Bourbon City commemorates its signature drink culminating on National Bourbon Day
Set down your Mint Julep, because it’s time to celebrate Louisville’s official cocktail, the Old Fashioned. Proclaimed the city’s official cocktail in 2015 by former Mayor Greg Fischer, Old Fashioned Fortnight highlights the posh and stately Pendennis Club’s original during the first two weeks of June via events, tastings, and specials. Kicking off on June 1, the anniversary of Kentucky’s statehood, and culminating on National Bourbon Day, June 14, the fortnight of festivities underscores Louisville’s whiskey history and booming bourbon culture.
Photo courtesy of Go to Louisville.
Here are some ways to participate in Old Fashioned Fortnight June 1-14:
Craft Your Own Cocktail at the Frazier History Museum: The Frazier History Museum and Old Forester are teaming up to showcase Louisville’s official cocktail, the Old Fashioned. Led by Certified Bourbon Stewards, this unique experience guides visitors through making a traditional Old Fashioned with a unique twist while providing some fascinating history about the locally invented libation. Classes are for Bourbon beginners and aficionados alike and can be booked Monday-Saturday, online here.
Photo courtesy of Old Forrester.
The Ideal Bartender Experience: Head to Evan Williams Bourbon Experience’ssecret Speakeasy as an actor portraying Louisville native Tom Bullock takes you back in time to the prohibition era for a guided Bourbon tasting. Bullock was the first Black American to write and publish a cocktail book and tended bar at the Pendennis Club, where the Old Fashioned was purported to be invented. Book tours online.
Photo courtesy of gotolouisville.com
Urban Bourbon Trail®:Download the Urban Bourbon Trail® digital passport and visit some of Louisville’s best local Bourbon bars and restaurants, all of which offer their own twist on the Old Fashioned cocktail. Bourbon enthusiasts who check in at six locations will earn a free T-shirt. Visit gotolouisville.com for more information.
Photo courtesy of gotolouisville.com
Barrels & Billets: One of Main Street’s newest Whiskey experiences takes place just next door to the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, where you can embark on your custom bourbon experience. Sample up to six different flavor profiles and build your own customized bottle of whiskey suited to your personal taste. If you love your newly created concoction, you can purchase your own bottle after the experience. Find tour times here.
Photo courtesy of The Barrel: Bourbon & Bites Food Tour.
Beyond The Barrel: Bourbon & Bites Food Tour: Uncover the secrets of Kentucky bourbon and go beyond the barrel to dive into bourbon’s unfiltered history – and learn all the stories they won’t tell you on a Kentucky Bourbon Trail distillery tour. As the sun sets over the vibrant NuLu neighborhood, you’ll visit award-winning restaurants, hidden speakeasies, rooftop terraces, and cozy tasting rooms, Find available dates here.
For additional ways to celebrate Old Fashioned Fortnight, a more detailed history of Tom Bullock, and recipes on how to create the cocktail visit OldFashionedFortnight.com.
Heaven Hill Distillery Old-Fashioned Cocktail. Photo courtesy of Heaven Hill Distillery.
The Pendennis Club in downtown Louisville has long claimed the invention of the Old Fashioned cocktail since the 1880s. Club member and bourbon distiller popularized it, Col. James E. Pepper, who would go on to introduce the cocktail to the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, leading to its widespread popularity. Louisville native and pre-Prohibition mixologist Tom Bullock included his original Old Fashioned recipe in the preeminent cocktail book, “The Ideal Bartender,” published in 1917.
A Mother-Daughter Love Story in 100 Recipes, Where Every Step of the Cooking Process is an Expression of Love
“Umma offers a jaw-dropping master class on Korean home cooking brought to you by a mother and daughter duo whose passion for Korean cuisine comes second only to their devotion to each other. You will love this book and fall in love with the women who made it.”Joanne Lee Molinaro, James Beard Award winner and creator of The Korean Vegan.
Photo courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen/Kritsada Panichgul.
America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) is proud to announce the highly anticipated release of Umma: A Korean Mom’s Kitchen Wisdom & 100 Family Recipes by Sarah Ahn and her mother Nam Soon Ahn. Set to hit shelves on April 1, 2025, this heartfelt cookbook captures the flavors, traditions, and stories of multigenerational Korean cooking.
When ATK social media manager Sarah Ahn started her website Ahnest Kitchen to showcase her mother’s cooking via real-time videos of their home life, her work resonated with millions on Instagram and TikTok. Ahn’s experience living at home with her immigrant parents, reconnecting to her heritage, experiencing her mom’s love through her cooking, and the recipes that reflect the heart of Korean cuisine had a deep impact on her followers.
