If it weren’t so easy to make an entire one, I might succumb to ordering a slice of savory quiche at a bakery or for brunch. But it is, and no matter if you incorporate the most luxurious ingredients or leftovers in its airy, yellow mass, definitely more economical than the options above. It’s one of my favorite ways to add class to eggs.
I love making hash browns, but it’s not exactly the quickest route to a savory breakfast. Nor is it the most nutritious; even if using sweet potatoes, which are richer in beta-carotene and cold weather-helping antioxidants than regular, pale potatoes, you’ll spend almost twice the amount of time cooking it to a pleasing softness, and by that time you’ll have added more oils to keep it from sticking to the pan. Winter squash is in season, and I’ve found a … Read More
Two ingredients thought to be past their prime — the broccoli plant, once it’s gone to flower, and bread, a few days since baking — revitalized. I do love using up food scraps. This recipe came after a few rounds of making really good bread pudding. Could anyone have conceived of a better way to use stale bread than that? I wondered. Then I began to think of French toast, and how custardy and warm the centers of those thick … Read More
Ever had a really good, juicy carrot? Not the kind that’s all white and dehydrated like your skin in the winter, I mean a plump, bursting balloon of sweetness, with a few wisps of fuzzy roots and wrinkles, maybe, but a thin skin that betrays its more-orange-than-an-orange flesh? Thankfully, I have. And it’ll never be forgotten. Granted, I can eat carrots any way, shape or form: raw, cooked, juiced, shredded or mashed — and yes, wispy and dry as my … Read More
What is this, la-dee-da? It’s a frittata. La-dee-da. No, it’s really not la-dee-da, it’s eggs, with pickled cabbage and spinach in it. Okay, well maybe the goat cheese is a little la-dee-dah, but it’s used pretty sparingly. So the whole dish is most certainly not a fancy one. It’s just what you call an omelet if it had never been flipped, so you don’t have to master the art of French cooking like Julia Child and have that euphoric moment … Read More
I once ordered a stack of “harvest pancakes” from the menu of a small diner. They came to my table beautifully browned, light and fluffy, and studded with dried, sweetened cranberries and kernels of canned corn. Well, it’s “harvest time” now, and instead of reaching for these preserved legacies of previous ones, I’ll make use of the fresh bounty, with tart cranberries just in season and sweet corn on its last ears of the year.
Note: This is not a recipe. Ceci n’est pas une recette. It is more a suggestion, and as so many traditional peasant dishes are, a great way to use up leftovers. Like chilaquiles, a common breakfast in Mexico. Now, whenever there’s a bag of stale tortilla chips leftover from some party, it’s a common breakfast for me, too. Alright, and midnight snack. Dinner? Why not. And seconds, please.
It’s an Easter egg hunt of an entirely new brand: guess the country of inspiration! When I was describing my idea for three variations on deviled eggs, it occurred to me that I was pinning three East Asian cuisines to each version: China for the one with five-spice and scallions, Japan for the one with wasabi mayonnaise, and Thailand for the red curry and lime juice one. “Are you going to stick flags in them?” my friend asked, nonchalantly. Nah, … Read More
What’s going on here?? Let me back up a bit. Last year, I contributed a recipe for a project by the non-profit organization the Neighbors Project, called Bodega Party in a Box. The idea behind the ‘box was to promote shopping within one’s community, and to put more fresh produce and healthier foods on the shelves of local corner shops by increasing demand for it. There’s a lot more to the project on the organization’s website. But from a local … Read More
I didn’t really know what to expect when I lopped these greens off at the rubber band-tied stems, gave them a rough chop, and tossed them in a pan popping with garlic, shallots and olive oil. I didn’t expect that their juicy stems would bleed all over the place, staining the aromatics hot pink with every turn of the spatula. I didn’t expect the leaves to be as tender as they felt when the knife went through them, since they … Read More