Kielbasa Kidney Bean Stew

1/2 an onion, diced
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
3 or 4 cups of cubed potatoes (I used baby redskins, quartered)
1 kielbasa
2 15-oz cans kidney beans
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce
1 6-oz can tomato paste

Cook the kielbasa (whole) in a skillet, set aside to cool & cut into 1/4" rounds.
In your stock pot over medium/high heat, sautee the onions & garlic in butter and olive oil, with salt & pepper to taste. Add the potatoes, stirring occasionally until everything is nice and browned. Toss in 1/4 cup of water (or wine) to deglaze all the nice brown stuff from the bottom of the pan. Add the beans & stir hard enough to break some of them, this gives the stew better texture. Stir in the cut kielbasa, sautee some more. Add the tomato sauces and a few cups of water til it looks like soup, then let simmer until it thickens up a bit.

Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream, sourdough on the side is recommended!

Chicken Fingers

Normally I make this recipe in the form of popcorn chicken, but somehow that doesn't ever seem to photograph well, so I've been unable to post the recipe here. Luckily for you my roommate has a super crazy better-than-mine camera and now everything seems to photograph well! Phew!

I have been playing with variations of this recipe for years, and once upon a time a friend of mine made me fly from Brooklyn to the Midwest for her birthday party and make a big batch of this despite her boyfriend being a chef. Ohh snap. And So Began my smugness about my kitchen skills. But, I gotta give credit where credit is due, my darling roomie Catherine showed me what's what when it comes to technique - there was something about the way I was making this that worked beautifully sometimes and not so well others, and she pointed out the key. Lucky you! You can use vegetable, canola, corn, or peanut oil for frying. I use a mix of vegetable and peanut oils, but we're fancy at my house, and you don't have to be. Plain old vegetable oil works just fine.

If you want to make the honey mustard we poured over the chicken fingers in this photo, stir together in a bowl: honey, dijon mustard. Yes it's that easy.

Chicken Fingers or Popcorn Chicken

2-3 lbs boneless chicken

1 cup cup all purpose flour

3 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp adobo

1/2 tsp paprika

oil for frying

Put about a cup of flour into a wide shallow dish and set aside.
Preheat the oil in a deep skillet or frying pan, or even a wok.

Whisk the eggs, milk, and spices with about 1/4 cup of the flour. Cut the chicken into pieces the size you prefer (small for popcorn chicken, strips for fingers). Dip chicken pieces one at a time in the egg mixture then place into the flour. Set the floured chicken aside on a wire rack or paper towels, whatever you've got, and let them rest a minute while you prepare another round. 

A handful at a time, give the chicken a second round through the egg mixture and the flour, then straight into the oil. Fry until golden brown and drain on paper towels.

To keep early batches warm, I recommend putting those paper towels on a cookie sheet, maybe with a wire rack under the towels, in the oven on low heat.

Chicken & Black Bean Tacos

So I'm on a Mexican kick. Sue me. I get a thrill (or at least a full stomach) out of making standards with my own twist, as I think we all know by now. This is just another example, and it's definitely worth trying. Really quick and easy and healthy, too! Well, depending on how much cheese and sour cream you put on them...

Chicken and Black Bean Tacos

flour or corn tortillas, small is better.

2 chicken breasts

1/2 cup mojo sauce/marinade*

1 can of black beans, drained

baby spinach

sour cream

panela (crumbly white Mexican cheese)

Marinate the chicken breasts in mojo overnight, I use a giant ziploc and toss it in the fridge. It's still good if you only marinate for an hour or two, but way better if you give them a day.

If you have a grill, or an iron grill-pan for your stove, that's best. If not, you can cook the chicken in a skillet, just give it 10 minutes or so on each side. While the chicken is cooking, throw the beans and some fresh black pepper in a sauce pot with a smidge of butter or olive oil over medium heat. Stir from time to time and add water or more oil if the beans start to stick.

In a shallow frying pan over low/medium heat, warm the tortillas enough that they can fold without breaking, one at a time. set the already warmed ones under an ever-so-slightly-damp cloth to keep them warm and flexible.

Cut the chicken into thin strips. If it looks a little too pink in the middle for your comfort, as often happens with grilling, throw them into the frying pan for a minute with a bit of marinade til they're definitely thoroughly cooked.

Place some spinach leaves in the center of each tortilla, place beans and chicken on top, garnish with sour cream and panela and a little hot sauce if you're so inclined.

