New recipe, February 28, 2023

Squash and Chickpea Stew with Lemongrass from NYT Cooking. This is a pleasant vegetarian stew, with onion, garlic, ginger and lemongrass. It feels like it needs more umami, and a bit of Chile heat. It gets a 3.

New recipe, February 27, 2023

Bhindi Masala (Okra with Red Onion and Tomato) from NYT Cooking. Quick and easy and very flavorful. This gets a 4.

New recipe, February 16, 2023

Crispy Lemon Chicken Cutlets with Salmoriglio Sauce from NYT Cooking. Kind of a chicken schnitzel, with a delightful lemon sauce. Delicious after a long day! This gets a 4.

New recipe, February 25, 2023

Green Bean Salad from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem. We think Ottolenghi is very talented, but we were still surprised by how good this is. We give this an enthusiastic 5!

New recipe, February 24, 2023

Venetian Spritz from NYT Cooking. This is a nice cocktail, refreshing. We give this a 4.

New recipe, February 24, 2023

From Ottolenghi's Jerusalem, this is Baby Spinach Salad with Dates and Almonds. This is really lightly dressed, and is still very flavorful. We give this a 4.

New recipe, February 22, 2023

Na'ama's Fattoush from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem. Unusual for fattoush is the inclusion of buttermilk but it is delicious! We give this a 5!

New recipe, February 21, 2023

Pan Seared Pork Chops with Charred Pineapple from NYT Cooking. Simple and stunning. These get a 5!

New recipe, February 20, 2023

Another dish from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem that was part of the dinner party! Butternut Squash and Red Onion with Tahini and Za'atar. Another stunning dish, this gets a 5.

New recipe, February 19, 2023

We hosted Carl's team to celebrate a retirement, and Carl prepared a bunch of food! Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fresh Figs. Figs are not in season, so we soaked some dried figs and this was still excellent. This gets a 5.

New recipe, February 18, 2023

Another dish from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem that was part of the dinner party. Chermoula Eggplant with Bulgur and Yogurt. Delicious as it sounds, this gets a 4.

New recipes, February 17, 2023

We hosted Carl's team to celebrate a retirement, and Carl prepared a bunch of food! There were six dishes in all, and we had a huge amount of leftovers, so I will feature a few of these dishes over the next couple days. Here are two recipes from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem—Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad and Roasted Chicken with Clementines and Arak. And one from Ottolenghi's Simple, Cauliflower Pomegranate and Pistachio Salad. Ottolenghi is a master of combining ingredients and cooking techniques to make dishes with layers of flavor, and these are all delicious. We give each of them a 4.

New recipe, February 16, 2023

The Enchantress from NYT Cooking. With port, lemon juice and curaçao, this has echos of sangria. It is pleasant, it gets a 3.

New recipe, February 15, 2023

Perfect dish for our cold weather—Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup from Food and Wine. Has lots of aromatic spices, and is warming and soothing. Comfort food in new clothes! This gets a 4.

New recipe, February 14, 2023

Persian Love Cake from Food and Wine. What could be better for Valentine's Day? Almond flour, butter and eggs ensure a richly moist cake, lemon juice and rise water keep it from being too rich. This gets a 5 (and not very difficult to make).

New recipe, February 13, 2023

Spaghetti Squash with Eggplant and Sesame Seeds from NYT Cooking. Simple ingredients leading to a delicious dish. This gets a 4.

New recipe, February 12, 2023

Toum Grilled Cheese from NYT Cooking. Toum is a middle eastern condiment, essentially like a mayonnaise except the stabilizer for the emulsion is garlic instead of egg. I bought the Toum instead of making it, but it makes for a very satisfying version of that ultimate comfort food, a grilled cheese sandwich. This gets a 4.

New recipe, February 11, 2023

Broccoli and Farro Stew with Capers and Parsley from NYT Cooking. The broccoli is caramelize initially, then gets boiled, which seems to dilute the flavor. Overall we give this a 3.

New recipe, February 10, 2023

Sheet Pan Paneer Tikka from NYT Cooking. This has great flavors, we give this a 4.

New recipe, February 9, 2023

It's the White Negroni's Chance to Shine from Food and Wine. This is a pleasant cocktail, we give it a 3.

New recipe, February 8, 2023

Garlic Ginger Chicken Breasts with Cilantro and Mint from NYT Cooking. The flavors are very good. We used chicken thighs instead of breasts, but they turned out quite dry which was a surprise. Thinking it may be the cooking technique of steaming after sautéing. We give it a 3 because of the dryness.

New recipe, February 7, 2023

Pressure Cooker Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup from NYT Cooking. This is fabulous! Rich and filled with a variety of flavors and umami. This gets a 5!

New recipe, February 6, 2023

The Paper Plane from A Couple Cooks. Another Amaro Nonino recipe. Blends nicely with Aperol. We give this a 4.

New recipe, February 5, 2023

The Busted Pipe from thespreckledpalate.com. Nice cocktail with Amaro Nonino. We give this a 4.

New recipe, February 4, 2023

Catalán Style Shrimp in Chocolate Sauce from Food and Wine. This is a savory sauce with chocolate and garlic. Somewhat reminiscent of a mole, though with Chiles. We give this a 5!

New recipe, February 3, 2023

Crunchy Cauliflower Salad from NYT Cooking. We were a bit underwhelmed by this, and found the radicchio a bit overpowering. It gets a 3. It was a bit mellower and unified after a night in the fridge.

New recipe, February 2, 2023

Cassoulet Style Lamb Shanks and Beans from NYT Cooking. Even after cooking the beans longer than the recipe said, they were a bit underdone. Should have kept going til they were tender. Flavors were very nice. This gets a 4.

New recipe, February 1, 2023

Charred Broccoli with Black Garlic Vinaigrette from Food and Wine. The vinaigrette really makes this delicious dish. This gets a 5.