Cooking Method: Simmering

Basmati & Wild Rice with Chickpeas, Currants & Herbs

Another recipe from the Jerusalem cookbook - Basmati & Wild Rice with Chickpeas, Currants & Herbs. It's absolutely delicious and can be served warm or at room temperature. It can be difficult to find dried currants in the US, so I used dried cranberries, which worked well. Oh, and did I mention the crispy fried onions on top?

By Leslie Blythe

Shabu Shabu

What is shabu shabu? It’s a Japanese hot pot, featuring paper-thin slices of meat and fresh vegetables cooked together in a large open pot.The best thing about shabu shabu is that the ingredients can be customized to your own taste and preferences, from a wagyu beef to healthy vegetables.

By Leslie Blythe

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

This Chicken and Sausage Gumbo recipe is relatively quick to pull together compared to most traditional recipes. After preparing the roux, most of the time spent making gumbo is basically hands-free. You’ll just need to stir the pot occasionally to prevent sticking. You can serve it over rice for a complete meal and freeze the leftovers in gallon-size freezer bags. If there are any leftovers! Here is the recipe.

By Leslie Blythe

Lemon Butter Chicken

This Lemon Butter Chicken is juicy and moist and pan-fried chicken in a creamy, lemony sauce, with spinach. It's a one pan dinner.

By Leslie Blythe

Cauliflower, Broccoli and Chickpea Curry

When I lived in New York in the '80s, I used to make a version of this Cauliflower, Broccoli, and Chickpea Curry. Mainly because I LOVE Indian food and it is very cheap to make. Sometimes I would make it with chicken.

By Leslie Blythe

Quinoa, Rice and Tomato Pilaf

This Quinoa, Rice and Tomato Pilaf is delicious and very nutritious. Cultivated in the Andes for over 5,000 years, quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) has been called "the mother grain" and "the gold of the Incas." Technically, it's not a grain but a seed, though it is used in virtually all the same ways as other whole grains. It's gluten-free, high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids.​

By Leslie Blythe

Béarnaise Sauce

Béarnaise is one of the best sauces to serve with beef and, made the traditional way, also one of the hardest to make. Béarnaise Sauce is a variation of the classic Hollandaise Sauce, which is one of the five French “mother sauces” that every chef worth his salt works so hard to perfect. Unlike Hollandaise, which is a holy trinity of butter, lemon, and eggs, Béarnaise Sauce is based on vinegar and wine infused shallots and is basically a Beurre Blanc fortified with egg yolks and flavored with Tarragon.

This version is a fast and foolproof way to get the taste of classic French cuisine with little effort—the calories, unfortunately, stay the same….

By Leslie Blythe

Balsamic Brussels Sprouts in a Slow Cooker

Slow Cookers offer a healthier, low-fat method of cooking and require the minimum amount of effort. I am all for minimum effort! Because I did not have room on my stove top or in the oven I decided to try these Balsamic Brussels Sprouts in a Slow Cooker. This simple appliance works really well.

By Leslie Blythe

Hasselback Butternut Squash with Balsamic Maple Rosemary Glaze

Hasselback is usually associated with potatoes, but you can do it to many vegetables. It's nothing more than whole vegetables cut in such a way as to resemble a fan or accordion when roasted. The outside becomes crisp and brown while the inside is soft and creamy. Hasselback Butternut Squash with Balsamic Maple Rosemary Glaze works really well using this method. It makes a beautiful side dish.

By Leslie Blythe

Creamy Pasta Bake with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

This Creamy Pasta Bake with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil is absolutely delicious. It's like a creamy caprese pasta and is ready to enjoy in just 30 minutes!

By Leslie Blythe