Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Asparagus Snuggled In Bacon

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Bacon always makes everything better -- including asparagus.
Bacon always makes everything better — including asparagus.

Pick a card, any card.

Then, fire up the grill.

“The BBQ Companion” collection of 50 recipe cards (Smith Street) is sure to spark fun with backyard grilling this summer.

Think of them like flash cards — only each one contains a different grilling recipe along with a color photo of the finished dish.

The recipe cards, of which I received a review copy, were created by Sydney-based food writer Oscar Smith.

The collection includes 50 different grilling recipes to enjoy.
The collection includes 50 different grilling recipes to enjoy.

The recipes include everything from “Firey Lemongrass Chicken Wings,” “Grilled Lamb Loin with Anchovy & Garlic Butter,” and “Fish Tacos with Chipotle Sauce” to “Haloumi Burgers with Peperonata” and “Rum-Spiked Barbecued Banana Boats.”

In keeping with spring’s bounty, I drew the recipe card for “Asparagus-Wrapped in Bacon.”

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The Oven Does All the Work For Slow-Cooked Beef Ribs in Korean BBQ Sauce

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English-cut beef ribs go Korean-style in this easy recipe in which your oven does all the work.
English-cut beef ribs go Korean-style in this easy recipe in which your oven does all the work.

Consider this devilishly good dish the savory equivalent of a “dump cake.”

Instead of a boxed cake mix dumped over canned fruit in a pan, “Slow-Cooked Beef Ribs in Korean BBQ Sauce” is basically beefy ribs plopped into a pan with a robust mix of minced garlic, ketchup, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, and Korean fermented pepper paste known as gochujang.

There’s no need to sear the beef ribs beforehand, either. Just lay them in the sauce in the pan, slide into the oven, and practically forget about it for the next 6 hours.

The beef will emerge so tender that it falls off the bone, and the meat juices will have melded into the sauce, making it even more delectable.

This super simple recipe is from “RecipeTin Eats Dinner” (Countryman Press, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

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Andrea Nguyen’s Char Siu Roasted Cauliflower

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All the sweet, smoky, familiar taste of Chinese char siu -- but done with cauliflower instead.
The sweet, smoky, familiar taste of Chinese char siu — but done with cauliflower instead.

Admittedly, I’d grown a little weary of cauliflower.

Not that I don’t love this brassica’s crunch and subtle nutty sweetness. But after so many recipes for ricing, pizza crust-making, and roasting whole and every which way, I kinda had my fill.

Then, along comes the spectacular and unbelievably easy “Char Siu Roasted Cauliflower” to make me appreciate it all over again.

This clever vegetarian riff on the classic Chinese barbecue pork comes from my friend and colleague, Santa Cruz’s Andrea Nguyen, of course. It’s one of 125 recipes in her wonderful new “Ever-Green Vietnamese” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

As she writes in the book’s forward, she — or rather her body — “hit a wall” as she was turning 50 in 2019. No surprise, the older we get, the more we begin to experience real changes in our bodies. In our 20s, we are lucky to get away with devouring most anything without a second thought. But in our 40s, 50s, and beyond, the digestive system starts to rebel more and the calories make themselves way too much at home.

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Cuckoo for Cukes

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A very good cucumber salad, indeed.
A very good cucumber salad, indeed.

As the days warm, I excitedly ready my cucumber seedlings to plant.

Positioning them gently in pots of soil in my yard, I can’t help but already hunger for their snappy crunch and refreshing juiciness to use in salads of all kinds.

Including “Cucumber, Dates, Pistachios,” that’s as simple and straightforward as its name implies.

This light, bright salad is from “Very Good Salads” (Smith Street Books, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Shuki Rosenboim and Louisa Allan, who own the proudly named Very Good Falafel in Melbourne, Australia, a tiny 20-seat cafe where falafel is a staple but the salads change regularly with the whim of the seasons.

The cookbook showcases 52 of those vibrant salads and vegetable dishes, from “Broad Bean and Macadamia-Stuffed Artichokes” in spring and “Frozen Grapes, Herbs, Zucchini Flowers” in summer to “Roasted Quince, Pearl Barley, Walnut, Pistachio, Saffron” in autumn and “Beetroot Dip, Pistachio Hazelnut Dukkah” in winter.

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Lyon-Style Chicken with Rosé Vinegar Sauce

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A whole cup of vinegar stars in this Lyon classic dish.
A whole cup of vinegar stars in this classic Lyon dish.

If you were to peek inside my pantry, you’d spy upwards of 10 different vinegars at all times.

That may seem excessive, but each has its purpose and distinct flavor profile. And there’s nothing like vinegar to perk up and round out a dressing, soup, stew, marinade, sauce, and even cocktails.

So, when I was asked if I wanted to be one of the first to sample the new Ponti Rosé Wine Vinegar, I jumped at the chance.

This ninth-generation, family-owned Italian company selects local rose wine that meets its standards, then turns it into vinegar.

Ponti's new Rose’ Wine Vinegar.
Ponti’s new Rosé Wine Vinegar.

The result is a luminous pink vinegar that’s quite sharp yet wonderfully floral, and with a pointed strawberry note.

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