Ben Cooks Everything

There’s a line in the introduction to the recipe for Stir-Fried Chicken with Leeks, Oyster Mushrooms, and Peanuts in Melissa Clark’s Cook This Now where she really gets to the heart of the matter on stir-fries:

And here’s what I’ve learned, something I’ve known in theory but never really lived: stir-fries are easy. They are quick. The hardest part is cutting up the ingredients, but once that is done, dinner practically is, too.

I can relate. Everyone is always saying this about stir-fries, but I never quite believed it in my heart of hearts. So far everything I’ve made from Cook This Now has been delicious, and all of Clark’s advice sound, which was enough to make me give this recipe a shot. (more…)

If you make beans from scratch, the cooking liquid is the best part. A smoked ham trotter and a couple pounds of beans cost about $3 in total and will leave you with more beans than you know what to do with (freeze them). Cooking them in the oven takes a lot of guesswork out of it for me, and works with or without a soak, though soaking reduces cooking time greatly. My usual method is below, along with a recipe for one of my favorite things to do with the beans: cook them with greens, which makes the most of their delicious broth. (more…)

I’ve admired Melissa Clark’s recipes for years now, mostly through her contributions to the New York Times’ Dining section. That led me to Greenlight Bookstore last week to a reading to celebrate the release of her latest cookbook, Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can’t Wait to Make. (more…)

Ratatouille, to me, is the perfect dish for this very moment of the year: fall is here, but summer produce is still all in season at the market. So you can stock up on zucchini, tomatoes, and eggplant, and then actually turn on the oven and make the dish without fear of collapsing in a puddle of your own sweat. (more…)

I’ve lately found myself cooking recipes from How to Cook Everything a lot less. It’s not that I don’t still love the cookbook; it’s still an essential text for me, the book I recommend to everyone that wants to learn a thing or two about cooking. But HTCE is, I’m starting to think, a little self-defeating. The more recipes you make from it, the less you need it. I’ve made so many of Mark Bittman’s recipes that (and I think Bittman himself would love this) I’m cooking more and more without recipes. I’ve gained the essential tools and techniques I need, and now I can fly on my own, like a little baby bird leaving the nest. Aw. (more…)

Parsley is really hard to find in Chinatown! It’s so hard to find the stuff that by the time you finally do find it, you may not even realize that it’s actually cilantro. Until you get it home. So, watch out for that. (more…)

I did this once before, with creamed spinach: skimped on the butter and subbed 1% milk for the cream or half and half. It doesn’t thicken as nicely, but you don’t feel quite as heavy when you’re done eating it. So, a trade-off. (more…)

As I’ve said before in this space, I’m not much of a baker. But Bittman’s crisp is barely baking, an incredibly forgiving recipe that can be put together in minutes with any type of fruit you’ve got on hand. Right now, with blueberries and nectarines all over the market, is a fine time of year to throw one together. (more…)

Hi there! Has it really been three months since last post? That’s ridiculous. Sorry, everybody. It’s been a busy few months! I left my job, stopped writing Apps Only, restarted writing the Greenmarket Report, celebrated a first anniversary with my boyfriend, started a new job, went to Montauk, fixed my grandma’s computer, all sorts of stuff. Not that this is any excuse, because none of it has stopped me from cooking. But it has stopped me from blogging. Point is, I’m back, and it’s now hot enough that all I can do is chop up some fresh tomatoes, garlic, and basil, toss them with salt and pepper, throw it on some toasted bread and top it with a little soft goat cheese chevre. (more…)