Produce Primer: Artichoke Hearts

This is what a motley artichoke looks like. After sitting on my counter for three days, their leaves dried out a bit, but their hearts were still wonderful.   They’re still beautiful to me because I know how wonderful they are on the inside.  Oh no. Am I talking about a vegetable or having a moment of self-examination?
Its artichoke season!  Do you know what this means?!  Do you?  Do you?  This is the beginning of the year’s good produce.  We’ve made it through the doldrums of January and February.  Another head of cabbage anyone? We can now begin the countdown to local asparagus- but we’re not rushing through artichokes.

Though the season technically runs from March through May, we just started getting good-looking ‘chokes that aren’t absurdly expensive.  I just paid 89-cents each for 10 slightly motley but quite large ones.  No one is more excited about this development than my Sally, whose love for the prickly, leathery flowers is legendary. Read more

Tofu and Vegetable Soup in Miso Broth

As Chicago warms up to a balmy 40-degrees, the hearty, beefy stews of winter begin to feel like a wool sweater- uncomfortably heavy. But we’re not yet ready to start showing off our pedicures. This is the time when I most crave a dashi-based soup.  It’s light, nourishing and full of flavor.  It’s also still warming. Read more

Mustard and Panko Crusted Pork Chops

Oh, you are SO going to love the simplicity of this dish!  It smells absolutely amazing while it cooks- perfuming the house with the fragrance of mustard and thyme.  It is also delicious, of course.
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Cinnamon Beef Noodles

Adapted from Asian Noodles, by Marie Simonds

This is a wonderful cold weather, comforting food that, unusually, isn’t the least bit leaden.  I think I crave and make it as much to smell it cooking as I do to actually eat it.  The perfume of this dish always gets everyone asking, “Wow, what’s for dinner?” Read more

Hummus

Based on Jane Brody’s recipe from Good Food Gourmet

I’m not a big Oprah watcher these days, but there was nothing on TV last week and I happened to have it on Tivo.  She had Queen Rania of Jordan on the show to discuss her new children’s book.  The book uses an incident from her childhood to illustrate the importance of being open to people who are different.  In the story as it happened in her childhood, she was eating a Hummus sandwich and another girl was eating a PB&J.  Each girl learned that the other girl’s sandwich was tastier than she imagined and world peace was initiated.

That’s all lovely, but all I could think was, “Hummus!  Why has it been so long since I’ve made hummus?”  Guess what I made for lunch the next day.

Hummus has become rather ubiquitious in the last decade and for good reason.  It is not only delicious, but incredibly versatile at adding flavor (and nutrition!) to so many foods.  It makes me cringe when I see folks spending $10 for a big tub of it at my local warehouse club.  It is so ridiculously easy, and cheap, to make at home. Read more

Classic Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy

In January 1955, I began to experiment with chicken cookery.  It was a subject that encompassed almost all the fundamentals of French cuisine, some of its best sauces, and a few of its true glories. Larousse Gastronomique listed over two hundred different chicken recipes, and I tried most of them… But my favorite remained the basic roast chicken.  What a deceptively simple dish.  I had come to believe that one can judge the quality of a cook by his or her roast chicken.  Above all, it should taste like chicken:  it should be so good that even a perfectly simple, buttery roast should be a delight.

— Julia Child,  excepted from My Life in France

I heartily concur.  Though I have seen a bajillion recipes for all kinds of ways to roast chicken, three times out of four no preparation can hold more appeal to me than this.  This simple preparation showcases the perfectly chickeny flavors of the pastured birds I am so fortunate to be able to get from my farmer’s market buddy, Steve. Read more

Minestrone Soup: The Reshoot

Adapted from Summer Minestrone with Pesto recipe from Bon Appetit, August 2004

When we lived in Greenwich, we had a regular Sunday night ritual of going to a local pizza place, Bella Nonna, which had a variety of Italian dishes that were very tasty and wonderful, ebullient Italian service.  They made a killer minestrone with vegetables that were never overcooked, pasta that was perfectly al dente and a fresh, vegetal flavor.  When we moved to Chicago, I yearned for that minestrone and spent about 6 months working on it until I got it.  This is a fantastic way to use the bounty of the summer garden. Read more

Pan-Roasted Grouper with Provençal Vegetables

Adapted from The Best of Cooking Light

This is my favorite kind of recipe.  Elegant enough for a dinner party but simple enough for a weekday without skimping on nicely developed flavor.  It works equally with grouper, cod or halibut.  Snapper or salmon could be nice too. Read more

Callaloo Soup

Adapted from The Soul of a New Cuisine, by Marcus Samuelsson

A few weeks before I taught a class on hearty greens with Kyle, I had acquired and been reading The Soul of a New Cuisine– a book about the foods of Africa. I noticed this recipe in part because it uses one of my favorite spice combos- cumin and coriander. Read more

Veal Scallops with Lemon and Capers

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook, Edited by Ruth Reichl

This is a family staple.  It involves almost no prep and cooks in no time.  It is totally elegant in appearance and taste.  My kids actually jump up and down when they find out this is for dinner.   Read more

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