If we can cook it, you can cook it!

Category: 30 Minute Meals

How about some Zha Jiang Mian for dinner tonight?  Well then, how about some Black Bean Noodles with Pork and Mushrooms?

How about some Zha Jiang Mian for dinner tonight? Well then, how about some Black Bean Noodles with Pork and Mushrooms?

Andrew’s sister Lauren and I like to share “Comments” made by cooks about other people’s recipes.   Our particular favorites are when someone spends not one minute following the original recipe but instead enters their own little world and creates a dish that has absolutely nothing…

Winter Steak Salad

Winter Steak Salad

I’m not going to deny it.  I love beef. But times, as they say, have changed.  I try to go meatless more.  But there’s this primal desire for Beef.  I wondered how I could put a healthy spin on a Steak dinner and voilà, I…

Orecchiette with Sausage and Green Vegetables

Orecchiette with Sausage and Green Vegetables

I sometimes think I should have called Chewing The Fat “Chewing the Pasta”.  I have such fondness for pasta that I make it on a weekly basis.  I am well aware of how many people eschew its carbohydrates. Sorry, they’re missing one of life’s great…

Italian Sausage with Fennel, Zucchini and Raisins adapted from Letizia Mattiaci of Alla Madonna del Piatto

Italian Sausage with Fennel, Zucchini and Raisins adapted from Letizia Mattiaci of Alla Madonna del Piatto

Letizia Mattiaci of Alla Madonna del Piatto Lucky me!  I’ve been traveling most of the month of May.  I’ve done two almost back-to-back river cruises, one on the Rhine from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, Netherlands with stops along the way in France and Germany.  A…

Lucky Peach Lamb Burgers

Lucky Peach Lamb Burgers

I don’t know if you are aware of a quirky food magazine called “Lucky Peach”.  It’s been in existence since 2011.  It was the brainchild of two long-time writers and the Chef, David Chang, of Momofuku fame.  It never toppled the juggernaut of food magazines…

Steamed Bok Choy with Mapo-Style Pork from Justin Chapple in Food and Wine Magazine

Food and Wine’s Justin Chapple I’ve bought the Bok Choy Trader Joe’s sells quite a few times.  I like the crisp crunch and slightly bitter flavor of the vegetable.  But I have to admit, my Bok Choy hasn’t risen to any great culinary heights.  Recently,…

Sautéed Salmon with Creamy Leeks and Tomatoes

         Salmon is truly a lifesaver for harried weeknight cooks.  Now I suppose that means most of us, most of the week. But there’s another great plus to cooking salmon.  That is when you need something to start cooking only when the last family member…

The World’s Fastest Pasta Sauce? Chorizo "Bolognese" with Buffalo Mozzarella adapted from Donna Hay

The World’s Fastest Pasta Sauce? Chorizo "Bolognese" with Buffalo Mozzarella adapted from Donna Hay

     A classic Bolognese sauce takes hours on the stove where the sweetness of tomatoes, onions, celery, and carrots blend with beef, and pork to come together in one of Italy’s most treasured sauces.  In Italian American houses, it is called “Sunday Sauce” because the…

A simple Grilled Chicken Dinner with Arugula and Warm Chickpeas

         The grill has long since been put away.  But the grill pan does an admirable job of crisping the skin and giving us, if not the real thing, a taste of summer.  In this easy dish that takes under 30 minutes to make, the…

Lamb Burgers with the taste of a Gyro

Gyros, ubiquitous in NYC A Gyro is a Greek dish of meat that’s been roasted on a vertical spit, folded into pita bread and then served with tomato, onion and tzatsiki sauce.  Gyros, pronounced “Heros”, are everywhere in New York City.  The website Yelp has…

Springtime in a Bowl: Orecchiette with Sausage, Peas, Mint and Burrata

Springtime in a Bowl: Orecchiette with Sausage, Peas, Mint and Burrata

Last week, I went all the way back into the archives for Chewing the Fat.  I was astonished to see that an Orecchiette recipe that I posted very early on in the life of the blog has had precisely 40 visits. That is about 1/10th…

Melissa Clark’s Salmon with Anchovy-Garlic Butter

Melissa Clark’s Salmon with Anchovy-Garlic Butter

Melissa Clark Before you turn the page on this wonderful dish, let me assure that those dried-out and dreadful anchovies that someone left atop your last Caesar Salad are not at work here.  Instead, these flavor makers are worth a great deal more than their…

Asparagus for Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch and Dinner

Asparagus for Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch and Dinner

         To say that I’m a fan of our local Long Island asparagus is the definition of an understatement.  I really cannot get enough of the stuff.  It’s a fixture in our refrigerator for as long as it lasts.  The asparagus I am particularly attached…

Spicy (Rotisserie) Chicken Soup from Bon Appetit

Spicy (Rotisserie) Chicken Soup from Bon Appetit

         Let’s face it: this time of year begs for recipes that you can get on the table in no time. This wonderful soup takes all of 15 minutes to make and it’s a perfect warmer for a winter night.  With a tossed green salad and…