Main Course Recipes

Albondigas Soup
Albondigas Soup
This Mexican meatball soup was a family favorite growing up. Not an appetizer, always a main course, either for lunch or dinner. "Albondigas" means "meatballs" in Spanish, and the trick to perfect albondigas soup is to put chopped mint leaves...
Apple Cranberry Stuffed Pork Roast
Apple Cranberry Stuffed Pork Roast
Are you familiar with Cook's Illustrated? It's a magazine and a website from the same people who create the PBS show America's Test Kitchen. It's the only cooking show we watch with any regularity, and we read each issue of...
Apple and Sausage Pie
Apple and Sausage Pie
With apple season in full swing, and cooler weather on the way, here's a casserole pie that combines sweet Italian sausage with Granny Smith apples, and a mix of cheeses. Our neighbor Pat (the wonderful neighbor who has been teaching...
Arroz Con Pollo
Arroz Con Pollo
Arroz con pollo means "Rice with Chicken" in Spanish. It is a classic dish of Spain and Latin America, with many different traditional ways to prepare it, unique to various countries. An arroz con pollo you find in Cuba may...
Bacon-wrapped Pork Roast
An easy way to dress up a simple pork roast is to wrap it in bacon. The bacon fat brings extra juiciness and flavor to the roast.
Baked Ling Cod with Lemon-Garlic Butter Sauce
Have you ever seen a ling cod? They are almost primeval looking - huge, gaping mouths with sharp teeth. As with any fish, the most important factor for how good it tastes is its freshness. I picked up this fillet...
Baked Scallops
Baked Scallops
My father had never eaten scallops before this year, but he was so inspired by this scallop dish prepared by his friends Fred and Patricia, he has spent much of the last month experimenting with them. What I love about...
Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
This basil coconut chicken curry recipe is a favorite of my friend Heidi H. It's fairly easy to pull together, and tasty (no leftovers!). Use chicken thigh meat instead of breast meat for a richer chicken flavor.
Basque Lamb Stew
Basque Lamb Stew
My father's been going through 20 years of old cooking magazines, looking for interesting things to cook and hoping to clear up some space on his bookshelf. Last night we enjoyed this delicious stew, pulled from a back issue of...
Becca's Jambalaya
Becca's Jambalaya
Recently I spent an afternoon helping my friend Becca cook up a large batch of jambalaya. Becca is from Biloxi, Mississippi and has been making jambalaya for years.
Beef Bourguignon
Beef Bourguignon
Beef Bourguignon is a classic French stew of cubed beef, slow cooked in red wine and broth, and served with sautéed mushrooms and pearl onions. This is a family favorite recipe, adapted from Julia Child's approach to making Beef Bourguignon.
Beef Brisket
A simple, delicious way to prepare beef brisket.
Beef Goulash with Dumplings
Beef Goulash with Dumplings
What better on a chilly day than a plate of steaming hot beef stew with light, fluffy dumplings? My super-hero father decided to make goulash for us recently and when the first recipe he tried didn't work out (go figure...
Beef Roast Braised in Zinfandel
Beef Roast Braised in Zinfandel
"This isn't your everyday pot roast," my father declared as we sat down for dinner to enjoy the roast that he had been cooking all afternoon. No, indeed it isn't. The sauce includes an entire bottle of bold red Zinfandel...
Beef Stew with Mushrooms and White Beans
Beef Stew with Mushrooms and White Beans
This beef stew recipe is from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. It cooks up in about half an hour and is surprisingly rich in flavor given its short cooking time.
Beef Stroganoff
Beef Stroganoff
According to the Wikipedia, Beef Stroganoff was invented by a chef working for a Russian general, Count Pavel Stroganov, in the 1890s. It became popular in the U.S. in the 1950s from servicemen returning from Europe and China after WWII...
Bouillabaisse
According to tradition, there should be at least five different kinds of fish in a proper bouillabaisse. In Marseille, considered the mecca of bouillabaisse, they use at least seven, not counting the shellfish. The fish should be extremely fresh...
Braised Beef Short Ribs
Braised Beef Short Ribs
My father made the most succulent, tender, "Wow" beef short ribs this week. Yes, it is a 2 day process, but the actual hands-on cooking time is at most two hours, and is broken up over two days. It is...
Braised Turkey Legs
Braised Turkey Legs
Everybody loves turkey breast for their turkey sandwiches but the more flavorful meat comes from the dark meat found in turkey thighs and legs. These, by the way, are much less expensive than the breasts. Mom and dad have a...
