Breakfast? Dessert? Tea? Cozy, versatile Lemon Hazelnut Scones

Light, flaky scones flavored with lemon juice and zest and toasted hazelnuts make a delicious, not-too-sweet treat with tea in the afternoon or your morning coffee. Recipe below.

lemon-hazelnut-scones

SCONE. Whether you rhyme it with John or with Joan [both are common], there’s just something about the word. Scone. It sounds at once homey and comforting, a cozy treat to enjoy with tea by a fire, but also somehow more sophisticated, more elegant than, say, a muffin or biscuit. Continue reading “Breakfast? Dessert? Tea? Cozy, versatile Lemon Hazelnut Scones”

In season right now: Clementines, the orange’s cooler kid brother

Sweet, juicy, easy-to-eat clementines are in season and in stores for just a few short months. Come and get ’em.

darling-clementines

Clementines are like Oranges 2.0. They’re the cute iPod version of the original, smaller and easier to grab and go. And they’re totally user friendly, with a thin skin that practically zips right off and virtually no seeds. [In fact, according to wiseGEEK, “a clementine with seeds is evidence that Continue reading “In season right now: Clementines, the orange’s cooler kid brother”

Let us now braise, part 2: Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops and Tomatoes

Inexpensive lamb shoulder chops become the star of a flavorful meal when you add thyme, garlic, tomatoes, wine and oven braising. Recipe below.

braised-lamb-chop

There are so many thing I love about this dish. First and foremost is the distinctive, mildly gamy flavor of lamb. As I’ve said in these pages before, that gaminess is the same quality that separates venison from beef and duck from chicken. I also love the straightforward simplicity of this meal—a handful of ingredients, simple preparation and time are all that’s required. And most of the time is the meat cooking unattended in the oven—prep time is minimal. And maybe most of all, I love the way it transforms a humble cut of meat into something delicious and satisfying.

In last week’s post about Oven-braised Asian Short Ribs, I talked about oven braising and how its even heat tenderizes flavorful but chewy inexpensive cuts of meat without drying them out. Lamb shoulder chops are another cut perfect for this treatment. Continue reading “Let us now braise, part 2: Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops and Tomatoes”

Food blogging and simple gifts

chef-ornament

Every year around this time, I like to share a little something about gifts. Last year, it was the humble gift of an orange that meant so much to my grandmother growing up on a farm in Illinois. Two years ago, it was the amazing gift of the poetry of e.e. cummings, first shared with me in grade school, a beautiful poem about a tiny Christmas tree. And the year before that, when Blue Kitchen was not quite two months old, it was about our non-traditional tradition of Christmas Eve dinner in Chinatown and a joke about gifts that transcended language barriers.

This year, I’ve been thinking about the gifts this blog has given me.

Gift one. I fell hard for publishing as a teenager. I got my first taste on my high school newspaper. Then I started an underground literary magazine with some friends, The Grub Street Journal. Continue reading “Food blogging and simple gifts”

Let us now braise inexpensive cuts: Oven-braised Asian Short Ribs

Slow oven braising and plenty of garlic, scallions, star anise and pan-Asian ingredients turn inexpensive beef short ribs into a tender, exotic main course. Recipe below.

braised-asian-short-ribs

The first time I tasted steak I was in college. Cheap cuts of meat were what we ate in my working class family when I was growing up. Chuck roast, pork steaks [as opposed to the leaner, more costly chops], beef stew, burgers made from fatty ground chuck… We also occasionally had short ribs, but only as an ingredient in a beefy vegetable soup.

I relate this personal history with cheap cuts not as a tale of woe and deprivation. These cuts are often more flavorful than their pricier brethren and probably largely responsible for my love of all things meaty. But they’re usually tougher than the more expensive cuts too. I remember many happy, chewy meals.

Braising takes care of the toughness issue. Slow, moist cooking breaks down connective tissue and melts some of the fat also present in most inexpensive cuts of meat. The result is wonderfully flavorful, juicy meat that is almost falling-apart tender. Continue reading “Let us now braise inexpensive cuts: Oven-braised Asian Short Ribs”

This isn’t regifting, is it? Five holiday desserts from the Blue Kitchen archives

The holiday entertaining season is upon us. A few weeks ago, I made a Cherry Orange Loaf Cake that’s great to serve your guests or give your host. Here are five more dessert recipes to help make celebrations sweeter.

