
Apple Cider Caramels From The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook Apple cider (sometimes called sweet or “soft” cider), as I’m referring to it here, is different from both apple juice and the hard, or alcoholic, fermented apple cider. It’s a fresh, unfiltered (it has sediment), raw apple juice — the juice literally pressed from fresh apples. It’s [...]
Roasted Pear and Chocolate Chunk Scones Tweaked from The Perfect Finish Makes 6 generous scones; you can absolutely make these a bit smaller and reduce their baking time accordingly 3 firmish pears (about 1 pound) 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup sugar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons for sprinkling 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 [...]
Butternut Salad with Farro, Pepitas and Ricotta Salata Serves 4 to 6, generously Like most salads, this recipe works well as a template, meaning that many of the ingredients can be replaced with likeminded ones with little trouble. You can use other winter squashes in the place of the butternut (or even sweet potatoes), the [...]
Apple Mosaic Tart with Salted Caramel Puffed pastry is a wonderful thing to keep around in your freezer. It comes at all price points, but I do think that the best ones contain only butter, not shortening. DuFour is my favorite brand; it is an investment that you will be able to taste in every [...]
Pancetta, White Bean and Swiss Chard Pot Pies From The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook The pancetta, while adding a lovely, smoky base, can be omitted to make this vegetarian. In fact, I went back and forth many, many times about removing it so that this could stay in the vegetarian section, but in the end, decided [...]
Chicken Noodle Soup While the recipe below makes what we consider a dreamy classic chicken noodle soup, feel free to just use it as a template. Can’t bear a chicken stock without garlic or leeks? Add them. (I sometimes use two onions, because I like that flavor so much with chicken. One could be replaced [...]
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Adapted from Baked Elements Okay, I changed a lot: the moisture level (I needed less), the instructions (streamlined them in some places, added details in others), the yield (I wanted more), the flour (I think AP works fine here), the spices (just a little fiddling), the baking pan size (I didn’t have [...]
Spaghetti with Broccoli Cream Pesto 1/2 pound broccoli 1/2 pound dried spaghetti 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 small onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced (or, more to taste) 1/2 teaspoon table salt Freshly ground black pepper or pinches of red pepper flakes 4 tablespoons heavy cream A heap of grated [...]
Crackly Banana Bread The crackle comes from uncooked millet, a seed that can be cooked like a grain in pilafs, but here is left crunchy. It’s sold in health food, speciality stores and many larger ones (found mine at Whole Foods). Miss the bourbon and butter? You might like my Jacked-Up Banana Bread too! My [...]
Homemade Wheat Thin Crackers Adapted, just barely, from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking I recommend traditional whole wheat flour for an accurate color but white whole wheat flour for a more delicate texture. I used the regular stuff. The original recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract to be added along with the water, [...]
Roasted Apple Spice Sheet Cake Why roast the apples? I tested this cake both ways and while small (1/2-inch chunks) of apple will cook through in the cake’s baking time, a little preroasting gives them the soft pillows of apple pie-like puddles that I think makes this cake better. It also allows for slightly bigger [...]
Fig, Olive Oil and Sea Salt Challah From The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook Yield: 1 large loaf Bread 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet — 1/4 ounce or 7 grams) active dry yeast 1/4 cup (85 grams) plus 1 teaspoon honey 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil, plus more for the bowl 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons [...]
Baked Orzo with Eggplant and Mozzarella Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi I made a couple changes to this recipe due to personal preferences. The original called for a lot of carrots and celery (4 carrots, 3 celery stalks) but I wanted them to just be a background flavor, not main ingredient. I also chopped them more [...]
Vanilla Custards with Roasted Blueberries This is my go-to custard recipe these days, adapted over the years (using less thickener and a range of butter amounts) from Julia Child. It can be used as the base for a fresh fruit tart in the yield listed below. It doesn’t make a terrible lot, just about 1ish [...]
Leek, Corn and Chard Flatbread with Goat Cheese I tend to make things with small yields that are easily scaled up, but this will yield two big flatbreads. (We find that one feeds the three of us for a light dinner, unless the toddler has an unusually large appetite. Then things get ugly.) Honestly, I [...]
Baked Feta with Tomatoes and Olives Adapted, barely, from The Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook I don’t think anyone would mind if you use more than the suggested amount of tomatoes. Feta is so salty and tomatoes are so delicious and sweet right now, the more the merrier. Now, I don’t have a grill but I am [...]
My Favorite Brownies I’ve talked about these before. A larger, thinner version of them formed the mosaic in the brownie mosaic cheesecake. I riffed on them with bittersweet and white chocolate instead of unsweetened for some schmoopy heart brownies. But I’ve never given them to you straight, and I must, because from time to time [...]
Charred Pepper Steak Sauce Barely adapted from Tasting Table’s test kitchen It is shameful how little I adapted this recipe, and a testament to awesomeness that is stumbling upon a recipe that is a rare hole-in-one. Nevertheless, I made a few, tiny tweaks: my pepper took longer to char, because I have the world’s worst [...]
Pink Lemonade Bars The bars as written yield a not overly sweet lemon bar (I know it must have been nicely tart because this guy wouldn’t eat them, and he considers turning down a cookie a breach of toddler contract) with a subtle raspberry kick and pale pink color. Updated: A few days later, I [...]
Pink Lemonade Bars The bars as written yield a not overly sweet lemon bar (I know it must have been nicely tart because this guy wouldn’t eat them, and he considers turning down a cookie a breach of toddler contract) with a subtle raspberry kick and pale pink color. I debated for the better part [...]
