Quick Pickled Red Onions

A tasty condiment for burgers, tacos, BBQ (or anything)

Quick pickling – also called refrigerator pickling – is an easy way to pickle almost any vegetable you can think of. It’s much faster (and much less work) than the traditional canning process.

Red onions are a great choice for pickling. They make a tasty topping for burgers, tacos, and BBQ. Even scrambled eggs. You can also use them as an ingredient in wraps and sandwiches. Or add them to a cheese/charcuterie board for extra color and flavor. Or just drop them atop cream-cheese covered crackers.

Some people say you can even eat them all by themselves, out of the jar, standing in front of the refrigerator. Not that we’d ever do that. 

Bacon Jam with Jalapeño

A zesty spread for breakfast breads or predinner canapés

This bacon jam (you could also call it relish or chutney) makes a great addition to morning biscuits or toast. But it’s also terrific atop a cracker (preferably with a bed of cream cheese or pimento cheese) as a canapé.

Or use it on about anything you can imagine. If you can think of it, it’ll probably be good.

Because bacon. One of our favorite food groups.

Manhattan Clam Chowder

This easy, vegetable-rich dish is made from pantry staples

Clam chowder is a double classic, featuring both a creamy New England style and a brothy Manhattan version.

We love all that cream in the New England version, but its rich heartiness makes it a winter dish for us. Come spring, we like lighter, healthier Manhattan Clam Chowder. Plus, it’s a great way to load up on vegetables.

Serve this for dinner and you’ll know where the saying “happy as a clam” comes from.

Italian Corona Bean Salad

Use any white bean to make this easy, tasty main or side

A hill of beans, you say? Coming right up.

Today we’re using corona beans (aka royal corona beans), a large white bean that’s very popular in Italy. Their size makes them perfect for an antipasto dish or salad. But if you don’t have corona beans on hand (they’re hard to find), you can substitute any white bean for this dish.

Coronas are worth the effort to search out, though. If for no other reason than to say you’ve bean there, done that. 

Italian Sausage and Tomato Sauce

This homey pasta sauce features bold flavor

We love us some pasta. Comfort food at its finest!

Especially when we top it with this sauce – which is meaty with a bit of spicy zest. Combine your dish of pasta with a salad (and maybe some garlic bread) for a particularly satisfying meal.

Saucy.

Lentil and Cabbage Curry

  

This quick, tasty vegan dish is great for meatless Monday

Need meatless savor in a hurry? Something nutritious and comforting?

Say hello to lentil and cabbage curry. The hearty umami of lentils will tickle the taste buds of even the most confirmed carnivore.

Chew on that.

Caramelized Onion, White Bean, and Tomato Soup

Deep flavor in this hearty main-course soup

Caramelized onions are smooth and mild, yet intensely flavored. And they make every other ingredient they touch taste much better.

They play a starring role in this Caramelized Onion, White Bean, and Tomato Soup. We like to ladle up big bowls of it for a main course, often served with a side of crusty bread. But you could serve smaller portions as a starter.

Even if onions make you cry, these will soothe your tears.

Moroccan-Spiced Cucumber and Chickpea Salad

Healthy Mediterranean flavors power this summertime main or side

When the heat is on, we like to eat cool. Enter the main-course salad.

This Mediterranean dish has a base of crunchy cucumbers and toothsome chickpeas. Then we spice it up with Moroccan-themed flavors.

We had planned to visit Morocco in person later this year. Looks like that won’t be happening, so we’ll have to travel virtually – with the assistance of our recipe collection.

Our imaginations will visit the sights. But our taste buds will get the real deal.

Pasta Salad with Tonnato (Tuna) Sauce

Ham and peas add scrumptiousness to this summer classic

Pasta salad is a summer staple. And why not? It’s loaded with flavor, easy to make, and generally delicious. Plus, you can prepare it ahead of time.

It’s also versatile – you can change up the ingredients or the pasta shape to make a new (yet comfortingly familiar) salad each time.

Just think of the pastabilities.

Pumpkin Gratin

This creamy, cheesy dish is like savory pumpkin pie

Can’t get enough pumpkin this time of year? Neither can we. Especially when it’s mixed with cream and gruyère in a savory side dish.

So remember: This pumpkin gratin would love an invitation to your next dinner party. Maybe as a plus one for ham or beef roast.