See? Easy!

*Mojo can be bought in the Mexican and/or condiment aisle at most grocery stores, but here's a quick list of the contents if you want to do it yourself and keep some handy in a jar in your fridge - just throw it all in the blender. Boom. You're done:

• 6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chopped oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Tuna & Cheese Quesadilla with Pico de Gallo

Sorry, folks, I've been a busy bee the past couple of ...months. One of you was kind enough to send me a nudge asking for more recipes, and I couldn't help but comply. The good news is I have moved out of the hood and into a swank new apartment near a glorious park with a wonderful new roommate who cooks as much as I do, and let me tell you, it's great to have a fellow foodie in the house! Oh the bouncing of ideas that goes on in here!

And so, I bring you another variation on one of my favorites, the tuna melt. This is what I came up with for dinner tonight after a nice little raid through the pantry and the fridge. Yes, there happened to be pico de gallo hanging out in the fridge, which my roomie made the other day. Her recipe consists of "some tomatoes, some onion, some cilantro, and lime juice." There you have it.

Tuna & Cheese Quesadilla

1 can of tuna, drained

2 tsp mayonnaise

1/3 cup cheddar, finely shredded (add some jack if you want)

1/4 cup panela

salt & pepper to taste

2 tsp butter, in 2 pieces

2 corn or flour tortillas

In a small bowl, stir the tuna, mayo, and cheeses. Melt half the butter in a smallish frying pan or skillet over low heat. As soon as it is liquefied, place one of the tortillas in the butter and spread the tuna mixture on the tortilla. Place the other tortilla on top. When the cheese looks melty, carefully lift the quesadilla out of the pan and toss in the other half of the butter and set the quesadilla back in it as soon as the butter is melted.

Turn the heat up closer to medium and cook until the cheese is completely melted and the tortilla is crispy and slightly browned. Top with sour cream and pico de gallo.

Chicken Flautas

I live in a predominantly latin neighborhood. I don't specify what kind of latin because it's a mix, which means I am surrounded by pretty amazing (and cheap) food. My first apartment in this neighborhood was wonderfully placed, a block away from the best cheap taqueria in the neighborhood (in my opinion, anyway). It was there that I got hooked, obsessively, permanently, on chicken flautas.

Flautas, in case you are not familiar with them, are basically pre-cooked meat (pork, beef, chicken, whatever), seasoned and wrapped in a flour tortilla then deep fried. Of course, it's not required that you eat them with beans and Spanish rice and guacamole, and the plantains are just there because I love them. But it's really not a bad idea.

Chicken Flautas

serves 2 to 4 people, depending on how many side dishes you make.

2 boneless chicken breasts

1 teaspoon adobo

1 teaspoon Sazón

1/2 tsp onion powder

6 to 8 small flour tortillas

Cut the chicken into long thin strips, about 1/2" wide. Heat a skillet with about 1/4 cup of water in it, then place the chicken in it, dust with seasonings and cook until the chicken is solid white. Remove from heat. Dump any excess water.

Pour about 1 1/2" of vegetable oil in the skillet and heat over medium-high. Wrap a few strips of chicken tightly in a tortilla, place it in the hot oil carefully, repeat with the rest of the chicken. Cook them until the tortillas are golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels before topping with sour cream, salsa, crumbled queso fresco, hot sauce, whatever.

Grilled BBQ Chicken & Pan-Fried Sweet Potato Thick Chips

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while (or are actually my friends in real life and have been here for dinner) know that I am more than a little obsessed with sweet potatoes. Not a week goes by that I don't include them in my dinner, and I am always trying to think up new ways to prepare them.

When I was a kid, my grandma used to occasionally cut potatoes about 1/4" thick and pan-fry them in a little vegetable oil. They'd get nice and brown and crispy around the edges and soft inside, like fries, only flatter. I have attempted to make an oven-baked version of those thin-cut potatoes (and sweet potatoes) and, well, it wasn't pretty. Tasty, but not pretty. I'll spare you those recipes, because they usually ended up being served as mashed potatoes (ha!) anyway.

This barbecue sauce recipe is just a basic idea, of course one can't always measure when throwing in a dash of this and a few shakes of that, but if you use this as a guideline you can adjust however you like and it'll still be barbecue sauce. If you don't like the idea of using ketchup, feel free to use plain tomato sauce and throw in some extra vinegar.

