1 c. finely chopped cooked chicken 1 c. finely chopped spinach (about 1 10 oz. package, squeezed dry) 1/2 c. bread crumbs 1/2 c. freshly grated parmegiano reggiano, or aged asiago 1/4 c. minced Italian flat-leafed parsley 4 cloves minced garlic, or to taste 2 eggs kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper to […]
Food & Drink
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Chestnut or potato wonton ravioli
My neighbor, Gordon Longhta, generously gives us chestnuts from his trees each year; this is my favorite way to use them. If you can’t get chestnuts, baking potato makes a good substitute. For the filling: 2 oz. pancetta or lightly smoked bacon, finely chopped 1/4 c. finely chopped onion 1 tsp. minced garlic 1 c. […]
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Seafood wonton ravioli
1 – 1 1/2 c. cooked crabmeat, or cooked, coarsely chopped lobster (the meat from about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 lb. lobster) or shrimp, or a combination. 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature 1/4 c. minced scallions 1 T. Asian fish sauce Approximately 48 wonton skins For serving: Light tomato sauce or vodka […]
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Chicken yakitori
Yakitori is traditional for Hanami, but it’s also classic street food. This recipe calls for boneless skinless pieces of chicken, but in Japanese yakitori stalls, skewers are also pierced with ground chicken meatballs, chicken hearts and livers, and other bits and pieces, such as tailpieces. My husband is so fond of yakitori that he bought […]
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Miso – marinated salmon
Miso-marinated fish is a signature dish of Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa, whose exquisite cuisine has won him accolades for years and built a 23-restaurant empire that spans the globe – from NYC to Tokyo, Australia, Dubai, Moscow and London. My husband and I first experienced it during a tasting lunch at Nobu NYC years ago […]
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Thoughts turn to Japan at cherry blossom time
I got an email from the Missouri Botanical Garden last week: “The weeping Higan cherry is now in bloom in the Japanese Garden. If current weather patterns persist, we expect Yoshino Cherries to begin peak bloom by this weekend.” My husband, Peter, and I are longtime members of MoBot, as the Missouri Botanical Garden is […]
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Michael Higgins, the chef as politician
“Of all the professions…few people are less suited to be suddenly thrown into the public eye than chefs.” —Anthony Bourdain in his bestselling book, Kitchen Confidential. Bourdain wrote those words in 2000. His point was that the denizens of restaurant kitchens’ controlled chaos and crazy hours were unlikely candidates for celebrity. But the intervening years […]
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Jalapeno mayonnaise
2 T. minced, pickled jalapenos, either hot or mild 1 T. pickling liquid from the jalapenos 1 large fresh, free-range organic egg 1/3 c. chopped scallions 1 T. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 c. neutral-flavored vegetable oil, such as canola or peanut Put all ingredients into the container of an electric blender or food processor […]
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My pimento cheese
lb. extra-sharp cheddar cheese 1 large red bell pepper, roasted* or from a jar Jalapeno mayonnaise, recipe follows Worcestershire sauce to taste If you are going to grind the ingredients in a food processor, have the cheese at room temperature (or even a little warmer); if grating the cheese, make sure it’s cold to make […]
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Can’t get enough pimento cheese!
Northerners have eaten it for years, too. But American Southerners eat more, and, moreover, celebrate and claim it as their own. It’s one of the iconic foods that defines the region, right up there with fried chicken, biscuits, grits, collard greens and red-eye gravy. Pimento cheese. Originating down South sometime in the early 1900s, it’s […]
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Task force leads the way to local food
“ ‘Eating is an agricultural act,’ as Wendell Berry famously said. It is also an ecological act, and a political act, too. Though much has been done to obscure this simple fact, how and what we eat determines to a great extent the use we make of the world – and what is to become […]
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Brooklyn Fare
In the world of restaurant ratings, Michelin guides have long been at the top. Partially that’s because they’re the oldest. Begun in France in 1900, the first red Michelin Restaurant booklets were given free as tire promotions. Suddenly, traveling near and far wasn’t just commonplace for the wealthy, or a sometime experience for the expanding […]