Broccoli Beef
Broccoli Beef
Please welcome guest author Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen who brings us this Chinese-American classic, Broccoli Beef. ~Elise After moving out of the dorms in college, I found an apartment to share with 3 others. My job was to cook...
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Recently at dinner my father instructed me, "tell your website readers that your dad says this is a good one." Done, dad. This chicken was good - perfectly tender, well flavored, crunchy - just what one wants in fried chicken...
Carbonnade: Beef and Beer Stew
When the cold season begins, so does the season for hearty stews. Known as Carbonnade a la Flamande, this Belgian Beef stew is made with dark beer and lots of onions. We found this recipe in Cook's Illustrated magazine, which...
Cardamom Honey Chicken
Cardamom Honey Chicken
On my recent trip to New Zealand, my hosts sent me home with a wonderful cookbook from BeesOnline, a local café and honey factory right outside Auckland. The Cardamom and Honey-Glazed Chicken recipe caught our eye and we made it...
Carne Asada
Carne Asada
Carne asada shown wrapped up in a flour tortilla with pico de gallo and avocado Carne asada is the thinly sliced, grilled beef served so often in tacos and burritos. It is also commonly served as is, with rice and...
Chicken Bacon Roulades
Chicken Bacon Roulades
Chicken breasts, pounded thin, stuffed with bacon, shallots, and Parmesan, rolled up, browned, roasted, then served sliced, with a creamy white sauce. Yowza. This meal, a veritable feast, is dedicated to Simply Recipes frequent commenter jonathan who knows that if...
Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Sage Sauce
Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Sage Sauce
You know what the best thing is about boneless, skinless chicken breasts? They cook up in about nothing flat. Great for midweek meals when you are just rushing to get something on the table. Chicken breasts also take to sauces...
Chicken Cacciatore (Hunter Style Chicken)
Chicken Cacciatore (Hunter Style Chicken)
Chicken cacciatore is an Italian dish of chicken braised in a tomato-based sauce and often includes wild mushrooms. It is frequently referred to as "hunter style" as the word cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian. I don't know the source of...
Chicken Curry Salad
Chicken Curry Salad
I love this curry chicken salad. I made up this recipe 20 years ago after a friend of mine gave me a gift box of curry spices and have been making it ever since. It's quite easy to make. The...
Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
The tomatillos in my garden are all ripening at once. Have you ever cooked with tomatillos? They look like little lanterns, with their green papery husks. Sometimes people mistake them for green tomatoes (doesn't help that their Spanish name is...
Chicken Marbella
Chicken Marbella
Prunes with capers? Not the most appetizing combination if one stops to think about it. However, when cooked together with chicken they create a delectable sweet and sour, savory flavor. The original recipe calls for the chicken pieces to be...
Chicken Marinara
Chicken Marinara
Chicken pieces coated with Parmesan and bread crumbs, fried and covered with a tomato basil marinara sauce, and topped with melted Mozzarella. My mother made this chicken marinara for dinner tonight and it was fabulous. She uses chicken thighs because...
Chicken Marsala with Pancetta and Cream
Chicken Marsala with Pancetta and Cream
Chicken marsala is one of those Italian American dishes that seems to be a standard in many a home cook's repertoire. It consists of flour-coated thin chicken breast cutlets, cooked with a Marsala wine reduction and usually mushrooms as well...
Chicken Paprikash
Chicken Paprikash
We've been experimenting with chicken lately and stumbled upon a recipe in a 10 year old Good Housekeeping for chicken paprikash, a Hungarian dish. The printed recipe actually called for roasting a whole chicken; we chose to use pieces. What...
Chicken Parmesan with Tomato Sauce
When we were kids, my mother used to make a broiled chicken dish which we called Chicken Parmesan. It was so good, we would fight over the drippings. Then my mother gave up wheat for 20 years and the recipe...
Chicken Pasta with Thyme-Mint Cream Sauce
Chicken Pasta with Thyme-Mint Cream Sauce
We tried this thyme mint cream sauce from another recipe and loved it so much I decided to make it with chicken and pasta. Great flavor combination, and the kicker is that by the time the pasta water has come...
Chicken Peanut Curry
Chicken Peanut Curry
The inspiration for this recipe comes from a West African soup recipe in Nancie McDermott's The Curry Book. With a little less broth and a lot more chicken you have a great peanut curry dish. Control the level of hotness...
Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Pot Pie
My father's childhood friends Dick and Doris came to visit us last week from Chicago (by train!) and brought the most wonderful gift - a copy of the Marshall Field's Cookbook (sometimes available on eBay), from the famed Chicago department...
Chicken Pozole
Chicken Pozole
I've been begging my friend Arturo to teach me how to make pozole for months now. The problem is that it is sort of like asking someone to make you "taco night". Pozole is a big production, not in the...
Chicken Prosciutto
My friend Leigh Anna prepared this delicious chicken for me the other day. The sage and prosciutto bring so much flavor to the chicken breasts.
Chicken Stew with Onions, Tomatoes, and Dijon
Chicken Stew with Onions, Tomatoes, and Dijon
"Stews are your best ally for stress-free dinner parties," says Clotilde Dusoulier, of her Mustard Chicken Stew in her Chocolate & Zucchini cookbook, and I couldn't agree more. They cook happily away while you enjoy the company of your guests...
Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce
Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard Sauce
I love visiting friends who are terrific cooks. I'm always learning something new. This delicious recipe comes via Heidi, mother of my three fairy godchildren, in Carlisle, Mass. Massachusettes is apple country, so no surprises that Heidi would have found...
Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken and dumplings - the ultimate comfort food. Mom used to make this for us kids by simply adding Bisquick biscuit dough to chicken stew. We would always fight over the dumplings. Making chicken and dumplings so that the dumplings...
Chicken with Creamy Cassis Sauce
Chicken with Creamy Cassis Sauce
It's amazing what elegant meals one can serve quickly when one has a well stocked pantry (or liquor cabinet). This is a simple sautéed chicken breast recipe, distinguished by a creamy sauce based on crème de cassis, a lovely sweet...
Chicken with Goat Cheese and Arugula
Chicken with Goat Cheese and Arugula
We have a patch of arugula in our garden that not only re-seeds itself every year, but manages to seed itself outside its raised bed as well. No one in a temperate climate should ever have to pay a dime...
Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce
"Your website readers are going to love this," my father exclaimed when he finally finished his plate of chicken smothered in creamy mushroom sauce. Mom found the recipe from one of her favorite cookbooks* now long out of print. The...
Chicken, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes with Port Wine
Chicken, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes with Port Wine
This is one of my father's favorite chicken recipes. We don't make it nearly often enough.
Chickpea Potato Curry
Chickpea Potato Curry
I recently tried out this chickpea potato curry recipe from my friend Ann's new cookbook, Hands-Off Cooking: Low-Supervision, High-Flavor Meals for Busy People. Curry recipes can be a bit problematic over here, as the spices don't always agree with my...
Chile Relleno Casserole
Chile Relleno Casserole
Classic chiles rellenos are green chiles, blackened and outer skin removed, stuffed with either cheese or a pork sausage picadillo, dipped in batter, fried in oil, and often served with a thin tomato sauce. I grew up loving the chiles...
Chile Verde
Chile Verde
Walk into almost any taqueria in this country and you will find chile verde on the menu. The chile will likely be made with chunks of pork shoulder, slow cooked in a green chile sauce of jalapeno chiles, garlic, and...
Chiles en Nogada (Chilies in Walnut Sauce)
Guaymas Restaurant in Tiburon is my favorite Mexican restaurant in Northern California and their Chile Poblano is the best item on the menu. It is a green poblano chili stuffed with a picadillo and covered in a walnut creme sauce...
Chili Con Carne
Chili Con Carne
It seems as if there as many ways to prepare chili as there are cooks who make chili. Ground beef versus chunks, pork versus beef, pinto versus kidney beans, beans versus no beans, red chili or green chili - the...
Chipotle Bean Tostadas
Chipotle Bean Tostadas
Tostadas are toasted or fried corn tortillas, topped with a layer of refried beans and other things such as cheese, lettuce, and salsa. Growing up, my mother made tostadas or tacos for us at least once a month, the main...
Chipotle Citrus Marinated Pork Tenderloin
Chipotle Citrus Marinated Pork Tenderloin
Before sprinkling with cilantro This recipe comes from the Sacramento Bee article on Bill Niman of Niman Ranch. They picked it up from Gary Fuller of Laurier Cafe and Wine in Houston. We made it today and it was absolutely...
