Gluten-Free Recipes
Albondigas soup is a traditional Mexican meatball soup ("albondigas" means "meatballs" in Spanish) that my mother has cooked for our family for almost 50 years. It is our version of comfort food. What makes the flavor of albondigas soup distinctive...
Are you familiar with Cook's Illustrated? It's a magazine and a website from the same people who create the PBS show America's Test Kitchen. It's the only cooking show we watch with any regularity, and we read each issue of...
Every year about this time we are inundated with fresh apricots from our neighbor's tree. And every year I tell myself I'm going to make a chicken dish with them, but never get around to it. Instead, we'll make apricot...
The foggy coastline of Northern California is artichoke country. Like finding small hole-in-the-walls that serve clam chowder in New England, here one can sometimes find local diners that sell delicous artichoke soup. I first developed a taste for artichoke soup...
We have a 3 ft by 6 ft patch of arugula growing in our garden and for the last two months I've been looking for ways to make use of it. By the way, arugula (a.k.a. rocket) grows like a...
Winter in California is the season for arugula, along with many other lettuces. A few years ago we planted some in our garden and now each year the arugula re-seeds itself and takes over with a flourish, starting in December...
Selland's market-cafe in Sacramento is an uncommonly good café and often a source of inspiration for foods to prepare. Recently I had some of their asparagus and loved the texture - slightly crunchy (definitely not mushy!) - and the hint...
Although for the most part we can get asparagus all year long, I usually only get them in the spring, when they are in season. How can you resist, when you see hundreds of them in the produce section, saluting...
My father got bit by the frittata bug this week and made these for us for lunch a few days ago. This is a quick and easy, no-nonsense recipe that makes a terrific frittata in hardly any time at all.
In California winter can transition to spring in a flash. It seems like yesterday we were beset by chilly storms while the forecast for this week is all sunny and 70s. Daffodils are blooming, as are cherry trees, and the...
Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord. ~Elise As a child I despised the asparagus my mother served. It was steamed to a dreadfully pathetic wilt and tasted, I assumed, no better than the old grass clippings trapped in the blades...
Mark Bittman of the New York Times recently did a write up of simple meals ready in 10 minutes or less. This avocado tomato salad would be my entry, but in five minutes or less, and that would include picking...
Sometimes the simplest things are the most enjoyable. My mother whipped up this quick and easy baby bok choy dish the other night. It was so good I made her make it again the next day so I could watch...
I admit, I am not the greatest fan of bok choy, perhaps as result of too many poorly done stir-fries during college. That said, my father made this recipe from Fine Cooking the other day and it was so good...
There are certain routines in our family for which I am unendingly grateful. One is that at the dinner table there is always a green vegetable of some sort. I may not have loved some veggies as a child, but...
An easy way to dress up a simple pork roast is to wrap it in bacon. The bacon fat brings extra juiciness and flavor to the roast.
It's apple season here in New England, where I am visiting my goddaughter and her family. We went apple picking a few days ago and came home with so many apples, we'll be cooking with them all week. Today the...
White beans are so versatile. We usually have several cans ready to go and at least a pound or two of dried beans in the pantry. This is a simple baked bean dish, with the beans first cooked in simmering...
A dish doesn't have to be complicated, or take a lot of time, to be good. My father found this recipe for baked shrimp in a tomato sauce with feta cheese in a special publication by Fine Cooking (one of...
Some things taste so much better than they look. This is an odd looking dish with the orangey pink shrimp and the light yellow-y green tomatillos, speckled here and there with white Cotija cheese and green cilantro. And you might...
A good tomato sauce is the foundation for so many wonderful dishes - pizza, pasta, chicken, and fish. Here is a recipe for a basic tomato sauce that starts with a soffritto of onions, carrots, and celery cooked in a...
My father's been going through 20 years of old cooking magazines, looking for interesting things to cook and hoping to clear up some space on his bookshelf. Last night we enjoyed this delicious stew, pulled from a back issue of...
One of our favorite side dishes is hot sauerkraut, delicious served with pork or bockwurst - a mild German sausage. You can also make a sandwich with toasted or grilled dark rye bread, melted Jack, havarti, or Muenster cheese, the...
Many recipes call for beef stock (e.g. French onion soup), but good beef stock is hard to come by, with beef prices these days, expensive to make. Beef oxtails make a wonderful stock and sometimes you can get them (try...
According to the Wikipedia, Beef Stroganoff was invented by a chef working for a Russian general, Count Pavel Stroganov, in the 1890s. It became popular in the U.S. in the 1950s from servicemen returning from Europe and China after WWII...
This recipe is not for the food-queazy. If that's you, you might want to just skip this one, or instead check out some of our chicken breast recipes. What? You're still with us? Okay, don't say I didn't warn you...
All these years I've been loving beets but throwing the beet greens away. Yikes! No more. This is a delicious way to serve greens, whether collard, kale, or beet.
For those of you out there who cannot fathom even the idea of beets, fine. Truly, I'm a-okay with it. That only means there is more of this beet hummus for me. I ate this entire batch, save one teaspoon...
This berry and banana terrine is an easy and beautiful way to serve summer berries with bananas for added sweetness. Think Jello but packed with fruit. And instead of neon artificial colored Jello, you use unflavored gelatin with white grape...
What is it about a black bean salad that practically shouts, "summer potluck"? The mercury has been edging past a hundred degrees lately here and I've been getting nostalgic for some of the picnic foods I remember having often as...
As some of you may be aware, California has been hit with some stormy weather recently. We warm-weather low-landers don't do cold and wet too well and for the last several days of rainy and cold I've been craving some...
Gobsmacked. I thought I was pretty well versed in what one could do with cabbage, addicted to the stuff as I am. Whether it's braised, in stewed, stuffed, boiled, or made into coleslaw, we eat cabbage in every which way...
Please welcome Garrett McCord who shares this delicious cancer-fighting fruit salad with us. ~Elise Recently my mom, Suzanne McCord, was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was surprised when I heard the news, my mother is in her early sixties, but...
My first memorable encounter with borscht was at a pot-luck party I had in San Francisco, in which my friend Elisabeth brought a huge, must have been 12 or 16-quart, pot of drop-dead delicious, deep purply red soup filled with...
My father made the most succulent, tender, "Wow" beef short ribs this week. Yes, it is a 2 day process, but the actual hands-on cooking time is at most two hours, and is broken up over two days. It is...
Fennel is one of those vegetables that until recently, I didn't really cook or eat that often. It seemed to me to be kind of precious, something unusual, not an everyday veggie like broccoli or green beans. At first the...
Leeks are an aristocrat of a vegetable. They require much of the year to grow, lots of space and tender care: You need to hill up soil around them on a regular basis to get that shank—the part you eat—long...
Have you ever cooked with broccoli rabe (usually pronounced "rob", also known as rapini)? It sort of looks like broccolini or Chinese broccoli, with longish stems, small green florets, and lots of leaves. It's actually more related to turnips than...
The problem with most broccoli salads is the broccoli - the raw broccoli. Some people like raw broccoli, and actually, I love raw broccoli stems. They taste a lot like cabbage or cauliflower. But the florets? If they're raw, keep...
Some people get chocolate cravings. I get broccoli cravings. Sometimes I think it's my body's way of telling me I've been laying on the bacon a bit too thick (or maybe the chocolate!) But honestly I could eat broccoli every...
I never used to like brussels sprouts, until one day I had them when they weren't over-cooked. Still just a little bit crunchy, they had a wonderfully nutty flavor. Who knew brussels sprouts could taste so good? Now I love...
Have you started your holiday meal planning yet? If you have, bravo! If you haven't, don't despair, neither have we. Typically that happens about two days before the event. But if I have anything to do with it this year...
Football (American) championship season. Sports bars, beer, and spicy things that make you want to drink more beer. Darts, pool, loud conversation, an either ill-spent or well-spent youth, depending on your perspective. Once in my early twenties I happened to...
The trick to great butternut squash soup is the simple addition of one tart green apple to balance the sweetness of the squash.
Our next door neighbor Pat has a wonderfully productive garden where she grows much of her own food. We are the lucky beneficiaries of her overflow in times when, for example, she has harvested 15 large butternut squash and there...
If you have only one oven in your kitchen, any Thanksgiving side dishes you prepare generally need to be made on the stovetop, as the turkey is taking central stage in the oven. Here is a simple butternut squash side...
Even though it's 90 degrees here in Sacramento in mid October (are we having weird weather this year or what?) the pumpkins and butternut squash are out in numbers at the market. One of the things I love about winter...
Squid can be cooked one of two ways: For the blink of an eye, or for a long, long time. Anything in between and it is rubbery. This dish, which is our version of a Southern Italian classic called calamari...
Fennel lovers, onion lovers, unite! And then take a shower in grated Parmesan, lemon zest, and chopped parsley. I'd like to say this is quick and easy, but it's not quick. It's long and easy, the sort of thing you...
On a trip to New Zealand, my hosts sent me home with a wonderful cookbook from BeesOnline, a local café and honey factory right outside Auckland. The Cardamom and Honey-Glazed Chicken recipe caught our eye and we made it a...
Enter any Mexican taqueria in California and you'll find carnitas on the menu, usually pork butt (the shoulder roast) braised first, pulled apart, and then roasted on high heat to caramelize. This is my father's favorite recipe for pork carnitas...
People either really love cauliflower or they really don't. Those of us in the first camp will enjoy it almost any way - raw, steamed with butter and lemon, or in this case puréed.
Cauliflower lovers unite! I'm always looking for ways to dress up my favorite white vegetable. Here's a quickie, inspired by Southern Italian flavors. A little bacon (or pancetta), some roasted pine nuts, some garlic (of course), oregano, and red pepper...
Also known as celeriac remoulade, this salad is a refreshing accompaniment to seafood dishes and very easy to make. Celery root looks like a giant turnip, but tastes more like a cross between celery and jicama. The result is a...
Here's a festive salad for the holidays, and one that I think would be especially good paired with prime rib or roast beef. Blue cheese and celery is a classic combination and is especially good with the additions of dates...
Still on vacation visiting friends here and here. Not much time to cook, too busy lollygagging. In the meantime, here's another favorite from the archives, ceviche, one of the best possible things one can prepare with a fillet of fresh...
Perhaps you too have noticed an odd, pale green, oblong is-it-a-fruit is-it-a-vegetable in your market and wondered what the heck it was, or what you could make with it. Actually I've known the name of it for a while—chayote; one...
