Tag Archives: recipes

Yikes! Another too many months have slipped by since I last did one of these. October, February and now May has passed! I have a ton of good recipes and food links to share, so let’s get at it!  🙂

Beef: grilling season will be upon us, and smash burgers are all the rage, so make some advice on how to make those. Perhaps you prefer a steak? Here’s how to Reverse Sear Steak to get THE best result. If you just want a bit of beef, try these Garlic-Butter Steak Bites or this, Easy Beef Cube Steak With Onions and Mushrooms. If you prefer something fancy, go for this, Beef Wellington Recipe or Ossobuco alla Milanese Recipe/. Love them!

Pork: prefer pork? Then how about this recipe for juicy pork chops or this one for spinach mushroom pork chops? Pork Chops with Sherry Pan Sauce with Ras Al Hanout sounds exceptional. Pork schnitzel is also great. Here’s two recipes: Pork Schnitzel with Warm Potato Salad Recipe and this one.

There are so many ways to enjoy pork, from Grilled Korean-Style Short Ribs  to 11 Best Pork Shoulder Recipes. Or just make bacon. Anyway you like it, pork is perfect.

Chicken: how about the other white meat? Here’s how to make exceptional grilled chicken from smitten kitchen. For something a bit spicy, try Chicken Thighs with Burst Tomatoes Harissa and Feta or Nigella’s Slow-Cooker Moroccan Chicken Stew. You can’t go wrong with Chicken Piccata or this pairing of  Chicken Cutlets & Roasted Asparagus. Chicken Quesadillas? Why yes. Or for something you likely haven’t made yet but should, do this, Poul Nan Sos (Haitian Chicken in Sauce, seen below).

Soup/Salad:  Let’s move on to something lighter still, but still tasty. Basque Garlic Soup and Healing Garlic Tonic Soup can both meet that criteria. As can Zuppa Toscana. Go here if you want to learn How to Make Better Soups in general.

Pair up those soups with Roasted Citrus Beet Salad with Goat Cheese or Arugula Salad with Pears and Goat Cheese or the famous Jennifer Aniston salad.

Here’s some more salad goodness from Food and Wine: Yogurt Salad Dressing Recipes and You’re Not Adding Enough Vinegar to Your Vinaigrette.

One pot/sheet pan/slow cook:  these are three ways I love to cook. For example, one pot Greek Turkey and Rice Skillet and One pot puttanesca are both good. As for sheet pan recipes, try Sheet Pan Breakfast, Easy Sheet Pan Beef Skirt Steak Fajitas Recipe, Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas Bowl Recipe, Sheet Pan Italian Sausage Bean And Tomato Tray Bake, or Sheet Pan Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Arugula.

Slow cookers are actually great when the weather gets warm. Try these out:  Slow-Cooker Coffee-Braised Brisket With Potatoes and Carrot, Slow-Cooker Tuscan Pot Roast Recipe, Sweet and Spicy Asian Pork Shoulder, Slow-Cooker Asian Short Ribs, 4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Cola Chicken, or finally Lazy Crock Pot Chicken With Mushrooms.

Casseroles/dump dinners: I’ve been on a kick to make dinners easier, so I’ve been trying making more casseroles and other easy dishes. Here’s what I found: 6 Easy Steps to a Customizable Casserole  by Mark Bittman, Sauces vs. Soups for Casseroles, French onion macaroni and cheese recipe, Easy one-pan lasagna recipe,  and Modern Tuna Casserole. Related, here are the Easiest-Ever Dump Dinners and Chicken Tortilla Dump Dinner.

Cuisines (French, English, Eastern Europe, India): if you find yourself in the mood for something in particular, try these ideas from France: Pate en croute, How to Make Terrine Easy and Simply or La Buvette Terrine. Two sources of UK dining are roast dinners in the UK and UK food. From Eastern Europe, we have Pierogi Ruskie: Potato-Cheese Pierogi, Polish Potato Pancakes (Placki Ziemniaczane), Goulash and Eastern European Main Dish Recipes. Last but not least, Green-Lentil Curry Recipe from the great Madhur Jaffrey.

Sauces: here’s some sauces I like: Peruvian Green Sauce Recipe,  Simple and Delicious Homemade Brown Gravy,  Aioli, and Garlic Sage Brown Butter Sauce.

