Is there a more quintessential summer dish than ratatouille? This Provencal mélange is prepared with a medley of the season’s most colorful and omnipresent produce. Last week I easily found everything needed for this dish at my local farmers’ market. Dark shiny eggplants, zucchini and bell peppers picked just that morning, tomatoes that were deep crimson inside and out, and bunches of fragrant basil all found their way into my straw basket. Continue reading
Okay, it’s May, and that means it’s finally warm enough here in New England to pull out those grills that have been sequestered for months in the garage. We can start seriously cooking outdoors once again. And, I have the perfect recipe to initiate the new season. Lamb, Date, and Red Pepper Brochettes are easy, colorful, and quick to prepare. Continue reading
These elegant tarts look as if they take far more expertise to produce than the simple effort that is required. Using purchased puff pastry is what makes them so easy and quick to assemble. Count on 15 minutes to make the filling, and five for cutting out the puff pastry squares. Both the squares and the filling can be prepared several hours ahead so that at serving time you will need only to spoon the asparagus/ mushroom melange onto the pastries, and then bake them for 20 minutes. Serve the tarts as a first course or offer then with a green salad for a summer lunch or light supper.
Among the more challenging dishes for home cooks is the ever-popular risotto. It requires patiently standing at the stove, slowly stirring simmering stock into a saucepan of sautéed aborio rice and onions. As the stock is added, a little at a time, the grains start to expand and soon absorb the flavorful liquid. For a typical recipe, you can count on about 20 minutes for this process. Continue reading
It’s not often that a restaurant dish is both so delicious and so simple that I can’t wait to try it in my own kitchen. Last month in Paris I had such an experience at a new bistro called Le Casse Noix. (The restaurant is this month’s featured item on the “Out and About” section of my website.) The main course that caught my eye and palate was roasted cod served atop a gratin of potatoes, an unlikely combination that worked beautifully.
The chef had fashioned a delectable mixture of potatoes and bits of ham seasoned with piment d’Espelette (a dried pepper powder similar to cayenne), and then transferred them to individual baking dishes. He sprinkled the servings with cheese, and finally added a thick, snowy white cod fillet to each. Continue reading
This recipe is a perennial favorite of students. Back in the 1990s it appeared on a winter cover of Bon Appétit and then later in my book, American Favorites. This dish has plenty going for it—you can make it ahead, it’s and all-in-one main course, and it’s inexpensive.
