If we can cook it, you can cook it!

Category: Comfort Food

Veal Short Ribs alla Marsala adapted from Chef Michael Ponzio. And my first encounter with Fresh Direct

Chef Michael Ponzio of Chicago’s Rosebud on Rush          When I saw a special for Veal Short Ribs at 4.99 a lb, it was like discovering a new protein!  I’d never even heard of the cut and never seen it on a restaurant menu.  I…

Burgundy Beef Stew adapted from Saveur’s "New Comfort Food"

Burgundy Beef Stew adapted from Saveur’s "New Comfort Food"

Confession Time:  Those vegetables that look like potatoes? They are potatoes served alongside the dish the night before. Since I didn’t get a photograph then, this picture was taken the next day with the leftovers potatoes added to the stew.          When we entertain, I…

1770 House Meatloaf with Garlic Sauce from Ina Garten’s “Barefoot Contessa Foolproof”

1770 House Meatloaf with Garlic Sauce from Ina Garten’s “Barefoot Contessa Foolproof”

                    Meatloaf is an intensely personal experience.  Every family has a meatloaf recipe that is so dearly loved, it achieves iconic status.  This family recipe should not be abridged or changed in any way or else…

CHICKEN, SAUSAGES AND SAGE: ONE DISH COOKING AT ITS BEST.

CHICKEN, SAUSAGES AND SAGE: ONE DISH COOKING AT ITS BEST.

         The bones for this recipe came from a famous English cook and television personality who shall remain nameless.  It’s not that I don’t devour the prose in the cookbooks the chef’s written.  It’s beautiful and seductive.  But when it comes to the recipes I’ve…

Indian Pot Roast from Whole Foods Market

Indian Pot Roast from Whole Foods Market

            If you are thinking “native American”, this recipe probably wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.  But we’ve long since stopped calling Native Americans “Indians”.  No, the name of this dish refers to the Asian sub-continent of India.  And that may be even more surprising.  The…

A visit to April Bloomfield’s Spotted Pig and a recipe for the great British delicacy Bangers and Mash

A visit to April Bloomfield’s Spotted Pig and a recipe for the great British delicacy Bangers and Mash

           The weather on America’s East Coast has been nothing short of bizaare this whole winter.   When I boarded the plane to come home from St. Barth, the temperature there was 81 degrees.  When I arrived in Newark the temperature was 75 degrees.  We…

Ina Garten’s Pastitsio

        I’ve waited all summer for the first cool day to arrive.  Not that I don’t love every minute of summer, it’s just that I have been dying to try this gorgeous dish ever since I saw it in House Beautiful. With yet another dire…

Egg Foo Yung with Chicken and Shiitake Mushrooms

“Fine Cooking” is at it again.  In their current “Make it Tonight” section of ‘just 30 minutes to dinner, start to finish’ recipes, more than one of them caught my eye.  So it became a game of deciding which to make first.  And after I’d…

Chicken Fried Flank Steak with Country Gravy

      Occasionally, I feel like being bad to the bone and cooking something I really should not eat.  This particular urge came after weeks of eating completely wisely and well but I succumbed to this Bon Appetit recipe because it looked  so darned good.  But…

Chicken and Sausage Maque Choux

It never occurred to me to serve a stew in the summer.  But here’s how it happened.  I am getting ready to go out to the beach for some good long stretches this summer.  As the departure date approaches, I’ve been trying to pare down…

Braised Pork Chops

I love a good braise almost as much as I love a good Pork Chop.  And in a November ‘09 column in the New York Times, Melissa Clark put the two together to create this dish.  If you follow Melissa at all, you know she…

LASAGNA VERDE AL FORNO

LASAGNA VERDE AL FORNO

        This is emphatically not your 30 minute dinner.  It is one of the great treasures of Italian cuisine.  And despite the length of time it takes, this version is not entirely labor-intensive.  A great part of the time is the slow simmering…

FRENCH ONION SOUP, THE ULTIMATE SLOW FOOD THAT CAN’T BE RUSHED

           OVER THE HOLIDAYS I JUMPED AT THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE FRENCH ONION SOUP. Locked in the house on a streak of cold, rain-soaked days, I had plenty of time to make this French Classic. Caramelized onions cooked in a rich, beefy broth, topped with…

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

           Today, I want to share an original recipe that I put together to launch Chewing The Fat. I hope to make this blog a place you’ll come back to again and again when you’re looking for great things to eat, great places to go…