Pastry: If you want something sweet, try chocolate puddle cakes, Fast Easy Simple Everyday Basic Biscuits, Apple and walnut crumble, or Jumbleberry Crumble also look good.

In addition: none of these fell into a proper category but all are worthwhile, including this recipe for Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Frittata, Lamb Loin Chops with Red Wine Pan Sauce with Cumin and Chiles, and homemade merguez with herby yogurt.

Finally: Here’s some pantry ideas, plus these 31 Underrated Pantry Staples Every Home Cook Should Have.  Here’s how to Convert a 9×13 Recipe to 8×8. .  Here’s why ultra-processed foods have a calorie problem.  Here’s 31 Underrated Pantry Staples Every Home Cook Should Have.  Here’s The 20 Recipes BA Readers Love the Most.  Here’s a list 51 Valentine’s Dinner Ideas for Romantic Rendezvous and Date Nights at Home.  A good piece on Good cheap food. .  If you want to know the What’s the Difference Between Pastrami & Corned Beef? click there.  If you need to know how to light a Charcoal Grill click there.  This is a list of things to move out your fridge.  This is a fine piece on why Appalachia Doesn’t Need Saving It Needs Respect in terms of food.  For fans of Summerlicious 2022.   More pantry ideas . (I should have grouped these.)   On the indispensable rotisserie chickens.  On The Michelin controversy in Toronto.  How to Fry an Egg…Good advice.  Also good advice: Cook well spend less.  This was thought provoking: Who killed the great British curry house?   This was fascinating: Michelangelo’s shopping List.   If you want: Dry-Age Your Meats at Home.  Once the Bon Appetit test kitchen was flying high. Now we have people writing pieces on how their staff (Brad Leone) are causing people to get food poisoning.  Here’s a piece on the creator of fish and chips.  Here’s how to make a Toronto cocktail.

Allright: let’s go grocery shopping! (That’s Michelangelo’s list below.)

(Top image: theculinarycook.com. Bottom from Atlas Obscura)

Well, I have not done one of these since October! You’d think I have stopped cooking! Hardly. I have been cooking a lot. Thanks, Pandemic! 🙂

Some of things below have already been through my kitchen; others have still to make it. All are good. So dig in!

Soup, salad and veg: winter is a great time for soups, and here are some I’ve been making or wanting to make. This Turmeric-Ginger Chicken Soup from Claire Saffitz at Bon Appetit is amazing. Highly recommend it. (Shown above.) Also delicious is this Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup… super hardy that one. If you love sausage in your soup, then there’s Christmas Sausage and Kale Soup Recipe (not just for Christmas). If you want to riff a bit on your soup, then read this: If You’ve Got a Can of Coconut Milk and a Pound of Vegetables You’ve Got Soup. Coconut milk makes any soup rich and creamy. Still into soup? Check out this: 25 Easy Soup Recipes For When You Need a Hot Soup Facial Stat. Do you remember the story of Stone Soup? I do. It really struck me as a kid. What Stone Soup Means to a Seasoned Chef is a great piece on that story. No one writes better about food than Gabrielle Hamilton.

What goes great with soup? Salad! I love a good chopped salad like this: nancy’s chopped salad. Wedge salads are also great. The twist with this one is the use of cabbage. Try it: Napa Cabbage Wedge With Sesame Ranch. Got a bunch of greens? Here’s two great dressings you can put on them and so many different veg too: Greek Salad Dressing and Creamy Herb Dressing.

Speaking of veg, one of my favorites is the humble potato. Here’s two ways to make it less humble: Greek-Style Lemon Roasted Potatoes and Perfect Oven-Roasted Potatoes. The first one goes great with lamb and other Greek foods, while the second one is ideal with roast chicken.

Winter is stew time, so here’s two to cook up this month: Martha’s Hearty Vegetable Stew and Martha’s One-Pot Quick Vegetable and Navy-Bean Stew. Thanks, Martha! Wait, you want more stew?  Try Martha’s Cannellini-Bean and Greens Stew. Easy.

I love a good one pot meal. If you do too, then here’s  14 One-Pot Vegetarian Recipes That Keep Effort to a Minimum.