Chipotle Meatballs
Chipotle Meatballs
Chipotle chiles are jalapeño peppers that have been smoked and dried. They are often served in an adobo sauce made with chiles, garlic, vinegar, onions and tomatoes. We came across this recipe for Chipotle Meatballs recently in the New York...
Cioppino
Cioppino
"I'll make cioppino," my brother John announced as the family discussed what to make over the holiday weekend. "Great!" said my father and I, relieved that someone else would do the cooking for a night. "Have you ever made cioppino...
Citrus Pork with Egg Noodles
Citrus Pork with Egg Noodles
Under the headings of quick, easy, and a good way to stretch a half pound of pork, I present my friend Heidi's Citrus Pork with Egg Noodles. I'll admit that I was skeptical at first, but it's surprisingly good and...
Classic Baked Chicken
Classic Baked Chicken
This baked chicken recipe is one of those recipes that every home cook should have in their repertoire. It uses a minimal amount of ingredients - chicken, olive oil, salt and pepper (and if you want gravy, chicken stock or...
Classic English Toad-in-the-Hole
"Toad in the hole" is a classic English hotdog dish and a great hit with kids on both sides of the Atlantic.
Classic Meatloaf
Classic Meatloaf
From the recipe archive. Why do I love meatloaf? It reminds me of being a kid. Where does one get meatloaf other than at home or at a school cafeteria? When I lived in San Francisco I bought meatloaf already...
Cod Fish Cakes
Cod Fish Cakes
Preparation time: 40 minutes. Here is a delicious way to use up leftover fish or mashed potatoes. I made my first cod fish cakes after catching my first lingcod (which isn't actually cod by the way, but it still worked...
Coq au Vin
Pictured served with the bones removed. Coq au Vin is a classic French dish of chicken cooked in red wine, a surprisingly easy way to make delectable chicken. I consulted recipes from several sources to make this one. One tip...
Crab Cakes
About a year ago I tried my hand at making crab cakes using a compilation of various recipes found on the web. The problem? The cakes wouldn't hold together; I had "crab crumble" not crab cakes. A short time later...
Cranberry Apple Stuffed Pork Loin
Cranberry Apple Stuffed Pork Loin
September has arrived and with it, hints of fall, ripening apples, and kids everywhere going back to school. We found this recipe in a local grocery circular and just happened to have a pork roast in the freezer longing to...
Dad's Fish Stew
Dad's Fish Stew
My father has been making this soup for several years now. It is incredibly easy to make, given how tasty the results. The key ingredient is the clam juice, though I have prepared it for people with shellfish allergies substituting...
Dad's Stuffed Bell Peppers
A classic American dish that one can't easily find in restaurants (unless it is a cafeteria) is stuffed bell peppers. It's essentially meatloaf stuffed into red or green bell peppers and baked in the oven. My mom and dad have...
Danish Pork Burgers
Danish Pork Burgers
I met Iowa hog farmer Paul Willis at the Fancy Food Show in January and naturally our conversation turned to food and recipes. "Have you ever had a pork burger?," Paul asked, eyes bright. Upon hearing my response in the...
Easy Shepherd's Pie
Easy Shepherd's Pie
Shepherd's Pie is an English dish, traditionally made with lamb or mutton. Americans typically make Shepherd's Pie with beef. The English (and Australians and New Zealanders) call the beef dish a "cottage pie". Naming conventions aside, Shepherd's Pie is essentially...
Eggplant Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses
Eggplant Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses
A few weeks ago I was wondering what to do with the end-of-season eggplants, tomatoes, and chiles from our garden and stumbled across this recipe from Food and Wine, which also calls for pomegranate molasses. The recipe comes from the...
Eggplant Parmesan
Eggplant Parmesan
The trick to Eggplant Parmesan is to drain the eggplant slices of excess moisture first, before cooking. We found this recipe recently in the New York Times and adapted it to our taste (olive oil only - no canola oil...
Eggplant and Red Pepper Terrine
This eggplant terrine is a perfect dish for summer entertainment - chilled roasted eggplant, cheese, red pepper and parsley covered with a gazpacho-like sauce. A couple of notes on the preparation - if you use Mozzarella cheese, be sure to...
Enchiladas
Enchiladas
Preparation time: 30 minutes. Enchiladas were a family staple growing up, though thankfully this cheese enchilada recipe has much less fat in it these days. My mother, a fifth generation hispanic Arizonian, learned this recipe from my grandmother. Note that...
Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Italian Sausage Sauce
Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Italian Sausage Sauce
All I had to do was read the ingredient list of this recipe and my father was half-way out the door to the store to buy the fettuccini. Normally either one of "a pound of Italian sausage" or "a cup...
Fish Tacos
In Mexico, practically every meal is accompanied by a stack of fresh warm corn tortillas, much in the way that bread is served here in America. As you eat, you can wrap whatever is on your plate in a fresh...
Flank Steak Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Red Pepper
A few weeks ago I got a call from my friend Elizabeth who said, "You've got to try my mother's flank steak; it's soooo good!" I begged the recipe from Maria (Elizabeth's mother) and tried it out last night. It...
Franks and Sauerkraut Paprikash
Franks and Sauerkraut Paprikash
When my father told me he had made "weenies and sauerkraut", all I could think of was, not another pork and sauerkraut recipe. My dad must have sauerkraut juice running through his veins by this time, given how often he...
Garlic Chicken with White Wine Sauce
Garlic Chicken with White Wine Sauce
A Simply Recipes reader, Ms. Annie M, sent us a garlic chicken recipe she found on Epicurious that looked so good we couldn't wait to try it. (Annie, by the way, knows how mortified I am by typos and thoughtfully...
Ginger Beef Peanut Noodle Salad
One of the great things about the international food blogging event Is My Blog Burning? is that I get motivated to try some new dishes. This month's theme is "Taste Tea" and is hosted by Clement at his gorgeous food...
Ginger Chicken with Almonds
Ginger Chicken with Almonds
My friend Steve-Anna recently sent me this wonderful recipe for ginger chicken and claimed that it was one of her all time favorites. My father doesn't eat ginger if he can avoid it, so when I made it I just...
Glazed Salmon
Glazed Salmon
This simple but delicious salmon recipe comes via my friend Heidi in Carlisle, Massachusetts, who got it from the Boston Globe (Thanks Heidi!). Because there are so few ingredients, the recipe relies completely on the freshness of the ingredients.
Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs
Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Hot Dogs
I remarked to my father than we had been doing a lot of salads and veggies lately and without missing a beat dad said, "I want to make stuffed hot dogs," adding, "on the grill," pointing to a particularly appetizing...
Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb
Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb
Where to start? Somehow I suspect that the following method - fat is good, flame is good - is going to get me in trouble with some of you. But since this was the best lamb roast I've ever eaten...
Grilled Chicken with Tomato Tarragon Sauce
Grilled Chicken with Tomato Tarragon Sauce
My friend Heidi H prepared this grilled chicken dish for me last month when I was visiting her and family in Massachusetts. It was absolutely delicious and I couldn't wait to try it at home on our grill. The recipe...
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Orange Marmalade Glaze
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Orange Marmalade Glaze
The secret to grilling pork tenderloin, as I learned from my friend Vaughn, is to watch it carefully, with a meat thermometer in hand, because "once it goes, it goes quickly." A pork tenderloin is a long, narrow cut of...
Grilled Spicy Citrus Ribs
Grilled Spicy Citrus Ribs
As any Southerner will tell you, the proper way to cook ribs is to barbecue them "low and slow" in a smoker built for that purpose. But not everyone has a smoker, and not all of us have the time...
Grilled Tri-Tip Steak with Bell Pepper Salsa
Grilled Tri-Tip Steak with Bell Pepper Salsa
Have you ever come up with your own, never-before-seen recipe (at least not seen by you) and it turns out so well you just want to stand up and take a bow? Well, some of my friends do this all...
Grilled Wild Salmon with Preserved Lemon Relish
Grilled Wild Salmon with Preserved Lemon Relish
My father walked through the door the other day with half of a fresh whole wild salmon, announcing to me that he would like me to grill it. Sure dad! When someone presents truly fresh fish to you, there really...
Hamburger and Macaroni
Hamburger and Macaroni
Rachael Ray has nothing on my mother. As far as this family is concerned, my mom invented healthful, delicious comfort food that one can cook in 30 minutes or less. This hamburger and macaroni dish has been served in our...
Heidi's Steak Diane
Heidi's Steak Diane
Steak Diane is tradtionally made with a thinly pounded steak, and a cognac, butter, and shallot sauce that is flambéed right before serving to great dramatic effect. Doing some research into Steak Diane, I found that the "Diane" part refers...
