Tag Archives: Molly Stevens recipe

You Won’t Believe What’s In This Cornbread

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Cornbread made with cornmeal, corn kernels, and...
Cornbread made with cornmeal, corn kernels, and…

Yes, this particular cornbread is thoroughly corny. In fact, it has three kinds of corn in it:

Cornmeal.

Fresh corn kernels.

And popcorn.

Yup, you read that right.

“Popcorn Cornbread” is featured in the cookbook, “All About Dinner: Simple Meals, Expert Advice” (W.W. Norton & Company, 2019) by award-winning cookbook writer Molly Stevens.

Yes, popcorn!
Yes, popcorn!

This inventive recipe immediately caught my eye because it includes popcorn that’s pulverized in a food processor until it becomes popcorn flour. Whatever you do, just don’t sneeze or be near a fan when you make this flour because the particles are so light, that it doesn’t take much for them to go flying everywhere.

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Simmered Asparagus with Orange and Mint

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A classy little asparagus dish that requires barely any time at all.
A classy little asparagus dish that requires barely any time at all.

My favorite way to enjoy asparagus is grilled. The high heat brings out the natural sweetness of the spears, while the lick of smoke makes anything tastier.

But now and again, it’s nice to swap primal and rustic for elegant and lady-like.

That’s where “Simmered Asparagus with Orange and Mint” comes in.

It’s much like glazed carrots — pan-simmered with a little water and aromatics until the liquid evaporates and turns to steam, leaving behind perfectly tender spears coated with deliciousness.

The recipe is from “All About Dinner: Simple Meals, Expert Advice” (W.W. Norton, 2019), of which I received a review copy. It’s by award-winning cooking instructor, cookbook author, and recipe developer Molly Stevens.

It’s one of 150 recipes in this indispensable book that offers up approachable and thoughtful dishes for home-cooks that make use of vegetables, grains, meats, fish, and sweets.

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Roasted Savoy Cabbage Wedges, Caesar-Style

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Move over romaine, make your Caesar "salad'' with roasted Savoy cabbage instead.
Move over romaine, make your Caesar “salad” with roasted Savoy cabbage instead.

Cabbage is the Rodney Dangerfield of vegetables.

It doesn’t get nearly the respect it deserves. It seems too plain, too basic, too cheap to be worthy of much attention.

But just consider how integral it is to slaws, salads, soups, corned beef, and so many Russian and Polish staples.

If that doesn’t convince you, surely “Roasted Savoy Cabbage Wedges, Caesar-Style” will.

This incredibly easy dish features all the arresting flavors of Caesar salad — but with roasted cabbage instead.

The recipe is from All About Dinner: Simple Meals, Expert Advice” (W.W. Norton & Company), of which I received a review copy. It’s the fabulous new book by James Beard Award-winning Molly Stevens, a gifted cooking instructor, recipe developer and food writer who lives in Vermont.

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Fig and Pistachio Stuffing for Thanksgiving

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Stuffing that doesn't have to weigh you down.

Stuffing that doesn’t have to weigh you down.

 

Think of this as Thanksgiving stuffing-lite.

Oh sure, it still has half a stick of butter in it.

But there’s no sausage in it. Nor any milk, cream or eggs. It gets moistened with chicken broth instead.

It also gets crunch from a profusion of pistachio nuts. And it gets a grown-up touch with dried figs that have been macerated in sweet white wine overnight. But don’t worry, they don’t come out tasting overly boozy. The alcohol tempers the fruit’s sweetness and adds a rounded depth. If you don’t have the Mucscat or Essensia called for in the recipe, you can improvise. I actually ended up using Canadian icewine I happened to have on hand.

The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbook writers, Molly Stevens. It first appeared in the February 2007 issue of Bon Appetit.

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