Pesto is a recipe that hardly needs a recipe—so versatile + quick + inviting of experimentation. I am constantly changing up the herb + nut component, curious at how this changes flavors. This version—with parsley, cilantro, lemon and pistachio was inspired by dear Tory O’Haire (thanks for that!!) and I love making it. As with any pesto, you can add a bit more (or less) garlic to alter the pungency. Continue Reading…
Spring greens everything up in April, bringing welcome fresh growth. Foragers search the woods for wild ramps and mushrooms. And I search stores for one of my favorite vegetables: Snow white, frond-sy fennel. I’ll never forget buying it one April at the outdoor market stalls in Palermo, Italy, where fennel is called, “Finocchio.” I’ve long loved the anise-like taste and crunch of it raw, but when roasted, fennel sheds that licorice flavor to become lusciously sweet and caramelly.
Paired with the sexy silkiness of exotic mushrooms, nutty farro, zesty lemon and fresh snipped parsley, this warm bowl is delicious on its own, or as a side dish. I like to serve it with a drizzle of balsamic syrup and smattering of shaved parmesan. I made this with an assortment of beautiful exotic mushrooms (Lion’s Mane, Oyster and Chestnut) grown at Windy City Mushrooms, and available for pick-up at the Village Farmstand in Evanston, but sub in any tender fresh mushrooms you like.
What to do with the leftover Easter ham? Make Cubano Sandwiches! Cuban immigrants to Tampa and Key West who came to work in the cigar industry are credited with the creation of this perfect grilled ham and cheese, although exact provenance is a little hazy. There are records of it being a worker’s lunch in Cuba first, where it would have been made with Cuban bread and pressed in a plancha, before it came to Florida. 
Without a plancha you can finish the sandwich in a panini press, or just pan griddle it in a little Continue Reading…
“One ha’ penny, two ha’ penny, hot cross buns!” was once a British street-vendor cry heralding the sale of spiced and fruit-studded buns traditionally eaten on Good Friday. When I was a little girl, I loved the American version of these buns, soft and warm, with snow-white icing crosses piped over their glossy tops.
The buns are generally linked with Christian symbolism (crosses for Christ’s crucifixion, citrus peel for the bitterness of his last drink, and spices for his shroud) but food historians tell us they have pagan roots. Ancient Romans offered cross-marked buns to their moon goddess Diana. And before that, Saxons baked buns etched with horns in a cross-shape meant to represent the four quarters of the moon’s cycle. Briton’s went on to credit the buns with all sorts of good luck: Curing illness, protecting from shipwrecks, warding off kitchen fires and more. Me? I just like the way they taste!
Although store-bought ones come with just raisins or currants, I like extra dried fruits and candied fruit peel. My recipe plumps a mix of seedless black raisins, sultanas, dried apricots, and sweetened dried cranberries in hot rum. That, plus a few tablespoons of home-made candied citrus peel makes them delicious. The dough is spiced with a freshly grated nutmeg, Jamaiican allspice, ground cinnamon and clove. Continue Reading…
Famed French chef Georges Auguste Escoffier had a long association with England, working with César Ritz of the Ritz Hotel empire to make The Savoy Hotel in London an unparalleled success with royals and the wealthy in the 1890s. Knowing of Queen Victoria’s fondness for cherries, Escoffier set to work creating a special dessert for her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. To make it, he poached cherries in sugar syrup, reduced and thickened the juice with arrowroot, placed the mixture in silver timbales, and set them aflame with heated Kirsch. Continue Reading…
When I hear, “Valentine’s Day,” the queen of hearts rhyme I learned as a tot, always pops to mind: “The queen of hearts, she made some tarts, all on a summer’s day, The knave of hearts, he stole those tarts, and with them run away…” (I think the illustration of the skinny-legged “knave” running off with the tarts in the nursery primer was what fascinated me most.) Anyway, thinking about the verse recently, I poked around and discovered it was written by an anonymous poet in the 1700s, who added three more scandalous stanzas that definitely wouldn’t fly in the nursery. I’m guessing you’ve never heard them either, so here you go:
The queen of hearts, she made some tarts, all on a summer’s day,
The knave of hearts, he stole those tarts, and with them run away:
The king of hearts call’d for those tarts and beat the knave full sore;
The knave of hearts brought back those tarts, and said he’ll ne’er steal more. (continued through link)
Continue Reading…
Step aside, mac and cheese! This saucy cauliflower bake, with bacon, onion, and pepper jack cheese under a crisp crumb topping, is vegetal-ly better. Quite literally edible flowers, heads of cauliflower are the mildest-flavored members of the cruciferous vegetable family.
Yes, bacon, cheese, mustard-cream and Panko makes this comfort food—but with vegetal benefits. Like its more aggressive sibs, cauliflower is full of antioxidants, essential vitamins and minerals, anti-inflammatory compounds, fiber and more.
To make the gratin, you’ll simmer the cauli-florets with bacon and onion in chicken stock and milk, make the sauce, top with panko, and bake until bubbly. We like to serve the gratin with freshly sliced tomatoes and steamed green beans, but it works well as a side for roast chicken. If you have any leftovers, the gratin keeps well for second-day service.
I often hum in the kitchen, especially when the meal prep is for a special gathering. For this delicious pork loin dish–with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme all fragrantly present, the tune had to be Simon & Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair.”
I first encountered a version of this recipe 17 years ago, in acclaimed chef Suzanne Goin’s James Beard Award winning cookbook, “Sunday Suppers at Lucques.” Goin’s Los Angeles restaurant Lucques lasted for nearly 21 years, closing in 2020, but the beautiful recipes in her cookbook live on! The New York Times did a version of the loin 16 years ago, replacing spring onions and haricot verts with shallots, grapes and fingerling potatoes, which I liked very much. To give the dish a holiday slant that goes very well with the pork, ours has a tart/sweet sauce made with fresh-pressed pomegranate juice and white wine.
Honoring Goin’s practice of using best possible ingredients, I make this with farm-sourced produce, and use French Dijon for the mustard marinade (Maille is good—Bornier, even better!) I use champagne grapes, but seedless red grapes (choose small, firm ones) works as well. Continue Reading…
Evanston-based poet and accomplished home cook Ori Fienberg likes Hanukkah latkes just fine, but his feast food favorite is most definitely a beautiful beef brisket. Fienberg, who calls cold weather “the braise days,” says his best tips for making a perfect holiday brisket are, “One: Don’t fear the fond. (The brown bits that form on the bottom of the pot when you sear the meat and cook the onions.) And two: Make a LOT of caramelized onions.” Continue Reading…
I love winter squash–so sweet and nutty, rich and warm. Simply roasting the many varieties will give you a platter full of deep flavors and silky textures. But adding Chef Sarah Stegner’s brilliant green arugula-tahini vinaigrette, plus fried sage leaves, pomegranate, and pumpkin seeds puts this dish in another realm of delicious: Perfect for your Thanksgiving table.
“There are so many kinds of squash to work with!” says Stegner of Prairie Grass Café in Northbrook, IL. “Each of the local farms I source squash from seems to have one type it specializes in: Froggy Meadow grows beautiful Black Futsu and Blue Hubbard. Three Sisters does giant Butternut. And Nichols—while offering some of the more traditional squashes such as Acorn and Delicata, also grows Butterkins with really intense flavor.”
Stegner created this medley as the opening course for a special dinner celebrating Native American Heritage Month. Simply roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper, the squash is very easy to make at home. So is the vinaigrette and garnish.
“A lot of home cooks shy away from fresh sage because it has such a powerful flavor,” notes Stegner. “But frying it transforms the herb and perfectly mellows it.” Continue Reading…