Category Archives: Main Courses

Black Bean Cake with Pineapple Salsa and Avocado Crema

Black Bean Cakes with Pineapple Salsa and Avocado Crema

For this vegetarian gem, my buddy Karen suggested a savory black bean cake that we paired the cakes with a fresh pineapple salsa enlivened with piquant red jalapenos and a simple avocado crema made with greek yogurt and lime. The final result was ridiculously good – a composed plate that looked like it should be served at a fancy pants restaurant rather than the picnic table in my backyard. Continue reading

redtamales

Red Chile Tamales (with Beef or Chicken)

I’ve long been searching for a killer tamale recipe in the same way as I’ve wanted the PERFECT enchilada sauce recipe. So of course, when I found out that this month’s Daring Kitchen competition was to make tamales, I was so excited to have the opportunity to get back in the lab and start tinkering again. Continue reading

Kefta Kebab with Cucumber Salad and Shallot Yogurt

Kefta Kebabs

I’ve long been in love with kefta kebabs – the addictive combination of ground lamb or beef seasoned with aromatics such as onion, garlic, parsley and mint. The recipe is quite simple, with sumac as the secret ingredient to create the smokiness that I crave in each bite. Continue reading

Chicken Paprikash

Chicken Paprikash

Paprikash is a nourishing Hungarian stew that leverages sour cream to coax chicken (and often veal) into tenderness. Finding good paprika is key to this recipe to keep the flavors bright, so toss that old jar that’s been sitting in your pantry for ages and spring for some that’s new and vibrant red. Continue reading

Turkey Breast Roulade with Wild Rice Pear Stuffing

Turkey Breast Roulade with Wild Rice Pear Stuffing

Fragrant fennel pollen turns bland turkey into a fantastic bite, wild rice adds texture and nuttiness to ordinary stuffing, and the saltiness of the pancetta “wrapping” plays off the sweetness of roasted pear. Continue reading

Simple Herb Roasted Turkey

Simple Herb Roasted Turkey

Whether you can cook or not, if you follow a couple of simple steps, you can create an expertly seasoned and prepped turkey that will fool people into thinking that you are a vet in the kitchen. Take the praise. You deserve it for being wise enough to know you can fake it ’til you make it. Continue reading

Baked Roast Pork Buns

Baked Roast Pork Buns

I’ll admit that this is not my first time to the pork bun rodeo. From my sister’s obsession with the steamed version on Sunday’s at the dim sum parlor, to my husband’s cravings for the baked variety fresh from the Chinatown Roast Pork Bun Factory in NYC, I had a clear and compelling reason to learn how to make them for myself. Continue reading

Ginger Shrimp with Coconut Rice

Ginger Shrimp with Coconut Rice

Anytime anyone says that the secret ingredient in a recipe is ketchup, you have the right to run away screaming. Not this time, though. The shrimp in this recipe are gloriously complex, with the perfect combination of ginger, Chinese Five Spice Powder, scallions and yes, ketchup. Don’t knock it till you try it. Continue reading

Kalua Pork

Kalua Pork

This recipe leverages liquid smoke to replace the flavor of smoky banana leaves and an oven brown-in-bag to hold in moisture in order to make some of the most tender, delectable pulled pork you could possibly imagine. Continue reading

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs

These ribs are for the hungry and lazy – a troublesome combination that is often hard to please but will be bowled over by this ridiculously easy recipe. Parboil the ribs in a pressure cooker to cut down on the cooking time from hours to a mere 15 minutes. Continue reading

Falafel Pita with Spicy Tahini Dressing

Mother Stuffin’ Falafel Pita with Spicy Tahini Dressing

The name of this recipe came from my sister who demanded that I make a sandwich called a “Mother Stuffer.” In that she is a vegetarian (and most of the time a raw vegan at that), I had to make a concoction that proved that, much like her, veggies are non-stop fun. Continue reading

Italian BLT Panini with Pesto Mayo

Italian BLT Panini with Pesto Mayo

The jammy flavor of sundried tomatoes is concentrated into bitty, tender bites that can be used to great effect on sandwiches and panini. I tuck mine into this riff on a BLT sandwich, leveraging spicy arugula and crispy pancetta as stand-ins for the bacon and lettuce. Continue reading

Crispy Halibut Po'Boy with Caper Aioli

Crispy Halibut Po’boy with Caper Aioli

The secret ingredient that makes this recipe sing is the caper aioli – a homemade mayonnaise enlivened with capers, cocktail onions, tarragon and lemon, this condiment tastes of a majesty so great that one would think that you slaved over the stuff. But that’s not the case. Continue reading

Steak and Egg Sandwich with Jalapeno Hollandaise

Steak and Egg Sandwich with Jalapeno Hollandaise

This sandwich gilds the proverbial lily by adding tender steak to the scrambled eggparty, and ups the egg quotient with a piquant topping of jalapeno hollandaise (made in the blender for quick and easy eating). Yes, darlings, this one is trouble. And the best kind of trouble you can get in to, no less. Continue reading

Rooibos Beef Stew

Rooibos Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes

From the fragrant sauce of orange peel, ginger and cinnamon sticks, this beef stew screams holiday delight like no other. It personifies the melding of seemingly ordinary ingredients into something novel and special – a dish worth savoring for just a little bit longer. Continue reading

Black Tea Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Black Tea Chicken Lettuce Wraps

A long while back, in a moment of sheer MacGuyverism, I decided that since I couldn’t tea-smoke chicken in my NYC apartment without bringing in the fire department, I’d try to make a marinade for it using black tea. The resulting mixture, which I coined “hell broth” for it’s spicy, fragrant scent, was a great success. Continue reading

Moo Shu Pork

Moo Shu Pork with Homemade Pancakes

I’m totally mad for moo shu and I think that what does it is the inclusion of the awful sounding (but awfully addictively good) tree fungus. Tender pork, spicy ginger and matchsticks of bamboo shoots all solidify the greatness, but it’s the ebony slivers of the tree fungus that make me crazy with delight over this one. Continue reading

Meatballs with Coconut Curry

Meatballs with Coconut Curry

This recipe is all about using wholesome ingredients and creating your flavors from scratch. You’re toasting and grinding spices, leveraging fresh curry leaves instead of a powder, and blending the meat with aromatic onions, garlic and ginger. It may seem a serious job as you shop and cook, but the resulting curry has a depth of flavor that will make you a convert, dried spice mixes be damned. Continue reading

Curried Potatoes and Chickpeas

Curried Potatoes and Chickpeas

This recipe uses mango powder, a spice I’d never worked with before that is gloriously tart and floral. If you can seek some out from your Indian grocer or world market, it’s well worth your time. The resulting sauce created from the simmered chickpeas is sumptuous, great for sopping up with some appam or naan. Continue reading

Mexican Chicken Vegetable Soup (Caldo Tlalpeño)

Mexican Chicken Vegetable Soup (Caldo Tlalpeño)

This dish, tortilla soup’s not so distant cousin, was supposedly created in the region of Jalisco, the Western state that also gave us mariachi music and tequila. It starts with the same simple stock of chicken and tomatoes, but amps up the flavor with the smoky punch of chipotle pepper. Continue reading