Cooking Method: Marinating

Fire Crackers

I came across this crazy recipe for Fire Crackers in Southern Living magazine. They are also known as Alabama or Cowboy Crackers. The recipe seemed so strange to me, that I decided to make them. Truth be told, I only used 1 sleeve of crackers. I thought it might be a bit much for my husband and me to eat an entire box of oil-saturated saltines! I like anything hot and spicy! You have to leave them overnight in a Ziploc bag before you bake them. And it turns out they are really good, especially with an ice-cold beer!

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Sheet Pan Chicken with Fennel & Orange

I found this Sheet Pan Chicken with Fennel & Orange recipe from Waitrose, which is a British supermarket. I have to say, their recipe was wrong! I fixed it and it's delicious. Fennel has a strong licorice flavor, though when it's cooked mellows out and becomes lighter. The fennel fronds may be used as a garnish to other meats or roast fish, or chop it and use them instead of parsley and dill in sauces and soups. The best thing about these sheet pan dinners, is that there isn't much to clean up!

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Turmeric Honey Salmon with Coconut Crisp

I think I have about 28 salmon recipes on my blog. I am always trying to come up with new and different ways to make it. I saw this recipe from the December issue of Bon Appétit and was intrigued. However, I changed the recipe completely. I guess you could say the recipe was inspired by Bon Appétit! The coconut crisp brings texture and heat to the salmon.

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Pickled Harissa Corn Relish

Make this Pickled Harissa Corn Relish while corn is in peak season. It's great served over cumin-rubbed grilled ribeyes, shredded pork or burgers.

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Simple Marinated Chicken Thighs

My daughter Grace made these Simple Marinated Chicken Thighs, which uses a Vietnamese-inspired marinade, packed with fish sauce, brown sugar, and chiles, hits all the notes, and because it’s more paste than liquid, it clings to meat or seafood for major impact in a short amount of time.

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Spicy Lightly Pickled Cucumbers

These Spicy Lightly Pickled Cucumbers are simple and quick to make. They are spicy, sweet and crunchy. What more could you want in a pickle?

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

Kung Pao Chicken

This Kung Pao Chicken is a copycat version from Panda Express. I love Chinese takeout food, but I know that it’s very high in sodium and fat. This is classic Chinese dish is easy to recreate at home.

By Leslie Blythe

Zucchini Marinated with Lemon & Mint

Zucchini is transformed when it’s sliced very thinly and it marinated in a lemony vinaigrette. You should assemble this dish at least four hours before you wish to serve it so that the zucchini has time to soak up the lemony marinade.

By Leslie Blythe

Basic Bulgogi

We were invited to our friends Kim and Scott's house in Pacific Palisades for dinner on Saturday night. Their home sits at 1,500 feet overlooking the Pacific ocean on a clear day. The had a Lodge Hibachi grill on a table outside. It was magical! They cooked this Basic Bulgogli marinade beef, which was probably some of the best I have ever had. The marinade is out of this world good. I don't even like Korean food. I will be making this very soon, though the setting at our house is missing a lot of the magic! What's better than sharing a meal with great friends under the stars? Nothing! Oh, and one looks a tad younger among the glowing fire at night! The meal was topped off with gourmet chocolate (that's a whole other blog post!) S'mores. What a great evening!

Bulgogi, literally "fire meat", is a gui (Korean-style grilled or roasted dish) made of thin, marinated slices of beef or pork grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top griddle. It is also often stir-fried in a pan in home cooking. Sirloin, rib eye or brisket are frequently used cuts of beef for the dish.

By Leslie Blythe