Being a quintessential Swiss dish, cheese fondue conjures up images for me of alpine ski huts, deep snow and 20°F weather. Well, we don't get much snow or cold weather in the California central valley, but that doesn't mean we...
Most kids grow up learning how to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so they can help themselves in the kitchen when they want some lunch. In our family, it was cheese tacos. It's our stand-by what-do-you-make-when-you-haven't-really-thought-about-it-in-advance lunch. There's always...
Here it is September and this is the first cherry tomato salad I've had all summer. The culprit? My own greedy hands, the hands that pick them when I'm out in the garden and pop them in my mouth like...
Arugula on its own is so peppery it can almost be too much. However, partnered with either walnuts, goat cheese, or in this case both, mellows the tanginess of the arugula. A perfect, light, luncheon salad.
You know what the best thing is about boneless, skinless chicken breasts? They cook up in about nothing flat. Great for midweek meals when you are just rushing to get something on the table. Chicken breasts also take to sauces...
Chicken cacciatore is an Italian dish of chicken braised in a tomato-based sauce and often includes wild mushrooms. It is frequently referred to as "hunter style" as the word cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian. I don't know the source of...
I love this curry chicken salad. I made up this recipe 20 years ago after a friend of mine gave me a gift box of curry spices and have been making it ever since. It's quite easy to make. The...
I received a review copy of Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times in the mail this week and thumbing through it found this recipe for a quick chicken curry. Are you familiar with Mark Bittman...
Sometimes, especially after the holidays, all you want is a light, good meal. "Light" as in you're trying to cut back, and "good" as in, can we make it taste good even though it's light? This chicken cutlet recipe, with...
The tomatillos in my garden are all ripening at once. Have you ever cooked with tomatillos? They look like little lanterns, with their green papery husks. Sometimes people mistake them for green tomatoes (doesn't help that their Spanish name is...
One of the finest dishes ever to come out of the The Silver Palate Cookbook, this chicken marbella is first marinated in oil, vinegar, capers, olives, prunes, and herbs, then baked with added brown sugar and white wine. While prunes...
Chicken, onions, butter, stock, paprika, salt, sour cream. That's about it, and all you need for one of the best dishes on the planet, chicken paprikash. Uncomplicated. Unpretentious. So good you'll be drinking the sauce. Cooks up quickly too. Serve...
I've been begging my friend Arturo to teach me how to make pozole for months now. The problem is that it is sort of like asking someone to make you "taco night". Pozole is a big production, not in the...
The last time I visited my friends Fritz and Leigh Anna in Chicago, Leigh Anna prepared this prosciutto-wrapped, batter-dipped, fontina-broiled chicken cutlet for her family and me. So good! The recipe is from the Dean & DeLuca Cookbook and is...
Inspiration for good food can be found anywhere, even Starbucks, where I had a delicious chicken salad sandwich recently. The key ingredients other than chicken? Cranberries and tarragon. French tarragon is a distinctive herb, with a slight anise or licorice...
"Stews are your best ally for stress-free dinner parties," says Clotilde Dusoulier, of her Mustard Chicken Stew in her Chocolate & Zucchini cookbook, and I couldn't agree more. They cook happily away while you enjoy the company of your guests...
Have you ever had the soup can classic chicken rice casserole? I admit, I have not, though the idea of it intrigued me recently. It sort of reminds me of my mother's arroz con pollo, but with mushrooms and without...
We have a patch of arugula in our garden that not only re-seeds itself every year, but manages to seed itself outside its raised bed as well. No one in a temperate climate should ever have to pay a dime...
If I think about the way we most often eat chicken, it's simply oven-roasted and served with mango chutney and plain rice or Spanish rice. There's just something wonderful about the way the sweet and sour chutney balances the savory...
This is one of my father's favorite chicken recipes. We don't make it nearly often enough.
Fresh summer tomatoes, garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas), hard boiled eggs, and sweet onions, tossed with a light vinaigrette - here are the makings of a surprisingly delicious summer salad. I made this for lunch yesterday from a recipe...
This is one of those pull-together-at-the-last-minute-from-the-pantry meals that is surprisingly good. Spicy, filling, and doesn't break the bank. The recipe is only slightly adapted from a recipe by my friend Ann Martin Rolke, who, with a young child underfoot, is...
Chilaquiles. Chee-lah-KEE-less! I mentioned I wanted to make chilaquiles to a Mexican friend the other day and you should have see the smile and look of rapture that came over his face. This is true Mexican comfort food, what your...
Walk into almost any taqueria in this country and you will find chile verde on the menu. The chile will likely be made with chunks of pork shoulder, slow cooked in a green chile sauce of jalapeno chiles, garlic, and...
It seems as if there as many ways to prepare chili as there are cooks who make chili. Ground beef versus chunks, pork versus beef, pinto versus kidney beans, beans versus no beans, red chili or green chili - the...
This Chinese chicken salad is a colorful and tasty way to use up some leftover chicken and makes for a light lunch. I experimented with few different dressings and ultimately settled on this one which I think is just the...
We picked this recipe up years ago in the Sacramento Bee, from an article about Bill Niman (formerly of Niman Ranch). They got the recipe from Gary Fuller of Laurier Cafe and Wine in Houston, Texas. The recipe cooks up...
This flourless chocolate cake by Garrett is to-die-for. Almost like fudge. ~Elise For a recent potluck for all the Sacramento food bloggers I decided to throw together this intensely decadent and very easy chocolate torte. The original recipe is based...
When I put the call out a few weeks ago for July 4th grilling suggestions, Simply Recipes reader Chuck mentioned bacon-wrapped shrimp. I'm sure this is a standard fare for many of you, but I can't remember ever eating bacon-wrapped...
We were eating some store-bought chili-lime nuts the other day and it occurred to us that it should be easy enough to make them at home. But how to get the spices to adhere to the nuts? Egg whites. Nature's...
"I'll make cioppino," my brother John announced as the family discussed what to make over the holiday weekend. "Great!" said my father and I, relieved that someone else would do the cooking for a night. "Have you ever made cioppino...
The weather has finally decided to cool down around here and the first acorn squash have appeared at our local farmers market. Acorn squash are wonderfully easy to prepare - just cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, add...
This baked chicken recipe is one of those recipes that every home cook should have in their repertoire. It uses a minimal amount of ingredients - chicken, olive oil, salt and pepper (and if you want gravy, chicken stock or...
Grated carrot salad has to be one of the easiest dishes in the world to prepare, as well as being pretty kid-friendly and good for you. The trick is to start with the best carrots you can find. Here is...
I live for lamb chops. Juicy, tender, rare (please please give me rare), deep reddish pink, browned, crusty, herbed, fatty goodness. So when my father sent me on a mission to make rack of lamb (what? 8 lamb chops in...
Cobb salad is the quintessential American salad, first pulled together on a whim by Robert Cobb of the former Los Angeles landmark Brown Derby restaurant when he needed to feed Sid Grauman late one night (1937). It was such a...
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Simply Recipes contributor Hank Shaw's Cochinita Pibil, or pulled pork braised in citrus and achiote. ~Elise Cochinita pibil (ko-chin-ee-ta pee-beel) is an easy braised pork dish that originally comes from the Yucatan in Mexico. It...
When Garrett McCord told me he had the best mussels recipe in the world I was skeptical, that is until I tried it. Yikes this is good! ~Elise When I need a good party food or want to impress some...
Coconut macaroons tend to be rather chewy affairs. Super sweet. Super chewy. Like the inside of an Almond Joy bar. (My dad, by the way, loves Almond Joy, gets tons of it to give away at Halloween knowing that the...
Have you ever had colcannon? A St. Patrick's day favorite, it's a mixture of creamy mashed potatoes and usually kale or cabbage. I first encountered colcannon while doing research on traditional Irish cooking. Not surprisingly the Irish have all sorts...
The word "coleslaw" comes from the Dutch word, "koolsla", "kool" meaning cabbage and sla, salad. The word entered our English language from the Dutch in New York in the late 1700s. Since then it has been a featured side dish...
My brother Eddie was over for dinner a while ago one fortuitous night when we happened to be having collard greens. I say fortuitous because Ed introduced us to a wonderful new way to serve these healthful, somewhat bitter greens...
Please welcome Simply Recipes guest author Karina Allrich of the gorgeous and ever informative food blog, Karina's Kitchen: Gluten-free Recipes. Karina is kicking off a series of articles on gluten-free cooking and recipes. ~Elise Imagine if you were told you...
With sweet, fresh corn, still available at the local farmers market, we just couldn't resist trying our hands at some fresh corn chowder. The recipe is adapted from one by Mitchell Davis in Kitchen Sense and is full of flavor...
The first time I saw a "cowboy steak" at our local butcher, all I could think was, "wow, that's one BIG steak". Looking like a two-inch thick steak ping-pong paddle, the cowboy cut of steak is actually a beef rib-eye...
During the winter months, our local Whole Foods gets one or two shipments in a week of freshly cooked Dungeness crab. Like all seafood, crab tastes best when it is as fresh as possible. When buying crab, ask the guy...
I first encountered a crab mango salad at Fringale, the exquisite French-Basque restaurant on 4th St. in San Francisco. Recently at a restaurant in LA I had another delicious crab mango salad, this time with avocado and surrounded by peeled...
Most crab lovers know that fresh crab pairs well with avocado. But have you ever tried it with roasted hazelnuts (also called Filberts)? I got this idea from a crab hazelnut pear appetizer prepared by Oregon chef Jason Stoller Smith...
Every fall we await the arrival of fresh cranberries in the grocery aisles. "Have you seen them yet?" "Are they in?" We compare notes for cranberry sightings at the local stores. When the cranberries do finally come in, we load...
My father loves cranberry sauce. I think he enjoys turkey during the holiday season just as an excuse to eat more cranberry sauce. He stocks up on fresh cranberries when they are in season in the fall, and freezes them...
This delicious cream of spinach soup is as rich, smooth and creamy as the label "Cream of" would imply. It's basically a vichyssoise, with spinach in addition to the potatoes, and can be served either hot or chilled.
Corn season has finally arrived. This morning my father picked up some yellow corn from the local farmer's market that was so fresh we could eat it raw. Must have been picked this morning. Did you know you could eat...
Spring here means strawberries and rhubarb, sweet peas and asparagus, and dreams of the summer bounty to come. Asparagus are everywhere, big, fat, and fresh. And yes, although we can get them all year round, I'm especially happy to eat...
About this time of year a lot of people come to this site searching for green bean recipes. We have several, but most of them are geared to the summer, when we have a bountiful supply of fresh green beans...
