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You'll find over 470 of my favorite recipes here, including ideas for Quick meals, Cooking for 2, Feasting on Leftovers, and cooking with 5 Ingredients or Less. I'm adding new posts regularly; you can subscribe by email or RSS feed if you'd like to receive the latest recipes. Bon appétit!
Spring Lamb Burgers
The grill called out to me yesterday when it turned out to be a beautiful spring day. Ground lamb was available at the grocery store, so I decided on lamb burgers.
I used my gas grill, but you could broil the burgers or pan-fry them in a skillet.
Curried mayonnaise, lettuce and sliced tomatoes completed the burgers. It was a delicious spring dinner!
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Lamb Burgers
(Serves 2)
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½ pound ground lamb
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon rice vinegar
Dash of cayenne pepper
2 Hamburger buns
Lettuce, washed
Tomato, washed and sliced
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1. Combine the ground lamb with the minced onion, and shape into two patties. (I form them on squares of wax paper which makes the transfer to the grill simple.)
2. Make an indentation in the center of the patties with your fingers. (This is a little burger trick I learned from the cooking scientists at Cook’s Illustrated. Burgers shrink when they cook, making the centers swell up. If you make the indentation, you end up with perfect, flat burgers instead of burger “domes”.)
3. Heat the grill on high for about 10 minutes.
4. Use the broiler to toast the hamburger buns.
5. Combine the mayonnaise, curry powder, rice vinegar and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
6. Just before grilling, salt the lamb burgers. Turn the grill down to medium and grill the burgers for 5 minutes. Flip them over and grill for 3 minutes more.
7. Serve the burgers with the lettuce, tomato slices and curried mayonnaise.
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Julia Child’s Split Pea Soup with Ham
Julia Child’s Split Pea Soup is the best! This soup is one of my favorite things about having leftover ham. But you don’t have to wait for the next holiday ham; it can also be made with a couple of ham hocks.
It’s easy, but it takes time to make the ham stock. Try it, though, and you’ll see that it’s worth the extra time!
Julia Child’s Split Pea Soup with Ham
(Adapted from Julia Child’s recipe in The Way to Cook)
Serves 6
For the ham stock
Meaty ham bone and scraps from a ham, or 1 or more ham hocks
3 quarts water (or chicken stock)
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery, chopped and celery leaves
An herb bouquet: 3 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon thyme, 5 cloves tied in cheesecloth
(If you have Caphalon pots with lids like mine, you can put 3 corks under the lid handle. They fit tightly in the space, can stay there practically forever, and they give you a way to lift the lid without a potholder.)
1. Put all of the stock ingredients in a large pot and simmer, with the lid askew, for 4 hours.
2. Strain the broth and discard the vegetables and ham scraps (They have given their life for the broth.)
At this point you can make the soup, or you can refrigerate or freeze the stock to use later.
For the soup
3 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup diced celery
2/3 cup diced onions
1 cup diced carrots
3 tablespoons flour
2 quarts ham stock
1 ½ cups split peas
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Garnish: ½ cup diced ham sautéed in butter (or 1½ cups croutons)
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1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the celery, onions, and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the flour, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
3. Add the stock and split peas. Simmer, with the lid askew, for 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Use an immersion blender in the pot to blend the soup. (I like to blend it until about half of it is blended and there are still some chunks left.) Alternatively, put some of the soup in a blender. Fill it only half full, and hold the lid on securely with a pot holder.
5. Serve with the sautéed ham (or croutons) as a garnish.
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Romaine Salad with Bacon and a Hard Boiled Egg
Still have Easter eggs in the refrigerator? Here’s a salad you might want to try. I found it on the epicurious website and it’s from the January 2003 issue of Gourmet magazine. I adapted it to serve 2.
Romaine Salad with Bacon and a Hard Boiled Egg
(Adapted from a recipe on epicurious.com, originally in the January 2003 issue of Gourmet magazine)
(Serves 2)
1 hard boiled egg, peeled and finely chopped
2 slices bacon
½ head romaine lettuce (6 – 7 ounces), washed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-low heat. Remove from the pan when done and drain on a paper towel. Leave the rendered fat in the skillet.