Now, in this 384-page deep dive into Korean home cooking, mother and daughter share decades of wisdom and techniques that help anyone cook like a Korean umma with approachable chapters that cover essentials such as building a Korean pantry and over 100 recipes that range from simple banchan and savory soups to comforting rice and noodle dishes, kimchi, street foods, desserts, and more.
Every recipe has a story, some profoundly moving (read A Conversation about Kimchi and Life on page 123) as Nam Soon shares memories of her own mother’s cooking in Korea while Sarah ties foods to family life and growing up in Southern California. Few cookbooks offer such a level of intimacy and candor, and few combine such rigorously tested technique with such rich narrative—a testament to the fact that every small step of the cooking process is an expression of love.
Accompanied by vibrant photography, Umma isn’t just a cookbook—it’s a heartfelt tribute to the love, resilience, and culinary legacy of the women who have shaped cuisine: the Korean umma.
I started Ahnest Kitchen in 2018 during my “quarter-life crisis.” I was very unhappy and unfulfilled in my first full-time job, and I hoped this wasn’t something that I just needed to get used to and accept as an adult. During those years, one thing made me feel fulfilled: Umma’s food. It wasn’t just the taste and flavor that comforted me; the process of making these dishes also fascinated me. Learning and replicating the recipes felt like therapy, and sharing and cooking these recipes for others brought me joy, just as it does for Umma.
This newfound practice was exactly what I needed during this phase of my life, and it eventually motivated me to collect all of Umma’s recipes to keep forever.
Initially, I documented them in my notebook until I decided to upload them online to share with enthusiastic cooks around the world. Soon enough, people took notice of our work, and traction followed. We eventually received our first opportunity to collaborate with a Korean food brand we both grew up with. Umma and I felt beyond excited and determined to develop a unique recipe that would not disappoint. When we took our first bites of the final dish—after multiple rounds of testing and critiques—we both nodded in agreement and said, “This is it!”
That very dish was this unique noodle masterpiece, which relies on gochujang to create a sauce that delivers the perfect balance of spice, tang, and sweetness. Here we opt for angel hair pasta instead of somyeon (thin wheat noodles) for a different flavor and texture, as well as added convenience.
Umma’s Kitchen Wisdom
I use a mandoline to slice the cabbage about ⅛ inch thick. You can substitute fish sauce for the tuna extract sauce: Use 2 tablespoons fish sauce and reduce the sugar to 2 tablespoons.
Ingredients
½ cup (176 grams) gochujang
½ cup maesil cheong (plum extract syrup)
¼ cup tuna extract sauce
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
¼ cup toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons gochugaru
12 ounces (340 grams) angel hair pasta
3 Persian cucumbers (240 grams), cut into 3‑inch matchsticks, divided
4 cups (226 grams) very thinly sliced green cabbage, divided
4 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
2 or 3 hard-boiled large eggs, halved
Lemon wedges
Directions
1. Whisk the gochujang, maesil cheong, tuna extract sauce, vinegar, oil, garlic, sugar, and gochugaru together in a large bowl; set aside.
2. Bring 2½ quarts water to a boil in a large, wide pot. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Drain the noodles and rinse under cold running water until chilled. Drain and gently squeeze the noodles to remove excess liquid.
3. Add the pasta, two-thirds of the cucumbers, and two-thirds of the cabbage to the bowl with the sauce. Using your gloved hands, gently toss the mixture until the noodles and vegetables are evenly coated with the sauce. Divide the pasta among individual serving bowls. Spoon any sauce left in the mixing bowl around the pasta, then sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Top with the remaining cucumber, remaining cabbage, and egg halves. Serve with lemon wedges.
Photos courtesy of Umma: A Korean Mom’s Kitchen Wisdom & 100 Family Recipes (America’s Test Kitchen)
Cover photo courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen/Kritsada Panichgul.
Coinneach MacLeod, the Hebridian Baker, will be in Chicago on Saturday, March 1st at 2 p.m.- at The Book Stall, Winnetka, IL, to talk about his latest book, The Scottish Cookbook. And yes, he will be wearing a kilt.
2 balls of stem ginger and syrup, finely chopped and drained
Four large eggs, lightly beaten
Four and a quarter ounces self-rising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of salt
Brush your bundt tin evenly with melted butter and lightly dust with cocoa powder. Next line in a large pan, melt the butter along with the chocolate, sugar black treacle and golden syrup. Stir until smooth then allow the mixture to cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 340°F.
Add the chopped stem ginger and beaten eggs to the chocolate mixture, stirring thoroughly until combined.
Stir the flour, baking powder, mixed spice, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and a pinch of salt into the chocolate mixture. Fold in gently.
Pour the batter into your prepared bundt tin and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring it onto a wire rack to cool completely. For an extra treat, serve with cream or ice cream.
