Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Savor Greek-Style Chicken Stew Over Pasta

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It may look Italian. But this pasta dish is Greek all the way.
It may look Italian. But this pasta dish is Greek all the way.

Italian bucatini goes Greek when tossed with a tomato sauce imbued with the warmth of paprika, cumin, nutmeg and cloves.

Nestled with a tender chicken thigh simmered in the same sauce, it’s a hearty dish that transports you to the sunny Mediterranean from the get-go.

“Chicken Stew over Pasta (Pastitsada) is from the cookbook, “Yassou” (Artisan, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Shaily Lipa, a best-selling cookbook writer in Israel, who is of Greek and Turkish heritages.

In Greek, “yassou” is a customary way to wish one good health. With the Mediterranean diet long touted for its healthful ingredients, the recipes in this book make it ever so easy to include more such dishes in our everyday eating.

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Eggs and Bacon — Japanese-Style

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This savory veggie Japanese pancake gets garnished with Kewpie mayo, tonkatsu sauce, bonito flakes, nori, and scallions.
This savory veggie Japanese pancake gets garnished with Kewpie mayo, tonkatsu sauce, bonito flakes, nori, and scallions.

After two trips to Japan, I have grown even more enamored of the cuisine — if that’s even possible.

Not just of the fancy kaiseki meals prepared with overarching reverence. Nor just the basic, mind-boggling cheap convenience store foods that have no business being as fresh and delicious as they are. But also of the simple, soulful homey dishes that are as far from flashy as you can get.

“Buckwheat Okonomiyaki with Eggs and Bacon” is one such dish.

This savory pancake is from “Wafu Cooking: Everyday Recipes with Japanese Style” (Alfred A. Knopf, 2024) of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Sonoko Sakai, a Los Angeles-based cooking teacher and food writer with quite the career arc. Born in New York, she started working as a film buyer and independent movie producer. In 2009, though, she made a 180-degree turn, journeying to Tokyo to study soba noodle making. When she returned to the United States, she became a culinary instructor and food writer specializing in Japanese cooking — and never looked back.

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Baked Cornmeal with Sour Cream, Cheese and Eggs — From the Danube

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Polenta turns extra rich and creamy when baked with sour cream and beaten eggs.
Polenta turns extra rich and creamy when baked with sour cream and beaten eggs.

It has inspired painters, writers, and composers including Beethoven, Schubert, and Strauss. The romanticized Danube is the second-longest river in Europe, connecting 10 countries, including Romania Serbia, and Bulgaria.

It is also the focus of the eponymous cookbook, “Danube: Recipes and Stories from Eastern Europe” (Hardie Grant, 2024) of which I received a review copy.

It is the third cookbook by Irina Georgescu, a Romanian food writer and James Beard Award-winning cookbook author.

It’s a collection of more than 80 recipes that illuminate the charm and everyday cooking of the Danube’s diverse food cultures, with dishes such as “Leek and Rice Pie,” “Fisherman’s Soup,” “Millet and Mushroom Stuffed Vine Leaves,” and “Strawberries with Rose Water and Creme Anglaise.”

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The Timelessness of Chicken Normandy

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Chicken braised in hard apple cider and creme fraiche -- a dish with a spiritual history.
Chicken braised in hard apple cider and creme fraiche — a dish with a spiritual history.

Tender, juicy chicken simmered in a creamy sauce flavored with hard apple cider is as comforting as it gets.

But did you know it’s also a spiritual dish?

Yes, “Chicken Normandy” is a classic that has been enjoyed for centuries at the Abbey of Saint-Wandrille, founded in the 7th century as one of the first Benedictine abbeys in Normandy. It epitomizes this lush coastal region of northern France by making use of the bounty of local dairy farms, apple orchards, and the monks’ own brewed cider.

It’s a dish usually served as Sunday supper, following the monks’ traditional performance of melodic Gregorian chanting.

So writes noted cookbook author and food writer Jody Eddy in her book, “Elysian Kitchens” ( W.W. Norton & Company, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

This fascinating cookbook delves into the food served in monasteries, temples, mosques, and synagogues around the world. It’s filled with 100 recipes along with beautiful photographs of these cloistered sanctuaries of which few are ever granted such an intimate view.

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The Aptly Named “Pasta To Make When You’re Not Near the Sea (But Wish You Were)”

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This lemony, briny, and buttery pasta comes together easily with pantry items.
This lemony, briny, and buttery pasta comes together easily with pantry items.

It says it all that I’ve happily made “Pasta to Make When You’re Not Near the Sea (But Wish You Were)” three times already.

And it’s not because I’m longing to be near the water.

It’s simply because it’s such a thoroughly satisfying pasta dish that’s easy enough to make on a whim.

The recipe is from “Le Sud” (Chronicle Books, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

Rebekah Peppler, a Paris-based writer and stylist, wrote the cookbook to highlight recipes from Provence- Alpes-Cote D’Azur, the southern region of France where the French throng for holidays. The 12,000-square-mile region is bounded in the north by the Southern Alps, to the south by the French Mediterranean, the east by Italy, and the west by the Rhone River. As the book illustrates with beautiful photos of the crystalline sea, it’s a postcard come to life.

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