Herb Marinated Braised Lamb Shanks
Herb Marinated Braised Lamb Shanks
What is it about September that the minute it's no longer oppressively hot we can't wait to make a slow-cooked, braised stew? Perhaps it was that these lamb shanks had been sitting in our large freezer all summer long, and...
Herbed Roast Chicken
Herbed Roast Chicken
This is my father's favorite recipe for roasting a whole chicken. Adapted from a recipe by Jamie Oliver.
Homemade Pizza
Homemade Pizza
What to do when your 8-year old nephew comes to visit? Make pizza, of course! Well, not of course, actually. I didn't think of it until we exhausted Sorry, Monopoly, and gin rummy. But it did turn out to be...
Honey Glazed Lemon Roast Chicken
Honey Glazed Lemon Roast Chicken
This honey-glazed lemon chicken is a very simple roast chicken recipe that we found in an old issue of Bon Appétit. The lemon juice marinade tenderizes the chicken while the honey glaze adds a sweet balance to the lemon.
Honey Mint Glazed Chicken
Honey Mint Glazed Chicken
Can you tell we are gearing up for grilling season? This has to be one of the simplest chicken recipes for the taste, grilled or otherwise. It's just basic grilled (or oven broiled) chicken with a fresh mint and honey...
Irish Beef Stew
Irish Beef Stew
"Have I got the best recipe for you!" my friend Tomas announced, upon his return from a trip to photograph vineyards in Italy. "It's an Irish beef stew," he added, "and it's the best thing I've ever had." Apparently the...
Irish Lamb Stew with a Twist
Irish Lamb Stew with a Twist
Around St. Patrick's Day I notice many people coming to this site looking for an Irish lamb stew recipe. After some experimentation and a lot of research into Irish stews, I've settled on a stew that has its roots in...
Italian Party Flank Steak
Italian Party Flank Steak
This flank steak recipe is one of our favorites for company and family get-togethers. A large flank steak is first butterflied, then marinated in an olive oil and vinegar marinade, then layered with prosciutto, basil, Parmesan, roasted red bell peppers...
Italian Pot Roast
Italian Pot Roast
A few weeks ago my mother and I attended a cooking demonstration by our local celebrity Italian chef, the delightful Biba Caggiano. We Sacramentans are proud to call Biba our own; she has a fabulous restaurant, is the author of...
Italian Sausage Spaghetti
Italian Sausage Spaghetti
My parents have been making spaghetti this way for several years, ever since first learning about this method from watching a Martha Stewart program. Martha apparently got it from some famous chef in New York City. The beauty of this...
Italian Sausage and Mushroom Risotto
Italian Sausage and Mushroom Risotto
Sometimes I'll mention a recipe to my father, and if it starts with the words "Italian sausage" I don't think it matters that much what words comes after, he's already sold. We recently made this risotto recipe together; dad did...
Italian Sausages with Ratatouille
Italian Sausages with Ratatouille
My father loves ratatouille and Italian sausage, so when he saw a recipe in a magazine that combined the two, he was inspired to create his own version. This is a great way to use up last-of-the-season garden vegetables.
Jim's Famous Hamburger
Most summer grilling is done for large groups and as such is not too fancy - burgers, hot dogs, steaks, and the occassional kabob. For this recipe I've borrowed a tip from my good friend Jim Honniball - a way...
Kohlrabi Ham Bake
Kohlrabi Ham Bake
If I could, I would reach out to each and every one of you, take you by the hand to the market, buy a bunch of kohlrabi and some ham, go back to your kitchen with you and make this...
Lamb Curry
Lamb Curry
What a blessing it is to have friends, and parents of friends, who cook. I had this dish at my friend Elizabeth Abbott's parent's house and begged her mother Maria for the recipe, which, thankfully, she gave me. I changed...
Lamb Shanks
Preparation time: 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The trick to delicious lamb shanks is to sear the shanks first to seal in the flavor.
Lamb Shanks with Butternut Squash
Lamb Shanks with Butternut Squash
From the recipe archive, a favorite braised lamb shanks dish. For those of you snow-bound, this is a rich and hearty dish, perfect for a cold winter day. For me it conjures up images of ski lodges and cabernet, it's...
Lamb Stew with Almonds and Apricots
Lamb Stew with Almonds and Apricots
Following this recipe from the NY Times the other day, I made a sweet lamb stew with honey, almonds, and apricots. The stew is a traditional lamb tagine called Mrouzia, prepared throughout North Africa during Ramadan. I had several problems...