I like my bbq sauce dark and thick and sweet and a little spicy, specifically, I like it to taste like the so-called 'sweet' sauce at a Floridian BBQ chain called Sonny's - deep down we all love what we grew up with, right?

It's worth noting that this meal only cost like $5.ºº to make and we were stuffed.

Grilled BBQ Chicken

BBQ Sauce:

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/4 cup ketchup

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tbsp mustard powder (or prepared mustard)

3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp molasses

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

pinch of allspice

2 chicken breasts with fat removed

Whisk together all ingredients (except the chicken, obviously) in a bowl or jar. Adjust seasonings as desired.

Pour half of the sauce into a medium bowl or wide shallow dish. Cover the chicken in sauce and let marinate for at least 30 minutes. Reserve the other half of the sauce for dipping or pouring later. Be sure not to let it come into contact with any raw chicken.

Heat a cast iron stovetop grill over medium-high heat and lightly oil. Place the chicken on it when a drop of water sprinkled on the grill sizzles like crazy. Flip the chicken with tongs after 8-10 minutes, and cook the other side another 8-10 minutes. Check for doneness before serving.

Pan-Fried Sweet Potato Chips

1 gigantic sweet potato

2-4 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil

1 tsp kosher or table salt

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them about 1/8"-1/4" thick. (1/8" makes crunchy chips, 1/4" give you soft centers with crispy edges).

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom, not overlapping. When they start to turn dark brown, flip them. Drain on paper towels while you cook the remaining batches, adding a tiny bit of oil if needed. As the last batch finishes, put all of them back in the pan to get hot again. Remove them onto paper towels and sprinkle generously with salt. It always takes more salt than I expect to get sweet potatoes nice and salty.

Ropa Vieja, Plantains, Fried Cheese, and Rice of course.

My friend Eddie is a wonderful cook. From the first time I went to his house and he served me this meal, I have been obsessed with it. I have asked him to make it for me every time I've gone to visit him and his wonderful wife Sabina ever since, and am never let down. His recipe is a lot different from mine, probably more authentic, but mine is fairly simple and tastes really good, so I hope he doesn't mind my alterations too much. Eddie says to use pot roast, skirt steak, flank steak. I usually just pick out the thickest, prettiest steak I see that's reasonably priced. It works. You can save yourself a lot of time by doing the chopping while the steak sears in the first step.

The rice is way plainer than it should be, just do me a favor and pretend it's real Cuban-style rice. Plantains and fried cheese are absolutely the most perfect thing you could eat with ropa vieja. I can only assume that they are classically served together because the fried cheese has such a punch it can actually hold its own against the strong, smoky spicy flavor of the beef, and the subtle sweetness of the plantains is a welcome break from the intensity of the other dishes.

This all may sound very complicated, but there's nothing that difficult about it. I urge you all to try this, because it's DELICIOUS. Oh, and don't forget the sangria (or mojitos)!

Ropa Vieja

2-3 lbs steak at room temperature

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

a few tablespoons olive oil for the pan

1 cup white wine (I tend to use sherry, of course)

3 cups water or more as needed

1 large onion, chopped (preferably a Spanish onion)

6 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

2-3 plum tomatoes, diced

1/4 to 1/2 cup chipotle hot sauce (This is my fave)

Rub the steak with salt and pepper. Heat a large pot over medium/high heat with a little olive oil and place the steak in the center. Don't move it for 5-10 minutes, until it has seared to a nice rich brown and left a mark on the pan, then flip and repeat.

Remove the steak from the pan and set aside for now, but do not turn off the heat. Pour the wine and 1 cup of water into the pot, scraping the bottom to get the browned juices. After 2-3 minutes return the steak to the pot.

In a separate pan, sautée the onion, green pepper, and garlic in olive oil until the onions are clear. Add the tomatoes and lemon juice, stir for another minute then add all to the steak pot. Add a cup or two of water and the hot sauce, stir well, then cover and simmer for an hour or two, stirring and adding liquid occasionally as needed. When the beef looks really tender, shred it with two forks. Adjust seasoning as desired.

Fried Cheese

1 12-oz block queso blanco or queso fresco

oil for frying

Cut the cheese into slices about 3/8" thick. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Place a few slices of cheese in the pan, far enough apart that they won't touch after melting a little. Fry until the cheese is golden and flip once. Drain on paper towels while you cook the rest. Serve immediately, returning the first batch to the pan to get hot again if needed.