Or even turkey. We hear you may be serving that in a few weeks.

Chili-Spiced Vegetable Stir-Fry

All the flavor of chili in a fraction of the time

It’s cooling off in our part of the world. And chilly means chili!

But what if you don’t have time to make a big pot of the hearty stuff? Enter this Chili-Spiced Vegetable Stir-Fry. It has all the ingredients you’d find in vegetarian chili. Minus the liquid — and the simmering time.

Chili you can eat with a fork? Works for us.

Curried Corn and Shishito Soup

Tangy and tasty, but not too hot

Shishito peppers – with their bright flavor and subtle heat – can’t help standing out in this trio.

But corn and curry are no wallflowers – they harmonize beautifully and bring out the best in their pepper pal.

So curry up. Your dinner guests are waiting.

Italian Braised Short Ribs

Richly flavored comfort food that’s easy to make ahead

Ready for some fall fare? This deep-flavored dish will take the chill off.

Long, slow cooking tenderizes short ribs and extracts maximum flavor from them. And this dish is best if you make it a day or so ahead of time, then reheat it right before serving. That makes it perfect for company.

So get those dinner invitations ready. No engraving required.

Mexican-Spiced Green Bean Salad

A tasty and tongue-tingling starter (or side)

When you think of Mexican-style food, you may not picture salad. Let’s change that, shall we?

This green-bean salad works with any Mexican-themed meal. But its mild spicing plays well with other cuisines, too.

Healthy, tasty, versatile. That’s our kind of Mexican hat trick.

Deconstructed Fajitas with Grits

Fajita flavor taken to the next level

Don’t you hate it when your taco falls apart? Just as you’re ready to take a juicy bite, fajita strips and onions land on your lap.

Fortunately, we’ve found a better way. We disassembled this dish and substituted a bed of cheesy, spicy grits for tortilla wraps. Our version of fajitas is easier to make — and even tastier than the original. Not to mention better looking than a lap full of grease.

Take that, gravity.

Curried Potato Salad

Add extra savor to a summertime fave

Summer means cook-outs. And cook-outs call for potato salad. QED, no?

But you don’t have to make the same old spud salad next time. Dish up this curry creation instead.

Curry and potatoes are a perfect pair (just look at any Indian restaurant menu for proof). Curry sharpens the potato-y goodness while adding sensational flavor all its own.

So don’t settle for old-school side dishes. Be curr-ageous.

Watermelon, Feta, and Arugula Salad

Fresh mint and red onion brighten this summertime starter

Summer is here in our part of the world, and that means watermelon. It’s wonderful morning, noon, or night.

It works in salads, too. Like this one – where watermelon combines with salty feta cheese and peppery arugula greens (not to mention fresh mint and red onion).

A watermelon starter that’s super tasty and easy to make? That says “summer” to us.

Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya

You can feed a crowd with this spicy Creole dish

Mardi Gras may be over, but that’s no reason to ignore New Orleans-style cuisine. It’s good any time of the year!

So today we’re cooking jambalaya, which is pretty much every-day fare in Louisiana. And why not? It’s a one-pot dinner with outstanding flavor.

Best of all, jambalaya is not hard to make. Most of the cooking is unattended, and you can prepare it ahead of time. That makes for a perfect company dish.

It’s the big easy, you might say.

Basic Italian Tomato Sauce (Marinara)

This fast and flavorful sauce is perfect for weeknight pasta

Looking for quick and delicious? We’re here to help.

Our basic Italian tomato sauce (sometimes called marinara) cooks in half an hour or less. It also has a lighter, fresher flavor than meat-based ragù.

It’s great with almost any pasta shape. You can also use it as a sauce for dishes like chicken or veal parmigiana. Or even as a topping when you make pizza.

Weeknight quick, company ready. Perfecto!

Chicken Cacciatore

Classic Italian, made even better with mushrooms and red bell pepper

Ready for rustic? Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian, so the idea is to eat as you would on the trail. Or something.

We prefer to cook it in our kitchen, where we can add wine. Not to mention red sauce, mushrooms, and tasty bell peppers.  

Our version is still simple to make, though. And you can even prepare it ahead of time, then reheat it whenever.

So you won’t have to hunt around for something decent to eat.