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Recipe of the Week

Red Argentine Shrimp and Mandarin Pico Tostadas

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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...
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Charred Lemon Orzo Salad

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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...
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Fire-Grilled Spanish Mackerel

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Pistachio Pilaf, Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, Blistered Tomato–Olive Relish & Lemon Basil Once again, my sister-in-law showed up with fresh fish from our local farmers market, where she works. Every so often, the fishmonger has some extra fresh seafood at the end of the weekend. Through a bit of good fortune, some of it finds its way into my kitchen. That’s how the tilapia for my Tilapia Piccata with Scampi Rice landed here—and this time, it was about three pounds of beautiful Spanish mackerel fillets with the skin still intact. I instantly went to the Mediterranean. More specifically, the Spanish Mediterranean. Mackerel is a rich, flavorful fish that can stand up to fire, garlic, olives, capers, ripe tomatoes and the sweetness of roasted peppers. I had garden tomatoes ready to use, plenty of Mediterranean staples in the pantry and a bag of pistachios that gave me an idea for the rice. A short time later, voilà—dinner was on the table. The mackerel wen...
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Location: Northampton, PA, USA
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Season to Taste: The Three Words Nobody Explains

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You’ve followed the recipe exactly. The onions are cooked, the sauce has simmered, everything looks right—and then you reach the last instruction: Season to taste. Okay. With what? How much? And what exactly are you supposed to be tasting for? Recipes use those three little words as though everyone instinctively knows what they mean. But learning how to season food is actually one of the biggest steps between simply following a recipe and really learning how to cook. And here’s the first thing to understand: “Season to taste” does not mean “add salt until it tastes salty.” It means taste the food, decide what it needs, make a small adjustment, then taste it again. Sometimes that adjustment is salt. Sometimes it isn’t.   What Does “Season to Taste” Actually Mean? When I taste something near the end of cooking, I’m not just asking, Does this need more salt? I’m asking: Does it taste flat? Is it too rich? Too acidic? Does it need more depth? Is there enough contrast? Can I actually ta...
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Location: Northampton, PA, USA
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Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Thighs with Charred Pineapple & Jalapeño

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Sticky, smoky, sweet and just spicy enough—with fresh pineapple getting its own turn on the grill. There are certain recipes that almost seem made for summer grilling, and Huli Huli chicken is one of them. Sweet pineapple, salty soy, ginger, garlic and a sticky glaze hitting a hot grill? I'm already interested. Add juicy chicken thighs, fresh pineapple rounds and a couple of jalapeños straight from the garden, and now we're talking. Huli Huli chicken is Hawaiian-style grilled chicken marinated and glazed with a sweet-savory mixture of pineapple, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic. My version uses boneless chicken thighs, fresh grilled pineapple and garden jalapeños for a little extra heat. Huli Huli chicken originated in Hawai‘i in the 1950s, when Ernest Morgado began grilling his teriyaki-style chicken for gatherings and fundraisers. Huli means “turn”—a reference to turning the chicken over the fire as it cooked. That repeated turning and glazing is still part of what ...
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Location: Northampton, PA, USA
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