I am eating lots of gnocchi these days, and this has been one way I enjoyed it: Crispy Pan Fried Gnocchi w/ Brussels Sprouts. I’ve been eating more spinach too. Here’s 3 Reasons Why You Should Be Eating More of This Superfood. Maybe you want to grow your own veg to eat. If so, read this and get going: Plant fast-growing vegetables for a homegrown harvest in six weeks or less.

Fish: one of my favorite types of fish is squid. Here’s two ways to try them from Food and Wine that I thought looked good: Salt-and-Pepper Squid with Chinese Five-Spice Powder and Squid and Black-Eyed Pea Salad. I’ve loved squid for a long time. Recently I’ve developed a love for oysters. I loved this deep dive on them: What Are the Differences Between East and West Coast Oysters?. While you read that, make this pantry classic: Salmon cakes with green beans.

Noodles: if you love pantry dishes, here are two you may want to try, Singapore Noodles and Coconut Curry Ramen. Very slurpable.  And this dish has become a social media darling recently:  Easy Chili Garlic Oil Noodles.

Salt and Lavender: S&L is not a recipe, but a web site. I have been enjoying cooking many of the recipes there. One thing I love about their recipes is how much they embrace cream! Give the web site a visit. So many good rich dinners, perfect for winter. Here’s two recipes from it to give you a sense of what it’s like: Mushroom Stroganoff and Easy Smothered Pork Chops and Gravy. Break out the heavy cream and enjoy!

Chicken: I have been making a ton of chicken recently. More than what is represented here. These are some I wanted to try:

• Roast Chicken with Meyer Lemons and Potatoes
• Chicken Under a Brick in a Hurry
• No-Fail Roast Chicken with Lemon and Garlic
• Chicken Piccata

Beef: unlike chicken, I have been making less beef lately. Which is weird because I tend to make it more in the winter. I still love beef, and I’d love to try some of these. Some are fancy, some are basic:

•  Beef kebabs with herb salad
• 16 Delicious Ways To Use A Package Of Ground Beef. Ground beef is underrated, imho, and in these days of inflation, deserves a good revisit.
• Classic sloppy joes recipe. A classic for a good reason.
•  Homemade Sweet Italian Sausage (Mild or Hot). Make your own!
• Easy Steak with Pan Sauce. For when you want something other than ground beef. Relatedly, Strip Steak au Poivre.
• Short rib onion soup. Fancy!
• Mississippi Roast Recipe. Some slow cooking that will make your house smell great.

And more: These oddballs don’t fit any easy classification, but you want to see them:

• Yay! New cookbooks: 26 Cookbooks We Can’t Wait for in 2022.
• Hey, consider this a project: make all these in 2022:  Our Most Popular Recipes of 2021.
• A good guide to keep in your kitchen:  How to Quickly and Safely Thaw Anything
• For fans like me of Mark Bittman: Chop Fry Boil: Eating for One or 6 Billion
• Another project: use more vinegars in 2022.   10 Types Of Vinegars And How To Use Them.
• If you really want a challenge, how about this?  Growing Kale in Winter: How to plant grow and protect winter kale.
• We love meatballs on this site, so this is worthwhile:  I’ll Go Ahead And Say It: Bola-Bola Are My Perfect Meatballs.
• We love slow cookers also!  5 Clever Culinary Uses for Your Slow Cooker.
• 4 Sauces You Should Definitely Learn How to Make by Heart. Also a good thing to keep in your kitchen. Plus how chefs make pan sauce and this: Substituting Dried Herbs for Fresh.
• Bump up your breakfast game:  4-Ingredient Chorizo and Egg Breakfast Tacos Save Time Cash and Your Morning. Also
• 7 breakfast and brunch recipes for laid-back mornings at home
• More classics to make:  Pizza Melts
• This looks yum!  Burnt Orange and Coriander Roast Pork. As does this: Shallot Tarte Tatin, and of course this: A French 75 for Everyone. Definitely all these: Michelin star recipes.
• And for cookie fans: Make Five Festive Christmas Cookies From One Simple Dough. Brilliant.

Stories about food: I loved this story, Newcomer from India teaches Cape Bretoners to cook with underused food bank items.  This is fascinating: The Humble Beginnings of Today’s Culinary Delicacies. Finally, two famous food people I follow but for very different reasons: Alison Roman (Alison Roman Just Can’t Help Herself) and Jacques Pepin (6 Best Jacques Pepin Recipes to Celebrate His 86th Birthday).

