If we can cook it, you can cook it!

Category: Dinner Party Dishes

Seared Salmon with Citrus and Herb Salad from Lidey Heuck

Seared Salmon with Citrus and Herb Salad from Lidey Heuck

Dinner Party on a weeknight? Why not when you can pull this dinner together before the doorbell rings. Our friend Laura was here from Colorado this week. And the only night we were mutually free was a Tuesday.  So much for cooking an elaborate meal…

The Bridgehampton Inn’s Braised Short Ribs

The Bridgehampton Inn’s Braised Short Ribs

A New Cookbook Takes Us on a Family Adventure unlike any other. If you’re like me, you read Cookbooks the way other people read novels.  That’s why I was particularly taken with Sybille Van Kempen’s superb new book “2266 Bridgehampton Inn & Restaurant”,  A Look…

Richard Olney’s Zucchini-and-Herb Stuffed Roast Chicken

Richard Olney’s Zucchini-and-Herb Stuffed Roast Chicken

As I was leafing through Food and Wine Magazine from October 2018, I stopped at an article focused on Richard Olney. In the words of Wikipedia, “Richard Olney (April 12, 1927 – August 3, 1999) was an American painter, cook, food writer, editor, and memoirist…

Jeff Lobb’s Herbed Rack of Pork and Trine Hahnemann’s Red Cabbage

Jeff Lobb’s Herbed Rack of Pork and Trine Hahnemann’s Red Cabbage

Our friend Jeff Lobb is a wonderful cook and entertains beautifully. Especially when his partner Don is in the kitchen with him.  And if Jeff is famous for one dish above all others, it is his fondness for Rack of Pork that stands out.  This…

Jacques Pépin’s Superb recipe for Spinach and Gruyère Stuffed Pork Chops

Jacques Pépin’s Superb recipe for Spinach and Gruyère Stuffed Pork Chops

If you follow me on Instagram (@montemathews) you know that I have been in Scandinavia all last week.  I boarded Viking Star in Germany and sailed to Denmark and Norway. As soon as I can cook them, I’ll be sharing some wonderful discoveries on my…

Dinner Party Dishes:  Vegetable Biryani

Dinner Party Dishes: Vegetable Biryani

After I published this post, I shared it on Jonell Galloway’s Facebook page “Culinary Travel by Jonell Galloway, The Rambling Epicure”.  One of  Jonell’s readers got involved when I mentioned the multiple spellings of “biryani” and Jonell asked whether it was the English spelling of…

A Summer Dinner Party Menu in 3 Parts

A Summer Dinner Party Menu in 3 Parts

When Andrew and I plan a dinner party, the menu starts to percolate once the RSVPs have been received.  We try to think of our audience and we try to make things interesting.  Generally that means doing something completely new.  We have a fair amount…

Four Generation Peach Pie with Coconut Meringue Crust from Food 52

Four Generation Peach Pie with Coconut Meringue Crust from Food 52

This weekend begins what is always called “The Unofficial Start of Summer”.  Never mind the Equinox is over three weeks away and it’s been horridly cold and rainy this month.  Nevertheless, this is the weekend that New Yorkers give up their weekends in the city…

Fresh from my Cheese Journey: Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

Fresh from my Cheese Journey: Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve been in England these past two weeks on an incredible trip.  I joined Cheese Journeys, a remarkable travel company that specializes in taking Cheese aficionados on in-depth Cheese Tours. We went from London to Wiltshire, Devon…

Parmesan Crusted Rack of Lamb

Parmesan Crusted Rack of Lamb

Of all the things that you can rely on when you want to make dinner special, the rack of Lamb should be high on your list.  It’s astonishingly easy to cook and requires very little effort.  That’s especially true with this method of cooking from…

The Ultimate Inexpensive Dinner Party Dish: Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

The Ultimate Inexpensive Dinner Party Dish: Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Martha Stewart: Sheet Pan Expert For some time I’ve been intrigued by the concept of the Sheet Pan dinner. Basically all the ingredients—protein, vegetables, herbs and spices–are cooked on one large sheet pan.  Martha Stewart seems to be an expert in this regard.  She frequently…

Rao’s Lemon Chicken My Way, with a hand from Cook’s Illustrated

Rao’s Lemon Chicken My Way, with a hand from Cook’s Illustrated

Rao’s Original, the toughest table in town. One of New York’s most iconic restaurants is almost impossible to get into.  Unless you are a bold-faced name or a local politician or, even better, a family with “connections” to a very specific group of Italian families,…