Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Stuffed Mushrooms Get A Makeover — With The Ingenious Addition of Hummus

Posted on by 2 comments
New-way stuffed mushrooms showcasing portobellos filled with hummus and chickpeas.
New-way stuffed mushrooms showcasing portobellos filled with hummus and chickpeas.

When it comes to putting a new spin on hummus with the unlikely additions of chocolate, caramel, or even cake batter, for the life of me, I just cringe.

But leave it to Melissa Clark to come up with a novel and genius use for hummus that actually makes sense.

She takes portobellos and stuffs their generous-sized caps with homemade hummus, then crowns them with chickpeas, before roasting them.

If you’ve been there, done that with classic itty-bitty stuffed button mushrooms filled with chopped mushrooms, butter, cheese, and toasted bread crumbs, this more sizeable riff will make you see them in a whole new way.

“Stuffed Portobellos with Creamy, Lemony Chickpeas” is from Clark’s newest cookbook, “Dinner in One” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

The book’s release was delayed this year, after its shipment was purportedly lost at sea during a rough storm in January. Thankfully, a new shipment finally made it to our shores, because the arrival of a Melissa Clark cookbook is always an occasion to celebrate. That’s because her recipes always tempt, and always work.

Read more

Missy Robbins’ Chickpea Pappardelle with Chickpeas, Rosemary, and Garlic

Posted on by 4 comments
Wide, fluted ribbons of pappardelle made from scratch, then tossed with chickpeas, garlic, rosemary, and plenty of lemon zest.
Wide, fluted ribbons of pappardelle made from scratch, then tossed with chickpeas, garlic, rosemary, and plenty of lemon zest.

Even though I can never resist handmade pasta on a menu, it’s only once or twice a year that I actually clear off my countertop and screw in the pasta sheeter attachment on my KitchenAid to make a batch at home, myself.

Because while it’s not a complicated process to make your own pasta from scratch, it is a production.

Like making bread, there’s just no getting around the fact that it’ll take an entire afternoon to make. And that’s just for the pasta, itself. Add on another hour or two for the sauce, and, well, you see what I mean.

So, for my annual — or bi-annual — undertaking, I figured I’d attempt a recipe by a chef with such prowess with Italian food that she’s won two Michelin stars and countless other accolades.

I’m talking about Missy Robbins, the James Beard Award-winning chef-owner of Lilia and Misi restaurants in Brooklyn.

Her book, “Pasta: The Spirit and Craft of italy’s Greatest Food with Recipes” (Ten Speed Press, 2021), of which I received a review copy, was co-written with Talia Baiocchi, founder of the media brand, Punch.

The book will guide you through making most every kind of pasta dough and shape imaginable, and show how to spotlight them in both regional classic and modern classic dishes.

Read more

Sheldon Simeon’s Huli Huli Chicken

Posted on by 2 comments
Bring Hawaii's iconic huli huli chicken to your own backyard grill.
Bring Hawaii’s iconic huli huli chicken to your own backyard grill.

If ever there was a dish to help prolong summer, it’s huli huli chicken.

Ubiquitous in Hawaii, where it’s a staple of food trucks and roadside stands, this flavorful grilled chicken can’t help but transport you to sun, surf, and sand.

There’s no better version to try making at home than the one by favorite Hawaiian son and “Top Chef” Fan Favorite not once, but twice, none other than Chef Sheldon Simeon, owner of Tin Roof and Tiffany’s, both in Maui.

His “Huli Huli Chicken” recipe is from his cookbook, “Cook Real Hawaii” (Clarkson Potter, 2021), written with Los Angeles food writer Garrett Snyder.

“Huli” means turn in Hawaiian, and that’s what you do with this chicken as it cooks on the grill. Just be sure to keep a close eye on the heat of your grill, as the sugar in the glaze will mean your chicken will char easily, as, ahem, my husband found out. Even if the skin gets rather ebony in parts, it will still taste fantastic.

That’s because the glaze is made up of butter, chicken stock, oyster sauce, brown sugar, pineapple juice, ginger, garlic, scallions, and sesame oil that all gets simmered first to thicken and concentrate its flavors.

Read more

Andy Baraghani’s Big Shells with Spicy Lamb Sausage and Pistachios

Posted on by 4 comments
Who says you have to stuff big shell pasta? You don't.
Who says you have to stuff big shell pasta? You don’t.

Admittedly, I am one of those people who harbors guilt easily.

So, when I tell you that since pre-Covid, I’m often cringed when opening my pantry, you will understand why.

It’s because a bag of conchiglie has long stared back at me, almost in disbelief.

As crazy as it sounds, I could almost picture this bag of jumbo shell pasta mockingly wondering, “OK, been here a while. A long while. What’s up with that?”

And I would sheepishly almost answer back, “Ya got me, ya got me. I’ve just been too lazy to go to the trouble of boiling you, stuffing you with something, and then baking you in the oven. So there.”

But along came Andy Baraghani to vanquish my guilt.

If the noted food writer, recipe developer, and former Bon Appetit magazine food editor who has cooked at Chez Panisse says its perfectly fine not to go to the trouble of stuffing crazy-big shells, but to treat them like any other pasta, that’s exactly the permission I was needing.

I grabbed that forlorn bag and made his “Big Shells with Spicy Lamb Sausage and Pistachios.”

The recipe is from his new cookbook, “The Cook You Want to Be” (Lorena Jones Books), of which I received a review copy.

Read more

The Cast-Iron Quesadilla That Will Change The Way You Quesadilla

Posted on by 4 comments
The crispiest, cheesiest quesadilla you'll ever make.
The crispiest, cheesiest quesadilla you’ll ever make.

When it comes to people, what’s on the inside is paramount.

But when it comes to this quesadilla, it’s what’s on the outside that truly rocks.

That’s because “The Cast-Iron Quesadilla That Will Change The Way You Quesadilla” (and yes, that is the actual name) boasts a flamboyant crispy-crunchy crust of cheese that entirely smothers its top tortilla.

Made with not one, not two, but three kinds of cheese, it will spoil you for any other quesadilla from now on.

The recipe is from the new cookbook, “Food IQ” (Harper Wave), of which I received a review copy. It’s by Daniel Holzman, founder and chef of the Meatball Shop restaurants in New York City and Danny Boy’s Famous Original Pizza in Los Angeles. His co-writer was Matt Rodbard, founding editor in chief of Taste, the James Beard Award-winning online magazine.

It sets out to answer 100 questions about food and cooking that are designed to make a home cook better and smarter in the kitchen. Answers and info are provided for each question, along with a recipe to put it all into practice.

Read more
« Older Entries Recent Entries »