Hot soup for cold spring - Gray April provides perfect weather for homemade classic
If this were a normal year, I wouldn’t dream of making French onion soup in April. But, yippee, the weather that’s with us now is just perfect for this time-honored classic. Although there is no specific recipe we can pinpoint as the original version of this onion soup, over time it’s acquired certain hallmarks.
Blend up smoothies for indulgent snack
Frosty, dessert-like and packed with delicious, nutritional ingredients, it’s no wonder fruit smoothies are so popular.
Iced coffee that’s easy on wallet
Warm weather and a serious caffeine habit can make it hard to resist those fancy iced java jolts from the coffee shop.
For two or a crowd - Recipes you can adjust as needed
Whether your Easter brunch will be an intimate affair or a crowd scene, the recipes that make up this menu can be just the right size.
Taking skewer to lean meals
Lamb can be fatty, but I still enjoy the meat in small doses. To keep things lean, I ask the butcher for a piece of lamb from the leg, preferably the top round, or I buy lamb cubes cut from the leg.
BRICK OVEN FLAVOR - How to re-create wood-fired taste at home
It didn’t hit me until I was loading firebrick into the back of my clean car one Sunday afternoon that maybe my little “project” was turning into more of an obsession.
Traditional crisp light on butter
Warm fruit desserts are always a welcome end to a meal at my house. They’re easy to make, require only basic baking skills and fill the house with a wonderful smell. The challenge is finding good-quality fruit (fresh or frozen) and a recipe that doesn’t break the calorie bank.
Using every last bit
This year, more than others, we’ve declared war on wasting food. To help with the fight, we’ve come up with 20 ingredients that can be hard to use up before they go bad. Here are quick (and a few not-so-quick) ideas for putting them to delicious purpose. Keep the list on your fridge, and you’ll never have to toss half a container of these staples again. When in doubt, turn to our quintet of favorite use-up dishes: frittata, fried rice, omelet, stir-fries, soup. They can take on many of the ingredients on our list.
Bird to serve a flock - French-style Chicken in a Pot is fancy enough to serve guests
WASHINGTON n The sky would fall before many people would serve chicken to guests. It’s not fancy enough, and besides, why make something for company that they can easily eat at home?
Chicken salad, hold the mayo
I’m always looking for new ways to make chicken salad, especially ones that don’t involve creamy, mayonnaise-based dressings.
As simple as salmon gets
This may be the easiest salmon you will ever make. It’s from Mireille Guiliano’s “French Women Don’t Get Fat,’’ which is another bonus.
Preparing Chicken in a Pot for company
Make ahead: The chicken can be baked a day in advance; let it rest, then carve, cover and refrigerate. To reheat, arrange the pieces in a single layer in a baking dish. Add enough chicken broth to cover the pieces halfway. Let the chicken come to room temperature, then reheat for 20 minutes in a 250-degree oven.
Polenta blends old, new worlds - Chicken ragu, Italian porridge is perfect for cold evening
It’s amazing what difference a dish’s name can make. Polenta, the Italian name for ground corn cooked in liquid to a creamy smooth texture, has gustatory appeal. But corn meal mush, our blunt and coarse term for the same preparation, has an opposite effect.
NOURISH - Cut down sodium in chickpeas, spinach
This dish goes well with roasted meats or chicken, but it is so full of flavor that it can just as easily be a main course.
Cooking for kids - Still sneaky after all these meals
CONCORD, N.H. - Missy Chase Lapine’s newest cookbook includes a chapter on holiday recipes, but in her kitchen, every day is April Fool’s Day.
Irresistible underdog - Humble oatmeal cookie consistently named a favorite in American kitchens
BALTIMORE - Lumpy, bumpy and hopelessly old-fashioned, the oatmeal cookie lacks any semblance of foodie cred. Panache? Style? Decadence? Oatmeal cookies have none of that.