“In this book, Simone and Inés Ortega offer us a wealth of gastronomic experience and wisdom and it will quickly transport you to the heart of Spain,” writes Ferran Adrià, former head chef of the legendary El Bulli restauranthttp://www.elbulli.info/ who is considered one of the best chefs in the world, in the introduction toSpain: The Cookbook(Phaidon Press). “This is a timeless book. When you read it, you suddenly realize the glories of the food in front of you, those that, until now, you’ve not fully appreciated. Ours is a splendid cuisine, born out of the pleasure of eating, and it is also one that is perfect for those who have little time to cook., but who don’t want to give up the enjoyment of eating well and, thus, of feeding their souls as well as their stomachs.”
A huge and wonderful door-stopper of a book with almost 1000 pages, much of which are recipes, drawings, and photos, this is the definitive book on Spanish cookery. It’s hard to imagine a recipe or one similar that can’t be found within the pages. Because the information contained here is so voluminous, finding what you want is made easy in the way the recipes are divided into such chapters as “Cold Plate Suggestions,” “Fried Dishes, Savory Tartlets, Little Turnovers and Mousses,” and “Eggs, Flans and Souffles.”
In the chapter, “Menus from Celebrated Spanish Chefs,” there are recipes from chef/restauranteur José Andrés who has restaurants in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, and Las Vegas, José Manuel Pizarro, restauranteur and author of such cookbooks as Spanish Home Kitchen, and Carme Ruscalleda, the chef-owner of Carme Ruscalleda near Barcelona. Among the recipes she shares are those for her Apricot Sponge and Quick Prawn Soup.
Lively sketches by Javier Mariscal, some 500 in all, accompany full-color food photos and illustrate not only such dishes as Caviar canapes and roasted mixed vegetables but also how to cut up an octopus or de-fin a fish.
The 1080 recipes vary in complexity though many are exceedingly accessible. Sausages in Cloaks (Salchichas Encapotadas) and Eggs en Cocotte with Mushrooms both have only five ingredients and Soft Cheese and Paprika Canapes just three. Some of the dishes won’t be familiar to most American home chefs such as Hare with Chestnuts, Woodcock with Cognac, and Lambs’ Feet with Tomato. But even if we’re not going to cook such fare, it takes us further into our exploration and understanding of Spanish cuisine.
Originally published over 40 years ago under the title 1080 Recetas de Cocina, millions of copies have been sold and it’s easy to understand why. The cookbook is both compelling—a page-turner as the authors take us into the home kitchens of their country—and informative with menu plans, cooking tips, and a glossary.
Author Simone Ortega was considered to be one of the foremost authorities on traditional Spanish cooking and had a career in food writing that spanned more than half a century. Her daughter, Inés Ortega, is also a food writer and collaborated with her mother on subsequent editions of the cookbook.
It’s easy to see why the popularity of this cookbook, which is said to be found in almost every home in Spain, endures. Its recipes and illustrations beckon us to expand our skills in Spanish cuisine.
The following recipes are from Spain: The Cookbook published by Phaidon Press.
Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin (Coles de Bruselas Gratinadas)
2 1/2 to ¾ pounds Brussels sprouts
1 classic Bechamel sauce (see recipe below)
3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Bring a pan of salted water to a boil and drop the Brussel sprouts into the water, cooking until tender but not falling apart. Remove from heat, rinse in cold water.
Make Bechamel sauce.
Place Brussels sprouts in an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with the cheese.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes and the cheese has melted. Serve immediately straight from the dish.
Classic Bechamel Sauce (Salsa Bechamel Corriente)
2 ounces butter
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 tablespoons plain all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
Salt
Melt the butter with the oil in a pan and stir in the flour. Gradually stirring the milk, a little at a time and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Add salt to taste and simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly for eight to 10 minutes.
If a thinner sauce is needed, add more milk. If the bechamel needs to be thicker, simmer the sauce longer until it reaches the required consistency.
Bechamel’s Tricks
To prevent lumps forming when making bechamel, remove the pan from the heat when stirring in the flour. Stir briefly with a wooden spoon, return the pan to the heat and proceed as normal.
Cover the surface with a disc of wax paper lightly greased with butter to avoid skin forming on top of the bechamel sauce prepared in advance. Bechamel sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen.
To reheat, put into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water oops come on
Raw Mushroom Salad
1 pound 10 ounces mushrooms
6 tablespoons sunflower oil
Juice of two lemons
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Separate the mushroom caps and stalks. Slice the stalks and caps and put into a bowl. Pour in the oil and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and mix well. Sprinkle with the parsley and shell in the refrigerator for two hours 24 servings.
Easy to make at home, these cocktails will impress someone special.
Strawberry Harvest
Blending bright citrus, muddled strawberries, and a hint of rhubarb bitters with American Harvest Organic Vodka creates a perfectly balanced sip.
