Category: By Origin

Easy Baked Pasta

A simple choice for times when you want something more than just pasta, but don’t have the time to make a lasagna. Turn the oven to 375°. Select a two- or three-quart casserole dish (such as a 9x12x2″ glass baker). Combine the pasta and tomato sauce and stir together. Layer half of the pasta into

Barley porridge

Simmer 1/2 cup barley in 2 cups of almond milk. Use the lowest possible heat; almond milk boils over if you look at it sideways. In about 45 minutes, the grains will have absorbed all the almond milk. Options: add a couple of eggs to the hot pot, spoon hot barley on top, put the

Basic Hot Sauce

Heat a knob of butter in a skillet on medium-high heat. Slice and sauté a large purple onion and a large handful of fresh chili peppers along with their seeds (washing your hands afterwards). When those are soft, clear a space in the middle of the pan and add a whole head’s worth of garlic

Dumpling Dipping Sauce

I am definitely not a master of East Asian cuisines, but anyone can steam up some red bean buns and pan-fry a few dumplings, at which point it helps to have a little dipping sauce to dunk ’em in. Here are the proportions Piglet has been using recently: 6 Tbps soy sauce 4 Tbps seasoned

Focaccia

I wish I had known twenty years ago that we could have home-made focaccia as often as we wanted and with just fifteen minutes of effort. Start by making a basic no-knead bread dough: this step takes less than ten minutes. In a large bowl, mix three cups of all-purpose flour, a teaspoon and a

Enchilladas

Like all of the “ethnic” foods I cook, this dish doesn’t make any claims to being particularly “authentic,” but it is tasty and filling. Once you learn the technique, you can ring changes on it with different fillings and varieties of sauces. See also the recipe for Enchilasagna, which uses the same kinds of ingredients but

Buttermilk biscuits

Preheat oven and cast-iron frying pan to 450ºF. Mixing bowl, large fork: 300g. cake [or Southern all-purpose or biscuit] flour 1T baking powder 1T sugar 1t salt Stir together. Pastry cutter: 1 stick (4 oz). butter 1c. (8 oz.) buttermilk Cut butter into dry ingredients. You can mash with a fork or use your fingers,

Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo is about as simple (and rich) as a cream sauce can get. It takes less than ten minutes from start to end. The original recipe for Alfredo sauce called for butter, Parmesan cheese, and some of the starchy water that was used to cook the pasta, but nowadays nearly everyone uses cream instead. You

Grits

1/4 cup stone-ground grits 1 cup water butter salt This makes a single serving of grits.  Multiply as needed. Bring water, butter & salt to a boil.  Stir in grits.  Turn down heat to medium-low.  Simmer covered, stirring frequently, for ~30 minutes, until thick. Taste for doneness. Salt and butter to taste. Variations: Near the

Stewed Black Beans

Recipe Yellow or red onion, one medium or large Finely chop the onion, or use a food processor to chop it to small even pieces. A medium saucepot and a big spoon Olive oil Put the saucepot on high heat. Pour in olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. After the pot