Try mildly eccentric stir-fry dish
This dish is packed with flavor and texture. Chinese mustard greens and Chinese mustard (another use for those little takeout packets!) each lend a peppery zing. The addition of pistachios makes it a slightly unorthodox stir-fry, but there’s a healthful trade-off: A single one-ounce serving of pistachios (about 49 of them) has as much potassium as half of a large banana, more fiber than a half-cup of broccoli or spinach, and about the same protein as an ounce of soybeans.
Disguise fish with salsa, rub
I’ve struggled to incorporate fish into my meal planning, especially when the weather isn’t conducive to outdoor grilling. To get past what clearly was a lack of imagination, I started experimenting with different toppings and cooking methods.
Healthy sign of spring - Steaming asparagus helps retain its vitamins, nutrients
Asparagus not only is a pleasant and affordable harbinger of spring, it also does great things for a healthy diet.
New slow-cooker movement catches on
Fans affectionately refer to them with names like “recession-fighting machines” and “crackpots.” They call themselves “crockpotters” and wax poetic with a fervor normally reserved for religion, politics or love. “My entire family life revolves around the Crock-Pot,” says one. “I have not only embraced the Crock-Pot but am making out with it.”
Testing the slow cookers
Although shopping for a slow cooker might not require the time and energy reserved for more substantial purchases, like a car, the ever-increasing variety of makes and models can make the process a bit overwhelming. Whether you’re looking to upgrade the exhausted heirloom on your kitchen counter or you’ve finally decided to take the plunge with your first purchase, here are some tips to help you find that perfect match.
Light alternative to scampi
I used to love shrimp scampi, with its rich butter, parsley and garlic sauce. Now I when I look at a scampi recipe, all I see is beautiful seafood drowning in calories.
No drive-through necessary
Tacos are messy enough to eat, never mind trying to do it behind the wheel while chatting on your phone. Instead, do tacos at home with this easy and delicious take on the Mexican-American classic.
Endless varieties of noodles, sauce
At my house, we never have just a dish of pasta. It is always a nice dish of pasta, as in, “Tonight I’m going to make a nice dish of pasta with red clam sauce.” I picked up that turn of phrase from my Italian mother, who obviously translated it from the Italian: “un bel piatto di pasta.”
Pork chili has spicy dose of chipotle, healthy serving of beans
I love to make chili. It’s a great way to incorporate healthful beans into my family’s meals. The beans absorb spicy flavors well and meld with almost any meat.
Brewing up a winter stew - Flemish-style beef dish with beer, onions suits the season
One effect wintery weather has on me is to get me into the kitchen to make stews. One of my favorites, made with beef, onions and beer and seasoned with thyme and bay, is the French-named classic Carbonnades a la Flamande. Carbonnades refers to meat cooked over hot coals or directly over flames, and “a la Flamande” means “in the Flemish style.” And what is the Flemish style? For one, beer, the typical liquid used in Belgian braises. Another is the stew go-withs: Carrots, cabbage and potatoes are typical, but buttered noodles are also an option.
Thrifty breakfast beyond omelets - Baked French toast is simple alternative
As meals go, breakfast typically is the least expensive of the day. That also means it is easily transformed into something special without spending a fortune.
Asian variation on Italian wedding soup
Here’s a play on a traditional Italian wedding soup. I build a soup with udon noodles and add mini pork meatballs, seasoned like dumplings. Scallions, fresh ginger, toasted sesame oil and soy sauce lend an Asian influence to a low-sodium chicken broth.
Fritters: A classic NOLA breakfast
Whether or not you live in New Orleans, Mardi Gras is a fine excuse to sample one of the city’s breakfast staples. These banana fritters - something of a cross between a doughnut and a pancake - are as good pan-fried like a traditional pancake as they are deep-fried as called for by the recipe.
Start morning with less acidic beverages
Waffles and pancakes drizzled - OK, flooded - with maple syrup typically are accompanied by orange juice or coffee at breakfast. But if you want your food and drink to work together, that might not be such a good idea.