2 oz. American Harvest Organic Vodka
0.75 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
0.75 oz. Simple Syrup
0.25 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
2 dashes Rhubarb Bitters
2 Strawberries (muddled)
Method
Muddle strawberries, add ingredients, shake, and strain into a coupe or martini glass. Garnish with a strawberry slice.
Fall in Love
2 oz. Beach Whiskey Bonfire Cinnamon
.5 oz. Amontillado Sherry
25 oz. Maple Syrup
2 drops of Almond Extract
2 dashes of Vanilla Bitters
Method
Fill a rocks glass to top with ice. Add all ingredients to glass. Stir and add garnish.
Garnish with a star anise float.
Solstice Sour
2 oz. American Harvest Organic Vodka
3/4 oz. Concord Grape Syrup
3/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
Add ice and ingredients to a shaker.
Shake and strain into chilled coupe glass.
Garnish with a lemon wedge.
About American Harvest Organic Vodka
Using only the finest ingredients, including artisan red winter wheat grown on third-generation family farms and pristine water from the protected aquifers of the Snake River Plain, American Harvest Organic Vodka is hand-managed by a process created to ensure a rare vodka that is organic, gluten-free, and non-GMO.
Nancy Singleton Hachisu dives deep into the Japanese food scene, having married a Japanese farmer and learning the intricacies of cooking various vegetables and other ingredients that most of us aren’t familiar with.
For those who want to learn, Hachisu’s recipes require attention to detail and buying foods we may have trouble sourcing. But the results, for those who like a kitchen challenge, are well worth it and as someone who has been following Hachisu and using her cookbooks for years, I can assure you it gets much easier.
It’s a fascinating take on Japanese cuisine from Hachisu, a native Californian who moved to Japan to stay there just for a year and immersed herself in Japanese food culture. Love intervened and after meeting an organic farmer, she married and moved to the rural Saitama Prefecture.
That was more than 30 years ago, time enough for Hachisu to raise a family in an 85-year-old traditional Japanese farmhouse and become proficient in both culture and cooking.
The book is so very niche that it’s almost like being in her kitchen and on her farm, giving us an amazing insight into a tiny slice of Japanese farm culture.
CHILLED UME-TOFU SQUARES IN DASHI
Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 2-3 hours pressing and chilling
Cooking times: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 4 squares
Vegan, Dairy-free, Nut-free
Junsai, harvested from ponds from May to September, are baby water lily buds called “water shield” in English. They have a natural gelatinous covering so add a cool, slippery element to summer dishes. They might be available at Japanese markets, otherwise just omit or substitute with blanched julienned green beans or cooked edamame. Salted sour “plums” (umeboshi, see page 350) have been prepared in Japan for a millennium, since the Heian period (794–1185), and are purported to have many health-improving qualities, including aiding digestion and combatting summer fatigue during the rainy season. The combination here makes a subtle, but lovely little bite.
INGREDIENTS
• 101⁄2 oz (300 g) cotton tofu or Japanese-style soft block tofu • 1 tablespoon hon kuzu • 2 medium umeboshi • Canola (rapeseed) oil, for greasing the pan • Generous 3/4 cup (63/4 fl oz/200 ml) Konbu Dashi • 1⁄2 tablespoon shoyu • A pinch of flaky sea salt • Scant 1⁄2 cup (31⁄2 fl oz/100 ml) baby water lily buds • Boiling water
DIRECTIONS
Place the tofu on a dinner plate and weight with a small cutting board for 1 hour.
Smash the kuzu to a fine powder in a Japanese grinding bowl (suribachi, see page 354). Squeeze the tofu by handfuls to express excess moisture and drop into the suribachi. Mash into the kuzu until well incorporated.
Cut out the umeboshi pits (stones) and discard. Finely chop the umeboshi and fold into the smashed tofu.
Dampen a folded-up piece of paper towel with the oil and grease the bottom and sides of a 5 1⁄2 × 4 1⁄2 × 2-inch (14 × 11 × 4.5 cm) nagashikan mold (see page 353) or a 4 3⁄8 × 8 1⁄2-inch (11.5 × 21 cm) loaf pan (bottom lined with parchment paper). Scrape the ume-tofu mixture into the pan and rap smartly on the counter to eliminate air pockets and make sure the tofu is evenly distributed into the pan.
Set a bamboo steamer over a large wok filled one-third of the way with water and bring to a boil. Place the pan in the steamer, cover, and steam over high heat for about 10 minutes until set. Remove from the steamer, blot off accumulated moisture, and lay a piece of plastic wrap (cling film) on the surface. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to chill.
In a small saucepan, stir the dashi, shoyu, and salt together over medium heat to dissolve the salt. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour to chill.