Fried Plantains

3 very ripe plantains

oil for frying

Cut the plantains at an angle, 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add the plantains. Fry until golden brown on both sides, then remove from the pan and drain. Smash them a bit with a plantain press or the bottom of a glass, then return to the oil and fry both sides again. Drain on paper towels again and salt as desired.

Fried Chicken, Corn Bread, Macaroni & Cheese, and Sweet Potato Chips

I just got back from nearly a week in Florida. Now, I know Florida isn't the south, but my family is largely North Carolina based and there are a lot of grits and biscuits involved when I go home. Yesterday I made biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast, and this for dinner. When I'm in a food mood, there's no stopping me from taking the theme as far as my grocery store will let me. Don't be surprised if there's pulled pork on this blog soon.

Some people have joked over the years that I should open a restaurant and call it Beige, since most of my favorite foods are shades of brown. Har har har. But there's a salad! I was going to make green beans but I forgot to get them at the grocery store. I also meant to make the sweet potato chips with peanut oil, but discovered too late that I was out of it and had to use vegetable oil, which, sadly, doesn't make for crunchy oven chips. They were really tasty though!

Anyway, I hope you don't mind, but I seem to be on a kick of posting whole meals. I'm leaving off the apple tartlets for now, but there was dessert, too. Of course.


Fried Chicken
1 whole chicken cut into pieces
1 cup flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup beer
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp adobo
1/2 tsp paprika
2 more cups flour
1 more tsp paprika

Heat 1 1/2" or so of oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat (350º if you have a thermometer). Drip one drop of water in the oil, if it sizzles the oil is ready. Put 2 or 3 pieces of chicken into the batter, then into the flour, then immediately into the oil. Flip them over when the batter is golden, it should take 10-15 minutes to cook thoroughly. Drain on paper towels before serving. I like to put the first batch in the oven to cook more and stay warm while I cook the rest.




Corn Bread
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs at room temperature
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 12.5-oz can creamed corn

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a 9x13 or 9x9 pan (f0r thicker cornbread) or line muffin tins with paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Melt the butter and pour it into the eggs in a steady stream while whisking. Now whisk in the oil, milks, and cream corn, then stir in the dry ingredients until just combined and pour into pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake another 10 minutes.


Sweet Potato Chips
4 or 5 skinny sweet potatoes
1/4 cup peanut oil
kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 400º.
Slice the sweet potatoes as thinly as you can, use a food processor if you have one. Coat them with peanut oil, spread on a foil-lined cookie sheet (for easy cleanup) and bake until they are browned around the edges, roughly 30 minutes. Sprinkle with kosher salt before serving.




Macaroni & Cheese
1/2 pound (half a box) elbow macaroni
6 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
1 tbsp mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp paprika
12 oz shredded cheese (I used extra sharp cheddar & monterey jack)
salt & pepper to taste

Cook the macaroni as directed, but drain when it gets slightly al dente, as you will be cooking it further. Set the pasta aside after draining and toss it with half of the butter to prevent sticking to itself. In the same pot you cooked the pasta in, melt the rest of the butter over medium heat and whisk the flour in, turn down to low and keep whisking for 2-3 minutes. Turn up to medium heat and add the milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Add the seasoning, then whisk in the cheese. Adjust seasoning as needed, then stir in pasta. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until the pasta is cooked through. Sprinkle with with breadcrumbs if desired.
If you have a casserole dish (I don't! Why!?) you can transfer the macaroni to it just after stirring in the pasta, and bake for 20 minutes.

Spicy Sausage Rigatoni

You haven't seen much savory stuff here in a while, I know. I didn't think anyone was on to me but I got an email this morning from a reader (hi!), and I can't help but fulfill the request promptly, considering how seldom I get emails from this blog. And I was already halfway through typing up the carrot cake... Oh well!

One of my best friends was brave enough to move into an apartment around the corner from mine. I say brave because everyone who lives close enough to eat with me daily ends up puttin on a little weight...but it's not my fault! Portions, people! Anyway, this friend has developed a habit of coming over for dinner as often as possible (shock!). Fortunately, he has also developed a habit of bringing ingredients. Sometimes it's a couple of things I forgot to pick up at the store, and sometimes it's, "Surprise! It's sausage night!" And that is how this recipe came to be.

Luckily I keep a stash of various kinds of canned tomatoes, pastas, fresh herbs, and cheese handy, so that sausage was a good surprise. I went for rigatoni mostly because the other options were shells or lasagna, and I put sherry in the sauce because I can't help but put sherry in everything. (If you don't have any, go buy it. Then put it in every meat, fish, or mushroom dish you make, and you will thank me.) Sherry just might be my official favorite ingredient this year.

