this is a page for
Category: Main Dish
Today’s recipe is a classic, simple Italian dish that definitely satisfies – especially on this snowy, winter day. As many of you know from previous recipes using guanciale, I think this ingredient adds a special type of magic to these Italian recipes (pasta all’amatriciana, spaghetti alla carbonara, and penne arrabbiata ) and should be sought out before just substituting thick-cut bacon. The guanciale renderings are the star of this dish as it is those renderings that form the sauce – that and starchy, pasta water. I used the tips from the Serious Eats recipe to produce a velvety sauce rich in the slightly smoked pork flavor that is so well suited to Romano cheese. There are several keys to this dish that I think…
Last night I tried my hand at making Omurice – the popular Japanese dish that is a mash-up of fried rice and an omelette. Typically flavored with ketchup (which I am not a fan of as many of you know), I decided to twist the fried rice using a recipe I saw on TV recently. I cooked the rice in a dashi broth – dashi, mirin, sake, and soy sauce – and used that as my primary flavoring. The rest of the fried rice was made with diced onion, minced garlic, diced red pepper, asparagus, and diced smoked ham. The egg mixture for the omelette is easy enough – one egg, some milk or cream, and sesame oil. The “dashi rice” (as I call it…
Tonight I am making a delicious Thai dish, Swimming Rama, also known as Swimming Angel and a host of other names. It is simply quickly cooked thinly sliced lean chicken or pork, dressed in a coconut based peanut sauce served over wilted spinach and either rice or rice noodles. I made this dish as an ‘Experiment’ post nearly three years ago so this one is overdue for a real recipe. I am going with chicken breast and rice noodles for a simple, yet elegant meal perfect for this Sunday evening. Give it a try, you won’t regret the effort it requires! Save Print Swimming Rama Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 40 mins Serves: 1  …
How about starting the New Year with something different? Teriyaki tofu is the plan for tonight. Paired with stir fried broccoli and carrots for a veggie boost and homemade teriyaki sauce for a depth of flavor that can’t be beat! And easy? This dish is super easy to prepare – perfect for a quick dinner after work or on a busy weekend. If you have made the New Year’s resolution to eat healthier or lose weight, this dish will help you meet those goals. Who says you have to skip taste to eat healthy Save Print Crispy Teriyaki Tofu with Stir Fried Broccoli and Carrots Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 35 mins Serves: 2  …
How about a filling and delicious potato chowder recipe – perfect for a late fall/early winter dinner? This is an easy, tasty, and filling chowder that can be augmented and adjusted to meet any desired flavor profile. Add clams and clam juice for a hearty clam chowder. Add flaky white fish like cod for a tasty fish chowder. Even chicken can be used to create a creamy chicken chowder, using herbes de provence to enrich the flavor. But today, let’s keep it simple – just a potato bacon chowder. Save Print Potato Bacon Chowder Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour Serves: 2 Ingredients 5 oz thick-cut bacon, cut into lardons (approximately 4-5…
Sometimes, you just feel like comfort food and for me that can be any number of dishes – goulash, chili, pasta bolognese, drunken noodles, and this dish. I love the simplicity – the preparation is where you spend most of your time and let’s face it, cutting up some vegetables and meat isn’t difficult work. The S&B curry cubes also make this dish easy and intensely flavorful. You can choose from Mild to Extra Hot to suit your tastes. I add extra vegetables into mine because why not? Veggies are good for you! Paired with a simple white jasmine rice and you have a plate full of delicious comfort. And in these crazy times, who doesn’t need that?! Save Print…
Last night’s dinner comes compliments of The Daring Gourmet where I tweaked her Slow Cooker Greek Chicken recipe by making it sous vide. Using her Greek Seasoning as the flavor driver, I figured making this dish sous vide would create a vibrant result. As suggested in the original recipe, I served this dish with rice, but not just any rice dish. I went fully international and paired this dish with a Caribbean rice – Puerto Rican Arroz con Gandules. Sounds crazy, huh? I had a feeling the flavors would compliment each other rather than compete, which they did! So setup the water bath and get cooking – this tasty Greek inspired chicken dish is simple to prepare and uniquely flavorful to enjoy! Save Print Sous Vide…
This recipe for Austrian Beef Stew comes from Milk Street, Christopher Kimball’s latest venture. It is based on a dish he enjoyed in Salzburg, which is where my mom was from. I had never heard of this style of goulash until I saw his show. But in doing some research, I found another similar recipe that also looks delicious so I had to give it a try. Of course, the COVID-19 ‘stay at home’ orders makes it easy to cook something like this dish, provided you have all the ingredients. There is nothing too out of the ordinary – especially for me – given that Hungarian paprika and caraway are considered necessary spices in the pantry and the marjoram is optional. While you…
Let’s revisit a dish from the past that screams ‘comfort’ food. And strangely enough, this dish is also good for using up leftover vegetables like onion, celery, peppers, etc. Here’s the original recipe I wrote – Sloppy Joes – and it is tasty, but this week while in ‘rona lockdown, I decided to use up some vegetables and hamburger buns (I mean how can 1 person eat 8 hamburger buns before they go stale and mold!), so sloppy joes got the call. Also, this dish got the call because there was no pork shoulder available to make pulled pork! LOL So dig in and enjoy, we all need a little comfort right now. Save Print Sloppy Joes Prep time: 10…
Everyone is cooking and baking more during the COVID-19 lockdown, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have the dishes you normally pick up on the way home or have delivered. Sure, you can call UberEats or DoorDash to handle your cravings, but what if you took this opportunity to make it yourself. This pizza is one such dish – perfect for making at home while you are stuck inside. Of course, it takes a little preparation by picking up the pepperoni, cheese, etc during one of your essential trips to the store, but it is well worth the planning. Since this post uses two previous posts, I am only going to reference the link for the pizza dough here and provide a simpler…