February 2, 2012

There must be a million recipes for hot weeks--published this week alone. And since all the cool kid's are going it, I'm sharing my favorite recipes for easy wings!

Since these wings are baked, not fried, the oven temperature is important. Baking the wings at 475°F ensures they are crisp on the outside with a moist and juicy interior.

Drying the wings before baking also helps to crisp them up. Do you remember the scene in "Julie and Julia" where Julia Childs instructs that the beef for her boeuf bourguignon be patted dry before searing? Same theory applies here. By drying the chicken wings really well before baking, they won't steam in the oven.

As for the hot sauce, I like it hot. Since you can't go wrong with Frank's Red Hot Sauce, I doctor it a bit. While the wings bake, I cook a generous amount of garlic, add ground chipotle chili, and then the sauce. It simmers for a bit, getting a little thick. That's it!

. . . keep reading

February 1, 2012

On my kitchen counter right now sits a copy of my new cookbook. I still can't believe it. After almost two years of work, the book's real. It no longer lives solely in my mind. Or in the e-mail exchanges between my editor and myself. It's here!

But what to share? I love all of the recipes! From the crisp waffles to the chipotle chicken wraps. This cookbook's meant to live on your kitchen counter. The recipes are perfect for weeknight meals with a few weekend (read: longer to prepare) recipes thrown in for fun.

After much deliberating, I decided to share two recipes. This one's for my Easy Veggie Chili. (And, yes, I know that some folks bristle when someone uses the name "chili" for a meatless dish. But to me, chili it is!) And I can't share my chili recipe without sharing the recipe for my Cornbread Chili Bake. It uses leftover chili and tops it with a light, fluffy cornbread.

But first, Veggie Chili!

February 1, 2012

Some people are magicians when it comes to turning leftovers into a brand new meal. I'm not one of them. My usual approach to leftovers? "Reheat and eat."

But for every rule there's an exception. My exception is chili. After making a pot of chili, the leftovers turn into this simple cornbread-topped chili bake.

For the recipe, I use my veggie chili recipe as the base. Since it's meat-free, I sometimes brown one pound of either ground turkey or ground beef and add it to the chili. Then I spoon cornbread batter over the chili and bake.

The cornbread bakes up light and fluffy but doesn't overpower the robust spices and flavors of the chili.

However, the cornbread doesn't need to fade quietly into the background. Adapt it to suit your tastes and enhance the chili you use for the casserole. Some nice modifications are adding whole corn kernels, scallions, or ground chili spices.

I recently shared this recipe with the lovely folks at WNYT. The video's after the cut. . . . keep reading

January 31, 2012

At football parties, few things frustrate me more than a plate of piping hot pigs in a blanket that I can't eat. (My team losing would be the #1 thing that frustrates me. I'm looking at you Green Bay.) A few years ago, I grew tired of this--it was time for a gluten-free version.

Traditional wheat-based pigs in a blanket are often made with store-bought dough, usually crescent dough or puff pastry. Those of us on the gluten-free diet currently don't have the option of using pre-made dough. While not as easy as popping open a can of dough, this gluten-free pastry isn't tough to make.

To prepare the dough, simply cut some butter (or shortening) into dry ingredients, add an egg and some milk and stir until a firm dough forms. That's it.

These can also be made ahead of time and frozen. After wrapping each wiener in dough, place them on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for about three hours, until they're firm. Then place the pigs in a blanket in a plastic bag and return to the freezer.

When you're ready to serve, preheat the oven and bake from frozen. . . . keep reading

January 3, 2012

Recently it occurred to me that some of my favorite sandwiches are seasonal sandwiches. I eagerly await the first BLT of the summer and come winter I can't wait for a croque-monsieur. Of course, unlike the BLT, there's nothing really seasonal about this sandwich. Bread, ham, cheese and white sauce are available all year round. Yet tucking into this hearty sandwich during a warm season just doesn't appeal to me. (Probably because I am too busy eating BLTs.) Come the cold nights of January, however? I'm ready for a dressed-up ham and cheese sandwich.

While this French sandwich has been around for at least a hundred years, it's fairly new to my culinary repertoire. For years I avoided it because the thought of a sandwich topped with béchamel sauce sauce didn't sound appealing to me. I imagined the bread would turn unappetizingly soggy. However, I was wrong. Terribly wrong. After one bite, I knew why this sandwich was a classic. It's a comfort food sandwich! How did I miss this before? Warm cheese, salty ham, and tangy mustard. As for the bread, as long as it's well toasted (which is key with gluten-free bread.) the bread doesn't get mushy under the thick sauce.

Since the sandwich takes a little time to prepare, I usually don't make it for lunch. Instead I serve it for dinner along with a peppery green salad and a gluten-free beer.

. . . keep reading