Saute
Chicken with Vegetables and Tarragon
Crusty French bread, a spinach and mushroom salad and buttered noodles round out the menu, and a rich bakery chocolate cake finishes it in style.
Cabbage with Prosciutto
Typical of hearty vegetable dishes of the Apulian region of Italy is this easy-to-make mixture of cabbage, onion and prosciutto.
Sea Bass with Gingered Vegetable Stir-Fry
In this light yet intensely flavored dish, the fish is baked, then served with a sauce rich in Asian flavors. Offer with steamed white rice, and pour white wine or Champagne.
Garlic Shrimp
Shrimp in a garlicky sauce is a classic— and a classically simple— Spanish tapa. It is usually cooked and presented in individual shallow earthenware casseroles, but it can just as easily be made in a larger casserole or skillet. Offer crusty bread alongside.
Ham Steak with Caramelized Apple Stacks
This dish is delicious for brunch or dinner. The creamed onions would be particularly good with it, as would some fresh biscuits.
Meatballs in Red Sauce
You can use purchased sauce here, your own homemade or the versatile This is terrific over pasta.
Kedgeree
There are innumerable recipes for this favorite English breakfast dish. Some call for Béchamel sauce, some for cheese. This version is easy.
By Philip S. Brown
Linguine with Steak and Peppers
This is easily one of my three favorite dishes in my mother's repertoire. She only started making it five years ago, and whenever I'm home I ask for it. It takes well to substitutions, so go ahead and experiment.
By Loretta Anderson and Melinda Anderson
Sweet Peppers with Pasta
The key to this recipe is cooking the bell peppers until they’re meltingly tender, at least 15 minutes.
Spicy Tofu Burritos
Tofu has a custard-like texture and is available in soft, firm and extra-firm varieties; firm is preferable here. Serve these hearty burritos topped with purchased salsa and some plain nonfat yogurt.
Old Country Chopped Liver
Gehockte Leber
This forspeis is so simple and straightforward that it is underappreciated as the gourmet dish it really is. My general rules for making chopped liver are:
1. Use only chicken liver to make this dish. Do not use beef or calf liver. Their flavors are too strong.
2. Use schmaltz. Do not substitute oil or any other fat. If you are concerned about cholesterol, eat chopped liver less often, but eat the uncompromised version. Anyway, the amount of schmaltz per portion of chopped liver in this recipe is the equivalent of no more than one pat of butter.
3. Chop all the ingredients by hand rather than by machine. Chopped liver should not look like a puree or a pâté. In texture it resembles French pate du campagne or the Quebecois rillets du gran'mère, coarse and rustic.
4. Eat it in small portions — it is very rich — and make it only for special occasions. Then you eat it less often and enjoy it more when you do.
2. Use schmaltz. Do not substitute oil or any other fat. If you are concerned about cholesterol, eat chopped liver less often, but eat the uncompromised version. Anyway, the amount of schmaltz per portion of chopped liver in this recipe is the equivalent of no more than one pat of butter.
3. Chop all the ingredients by hand rather than by machine. Chopped liver should not look like a puree or a pâté. In texture it resembles French pate du campagne or the Quebecois rillets du gran'mère, coarse and rustic.
4. Eat it in small portions — it is very rich — and make it only for special occasions. Then you eat it less often and enjoy it more when you do.
By Robert Sternberg