I didn't have as many fresh herbs on hand as I would've liked, but the sauce is lovely with just thyme. This recipe serves 3, or 2 if one has a bottomless stomach. It's also pretty fast, like, light speed compared to most of the stuff I cook!

Spicy Sausage Rigatoni
3 or 4 links spicy Italian sausage
about 1/2 a box of rigatoni
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup sherry
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 15-oz can plain tomato sauce
1 15-oz can diced plum tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 branches worth of fresh thyme (about 1 tsp)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
parmesan, romano, or asiago cheese for garnish

Measure out the amount of water needed according to the pasta box, and bring it to a boil. Place the sausage links carefully and boil until fully cooked. Remove the sausages with tongs but leave the water, you will cook the pasta in it momentarily, and it will be delicious.

In another sauce pot, sautée the minced garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat until fragrant, then add the sherry. When the noise stops, add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil, add a little water if it looks too solid. Turn heat down to medium and let simmer, stirring often. Slice the sausages about 1/4" thick and add them to the sauce. You should probably start the pasta around this time.

When the pasta is drained and ready, remove the sauce from heat and stir in some cheese. Serve over pasta immediately, preferably with some garlic bread and red wine. And more cheese on top, obviously.

Steak & Potatoes

You'll be surprised how easy this is to make. It's about 10 minutes of prep time, really, unless you're a slow potato-chopper. The potatoes recipe kinda came to me as I walked to the grocery store, all I could think was potatoes and goat cheese. It just so happened that I had some whipping cream I needed to use up and the thyme (among other things) I planted in the early spring was finally ready to be plucked and used, and there is nothing like fresh home-grown thyme picked off the plant moments before going into the pan. I can't wait for the basil and rosemary to be big enough to use! There's some spinach that's only a few days away from meeting its fate under some balsamic vinegar...

Sherry Steak
3 steaks of your preference
1/3 cup sherry
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1 tsp mustard powder
salt
black pepper

Let the steaks come to room temperature. Rub both sides with salt and black pepper. In a medium bowl, whisk the sherry, mustard, and garlic. Put the steaks into the bowl and be sure they're coated with the marinade. Let sit for an hour while you cook the potatoes.
Heat your skillet or iron grill for several minutes before spraying with a little cooking spray or sprinkling a little olive oil on it. If it sizzles, add the steaks all at once, flip after 3 minutes, and remove from heat. Serve immediately.
If desired, mix the remaining marinade with some butter or worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer briefly before pouring over the steaks.

Goat Cheese Potatoes with Thyme
3 large-ish potatoes, washed and slightly peeled
4 oz goat cheese (with herbs already in it is nice but not necessary)
3/4 to 1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1 to 2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

Preheat the oven to 375º. In a sauce pot, mix the goat cheese and heavy cream over low heat, stirring to combine. As soon as the goat cheese is dissolved in the cream, remove from heat and add the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme.
Slice the potatoes around 1/4 to 1/8" thick. Spread a tablespoon or two of the goat cheese mixture in the bottom of a round baking dish and cover with a layer of potatoes. Repeat until the dish is full, finishing with a slightly more generous layer of cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for about an hour, removing the foil toward the end for some light browning.

Serve with toasted challah if you've got it.

Japanese Curry with Mushrooms, Tofu, Carrots, and Onions

Ok ok, so, this isn't from scratch. The sauce comes in a box and I have no idea what's in it but if I find a recipe for it (not that I've looked) I promise I'll try making it from scratch. In the meantime, I don't feel guilty at all including this dish in my blog because it does take a bit of prep work and it still counts as cooking. Besides, I want everyone I know to know how good and easy this is...not to mention cheap. You can eat for days off of a batch of this stuff, and it only gets better after a stint in the fridge.

This is what the box looks like. It co mes in mild, medium, and hot, but the hot seems pretty mild to me and I'm a total wuss when it comes to spicy things. Another note, my friend Richard who brought Japanese curry into my life always puts shredded sharp cheddar on top while it's still really hot, and serves it with both chopsticks and a spoon. He used to live in Japan, so I take his word for it that it's the right way. Give it a shot, I bet you'll like it. Sadly, I happened to be out of cheddar the day I made the batch in the photo.

