Coq au Vin (French Chicken in Red Wine Sauce)

Just look at the list of ingredients: Bacon.  Butter.  Mushrooms.  Wine.  Brandy.  Chicken. Coq au vin basically sells itself.  Sure, I could rhapsodize about the melt-in-your-mouth chicken and seared mushrooms bathed in rich, tangy wine sauce.  But I trust you to recognize a good thing.  No hard sell needed. Coq au vin is a classic [...]

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Shortcut Jambalaya

You know those nights when you stumble home after a long day’s work, wearily open the fridge, and nearly cry from exhaustion and lack of inspiration? The nights you’d call for takeout, but feel embarassed because the person taking orders can recognize your voice? Those cereal-for-dinner nights? Me? I’ve had a few of those lately.  [...]

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Savor the Spice of Himalayan Heritage

A couple of nights ago, I had my first encounter with Nepali cuisine at Adams Morgan’s Himalayan Heritage restaurant.  It was fun exploring the menu, which isn’t intimidating if you’re familiar with Indian food.  Our waitress graciously guided us through the Nepali offerings and recommended chicken “momo,” or steamed dumplings ($9.95):

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S.O.S.

Credit: http://www.kitchencritic.co.uk I have a particular fondness for one-pot, braised meals, both because I don’t have a dishwasher (sigh) and also because these tend to be historically peasant dishes that use inexpensive ingredients. So what’s the problem?  I recently tried to make Arroz con Pollo, and although the flavors were delicious, the rice was soggy.  I’m trying [...]

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Caribbean Marinade

For pork or chicken. Excellent on the grill. -1/2 c. peanut or olive oil -1/3 c. soy sauce -1/4 c. balsamic vinegar -1 Tbsp. Sriracha chili sauce -1 Tbsp. honey -1 Tbsp. brown sugar -1 Tsp. fresh ground black pepper -3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped -1 tsp. Allspice -Juice of half a lime

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