Crispy Braised Chicken With White Beans and Chile Verde
While I generally limit the repertoire of my explorations to existing dishes in the American and International canons, today we're going a bit off the map with a dish that's in part inspired by the chile verde of the American Southwest, and in part by the white chicken chili that, like some other iconic American […]
Zuni Roast Chicken with Warm Bread Salad
For our own take on Zuni Café’s roast chicken with bread salad, we started by butterflying a whole chicken and salting it overnight so it would cook quickly and evenly and be juicy and well seasoned. Before roasting the chicken in a 475-degree oven, we covered the bottom of a skillet with bread cubes […]
Maple-Glazed Apple Fritters
On my last visit to San Francisco, I fell in love with Apple Fritters. If you have never had these before, they are little doughnut-y dumplings filled with creamy sweet apple gorgeousness and they are just a celebration of Autumn all wrapped into gorgeous sweet dough. It’s like deep-fried apple pie in bun form – […]
West Indian Lamb Curry
Curried goat is a popular dish in the West Indies, but lamb makes a fine substitute here in the United States, where goat meat is hard to find. This version, by the chef Martin Maginley from the Round Hill resort in Jamaica, is deeply flavored with allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers, but not overwhelming spicy. […]
Oat and Pecan Brittle Cookies
These oversized, undulating, oaty-butterscotchy-toasty cookies get their crispy-edges and chewy center from a few essential moves. It may feel cruel to have to wait, but the dough MUST rest overnight. “By chilling in the fridge, the dough ‘cures,’ and the sugar further dissolves, contributing to a chewier texture,” Claire explains. “The rest also allows the […]
Salted Peanut and Caramel Tart
The classic peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich—also known as the Fluffernutter—is inarguably all-American. And Le Petit Grain, a Parisian boulangerie headed by Edward Delling-Williams, created a delicious riff on that childhood favorite. The bakery combines all of the elements into elegant individual tartlets called tartes cacahuètes (literally, peanut tarts). A buttery, cookie-like pastry is filled […]
Apple Strudel
Most modern phyllo-based versions of strudel have tough layers of phyllo on the underside, while the sheets on top shatter before you even cut a slice. Meanwhile, fillings collapse and leak everywhere, despite the bread crumbs supposedly added to soak up the liquid and prevent leaking (instead, they just make the filling taste pasty). […]
Vegan Peanut, Sweet Potato, and Kale Soup With Coconut
There’s nothing traditional about this soup, but that doesn’t stop it from being delicious. The version of West African groundnut soup I ate in my youth was a thick, peanut-packed broth made with chicken, spices, and tomatoes, but recipes for maafe (as it’s called in Mali) vary hugely. I’m taking that as free license […]
Greek Spinach and Feta Pie (Spanakopita)
Microwaving, chopping, and then ridding mature fresh spinach of excess water gave our spanakopita recipe bold spinach flavor. To buffer the assertiveness of feta and to add textural contrast, we added Greek yogurt to the spanakopita recipe. We chose to bake our spanakopita on a baking sheet. Its sides were short enough to allow […]
Chocolate Babka
Baking a chocolate babka is no casual undertaking. The Eastern European yeast-risen coffee cake has 14 steps and takes all day to make. But the results are worth every sugarcoated second – with a moist, deeply flavored brioche-like cake wrapped around a dark fudge filling, then topped with cocoa streusel crumbs.
Gingerbread Layer Cake with Ermine Frosting
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS We wanted the dark, moist crumb and spicy bite of gingerbread in a tender, sophisticated layer cake. For fiery flavor, we added 2 tablespoons each of ground ginger and freshly grated ginger, and we enhanced that heat with both white pepper and cayenne pepper. Molasses and coffee contributed moisture, rich […]
Braised Oxtails with White Beans, Tomatoes, and Aleppo Pepper
A popular Turkish dish, etli kuru fasulye, which means “white beans with meat,” is often served with rice pilaf and pickled vegetables. It is the starting point for this hearty braise, only in this case the meat—succulent, beefy oxtails—plays the starring role, and the white beans offer a creamy, nutty counterpoint. To be sure our […]
Homemade Taco-Size Flour Tortillas
Homemade flour tortillas put store-bought versions to shame with their chewy yet supple texture. A simple mixture of flour, salt, water, and fat was all it took to create a tender tortilla dough. We opted for shortening, as grocery-store lard imparted a sour taste. A brief rest in the refrigerator after mixing makes the dough […]
Texas Breakfast Tacos with Chorizo
To make these plump egg-filled tacos, we started with the base, making homemade tortillas that were tender yet could hold a big helping of eggs. For a flavorful filling, we scrambled the eggs with smoky chorizo, onion, and jalapeño. Our warm Salsa Roja (a cooked red salsa) came together quickly in the microwave for […]