Posts

Recipe of the Week

The Pantry: What I Always Keep in the House

Image
A good pantry isn’t about having everything. It’s about having the right things. A pantry should grow out of the way you cook—not the way somebody on the internet tells you you’re supposed to cook. That sounds obvious, but take a look at most lists of “essential pantry staples” and you’ll find everything from canned coconut milk to twelve kinds of flour, specialty vinegars, dried beans you may never cook and spices that will sit untouched until you finally throw them away five years from now. That’s not a pantry. That’s inventory. I look at a pantry differently. The ingredients I keep around are the ones that repeatedly earn their space. They’re things I know I can reach for on a Tuesday afternoon, pair with whatever meat, fish or vegetables I have in the refrigerator, and turn into dinner without making another trip to the store. That’s really the purpose of a well-stocked pantry. It gives you options. And once you start thinking about a pantry...
Post a Comment
Read more

Smoked Chorizo, Goat Cheese & Fontina Jalapeño Poppers

Image
Garden jalapeños stuffed with Mexican chorizo, goat cheese, Fontina, roasted garlic, and fresh jalapeño, then finished with a little wood smoke. There comes a point every year when the jalapeños in the garden seem to go from a few peppers ready to pick to what in the world am I going to do with all of these? That means it’s popper time. I’ve made plenty of jalapeño poppers over the years, but my version has wandered pretty far from the familiar cream-cheese-and-bacon formula. Nothing wrong with those, but when I’ve got fresh peppers coming out of the garden, I want the jalapeño to remain part of the flavor rather than simply being a container for cream cheese. So these get stuffed with Mexican chorizo, goat cheese, Fontina, roasted garlic, and finely diced fresh jalapeño , then smoked upright on the grill until the peppers soften, the cheese melts, and everything picks up just enough wood smoke. The result is rich without being ridiculously heavy, spicy without blowing ...
Post a Comment
Location: Northampton, PA, USA
Read more

Red Argentine Shrimp and Mandarin Pico Tostadas

Image
Poached shrimp, garden tomatoes, jalapeños, and sweet mandarins, piled onto crisp, Tajín-seasoned toasted corn tortillas. Some afternoons make you want to pull up another chair and stay awhile. This was one of them. Out-of-town family was over, we were catching up, and the day couldn’t have been better. The garden was still giving me tomatoes and jalapeños, and the afternoon sun had enough warmth to make you forget fall had officially arrived. Summer was clearly keeping a few things on the calendar. It was one of those days when you feel completely at ease. Good company, plenty to talk about, and nowhere else you’d rather be. The conversation wanders into “what if we…” territory, and suddenly a few new possibilities sound pretty good. Naturally, I started thinking about something to eat. With tomatoes and jalapeños ready to go, pico de gallo was an easy starting point. Then came the shrimp, avocado, and mandarins, and things got a little more interesting. Sw...
Post a Comment
Location: Northampton, PA, USA
Read more

Charred Lemon Orzo Salad

Image
A bright, make-ahead pasta salad with crisp vegetables, two kinds of olives, fresh herbs, and charred lemon vinaigrette. I first made this orzo salad for a family get-together filled with pasta lovers—Italians, of course. I made what I thought was more than enough. Apparently, I was wrong. By the time I went looking for a little to save for lunch the next day, the bowl was empty. And I made a double batch! That was probably the best endorsement I could have gotten. What makes this orzo salad a little different isn't necessarily the ingredients. Cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, olives, onion, and fresh herbs are all pretty familiar territory. The difference is how I put everything together. Instead of tossing cold pasta with dressing and hoping it eventually picks up some flavor, I dress the orzo while it's still warm. The pasta absorbs that charred lemon vinaigrette as it cools, giving it flavor from the inside rather than simply coating...
Post a Comment
Read more