French 75: A cocktail blast from the past

This classic cocktail, made here with gin and champagne, has a storied past, albeit with many versions. And it packs a wallop that lives up to its artillery-based name. Recipe below.

French 75 Cocktail
French 75 Cocktail

We’ve been drinking more cocktails lately, and I blame Michael Romane. Yes, cocktails have been the new black with the drinking crowd for a while now. But except for the occasional martini or gin and tonic, Marion and I have tended to reach for the wine list in bars or restaurants. Until our friend Michael started telling us about his cocktail making—and drinking—adventures. Continue reading “French 75: A cocktail blast from the past”

Small Bites: Seamless launches iPad app and Chef José Andrés takes to the streets

An iPad app that makes ordering restaurant deliveries seamless and a new food truck from an award-winning chef are the subjects of recent USA Character Approved Blog posts.

When it comes to ordering in, I am a Luddite. Menus stuck to the fridge with magnets and the Google are my go-tos. Programming our neighborhood Chinese place and The Brown Sack into my cell phone was a technological breakthrough for me. So imagine my excitement, skepticism and trepidations when I ordered dinner on an iPad recently. Continue reading “Small Bites: Seamless launches iPad app and Chef José Andrés takes to the streets”

Butter + leeks = delicious: Scallops with Melted Leeks and Egg Noodles

A recent dinner out brought home a new cooking technique for us—“melting” leeks by cooking them slowly in butter. They’re a sweet complement to sautéed scallops and pasta. Recipe below.

We’ve used leeks any number of ways here. Sautéed, puréed in soups, braised with duck legs, baked into tarts and quiches, even cooked almost whole as a side dish. But melted?

That’s how they were served with a nicely cooked piece of halibut when we ate at Frontier in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood recently. As delicious as the fish was on its own, the melted leeks took it to a whole new place. We knew we’d be trying something with them here soon. Continue reading “Butter + leeks = delicious: Scallops with Melted Leeks and Egg Noodles”

Cookware test drive: Pan Seared Lamb Chops with Lemon Caper Sage Butter

Quick, elegant and springlike—pan seared lamb chops are topped with a bright, buttery sauce with capers, sage and lemon zest. Recipe below.

The mishmash of pots and pans in our kitchen reflects our eclectic approach to cooking. It’s a mix of old and new, cool and utilitarian, from our cherished and recently retinned French copper pots to our Staub enameled cast iron La Cocotte (also French, also cherished), a workhorse of a lidded sauté pan that sees almost daily use and a rotating supply of cheap nonstick skillets that we replace every couple of years as they wear out. Continue reading “Cookware test drive: Pan Seared Lamb Chops with Lemon Caper Sage Butter”

Small Bites: Growing new farmers and the Beard Foundation celebrates the “Best of the Best”

Stone Barns Center’s efforts to mentor young farmers and a new cookbook celebrating winners of the James Beard Foundation’s annual Outstanding Chef Award are the subjects of recent USA Character Approved Blog posts.

How you gonna keep them down on the farm? As America’s population of farmers ages, this question is keeping some food producers—and consumers—awake nights. The average age of American farmers is now 57. In Medium Raw, Anthony Bourdain makes the point that even if we “bring monstrously evil agribusinesses” to their knees and free up “vast tracts of arable land for small, seasonal, sustainable farming,” we don’t have enough people actually willing to farm. The Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is working to change that. Continue reading “Small Bites: Growing new farmers and the Beard Foundation celebrates the “Best of the Best””

Quick comfort: Meat and potatoes (and kale)

Nutrient-rich kale and turkey sausage give Braised Kale with Potatoes and Sausage a lighter, healthier touch while keeping it totally in the comfort food category. Recipe below.

Looking back over recent posts, I noticed a distinct lack of meat-and-potatoes, stick-to-your-ribs food. In fact, the entire month of March had somehow been, if not meat-free, then certainly meat light. So a return of seasonably chilly, windy weather had me thinking meat-and-potatoes comfort food. Happily, a big bunch of kale in the fridge gave me an idea for taking it in a healthy direction too.

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse. The winter vegetable is excellent source of cancer-fighting antioxidant vitamins A, C and K. Kale is also rich in lutein and zeaxanthin compounds, both good for eye health, and a good source of minerals. It’s high in fiber too and can help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Continue reading “Quick comfort: Meat and potatoes (and kale)”