Place the junsai in a wire-mesh sieve and pour boiling water over for 10 seconds. Refresh by running the sieve under cold water. Shake off excess water and set the sieve over a bowl to drain. Store in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.
Unmold the umedofu, cut into 4 squares, and place each on a small shallow individual dish. Stir the junsai into the cold dashi and spoon around the umedofu. Serve immediately as a light, palate-cleansing bite.
There was a time when Sonja and Alex Overhiser thought of cooking as just one of many daily chores—necessary but utilitarian on par, say, with laundry or taking out the trash. But then they discovered that cooking could be fun when done together, first just the two of them and now with the addition of their young children.
This realization started an evolution where sourcing ingredients and preparing meals went from drudgery to companionship and then morphing into developing recipes and what became their vocation with the success of their International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) award-winning blog,A Couple Cooks. Now they also have their very popular social media sites including Instagram with its 108,000 followers and Pinterest (96,000 followers). Recently, the two have released their second cookbook, a beautiful glossy tome titled A Couple Cooks: 100 Recipes to Cook Together (Chronicle Books 2004; $40).
“This collection is for any pair sharing the kitchen, whether you’re newlyweds, partners, couples with kids, empty nesters, family members, or friends,” the Overhisers write in their book. “The recipes span all of life’s occasions, from a dinner date to an artisan bread baking project to a big table of friends and family. Each one is designed for two cooks, by two cooks.”
For them, cooking isn’t just a way to get food on the table, it’s a process to be savored and enjoyed, a way to create memories while working together chopping vegetables, stirring pots of sauce, assembling casseroles, or just waiting for bread dough to rise.
Their recipes span numerous occasions with chapter titles such as Mornings, Drinks, Sweets, Sides, Gatherings, and Just for Two. The first chapter of the book, Everyday Dinners, features four-serving recipes that were created to be used repeatedly, making them perfect for busy times. And write the Overhisers, if you’re a two-person household, you’re in luck because the extra leftovers can be used for lunch or another dinner.
The photos that accompany each recipe are lush and the dishes themselves easy to make. But to help readers who aren’t familiar with spending time together in the kitchen, they also suggest ten recipes that are perfect for beginners including Salmon Piccata, Banana Baked Oatmeal with Maple Tahini Drizzle, Warm Goat Cheese with Jam, and Glazed Applesauce Spice Cake.
There are suggestions for wine pairings, storage, assigning cooking roles, and building the perfect meal. Each recipe also notes whether it meets certain dietary requirements such as gluten-free, pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan. Also, helpfully, the recipes are often adaptable as the authors explain how to tinker with such dishes as their Lemony Orzo Skillet with Chickpeas & Broccoli which can become vegan by omitting the Parmesan shavings and using their Lemon Tahini Sauce instead.
User tips show how to plan a dinner party, setting up a bar cart, essential kitchen gear, growing fresh herbs, styling attractive table settings, and even planning a date night in.
In keeping with the Overhiser’s emphasis on user-friendly, they show how to increase the serving size of recipes expanding their recipe for Chocolate Ganache Tart for Two to one that can be served as a party dish and, if vegan friends are coming over, how to substitute coconut milk for the heavy cream and dairy-free dark chocolate for regular dark chocolate.
Note, even though this book is designed to be used by two, it can also be used by just one person as well without any fuss or big changes.
Blistered Green Bean Almondine
Our secret to green beans: blister them in the broiler instead of the stovetop or the oven. It’s fast and easy and adds a charred finish to the tender beans. Even better, they maintain their brilliant bright green color.
Combine the tender, charred beans with nutty toasted almonds, butter, and garlic, and it’s enough to make this side dish take over as star of the plate. Nutmeg adds a floral complexity as a finishing touch—don’t leave it out!
SERVES 4
1 lb [455 g] green beans, trimmed
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ cup [25 g] sliced almonds
1 Tbsp salted butter
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
Freshly grated whole nutmeg, or 1 pinch ground nutmeg (see Tips)
Heat the broiler to high heat. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Add the green beans, olive oil, and kosher salt and toss with your hands until evenly coated. Spread the beans into a single layer.
Broil, removing the pan from the oven and stirring every few minutes, until all the beans are tender and charred, 7 to 12 minutes. Check often, since each broiler is different (see Tips).
In a large dry skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds until they start to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and turn off the heat. In the same skillet with no heat, melt the butter, then add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute (the residual heat from the pan cooks the garlic).
Return the toasted almonds to the skillet with the garlic butter, add the broiled green beans, and toss to combine. Finish with a few grates of nutmeg from a whole nutmeg. Taste and add more salt if desired. Serve immediately.
Tips
All broilers work differently; some may cook much faster than others. The first time you make this recipe, check early and often.