Lasagna
Simply Recipes reader Alton Hoover sent me his favorite recipe for lasagna which he has been cooking up since college days. His original recipe created enough lasagna for a small army so I halved it. What is posted here will...
Lasagna Bolognese
Lasagna Bolognese
This isn't a quick and easy lasagna. This is a slow and divine lasagna. A memorable lasagna. And we have a reader of Simply Recipes to thank for it. Several months ago a commenter on this site, by the name...
Lemon Chicken
Lemon Chicken
Overheard at the market, "I'm a breast girl." "Really? I'm definitely a thigh girl," pause..."dark meat, so much more flavor." Had to laugh, I'm so so so much a thigh girl myself. Here is the secret to fabulous lemon chicken...
Ling Cod with Tomato and Orange
Ling Cod with Tomato and Orange
We recently found this recipe using halibut in Real Simple magazine and decided to give it a go, but with ling cod instead. Mom and I loved it, dad wasn't so sure. For me, it was reminiscent of our favorite...
Liver and Onions
Liver and Onions
Once a month, my entire childhood, mom would serve us liver and onions for dinner. I think it was the only dish in which whining was even remotely tolerated. "Liver and onions, OH NOOOOO," was the hue and cry from...
Mango Chicken Curry
Mango Chicken Curry
There's something about the combination of mango and chicken that just works. We eat mango chutney with roast chicken so often that I even started making my own chutney just so we wouldn't run out. Here is a mango chicken...
Marc's Cashew Chicken
Marc's Cashew Chicken
I recently finagled an invitation to dinner from Marc and Lisa Canter. Marc has been serenading me with stories of his famous cashew chicken, his trademark dish, tested and perfected over decades of crashing at the homes of old and...
Meatballs With Green-Peppercorn Sauce
Meatballs With Green-Peppercorn Sauce
We must be on a meatball kick around here; when we saw this recipe in the weekend Wall St. Journal, we made it the same day. The Wall St. Journal, by the way, recently started publishing a "Weekend Edition" which...
Mom's Chicken Enchiladas
Mom's Chicken Enchiladas
Ninety-five percent of the time when we have enchiladas, it is my mom's (amazingly good, incredibly awesome) cheese enchiladas. Once in a while however, she'll make chicken enchiladas. With chicken enchiladas she often uses a red chili sauce which is...
Mom's Chili Beans
Mom's Chili Beans
A staple in our home growing up was my mother's chili beans, which she still makes several times a month with either ground beef or turkey. Many chilis I've encountered seem almost designed to give you heartburn. This one isn't...
Mom's Pan-fried London Broil Steak
Mom's Pan-fried London Broil Steak
"London Broil" used to be a way of describing a method for cooking lean beef cuts such as flank or top round, which originally was to pan-fry it quickly on medium high to high heat, cook it only to medium...
Mom's Perfect Pork Chops
Mom's Perfect Pork Chops
Sometimes the best food is really the simplest. We experiment frequently with different ways of preparing pork chops, but the way we have pork chops most regularly is with a simple dry rub and pan frying. My mother's been making...
Mom's Roast Turkey
Mom's Roast Turkey
Turkey ready to go in the oven My mom's turkey is unlike others. The breast meat isn't dried out, requiring cupfuls of gravy to taste good, but moist and flavorful. I've been watching her make our family turkey for...
Mom's Stuffed Bell Peppers
Mom's Stuffed Bell Peppers
Stuffed bell peppers is one of those classic comfort food dishes that my family practically lived on when I was a kid. This recipe my mother got from Adele Davis as mom was teaching herself to cook in the 60s...
Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Olives
Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Olives
A month ago or so I bought a tagine, an earthenware cooking and serving pot, with which to experiment. My first foray into cooking with the tagine was with this Moroccan chicken dish which turned out beautifully - succulent, tender...
Moroccan Meat Loaf
Moroccan Meat Loaf
The good folks at Niman Ranch recently sent me a few lamb recipes to try from their new cookbook, the Niman Ranch Cookbook. Being huge meat loaf fans, we were immediately drawn to the Moroccan Meat Loaf recipe from Chef...
Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken Breasts
Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken Breasts
What I love about this recipe is that with just the barest of preparation, you can have a tasty meal within minutes. The yogurt-based marinade is only mildly acidic, so you can leave the chicken in the marinade all day...
