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Tossed Beet Salad

 

Course: Sides & Salads
Keyword: Healthy, Salads, Sides, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tossed Beet Salad

ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Those who claim to hate beets have never had them in this slaw: A beautifully balanced salad of sweet Asian pear, crunchy jicama, tangy goat cheese, and a simple vinaigrette.
As much as I love beets, there's no way I'd make this salad without a fixed-blade slicer or mandoline. I start by thinly slicing the onion, fennel, and pear, then I add the mandonline's matchstick blade and slice the jicama followed by the roasted beets.
To oven-steam the beets, wrap them in a pouch of heavy-duty aluminum foil and bake in a 400°F oven until tender, about 40 minutes.
This recipe originally appeared in EveryDayCook.
Photo by Lynne Calamia
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Vinaigrette

Salad

  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 large head fennel, halved, cored, and sliced wafer-thin
  • 1 Asian pear, halved, cored, and sliced wafer-thin
  • 1 large jicama, peeled and cut into matchsticks
  • 2 large beets, cooked, peeled, and cut into matchsticks
  • 6 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Specialized Hardware

Mandoline
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Procedure

  • Whisk the red wine vinegar, honey, black pepper, and salt together in a large bowl. Keep whisking and slowly drizzle in the oil so that the mixture emulsifiesThe mixture will lighten in color and thicken slightly..
  • Add the red onion and fennel to the bowl and toss to combine.
  • Add the pear and jicama, toss to coat, and set aside for 10 minutes.
  • Finally, add the beets and goat cheese and gently toss before serving.

Peach “Cobbles”

 

Course: Sweets
Keyword: Baking, Brunch, Desserts, Entertaining, Fruit, Summer

Peach "Cobbles"

Peach cobbles in a cast-iron skillet.
ACTIVE TIME: 40 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours
Yield: 12 servings
Yes, this is a cobbler with an "r," but when you see the finished dish, you'll totally get it.
I use frozen peaches for this cobbler, not only because they're available everywhere year-round, but I think they actually make a better dessert here because they break down more evenly as they cook. A biscuit crust topped with crunchy Demarara sugar crystals keeps things crispy.
This recipe first appeared in EveryDayCook.
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Specialized Hardware

Digital kitchen scale
12-inch cast-iron skillet
Pizza Cutter
Peach cobbles in a cast-iron skillet.
ACTIVE TIME: 40 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours
Yield: 12 servings

Procedure

  • Heat oven to 375°F.
  • Combine the peaches, sugar, and butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat — the skillet will be very full. Cook, stirring regularly, until the peaches have reduced by half, are very tender, and the liquid they've given up has thickened, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly while preparing the dough.
  • Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk to the dry ingredients. Sir to combine. Add the 1 cup of heavy cream and stir to create a moist, but not sticky dough.Yup...you're making biscuits.
  • Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently press the disk out to a 3/4-inch thickness. Fold the dough over onto itself 3 to 4 times and then gently pat back out to a 3/4-inch thickness. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 1-inch squares.
  • Arrange the dough pieces on top of the peaches so that they resemble cobblestones. Press the dough down into the peaches slightly. Brush the tops with the remaining cream and sprinkle generously with Demerara sugar.
  • Bake until the peaches are bubbling and the biscuit topping is brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before devouring. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, or just use your hands.

 

Mr. Crunchy

 

Course: Soups & Sandwiches
Keyword: Brunch, Comfort Food, French, Sandwiches

Mr. Crunchy

ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes
Yield: 2 sandwiches
If you invert this recipe's title and translate to French, you get "croque monsieur," one of the world's great sandwiches.
If you've never had one, it's essentially a griddle ham sandwich, smeared in béchamel sauce (roux-thickened milk seasoned with white pepper and nutmeg), topped with a lot of Gruyère cheese, then broiled to golden brown, semi-crusty goodness. Yeah...what could be wrong with that?
Fun fact: If you top the sandwich with a fried egg, it becomes a croque madame.
This recipe first appeared in EveryDayCook.
Photo by Lynne Calamia
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Herbs de Provence Blend

Béchamel Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 ounce all-purpose flour
  • 8 fluid ounces whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Sandwich

  • 4 slices sourdough bread, cut 1/2 inch thick
  • 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard, divided
  • 6 ounces grated Gruyere, divided
  • 4 ounces thinly sliced black forest ham, divided
  • 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence blend
ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes
Yield: 2 sandwiches