Use a microplane grater to add a hint of fresh grated nutmeg to add a unique, heightened element. Otherwise, ground nutmeg works as a substitute.
Haricots verts or French green beans also work here. Since they are thinner, cut the cooking time by half and cook until browned.
For Vegan
Substitute olive oil for the butter.
Storage
Leftovers will keep, refrigerated, for up to 2 days; reheat in a skillet before serving.
Sweet Heat Salmon
SERVES 2
One taste of this thick, glossy sauce and you’ll want to drizzle it on everything. This quick salmon is great for spicing up date night— although we make it on the regular because it’s just that good. Stir up the sauce, pop the salmon in the broiler for 10 minutes, then brush with more of that luscious glaze before serving.
If you can handle the heat, feel free to add more hot sauce; this recipe comes out mildly spicy as written.
Two 6 oz [170 g] salmon fillets, skin on, about 1½ in [4 cm] thick
2 Tbsp salted butter
½ Tbsp Louisiana- or picante-style hot sauce (such as Valentina, Cholula, Tabasco, or Frank’s) (see Tips)
½ Tbsp sriracha
2 tsp honey
½ tsp soy sauce or tamari
Minced chives, or green onion tops, for garnishing
Allow the salmon to come to room temperature, about 20 minutes (see Tips).
In a small saucepan, melt the butter, then stir in the hot sauce, sriracha, honey, and soy sauce. Taste and add additional hot sauce if desired. Pour half of the sauce into a small bowl.
Preheat the broiler to high.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly oil it. Put the salmon on the foil skin side down and sprinkle it with several pinches of kosher salt. Brush the top and sides of the salmon with half of the glaze.
Broil the salmon until just tender and pink at the center, 7 to 10 minutes (thinner salmon will need only 4 to 5 minutes). The internal temperature should reach at least 125°F to 130°F [50°C to 55°C] when measured with a food thermometer at the thickest point.
Remove from the oven and brush with the reserved half of the glaze. Garnish with chives and serve.
Tips
This recipe has a mild-to-medium heat level; increase the hot sauce to your liking to make a spicier dish. Keep in mind that the final dish will taste less spicy than a taste of the sauce directly from a spoon.
It’s important to bring the salmon to room temperature for even cooking in the broiler. If the fish is too cold, it can blacken on the outside without fully cooking through on the inside.
Repurpose this dish as a salmon salad:
Flake the cooked salmon and use it to top chopped romaine with tomatoes, croutons, and Creamy Parmesan Dressing.
Wine Pairing
A dry Riesling is the perfect match for this dish. Its crisp acidity and subtle minerality balance the spicy sweetness of the sauce. For a nonalcoholic pairing, try a zero-proof Riesling (we like Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Riesling).
Cooking Together
Make a side dish together while the salmon comes to room temperature, then one of you can whip up the sauce while the other prepares and broils the salmon.
For Gluten-Free
Use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari.
For Dairy-Free
Use vegan or dairy-free butter.
Storage
Leftovers will keep, refrigerated, for up to 3 days.
A contemporary Southern cook from Charleston who channels the traditions and culture of her Gullah/Geechees heritage, Kardea Brown is the Emmy nominated award host of Food Network’s Delicious Miss Brown. The author of The Way Home: A Celebration of Sea Islands Food and Family with over 100 Recipes(HarperOne), Brown is a best selling New York Times author with over 455,000 followers on Instagram. Many of the recipes in her book are those that have been passed down through her grandmother and her mother and celebrate the cuisine of the Gullah/Geechees who originating from West Africa were enslaved on the rice, indigo and Sea Island cotton plantations. Settling along the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia, the Gullah/Geechees have retained many facets of their history including language and foodways. The book, featuring 125 recipes and an array of gorgeous full-color photos, is filled with easy-to-make recipes. Follow Kardea on Instagram.
The following recpes and photos are reprinted with permission from The Way Home.
Chicken & Dumplings
6 Tbsp (¾ stick) unsalted butter, divided
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 stalks celery, sliced ½ inch thick
4 medium carrots, sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
½ bunch fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Dumplings
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp vegetable shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk
Heat a large braiser or Dutch oven over medium-high. Add 4 Tbsp butter. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; add to pan. Cook 3 minutes per side or until golden. Transfer to a plate.
Add remaining 2 Tbsp butter, onion, celery and carrots to pan; season with salt and pepper. Cook 3 minutes or until vegetables are coated with fat and slightly golden, stirring frequently and scraping up bits that cling to bottom of pan. Sprinkle with flour; stir until vegetables are coated. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add chicken stock, bay leaf and browned chicken along with any juices that have collected. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook 45 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through.
Dumplings
In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Using a fork, cut shortening into flour mixture. Slowly add buttermilk, gently mixing to incorporate.