Mushroom Risotto
Not for the dietetic, this mushroom risotto is one of our family's favorites. The recipe calls for Arborio rice. Pronounced "ar-boh-ree-oh," this Italian-grown rice is high in starch, with grains that are shorter and fatter than any other rice. The...
Mushroom Stir-Fry
Mushroom Stir-Fry
When my father announced he was interested in trying out a stir-fry recipe, I was skeptical. I've been avoiding my mother's stir-fry my entire adult life (twenty years of experiments with water chestnuts, bok choy and soy sauce and still...
New England Boiled Dinner
New England Boiled Dinner
New England boiled dinner is a one pot dish consisting of corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes. How this dish came to be from New England I have no idea; it seems to have more Irish-American roots with the corned...
Nicoise Salad
Nicoise Salad
Salad Niçoise (pronounced nee-suaz) is essentially a French composed salad, much like our American Cobb salad, but with tuna, green beans, and potatoes, instead of chicken, bacon, and avocado. Salad Niçoise hails from Nice, on the Mediterranean Sea, though like...
Osso Buco
Osso Buco
I've made osso buco, an Italian dish of braised veal shanks, several times. I've eaten it in fine Italian restaurants. I've never really liked it until now. This is a great recipe that dad pulled from the web a few...
Oven-Roasted Salmon, Asparagus and New Potatoes
Oven-Roasted Salmon, Asparagus and New Potatoes
My dad pulled out a favorite recipe today to make and share with "the people on the website." A "discussion" then ensued between the rental units for at least half an hour along the lines of "What do you mean...
Oxtail Stew
Yes, oxtails really are from the tail of an ox (well, maybe not an ox per se, but a beef steer's tail). They have a deliciously rich and distinctive flavor. Like most stews, oxtail stew is best slow cooked for...
Pan Seared Salmon with Avocado Remoulade
Pan Seared Salmon with Avocado Remoulade
"Bacon" variety avocados are in season in the winter; lighter in flavor than the more popular Haas variety, these large, thin-skinned avocados are exceptionally creamy and are perfect for using in sauces. While remoulade is typically made with mayonnaise, in...
Panko-crusted Salmon
Panko-crusted Salmon
Panko is a Japanese type of bread crumb that is especially light and crunchy, popular these days with chefs because it doesn't get soggy. What I love about this way of preparing salmon is that the panko topping seems to...
Parmesan Chicken
Parmesan Chicken
When we were kids, my mother used to make this Parmesan chicken that was so good we would fight for drippings, every last crumb. She would use boneless, skinless chicken (after having de-boned a whole chicken and then used the...
Pasta with Tuna, Arugula, and Hot Pepper
Pasta with Tuna, Arugula, and Hot Pepper
Canned tuna has never tasted this good. I came across this recipe on Sher's What did you eat? blog, where she got it from the San Francisco Chronicle. You make a sauce for the pasta with tuna, olive oil, garlic...
Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce
Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce
My mother made a pasta dish the other night that took everyone by surprise. My skinny-as-a-spatula 10-year old nephew who won't eat anything, ate his serving with gusto and asked for more. My carb-avoiding sister couldn't resist it. My father...
Poached Salmon
Poached Salmon
This poached salmon recipe is one of the first recipes my father taught me a few years ago. It's his favorite way to prepare salmon because not only can it be prepared in 10 minutes or less, but it doesn't...
Polenta Sausage Mozzarella Casserole
Polenta Sausage Mozzarella Casserole
My father found this recipe in a recent Sunset Magazine and it sounded so good he just had to try it. He even made the polenta from scratch instead of using the store-bought prepared version which the original recipe called...
Porcini Parmesan
Winter is the best season to collect wild porcini mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest. They usually start popping up a couple of weeks after the first rain in November. Although great sliced and dried for future use, the large fresh...
Pork Chops
Pork chops are easy-to-make, convenient, and delicious. Pork works well with a sweet-and-sour sauce which you can easily create by combining a dark jelly with dijon mustard.
Pork Chops with Dijon Sauce
We found this recipe in a New York Times Sunday Magazine over a year ago and have prepared it several times since. The Dijon cream sauce perfectly complements the pork. Goes well with new potatoes and green beens.
Pork Mango Picadillo
Pork Mango Picadillo
Picadillo is a spicy Latin American meat dish often served as a stuffing in chilies, taco filling, or served with rice. I nabbed this recipe from my friend Heidi H's recipe collection one day because it looked intriguing. What a...
Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce
Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce
Dad clipped this recipe from Bon Appetit severa