Put the lettuce and chopped egg in a bowl.
Add the chopped shallot to the pan and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and salt; stir and cook a few seconds more.
Pour the hot dressing over the salad and toss well.
Divide the salad between 2 plates. Crumble the cooked bacon over the top and serve.
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The Best Easter Ham
Snake River Farms in Idaho produces the best ham I have ever eaten! Their Kurobuta Ham is moist and flavorful, and not as salty as some other hams. This is a ham that requires no glaze.
We’re lucky to be able to buy it at Metropolitan Market in the Seattle area. You can check their website to see if it’s available in your area.
The 10-pound ham we had for Easter served 10 with plenty of leftovers. When I’m not buying for a holiday, I’ll occasionally buy a SRF ham slice. It’s perfect for 3 – 4 servings.
The Best Easter Ham
(Adapted from the recipe from the Snake River Farms website)
Serves 14 – 16
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10-pound Kurobuta half-ham
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Remove the ham from the refrigerator at least 45 minutes before baking to let it come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 325˚.
Place the ham on a rack in a baking pan. Pour water to cover the bottom of the baking pan.
Loosely tent the ham with heavy duty foil and put in the oven.
Bake for about 18 minutes per pound (about 3 hours for a 10-pound half-ham). Remove from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 135˚.
Let the ham rest, covered with foil, for 15 – 30 before slicing.
(Optional: During the last 30 minutes of baking, you can remove the foil and cover the ham with your favorite glaze.)
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Deviled Eggs
By Kath Dedon
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Update 12/29/16: I have since learned to make Perfect Hard Cooked Eggs that peel easily every time. Click here to check it out! 🙂 No more Disheveled Deviled Eggs!
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Disheveled Deviled Eggs would be the appropriate name for the Deviled Eggs I made for Easter.
Either some of them were too fresh, or I should have listened to Julia who advised peeling them as soon as they finished their ice water bath. I left them in their shells in the refrigerator overnight. Some of them did not peel as beautifully as I’d hoped.
Since I don’t own a pastry decorating bag to beautifully pipe the egg yolks into the egg whites, I just spooned it in.
They were quite good, though, and no one complained about how they looked.
I have never measured the mayonnaise or mustard before. I kind of measured yesterday to give an idea of the quantities.
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Deviled Eggs
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12 large hard-boiled eggs
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
¼ cup Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
½ teaspoon salt
Paprika, to garnish
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1. Cut the eggs in half and remove the yolks. Mash the yolks with the mayonnaise, mustard, Tabasco sauce and salt.
2. Fill the eggs with the yolk mixture.
3. Sprinkle the eggs with paprika.
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Italian Carrots
I chose this carrot recipe for Easter dinner tomorrow because it can be made ahead. It’s meant to be eaten at room temperature.
The Internet was the source for this recipe quite awhile ago, but I’m not sure of the site. A quick search today brought up astray.com, so it might have been there.
Italian Carrots
(Adapted from a recipe found online, possibly at adapt.com)
Serves 4–doubles or triples easily
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1 pound carrots, cut into 2½ inch lengths and halved or quartered so they’re approximately the same size
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon oregano, minced (dried is OK)
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, for serving
Italian parsley (flat leaf), chopped, for garnish (very good, but optional)
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1. Cover the carrots with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until just tender.
(Oregano shown below)
2. While the carrots are cooking, make the dressing. Combine the vinegar, oregano, garlic and olive oil in a measuring cup or bowl.
3. When the carrots are done, drain them and put them in a wide shallow baking pan or pie plate. Pour the dressing over them. Let them cool down, stirring occasionally.
4. If you’re making them ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Let them come to room temperature before serving.
5. When ready to serve, move the carrots from the marinating pan to a serving dish with a slotted spoon. Season to taste with a bit of salt and garnish with a bit of Italian parsley.
