Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Sponsored Post: Happiness Is Cider Braised Pazazz Apples With Coconut “Bacon,” and Garlic

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Pazazz apples go savory in this delightful wintry side dish.
Pazazz apples go savory in this delightful wintry side dish.

When I say, “apple,” you say…”pie”?

Chances are you automatically do.

Any way you slice it, there’s nothing wrong with sweet apple pie, especially fresh-baked and still warm. But let’s not forget that apples are also sensational starring in savory fare.

Case in point: “Cider Braised Apples with Coconut ‘Bacon,’ and Garlic,” a fabulous accompaniment to roast chicken, Cornish game hens, turkey, pork loin, sausages, duck or even grilled firm tofu planks.

February is the perfect time to tuck into it, too, since it’s National Cancer Prevention Month. I’m proud to partner with the American Institute for Cancer Research and Pazazz Apples to help spread the word about how apples are high in fiber and antioxidants that can help reduce the risks of some cancers. To learn more about how nutritious apples are and to assess how your own lifestyle choices affect your risk of cancer, go to the informative health check here.

What’s more, those antioxidants also fuel neurotransmitters in the brain that trigger the release of dopamine that boosts mood. That makes apples a veritable “happy” fruit.

Yours truly shopping for Pazazz apples at Safeway.
Yours truly shopping for Pazazz apples at Safeway.

And who wouldn’t want more bliss in their lives, right? All it takes is heading to Albertsons, Safeway, or Vons like I did to pick up some Pazazz apples (about $2.99 per pound), now at peak flavor through June.

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Polish Cabbage Salad with Green Sauce

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You'll be seeing green with this vivid cabbage salad.
You’ll be seeing green with this vivid cabbage salad.

Whenever I read news stories of late about tech bros going to questionable lengths to try to live seemingly forever, I just roll my eyes.

Who wants the lifespan of Dracula?

Me? I’d be happy to have the longevity of a head of cabbage.

Seriously, the stuff lasts for an inordinate amount of time in your crisper drawer with little intervention needed. I mean, yes, its exterior leaves may wilt and discolor a bit over time. But peel those off, and the rest of it is as good as new. It’s like how we humans use a loofah brush to uncover smooth skin as fresh as a baby’s.

Because of its great longevity, cabbage is so handy to keep in the fridge. Because you just never know when you might need an extra side dish, salad or soup ingredient on the spur of the moment — and lo and behold, handy-dandy cabbage to fill that void.

That’s why one day, while I was leafing through the new cookbook, “Polish’d” (The Experiment, 2023), of which I received a review copy, I was so glad to have already have a Savoy cabbage on hand when I spied “Cabbage Salad with Green Sauce, Olives, and Bryndza Cheese.”

This cookbook is by Michal Korkosz, a food journalist based in Warsaw and creator of the award-winning blog, Rozkoszny (which means “delightful”).

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Frances Mayes’ Tagliatelle with Duck Confit and Chestnuts

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Would you believe this pasta dish came together in less than half an hour?
Would you believe this pasta dish came together in less than half an hour?

In Italy, some folks eat pasta not merely every day, but twice a day.

In Tuscany, construction workers will even stop work at lunch to cook up a bowl of plain spaghetti on-site with olive oil and Parmigiano.

So writes Frances Mayes in the introduction to her new cookbook, “Pasta Veloce” (Abrams, 2023), of which I received a review copy.

Those are my kind of people. Because I love pasta — not just for its comforting taste, but its ease and versatility.

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Biscuits With A Little Something-Something

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Magnificent biscuits with a novel ingredient.
Magnificent biscuits with a novel ingredient.

These crispy-all-over, supremely decadent tasting biscuits are unlike others.

Because they have a novel ingredient that you might just guess from my cheeky photo.

Yes, duck — as in fat.

There’s no butter or shortening in these babies. Just a generous amount of lavish duck fat along with buttermilk.

This fabulous biscuit recipe is from “Still We Rise” (Clarkson Potter, 2023), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Erika Council, creator of the Southern Souffle blog and chef-owner of Bomb Biscuit Co. in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward historic district where Martin Luther King Jr. was born.

As she writes, this book embodies the “gospel of biscuits,” the heritage and heart these rounds of little more than flour, fat, and dairy have carried over generations, especially among Black home-cooks who proudly perfected them for their families.

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Warming Up with Korean Braised Tofu

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Slices of firm tofu get cooked in a sweet soy sauce with onions and mushrooms for comfort in a bowl.
Slices of firm tofu get cooked in a sweet soy sauce with onions and mushrooms for comfort in a bowl.

Over the holidays, with my husband and I both slogging through our first bouts of Covid ever (we escaped it for nearly four years, so I guess it was only a matter of time), and then with him experiencing a rebound case right after, I half-joked that I needed a hazmat team to come to my house to rid the premises once and for all of every germ in sight.

Or maybe we just needed some spicy tofu.

Homey, comforting, and with enough Korean chili pepper and fresh slices of jalapeno to rev and warm the immune system and every other part of the body, it sure hit the spot.

But you don’t have to be ailing to thoroughly enjoy “Braised Tofu (Dooboo Jorim).” Because this easy dish will leave you contented no matter what.

It’s from “Sohn-Mat” (Hardie Grant, 2023) of which I received a review copy.

This collection of Korean home-cooking recipes is by Monica Lee, owner of Beverly Soon Tofu, and co-author Tien Nguyen, who has written several cookbooks, including the “The Red Boat Fish Sauce Cookbook.”

When Beverly Soon Tofu opened in 1986, Lee says it was the only one of its kind in Los Angeles serving soon tofu stew in Koreatown. So, this is a woman who definitely knows her tofu dishes.

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