The simplicity of this creamy polenta recipe belies its true wonderfulness. This polenta is so light, so fluffy, so creamy, it could almost be a dessert. Polenta is made from coarsely ground cornmeal and is a staple of Northern Italy...
Shown cooked with brown rice pasta. We were recently sent a review copy of Dave's Dinners: A Fresh Approach to Home-Cooked Meals by Dave Lieberman of the Food Network. Honestly, I've never heard of Dave as I don't watch much...
Looking for a special soup to serve over the Thanksgiving holiday? Consider this creamy sweet potato soup seasoned with nutmeg and maple syrup. We found this recipe in an old issue of Bon Appetit and made it this weekend. I...
The debate usually begins like this. ME: Dad, how do you make your hash browns turn out so crispy? DAD: Use a potato ricer. It's the only thing I've found that really gets the moisture out of the potatoes. The...
When the hot weather hits, nothing is more cooling than a cucumber salad. Inspired by a fabulous cucumber salad shared with a friend at the Sea Salt restaurant in Berkeley, I canvassed my neighborhood grocers for some delicate Persian cucumbers...
We eat a lot of hot and spicy dishes around here; a great way to cool the palate is with the delicious combination of yogurt and cucumber. This easy-to-make cucumber salad, also called "tzatziki", is a refreshing accompaniment to spicy...
Ah, egg salad. Is there anything easier or more unpretentious? Chop up some hard boiled eggs, add a little mayo and voilà! Instant sandwich filling. Or salad fixings. Add some chopped celery for crunch, and maybe some chopped chives or...
One of the things I love about butternut squash, or any winter squash for that matter, is that they're practically indestructible. They last for months. You can harvest one in November and still find it perfectly good to eat in...
Tis the season for squash and pear. My friend Lorenza gave me this recipe back in the spring, when neither were in season. I finally made it last week, and it was lovely! Similar to the spicy pumpkin soup I...
Years ago when I was living in Japan I bought a high-tech rice cooker with a 14 hour timer and settings for white and brown rice. Occassionally I would make much too much rice, especially brown rice. Not wanting to...
Once again, we overdid it. I think no matter how many people actually end up coming for Thanksgiving dinner, we still make enough for 14 or more. This year's T-Day dinner seated 6 Thursday night, and then a follow up...
My father has been making this soup for several years now. It is incredibly easy to make, given how tasty the results. The key ingredient is the clam juice, though I have prepared it for people with shellfish allergies substituting...
Updated December, 2011. A month ago or so I made some potato salad. I love potato salad and was well pleased with this one. Then the next week my father made his version of potato salad. It was great too...
Dad originally got this recipe from Dean & DeLuca, and over time it has become a family classic. Only he has the patience to make it. The recipe is little involved, but the results are fantastic. Luxuriously rich, smooth, and...
Deviled eggs. Easter egg hunts and summer picnic potlucks. I have been known to devour a dozen of these in one sitting. These were quick and easy. If you want them to be a little prettier, put the egg filling...
Check out these "eggs in a nest" baby potatoes from Hank. Perfect for spring! ~Elise I made this dish up on a whim. Elise and I were at the market and I saw some pretty Lacinato kale and gorgeous multi-colored...
Duchess potatoes. Welcome to old school, fancy schmancy mashed potatoes. So, tell me. Who is the duchess for whom these potatoes are named? Or is it just the pattern of browned ribbons and waves that are reminiscent of a frilly...
Black beans and rice is such a classic combination, especially in Caribbean or Southern cooking. There are probably dozens of ways to make it; this one is an easy recipe that cooks up quick and tastes great. Now, if you...
Our tour of Brazil continues. After posting the moqueca recipe, several of you asked if I had a recipe for Pão de Queijo, or Brazilian cheese bread, sort of like a chewy cheese puff made with tapioca flour. As a...
Please welcome guest contributor Hank Shaw of Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook as he shares his method for making what he affectionately calls "ghetto duck confit". So easy, and outrageously good. ~Elise Duck or goose confit (con-fee) is one of the...
Poaching eggs is one of the easiest, quickest, and lowest calorie ways of preparing eggs, as there is no added fat. Poached eggs make great additions to salads, such as the French salad Lyonnaise, or sandwiches, or just served simply...
Edamame (eh-dah-MAH-may) are nothing more than fresh soy beans. Typically cooked in heavily salted water, they are usually found in the shell served at Japanese restaurants. Having first encountered them in bars when I lived in Japan, I've always thought...
Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord as he shares his favorite Chinese egg drop soup. ~Elise In college one of the dishes I relied on was my own version of egg drop soup. It was simple, tasty, comforting and (most...
One of my favorite dishes on the planet is a green curry made with eggplant. But you really need to know what you are doing to make it, and I don't. Which is why we are turning to guest contributor...
A few weeks ago I was wondering what to do with the end-of-season eggplants, tomatoes, and chiles from our garden and stumbled across this recipe from Food and Wine, which also calls for pomegranate molasses. The recipe comes from the...
Another one from the recipe archives, first posted in 2004. Even though my father doesn't like eggplant in general, he loves this terrine from Jacques Pepin and we've made it several times. Once he even insisted in making it during...
Enchiladas were a family staple growing up, though thankfully this cheese enchilada recipe has much less fat in it these days. My mother, a fifth generation hispanic Arizonian, learned this recipe from my grandmother. Note that there are many kinds...
Hank introduced me to this Brazilian black bean stew a couple months ago and I couldn't stop eating it. It is outstanding. And perfect for the chilly weather we're having these days. ~Elise This is another of those big, hearty...
If you are firing up the grill this summer with fish or seafood, consider this fennel slaw as a fresh alternative to regular cabbage coleslaw to serve as a side. Even my father, who runs from fennel as if it...
Shaved fennel with Parmesan is one of my favorite combinations. Hank takes it up a notch with the addition of radicchio and endive. Enjoy! ~Elise This is one of my favorite salads. It's pretty to look at, crunchy and has...
I made these fingerling potatoes a few days ago as part of a composed salad and we loved them so much I made them again tonight just on their own, to accompany steak. These potatoes can be served warm, room...
Recently I got a call from my friend Elizabeth who said, "You've got to try my mother's flank steak; it's soooo good!" I begged the recipe from Maria (Elizabeth's mother) and tried it out last night. It was terrific. Very...
When my father told me he had made "weenies and sauerkraut", all I could think of was, not another pork and sauerkraut recipe. My dad must have sauerkraut juice running through his veins by this time, given how often he...
Ever see those skinny little green beans in the market? They’re a French variety of green bean, also known as haricot vert, or filet beans. Haricot verts are more delicate than regular green beans and cook up more quickly. This...
Years ago I remember my father making vanilla ice cream for all of us with an ice cream maker that required a lot of crushed ice and salt. Can't remember now if it was hand crank or electric. But man...
Every year we plant basil and every year the plants do so well that we can't use it up fast enough. What to do? Basil pesto, of course! Here is a simple recipe. Note that pesto is always made to...
A Simply Recipes reader, Ms. Annie M, sent us a garlic chicken recipe she found on Epicurious that looked so good we couldn't wait to try it. (Annie, by the way, knows how mortified I am by typos and thoughtfully...
Garlic mashed potatoes, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. One forkful, two forkfuls, three forkfuls... sorry, none left for you! Just kidding. Growing up in a family of six kids, we are all rather competitive eaters...
Gazpacho soup was invented for the summer. Refreshingly cold on hot summer days, this adaptation of the classic Spanish cold tomato soup deliciously combines the best of summer vegetables. Make sure you only use the freshest, highest quality ingredients for...
One of my mother's favorite breakfasts to prepare for our family has always been German Farmer's Breakfast, also known as Bauernfruhstuck. I remember eating this several times a month as a kid. It's sort of like a large breakfast hash...
My friend Steve-Anna recently sent me this wonderful recipe for ginger chicken and claimed that it was one of her all time favorites. My father doesn't eat ginger if he can avoid it, so when I made it I just...
Have some plain leftover rice? This is a great rice side dish for shrimp, pork, or chicken that calls for starting with chilled, cooked rice. I grilled some shrimp with some fresh pineapple the other day and served it with...
"Now this is how oxtails should taste," my father declared after taking a bite of these glazed oxtails. I couldn't agree more. We have a thing for oxtails in our family. Oxtail stew was a favorite winter dish my mom...
This simple but delicious salmon recipe comes via my friend Heidi in Carlisle, Massachusetts, who got it from the Boston Globe (Thanks Heidi!). Because there are so few ingredients, the recipe relies completely on the freshness of the ingredients.
Many people are sensitive, some extremely so, to gluten - a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Shauna of Gluten-free Girl has a whole blog devoted to gluten-free cooking (with recipes and gorgeous photography, by the way). As someone...
A recipe for those of us who love both beets and brussels sprouts. (Isn't it pretty?)
Note that thyme is the essential accent which brings all the ingredients together.
Please welcome Hank Shaw as he shares a favorite black-eyed pea salad. Perfect for hot summer days! ~Elise I spent much of my life thinking that black-eyed peas were a Southern thing, and then I worked in an Ethiopian restaurant...
I found this recipe in the weekend edition of the Wall St. Journal as good "noshing" food for New Year's and had to give it a try, with a few minor changes. It comes from chef Michael Symon of the...
Green beans are the labradors of the vegetable world, they just seem to get along with everyone. Which is why you will usually find some incarnation of green beans on a holiday dinner menu. This simple preparation of green beans...
My mother is the only person I know who prepares green beans with salsa. It is such an easy and delicious dish and perfect for the summer when fresh green beans are plentiful. The trick of course to great tasting...
It doesn't take much to dress up green beans for a holiday meal. In this recipe the beans first blanched and then sautéed with pancetta and shallots, with some salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning. You can use...
If you were to ask me what my favorite food was in the whole world, I would most likely respond, enchiladas. And not the exotic, wonderfully complex authentic enchiladas from Mexico, but the cheesy casserole American version my mom made...
Mmm. Asparagus. You can steam them, boil them, roast them, but I don't think anything beats the flavor of asparagus that are simply grilled. The smoky flavor, the char marks. Tender, but still with a little crunch. Seriously good. I...
Please welcome Hank Shaw as he takes us through the steps of grilling a whole fish, using sustainably farmed branzino. ~Elise Branzino. Sounds kinda like a the name of a 1940s prizefighter. If it’s ringing a bell, that’s because this...
Where to start? Somehow I suspect that the following method - fat is good, flame is good - is going to get me in trouble with some of you. But since this was the best lamb roast I've ever eaten...