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Crab Vermouth for 2
Crab Vermouth is one of our favorite recipes from Sunset’s Cooking for Two…or Just for You. The crab is simply heated up in a buttery broth and served with hot French bread for dunking.
The recipe doubles, or even triples, easily for a super-easy dish that guests love. I use a large Dutch oven when I’m cooking 2 or 3 crabs.
To best preserve the crab’s freshness, I’ve read it’s best to clean it just before you use it; instructions follow the recipe. If you’d rather not do it yourself, however, they’ll be happy to do it for you at your seafood shop. Truthfully, you’ll probably not notice the difference.
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Crab Vermouth for 2
(Adapted from the recipe in Sunset’s Cooking for Two…or Just for You)
1 large (about 2 lbs.) cooked Dungeness crab, cleaned and cracked*
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup dry vermouth
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1½ teaspoons soy sauce (Use wheat-free Tamari for gluten free.)
1½ teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry Vermouth
Hot French bread
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Melt the butter over medium heat in a wide skillet that has a lid. For a slightly thicker broth, remove the pan from the heat and blend in the cornstarch.
Add the broth, the ½ cup vermouth, parsley, garlic, soy sauce and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the crab; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the 2 tablespoons vermouth and serve the crab and broth in shallow bowls with the hot French bread.
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To clean a cooked Dungeness crab:
Full disclosure: You’ll note that I have Bob clean the crab for me. He’s always happy to do it. If he were not willing to do it, I would probably have it done where I buy it.
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1. Turn the crab over and lift this little part.
2. Pull the large top shell off of the crab.
3. Break the crab in two pieces down the middle.
4. Rinse well
5. It’s ready to eat (for cold cracked crab) or use in a recipe
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Pork Fried Rice
The recipe I use for fried rice is in a little cookbook by Bonnie Tandy Leblang and Joanne Lamb Hayes, called Rice. It’s really more of a guideline for fried rice, because the possibilities for variations are endless.
I happened to have leftover pork tenderloin, but you could use any leftover meat or seafood. The authors used water chestnuts; I added diced red pepper instead. They give suggestions for other substitutions: bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, mushrooms, pimientos, onions, or celery.
It’s best to use leftover rice, too. The rice should be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated; refrigeration makes the rice dry out a bit which makes it better for fried rice.
Basically, this is a great recipe for leftovers! It’s good enough, though, to cook up a batch of rice to refrigerate just for fried rice in a day or two.
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Pork Fried Rice
(Inspired by the recipe by Bonnie Tandy Leblang and Joanne Lamb Hayes in Rice)
This is a stir-fry recipe that goes together very quickly once you start cooking, so have all of your ingredients ready to go.
Serves 4 (easily can be cut in half to serve 2)
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4 cups cooked rice, cold
¼ cup oil (I use peanut oil.)
1-1¼ cups cooked pork, diced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup frozen peas
½ – ¾ cup diced red peppers
2½ tablespoons oyster sauce* (for gluten-free, use Wok Mei All Natural Oyster Sauce )
1 tablespoon soy sauce (use wheat-free tamari for gluten-free)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 green onions, sliced
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1. Using your fingers, separate the rice so the grains aren’t stuck together.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. (A 12-inch cast iron skillet is ideal.)
3. Add the red peppers (or any other raw vegetable that you’re using) and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Add the pork and stir-fry for about a minute. Add the rice and stir-fry until it is all well-coated with the oil and warm, but not browned.
4. Make a well in the center of the rice and add the beaten eggs. Stir-fry to distribute the eggs throughout the rice. They will cook very quickly.
5. Add the peas, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Continue to stir-fry for a few seconds. Stir in the green onions and serve.
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*Ingredient note: I discovered Wok Mei All Natural Oyster Sauce at Metropolitan Market. It’s great and has no MSG, sodium benzoate, modified corn starch, refined sugars, artificial colors, or artificial flavors. It’s gluten-free! Love it!
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Skillet Chicken with Rice
Skillet Chicken and Rice is adapted from a recipe I clipped from Better Homes and Gardens magazine over 25 years ago.