Thanks for reading all this. As my buddy Jacques says: Happy Cooking!

(Image is a link to Bon Appetit)

Whew, it’s been awhile since I wrote about my cooking interests, and in the meantime the list has been building up with all sorts of delicious recipes. As well, I’ve found interesting essays and articles on food generally. Here they are: dig in!

Recipes: I have found so many good recipes I am going to separate them out just to make some sense of them.

Group Recipes: First off, here are some links to recipe lists that are rather good. Ottolenghi has some quick 15 minute lunch recipes that look good. Table for One is full of great solo recipes. Bon Appetit has compiled a list of their readers’ 23 Favorite recipes… some good ones there. A friend pointed out this collection of lovely recipes from Nigel Slater. Well worth a look. I have been craving meatballs lately. If you have too, Chatelaine can help you out there. The site Cup of Jo has a great list of Quick dinners. I like the recipes there a lot. If you feel like a salad, Bon Appetit has some salad ideas for you. Maybe you want soup? Food52 has 16 soup recipes to enjoy. Maybe  you are too tired to cook at all. If so, check out 14 No-Cook recipes for hot Days or lazy nights. Finally here is an insane list from Bon Appetit: 76 of Our Best Steak Recipes from Rib Eye to Skirt Steak Fajitas to Skewers. Fire up the grill.

Italianish Recipes: I always love a good carbonara recipe. To go with that, from SaltFatAcidHeat, here is a good focaccia recipe. Remember how I said I liked meatballs? Here’s a  meatball recipe from Budget Bytes.  I highly recommend you make this right away: My favorite Tuscan fries from Nigella. Or maybe you want a nice antipesto plate of roasted veg.

Ok that was nice, now back to meatballs, with Martha’s Spaghetti and Meatballs and Melissa Clark’s pantry meatballs

Low cost/pantry/cucina povera: Speaking of Melissa Clark’s pantry meals — all of which I am a fan of — here are a few more. For instance this is a nice and easy meal of root vegetables paired with chickpeas and yogurt. Or this sausage and veg soup …sounds great. How about putting this savory loaf packed with cheese and olives to go with it? Sounds just right. Thanks, Melissa.

Meanwhile if you are in the mood to make loafs, I recommend these three meatloafs from Martha that are more French in style than American. There is Spicy Butternut Squash Meatloaf and also this Spanish-Style Meatloaf. Yum!

Still in the mood for more ways to eat cheap and healthy and lazy? Then read this.

Meat recipes:  Speaking of eating lazy, I love cutlets for that. Here is Smitten Kitchen with a good chicken cutlet recipe. If you fancy pork, read this:
The Pork Chop Recipe That Finally Got Me on the Pork Chop Train. If you prefer beef instead, here’s a  flank steak recipe with Bloody Mary Tomato salad (wow) and here’s a recipe for grilled rib eye with shishito pepper salsa.

Soups, sauces and salad recipes: no particular reason for this grouping, I just like it. Here’s a nice fennel and citrus salad.  Here’s something you can have for days: Just-Keeps-Getting-Better Lentil Salad .

Need some sauces? Here’s two: a nice green sauce and a good veloute sauce.

We have a range of soups as well: from cucumber to French Onion with Comte. Here’s a general recipe to make any purred soup in 5 Steps. Last but not least:  If You Have Kimchi You’re Steps Away From This Soup. So sez Melissa Clark’s pantry.

Other recipes: Here’s a nice noodle dish to try. Here’s some paleo recipes that looked promising: for fans of paleo. Did we forget drinks? Ok. Here’s a good recipe that is a base for all your summertime cocktails: homemade sour mix. Get to work on your braising. I haven’t tried this but if it works it will be fantastic: making caramelized onions in the oven.