My friend Heidi H prepared this grilled chicken dish for me last month when I was visiting her and family in Massachusetts. It was absolutely delicious and I couldn't wait to try it at home on our grill. The recipe...
There are, I think, three essential ingredients to this salad - corn, which you can grill or even prepare by toasting frozen kernels on the stovetop, onions, and cumin. The rest is a medley of whatever fresh vegetables you might...
The first time I tried grilling corn-on-the-cob, by placing shucked corn directly on the grill, the results weren't all that stellar. Too dried out and chewy. I consulted "She-who-knows-everything-when-it-comes-to-home-cooking" (a.k.a. mom) who informed me the way to do it was...
Get ready for something fabulous. Steak and mushrooms. Grilled flank steak that is, and assorted mushrooms dry sautéed first, then sautéed with butter, shallots, and cooked down in a red wine reduction. If you don't want to navigate between the...
This recipe for grilled chicken, marinated in lime juice, and served with a cilantro infused black bean sauce comes from my dear friend Steve-Anna, who, by the way, lives in Arizona, and is not afraid of using her grill in...
One of my favorite ways to eat oysters (especially those strongly flavored big ones) is grilled. Guest author Jaden shares a personal lesson from the Shuckmeister on how to do it. Enjoy! ~Elise Even though I live all the way...
The secret to grilling pork tenderloin, as I learned from my friend Vaughn, is to watch it carefully, with a meat thermometer in hand, because "once it goes, it goes quickly." A pork tenderloin is a long, narrow cut of...
Have you ever cooked with radicchio? Until recently I have only had it in salads. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it, radicchio looks like a small head of red cabbage; you can usually find it in...
As any Southerner will tell you, the proper way to cook ribs is to barbecue them "low and slow" in a smoker built for that purpose. But not everyone has a smoker, and not all of us have the time...
In case you haven't heard, we've been having some awfully weird weather here in Northern California. Late May and it's been windy, rainy, and (gulp) cold for weeks. Practically unheard of for Sacramento. I've been walking around in denial, refusing...
My father walked through the door the other day with half of a fresh whole wild salmon, announcing to me that he would like me to grill it. Sure dad! When someone presents truly fresh fish to you, there really...
A dear friend of mine from Alabama called me recently and demanded to know, "why aren't there any grits on your site?!" Uh, because I'm not Southern and I don't know what the heck I'm talking about when it comes...
Sunday breakfasts are a favorite activity around here. More like a brunch, they are usually somewhat more elaborate and filling that what we eat for breakfast during the week. Ham and potato hash is a perfect side dish for fried...
What to do with leftover Easter ham? If it's still chilly where you are, warm up quickly with a simple potato leek soup with some added chopped ham. This is one of our standby recipes when we have extra ham...
Looking for a quick, easy, yet special meal for Valentine's? Try this hanger steak, just cut the recipe in half if you are making it for two. ~Elise One of the best things about having a butcher close by who...
These got a little browned, but they were still crunchy and delicious. When I announced that I wanted to make brussels sprouts, inspired by a recent recipe in the New York Times, my father let out a loud groan. Dad...
Oxtails! My oh my how I love oxtails. We grew up with oxtail stew, a deeply rich, hearty stew perfect for cold days. You don't find them that often in the market, so when they appear I'll usually pick up...
Summer is tomato and basil season, and there is nothing better than heirloom tomatoes with fresh basil from the garden and fresh mozzarella cheese. What are "heirloom tomatoes"? Heirloom tomatoes are what tomatoes used to be before all of the...
Summer peaches, pork, grill, herbs, yum. There's something wonderful about this combination. As you know, pork plays well with fruit. Here we're pairing pork tenderloin with fresh peaches, and grilling them both for smokey goodness. Tender as it is, pork...
This is my father's favorite recipe for roasting a whole chicken. Adapted from a recipe by Jamie Oliver.
We almost always have puréed sweet potatoes or garnet yams with our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Usually we just bake them, scrape out the insides and mash them with a little butter and brown sugar. My father found a wonderful...
We had dueling home fries here the other day, a veritable home-fry cook-off between my mother and father. Mom makes her fried potatoes sliced, using raw potatoes, and usually serves them as a side when we have fish for dinner...
This honey-glazed lemon chicken is a very simple roast chicken recipe that we found in an old issue of Bon Appétit. The lemon juice marinade tenderizes the chicken while the honey glaze adds a sweet balance to the lemon.
Can you tell we are gearing up for grilling season? This has to be one of the simplest chicken recipes for the taste, grilled or otherwise. It's just basic grilled (or oven broiled) chicken with a fresh mint and honey...
Please welcome guest contributor Garrett McCord as he shares this recipe for a Chinese American favorite, hot and sour soup. ~Elise Hot and sour soup is a lot like chili; every family has their own recipe, and each family thinks...
Here are two basic ways to make chicken stock. One method uses the leftover bones from a chicken carcass and vegetables, and takes several hours of slow cooking. The second method uses chicken backs and wings, sautéing them first, and...
Years ago, on a little island off the coast of Marblehead, Massachusetts, a friend's aunt showed me how to eat a lobster, including the fine art of sucking the tender meat and juice out of the spindly legs. It was...
One great benefit of growing up in California (LA actually) and having a Hispanic mother is being exposed at an early age to Mexican food. From the time I was 5 it was my job to prepare the salsa for...
Huevos al la Mexicana, or Mexican-style eggs, are essentially eggs, cooked and scrambled in salsa. My mother has been serving "huevos" (pronounced weh-vose, with the beginning like "when" without the n) prepared like this forever, as her mother before her...
This basic hummus recipe calls for using canned garbanzo beans. I've made hummus using dried beans, soaking them, cooking them, etc. but the results just weren't as good. The canned beans actually mash up pretty well.
The blessing of a well stocked pantry is that so many more dishes are available to you at the spur of the moment. There are a few ingredients in this classic Indian style rice that you may not have in...
This flank steak recipe is one of our favorites for company and family get-togethers. A large flank steak is first butterflied, then marinated in an olive oil and vinegar marinade, then layered with prosciutto, basil, Parmesan, roasted red bell peppers...
A few weeks ago my mother and I attended a cooking demonstration by our local celebrity Italian chef, the delightful Biba Caggiano. We Sacramentans are proud to call Biba our own; she has a fabulous restaurant, is the author of...
Sometimes I'll mention a recipe to my father, and if it starts with the words "Italian sausage" I don't think it matters that much what words comes after, he's already sold. We recently made this risotto recipe together; dad did...
My father loves ratatouille and Italian sausage, so when he saw a recipe in a magazine that combined the two, he was inspired to create his own version. This is a great way to use up last-of-the-season garden vegetables.
When doing research for our recent Jamaican goat curry recipe, what came up most often as an accompaniment was something those from Jamaica call "rice and peas". (Several commenters suggested this dish too.) Traditionally the "peas" are pigeon peas, often...
I recently had the jerk chicken at a local Davis hangout, the psychedelically inspired Delta of Venus. The place looks a bit scruffy, but my oh my is their jerk chicken good. And hot. My meal there led me to...
When I was a kid, my mother often used to add sliced raw jerusalem artichokes to our salads. I have no idea why. She doesn't do it any more, and hasn't for years. At the time I just thought they...
We first posted this kale soup recipe four years ago and it has since become a regular winter staple in our home. Roasted vegetables, puréed and then cooked with broth, kale, and white beans make up this hearty soup. Of...
"You've converted me into a kale lover," a friend declared after eating a hearty bowl of this kale with sausage and white beans. Yay! I love it when I hear things like this. At our house a green vegetable is...
Thomas Keller is most known for his landmark 3 Michelin star restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California. French Laundry food is famously exquisite, requiring an insane amount of preparation for each dish (if you're curious about just how insane...
What a blessing it is to have friends, and parents of friends, who cook. I had this dish at my friend Elizabeth Abbott's parent's house and begged her mother Maria for the recipe, which, thankfully, she gave me. I changed...
These days when I step outside, I just want to turn around and go back in the house. Sacramento makes up for its blazingly hot summers with foggy, gloomy, dark, dismal, chilly winters, perfect weather, come to think of it...
For those of you snow-bound, this is a rich and hearty dish, perfect for a cold winter day. For me it conjures up images of ski lodges and cabernet, it's so warm and comforting. Flavorful lamb shanks are first browned...
Following this recipe from the NY Times the other day, I made a sweet lamb stew with honey, almonds, and apricots. The stew is a traditional lamb tagine called Mrouzia, prepared throughout North Africa during Ramadan. I had several problems...
Overheard at the market, "I'm a breast girl." "Really? I'm definitely a thigh girl," pause..."dark meat, so much more flavor." Had to laugh, I'm so so so much a thigh girl myself. Here is the secret to fabulous lemon chicken...
I'm in serious weather denial. With what seems like the fourth storm this week to hit California (is Noah building his "arky arky" yet?) I'm still puttering around the house in shorts and flip flops, and dreaming of good times...
One of the reasons we love serving ham for Easter is the leftover ham, especially the ham bone. That bone can be used to make a flavorful stock for split pea or white bean soup, helping to stretch out that...
We recently found this recipe using halibut in Real Simple magazine and decided to give it a go, but with ling cod instead. Mom and I loved it, dad wasn't so sure. For me, it was reminiscent of our favorite...
Have you started your holiday meal planning yet? We are just now getting around to it. If you like glazed carrots, here's a way to dress them up for a feast. Sauté the carrot rounds in butter, and then cook...
Updated, from the recipe archive. Originally posted in 2005. A typical holiday feast around here is a rather colorful affair. Lots of browns, yellows, reds, and greens. And then there is orange. I can't remember a Thanksgiving without a vibrant...
This cashew chicken recipe is one of my favorites on the site, and not just because it hails from my friend Marc Canter who I don't see nearly enough. I first posted it several years ago after a raucous and...
Tri tip is a popular cut of meat here in California, often cut into steaks, or grilled whole. This flavorful cut comes from the bottom sirloin and is fairly lean. My friend Arturo, a local caterer specializing in Mexican cuisine...
Mushrooms! I'm doing a little happy dance in my head just thinking about them. When I was a kid I begged for mushroom soup. When I was in college I made mushroom quesadillas. These days I think I could easily...
No, not that Martha. This Martha is a friend of my friend Suzanne, who prepared her favorite chicken salad for a gathering of girlfriends a while back. A great recipe for summer picnics (you might want to double the recipe).
Guest author Garrett and I made these mashed potatoes the other day. So good! ~Elise The story of my first Thanksgiving away from home is one I tell with pride. Sure, we all have epic disasters in the kitchen and...