I have a small collection of recipes that are easy to prepare on a sailboat; most can be totally prepared on the stove top with just one pan. This is one of those recipes. I don’t make them too often at home so they’ll be “special” when we’re cruising.
I have a Cuisinart nonstick pan that I use for this recipe when we’re sailing. (I’m generally not a big fan of nonstick cookware, but it does make clean-up much easier on a boat.) Last night I used my cast iron skillet. Truth be told, the rice stuck and it was a mess to clean up. So I would use a different pan next time.
The salvaged rice, and the carrots, mushrooms and chicken were still delicious. This is a very easy one-pot dinner.
Skillet Chicken and Rice for 2
(Adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine recipe)
(Serves 2, doubles easily to serve 4)
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4 chicken thighs (or chicken parts of your choice)
1 tablespoon oil
1/3 cup rice
¼ cup chopped onions
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, sliced in ½-inch diagonal slices
2/3 cup water
1. In a skillet, brown the chicken on all sides in hot oil for about 15 minutes total.
2. Remove chicken pieces.
3. Drain all but about 1 tablespoon fat from the skillet.
4. Add the rice, onions, salt and poultry seasoning to the skillet. Cook and stir until the rice is lightly browned. (It takes just a minute or two.)
5. Add the mushrooms, carrots and water.
6. Place the chicken, skin side up, on top of the rice mixture. Season the chicken with additional salt and pepper.
(Photo below of chicken in the skillet, including the steam rising.)
7. Cover, and simmer over low heat for 35 minutes, or until the chicken and rice are done.
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Cornish Game Hen (or Chicken or Turkey) Tetrazzini
By Kath Dedon
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According to Wikipedia, Tetrazzini is an American dish that was most likely invented sometime between 1908 and 1910 by Ernest Arbogast. He was the chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco where the popular Italian opera star, Luisa Tetrazzini, was a resident. He named the dish after her.
A classic Tetrazzini recipe calls for poultry or seafood, pasta, mushrooms, almonds, cream sauce, and Parmesan cheese.
In the ‘50s and ‘60s it became popular to use canned cream of mushroom soup in Tetrazzini recipes. I’m pretty sure my mom used canned soup in her version. I remember that I liked it.
I turned to the 2006 edition of the Joy of Cooking for the latest version of this American classic. I had one leftover Cornish game hen; it yielded 8 ounces of meat (I’d say about 2 cups). It was just enough to make ½ of the recipe.
Well, you know what they say—everything old is new again! This was great! I now have another favorite recipe to turn to when we have leftover chicken or turkey (or Cornish game hen).
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(Frozen peas seemed like the perfect retro side dish.)
Cornish Game Hen (or Chicken or Turkey) Tetrazzini
(Adapted from a recipe in the Joy of Cooking, 2006 edition)
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Serves 3 – 4, doubles easily
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4 ounces farfalle (you could use spaghetti, which is more traditional, or any other shape)
4 tablespoons butter, plus a bit to butter the baking dish
4 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
¼ cup flour
1 cup chicken broth
¾ cup milk
2 cups cooked Cornish game hen meat, chopped (or chicken or turkey)
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted*
¼ cup fresh bread crumbs
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
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- Preheat the oven to 400˚.
2. Butter an 8×8 inch baking dish.
3. Put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta.
4. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
5. Add 1 heaping tablespoon salt to the boiling water and cook the pasta according to the package directions.
6. Stir the flour into the mushrooms until well blended. Slowly add the chicken broth and milk while stirring constantly. Cook and stir until thickened, about 5 minutes.
7. Add the Cornish game hen, almonds, and cooked and drained pasta to the sauce and stir well.
8. At this point, taste to see if it needs salt; if your chicken broth is salty, it may not need much. I added about 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
9. Put it all into the buttered baking dish.
10. Combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Distribute evenly over the top of the Tetrazzini.
11. Bake for 25 minutes.
* To toast the almonds, put in a small, dry pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until lightly toasted. It takes 3 – 4 minutes.
In the kitchen with Kath 
