Cooking Method: Sautéing
Beef Tamales with Red Chili Sauce
Every Christmas eve my mother-in-law served tamales and albondigas soup. She got her tamales from a local source in East Los Angeles. My friend asked if I wanted to make tamales with her. Absolutely! We corralled another friend, who actually knows what she’s doing and my daughter. We each brought our own filling. I made beef and we also had pork and chicken. I had made tamales in the past, but only one dozen. This time, we made 150! My friend said that you have to take a shot after every dozen is completed! Given that it was 10 am when we started, I only did 2 shots, and then there were those mimosas…. It was so much fun, that I want to do it every year.
By - Prep: 1 hr
- Cook: 4 hrs 30 mins
- Yields: Makes 3 dozen
Lemony Green Beans With Frizzled Leeks
These Lemony Green Beans With Frizzled Leeks for Epicurious have only 3 ingredients. The leeks are fried in olive oil, which become crispy and add a lot of flavor to these green beans.
- Prep: 15 mins
- Cook: 25 mins
- Yields: 8 - 10 Servings
Spaghetti with Garlic, Herbs, and Parmesan
A friend of mine recently took cooking classes in Tuscany and brought back some of this fantastic dried herb mix. I used to buy Ducros herb blend in France. Spaghetti with Garlic, Herbs, and Parmesan is one of my all-time favorite ways to eat pasta, especially when you are on a student budget. It was my equivalent of ramen noodles. It is so simple, yet so satisfying.
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 20 mins
- Yields: 4 - 6 Servings
King Ranch Chicken
This from-scratch version of King Ranch Casserole gets rid of the cans and is destined to become a modern-day classic. After one bite of this creamy, cheesy casserole you'll be hooked. It also travels well, making it a great choice to take to a potluck.
- Prep: 15 mins
- Cook: 50 mins
- Yields: 12 Servings
Spaghetti Pie
Spaghetti Pie is an old family favorite of our friend Carol Stephens—sadly now gone but NOT forgotten—who served this to her large family in their farmhouse in the English countryside. It is traditionally cooked in a casserole dish (we always use a large soufflé dish) and served with ketchup, as there is no tomato sauce in this—it is spaghetti, minced beef, onions, parsley and cheese bound together with milk and egg (a twist of nutmeg is a must, and a bit of garlic and sautéed mushrooms are great in it, too. Cooking it in a bundt pan and cutting slices of it is a great improvement (we hope Carol would think so!).
- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 45 mins
- Yields: 6 - 8 Servings
Roast Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Bacon
These Roast Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Bacon are really delicious. Adding vinegar, wine, sugar and Dijon mustard elevates it to a whole other level.
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 30 mins
- Yields: 6 Servings
Chicken with Saffron and Rice
This recipe is from Williams-Sonoma. It’s a traditional Spanish dish of chicken and rice that is seasoned with saffron. The saffron makes this dish. Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of the Crocus. It’s one of the world’s most expensive spices by weight.
- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 1 hr 20 mins
- Yields: 6 - 8 Servings
Cashew Chicken in a Slow Cooker
This Cashew Chicken in a Slow Cooker can't get any easier. It only takes 10 minutes to prepare for the crockpot. It's great for a busy weeknight meal.
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 4 hrs
- Yields: 4 - 6 Servings
“16 Bean” Pasta e Fagioli
This “16 Bean” Pasta e Fagioli is from Ina Garten’s new cookbook, Cooking for Jeffery. Pasta e fagioli, meaning "pasta and beans", is a traditional Italian dish. Pastafazoola, a 1927 novelty song by Van and Schenck, capitalizes on the Neapolitan pronunciation in the rhyme, "Don't be a fool, eat pasta fazool", and the Dean Martin song "That's Amore" includes the rhyme "When the stars make you drool, just like pasta fazool, that's amore".
- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 1 hr 50 mins
- Yields: 6 Servings
Chicken Noodle Soup
I have made chicken noodle soup for many sick clients over the years. There is something so cathartic about making soup.It's easy on the stomach and it is just what your body needs. Grandmother’s chicken soup was and is the ultimate cure for colds and new medical research says that chicken soup really does work just like Grandma always said it did.
- Prep: 2 hrs
- Cook: 20 mins
- Yields: Makes 2 quarts