One of our favorite ways to eat green beans is with salsa. The tomatoes, onions, chiles, spices, and vinegar perk up the beans in the most wonderful way. This bean salad recipe is sort of a riff on the salsa...
Do you love a good three bean salad, you know, the kind with a sweet vinegary dressing? I do. It's sort of that last minute pantry item type of dish that is quick and wonderfully filling when you are hungry...
If there's anything that comes close to a Mexican version of an open-faced sandwich, the tostada is it. Just when you thought nothing could get messier than taco night, along comes the tostada, which I dare you to eat daintily...
According to the Wikipedia, minestrone is an Italian soup made with fresh seasonal vegetables, often with the addition of pasta or rice. Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes. There is no set recipe for minestrone, since...
We have 3 apple trees on which we grow 15 varieties of apples, so we are always looking for good and easy apple recipes. My mom started cooking up apples this way for an everyday dessert a few years ago...
Ninety-five percent of the time when we have enchiladas, it is my mom's (amazingly good, incredibly awesome) cheese enchiladas. Once in a while however, she'll make chicken enchiladas. With chicken enchiladas she often uses a red chili sauce which is...
A staple in our home growing up was my mother's chili beans, which she still makes several times a month with either ground beef or turkey. Many chilis I've encountered seem almost designed to give you heartburn. This one isn't...
I'm smiling as I write this. Why? Because there is no dish that reminds me more of my mother than her ground turkey with peppers. I've never had it anywhere but at home, not even at a school cafeteria, where...
When you have a week straight of over 100° temps, you start looking for cooler things to make. My mother whipped up this macaroni salad earlier this week and I think I ate half of the whole bowl. Think macaroni...
Our favorite way to eat steak, updated, from the recipe archive. Originally posted in 2006. Enjoy! ~Elise "London Broil" used to be a way of describing a method for cooking lean beef cuts such as flank or top round, which...
Sometimes the best food is really the simplest. We experiment frequently with different ways of preparing pork chops, but the way we have pork chops most regularly is with a simple dry rub and pan frying. My mother's been making...
From the recipe archive, originally posted November, 2003. Turkey ready to go in the oven My mom's turkey is unlike others. The breast meat isn't dried out, requiring cupfuls of gravy to taste good, but moist and flavorful. I've been...
Stuffed bell peppers is one of those classic comfort food dishes that my family practically lived on when I was a kid. This recipe my mother got from Adele Davis as mom was teaching herself to cook in the 60s...
My mother is the only person I have ever known who can make summer squash taste this good. Often this time of year gardens are overflowing with zucchini and summer squash. This quick and easy recipe is a great way...
From the recipe archive. Happy Thanksgiving! ~Elise Every Thanksgiving my mother takes what's left of the turkey carcass and makes a delicious turkey soup that we enjoy for days. The first step is to make the stock, which you can...
I don't know about you, but summer around here has us making potato salads more often than in other seasons. This is the latest one my mother put together; my father has made her make it several times since, and...
It seems like every culture with a coastline has their version of a seafood stew. The French have bouillabaise, the Portuguese bacalhoada, New England "chowdah" and San Francisco cioppino. In Brazil, they make moqueca (pronounced "mo-KEH-kah"), a stew made with...
A month ago or so I bought a tagine, an earthenware cooking and serving pot, with which to experiment. My first foray into cooking with the tagine was with this Moroccan chicken dish which turned out beautifully - succulent, tender...
What I love about this recipe (adapted from one found in the Sacramento Bee) is that with just the barest of preparation, you can have a tasty meal within minutes. The yogurt-based marinade is only mildly acidic, so you can...
Whoever came up with the term "mushroom caviar" must have been in marketing. Mushroom caviar just sounds so much more catchy than "mushroom spread" or "minced mushrooms and shallots sautéed in butter", even though that's basically what it is. Pretty...
Recipe updated. Originally posted 2004. Risotto is one of those dishes that we love to eat, but neither my father nor mother have the patience to make often. It takes about 25 minutes of careful stirring, and every few minutes...
My dad is the kind of dad who will notice we aren't doing something to his standards and then just take over. (Insert growly voice.) "The recipe says mince, not finely chop, but mince. This isn't minced." I'm happy to...
New England boiled dinner is a one pot dish consisting of corned beef or plain beef brisket or smoked picnic ham shoulder, with cabbage, carrots and potatoes. When made with corned beef, it's an Irish-American corned beef and cabbage dish...
My first job out of college was in Boston, in the financial district downtown. My local friends did their best to initiate this wide-eyed Californian into New England traditions of every sort, especially food. We feasted on indian pudding at...
The sauce for these potatoes is very easy to prepare and a wonderful way to cook up some fresh garden tomatoes. The cilantro, cumin, and tomatoes combine to a unique and delicious flavor.
Salad Niçoise (pronounced nee-suaz) is essentially a French composed salad, much like our American Cobb salad, but with tuna, green beans, and potatoes, instead of chicken, bacon, and avocado. Salad Niçoise hails from Nice, on the Mediterranean Sea, though like...
Nopalitos are the edible young paddles of the prickly pear cactus, grown throughout their native Mexico, the southwestern United States, and the Mediterranean (brought back by the conquistadores). The paddles are widely available in Mexican markets in the US, either...
Do you like artichoke hearts? We do! Please welcome Hank Shaw as he shares this delectable artichoke salad recipe. ~Elise One of my favorite artichoke heart recipes, this is a simple salad that is great on a warm spring afternoon...
Mmm, mmm okra! Yes, some people shy away from this odd little vegetable, usually because depending on the preparation it can be a little slippery slimy. Personally I love okra, any which way, including slimified. Alas, not everyone shares my...
Recipe updated March 3, 2011 With cheese, onions, and potatoes, how can one go wrong? Unless of course you are on a diet, in which case you should probably stay away from this one. This recipe is easy to make...
Here's an orange and beet salad to brighten up a Winter day. The peppery arugula complements the sweetness of the beets and oranges.
These. Are. So. Addictive. And once you know how to make them, you will never have an excuse to not cook sweet potatoes again. Those kids that won't eat their veggies? Hah. They'll eat so many of these fries their...
My dad pulled out a favorite recipe today to make and share with "the people on the website." A "discussion" then ensued between the rental units for at least half an hour along the lines of "What do you mean...
I gave my father a subscription to Gourmet as a Christmas present 20 years ago and have been reaping the rewards ever since. This simple oven-fried potatoes recipe came from a 1985 issue. It has been so much part of...
Revised and updated, Jan 27, 2009, in honor of the Year of the Ox Have you ever had oxtails? Most people I know haven't even heard of them, which is really quite a shame. Think braised beef short ribs, but...
"Bacon" variety avocados are in season in the winter; lighter in flavor than the more popular Haas variety, these large, thin-skinned avocados are exceptionally creamy and are perfect for using in sauces. While remoulade is typically made with mayonnaise, in...
One of my most favorite breakfasts is a poached egg on toast, with a side of papaya and lime. Including some prosciutto with the papaya just takes it up a notch further. Papaya is filled with enzymes that help digestion...
Green is the color of Ireland, which you understand immediately if you've ever been there or even flown over it. Looking over the land from several thousand feet up, one cannot but be struck by the patchwork of vivid shades...
Canned tuna has never tasted this good. I came across this recipe on Sher's What did you eat? blog, where she got it from the San Francisco Chronicle. You make a sauce for the pasta with tuna, olive oil, garlic...
A reader of Simply Recipes recently left a comment on our Pavlova recipe with a recipe for what she calls "Easter Cookies" (called "Resurrection cookies" by another reader). The commenter, Linda, describes them as a meringue cookie with pecans that...
My mother made a pasta dish the other night that took everyone by surprise. My skinny-as-a-spatula 10-year old nephew who won't eat anything, ate his serving with gusto and asked for more. My carb-avoiding sister couldn't resist it. My father...
Have you noticed the brightly colored bell peppers in the market lately? They're glorious. Here's a quick and easy recipe for Italian peperonata, or fried peppers, with onions, fresh plum tomatoes, garlic, and basil. This is one of those "I...
A standard on the menu of any respectable steak house is peppercorn steak, or "steak au poivre" as the French call it. There is some debate over the exact origins of this recipe (which French chef, or French king, and...
I love peppermint ice cream! Too bad around here the grocery stores only stock it during the holiday season. This week I decided to make my own and got some great advice from the king of desserts himself, David Lebovitz...
Whenever I make ice cream from scratch, we usually have lots of leftover egg whites to use up. Meringues (or as my nephew calls them, "little pavlovas") are little cookies made with basically just egg whites and sugar, with a...
My friends are so very patient with me. BFF Steve-Anna first emailed me this spicy, peppery shrimp recipe, a favorite of hers, four years ago. And then again, at least two or three more times, when I declared I couldn't...
Guacamole, a dip made from avocados, is originally from Mexico. The name is derived from two Aztec Nahuatl words - ahuacatl (avocado) and molli (sauce). The trick to perfect guacamole is using good, ripe avocados. Check for ripeness by gently...
There has been much written on the best way to make mashed potatoes - how long you cook them, with peel or without, reserving some of the cooking liquid, etc. etc. I have discovered that the real trick to creamy...
Based on a tip in Alice Waters' new cookbook, The Art of Simple Food, that fuyu persimmons make a good fruit salad, I begged some just picked fuyus from my neighbor and fellow blogger Andrea and set about to make...
Most pickled beets I find are much too vinegary, hiding rather than enhancing the naturally sweet flavor of the beets. I usually just boil beets and eat them unadorned, but my mother has a way of preparing pickled beets that...
A family favorite meal around here is steak, salsa, and beans, often served with some warmed fresh corn tortillas on the side. Usually the beans for this ensemble are refried beans, but this week we decided to serve the beans...
As fond as one may be of bacon and butter, sometimes the body just wants something light. What do you make when you want a light meal? I've taken to poaching chicken, using a pretty cool method taught to me...
This poached salmon recipe is one of the first recipes my father taught me a few years ago. It's his favorite way to prepare salmon because not only can it be prepared in 10 minutes or less, but it doesn't...
My father found this recipe in a recent Sunset Magazine and it sounded so good he just had to try it. He even made the polenta from scratch instead of using the store-bought prepared version which the original recipe called...
This is one of the first recipes I learned to cook from the Silver Palate Cookbook decades ago. I've made some adjustments to the recipe over the years. The original recipe calls for black currant jelly. I find red currant...
We eat a lot of pork in this family, even given my father's Germanic background. Pork chops are the most convenient, which is probably why I remember my mother serving them so often growing up. The chops were thinner, and...
