You can leave out the chicken and serve this salad as a first course. You can also substitute other ingredients, such as cooked shellfish or other seafood, far the chicken. Don’t he scared off by the foie gras. It is completely optional, but it does take the salad ta a new level.

What to look for in Pork? The color and firmness of the meat are the best indicators of quality. Look for light to reddish pink meat. Avoid anything really pale or grayish. The fat should be creamy white and smooth. The texture should be firm to the touch, with a flue, smooth grain. If it is soft or ..

This is one of those dishes that would make a great side to serve with grilled lamb chops but of course it stands alone as a vegetarian main dish. Thick slices of Beefsteak tomatoes would be excellent on both plates. Without the cheese the dish is vegan. Come fall and winter, you can make it using ..

If you can find broccoli rabe (cime de rapa), you could use it instead of broccoli for a change. Sometimes we do a variation with balsamic vinegar (about 1/3 cup) instead of Worcestershire sauce. We add the balsamic vinegar to the pan in the same way, let it reduce by half, then, instead of adding ..

Brushing pie pastry with an egg wash gives it an attractive golden sheen.

This is a great lamb stew variation in the fall when wild mushrooms are available. Be sure to spoon the mushrooms over each serving, rather than add them to the stew, or they will be soggy. You can combine this version of lamb stew with the spring version and use only 1/2 pound mushrooms. Makes 6 ..

Amateur bakers immediately assume that any dessert requiring a pastry bag is too difficult and just, well, too "professional". While it’s true that much of the elaborate decorations accomplished with a pastry bag takes some practice, a pastry bag makes certain very basic tasks a lot ..

The bestfried chicken is made without batter. If you dust the chicken with flour only it will absorb hardly any oil. The secret to success is to control the temperature of the oil so the chicken ends up golden brown and crispy at the same time that it is cooked through. An electric deep fryer or ..

“What are you going to make with all those leeks?” I had to ask. Most people don’t buy armfuls of leeks. But my friend’s enthusiastic answer—green rice with chiles and leeks—inspired me to go home and make this dish. When I want a little more complexity, I serve this with Mexican ..

This simple glaze gives a sweet and tangy note to loaf cakes such as pound cake and carrot cake.

A torte is a tart with some sort of covering. In the case of a linzertorte, its a lattice covering made with strips of dough. This recipe contains somewhat less jam than the classic and is hence a little bit nuttier.

We use Italian eggs, which have very rich orange, almost red, yolks, because the hens eat grass and vegetation in spring and summer, and corn in the winter. So, when the pasta is made, it is a lovely golden color. If you are able to buy fresh eggs, preferably organic, from a farm where the hens can ..

I think people are a bit confused by mascarpone and mozzarella — but before you say, "Well, you couldn't make an ice cream with mozzarella", we did: with olive oil and Parmesan too, and it was fantastic, but so is this ice cream made with mascarpone, our famous gorgeously creamy ..

I seem to have an awful lot of smoked haddock in the freezer. I'm not quite sure where it's come from but I'm slowly trying out new recipes using it. This is one that has sat in my recipe folder for ages and I finally got around to trying it. It was much less filling that champ with ..

It is hard to improve on what may be natures most perfect food. Few foods—caviar; sea urchin roe—capture the pure briny essence of the sea better. When serving raw oysters on the half shell, you can’t shuck them by heating them first. You must open them ram; or ask the clerk at the fish market ..

Because pesto relies so much on good-quality basil, make it when the herb is plentiful and you can pick the tastiest small leaves. Buy a few big potfuls rather than little packets of leaves. You can make plenty and keep it in the fridge under a layer of oil for 6 months. If you are making pesto to ..

Raisin bread is a bread that contains raisins. It is often classified as a sweet bread and is sometimes combined with cinnamon sugar. Served toasted or as a dessert, the bread is a common delicacy in the United States and Northern Europe.

A barquette is a little boat. Lemon curd or passion fruit curd is piped into the miniature shells with a paper cone and red currants are placed on top.

Even though we can now buy turkey parts-breasts, thighs, and wings - at the supermarket, most of us still associate turkey with the whole roast bird served on holidays. And for many cooks, roasting a turkey is the only time they desperately reach for a cookbook for guidance on temperature and timing ..

An elegant and simple main course.

When I can get my hands on fresh sweet broccoli from the farmers’ market, I like to use lots of it, including any leaves that remain on the stalks. They’re sweet and delicious, and there’s no reason not to use them. The caramelized onions, pine nuts, and green olives offer the lively, ..