Remove chicken from pot; shred with 2 forks. Return chicken to pot. Using 2 spoons, sprayed with cooking spray if desired, top stew with 1 Tbsp scoops of dough. Cover; simmer 15 minutes or until dumplings double in size. Remove from heat; discard bay leaf. Garnish with parsley.
Limpin’ Susan
3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into strips
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups sliced fresh okra or thawed from frozen
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the bacon to drain on paper towels. Add the shrimp to the bacon fat and cook until just barely seared, about 4 minutes. Remove to a separate plate. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Stir in the onion and garlic.
Cook until starting to soften, 2 to 3 minutes, then add the okra to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice (this will help cut the slime). Stir in the rice and saute until the onion is lightly browned, about 3 minutes more. Add chicken stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to loosen any browned bits in the bottom of the skillet. Reduce the heat to low and add the shrimp back to the skillet.
Cover and cook until the rice is tender and cooked through, about 20 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking time, use a fork to stir the bacon into the rice. Fluff and serve.
Benne Wafers
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup toasted sesame seeds
Nonstick cooking spray, for your hands
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter for about 30 second, so that it is even softer. Add the sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda and egg and beat until just combined. Add the flour and mix until smooth. Stir in the sesame seeds.
Drop the dough by tablespoonful onto the baking sheets, making sure to leave at least an inch between the wafers for spreading. Spray your hands or a spatula with nonstick spray and press the cookies down to keep them from doming.
Bake until golden brown and starting to crisp on the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the wafers to cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
The year was 2012, a time when not everyone—and their pet—had a blog. But Erin Clarke, new to Madison, Wisconsin and with a law student husband who was spending all his time studying, needed something to do and so decided to write one. Two years and a name change later, Clarke’s blog, WellPlated.com, was so successful that she quit her day job and devoted all her time to writing. In 2020, her first cookbook, The Well Plated Cookbook: Fast, Healthy Recipes You’ll Want to Eat was released, selling over 130,000 copies. Fast forward.
“When I finished my first cookbook, it was like never again, I gave every good idea I had,” Clarke told me in a phone interview recently.
But ideas are never in short supply for Clarke who is so incessantly enthusiastic about all aspects of food that she jots her culinary thoughts whenever, including when dining in restaurants and in bed at night.
“I won’t go to sleep if I have an idea without writing it down,” she says. “And so, as time went on, a theme emerged about how much I enjoy cooking for people, and I became really hooked on the idea of creating recipes inspiring enough for days when you don’t feel like cooking and that are simple enough to make weeknight cooking exciting.”
She also wanted to ensure they were healthy, having long outgrown such fav food groups as Pop Tarts.
Describing herself as obsessed with food, Clarke says she’s extremely passionate about her recipes as well including those in her new book such as Sheet Pan Honey Orange Pistachio Salmon, Pumpkin Gingerbread Squares, and Creamy Harvest Chicken Pasta.
“I stand behind all of my recipes,” says Clarke who divides her time between Park City, Utah and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “I never put anything on my blog and certainly not in a cookbook that I don’t absolutely love. I like recipes made of nutritious and healthy ingredients that don’t require a trip to a specialty grocery store and that preferably can be ready in under an hour or even better in 45 minutes.”
Clarke’s love of cooking started early with two grandmothers who spend time in the kitchen with her, teaching her the exact way to measure and sift when it came to baking and such dishes as her ham casserole (thank you Grandmother Dorothy) and the green chili chicken enchiladas her Grandmother Sondra made for Christmas dinner every year.
There are other culinary influences as well—Ina Garten, Dorie Greenspan, and Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen.
When I ask if there’s anything else she’d like readers to know, Clarke is quick to respond about her goal for both of her cookbooks.
“I just hope that they become the most splattered and dirty and well used books in people’s kitchens,” she says. “Good cookbook should not stay in pristine shape and so though my new book is gorgeous, I hope people just use the heck out of it and that its appearance reflects that love. The messier the better.”
The following recipes and photos are courtesy of Erin Clarke’s new cookbook Well Plated Every Day: Recipes for Easier, Healthier, More Exciting Daily Meals.
Kind-of Cobb Salad
Serves 4 to 5 Total time 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
For the Salad
2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 11/4 pounds)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus additional to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus additional to taste
1/3 cup raw pecan halves
2 small-medium sweet potatoes (about 11/4 pounds), scrubbed and 3/4 inch diced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
4 large eggs
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, or diced tomatoes of choice
1 medium avocado
1 head romaine lettuce, roughly chopped into bite- size pieces (about 4 cups)
3 cups baby arugula (about 3 ounces)
2 ounces goat cheese, or blue cheese or feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/3 cup)
For the Dressing
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 medium lemon)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Place racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Line a baking dish or baking sheet large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Pat the chicken dry, then place in the baking dish and sprinkle all over with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Toast the pecans: Spread the pecans onto an ungreased rimmed baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until fragrant and toasted, stirring once halfway through. Roughly chop and set aside.
