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Food52I was thinking of baseball season and this “mash-up” recipe deemed fitting for the occasion. A Mac & Cheese side is comfort food for your soul, and this Bundt goodness, with its mustardy-cheesy crown is a visual feast as well; it is a riff on another Mac Bundt recipe I have posted on Food52. Mustard complements cheese giving an added flavor boost, a tangy sharpness; and there is just enough used in this recipe to bring out that added flavor. Seriously, half way through baking the mustardy aroma began to remind me of the shouts of a hot dog vendor and the crack of a bat echoing through the stands; what power a sense of smell can elicit! Bundt style is simple to make, there is no preparing a béchamel up front; just combine your cooked macaroni with the remaining ingredients, pour into the Bundt pan and then baked it up into an eye-catching, mouthwatering display. Serve this Bundt to your Mac & Cheese fans for whatever occasions you see fit – it’s fun and delicious party fare food. Slice pieces as you would a Bundt cake; we enjoy our slices hot, room temperature and even cold the next day.Food52The only reason I went to Double Chin, a Hong Kong-style cafe in Boston's Chinatown, was to get an Instagram-worthy picture of their signature dessert. Yet by the time I left, it was another dish—a very un-photogenic one—that captured my heart, tummy, and soul. I don't even remember what entree I actually ordered for myself. (Thank you for letting me share your lunch, Alvin!) After one bite of this dish I knew I had to try to make it at home. The dish starts off with a layer of chicken fried rice, which is then topped with a mild coconut curry sauce and finished with a sprinkling of shredded cheese. Then everything goes under the broiler until it gets all bubbly and gooey. This is pure comfort food, my friends. I know it's kind of strange to have cheese on an otherwise Asian dish, but there's actually a pretty strong tradition of Western ingredients being assimilated into Eastern cuisine, long before the more recent spate of fusion restaurants began trending in the United States. Think of the ubiquitousness of mayonnaise in Japanese dishes, cheese on Korean ramyun and ddukbokki, sweetened condensed milk on Hong Kong-style French toast, or Spam in Hawaiian musubi. I thought it was interesting that when I was looking for recipes for this dish online, a lot of them just listed "shredded cheese" as the ingredient, without any reference to what kind of cheese. So I ended up referring to Lady and Pups' Macao's Portuguese Fried Rice Gratin recipe, because 1) I love everything else she does, and 2) it seemed the most similar to what I had at Double Chin. I used chicken instead of fish and marinated it beforehand. I used chicken breast because I prefer white meat, but feel free to use chicken thigh meat if you prefer dark meat. I also made a couple of other modifications to her recipe based on what I had on hand (fewer scallions, water instead of milk) and taste preferences (half the amount of shallots, provolone instead of Gruyere). Please note that this makes quite a bit of food. Mandy's original recipe said that it serves 2, but it would probably be more like 6 Joy-sized servings. And if you're wondering why it's called Portuguese chicken rice, I think it has to do with the fact that Macau was a Portuguese colony up until the end of the last century. Note: For a lazier version of this recipe, just use your local Chinese take-out fried rice and skip adding the chopped up chicken to the curry sauce. Because I totally understand if you just want to get this into your mouth as soon as possible.Food and WineAshkenazi Jewish food has a reputation as being greasy and a bit bland. And as the saying goes, there is some truth to every stereotype. My Eastern European ancestors certainly enjoyed their share of fresh produce—everything from the chilled sour cherry soups they cooled down with during the summer months to the spicy black radishes they ate all winter. And yet, most of the dishes one associates with Ashkenazi cuisine—things like potato kugel and knishes, stuffed cabbage and chopped liver—tend decidedly toward the heavier side.I happen to love this Jewish soul food for exactly what it is—nourishing and deeply comforting. But as a 21st century cook, my taste buds also demand freshness. So on Hanukkah, when fried foods make up the majority of the menu, I like to balance out the table with one or more bright, crisp, and colorful salads.This particular mix of fennel and grapefruit is not traditional to any particular subset