Picadillo is a spicy Latin American meat dish often served as a stuffing in chilies, taco filling, or served with rice. I nabbed this recipe from my friend Heidi H's recipe collection one day because it looked intriguing. What a...
Dad clipped this recipe from Bon Appetit several years ago and finally got around to making it this evening. It was excellent, and very easy to prepare. The mustard, capers, shallots, broth, and cream make a wonderful sauce for the...
My old neighborhood in San Francisco used to have a fabulous Hungarian restaurant where I loved to go for pork stuffed cabbage rolls. The restaurant has since gone out of business, but my love for the dish remains.
The first time my friend and fellow food blogger Fernanda mentioned wanting to make a Portuguese salt cod stew, I was skeptical. (Though given how well Fernanda's salmon fish stew had turned out what was I thinking?) Salt cod isn't...
Years ago when I spent a summer studying Spanish in Cuernavaca, Mexico, my Mexican teacher told me that it was much easier to pronounce the language properly if you smiled as you spoke it. She was right! Good thing Mexican...
Pot roast was a standard growing up, and still continues to be in my parent's household. It requires slow cooking over low heat to ensure tender, flavorful meat. Pot roasts typically use the tougher cuts of beef - a chuck...
Potato leek soup is so easy to make and delicious too. This recipe can be prepared in 40 minutes or less.
From the recipe archive. First posted in 2005. Happy Labor Day weekend! ~Elise Summer. Outdoor barbecues, kids and swimming pools, burgers, hot dogs, and plenty of potato salad. We made a big batch of potato salad for a little family...
Summer is the season for cookouts and potato salad, isn't it? Our standard potato salad usually includes pickle juice and hard boiled eggs. Here's a completely different take on a summer potato salad, seasoned with mustard, bacon, and the taste...
Tis the season for pecans! Please welcome Alabama belle Steve-Anna Stephens as she shares this classic Southern pecan praline candy recipe. ~Elise Growing up in our house it was generally understood that if there were no more pecans in the...
Prime rib refers to the king of beef cuts, the standing rib roast, "standing" because to cook it, you simply position the roast on its rib bones in the roasting pan, no need for a rack. Estimate 2 people served...
Hank made this seafood bisque for us the other day and it was so outrageously good I begged him to make it again. I served some of it to a friend from Provence whose eyes lit up upon tasting it...
Have you ever tried cooking with smoked paprika? A few months ago I posted a recipe for roasted chicken with smoked paprika in which I told how I first encountered smoked paprika in a kumara soup in New Zealand. Like...
Please welcome my dear friend, guest author Ashley Teplin, who made for me the best breakfast potatoes I've ever eaten in my life. They take a little more time, but are oh, so worth it. ~Elise I won’t lie; I...
The easiest way to prepare parsnips is to slice them, steam them, and dress with butter and salt. However, to get the fullest, richest flavor from the parsnips, they should be roasted. The browning caramelizes the natural sugars in the...
Hmm. "Quick stew" is somewhat of an oxymoron isn't it? Most stews are braised in plenty of liquid for long slow cooking. This stew is barely "stewed", and the main reason it comes together so quickly is that you are...
Flank steak is a lean, flavorful cut of meat that is probably best prepared marinated and cooked over a grill. But sometimes you just don't have time to marinate the meat or deal with the grill. My mother raised 6...
My mother is a genius. She throws together the most simple of ingredients, and they are so good that I have to get up in the middle of a meal to write everything down, for in her words, "if you...
Have you ever cooked with quinoa? It's a South American grain-like seed that one prepares in a fashion similar to rice, simmered in water until the liquid is all absorbed. I first started cooking with quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wa) when I...
One of my favorite foods is quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah), a grain-like seed native of South America. It's a lot like couscous, but nuttier in flavor, and smoother on the tongue. It's also high in protein and completely gluten-free. You can...
Simply Recipes contributor Hank Shaw and I "met" years ago over a comment he made about rabbit on Michael Ruhlman's blog. I hounded him for a rabbit recipe back then so I'm delighted that he is sharing this French classic...
This is some of the best chicken I've ever eaten - grilled, roasted, baked, whatever. Juicy, spicy, tender, lipsmackin' good. Here's the deal, there are two ways to make this recipe. One way entails making your own red chile sauce...
One of the best things about boiled dinner or corned beef and cabbage is the leftovers. In fact, one friend of mine regularly makes two roasts when she cooks corned beef, just so she has enough leftover for sandwiches and...
One of the things I love about red lentils is that they cook up so quickly. Unlike their sturdier brown and green lentil cousins, when cooked, red lentils quickly fall apart into a smooth mush-like consistency. So, if you get...
Frijoles Refritos Pinto beans, prepared Mexican style, are such a staple in our house a week rarely goes by without my mother making up a batch. Although beans have a relatively long shelf life, the older they are the longer...
Trying to get a recipe out of my mother is like pulling teeth. Mom doesn't follow recipes. After 50 years of cooking for her family she doesn't need to. She cooks instinctively, pulling ingredients from what we have on hand...
Have you ever noticed that some people are potato people and some people are rice people? My dad for example, is a potato person. He's happiest with a side of simple boiled potatoes as his starch, for practically any meal...
"Rice pudding is how God intended us to eat rice," my father announced when I mentioned I was thinking about making some. Well that settled it, rice pudding it would be. With a little investigation, I found that there are...
Helpers Alden and Piper show off the rice We found a "three-flavor" rice recipe in a recent Parade magazine - long grain white rice accented with carrots, lemon, and mint. Excellent served with roast chicken. I can't quite figure out...
This ricotta stuffed chicken recipe is based on a recipe from a Weber grilling cookbook, and as such requires that you butterfly the chicken (makes it easier to grill). Although the recipe is designed for grilling, it can easily be...
Ever stumble upon something that everyone else seems to know about or has tried, but for you it's a brand new oh-my-gosh discovery, and then you feel like an idiot, because, where have you been? For me, that something was...
Another Italian classic from Hank Shaw. Enjoy! ~Elise This is a classic dish from Venice, and it has many variations. Risi e bisi simply means rice and peas, and the dish is traditionally made with the fresh new peas of...
My mom knows a lot about cooking beef. She knows all of the cuts and what to do with them. This must have something to do with growing up at a time where people went to their local butchers for...
Updated, from the recipe archive. First posted 2004. One of the first things I ever learned to cook on my own (post college quesadillas) was roast chicken. It's actually crazy easy, given that all you really need to do is...
The most important thing to remember about cooking a lamb roast is to not over-cook it. Lamb has such wonderful flavor on its own, and is so naturally tender, that it is bound to turn out well, as long as...
This was supposed to be a Valentine's Day meal. Dainty roast quail, so small that a serving is two birds each. Precious. Adorable. Perfect for Valentines. Perfect, yes, as long as your notion of a romantic meal includes eating with...
Have you ever had roasted asparagus turn out tough and stringy? Here's a tip from my friend Alanna: use the fat spears, not the skinny ones, for roasting. This is a quick and easy recipe for beautifully roasted, tender asparagus.
This has to be one of the easiest ways to prepare roasted carrots. The method of preparation comes from my friend Suzanne. She uses the "Nantes" French carrots from Trader Joe's or the bunched baby carrots at Whole Foods, but...
Every Saturday my dad heads to the local farmers market and, if the season is right, comes home with a big bunch of beets, which he then scrubs clean, boils, quarters, and marinates in oil and vinegar. So by the...
If you show up at my father's house with a bagful of fresh brussels sprouts to be cooked, he will howl and complain like a 3-year old confronted with liver and onions. Such then, is the sweet satisfaction of seeing...
Who knew that cauliflower could be such a perfect vehicle for olive oil, lemon, garlic, and Parmesan cheese? I'm used to eating cauliflower raw, steamed, or puréed. I love cauliflower and will eat it any way it is prepared. But...
My mother found this recipe in the weekend Wall St. Journal and we were all quite pleased with the results. The recipe comes from Orange County restauranteur Liza Goodell. Mom cooked the chicken in a large cast-iron frying pan, and...
Fall is here and it is soup season once again. This roasted eggplant and tomato soup recipe is a terrific recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. The flavors of the roasted tomatoes, garlic, carrots, chickpeas, and curry combine beautifully...
Normally fennel tastes like a cross between celery, cabbage, and licorice. Roasting, however, brings out an entirely new flavor - as if pine nuts decided to join the party.
Years ago my pal Peter showed me how to roast garlic whole and eat the warm, toasty cloves right out of the head. How wonderfully simple! And perfect for garlic lovers.
The trick to this tender, succulent roast chicken is the overnight brining. We usually roast chickens breast side down to ensure tender breast meat. But with the overnight brining in a roasted garlic and lemon juice marinade, the breast meat...
Here is a flavorful alternative to boiling your beans - roasting them with a balsamic vinegar honey coating, topped with toasted walnuts.
Oven roasting new potatoes with a little olive oil, garlic, and rosemary is a simple and easy way to prepare a savory side dish.
Recently I had the pleasure of attending a fabulous class, taught by and in the home of local cooking maestra Evie Lieb. In the class we covered many dishes, but my favorite was the Roasted Parsnips with Horseradish-Herb Butter. I...
Recipe updated Aug 31, 2010 The inspiration for this recipe comes from my mother's friend Claire, who grows beautiful red bell peppers in her garden. She brought over some soup for us to try and a recipe. Over the years...
Often this time of year, our gardens are filled with more zucchini than we know what to do with. Here is one quick and easy way of preparing zucchini. I had a variation of this the other night at my...
Have you ever encountered a stubborn teenager who outright refuses to eat something new, in spite of everyone telling her how good it is? At some point you just give up and say, "oh have it your way, all the...
Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord, who grilled these chicken skewers with me the other day to rave reviews from the 'rents. ~Elise I've always been a fan of combining sweet fruits with savory spices, it sets up a certain...
This recipe comes by way of my Tennessee friend Keith Gray, who when I asked him, "does this recipe work with ducks you shoot, or that you buy in a grocery store?," replied with a puzzled look, "I've never bought...
My sister Karen (Austin's mom) is in town, flush from completing a grueling, 500 mile bike ride from San Francisco to LA. Karen has always been a super athlete, and with her current passion for triathlons takes a lot of...
In Bahia in Northern Brazil, there is a savory fish stew called "Moqueca" that they make with local fish. Fernanda Guimaraes Rosa, who writes the Brazilian food blog Chucrute com Salsicha, brought a Vancouver friend's salmon version of Moqueca to...
