Meat and potatoes, well done: Beef Pot Roast and Potato Hash

Leftover pot roast (or whatever meat you may have on hand) combines with potatoes (and not a lot else) to make a hash that shows why meat and potatoes rock. Recipe below.

SOME FOODS ARE JUST MADE FOR EACH OTHER. A grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup; black beans and rice; pizza and beer; apple pie and vanilla ice cream.

And, of course, beef and potatoes.

These days we are not eating meat as often as we once did, trying to be more mindful of the way we live on the planet. But when we do, we still love it. And we don’t waste any of it. Continue reading “Meat and potatoes, well done: Beef Pot Roast and Potato Hash” →

You don’t have to be Jewish to love Mango Hamantaschen

Mango filling adds a lively twist to this traditional Purim cookie. Recipe below.

An interesting thing about Mad Men to me is that the producers chose to depict Sterling Cooper as a status quo, advertising-as-usual ad agency. Three-martini lunches and solid, but don’t-rock-the-boat creative. That was the norm then, but a handful of brilliant agencies were indeed rocking the boat with smart, funny, engaging creative. One such agency was Doyle Dane Bernbach. They created the legendary “Think Small” campaign for Volkswagen in 1959. Ten years before that, they introduced this charming campaign for a Jewish bakery in Brooklyn:

Continue reading “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Mango Hamantaschen” →

Osso Buco, meet Cassoulet: Braised Veal Shanks with White Beans

Elements of two classic comfort foods combine in meaty, satisfying Braised Veal Shanks with White Beans. Recipe below.

Don’t get me wrong. I love osso buco. I’ve even made the time-honored Italian dish. But when I recently got my hands on some nice looking veal shanks, I wanted to try something different. Apparently, I’m not alone in that. Nestled among a bazillion osso buco recipes that a quick search for veal shanks recipes brought up was this plaintive cry on Chowhound: “Need veal shank recipe—Not Osso Buco.”

In my head, I traveled the culinary globe off and on for a couple of days. I spent a lot of virtual time in Mexico and Latin America, conjuring up tangy, spicy, chipotle-smoky dishes. Morocco called to me, with cumin, paprika, cinnamon and golden raisins. In the end, though, I landed right next door to Italy, in France. And the resulting recipe borrowed from classic dishes of both. Continue reading “Osso Buco, meet Cassoulet: Braised Veal Shanks with White Beans” →

Fire is optional, flavor isn’t, with Giardiniera Aioli and Cumin Coriander Pork Chops

A cumin/coriander spice rub adds big flavor without heat to pan-seared pork chops; this lively, vinegary, fiery (or not) giardiniera aioli is great with pork, fish, chicken, tofu… Recipes below.

We went to an underground dinner last week hosted by Tuesday Night DInner. The TND crew creates pop-up dining events throughout the year, each in a different location and each with a different theme. This one was held at No Sandbox Studios, just west of Chicago’s Loop, and the theme was ”Off the Boat, Into the Kitchen,” an interpretation of immigrant fare reimagined by the TND chefs.

The four courses were delicious and inventive, but the thing that caught my eye—or more accurately, my taste buds—was an accompaniment for one of the courses, a giardiniera aioli. Usually, aioli is a sauce made of fresh mayonnaise and garlic, but chef Jeremy Leven substituted spicy giardiniera for the garlic. The result was amazing. Continue reading “Fire is optional, flavor isn’t, with Giardiniera Aioli and Cumin Coriander Pork Chops” →