“In our house, the cook gets tired of this stew, but the diners never seem to.” Sonia Uvezian, in her remarkable tome Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen From the Caucasus to the Mediterranean, throughout the Middle East, and then across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World via immigrants from those places, a … Continue reading Lamb Stew with Green Beans and Tomato
As I was developing this blog entry, it turned out “everyone” was dreaming on steaks: food mag covers, other food blogs, newspaper food sections, all were headlining steaks! Here’s my offering of a hearty American steak, done Italian style, with a story. It begins with an al fresco lunch at a ristorante on the Piazza della … Continue reading Steak Tonight: The Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy, and A Truly Simple Meal
The shank is a cut from below the knee of either the foreleg or the hind leg of the animal, in this case lamb. The hind leg shanks are larger and meatier compared to the leaner, lighter forelegs. There’s little taste or texture difference between the two except for a slightly more delicate nuance with … Continue reading Lamb Shanks Braised in Red Wine with Dried Figs and Turnips
Around the world, meatballs are a cook’s home way with sausage making, not much fuss to put together and no casing required. In particular, lamb meatballs spiked with one kind of nut or another–walnuts, pine nuts, or almonds–are masterful fare found in various renditions throughout the Mediterranean. With their delicate yet hearty taste, small balls … Continue reading Grilled Lamb and Almond Meatballs with Olive, Tomato, and Parsley Vinaigrette
Crepinettes are sausage patties wrapped in caul fat. Their name is derived from the French word for caul, crepine, hence crepinettes, or little caul packets. They’re an old-fashioned, easy and fun way to craft homemade sausages for a casual get together, especially good in summer when it’s likely to be grilling weather. The only trick to making … Continue reading Crepinettes
February 2, 2014, Big Game Day. Or, for any game day, chili con carne, chilied beans with meat, fills the bill. For the beans, I wholeheartedly proselytize pressure cooking them. There’s no soaking required, and in barely an hour you have a pot of homemade nutritious legumes. The method works for any dried bean, white, red, black, … Continue reading Beef and Black Bean Chili
Making lahmajoun is a bit of a megillah (see the post of February 11, 2010 on megillahs), almost a relic of when home cooks (women) were in the kitchen daily turning out family and/or festive fare. The good news is: basically, it’s pizza. The dough and the topping can be prepared separately a day or … Continue reading Armenian Pizza: Lahmajoun
A great thing about seasonal foods is that just when you’re bemoaning the end of one season, not ready for a change, up pop the provisions for the next, creating culinary and dining excitement anew. In Autumn, the mounds of new crop walnuts, robust heads of mature garlic, bouquets of lush parsley do that for … Continue reading Beef Stew with Toasted Walnuts, Garlic, and Dressed Parsley
Unless you eschew meat, meatloaf is about as homey a meal as it gets. Though its history in the annals of food can be traced far back to Middle Eastern and early European roots, the version we today think of as consummate comfort food, a mix of beef, pork and/or veal, sometimes beef only, … Continue reading American Meatloaf, Slightly French, with a California Twist.
Sometimes an object, as much as a food, can be the inspiration for a dish. Such was the case with these beautiful chonta wood chopsticks from Ecuador. They were a gift from my cousin, Gary Jenanyan, Executive Chef for the maritime partnership of Lindblad Expeditions and the National Geographic Society in the Galapagos Islands region of … Continue reading Seared Flank Steak with Brown Rice, Dipping Sauce, and Chop Sticks
The Wise Kitchen 