When it comes to egg and cheese casseroles, I'm all in. No matter the filling, the mix-ins, or the variety of cheeses, I love them all. If I had the discipline, I would make a casserole every Sunday, cut it into squares, and eat one square for breakfast every single day of the week. Egg and cheese breakfast casseroles make satisfying suppers, or impressive brunch dishes, too. This recipe features one of my favorite combinations, broccoli and bacon, and I used creamy, mild muenster cheese plus sharp Parmigiano-Reggiano for the "glue." You could substitute fontina or goat's milk gouda, or even Swiss cheese, for the muenster. Vegetarians can omit the bacon, or substitute a vegetarian bacon which will still add some smoky flavor to the... Read more →
There are buckwheat noodles, and there are buckwheat noodles, and if you follow a gluten-free diet, you know what I mean. Some brands contain wheat flour as well as buckwheat; some contain yam or sweet potato; several brands are 100 percent buckwheat. I think they all taste so similar that, unless you have celiac disease, you can cook with them interchangeably. Read the labels when you shop at Asian markets; by law, ingredients must be listed in English on packaged foods sold in the United States. Soba noodles make a perfect backdrop for sauces with citrus, and here it's lime that provides the tart balance to the earthy buckwheat. My friend Sarah gave me a gorgeous yellow cucumber, as well as mint from her community... Read more →
One of my all-time favorite Chinese restaurant take-out recipes, shrimp lo mein finally gets the photo update it deserves. I first shared this recipe in 2008, in an ingredient post about oyster sauce, and I updated the post in 2010 with photos that made this dish look anything but appetizing. I hope these new photos will give you an idea of how much you'll love these salty, slurpy noodles, and how easy it is to make great lo mein at home. The basic sauce, what I call the Cantonese 3-2-1 Trinity, relies on staples from the pantry: three parts reduced-sodium soy sauce, two parts oyster sauce (also called oyster-flavor sauce), and one part sesame oil. You can use this mixture to season all types of... Read more →
FACT: Bacon makes everything better. It doesn't take much bacon to perk up any recipe, especially something as fundamentally bland as rice. And kids are more likely to eat a bowl of rice with vegetables if it also has easy-to-spot pieces of bacon bobbing here and there. In this recipe, bacon lends its salty, smoky notes to an already-rich risotto. After rendering the bacon fat in the pot (or the electric pressure cooker, which is my preferred way of cooking risotto these days), you remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and return it to the pot after the rice is done. The rice cooks in the rendered bacon fat, plus a little bit of olive oil. Broccoli, stirred in after the rice finishes, benefits... Read more →
The calendar tells me that soup season has arrived, but even without the calendar, I feel it in my bones. Cooler temperatures, dry air, a few leaves changing color here and there: it all spells soup. After the humid heat of summer, I'm finally willing to turn the stove on again. To get my soup-making juices flowing, I raided my pantry a couple of weeks ago to create a pot of tomato soup with a spicy kick. The tomato base combines canned chopped tomatoes, red sofrito, and mild red enchilada sauce. Rice gives the soup body, and you can omit the added jalapeño pepper if you want a milder soup. As is, this soup is vegan and gluten-free, but I'd never discourage you from topping... Read more →
Why do the words pasta salad strike fear in the hearts of eaters everywhere? I know why. Pasta salad is hard to get right. It can be too watery, or too dry, or too chewy, or too bland. I'll bet everyone has experienced at least one of these less-than-wonderful pasta salads, especially the versions that sit for far too long on buffet tables. Don't worry: you can make much better pasta salad at home. There are a couple of secrets to good pasta salad. One, make sure the pasta is fully cooked; there's nothing trendy about biting into an al dente piece of cold pasta. Two, make sure the pasta is minimally dressed. If you end up with too much dressing at the bottom of... Read more →
From my living room window, I have an unimpeded view of one of the best pizzerias in Boston. In the early mornings, before the neighborhood is fully awake, I watch the lights go on when the bakers arrive to start the dough. Over the past ten years, I've eaten countless wood-oven pizzas with every imaginable topping on their crispy, sometimes puffy, always ethereal crust. These days, pizza is an occasional indulgence, mostly because of that amazing crust. So, to keep the carbs down, I've been making flatbread pizzas at home using this low-carb flatbread from the supermarket. Whatever shape of flatbread you use, make sure it will fit into an oven-safe frying pan (if your pan has a removeable rubber handle, be sure to slide... Read more →