Starters
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Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge? - 1 Jan 2012
This is one of my favorite dishes - a wonderful peasant soup that uses up stale bread to turn a winter minestrone (that's the kale in it) into a full scale comfort meal. It's even better if you keep a day before you eat it. read more...
A festive 'Special': Foie Gras Creme Caramel - 12 Dec 2011
This is one of those glamorous recipes you pay a fortune for in high end restaurants which, according to Christophe and Michelle Poteaux, owners and chefs of Bastille, who make it, turns out not to be too difficult to do. (And no objections to the foie gras, if you please, until you address how battery chickens that are eaten far more frequently are raised.) read more...
Tortilla Española - 7 Oct 2011
From the Taberna del Alabardero, this recipe for Tortilla Española makes a classic Spanish tapas dish, perfect for a festive fall lunch, that feeds 15 with very little trouble. read more...
Chilled Jumbo Asparagus and Shallot Remoulade made with Homemade Mayonnaise - 1 Jun 2011
Jamie Stachowski was the owner-chef of now closed Restaurant Kolumbia, and much missed. His tremendous sausages are available at the Keilbasa Factory. This recipe offers a great technique for cooking asparagus as well as a sauce that would go well with grilled beef or dolloped on a roast beef sandwich. read more...
Hearty Crab Bisque - 4 May 2011
This is the kind of dish that's perfect for al fresco parties. It's a soup/stew dish from Alcione Vinet, owner-chef of Park Cafe most of which can be prepared ahead of time. Mop up its juices with a crusty loaf of bread and serve a salad on the side. read more...
Starters: Stuffed grape leaves and artichoke hearts - 25 Mar 2011
When the weather warms and it's open season on open parties, look to the Middle East for dishes that can be prepared in advance and eaten with fingers. Here are two stuffed appetizers from Turkish Armenia. read more...
Breakfasts - a good start - 20 Jan 2011
Mom always said you should start the day with a good breakfast. You know she's right. But if you can't face a bowl of cardboard-tasting, horsestall-looking granola, the nations of the world offer other options. And take a look at this week's blog for an update on whether a big (as opposed to your Mom's idea of a 'good') breakfast is such a good idea. read more...
Lentil Soup with Loomi - 30 Dec 2010
Black eyed peas are lucky in the US at New Year. In France and the Middle East, it's lentils. Here's a soup with an unusual ingredient that gives them a different twist.
Loomis are boiled and dried limes that are a key ingredient in many Middle East dishes. Find them at Middle East and Persian markets and use them in this deeply flavored slow-cooked soup. It should tide you over until Shemali's deli and lunch counter, famous for its lentil soup, gets back into the Giant complex on Wisconsin Ave. read more...
Lobster bisque - 23 Nov 2010
Jamie Leeds' recipe for Lobster bisque is worth breaking the bank for. A celebration deserves a fine dish. You can easily feed eight and if you follow with a good salad and well-chosen cheese, it's all you'll need for a feast. read more...
Virginia-style Peanut Soup with Jalapeño and Crispy Chicken Dumplings - 4 Nov 2010
If you're not a fan of chestnut soup, try this peanut one, from Terence Feury when he was a chef in DC. It turns the humble groundnut into an elegant and unusual soup that's so simple to make. The dumplings aren't tricky either - but the soup works well without them. read more...
Butternut Squash Soup with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds and Tart Apple - 26 Oct 2010
Ethan McKee, chef at Notti Bianchi and Circle One Bistro, made this recipe when at Rock Creek at Mazza. It's a rich and rounded soup, low in calories, that loses nothing of its nutrition values. It all goes to show you don't need creams and butters to add body and depth to a recipe. read more...
Gazpacho - 28 Jul 2010
Terri Cutrino, executive chef of Cafe Atlantico's' recipe for that refreshing and pretty soup perfect for summer soup which you can prepare well ahead of sitting down to eat it. read more...
Starters: Chopped Organic Chicken Livers - 17 Jun 2010
Okay. This is not the most photogenic way to present a chicken liver pate that is wonderful in summer with a crusty baguette. But make it. It's easy and delicious. Daniel Bortnick, chef of Firefly, gives this Jewish classic a contemporary twist with apple. Make it a day or two ahead to mellow the flavors. read more...
Tomato Soup with Goat Cheese Flan and Parmesan Sticks - 12 May 2010
This recipe from Robert Wiedmaier, owner-chef of Marcel's and The Tasting Room, is three different elements in one. The Parmesan Sticks could be made alone to serve with cocktails and the Goat Cheese Flans could also become an alternative to the more familiar grilled goat cheese served on a mixed leaf salad. read more...
Grilled Mediterranean Sardines with Lemon and Olive Persillade - 28 Apr 2010
Now we're moving into grilling season, try this recipe from BlackSalt. Serve them with crusty fresh bread warm from the oven. (The persillade is delicious over broiled chicken or lamb, too.) read more...
Nummy nummy mushrooms - 15 Apr 2010
This recipe of Jamie Oliver's comes from food blogger Orangette. The photo is of the mushroom lady who sells at Penn Quarter farmer's market on Thursdays after 3 p.m. and at Dupont Circle on Sundays, though she doesn't man it herself. You'll find her, too, at the Arlington market. Her morels were $20 for one of those green boxes. But Morel Season is so short...Other mushrooms are less expensive. The recipe title is Orangette's own. Jamie calls it Sliced Mushrooms with Fresh Mozzarella and Thyme read more...
Pork or Duck Rillettes - 8 Apr 2010
Rillettes are a South-West-France spread of meats simmered slowly in herbs and wine then shredded and packed into preserving jars to make a rough country paté to eat with good strong bread and a munch of cornichons - those tiny French cucumber pickles that aren't suffocatingly sweet like Bread & Butter pickles. They can be made with pork, rabbit, goose or duck - or a mix of all four. Make them in quantity and pot them up in Le Parfait kilner jars or Mason jars and you'll have an instant treat for unexpected friends any time of year... read more...
Creamed Maitake Mushrooms with Edamame, Toasted Pistachios and Tarragon - 17 Jan 2010
Maitake, also known as Hen of the Woods, are one of Nature's most beautiful edible fungii. Haidar Karoum, co-owner and chef of Proof, uses them in this recipe which he serves as an appetizer. But increase the amounts and you have an elegant main course recipe for vegetarians that carnivores will envy. read more...
Starters: Chestnut Soup - 18 Nov 2009
Rodney Scruggs, executive chef of The Occidental's recipe for Chestnut Soup produces an unctuous, elegant fall and winter soup that's little trouble to conjure up. What it does make is a stunning impression. read more...
Starters: Mushroom and Goat Cheese Fonduta - 21 Oct 2009
When Stephen Scott was chef at Zola, he served this Fonduta as an appetizer. But it makes a great Sunday supper for two served with a crisp green salad in front of a favorite TV movie. And if you can't get hold of every type, use what's available. read more...
The lunch shift is over and chef Peter Smith, owner of PS 7’s restaurant is surrounded by gin. No, he’s not relaxing over a drink. The gin is in bowls in an pre-formed state. It’s the mash, a mix of herbs and berries and peels and roots that Smith has worked out how to use in his food as flavorings.
Chew On This: Your first 'Duh' of the year...
Eggplant
Baked beans - the musical fruit
Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge?
Yasaman Persian Bakery - one of my favorites
Breads - a good chew
Duck & goose
A festive 'Special': Foie Gras Creme Caramel
Festive presents weird and wacky at World Market
Walnut oil
The perfect Yorkshire pudding
Chew On This: The acai berry diet can only thin your wallet...
The Queen Mum's favorite cake
West Indian Black Cake
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