Non-recipe related: Wow. That’s a lot of recipes! Here’s some other things that seemed interesting. For example, here’s three interesting stories on French chefs dealing with the challenge of Michelin ratings: Un! Deux!Trois! Here’s a good story on space food, while here is another one on the economics of casseroles.This guy missed airline meals so much he makes them at home. Ok…sure. For fans of this chef, here’s a good  write up on Eric Ripert’s latest cookbook on Vegetables. This was fascinating: Costco Builds Nebraska Supply Chain For Its $5 Rotisserie Chickens. I loved this piece on Caroline Fidanza, the chef who used to run the beloved Saltie’s in Brooklyn. Epic sandwiches! How about this great all purpose pan? Print this of if you bake: Converting cake recipes to different pans Finally, for fans of hot sauce, here is A hot sauce guide with tips for how to use 8 common styles. 

Wow. That’s a ton of food links! I hope you found some useful. Happy cooking!

(Image of Caroline Fidanza focaccia sandwich via TASTE.)

This was originally a list of things I was going to cook: my cooking projects. But to be honest, I was not cooking most things. So I am revising the focus to things I am interested in, food-wise. Maybe you will make them. If you do, let me know!

Recipes: This looks like a beautiful cake (image above). If you like a good chowder, try this from Food52. If you love to cook with cream like I do, check out this list. I want to try and BBQ a whole fish this week. I might try this recipe for stuff black bass. If you need some good vegetarian recipes for summer, go here. Here’s a good recipe for a spinach ricotta cannelloni from Jamie Oliver. I am a big fan of Jacques Pepin and budget cooking. If you are too, check out this. If you don’t know what to cook, try this tool from Epicurious.

Other food stories: On the outrage over fake meat. Keto diets can help if you are trying to cut down on drinking. Finally, here’s a good story on what they eat on the space shuttle. Fancy.

This is the second in a list of (aspirational?) cooking projects/lists. I say aspirational because I only cooked a fraction of what I planned to cook with the last one. Ah well. It’s good to have a goal. It’s fun to share cooking ideas too. Plus I will look back years from now and think either: oh yeah that was delicious, or, what was I thinking? 🙂

Here’s my latest list:

TikTok Cooking: TikTok is influencing a lot of things these days, including cooking. The baked feta dish I had and it was delicious! Here’s one version of it:
baked feta with tomatoes and chickpeas from smitten kitchen. Another thing I saw people do was the tortilla fold. Haven’t done that yet but want to try it. Here’s more on it: The TikTok tortilla trend is a quesadilla with extra fun folded in – The Washington Post

Kimchi: I have a desire for kimchi and I have a big jar in the fridge. Here’s two recipes I want to try using it. Both are simple but both look delicious: Kimchi and Ketchup Fried Rice and Kimchi Roasted Salmon

Meatballs: I’ve been craving meatballs lately. I’ve made two of these: this one Crispy Sheet-Pan Meatballs with Salsa Verde Recipe from Bon Appétit and this one: A Newsletter #14 from Alison Roman’s newsletter. I haven’t tried this Mojo Meatballs Recipe from Bon Appétit or this tomato-glazed meatloaves with brown mashed potatoes but I want to. I love Greek flavours, so I may make this too:
Easy Greek Lamb Meatballs Recipe with Dill Dipping Sauce.

Dill/Greek flavours! Speaking of dill and Greek flavours, here’s a ton of recipes to use up that dill: 20 Best Dill Recipes – What to Make With Dill | Kitchn. Still want more dill recipes? Head back to Alison Roman’s newsletter for that.

Moving from dill to greek, here’s a nice looking Lemony Garlic Chicken and Orzo Soup from Half Baked Harvest. And finally, yes, more meatballs:
One Skillet Greek Meatballs and Lemon Butter Orzo. – Half Baked Harvest

Garlic soup: I was wanting to make garlic soup so I did some recipe research on it. I tried one of these, but the result was underwhelming, despite using good ingredients. Not sure why it was a dud. Need to retry. Meanwhile, here’s some recipes:

• Roasted Garlic Soup with Parmesan Cheese recipe | Epicurious.com
• Roasted Garlic Soup – The Happy Foodie
• Garlic Soup Recipe – Susan Spicer | Food & Wine

Soup and salad: here’s some more soups I want to try, and one salad I have tried and enjoyed: Miso Soup from Mark Bittman, and since I have a lot of lentils, Vegan Red Lentil Stew from Budget Bytes. If you want a reliable salad to go with all your pasta dishes, I recommend this: Italian Chopped Salad Recipe from Bon Appétit

