Marinated Mushrooms

This make-ahead Italian-style dish is ideal for summer entertaining

During the lazy days of summer we want to be, well, lazy. But we still want to entertain. So we look for dishes that are easy to make, preferably ones we can prepare ahead of time.

Enter these Italian-style marinated mushrooms. Flavored with olive oil, lemon, and vinegar, they make a wonderful appetizer or side dish. And they taste better when made several hours ahead, or even the day before serving. They’re also delicious when cold or at room temperature – so they’re perfect for the picnic table.

Plus they taste really good! Kind of addictive, actually. Magic mushrooms, you might say.

Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Smoky chipotle revs up this Thanksgiving favorite

Thanksgiving is coming soon here in the US. And that means sweet potatoes are on the menu.

Sweet potatoes are naturally, well, sweet. So let’s take those innocent little spuds for a walk on the wild side. Smoky, spicy chipotle chilies can teach them to sing – and dance on your tongue.

Best of all, there’s no need to confine this dish to the Thanksgiving table. It’s so tasty, we predict you’ll find yourself serving it all year round. Sweet.

Celery Root (Celeriac) Rémoulade

Kinda sorta like French coleslaw

Celery root (celeriac) is a type of celery grown specifically for its root. Even if you’ve never used it, you’ve seen it in the grocery store. It’s the brown, knobby veggie that (to the uninitiated) looks like a rock. But trust me, it’s edible—with a subtle, delectable flavor.

Celeriac is better known in Europe than in the US. When shredded and served raw—as it is in this dish—it has a crisp crunch. Combine it with tangy dressing, and you have a dish that resembles coleslaw. And one that happens to be one of the iconic dishes of French cuisine.

You can serve Celery Root Rémoulade as a starter, instead of a salad. Or as a side dish to accompany most fish, meat, or poultry dishes. It even goes great with hamburgers. Or as they say in French, les hamburgers.

Zucchini Pancakes

Top with a poached egg or dollop of sour cream for a light dinner entrée

Are you part of the “breakfast for dinner” movement? Me too. So how about some pancakes? But maybe not the kind smothered in maple syrup.

Instead, I propose a savory variation. These Zucchini Pancakes give you all the breakfasty fun—without the sugar.

Add a poached or fried egg, or a dollop of sour cream, and you’ve got a complete meal. Or slather some butter on the cakes and serve them as a side dish, sharing the plate with a piece of meat or fish.

Dinner is served.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Ditch the Canned and Discover Real Flavor

Cranberry sauce is a staple of Thanksgiving tables.  And why not?  Cranberries in their natural state may be too tart to take, but adding sugar mellows their flavor into something seductively good. 

Plus, cranberry sauce combines so well with those other Thanksgiving standbys:  turkey, gravy, and stuffing.  And for many people, it’s an obligatory ingredient in (or at least, accompaniment to) day-after turkey sandwiches. 

But when was the last time you made your own cranberry sauce?  Maybe never, if you’re like most of us.  It’s so easy to buy the commercial canned stuff.  And because cranberry sauce is often a supermarket loss leader at this time of the year, the cans may actually be a pretty good deal — at least from a financial standpoint. 

How about from a flavor standpoint?  Well, let’s not even go there.  Instead, I’ll just tell you how quick and easy it is to make your own cranberry sauce at home.  (Hint:  15 minutes, tops.  Plus time to chill in the fridge.)

The only drawback is, you won’t have those little groove marks from the can. 

Summer Pasta Salad

A Riff on Bert Greene’s Famous Ziti Salad

Cold pasta salad is almost a food group of its own in the United States.  It’s a dish we can eat year round, but particularly love when the weather turns hot and sultry — as it does every July and August in my part of the US.  And there’s something about a pasta salad made with mayonnaise that’s particularly satisfying.

My favorite main course pasta/mayo salad is Tuna Pasta Salad. But when I want to use a cold pasta salad as a side dish, this dill-heavy delight is the one I often turn to, particularly when homegrown tomatoes are in season. It’s a riff on the pasta salad made famous by the late Bert Greene at his gourmet food store (appropriately called “The Store”) on Long Island in the 1960s. This single recipe put his shop on the map — people would line up to buy the stuff.

Make this dish and your family will be lining up at dinner time with happy and hungry faces. And they’ll probably bring friends.