Japanese Golden Curry with Mushrooms, Tofu, Carrots, and Onions

2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1 to 2 cups shitake mushrooms, stemmed
1 block of extra firm tofu, drained on paper towels and then cubed.
1 huge Asian carrot or 3 to 5 normal carrots, chopped into 1/4" discs
3 cups water
1 box of Golden Curry mix

Start your rice.
In a large skillet, sautée onion and mushrooms in oil until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the tofu, carrots, and water and simmer for about 20 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the curry mix and stir until dissolved. Let simmer another 5 minutes before serving over rice.

Yes, it's that easy.

Baked Breaded Catfish with Parmesan

When I got back from a vacation in Belize this time last year, I was addicted to fish and looked up a ton of recipes, more than I could possibly make in a month, and tucked them away. This is one of those, and is so easy and so good that the first time I made it, I made it again the next night. There are witnesses. It goes really well with corn bread or couscous or roasted potatoes, and spinach sauteed in garlic mixes with it quite nicely, in case you were wondering. It doesn't even need the cheese, really, but I can't help but add cheese to things. It's not the worst habit a girl could have.

This recipe takes about 5 minutes of prep work and is done baking before you know it. 2 large fillets serves 3 to 4 people, depending on the fillets and the people. You can use seasoned breadcrumbs if you prefer, but the pre-seasoned breadcrumbs tend to be Italian and that gives a different feel to the dish. Tasty, though, I'm sure. Also, if you have grated parmesan instead of shredded, you can mix it in with the breadcrumbs at the beginning.

Yes, that's sweet potato cornbread in the picture.

Baked Breaded Catfish
1/2 to 3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large catfish fillets
1 tbsp paprika
1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Preheat oven to 400º. Generously grease a baking pan (I prefer glass for fish) and set aside.
In a shallow dish, combine the breadcrumbs and garlic powder. In another shallow dish (or on a plate), stir the lemon juice and olive oil together. Coat both sides of each fillet with the oil mixture and then lay both sides in the breadcrumbs, making sure to coat evenly. Lay them in the prepared pan and sprinkle with the paprika and parmesan.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 and bake another 8 to 10 minutes.

Venison Chili

You can, of course, make chili that's quite delicious out of beef, but I happened to have a freezer full of venison. This is what happens when you're close to someone whose dad hunts. Anyway, chili takes very little work, all things considered. Once you've browned the meat and brought everything to a boil, the only work left to do is to stir occasionally and let it sit for an hour or two. One batch of this lasts us about a week, having it every night for dinner and a few lunches...though honestly I get sick of it and freeze a bunch after a few days. Which isn't to say it isn't lovely when I've taken a break from eating it every day!

Leftovers only get better when it comes to chili, and if you add a little extra water and some hot sauce, this can be made into a pretty serious chip dip for parties.


Venison Chili
2 tbsp corn oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into ½” cubes
6 to 10 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 ½ pounds ground lean venison (or beef)
1 15-oz can dark red kidney beans
1 15-oz can black beans
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 28-oz can tomato puree
salt to taste
shredded cheese & sour cream to garnish

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until simmering but not smoking. Add the onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, oregano, and cayenne. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon until the vegetables are softened and lightly browned, about ten minutes.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and add half the venison. Break it up with the spoon and continue to stir occasionally until the meat is no longer pink. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, and half a teaspoon of salt. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for an hour or so, stirring occasionally to make sure the bottom's not sticking. Uncover the pot and simmer another hour, still stirring occasionally, adding around 1/2 cup of water at some point. Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream, or dip tortilla chips in it.

Spicy South American Chicken

I made this the other night to accompany the banana rum tart I made. I made it up as I went, and it was really yummy so I was pretty pleased that I'd taken the time to write things down as I threw them in. This recipe is thankfully fast to make, it should take about as much time as the rice takes to cook. I love when things work out that way!

Spicy Peruvian Chicken

2 chicken legs, 2 chicken thighs on the bone
1/3 stick butter
4 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup cooking sherry
1 tbsp adobo
1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika

Mix the adobo, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, and cumin in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and olive oil until bubbly. Add the chopped onions and garlic and sautée until onions are softened and clear. Pour the lemon juice and sherry into the middle of the pan, stir, and shove the onions to the edge of the pan. Add the chicken and sprinkle half of the seasoning mix on it. Cover for about 5 minutes, then turn the chicken pieces over and sprinkle the rest of the seasoning on them. Turn the heat down to medium. Cover and let cook, flipping the pieces as you see fit, until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through.
Serve with red beans and rice and plantains if you've got 'em.