of Jewish cuisine, but it is inspired by the citrus-and-herb-forward salads of North Africa and the Middle East. The fennel lends crunch and delicate flavor, while the grapefruit’s sweet-tart acidity cuts through the oil in the latkes.The dressing is enhanced with two hallmark ingredients of the region’s cuisine. The first is silan, a richly flavored, molasses-textured syrup made from boiled dates (you can used date syrup). The second, baharat, is the salad’s shining star. Baharat is a compound spice containing some variety of allspice, cardamom, cumin, ginger, rose petals, coriander, cinnamon, and chile peppers, among other spices. (Not surprisingly, the word “baharat” simply means “spices” in Arabic.) Whisked into the dressing, it permeates the dish, adding intrigue and complex flavor. Many varieties of baharat are available online; my favorite brand is made by New York Shuk.I eat variations of this salad all winter long. But on Hanukkah, for an Ashkenazi-meets-Middle Eastern mashup, I prefer to heap it on top of latkes like a refreshing slaw.Food52There is no single "correct" way to actually cook Ukrainian borscht. Each hostess has her own ideas about the ingredients to be used and the process with which borscht has to be cooked. As a result there are as many versions of Ukrainian borscht recipes as there are hostesses in Ukraine. So what is it that is so special about Ukrainian borscht? Borscht is not just a regular meal; it is also one of Ukraine's national symbols. It took its name from the old Slavic word "br'sch" which means "beet". There is nothing better than to eat a big bowl of hot borsch when you come in on a cold winter day. Borscht will warm up your body and soul, bringing much more optimism to your life. Be sure to invite all your relatives and friends to try your Ukrainian borscht which you have cooked yourself. Do not worry if you have extra, because next day Ukrainian borscht is the tastiest. You can experiment with borscht recipes as much as you want, but one thing you should remember, traditional Ukrainian food is very moderate and balanced. They don't use anything that is "too much". Try to experiment and see what you can do to invent your own borscht recipe. It may very well still remind you of Ukrainian borscht, but remember, the key to the most flavorful borscht is the meat stock. Use whatever meat you like. In my recipe I am using duck; beef or veal cross cut shanks with marrow bone are definitely great.Food52How is it when harvesting during the fall there is a “sure” feeling that come winter all this deliciousness will run out? Yet after the holiday indulgence there seems to be PLENTLY left to fold out into winter recipes and carry us into the beginnings of growing season again. Life is so good. A favorite New Year’s resolution for me is to make a conscious effort to cook most of our meals with ALL the yummy goodies we spent hours putting up, either by freezing or by canning. Funny, when we are going through the harvesting process we are absolutely SURE we will never forget the labor of love put in but as the months pass, somehow the time spent fades in our memory…. It was a Sunday afternoon and I went out to refresh my memory on what treasures were hidden away. As I hung over the side of my deep freezer digging away, I saw an entire box of frozen roasted tomatillo sauce I had completely forgotten about! For us, this is one of the easiest things to grow and if I didn’t figure a use, I could easily see filling another 20 jars next year…. Since we are a soup lovin family, I decided I wanted to make posole. I LOVE traditional posole but this time I wanted a bit of a change and these frozen tomatillos would be perfect! I would make posole verde and add some shredded roasted chicken and then pile on a bunch of fresh crunchies such as radish, cabbage, tomato, and avocado! I was starting to drool….it sounded so fresh and delish! In I went and prepped the chicken to roast. While it was roasting, I pulled out some poblano chiles, jalapenos, onion, and garlic; these were the perfect sofrito for the posole. I love to get that “char” on the skins of the chile and infiltrate the broth with that flavor…ooohhhhh I was getting jazzed! Once those flavors melded, I added the oregano and cilantro and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then came the chicken stock and hominy. It was looking awesome! Now for the star of the show, straight from our garden, the roasted tomatillo sauce, the smell brought me right back to harvest, right back to the memories of those long days preserving our garden treasures… Lastly I put in the shredded