Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs

These Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs are from Ina Garten's new cookbook, Cook Like a Pro: Recipes & Tips for Home Cooks. She browns the short ribs on a sheet pan, which saves time and mess. You sauté the vegetables while the ribs brown in the oven. Then they are all slow roasted in the oven.

By Leslie Blythe

Persian-ish Rice with Tahdig

Tahdig is a special Iranian cuisine with a crispy, browned layer of rice at the bottom of the rice pot that everyone wants. The bottom layer of the rice gets pan-fried while the rice above it gets steamed. There are a few ways to make tahdig. The simplest is to use plain rice. This recipe mixes the rice with yogurt to give it a thick, pasty texture before spreading it in the pot. It comes from Samin Nosrat's, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking Netflix episode 4 - Heat.

By Leslie Blythe

BBQ Chicken Twice-Baked Yams

These BBQ Chicken Twice-Baked Yams make a great busy weeknight meal. It's perfect if you have some leftover chicken. Yams are a very rich source of starch, vitamins, and minerals.

By Leslie Blythe

Rosemary, Almond and Parmesan Cocktail Cookies

These Rosemary, Almond and Parmesan Cocktail Cookies are from Dorie Greenspan. They are absolutely delicious and are a perfect pairing with cocktails. She brings out the flavor of the rosemary in these barely sweet cookies by rubbing the leaves with granulated sugar—a technique she learned from renowned French pastry chef Pierre Hermé.    

By Leslie Blythe

Roasted Vegetable and White Bean Salad

This Roasted Vegetable and White Bean Salad recipe from Samin Nosrat is amazing. She said loves showing people that simple, humble ingredients can be extraordinarily delicious. It's so true!

By Leslie Blythe

Buttermilk-Marinated Roast Chicken

I made everything from Samin Nosrat's, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking Netflix episode 4 - Heat. I woke up and just cooked. Actually, I had to marinate this chicken the day before and also, I made her focaccia, which I started the day before. Anyway, it was my idea of fun and relaxing. Her Buttermilk-Marinated Roast Chicken, which is the epitome of tender and delicious. It's so simple, just chicken, salt and buttermilk. The buttermilk helps to tenderize the chicken and it does just that!

By Leslie Blythe

Ligurian Focaccia

Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread product similar in style and texture to pizza doughs. This focaccia is from Samin Nosrat’s Netflix series called Salt, Fat, Acid, and Heat: The Four Elements of Good Cooking.

By Leslie Blythe

Jacques Pépin’s Criques (Crispy Potato Pancakes)

I happen to LOVE potato latkes. I ate them right before I went into labor with my second daughter Grace. These are incredibly fast and easy to make.

Jacques Pépin is an internationally recognized French-born American chef. He was inspired by the various forms of potato pancakes called criques in the Lyon region of France where he grew up.

The beauty of this recipe is that all the raw ingredients are thrown into a food processor and turned into a pulp then fried in oil to get crispy. Who doesn't like crispy potatoes?!

If you don't have a food processor, Pépin says you could make the batter in a blender, starting with the liquid in the bottom and chopping the potatoes a little smaller.

By Leslie Blythe

Corn Medallions with Aioli, Cotija Cheese and Lime

My daughter Zoe made these Corn Medallions with Aioli, Cotija Cheese and Lime. It’s basically Mexican-style street corn sautéed instead of grilled.

It’s the perfect mashup of the balanced flavors that comprise great dishes - sweet corn, garlic aioli, sour lime, and salty cheese.

Cotija cheese is named after the town of Cotija, Michoacán where it originated, Cotija cheese has a strong, salty flavor and mostly used as a topping or mixed into sauces. Feta is a good substitute.

By Leslie Blythe

Omelet Potatoes

My Aunt Elba posted this recipe video for Omelet Potatoes. It looked so good that I made them for dinner. It's basically a twice cooked potato with omelet filling. This recipe is very versatile. You could make it vegetarian by using mushrooms instead of the ham. I also used Gruyère instead of mozzarella.

By Leslie Blythe