Whitefish in Ginger Sauce with Spinach

I may or may not have mentioned that my boyfriend Richard cooks, too. Having learned to cook while living in Japan for a couple of years, the food he makes tends to be Asian, or at least Asian-inspired. Also it's generally really good. Vegetables cooked just beautifully, with flavorful but light (as in, non-greasy) sauces and a nice balance of meat or fish, tofu, vegetables, and of course rice. I'm always surprised by the seemingly effortless marriage of savory and sweet in most of these dishes, and am pleased to have the opportunity to share one with you. I got him to write it down for me before he forgot, for this was certainly an on-the-spot creation for dinner the other night. I liked it so much I seriously considered making it for myself the next day. It was inspired by a handful of Vietnamese recipes he'd been reading, if I recall correctly.

If you don't have these sauces on hand, know that they're only $3 or $4 a bottle and are available in most grocery stores, and they're really nice to have on hand for the sake of variety. The marinades you can whip up with sriracha hot sauce, nam pla fish sauce, sesame oil, mirin, rice wine, etc, are always, always delicious, in my experience. Lucky for me, we've developed quite a collection. Note that the fish sauce smells funky if you're not used to it, but I promise it tastes good. Have faith in me, k? I won't feed you anything nasty. I'm too picky an eater for that.
Sriracha is known as "cock sauce" among some friends of ours, due to the crowing rooster on the bottle. It's way more fun than saying "sriracha." Try it.

He also made green beans sauteed in a sweet sauce with crushed sesame seeds, but the recipe is written in Japanese so unfortunately I can't share it with you until he has time to translate it for me. Doh!

Whitefish in Ginger Sauce

1 large fillet of whitefish or tilapia
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sriracha
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp freshly ground ginger, not powder
2 shallots, minced
1 to 2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
about half a bundle of fresh spinach, stems removed


In a large bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, soy sauce, sriracha, lemon juice, and ginger. Place the fish fillet scales-up in the marinade and set aside.
In a skillet over high heat, sautee the shallots in the oil, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are soft. Shove them aside with your spatula to clear the center, leaving some oil. Place the fish scales-up in the middle of the pan and sear it for a minute or two. Set the marinade aside and stir the shallots a bit so they don't burn. Flip the fish over, add the marinade and 1/3 cup water and stir with the spatula. Shove the shallots closer to the fish and lay the spinach in the skillet on top of everything.
When the spinach is shriveled and soft, and the fish is opaque, remove from heat and serve with rice, drizzling the remaining marinade over the fillet.

This fish goes very well with some sake.

Pork Chops in Mustard Sauce

I made pork chops on a whim recently, because I'd only made them once before and done such a bad job of it that I wanted to make a point of doing them well. I browsed through some recipes in a coupe of my cookbooks, and got a sense of the sorts of things that go into marinades and sauces and the methods of cooking pork, and threw this together with what was in my pantry. It got rave reviews as it was eaten, so I thought you might like to try it. It's really easy, and really tasty. As you can see I served it with stuffing and string beans sauteed in garlic.

Pork Chops in Mustard Sauce
Serves 4
Prep a few hours ahead, Cooking time 15 minutes

4 pork chops
1 tsp Dijon mustard with lots of seeds
½ cup apple cider vinegar, or more to taste
1 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp sage
2 tsp honey
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp coriander
dash of salt
dash of ground black pepper
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
¼ cup sherry
1 tb butter
¼ cup water

Mix all but the butter, sherry and water in a wide flat dish and marinate the pork chops in this, covered, for an hour or more, or as long as overnight.

In a large skillet on medium-high heat, place the pork chops as close to the center as possible without touching each other and press them down to the pan to ensure maximum contact. Do not pour the marinade in the pan yet.
After cooking for 5 minutes or so on one side, flip the chops and press them again, adding the sherry, butter, and half of the marinade. Cook for 5 minutes covered then check for doneness by cutting into the middle of one of the chops. Once the chops are cooked through, remove them to plates and add the rest of the marinade and a little water to the skillet, scraping and stirring to incorporate the browned marinade from the chops' initial searing.
Pour over chops and serve immediately.

