Category Archives: Recipes (Savory)

Get Your Mojo Working with Sweet Potatoes with Mojo Picon Sauce

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Jazz up your summer barbecue with sweet potatoes tossed with almonds, pumpkin seeds and a smoky Spanish dressing.

Jazz up your summer barbecue with sweet potatoes tossed with almonds, pumpkin seeds and a smoky Spanish dressing.

 

A chef of German heritage recently told me she was flabbergasted upon immigrating here to discover that Americans, for the most part, only cook turkey once a year — on Thanksgiving. In her native country, turkey is enjoyed with gusto year-round.

I often think that about sweet potatoes. We bring them to the table with great fanfare for Thanksgiving, and even Christmas. But after that, we kind of lose interest until November rolls around again.

Why not have them in June? I just did, and am so glad I did.

Because “Sweet Potatoes with Mojo Pican Sauce” is one of those great side dishes that feels right anytime of year. Heck, I even paired them with smoked baby back ribs, and they were a phenomenal accompaniment.

The recipe is from “The New Spanish: Bites, Feasts and Drinks” (Kyle), of which I received a review copy. The cookbook is by Jonah Miller and Nate Adler, native New Yorkers and childhood friends who opened Huertas in the East Village in 2014.

NewSpanish

Their food is Spanish to be sure, but flavored with their own twists. “Tortilla de Calabazi” adds butternut squash and fried sage to the traditional egg and potato tortilla; “Spanish Kimchi,” a European twist on the Korean staple with swett and hot pimenton; “Arroz Al Chino,” fried rice with saffron, bacon and shrimp; and “Flan de Maiz,” the classic flan turned on its head by the use of fresh corn.

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Who Can Resist Candy Pork?

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The most appropriately named Candy Pork.

The most appropriately named Candy Pork.

 

If there were two things that my Dad loved, it was candy and it was pork.

After all, when you are of Chinese ancestry, pork is practically in your DNA.

And when you live most of your life in San Francisco, where boxes of See’s Candies are apt to be offered up as gifts for most any occasion, you can’t help but develop a fondness for all things sweet.

That’s why if my Dad were still alive this Father’s Day, I would cook up a batch of “Candy Pork” for him. Because it’s like the best of both of his favorites combined into one.

The recipe is from San Francisco food writer extraordinaire Jessica Battilana’s new cookbook, “Repertoire: All the Recipes You Need” (Little, Brown and Company), of which I received a review copy.

Repertoire

After collaborating with chefs on a half dozen cookbooks, this is her first cookbook filled with her own recipes. After she and her wife had two kids, Battilana’s life became so time-pressed that her style of cooking had to change. The result is this cookbook of 75 recipes, most of them completely do-able on a harried weeknight, and others not that much more involved for weekends or special occasions.

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Syrian Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Sumac

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A simple chicken with sumac, onions and pine nuts, for the times.

A simple chicken with sumac, onions and pine nuts, for the times.

 

I know this may sound sexist and simplistic, but I truly believe if more women were in charge there would be fewer wars and conflicts.

Women just have a natural tendency to want to talk it out — rather than use their fists or other weapons — to resolve situations.

Just imagine if a woman were the head of state of Syria rather than the long-standing brutal male president whose crimes against humanity have left this once beautiful country devastated beyond imagination.

Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi know only too well the tragedy that has befallen the country. Azzam was born in Syria and moved to the United Kingdom in 2011, where she’s produced theater productions with refugees, as well as the Peabody and BAFTA-winning documentary series, “Exodus: Our Journey to Europe,” which chronicles the migration crisis.

Mousawi, who grew up in Baghdad, produced and directed “Terrestrial Journeys,” a theater piece devised with Syrian women living in Beirut’s refugee camps.

OurSyria

Through their nonprofit theater project, avid cooks and friends, Azzam and Mousawi met dozens of Syrian women refugees. As they got to know one another, the conversation naturally turned to food.

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Not One, Not Two, But Three Cheese and Tomato Muffins

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Cheesy muffins to fall for.

Cheesy muffins to fall for.

 

Is there anything better than ooey-gooey cheese, all melty and molten with bits that have caramelized and hardened to a lacy crisp?

These savory muffins have all that and more going on.

“Three Cheese and Tomato Muffins” are loaded with cheese, pesto and sun-dried tomatoes.

The recipe is from the new “The Modern Dairy” (Kyle Books) by chef and food writer Annie Bell.

TheModernDairy

It’s definitely not a book for those who are lactose intolerant, as its 100 recipes celebrate milk, cream, yogurt, cheese and butter. Learn how to make everything from yogurt from scratch to “Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi” to “Butternut Squash Fries with Date and Mint Quark” to “Milk Chocolate Mousse.”

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One-Pan Cranberry-Balsamic Chicken Thighs

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It's all about the sauce -- in this case a syrupy one full of cranberries, balsamic vinegar and honey.

It’s all about the sauce — in this case a syrupy one full of cranberries, balsamic vinegar and honey.

 

Like so many folks especially in this part of the country, I appreciate being able to eat seasonally — to hone in on what’s best at each time of year to enjoy its peak flavor and revel in its often brief local appearance.

But there’s one item I keep in my freezer nearly year-round, even when its season is long gone.

Cranberries. Frozen ones to be exact.

I know, I know, they’re so fall and winter, you’re thinking. Why in the world would I want to partake of them in spring or summer?

Because their vivid color makes anything special. Because their sweet-sour fruitiness wakes up whatever they’re paired with. And because, how can I resist something that reminds me of the most festive, family-and-friend-filled convivial time of year?

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