1. Frangipane Pear and Cherry Cake

cherry-cake

Pears and tart cherries team up with almond-based frangipane in Marion’s flavorful Frangipane Pear and Cherry Cake that gets even better the second day. So it’s perfect for making a day ahead or having on hand when guests drop by.

2. Hazelnut Rosemary Jam Cookies

hazelnut-rosemary-cookies

Fresh rosemary adds a subtle, mysterious something extra to my not-too-sweet Continue reading “This isn’t regifting, is it? Five holiday desserts from the Blue Kitchen archives”

Inspiration by the foot: Spinach Fettuccine with Cauliflower and Bacon

Roasting cauliflower mellows its flavor, helping it blend deliciously with sautéed bacon, red bell pepper, onion, garlic and spinach pasta. Recipe below.

cauliflower-spinach-pasta2

Inspiration can come from the least likely places. A photograph of cauliflower and sneakers, for instance.

I’d been thinking about doing something with pasta recently. Not actively thinking about it, mind you, but just setting it on simmer on a mental back burner. I figured sooner or later, something would spark an idea. This amusingly strange photo did.

laura-cauliflower

Laura over at What I Like took it to illustrate just how hefty the cauliflower was that she’d found at the market, adding “and I suppose I should mention that I have quite big feet” to further impress us with its size. The wonderful, weird incongruity of the photo Continue reading “Inspiration by the foot: Spinach Fettuccine with Cauliflower and Bacon”

Ten random things you missed if you don’t follow me on Twitter

miracle-ad

I‘ll admit it. I came to Twitter reluctantly, skeptically even. It can certainly feel a little navel-gazing narcissistic the way it’s sometimes practiced. “It’s only 9:30 in the morning and I’m already craving chocolate cake.” And the world needs to know this because?

But Twitter can also be a way to share ideas, links to stories and blog posts and even visuals. Like the amusing billboard above that I photographed and posted on Twitpic, Twitter’s visual sibling, along with the caption “I’m not a big fan of Miracle Whip, but I love their attitudinal advertising!”

Funny thing is, I’ve come to really enjoy Twitter and tweeting [a tweet is what you post on Twitter, and it can be no longer than 140 characters]. From finding articles about food, wine and health I think are worth sharing Continue reading “Ten random things you missed if you don’t follow me on Twitter”

Potage Parmentier: A simple, satisfying antidote for holiday culinary excess

Six modest ingredients—potatoes, leeks, cream, parsley, salt and water—produce a flavorful first course for a simple meal in my take on Julia Child’s classic potato leek soup. Recipe below.

potage-parmentier

As much as I love Thanksgiving, I’m always kind of happy to see it in the rear view mirror. Every year, it seems to become a bigger orgy of culinary excess and overload. And I’m not just talking gluttony here. Food magazines are taken hostage for an entire month—you’re hard pressed to find a single recipe that doesn’t include turkey, sweet potatoes or pumpkin. Ditto most newspaper food sections and online food sites. Articles and recipes abound, urging you to make this year’s feast more traditional, more alternative, more sumptuous, more festive, more more.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful, with the traditional bird and our own non-traditional traditions for sides. But when the figurative smoke cleared and I started thinking about what to post this week, I wanted something palate-cleansingly simple. Not just the finished dish, but simple in its preparation as well. Julia’s six-ingredient potage parmentier—potato leek soup—seemed just right. Continue reading “Potage Parmentier: A simple, satisfying antidote for holiday culinary excess”

The face of hunger is changing—so is fighting it

As the effects of a sagging economy continue to spread, an ever-growing number of Americans face “food insecurity,” a newly coined euphemism for not knowing where your next meal is coming from. Hunger.

According to Daily Kos, the PSA above featuring President Obama is sadly already out of date. It says that one out of eight Americans is at risk of hunger. The number is now one out of six. According to a new report by Feeding America, more than 49 million of us are at risk for hunger.

A recent article in the New York Times delivers more sobering numbers. Food stamps, once scorned as a failed welfare scheme, now help feed one in eight Americans and one in four children. More than 36 million people “use inconspicuous plastic cards for staples like milk, bread and cheese, swiping them at counters in blighted cities and in suburbs pocked with foreclosure signs.” Continue reading “The face of hunger is changing—so is fighting it”