Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Oat Rolls — With A Touch of Honey

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Oatmeal porridge, honey, and a preferment give these tender rolls sweetness and lovely developed flavor.
Oatmeal porridge, honey, and a preferment give these tender rolls sweetness and lovely developed flavor.

Admittedly, I have a problem with commitment.

Only when it comes to bread making, that is.

During the pandemic, when everyone who was anyone was fussing over their sourdough starter like a new puppy, I was not.

I just couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger to tend to a starter that needed caring, feeding, and coddling, day in and day out. After all, I already had a husband who needed all of that. (Kidding, sort of.)

So, when it comes to my sporadic bread baking, I rely on packaged dry yeast instead, which is convenient enough to buy at any supermarket and to keep handy in my fridge when the urge strikes.

But along comes 2019 James Beard Award-winning “Outstanding Baker” and head baker at Chicago’s Publican Quality Bread bakery, Greg Wade, who shows how to combine both dry yeast and a preferment for even better results, as evidenced in his recipe for sensational “Oat Rolls.”

It’s all in his new cookbook, “Bread Head” (W.W. Norton), of which I received a review copy. It was written with St. Louis book collaborator Rachel Holtzman.

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Ina Garten’s Hasselback Kielbasa

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Kielbasa gets extra juicy and crispy the hasselback way.
Kielbasa gets extra juicy and crispy the hasselback way.

Sausages always make for a satisfying no-nonsense, no-brainer meal.

But leave it to Ina Garten to spiff them up while still turning them into an easy one-pan supper.

“Hasselback Kielbasa” is from her latest cookbook, “Go-To Dinners: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

In her 13th cookbook, everyone’s favorite East Hampton Food Network star serves up a collection of comfort food geared more toward the novice cook or anyone looking for more streamlined recipes.

Cooks who appreciate plenty of color photos will revel in the fact that all of these one-page recipes include at least one.

Try your hand at everything from “Ravioli en Brodo” (made with ready-made cheese ravioli), “Creamy Eggs with Lobster & Crab,” “Oven Roasted Southern ‘Shrimp Boil’,” and “Dark Chocolate Tart.”

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Bejeweled Pomegranate Rice Pilaf

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Presto chango -- basmati rice goes from white to deep fuchsia in this pilaf recipe.
Presto chango — basmati rice goes from white to deep fuchsia in this pilaf recipe.

Light up the holiday table this year with a shot of brilliant fuchsia that’s dazzlingly delicious, too.

That’s just what this “Pomegranate Rice Pilaf” is like.

It’s from the new “Masala” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

The collection of 100 recipes is by India-born Anita Jaisinghani, chef-owner of Pondicheri restaurant in Houston and a cooking columnist for the Houston Chronicle.

Spices are integral to Indian cooking, and there’s a whole chapter on them that includes a primer on how to toast and bloom them, the taste profile of the most commonly used ones, their Ayurveda properties, and suggestions on best ways to use them.

The recipes will take you from morning through afternoon to evening in dishes such as “Coconut Pancakes,” “Three Dal Stew,” “Homestyle Butter Chicken,” “Kerala Beef Fry,” and “Saffron Chocolate Bread Pudding.”

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Ottolenghi Test Kitchen’s 2-Scalloped Potatoes with Chimichurri

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All eyes will be on this potato dish at your holiday table.
All eyes will be on this potato dish at your holiday table.

Why have just one type of potato when you can have two?

After all, the holidays were made for going big on excess.

Even so, I’m sure I’m not alone in trying to shave a calorie or two here and there wherever it won’t be missed.

So, while I swoon over decadent scalloped potatoes with all that heavy cream and oodles of cheese, sometimes it’s a bit much even for me.

That’s why I was thrilled to discover “2-Scalloped Potatoes with Chimichurri,” a dazzling spiral of Yukon Gold and sweet potato slices cooked not with cream, but chicken or vegetable stock instead that gets finished with a drizzle of bright, garlicky Argentinian chimichurri sauce.

The recipe is from the new “Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

It’s the newest Ottolenghi Test Kitchen cookbook by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi. The latter, of course, is the acclaimed London restaurateur and best-selling cookbook author; and the former is the head of his Ottolenghi Test Kitchen.

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Shaking Up Shakshuka

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Shakshuka -- with a twist.
Shakshuka — with a twist.

Whether for brunch or dinner, many of us have eagerly spooned up the delectable Middle Eastern dish of whole eggs cracked open and cooked gently in a chunky, bubbling sauce of tomatoes and peppers.

Now, this one-pot dish known as shakshuka gets turned on its head in this clever take that swaps out the eggs for fresh fish and shrimp instead.

“Seafood Shakshuka” is from “The Mediterranean Dish” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

Egypt-born Suzy Karadsheh, founder of The Mediterranean Dish blog, who now makes her home in Atlanta, offers up 120 sunny recipes that draw from her heritage, as well as from the flavors of neighboring Greece, Italy and Morocco.

Loaded with beautiful color photos, the book tempts with recipes that include “Anytime Falafel,” “Harissa, Red Lentil, and Tomato Soup,” “Braised Chicken, Mushrooms, and Poblano Peppers with Pomegranate Molasses,” and “No-Churn Tahini and Hazelnut Ice Cream.”

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