This is a real project: I love Dan Dan noodles. I have a recipe for them that approximates the taste, but is not the same. THIS recipe seems like it would be more like it, but I am not sure I can find all these ingredients: Dan Dan Noodles: Authentic Sichuan Recipe from The Woks of Life

Indian / Asian flavoured dishes: that’s a poor description for a list of great looking dishes. Give your slow cooker a workout with this: Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe from Real Simple or this Slow-Roast Gochujang Chicken Recipe from Bon Appétit. For something faster, there is Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce from Damn Delicious. And if you want to work your sheet pan, there’s Sheet-Pan Garam Masala Chicken Recipe via Bon Appétit.

Skewers: I’ve been wanting skewers lately. Really any meat marinated, cut into cubes and combined with fruit or veg will do, as this argues: How to Make Skewers for Pork, Chicken, Steak, and More | Bon Appétit. That said, here’s a specific recipe I may try: Grilled Sirloin Skewers with Peaches & Peppers Recipe from MyRecipes

Good sides: are good. Salad always works, as does simple rice. For something a bit finer, there is this: Muffin Tin Cheesy Potato Gratins Recipe from BettyCrocker.com

Bistro: I’ve been think a lot about bistro food this winter. Maybe it was after reading how this woman turned a cookbook into a cooking school: The Balthazar Cookbook: My Personal Cooking School. Here’s some nice recipes I found from Chatelaine: Bistro lentils with sausage and French bistro steak & tomatoes.  This  Apple Crunch Tart by David Lebovitz would go well in any bistro. As would this Sole with Lemon-Butter Sauce Recipe from Martha Stewart

Kosari/No recipe meals: I am a fan of recipes that are more like guidelines than strict instructions. If you are a fan of that too, try this: This Koshari Recipe is Easy to Make and Comes Together With Whatever Leftover Grain and Beans You’ve Got from Bon Appétit. If you prefer a recipe, then this will get you there: Koshari Recipe from Food.com

Tacos! And slow cookers:  I love slow cookers and I love tacos. So I think I will love these two recipes, one for beef, Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef from Kitchn and one for pork, Crispy Pork Carnitas (Mexican Slow Cooked Pulled Pork) from Cafe Delites

Fancy: I made this for my daughter and it came out well: Pan-Seared Sea Scallops with Cauliflower Purée and Fried Capers – Recipe from FineCooking. Next time I might add a bit of milk or other dairy to make the sauce creamier, but otherwise excellent. (The top image is it.)

Fun: I used to love an Orange Julius when I was a kid, so I will be trying this: Homemade Pineapple Orange Julius from Budget Bytes. I love a good breakfast sandwich, and although I am lazy in the morning I might give this a go: BA’s Best Breakfast Sandwich Recipe | Bon Appétit

Finally: a good pantry meal for busy weeknight is this: Cajun Salmon Burgers Budget Bytes. I might try this soon…it’s simple but perfect (and sorta bistro): Cast-Iron Roast Chicken with Crispy Potatoes Recipe | Bon Appétit. I have made a number of these recipes and they were great. Perfect for winter: 7 Delicious—And Pantry Friendly—Casserole Recipes | Chatelaine. And while I can’t say they make these pork chops in Vietnam, I can say it has flavours you have come to expect from Vietnamese food, and is likely delicious:
Vietnamese Pork Chops Recipe from Alison Roman/Bon Appétit

There was a lot of Alison Roman recipes in this, from the meatballs to the pork chops. But lots more as well, including Chatelaine, which has many great recipes. Let me know if you make any of them!

I go through periods of cooking just the basics, followed by furious sessions of mad cooking. I think I am going to be transitioning from the former to the latter over the next while. So I have pulled together these recipes of pretty basic things to try out and perhaps add to my repertoire. You might want to as well.

Sushi-ish: I have a bag of sushi style rice just sitting in my kitchen asking me to make some sushi, so I think I might use these to give it a go: How to Make Sushi (with Pictures), How to Choose Sushi-Grade Seafood, Homemade Sushi: Tips, Tricks, and Toppings! – Peas and Crayons, 30 Good Ideas for Sushi Roll Fillings – Easy Homemade Sushi: and even Make a Sushi Bowl at Home — With Canned Tuna | by Mark Bittman | Heated

Crepes: I love dishes that allow you to experiment, and I love food you can carry. Sushi rolls are one form of that. Crepes are another. I want to try one or both of these. This is classic: Robyn Cooks: Ham, Asparagus, and Swiss Cheese Crepes and this sounds amazing: Shrimp and Sugar Snap Pea Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Sizzling Rice Crepes) Recipe.