Procedure

  • Make the herbs de provence: Combine all ingredients in an airtight container and store in a cool, dark place for up to 3 months.
  • Make the béchamel: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, whisking occasionally, until the roux smells nutty. Whisk in the milk, thyme, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook the milk mixture, whisking to smooth, until thickened. Add in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Set the sauce aside to cool and thicken slightly while preparing the sandwiches.
  • Assemble the sandwiches: Heat the broiler to high and move the top rack within 6 inches of the broiler. Line a half-sheet pan with aluminum foil, coat with nonstick spray, and set two bread slices on the pan. Spread the mustard onto two of the bread slices — these will be the bottoms of the sandwiches.
  • Top the two bottom slices with 2 ounces each of the ham. Cover each of the sandwiches with about 1 once of the Gruyere. Broil these open-faced sandwiches until the cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Top the broiled sandwiches with another slice of bread, cover the sandwiches with the béchamel and top with the remaining Gruyere. Sprinkle each sandwich with 1/2 teaspoon of the herbs de provence mixture and broil again until the cheese is golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving or you'll burn your face off.
  • Serve with a knife and fork and plenty of napkins.

Nitrous Pancakes

 

Course: Breakfast
Keyword: Brunch, Comfort Food, Hacks

Nitrous Pancakes

ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 12 minutes
Yield: 6 large pancakes
One day I was walking through the megamart, and there in the dairy section I spied a can of aerosol pancake mix...like Reddi-wip, but pancake mix. And I thought: GENIUS!
I took it home and cooked it and it was crap. But what an idea! Luckily, we have a nitrous oxide (N2O) cream whipper in our possession.
You'll notice that the ingredients below are in grams. That's because accuracy here really matters. So break out the digital scale.
This recipe first appeared in EveryDayCook.
Photo by Lynne Calamia
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Specialized Hardware

Digital kitchen scale
1-liter cream whipper
1 N2O (nitrous-oxide) charger
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 12 minutes
Yield: 6 large pancakes

Procedure

  • Whisk the flour, buttermilk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt together. Use a funnel to pour the mixture into the cream whipper, but do not fill above the maximum fill line. Lid the cream whipper, charge with 1 N2O charger, and shake vertically 15 to 20 times. Set aside for 1 minute.
  • Heat the butter in a nonstick pan. Invert and carefully dispense as many rounds of batter as will fit in pan with a few inches between them. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Repeat with remaining batter.

Chilaquiles!

 

Course: Breakfast
Keyword: Brunch, Chilaquiles, Cinco de Mayo, Comfort Food, Eggs, Mexican, Tex-Mex

Chilaquiles!

Chilaquiles topped with an over-easy egg.
ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Like so many dishes of Mexican provenance, chilaquiles are sublime yet simple...little more than a stovetop casserole of tortillas and salsa.
But simplicity isn't always "easy," and to pull it of you'll need a solid salsa (I always have my Roasted Chile Salsa on hand) and a good cast-iron skillet.
This recipe first appeared in EveryDayCook.
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  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 5 to 6 medium corn tortillas, each torn into 4 to 6 pieces
  • 9 to 12 ounces Roasted Chile Salsa
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese
  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Specialized Hardware

10- to 12-inch cast-iron skillet
Chilaquiles topped with an over-easy egg.
ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Procedure

  • Heat the oil over medium heat in a 10- to 12-inch cast-iron skillet until oil barely shimmers. Heat your broiler to high and place a rack about 6 inches under the burner.
  • Add tortilla pieces a few at a time to the skillet. Once they're all in, they'll overlap, but move them around and flip them with tongs every now and then and they'll fry evenly.
  • When the chips are crisp and slightly brown around the edges, ladle in the salsa. If you prefer your chilaquiles on the crunchy side, go with 9 ounces. If you like it soft, as I do, go with 12.
  • Reduce the heat and allow the salsa to simmer and absorb into the chips a bit, 5 minutes. Since they’re fried, the chips will hold together forming layers.
  • Arrange the softened tortillas so that you can crack 4 eggs evenly across the surface, one in each quarter of the pan.
  • Park the pan under the broiler for 3 minutes or until the whites set. The yolks will hopefully still be a bit runny.
  • Remove skillet and scatter surface with the cotija cheese and the cilantro. Deliver to the table and serve right out of the skillet.

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

 

Course: Sweets
Keyword: Baking, Gluten-Free

Gluten-Free Flour Mix

Gluten-free flour mix ingredients separated in glass bowls.
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes
Yield: 7 1/4 cups
Shake up seven ingredients for a simple, homemade gluten-free flour mix; the perfect substitute in holiday baking.
Thanks to a hearty blend of rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato starch, this easy gluten-free mix is ideal for baked goods that require little structure, such as sugar cookies, brownies, and crumbles. I wouldn't recommend it for desserts that require more structure, like cakes, and I haven't tried it in breads...yet.
This recipe first appeared in Season 1 of Good Eats: Reloaded.
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  • 1 3/4  cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons brown rice flour
  • 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons white rice flour
  • 1 1/4 cups plus 2 teaspoons tapioca flour or starch
  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons potato starch
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
Gluten-free flour mix ingredients separated in glass bowls.
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes
Yield: 7 1/4 cups

Procedure

  • Combine all of the ingredients in a large, airtight container, shake well, and use within 6 months.

Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Gravy

 

Course: Sauces & Condiments
Keyword: Comfort Food, Condiments, Holidays, Make-Ahead, Sauces, Thanksgiving

Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Gravy

ACTIVE TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 3 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 1 pint
Most Thanksgiving gravy recipes require last-minute construction as they usually call for pan drippings from the bird to make a broth to thicken. This means a lot of last-minute fuss and more times than not, disappointing flavor.
The approach here is to create a flavorful and concentrated stock ahead of time...way ahead, and then thicken it before use. It's the best gravy I know how to make. I often finish it a couple of hours before I serve the bird and keep it hot in a thermos.
Photo by Lynne Calamia
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Stock

  • 1 large white onion
  • 1 large carrot
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 6 whole chicken wings
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 8 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 6 fresh sage leaves
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 6 cups water

Gravy

  • 1 teaspoon brown miso paste
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
  • 2 cups stock (above)
  • 3 tablespoons high-quality unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
  • kosher salt, to taste

Specialized Hardware

Large Dutch oven
Fine sieve
Fat separator
ACTIVE TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 3 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 1 pint

Procedure

To Make the Stock

  • Peel and quarter the onion into wedges and cut the carrot and celery stalks into several large pieces. Chop each chicken wing into three pieces using a heavy chef's knife or cleaver.
  • Heat a large heavy pot or, better, a wide Dutch oven over high heat. Add the oil and brown the wing pieces thoroughly. Remove to a plate or bowl.
  • Place the onion wedges cut-side down in the bottom of the pot and scatter the carrots and celery around. Cook, without moving, until the surface of the onion is dark brown. Then flip and cook the other flat side in the same manner. As the onion is cooking, move the carrots and celery so that they brown as well, but the important thing is browning the onion.
  • When the second side of the onion is dark brown, add the thyme, sage, and peppercorns and return the chicken to the pot. Deglaze the pot with the red wine, stirring for about 15 seconds and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover tightly, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmerIf steam starts belching out from under the lid, turn the heat down a bit. for 1 hour.
  • Kill the heat and let the pot sit, still covered, for 30 minutes. Then strain the stock through a colander set over a tall, medium sauce pot. You should have approximately 5 cups of liquid. Discard the solids as they've given their all.
  • Bring the strained stock to a boil over high heat yet again, then reduce to medium and simmer for 30 minutes to reduce and concentrate the flavors. After this, you should be left with about 3 cups. Strain through a fine sieve into a fat separator and cool long enough for the fat to settle on top. Then pour off the stock into another container, seal and refrigerate. The stock can be kept chilled for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.

To Make the Gravy

  • Whisk the miso, Worcestershire sauce, dark brown sugar, and the 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper into the 2 cups of stock.
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan or saucier over medium-low heat. When the foaming subsides, whisk in the flour. Continue to cook, whisking, until the foaming stops and the roux darkens slightly to light blonde, 3 to 5 minutes.
  • While whisking constantly, slowly pour the stock mixture into the roux. Boost the heat to medium and whisk until the gravy gently bubbles and thickens, about 5 minutes. At this point, it should heavily coat the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and more black pepper, as desired.
  • If there are any signs of lumps, strain through a fine sieve into a gravy boat to serve or another vessel to cool and store. You may need to use a serving spoon to push it through the sieve. The gravy can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months then reheated gently for service or, as mentioned above, kept hot in a thermos.

Grits with Shrimp

 

Course: Breakfast
Keyword: Brunch, Comfort Food, Make-Ahead, Seafood, Southern

Grits with Shrimp

Charleston-style shrimp and grits with creamy grits and spicy shrimp
ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 8 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Just like real Charlestonians during shrimp season, I consume this shrimp and grits application more for breakfast than dinner. If you want to follow suit, try soaking the grits overnight to shorten the cooking time.
Oh, and since the grits are all too often neglected here, I put them first in the title.
This recipe first appeared in EveryDayCook.
Photo by Lynne Calamia
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  • 2 pounds large (31- to 35-count) head-on, tail-on shrimp
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 to 3 bay leaves
  • 1 cup stone-ground grits
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons hot sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Old Bay
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 4 green onions, finely chopped
Charleston-style shrimp and grits with creamy grits and spicy shrimp
ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 8 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Procedure

