Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Chinese Homestyle Black Pepper Portobello Mushrooms

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A plant-based play on the classic black pepper beef.
A plant-based play on the classic black pepper beef.

Versatile, sizeable, and hefty, portobello mushrooms make a fine and satisfying substitute for meat in so many dishes, including this classic Chinese one.

If you’re a fan of black pepper beef, then you will much enjoy “Black Pepper Portobello Mushrooms,” a plant-based play on the classic that’s absolutely delicious.

The recipe is from “Chinese Homestyle” (Rock Point, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook is by Maggie Zhu, a New York food writer and creator of the Omnivore’s Cookbook blog.

It’s a collection of 90 plant-based Chinese recipes that are a breeze to make. They’re perfect for anyone who’s vegetarian or vegan or for any home cook who wants to add a veggie-centric dish to a family-style spread.

Get your chopsticks at the ready for everything from “Baked Crispy Tofu Nuggets,” “Char Siu Baos” (made with button mushrooms instead of pork), and “Egg-Less Egg Drop Soup” (with yuba sheets standing in for the strands of eggs) to “Three-Cup Scrambled Tempeh” and “Creamy Red Bean Ice Pops.”

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Istrian Chicken and Pasta

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A feel-good chicken and pasta dish from the Istrian part of Slovenia near the Italian border.
A feel-good chicken and pasta dish from the Istrian part of Slovenia near the Italian border.

With colds, flu, and other viruses, not to mention the damp chill of winter upon us, who better than Italian grandmamas to make us feel better?

There’s no time like now to pick up a copy of “Pasta Grannies” (Hardie Grant, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook is by Vicky Bennison, the creator behind the successful Pasta Grannies YouTube channel. Like those videos, this book shares the traditions and recipes of grandmothers all over Italy.

You’ll learn everything from Sperandina’s “Asparagus Lasagna from Le Marche,” Anna’s “Roman Stuffed Tomatoes,” and Adi’s “Baked Pasta from Palermo,” to the late-Teresa’s “Mussel Bake from Salento” and 93-year-old Ida’s “Chocolate Pudding from Piedmont.”

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Hearty Ethiopian Cabbage Stew

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Start the new year with a taste bud journey to Ethiopia with this easy cabbage stew.
Start the new year with a taste bud journey to Ethiopia with this easy cabbage stew.

Start the new year off virtuously with loads of good-for-you veggies.

That’s easy to do with this simple and robust dish of “Ethiopian Cabbage Stew.”

It’s from the cookbook, “Enebla” (Touchwood, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Luladey Moges, who was born in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and now makes her home in Los Angeles.

It’s a collection of more than 60 recipes that Moges has made her own, after learning how to cook from her mother, grandmother, and aunts. They include dishes such as “Ethiopian Porridge” made spicy an nourishing with berbere and barley flour; the well-known “Kitfo” or beef tartare; “Lamb Broth Stew,” and a Napolean-like “Ethiopian Millefoglie Cake.”

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Tanya Holland’s Mustard Barbecue-Roasted Quail

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A sharp, sweet, tangy Southern-style barbecue sauce and boozy cherries make this quail dish a standout.
A sharp, sweet, tangy Southern-style barbecue sauce and boozy cherries make this quail dish a standout.

Chef Tanya Holland may have left behind the hustle and bustle of the restaurant industry in 2021 with the closure of her Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, whose superlative fried chicken and waffles prompted a never-ending line of diners eager to enjoy comforting soul food at its best.

Thankfully, though, her cooking and community championing continue on in her new cookbook, “California Soul” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

It was written with Maria C. Hunt, a California-based journalist who specializes in cultural stories about food, wine, and lifestyle; and Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz, who holds a PhD in African diaspora studies and anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley.

It’s a cookbook not just of recipes, but of stories, that reflect the struggles and triumphs of African Americans who migrated from the South to California. Holland knows first-hand that journey, being the daughter of a mother who grew up in Louisiana, and a father who hails from Virginia. As a child, Holland spent many summers in both states, immersed in the gardening and cooking traditions of her grandparents.

Her great-aunts would make their way to Oregon and Southern California. Holland, herself, would move to the Bay Area in 2001, drawn to the fact, she writes, that “California offered an openness to ambition (female and Black) thought leaders and entrepreneurs that I hadn’t experienced on the East Coast.”

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I’ll Drink To Penne with Vodka Sauce

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Penne with vodka sauce makes a weeknight dinner feel deliciously special.
Penne with vodka sauce makes a weeknight dinner feel deliciously special.

As you shake and stir cocktails galore this holiday season, try to refrain from polishing off every drop of the vodka.

Instead, save some to make this easy and delicious “Penne with Vodka Sauce.”

It’s from “Simple Pasta” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy. This engaging book is by Odette Williams, the Australia-born cook and writer who now lives in Brooklyn.

It is her second cookbook, after the huge success of her “Simple Cake” (Ten Speed Press), a favorite in my house and named one of the best baking books of 2019 by the New York Times.

Like that book, this one is filled with tempting recipes that aren’t overly complicated but deliver on flavor and pure delight.

It’s a book that you’ll reach for again and again to try your hand at dishes that include making your own fresh pasta or to substituting dried instead, as well as accompaniments like salads, cocktails, and desserts.

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