18
Mar
2010
Grilled Lemongrass Beef
From chocolate covered pretzels to a salt-rimmed margarita, our palettes all crave the goodness that is sweet and salty. This recipe tackles all the taste points, with a fair share of sweet, salty and tart. I slather this simple marinade on beef and grill until charred on the outside and juicy pink on the inside, but you can certainly use it on pork or chicken as well.
18
Mar
2010
Sweet Peanut Lime Dressing
This dressing is a variation of one of my favorite go-to dressings, a light citrus combo that is sweetened with a bit of sugar and honey. I use it on my Thai Chopped Salad with Crisp Noodles and Herbs, but if you leave out the peanut sauce, you can use it as the basis for a Mandarin Orange Salad or even as a marinade for meat or vegetables.
18
Mar
2010
Thai Chopped Salad with Crisp Noodles and Herbs
This particular recipe reminds me of all of my favorite things about a salad – exceedingly crisp, ultra light, and super refreshing. Matchsticks of carrot, daikon and red bell pepper give an addictive crunch, and the crisp noodles help to soak up the yummy peanut lime dressing. Cilantro and mint add spice and sweetness, and the dressing gets a kick from a bit of chili and garlic. It’s all around goodness.
17
Mar
2010
Irish Lamb Stew with Rosemary and Sage
Tender, marbled chunks of lamb make their home in a savory gravy enriched with onions, celery, rosemary and sage. The untraditional Irish stew ingredients of garlic and tomato give the dish body, and the dry red wine brings it all home.
17
Mar
2010
Basil Lemonade
I think my first memory of perfect lemonade was from when I was a kid (I had to have been 7 or 8) at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and in an effort to stave off the DC summer heat, tried a hand-shaken lemonade for the first time. There’s something about freshly squeezed lemon juice that can’t ever be duplicated with concentrate – after that first taste, I was sold. Lemon, sugar, water – that was it.
16
Mar
2010
Simple Hanger Steak
Face it, kids. Filet mignon is overrated. Yes, it’s tender. Yes, it costs more than most other steaks. But really, if you ask me for the cut that I turn to time and time again for an in-home, steakhouse experience, it’s all about the hanger steak.
16
Mar
2010
String Bean and Heirloom Tomato Salad
Ok, maybe it’s not summer yet, but I do like it when I can get produce to do my bidding at any given season and remind me of the joys of a fruitful harvest from the garden. This salad, based on one that I fell in love with at the restaurant The Smith, is a bright assortment of crisp and tart, sweet and salty flavors. It’ll make you want to sit in a hammock and sway on a warm summer night.
16
Mar
2010
Italian Chicken Soup
There’s something about the tender rice and chicken, salty parmasean and delicate bits of egg that make this a go-to for me whenever I need a bit of comfort. Making the stock from scratch is important, but in a pinch, you could make this with broth – just make sure you don’t leave out the egg and cheese.
14
Mar
2010
Chicken and Rice Soup (Canja)
This soup was a part of my collective food memories well before I had even worked behind a stove. Both my Brazilian and Sicilian ancestors believed in the power of chicken and rice soup, so as a kid, if I was feeling punkish, this is what I got. If I was REALLY sick, I had this soup without the veggies and chicken – just broth and either rice or pastina (itty bitty italian pasta as small as grains of rice). To this day, if I need a comforting meal, I make a pot of Canja or Italian Chicken Soup.
14
Mar
2010
Cabbage Borscht
I have so many happy memories of this soup – it’s one that my Dad has been making for years, probably back when the parents had a subscription to Bon Apetit and Gourmet mag. Every edition had sweet 70s fashions and folks curled up on shag rugs dipping wisps of beef tenderloin into the smoking oil fondue pots.
13
Mar
2010
Whole Roasted Chicken with Mushrooms and Herbes de Provence
This recipe uses butter and herbes de provence, a savory herb mix of thyme, lavender, fennel seeds, savory, and other assorted dried goodness. You can, however, use whatever dried herbs suit your fancy and also replace the butter with olive oil. Treat the chicken to whatever freshness you have on hand and make it your own. After all, it’s not Jim Perdue’s stinkin’ chicken. It’s yours.
13
Mar
2010
Gorgeous Greek Dressing
Face it – if you like caesar dressing, you like anchovies. No balking about it – it’s a fact. These little salty gems are the base for this addictive dressing. Serve it over a salad of crisp greens, cucumbers, tomato, kalamata olives and feta. Or use it as a dip from crudité – matchsticks of carrots, celery, cucumber, bell pepper and squash couldn’t find a better home than this dressing.
10
Mar
2010
Chicken Salad with Tarragon and Apples
This chicken salad is the perfect marriage of sweet and savory, with the lovely zing of lemon and dijon to wake the whole thing up. Tender white meat chicken becomes moist and delicious in a fine poaching liquid of lemon and pepper. And if you can score a really good artisinal bread, it’s a treat and a half.
9
Mar
2010
Cincinnati-Style Chili Mac
It’s such a bowl of unpretentious goodness, eating this chili ensures some serious chillaxin’. Or as I think the Fresh Prince would put it, “Chillin’ out max and relaxin’ all cool and all, eatin’ some chili outside of the school.” Yup, chili school.
9
Mar
2010
Coconut Tres Leches
I decided to simplify the process with cake mix – god forbid I give you a cake recipe that involves skill because heaven knows I’m no baker – and one up the sweetness with a bit of salty coconut. Replace the water used in the box of cake mix with coconut water, and then swap out the traditional cream in the leche bath for cream of coconut, and voila, a showstopping dessert with little to no fuss.