Turkey Burgers

My boyfriend doesn't care much for beef, for many reasons, and so I have switched from hamburgers to turkey burgers as a staple. It helps that ground dark-meat turkey is really tasty! I made up a sauce the same night I made these burgers for the first time, and now I will not make one without the other. The chipotle hot sauce listed below is available in most grocery stores for less than $3, maybe in the Mexican section. I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy sauces, but the ranch and honey soothe the burn quite beautifully, in my opinion. I have yet to serve this to anyone who has disagreed.

Turkey Burgers
Prep time 30 minutes, serves 5 or 6 depending on the size of your patties.

1 package ground turkey, about 2 lbs
half of a medium onion, diced
3 or 4 thin slices of onion for sauteeing
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Adobo or seasoned salt
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (or just sage)
dash of salt & pepper
1/3 cup cooking sherry
1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
1 avocado, sliced
4 to 6 deli sandwich rolls or burger buns
honey chipotle ranch sauce (see below)
colby/monterey jack

Sautée the onion and garlic in a large skillet with olive oil and paprika, add water if you want, and cook until softened. Remove from heat and separate the onion/garlic from the oil as much as possible. Do not wash the skillet, the flavors of the onion and garlic in the oil is part of what makes these burgers good!

In a medium bowl, mix the turkey and onion/garlic until well blended, adding salt, pepper, adobo, poultry seasoning, and paprika. Form into patties, making a little crater with your thumb in the middle -- this helps them stay flat when you cook them. Set the patties on a plate.

Heat skillet to medium-high and add sherry, plus a little more olive oil if needed. When it's good and hot, put the patties in. Turn the heat down to medium-low after about 2 minutes and cover.
Cook the burgers until golden and a little crispy on the edges, flipping as often as you please. Add cheese and thinly sliced onions, cover the pan again, and toast your rolls. Once the rolls are toasted, put the burgers on them and sautee the onions a bit more.

On the bun: avocado, sauteed onions, Burger, cheese, and this sauce:

Honey Chipotle Ranch Sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
3 to 5 tbsp chipotle hot sauce, or more depending on your heat tolerance
3 tbsp honey

Stir together in a small bowl. Add more of any ingredient to taste.

These burgers and this sauce are a match made in heaven for sweet potato fries. Trust me!

Fish & Chips! or, Beer-Battered Tilapia on toasted Brioche

For those of us who don't have access to a nice local pub, I bring you good ol' fried fish and chips.
I like to serve fried fish on a toasted bun, with tomato and mayo and a little hot sauce (we use Marie Sharp's,
which we discovered and purchased in Belize last year. You can buy it online, it's worth it!) and, of
course, fries doused in salt and vinegar with a pint of beer on the side. The pickle is optional.

If you don't have a deep fryer, you can use a deep skillet or a wok or a large sauce pot. Just fill it at least 2" deep with oil and use a pair of tongs or a Chinese skimmer to get the food out. If you want to skip the bun, use 2 fillets and serve them whole.

Fish & Chips
Serves 2. Prep time about 1 hour, plus 1 hour of letting the fries freeze beforehand.

2 potatoes
1 fillet of tilapia (or cod, or flounder, or catfish)
1/4 cup beer
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
dash of chili powder
dash of black pepper
vegetable oil for frying
flour for dusting the fish
2 tbsp corn starch

Cut the potatoes into fries of whatever thickness you like best. I make them fat at one end and skinny at the other, though it's usually because my knife needs sharpening. There's nothing wrong with oddly shaped fries. Put the fries in a large bowl and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. Now drain the water and lay the fries out over paper towels on a cookie sheet to dry them as much as possible. If they're still wet you'll get a lot of spattering when you fry them, and spattering HURTS. Put them in the freezer for an hour.

After abour 40 minutes of freezer time, start heating the oil over high heat and get your fish ready. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the milk, flour, beer, egg, and spices. The consistency should be similar to pancake batter but runnier. Add more flour or beer accordingly and stir well. Set aside.

Get the fries out of the freezer and dust them well with the corn starch. Fry them in large handfuls, but remember that the more fries are in the oil at a time the longer they take to cook. As each batch reaches the brown-and-crispy-edges stage, remove them and set them on paper towels to drain. They might get cold while you cook the fish, but you can re-fry some of them and mix them back in with the rest of the batch and they'll warm up.

Cut the fillet into 2 pieces. Drag each piece through some flour on a plate and then dip into the batter, then carefully drop into the oil. Flip occasionally, and remove from the oil when the batter has browned, and drain on paper towels before serving.

Don't forget to sprinkle salt and vinegar on the fries!