I love farmers market season, when every variety of every vegetable is available, fresh picked on the day it comes to market. If you find multi-colored carrots at the market, buy them for this recipe, but if you don't, choose the most beautiful orange carrots you can find. The colors all taste the same. Slice them very thinly with a sharp knife or, preferably, on a mandoline. When you put together a picnic, cookout or spur-of-the-moment summer dinner, a few quick and easy side dishes in your repertoire can fill in the blanks between the protein on the grill, and cookies or brownies for dessert. These pickled carrots take less than an hour to prepare, including the time it takes to find the mandoline that... Read more →
When I see pickling cucumbers at the farmers market, I am the moth drawn to the flame. I must have them. And when I see fresh dill, I must have that, too. And then I make dill pickles, lots and lots of them. Sometimes, however, I find cucumbers but no dill, and for those times, I have my friend Pauline's bread and butter pickle recipe. Pauline, who left us for the great kitchen in the sky last year, taught me many complicated dishes, from her French-Canadian heritage and her stints living in other parts of the country, and she taught me this simple one. The only change I've made is to cut down on the sugar (and even at that, most of the sugar remains... Read more →
In the house where I grew up, mustard was yellow, neon-bright yellow, and we squirted it on hot dogs. Period. In my own kitchen, I stock at least half a dozen types of mustard, but none gets used as often as Dijon mustard. It's tangy, yet not strident. A spoonful of Dijon goes into every spaghetti sauce I make; I know it sounds odd, but you have to trust me and try it. Dijon adds character. Mix a little bit of Dijon into your egg salad or potato salad. Add it to meatloaf. And don't forget vinaigrette dressings for your salads. Sometimes I use the country Dijon, made with coarsely-ground mustard seed; other times, I use the smooth mustard. Over the years I've written a... Read more →
Don't let the cold weather stop you! Use a panini press, stovetop grill pan or your broiler to make this easy grilled curry chicken. You'll love the leftovers in chicken salad. Read more →
Take the best parts of a traditional English pub lunch, and pile them on toasted crusty bread for a satisfying lunch or party appetizer. Read more →
Chutney, an Indian condiment that combines fruit with onions and ginger, spices up your turkey (and leftovers), so make a batch for the Thanksgiving table. Read more →
Sugar-free cranberry sauce, made easy in the crockpot (slow cooker), is a welcome addition to the Thanksgiving menu. Read more →