Noodles: two of my favorite noodle dishes are these too. Gonna try at least one in the next while: Dan Dan Noodles Recipe and  Singapore Noodles. Can’t go wrong with a spicy bowl of noodles.

Nashville-Style Chicken: I’ve been wanting to make this for awhile, but I have balking at it. It sounds exciting and dangerous. 🙂 But one of these recipes ought to fit the bill. Some of them are more authentic and some less so: Nashville-Style Hot Chicken Recipe | Bon Appétit, Nashville Style Hot Fried Chicken – From A Chef’s Kitchen, Nashville-Style Hot Chicken recipe | Epicurious.com, Nashville Hot Chicken, the History Behind the South’s “It” Dish and  What Is Nashville Hot Chicken? | TASTE

Cuban sandwiches: I have long loved classic sandwiches like a Reuben or a Club House. I have recently added Cuban sandwiches to that list. Such a great combination. Here’s three I liked: Cuban Sandwich Recipe | Tasting Table, Cubano: A Traditional Cuban Sandwich Recipe and 
How to Make Real-Deal Cuban Sandwiches | Serious Eats.

Gonna try and see if I can perfect these. Maybe slow roast some pork just for the sheer deliciousness of it.

Quesadillas: they aren’t really a sandwich, any more than a hot dog or a crepe is a sandwich, but again, a good bit of walking around food. Roasted Corn Quesadillas – Step by Step Photos – Budget Bytes is a nice version of one. And this is just a nice piece on how to appreciate them in general: How to Pair Wine With Quesadillas | Food & Wine.

Perfect for when you are kinda too tired to cook.

Breads: of course if you want to make sandwiches, you want bread. You may even want to make your own. I have. In that case, consider: Easy No-Knead Focaccia Recipe, No-Knead Ciabatta, Shockingly Easy No-Knead Focaccia Recipe, and No Knead Focaccia Rolls.

Various cozy dishes for the cold: Now it is winter, I start hankering for dishes like these: The Coziest Vegetable-and-Sausage Soup for Those Chilly May Days – The New York Times (I love this one), Kielbasa, Apple, and Onion Strata with Mornay Sauce Recipe (love stratas too), The 10 Most Popular Soup Recipes of 2020 | Bon Appétit (we all need good soups), Homemade Potatoes Au Gratin – Budget Bytes (perfect with everything), Kimchi Fried Rice, White Fish & Scallop Chowder Recipe on Food52, Mary Berry’s beef stew recipe, and Goulash recipe. And this is always good: Pasta e Fagioli with Escarole recipe | Epicurious.com.

Pork chops: I think pork chops are underrated. You can do so much with them. For example, here’s just two good examples: Baked Honey Mustard Pork Chops  and  Blackberry Sage Pork Chops. 

I also note that pork is sometimes the loss leader in my meat section. For those weeks, having these recipes on standby makes sense.

Salad: here’s one to go with those chops and pretty much everything else: Italian Chopped Salad Recipe.

Good snacks: You need ’em. Here’s two: Toasted Sambal Cashews Recipe, and Marinated Olives and Feta Recipe 

Pét-Nat: I had a period when I was drinking a lot of this during the pandemic. I still like it, but it can be hit and miss with it. If want to learn more, read this: A Beginner’s Guide to Pét-Nat, A More Affordable Champagne Alternative. 

Two thoughts: one, Pét-Nat is harder to find that the article let’s on. Two, the true and better affordable alternative to champagne is cremant. Get that instead.

Finally: I think I am going to do some BBQing over the winter. I may even do charcoal and do this: How to Build Your Own BBQ Chimney « Food Hacks :: WonderHowTo. 

Then I’ll get some steaks like this and cook them: How to Cook Tomahawk Steak · i am a food blog.

Now will I do all these? Likely no. But it’s good to have goals/aspirations, and fwiw, these are mine.