Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Move Over, Grilled Cheese; Make Room for Chili Cheese Toast

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Cheese, chili, scallions, and garlic meet bread for impeccable results.
Cheese, chili, scallions, and garlic meet bread for impeccable results.

This might very well be the best thing to happen to sliced bread.

Think of “Chili Cheese Toast” as the marriage between pungent garlic bread and gooey grilled cheese with the familial addition of lively fresh chili peppers.

Now, that’s what I call harmonious company.

You will, too, in this recipe from “Indian Flavor Every Day” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by New York’s Maya Kaimal, an award-winning cookbook author and founder of Maya Kaimal Foods, a line of premium Indian foods sold nationwide.

The book’s 80 recipes are especially enticing for anyone who loves the bold flavors of Indian cuisine but has felt too intimidated to cook them at home.

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The Convenience of Roasted Artichokes with Fennel and Tarragon

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Canned artichoke hearts get revived in a glorious way in this simple recipe.
Canned artichoke hearts get revived in a glorious way in this simple recipe.

We interrupt this program for a nifty little side dish recipe.

It’s one that’s highly worthy of your attention because it utterly transforms frozen or canned artichoke hearts into an easy side dish sure to impress.

What I especially love is that the slightly off-putting tinny and acidic taste of plain canned artichoke hearts is vanquished in this method, leaving them as vibrant as fresh ones in season but without all the prepping usually involved.

“Roasted Artichokes with Fennel and Tarragon” is from “Vegan Cooking for Two,” of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen includes more than 200 recipes handily scaled for plant-based households of two. They feature hearty grains, proteins such as tofu and tempeh, beans galore, plant-based ground meat, and plant-based cheeses.

There’s everything from “Garlic and Herb Burgers with Beet Tzatziki” (made with plant-based ground meat), “Charred Cabbage Salad with Torn Tofu and Plaintain Chips,” and “Creamy Cashew Mac and Cheese” to “Meaty Zoodles with Mango and Garam Masala” (made with plant-based ground meat, plant-based yogurt, and zucchini noodles), and “Individual Lemon-Poppy Seed Cakes” (made with plant-based butter and plant-based egg).

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You Say “Potato”? I Say “Crispy Potato Waffles”!

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A different way to make potato waffles.
A different way to make potato waffles.

By now, we all know how to waffle stuffing or mashed potatoes to crisp up and give new life to leftover sides, especially the day after Thanksgiving.

But “Crispy Potato Waffles” are novel, because they get their start with raw russets, meaning you can skip the step of making mashed potatoes altogether.

I think it results in waffles that taste even more potato-y, too.

The recipe is from the unique “Homage” (Chronicle Books, 2022), of which I received a review copy. It’s by Chris Scott, a “Top Chef” finalist and New York-based chef who’s the owner of Butterfunk Biscuit.

Scott recounts his family’s journey over seven generations, from his great-great-grandmother who was enslaved in Virginia in the mid-1800s to his great-grandmother who migrated to Pennsylvania after the Emancipation Proclamation, and his grandmother Nan who instilled in him a sense of discipline and an unbridled passion for cooking, to finally to his own upbringing in Pennsylvania Amish country and eventual ascendant culinary career in New York.

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The Fried Bacon Hack

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Like deep-fried bacon -- without actually deep-frying.
Like deep-fried bacon — without actually deep-frying.

This is probably one of the shortest — and easiest — recipes around.

And definitely one of the most delectable.

If you are a bacon fan, this method will blow your mind, as it results in the crunchiest bacon that will decidedly up your morning breakfast or BLT game.

“Joe’s Famous ‘Fried’ Bacon” is a recipe from “Food52 Simply Genius” (Ten Speed Press, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

This handy-dandy cookbook is by Kristen Miglore, a founding editor of Food52, the online portal for recipes and culinary content.

Food52 cookbooks are usually thematic, and this one is no different, centering on genius tricks, tips or methods to make cooking easier, quicker or more scrumptious.

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Francis Ang’s Soy Sauce Chicken with Star Anise and Orange Peel

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A family recipe from Chef Francis Ang of Abaca.
A family recipe from Chef Francis Ang of Abaca.

Think of this as the harmonious marriage of Chinese soy sauce chicken and Filipino chicken adobo.

“Soy Sauce Chicken with Star Anise and Orange Peel” is from Chef Francis Ang of San Francisco’s Abaca restaurant.

No wonder it has elements of both when this family recipe was conceived by his China-born grandmother when she was living in the Philippines.

The recipe was published recently in the Wall St. Journal’s “Slow Food Fast” column, in which notable chefs from around the country contribute a series of home cook-friendly recipes that spotlight their heritage and cooking styles.

You may fear that chef recipes are typically way too complicated and fussy. Not this one. It couldn’t be easier.

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