PUMPKIN CUSTARDS
Like pumpkin pie, but more egg-y and without the crust; a perfect Thanksgiving Day—or fall or winter—dessert.
CABBAGE BRAISED WITH APPLES
The ancient Romans and those living in Europe into the Middle Ages treated (furthermore, named) the apple as a “vegetable,” cooking it alongside various meats, especially pork and game, or serving cooked and oft-elaborately-spiced apples as its own course, alongside cooked root and green vegetables.
RED CABBAGE SALAD WITH APPLES
About cooking red cabbage, keep in mind that any red in it quickly turns to mauve on long cooking, then a slate blue, finally an unappetizing dirty green. However, cooking or preparing red cabbage with an acid (vinegar, for example, or wine, or citrus juice) preserves the red color.
CREAMED SPINACH QUEEN MARY 2
On a voyage back from Europe to the United States aboard the Queen Mary 2, I tasted this creamed spinach in its steak restaurant. It’s delicious; you could eat it for dessert, it’s so rich and filling. I think the dual secrets are squeezing the spinach of excess water after it has been blanched and thickening the cream.
PASTEL DE CHOCLO
Pastel de choclo is what we would call a layered casserole or a sort of shepherd’s pie, consisting of a topping of a sweet corn polenta over a savory ground beef filling, separated by and further flavored with a vein of chopped hard-boiled eggs, golden raisins, and sliced olives. When skillfully assembled, with the best ingredients, its simplicity is irresistible.
CHOPPED SALADS
The chopped salad—typically, but not exclusively, a mix of vegetables chopped up into uniform size and mixed together—is close to perfect summer or warm weather fare.
MOUSSELINE
The French word “mousseline” is used in a couple of culinary ways: it’s a mousse; it’s a sauce (a variation of hollandaise), but its original meaning is “muslin,” a fine weave of soft cotton. Making a mousseline in the kitchen turns anything into something that your tongue is happy to touch. Photo from Elena Leya on unsplash.
ALASKA HALIBUT “EN PAPILLOTE”
This piscine packet of pleasure roasts Alaskan halibut over a bed of bitter greens which become like steamed spinach but with a kicker of more flavor and texture.
WATERMELON AND TOMATO SALAD WITH FETA AND MINT
A perfect summertime salad that uses the season's two most-appreciated red foods, accented with feta's tang and mint's cool.
GAZPACHO AMARILLO
This gazpacho is more a drink than a soup and is served that way in its place of origin, Sevilla, Spain. Unlike many gazpachos, this recipe uses no bread, a solid amount of Spanish extra virgin olive oil, and yellow tomatoes, not red.
GAZPACHO ANDALUZ WITH CRISPY HAM
This is the classic Spanish gazpacho, originating in the southern region of Spain called Andalusia, home to all the traditional ingredients: its vegetables, sherry vinegar and, in this recipe, jamón serrano.
COLORADO COLESLAW
“It came from a cookbook that they gave me called ‘Chuck Wagon Cookin’,” says the author. “It’s ideal for chuck wagon days before the days of refrigeration because it will keep for days without breaking down. The honey and vinegar retard bacterial and microbial growth.”
PAN CON TOMATE
Known in its native Catalonia, in the Catalan language, as “Pa amb Tomàquet,” this starter or nibble course of bread rubbed with ripe tomato is ubiquitous throughout Spain.
GERALD KONINGS’ SALADE NIÇOISE SPRING ROLLS
This is essentially a Salade Niçoise wrapped in a rice paper roll. It is delicious, in addition to being comely to the eye.
COLORADO STRIPED BASS WITH TOMATOES
This firm yet flaky and moist textured fish is farmed in Alamosa by a family-owned company, Colorado Catch.
ROASTED PINEAPPLE AND PROSCIUTTO, QUEEN MARY 2
The simplest of preparations, to deliver a complexity of flavors, especially the play between salt and sweet, a killer combo.
ROASTED VEGETABLE RATATOUILLE
The beginnings of a roasted vegetable ratatouille. Photo from Artem Smoldarev pon pexels.com
CAVALO NERO BRUSCHETTA
A vegetarian or vegan bruschetta using “the black kale” of Tuscany.