  • Remove the heads and tails from the shrimp, and reserve for shrimp broth. Devein the shrimp and refrigerate while making shrimp broth.
  • Make the shrimp broth: Rinse the shrimp shells with cool water. Heat a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp shells and cook until pink. Cover with the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook, uncovered, until the liquid has reduced to 1 quart, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Strain the stock and cool over an ice bath.
  • Add the salt and bay leaves to the cooled stock, whisking until the salt is dissolved. Set the grits in a 4-quart pot and top with the shrimp. Cover the grits and shrimp with the brine and stash in the fridge for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
  • After the 6-hour brine, remove any chaffs or hulls from the grits that may be floating on the surface. Remove the shrimp from the brine.
  • Bring the grits to a simmer over medium-high heat, whisking continuously until the grits boil to avoid lumps. Reduce the heat and cook the grits until tender and creamy, 30 to 35 minutes. Add a tablespoon of butter and stir to combine. Cover to keep warm while cooking the shrimp.
  • Toss the shrimp with the lemon juice, hot sauce, and Old Bay. Set aside.
  • Cook the bacon until crisp in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from the pan to paper towels to drain. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 2 minutes per side. Coarsely chop the bacon and return to the pan and add the green onion. Stir to combine.
  • To serve, ladle grits into a bowl and scatter the shrimp and bacon mixture over the top. Drizzle with any remaining bacon grease.

Little Brown Biscuits

 

Course: Breads
Keyword: Baking, Breakfast, Brunch, Snacks, Southern

Little Brown Biscuits

ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes
Yield: 14 (2-inch) biscuits
Down South, biscuits are powerful symbols of culture as well as calling cards for cooks who know that regardless of what you've got in the pantry, technique holds sway. The combo of AP and whole wheat pastry flour gives these biscuits both a tender texture and nutty flavor.
Though cold shortening or supermarket lard can be used, I prefer leaf lard rendered from the abdominal fat around a pig's kidneys.
This recipe first appeared in EveryDayCook.
Photo by Lynne Calamia
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Specialized Hardware

Digital kitchen scale
2-inch biscuit cutter
ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes
Yield: 14 (2-inch) biscuits

Procedure

  • Heat oven to 450°F. Coat a 9-inch straight-sided aluminum cake pan with 1 teaspoon of lard.
  • Whisk the all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Quickly cut the lard until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the buttermilk using a large, wide spatula until the dough just comes together. The dough will be very loose and shaggy.
  • Dump the dough onto a lightly floured counter, fold it over onto itself 6 to 8 times and pat to 1/2-inch thickness. Dip a 2-inch biscuit cutter into flour and cut biscuits. Press the cutter straight down and do not twist. Place the biscuits in the prepared pan so that they are just touching each other and the side of the pan. Fold together the remaining dough and repeat cutting. Press down lightly in the center of each biscuit with a fingertip.
  • Set the pan on the middle rack of the oven and then boost the oven to 500°F. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool for 3 minutes in the pan before devouring.

BCLT Tacos (Blackened Catfish Lettuce Tomato)

 

Course: Mains
Keyword: Catfish, Cinco de Mayo, Seafood, Summer, Tex-Mex

BCLT Tacos (Blackened Catfish Lettuce Tomato)

ACTIVE TIME: 25 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
It's generally accepted that the technique of "blackening" was created in New Orleans in the early eighties. The concept is simple — apply a potent mixture of herbs and spices to fish, slap it on a hot surface and cook it very quickly.
Personally, I love blackened farm-raised catfish, especially when it's in a taco topped with crema. A Mexican form of cultured sour cream, crema is closer in viscosity to creme fraiche. Purists will argue that using sour cream is cheating. I'm okay with that.
This recipe first appeared in EveryDayCook.
Photo by Lynne Calamia
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Blackening Seasoning

Crema

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 lime, zested
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup packed basil, divided
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo

Tacos

  • 1 pound farm-raised U.S. catfish, 3 to 4 fillets
  • 2 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 8 corn tortillas, toasted
  • 2 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced

Specialized Hardware

Mini-food processor
Cast-iron skillet
ACTIVE TIME: 25 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Procedure

  • Combine the salt, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, and thyme in a small bowl, then sprinkle evenly onto catfish fillets and set aside while preparing the "crema."
  • Combine the sour cream, lime zest, lime juice, garlic, basil, and chipotle pepper in a small food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  • Place a cast-iron skillet over high heat. When you think it's really hot, leave it for a few more minutes. If you turn the lights off and it glows...you're ready.
  • Add the catfish to the pan and cook until crisped and blackened, about 1 minute. Flip and cook another minute, then rest on a plate off the heat for 1 minute. The fish should be opaque inside and flake easily when broken with a fork.
  • Turn the heat off and use the residual heat to heat the tortillas or, if you like a little more char, lay them one at a time right over gas burners set to low for about 30 seconds per side.
  • Break up the cooked fish into several pieces and serve inside the tortillas topped with the tomatoes, lettuce, and "crema"If you like your crema extra tangy, add some yogurt to it. mixture.