Here's a salmon dish made for summer. Fresh tomatoes, fresh chopped herbs, a few shallots, lemon juice, balsamic and olive oil make a perfect sauce to accompany baked salmon fillets.
Every year in mid September, my friend Jim organizes a group of his friends to go salmon fishing off the coast of Marin, north of San Francisco. For the second year in a row, I didn't a catch a fish...
All this talk of the sweet goodness you can make apples this season, and as someone rightly pointed out to me, there are many savory things you can make with apples as well. My dear Minnesota-raised father, who cannot resist...
For years I've walked by those packages of baby artichokes at Trader Joe's not willing to try them because they just didn't seem worth the effort. I'm glad to report that I was completely wrong. They actually take less time...
Please welcome guest author, the inimitable David Leite of Leite's Culinaria. Looking for a good side for Christmas dinner? David shares one of his favorite recipes from his fabulous new cookbook, The New Portuguese Table ~Elise I know within two...
This is a classic Sicilian side dish, prepared with leafy greens, toasted pine nuts and raisins. It may sound like an odd combination, but it works; it's sweet, savory, salty, spicy and just a little bitter. So as my mother...
We have a thing for greens in our family. Beet greens, collard greens, mustard greens, Swiss chard, kale. My mother even picks dandelion greens to add to soups, and mix in with other greens. The thing about most greens is...
Oh my, this is a good one. I never would have thought to pair kale with tahini (thank you to my friend Peg for the suggestion), but it's great. Sort of reminiscent of a popular Japanese dish with spinach and...
Anyone will tell you, "eat your greens"! And they're right. Bitter greens especially—kale, collard greens, mustard greens, etc. They're good for you, packed with vitamins, and they help digestion. That said, frankly I never knew what to do with them...
Raised Catholic, I grew up eating fish every Friday (not just during Lent as the custom goes these days). Often it was just a simple tuna macaroni salad, but we kids were exposed to a variety of fish and seafood...
Mustard seeds. Do you cook with them often? I discovered how wonderful they were years ago when my Indian friend Sanjay would come over and make dal for us, peppered with mustard seeds. They're so tiny, but boy do they...
After several years of observing the results of my feeble gardening attempts, my next door neighbor Pat (76 and still going strong) graciously responded to my pleas for help and has been guiding me this spring with soil amendments, starter...
There are many ways to make delicious scalloped potatoes. For this version, I consulted several books - Kitchen Sense, two James Beards, and the Joy of Cooking. Basically you layer thinly sliced potatoes with any number of extras - cheese...
Every few days, for the last month, I've gone out to my garden in the morning and gathered enough tomatillos to cook up with some eggs for breakfast. Here it is November, and the leaves are all turning, but we're...
A few years ago my father discovered scallops, not that he didn't know about them before, it's just that some light bulb went off in his head one day and he decided that he had to cook them. So for...
Recipe and photo updated July 25th, 2011 One of the benefits of having your own cooking website is that your friends and relatives start sending you recipes to try. The basis for this recipe comes by way of my cousin...
When I announced I was making a fennel Parmesan salad, my father remarked something to the effect, "That sounds like something for 'ladies who lunch'." It does, doesn't it? The idea came from a recipe in the South Beach Diet...
We recently had sherry potatoes (potato slices baked in sherry and butter) at Selland's, our favorite local cafe. They were so good that we spent many tries attempting to recreate them in our kitchen. I scoured the Internet looking for...
With the warm days of summer upon us, a great way to cool off is with ceviche. Ceviche is typically made with red snapper that is "cooked" by the acidity of lime and lemon juice (see this ceviche recipe.) This...
Please welcome guest author Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen who is doing a series of Chinese American food recipes for us here on Simply Recipes. ~Elise The first time I attempted to cook fried rice on my own, I was...
Have you ever had a food epiphany? Years ago I had a seafood risotto at a restaurant on the Grand Canal of Venice (back in the cushy days of business trips with expense accounts) that was so silky, so luscious...
Do you have a favorite meal for those need-something-quick-and-don't-want-to-have-to-plan-or-work-too-hard days? I like keeping a bag of shrimp in the freezer just for those times. I'll put some frozen shrimp in a bowl of ice water, and if I'm serving them...
What better way to cool down in the heat of summer than with a delicious cold salad? Freshly cooked shrimp and creamy avocado are a perfect match, especially with a crisp vinaigrette. The best news? It only takes a few...
Ever order Chinese long beans at a Chinese restaurant? So so good. Guest author Garrett McCord shows us how to cook them up quickly, Sichuan style. ~Elise Chinese long beans (also called Chinese green beans, yardlong beans, and chopstick beans...
Making soup doesn't have to be difficult, and if you are working with fresh, high quality vegetables, you don't even have to add stock. This cauliflower soup couldn't be easier; just blanch cauliflower florets for a few minutes, purée them...
I wasn't always a lover of peas. When I was a kid, on the days peas were being served for dinner, my siblings and I would jockey for a particular seat at the dining room table. This spot had a...
Ever wonder why Boston baked beans are called "Boston" baked beans? It's the molasses. Boston has been tied to molasses since colonial days, when the city was a trade center for rum from the Caribbean. Molasses is used for rum...
Updated. First posted in 2005. Now here's a good one for a cold winter day. Talk about melt-in-your-mouth delicious! A hefty pork shoulder is slathered with a rub of fennel seeds, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and garlic and set to marinate...
The cool weather has finally arrived here in Sacramento, and with it the first rains of the season. Goodbye fresh corn and tomatoes, and hello stew! Over the years several of you have requested slow-cooker recipes and I've had to...
Okay, so "smashed" potatoes are sometimes considered just a lazy way of making mashed potatoes. And indeed, they take a lot less effort. But smashing them is also an excellent way to get butter and herbs into all of the...
I first experienced smoked paprika on a trip to New Zealand last year in a sweet potato soup. My host laughed as my eyes lit up with "Wow, what's in this?!" Ever since then I've been keeping my eyes out...
Spring has sprung here in Northern California. The sweet peas are blossoming, the snap peas are climbing, and I have peas on my brain! Today I had a hankering for snow peas and cooked up a bunch this afternoon just...
This corn bread is packed with cheese, onions, and whole corn, and flavored with bacon drippings. Need I say more? Recipe courtesy of my friend Lynn R. of Newton, Mass., who I think adapted it from one in The Southern...
Also known as "Pollo Estofado" this stewed chicken recipe is Spanish in origin. The chicken is marinated overnight in a spicy vinaigrette with olives and raisins. The chicken is then cooked in its marinade with the addition of wine and...
One of my mother's signature dishes is her Spanish rice, a delicious accompaniment to steak, chicken, and Mexican entrees such as tacos or enchiladas. Spanish rice is prepared by browning the rice first with onions and garlic, before cooking it...
Called papas bravas or patatas bravas in Spain, this dish is essentially potatoes cooked in a spicy sauce and served as an appetizer, or tapas. Variations abound in both the cooking method—the potatoes are fried, boiled or roasted—and the sauce...
To a native Californian like myself, a "tortilla" is round and flat, and comes in only two styles, flour and corn. So the concept that a tortilla could also be a thick potato omelette, took some getting used to. But...
Spareribs with sauerkraut is something I've never had outside of my own home. My father claims that there are restaurants in Minnesota (where he grew up) that serve them. But I certainly have never seen them as a menu item...
We often cook all drumsticks or all thighs when we prepare chicken. We love the more flavorful dark meat and the fact that the chicken pieces all get done around the same time. The following recipe is based on one...
Here is a delightful spin on a fall favorite - cranberry sauce. The cranberries are cooked in Pinot Noir and spiced with curry, ginger, fennel seeds, and other spices. Simply Recipes reader John Klem passed this Epicurious recipe on to...
Updated, from the recipe archive. First posted July 2007. My father first found this recipe in the New York Times in 2007. We thought the combination of cashews, garlic, cilantro and jalapenos intriguing and worth a try. When my 9-year...
Throughout the coastal areas of Latin America, you'll find local variations of "Camarones al Ajillo", freshly caught shrimp, fried quickly in olive oil with garlic and chiles. My friend Arturo grew up near the beaches of Acapulco and learned a...
Updated, from the recipe archive. First posted 2006. We love lamb around here, every which way—braised, roasted, grilled, and even made into meatballs. Here is a spicy lamb stew, that is almost beefy in taste. Think of it as a...
With shorter days and colder nights, this richly flavorful lamb stew with butternut squash is a great way to fill up and stay warm.
Is it stew weather? I think it's finally stew weather here at least. This morning a thick, chilly fog bank settled on the northern central valley and didn't lift until after 10. We actually made this stew in early summer...
I love pumpkin soup, don't you? This recipe is adapted from one featured in Oprah Magazine. The original called for the soup to be served in roasted carved-out sugar pumpkins - a nice touch, but a little overkill for my...
Those of you who have been reading Simply Recipes for a while probably sense (rightly) that my father is a committed carnivore. Thus you may appreciate that dad, spending an afternoon making this vegetarian chili with vegetables that he had...
I do believe these are the best black beans I've ever eaten in my life. My friend Suzanne has been teaching me some of her favorite recipes this summer (lucky me!), and this spicy black bean recipe is one she...
Popeye was the best thing that ever hit the spinach industry. When I was a kid you couldn't pay me to eat lima beans or peas, but spinach? I begged for it; we all did. Especially if it came from...
According to the Wikipedia a frittata is "a kind of Italian omelette that can contain cheese, vegetables, or even leftover pasta. Frittatas are cooked slowly. Most often, they are cooked on the stovetop on low heat until the eggs are...
Updated, from the recipe archive. First posted November, 2005 I never get tired of eating spinach. Good thing it's so good for you! This is a fun take on spinach, a Korean version, with the spinach wilted in sesame oil...
There's something about winter that just begs for the making of split pea soup, wouldn't you agree? Like the proverbial groundhog, who failing to see his shadow, retreats into the comfort of his burrow, in the chilly, foggy dampness of...
Fava beans are a gardener's dream. The come up early in Spring, they're easy to grow, and their roots fix nitrogen in the soil, helping to prepare the soil for vegetables planted later in the season. They are delicious, though...
There are two butchering seasons for lamb, fall and spring. Most of our lamb stew recipes are fall recipes, heavy on the root vegetables. But even though spring tempts us with flowering dogwoods and daffodils, there's still plenty enough blustery...
"Sufferin' succotash!" Raise your hand if you grew up with Looney Tunes on Saturday mornings. I'm guessing that these days there are more people familiar with Sylvester the cat's oft-uttered exclamation than there are those who have actually tried the...