chicken, you could leave this out and add it along with the garnishing’s on top, but I decided to marry all the flavors and fold it in. I seasoned a bit more and heated it through. I hadn’t told Enrique what I had made so when dinnertime came, I served it up in big bowls and topped it with the fresh goodies and toasted up some fresh corn tortillas. I brought it to him and his eyes got as big as saucers, this is his soul food and when I shared that the base was all of our tomatillos, he grinned from ear to ear……. It’s nights like this, many months later that I easily see the circle of life……Food52I believe egg rolls to be the perfect vessel for a lot of foods. Growing up, I remember going to the chicken spot in my neighborhood and getting “pizza rolls.” Pretty much it was cheese, tomato sauce and sometimes pepperoni encased in egg roll wrappers. I know, you're probably thinking: "Why are pizza rolls served at a fried chicken spot?" And I don't have the answer. But they were delicious nonetheless. Ever since, I've been determined to put my own spin on this childhood favorite. When I was thinking of what to put in my own egg rolls, two things came to mind: carnitas, and the cheeseburger egg rolls at Cheesecake Factory (have you ever had these? No? Then you're not living your best life.) Inspiration hits you in the strangest ways, am I right? Carnitas is a Mexican pork dish literally meaning "little meat," referring to its shredded and crispy bits. The recipe consists of Boston butt, pork shoulder, or picnic ham, slow cooked in lard with seasonings and spices over a long period of time, until it breaks down and becomes tender and delicious. It’s usually served with rice and beans, tacos or burritos, and even tamales—but it equally belongs in an egg roll. Salty, citrusy, and fatty, it's a perfect combo with gooey cheese inside and a crispy exterior. But what's an egg roll without a sauce to accompany it? A fresh, bright salsa verde to cut all that unctuous-ness of the egg roll does the trick! This whole recipe encapsulates comfort to me—it warms my soul and fills my belly. It also brings back that fun and excitement I had as a kid eating those “pizza rolls," and sometimes we all need food to do that for us. I hope you all enjoy it!Food and WineThe joyful laughter that comes from sitting around the BBQ pit, under the sun, wiping your brow, sipping a refreshing drink is all about the love of food, family and friends, and reverence for the cook. It’s hard not to be dutiful to the person cooking for you, “Is there anything you need?” When I’m the one wearing the cook’s hat, I want something cold, boozy, and delicious. And delicious is what this drink is. It’s the kind of drink that upon first sip seems to stop the sun’s rays in their tracks and makes the breeze feel somehow cooler. That’s called refreshment. Excerpted from Soul by Todd Richards. Copyright © 2018 Oxmoor House. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Meredith Corporation. New York, NY. All rights reserved.Food52This recipe was born out of my intense ramen cravings recently, and created from what I had on hand in my kitchen. More often than not, I cook sans recipe, making things up as I go. This time, I decided I needed to write the process down or I wouldn't be able to pull it off again! The broth is a tad spicy, a bit creamy from the miso, and soul-satisfying. And, it's easy enough to make on your very own stovetop. There are few meals out there as warming and comforting as a big bowl of hot flavorful broth, and noodles. My fiancee (aka my at-home food critic) slurped it down and didn't leave even a drop behind. He declared it the best ramen I've ever made. Notes on the broth: I adjusted the miso and water until it was as salty as I like it. If you go overboard and add too much, it's a simple fix: just add more water. I also found that the "kick" or spice level varies with the jalapeño. If you don't like it that spicy, I'm certain it would be fine without. I also see no reason that you couldn't add another protein of your choice if you're feeling meaty.Food.comAlmost all southern recipes are what is typically called soul food. My dad was a great cook, he often cooked for his soldiers while in the war in Vietnam. He loved cooking for crowds and I remember during the catfish tournaments he would help with frying all the catfish at the fish fry's. They would serve this along with huge pots of creamed corn- which I as a child helped to shuck fresh from the owners farm that day. Lots of watermellon and coleslaw, cucmber salads and all the summer picnic foods- WOW the memories that brings back.