Roast the sweet potatoes: Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Place the sweet potatoes in the center. Top with 1 tablespoon of the oil, the soy sauce, maple syrup, smoked paprika, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Toss to coat evenly, then spread into a single layer. Bake on either rack for 25 to 30 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are caramelized on the outside and tender on the inside, turning once halfway through. Set aside.
Hard-boil the eggs: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a gentle boil. With a slotted spoon, gently lower the eggs into the boiling water. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle, steady simmer. Let the eggs simmer at this low, gentle boil for 8 minutes for slightly jammy yolks (or up to 9 minutes for fully set yolks). In the meantime, prepare a large ice bath. Use the slotted spoon to carefully transfer the boiled eggs into the ice bath. With the back of a spoon, gently crack each shell, then return the eggs to the water (this makes the eggs easier to peel). Peel and halve or thinly slice.
Once the chicken has rested 20 minutes, drizzle the top of it with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and rub to coat. Place in the oven with the sweet potatoes. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, until the chicken reaches 155 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest uncovered for at least 5 minutes (the chicken’s temperature will continue to rise as it rests). Dice.
Make the dressing: In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup with a spout, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, mustard, salt, and pepper.
Shortly before serving, slice the cherry tomatoes in half. Cut the avocado into 3/4-inch dice.
Assemble the salad: On a very large serving platter, place the romaine and arugula. Drizzle lightly with some of the dressing, then toss to moisten and combine the greens evenly. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Arrange the diced chicken down the center in a straight line. In rows, line egg slices on one side and sweet potatoes on the other. Place the avocado next to the sweet potato and the tomatoes next to the eggs. Sprinkle the goat cheese and pecans all over the top.
Spoon on a little more dressing. Enjoy immediately, with additional dressing as desired. (You also can skip the fancy presentation—toss everything together in a giant bowl and have at it.)
Crispy Chicken Schnitzel
Yield: Serves 4
For the Cabbage
1 small head savoy cabbage or green cabbage
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Chicken
2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1¼ pounds)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a few additional pinches
¾ cup white whole wheat flour or
all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1½ cups panko bread crumbs
⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons canola oil, divided, plus additional as needed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
Prepare the cabbage: Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 450°F. Cut the cabbage into eight wedges: First, cut it in half lengthwise through the stem. Then lay each half flat on the cutting board and slice in half lengthwise. Finally, halve each quarter lengthwise. For easy cleanup, line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the cabbage in a single layer on top and brush with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Flip the cabbage over.
In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the honey. Brush liberally over the tops and sides of the cabbage, then drizzle any remaining over the tops. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast the cabbage for 20 minutes, then flip with a spatula and continue roasting until the cabbage is tender and the edges are dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Don’t worry if some of the edge pieces are super dark; they’re the yummiest parts. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 250°F.
Meanwhile, prepare the chicken: Split each chicken breast in half horizontally to create two thin cutlets. As you cut, carefully lay your hand on top and feel to make sure you are splitting it fairly evenly. Working one at a time, place a cutlet in a large zip-top bag or cover with plastic wrap. With a meat mallet, rolling pin, or the base of a skillet, lightly pound out the chicken until it is super thin – about ⅛ inch. Proceed slowly and gently to ensure you do not tear the meat. Repeat with the remaining cutlets. Season the chicken all over with 1 teaspoon of the salt.
Set up your dredging stations: In a wide, shallow dish (a pie dish works well), place the flour. Beat the eggs in a second shallow dish, then combine the bread crumbs and cayenne in a third. With tongs, grab one end of a chicken cutlet and dip the cutlet in the flour, then the eggs, then the bread crumbs, coating both sides and shaking off any excess as you go. Dip just one cutlet at a time and handle the meat as little as possible to keep it tender. Transfer to a clean plate and repeat with the remaining cutlets. Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and keep it near the stove. Return the cabbage to the oven to keep it warm.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet and swirl it to melt. Working away from yourself, carefully lower two cutlets into the skillet, ensuring that they have some space between them (if the pan is crowded, cook them one at a time or they will be more dense). Cook on the first side until golden, about 3 minutes, then add another 1 tablespoon of the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Flip and cook on the other side until it is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with a pinch of additional salt, and place in the oven to keep warm.
Add another 1 tablespoon of the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet. Repeat with the remaining cutlets, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter just before flipping. Serve with the caramelized cabbage and lemon wedges. Squeeze the lemon all over the chicken and cabbage, and season with additional salt to taste.
