All Recipes Appetizers Asian Sauces & Condiments Vegetables

Truffled Baba Ghanouj

If you like eggplant, you’ll love this fire-roasted puree of the egg-shaped glossy purple fruit. (Yes, like its cousin, the tomato, the eggplant is technically a fruit, not a vegetable.) The name, whether you spell it “baba ganouj,” “baba ganouge,” or “baba ganoush,” is pronounced the same and though there are many variations, it’s all the same dish – a Mediterranean classic with a fantastic smoky-lemony flavor. Our version of the dish replaces some of the tahini, a paste of …

Spicy Sesame Nori Chips
Appetizers Asian Vegetables

Spicy Sesame Nori (Seaweed) Chips

The urge to snack is universal. Humans must possess some primal craving for deliciously crispy, crunchy foods that are too frequently not very good for us. Here’s a terrific snack that will satisfy your inner caveman – and it’s actually good for you. With only 9 calories each, these crisp & spicy nori chips can tackle your snack attack without inflating your waistline. Nori, as dried sheets of edible seaweed are known in Japan, are made from a species of …

Honey, saffron and vanilla
Appetizers Breads & Baked Goods Desserts Sauces & Condiments

Saffron & Vanilla Infused Honey

Honey, that most natural of sweeteners, holds an important place in every culture of the world. Honeybees, so crucial to the development of flowering plants, thrive in temperate regions around the globe, busily spreading pollen and concentrating the sweet, energy-rich nectar of the flowers that they visit into that prized substance, honey. The flavor of honey varies tremendously, depending on the type of flowers visited by the bees who store the precious honey in the waxy combs of their hive. It seems only …

Pig Fingers in ramekins
Appetizers Meat Sauces & Condiments

“Pig Fingers” with Two Sweet & Spicy Glazes

“Pig Fingers” is a deliciously old-fashioned dish that has been around in some form since forever, apparently. While you may find various other versions online, this one is an original, an old farmhouse classic, dating back to that long ago time before the internet was invented. The following recipe was faithfully copied from a yellowed, handwritten index card that has been carefully kept in an decoupaged wooden recipe box for over 30 years. It was given to us back in the 1970s by the daughter …

Spicy Tuna Tartare with Mango-Chili Sauce
Appetizers Asian Seafood

Spicy Tuna Tartare with Mango-Chili Sauce

If you like seafood – and you like it a little spicy – this is one fun, quick and easy dish that you shouldn’t miss. Spicy Tuna Tartare with Mango-Chili Sauce is elegant enough for a sit-down dinner, but it’s just as appropriate at a casual sushi party – or simply scooped up with crispy rice crackers for an easy-does-it appetizer. This dish gets its fiery & flavorful kick compliments of Yuzu Kosho, a spicy Japanese condiment that leaves a distinctly sour/salty/spicy flavor lingering on the palate. A specialty of the cuisine of Kyushu, a region …

Poultry Rubs and Marinades Sauces & Condiments

Spiced Duck Breast with Sherry Vinegar-Pine Bud Syrup Glaze

Some people say they don’t like duck because “it’s too greasy” or “it’s tough.” The problem is that the duck they’ve eaten just wasn’t cooked right. Ducks, like other domesticated fowl, including chickens and turkeys, have both dark meat (legs & thighs) that require long, slow cooking and light meat (breasts) that is best when cooked for a much shorter time. The solution?  Cut the duck up and cook the various parts in the manner that yields the best results. Braising is …

Appetizers Potatoes Seafood

Bite-sized Potato-Apple Pancake Canapés

From Ireland to Sweden to the far reaches of Eastern Europe, potato pancakes of one sort or another are practically universal in traditional European cuisines.  Whether they’re called boxty, latke, placki, rösti or rårakor, potato pancakes are a special dish, proudly brought out for holidays and other festive occasions. Potatoes, apples and onions are frequent companions in many hearty mid-European dishes and they don’t fail to please in this delightful version of the traditional potato pancake. While apples are not …

Black Garlic Cloves and Whole Heads
Appetizers Asian Sauces & Condiments

Black Garlic Tapenade: A New Classic

Black garlic. First things first – what is this mysterious stuff? Perhaps it’s easiest to begin by describing what black garlic is NOT. Black garlic is not a new strain of garlic; it’s not genetically modified, nor is it a recent invention by practitioners of modernist cuisine. Black garlic starts out as regular white garlic (some say that hardneck garlic varieties make the best black garlic), but ends up with a delicately sweet flavor, soft, jam-like texture and striking jet-black color. …

Soups & Stews Vegetables Wild Foods

Velvety Chestnut Soup With Wild Mushrooms

This simple, velvety soup with the aroma of an autumn woodland allows the delicately sweet flavor of chestnuts to shine. Fresh chestnuts are a popular staple in fall soups, both on restaurant menus and in the homes of creative cooks. Since chestnuts are a seasonal delicacy and aren’t available for most of the year, it’s a great idea to enjoy them as much as possible now while they’re fresh and at their best. Most recipes for chestnut soup pair them with …

Mushrooms Soups & Stews Vegetables Wild Foods

Wild Mushroom & Barley Soup

When the weather takes a sharp turn toward the cool side, there is nothing more welcome than a bowl of hot, rib-sticking homemade soup.   This hearty wild mushroom and barley soup is satisfying on so many different levels, that it just can’t miss. First, and perhaps most importantly, it delivers a great, big mouthful of robust flavor.  How can something with just a handful of simple ingredients taste so great?  Let’s give credit where credit is due:  it starts with wild mushrooms. Mushrooms are known for their umami, a Japanese …