Updated, from the recipe archive. First posted 2006. Enjoy! ~Elise Steak Diane is tradtionally made with a thinly pounded steak, and a cognac, butter, and shallot sauce that is flambéed right before serving to great dramatic effect. Doing some research...
Steak salad is such a great way to enjoy steak. You can even easily put it together with steak leftovers. At a minimum it is simply thin slices of steak over salad greens with your preferred salad dressing. I tend...
I love this photo. It makes me want to eat this steak all over again. Don't you love it when you make something that you know is good, and you feed it to someone who has their doubts (because that's...
Steamed broccoli is the best cure for over-indulgence I know. It's cleansing, healthful, high in vitamin C, protein (45% of the calories in broccoli are from protein), and fiber. The easiest way to dress broccoli is to mix in a...
Why is it that baked beans are so popular around the Fourth of July, but making them usually requires several hours of baking in a hot oven? Where we live it gets pretty darn sizzling in the summer and the...
Strawberry and rhubarb has to be one of the world's best pairings. We love the way tart rhubarb (ever try to eat raw rhubarb?) dances with sweet strawberries in cobblers and pies. In this terrine, orange zest makes an appearance...
What better way to conjure up memories of the joys of youth than strawberry shortcake? Strawberry shortcake consists of sliced strawberries that have been macerated with whipped cream served over a white cake or biscuit. I'm from the camp that...
We recently came across an intriguing recipe for strawberry mousse cake in Martha Stewart Living and decided to skip the cake part and just make the strawberry white chocolate mousse. It was fabulously cool and rich, just the dessert for...
If you grow zucchini in your garden, and you're the kind of wonderful person who brings your neighbors a share of your bounty, and such bounty includes foot-long several pound zucchinis, might I suggest that you include a recipe to...
Every time I take a cooking class from Sacramento chef Evie Lieb I'm inspired for weeks with new ideas and recipes for bringing out the best from ingredients. This summer pea soup is an Evie inspiration, a re-creation of soup...
Evie suspected that when I tried her summer squash salad recipe that I would have to eat my words (no pun intended) regarding my mom being the only one who could prepare squash well. Well, I have eaten my words...
Please welcome guest author Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen who brings us another great Chinese-American classic, Sweet and Sour Chicken. ~Elise When Elise asked me to be a guest writer for Simply Recipes, we decided to take Chinese favorites and...
A perfect holiday side dish from Hank Shaw. Enjoy! ~Elise This is a lovely way to eat smaller onions. I learned this recipe from Italian cookbooks, where they call it onions agrodolce, but the concept of sweet-and-sour onions is pretty...
A reader emailed the other day asking if I was Austrian on account of the sauerkraut and cabbage recipes on Simply Recipes. My father's grandparents on both sides were from Austria and he grew up with many traditional German and...
Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord as he shares a lip-smacking recipe for mushroom stir-fry he recreated from one he enjoyed in China. ~Elise During a recent trip through China I ate a lot of life changing food. Sichuan stir-fried...
I never liked Swiss chard, until several years ago I had some that had been freshly picked from a friend's garden. It was so sweet and buttery I couldn't believe it was actually Swiss chard. It was then I learned...
Tzatziki is a Greek dip made with yogurt, olive oil, garlic, and cucumbers. This version (from Martha Stewart Living) replaces the cucumbers with Swiss chard and is delightful with toasted pita. Dad announced a couple weeks ago that he didn't...
I've been on a chard kick this season, getting one or two bunches a week for the last several months. It cooks down to something more substantial than spinach, and is more tender and therefore cooks faster than kale or...
One of my favorite desserts growing up was tapioca pudding. You don't see it that much anymore. Kids get pre-made over-sugared puddings from the grocery store. My parents don't make it that often as it requires too much (for them...
Recently I had the privilege of dining with one of my favorite food bloggers, Carol Blymire, who after cooking her way through the French Laundry cookbook and blogging about it, is tackling an even more absurdly wonderful but complicated project...
One of the benefits of having a well-stocked pantry is that it gives you so much more flexibility when you want to get a meal out quickly. Case in point, this teriyaki chicken. Classic teriyaki sauce is made with soy...
Tex-Mex "Lasagna" (also known as "Mexican Casserole" or "Mexican Lasagna") is called such because like the Italian lasagna we know and love, the Tex-Mex version is a baked casserole dish comprised of layers. Only in true Tex-Mex fashion, we are...
3-bean salad is one of those quintessential American summer picnic foods. It's usually made with canned green beans instead of the cannellini white beans I'm using here. But I really don't care for canned green beans, so cannellini it is...
Happy Chinese New Year! Please welcome Garrett McCord as he shares a favorite Chinese chicken dish with us, Three Teacup Chicken. ~Elise 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit (兔) which is a welcome thing after the previous wild and...
Baked beans are just the thing for a blustery day. My father pulled this recipe out of Bon Appétit magazine years ago and we've been enjoying its tangy, rich flavor ever since. A great side dish to pork or steak.
Tilapia, a tasty farm-raised fish originally from Africa, has become more and more popular here in the states. I recently brought home a whole tilapia from our local Asian fish market and made quite a mess of trying to fillet...
In spite of the oddly cool weather here in Sacramento, my tomatoes are growing swell. And there is nothing better to do with fresh home grown tomatoes on a summer day than have them in a cool, colorful salad. While...
Tortilla soup encompasses all the things I love best in Mexican cooking. Do you like salsa? avocado? cilantro? fresh hot tortilla chips? Tortilla soup is like a soup version of my favorite enchilada, with chicken, and tortilla chips. And avocado...
Have any leftover roast beef? Here's how we make roast beef hash. From the recipe archive. First posted in 2004. Happy holidays! ~Elise Hash is a great way to use up leftover cooked meat. We tend to use roast beef...
We have an abundance of tomatillos in our garden this year. Whereas the tomatoes have been suffering from too much water early in the season, too little heat, nematodes and wilt, the tomatillos we planted are vigorous. A couple volunteers...
One of my favorite things to make with leftover turkey is turkey tacos. Usually I have some leftover cranberry relish (I always make too much) to go with the tacos in lieu of salsa, but this time I thought I...
Usually after Thanksgiving we have plenty of leftover turkey and enough turkey stock for several days of dishes. Today I whipped up some turkey white chili, based on our chicken white chili recipe, but made it with cooked turkey meat...
Wandering around the web the other day, I encountered this recipe for gorgeous looking rocamboles de volaille, basically a poultry roll, on a French-language website about Portuguese food. In Brazil apparently rolled foods are called "rocamboles"; if there are Brazilians...
Church book sales are a great way to pick up cookbooks at bargain prices. Ours was last weekend and we found the Food and Wine Magazine's 1999 Annual Cookbook for a dollar. What a deal! Most of the recipes in...
I honestly don't know if they serve scrambled eggs this way in Tuscany, but ever since we started making eggs this way, pulled from Tuscany: The Beautiful Cookbook we've called them "Tuscan Eggs". They are very easy to prepare; the...
Sometimes deciding what to make for dinner comes starts with the inspiration of just one ingredient. A friend of mine sent us some wonderful blue cheese this week and my father decided that he wanted to make twice baked potatoes...
My father found this recipe by Wolfgang Puck, who says that he got this recipe from his mother. It's really an excellent vegetable soup. Surprisingly tasty.
Tamales are a Latin American favorite, a delicious filling surrounded by corn meal dough, and steamed until cooked. Most tamales that we have the occasion to eat here in the US are wrapped in corn husks, the method typical of...
Why I didn't think of this earlier in the summer, when the zucchini beast was putting out two zukes a day, I don't know. But here it is, a veggie taco that combines the best of summer produce, that you...
Summer has officially arrived, and with it, the dry summer heat for which Sacramento is so well known. Chilled soups were invented for hot days like these. Vichyssoise, a chilled creamy potato and leek soup, was created by a chef...
According to the American Century Cookbook, the first Waldorf Salad was created in New York City in 1893, by Oscar Tschirky, the maître d'hôtel of the Waldorf Astoria. The original recipe consisted only of diced red-skinned apples, celery, and mayonnaise...
Now this is a salad made for summer - fresh garden green beans, ripe tomatoes, Parmesan, and pancetta. You can substitute bacon for the pancetta, but if pancetta is available, we recommend using it. The flavor works marvelously well with...
We've had some wonderfully cold, rainy, winter storms here lately in Northern California. This soup is the perfect hardy accompaniment to a cold winter day. Note, this soup is the kind that is much better the next day, as the...
Some items that you will almost always find well stocked in our pantry are canned beans (white beans, garbanzo, kidney) and canned tuna packed in olive oil. We also keep well supplied with onions, including at least one red onion...
Is it that time of year yet for hearty soups? Maybe, maybe not. In any case, this one is a family favorite, combining a potpourri of colorful vegetables with the creamy texture of white beans.
If you've ever grown cherry tomatoes in your garden, you know how wonderfully prolific they can be in summer months. The following salad combines the sweetness of summer cherry tomatoes with white beans and parsley. The secret sauce is the...
Okay, so why didn't we think of this earlier? White beans, Italian sausage, tomato sauce. It's sort of like spaghetti but with white beans instead of pasta. Filling? Yes. Resistible? No.
My friend Steve-Anna, who has been tempting me with tales of her white chili for years, finally sent me the recipe. It originally comes from the Beyond Parsley, by the Junior League of Kansas City, MO. Both she and I...
This rice salad is a perfect accompaniment to many fall and winter dishes - roast chicken, stews, pork chops. You can use brown rice, wild rice (not really a rice at all), or a combination of the two. Both wild...
Looking for a great summer picnic salad to take to your next potluck? I recently enjoyed this rice salad while visiting my friend Chigiy who was hosting a summer BBQ. "Enjoyed" is the polite way of saying I ate a...
Old fashioned watercress is getting harder to come by, at least around here in Sacramento. Whole Foods carries watercress, but the leaves are too tender, and lack the bite of what I grew up eating. This is my mother's recipe...
Who says you can only make slaw with cabbage? Check out this winter slaw from Hank made with root vegetables. ~Elise Winter is root vegetable time, and while I love roasted roots more than most people, sometimes you just want...
Another week, another refrigerator drawer filled to the brim with garden zucchini. Sound familiar? To take a break from our usual (almost daily in the summer) way to cook up the zucchini (see mom's summer squash), we prepared a classic...
My father found a recipe for zucchini sautéed in butter and olive oil with onion, parsley, and thyme in one of his decade-old Food and Wine magazines. He made it a few days ago and it was perfect - tender...
