Valentine's Day

Pink Grapefruit & Avocado Salad

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:14:40 +0000

This is a special-occasion salad that pairs grapefruit segments with creamy avocado, pungent red onion, crunchy pomegranate seeds and aromatic, herby basil. Look for grapefruit with firm, shiny skin that are heavy for their size, which means they will have lots of juice. Store grapefruit for 1 week at room temperature or 1 month in the refrigerator.

Chilled Key Lime Mousse

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:01:42 +0000

Chilled Key Lime Mousse

This refreshing chilled Key lime mousse is a perfect union of cream and foam, tangy lime and soft sweet custard. The method is simple but a little unusual—you make a custard with fresh Key lime juice rather than milk or cream. Key limes, which are about the size of a Ping-Pong ball, are wonderfully fragrant and more acidic than regular limes. They are available all year at well-stocked supermarkets. If you can’t find them, by all means use regular limes.

Sweetened Ricotta & Apricot Crepes

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:02:51 +0000

Sweetened Ricotta & Apricot Crepes

Lightly sweetened ricotta, toasted almonds and a drizzle of apricot jam give these crepes a sophisticated edge. Try them for brunch or dessert.

Mushroom & Spinach Crepes

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:38:34 +0000

Mushroom & Spinach Crepes

Try these crepes, filled with spinach and meaty mushrooms and topped with crumbled goat cheese, for a light supper with a salad on the side.

Banana-Caramel Crepes with Nutella

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:21:56 +0000

Banana-Caramel Crepes with Nutella

Try these banana and Nutella crepes for a special brunch or luscious dessert. In this method, we fold the crepe into a square leaving a little “window” in the middle to show off what’s inside. Feel free to roll or fold your crepes around your filling any way you choose.

Leek & Lemon Linguine

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:21:25 +0000

Leek & Lemon Linguine

This simple pasta recipe has bold lemony flavor. It’s nice with a salad for a light supper or serve it along with seared fish, shrimp or chicken. Vary it as you please—add a bit of crumbled goat cheese, chopped rinsed capers, shelled edamame or thin strips of yellow bell pepper.

Roasted Quail with Muscadines

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:48:33 +0000

Roasted Quail with Muscadines

Muscadines are wild grapes indigenous to the Southeast. If you can find them, by all means use them; otherwise use regular grapes. Either makes a lovely sweet-tart accompaniment for rich quail. The traditional French pairing for quail is chestnuts. Try this quail dish with a simple, savory chestnut puree.

Whole Roasted Fish in a Salt Crust

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:58:35 +0000

Whole Roasted Fish in a Salt Crust

Roasting a whole large fish in a salt crust might seem scary, but it’s actually quite simple. It’s just a matter of placing the fish on top of a bed of salt and patting a layer of salt over the fish—the salt seals in the juices, but amazingly doesn’t overwhelm the fish with a salty taste. Present the whole salt-crusted fish at the table if you’d like, then take it to the kitchen to deconstruct it.

Blue Cheese & Fig Bite

Sarah Hoff — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:46:07 +0000

Blue Cheese & Fig Bite

Fresh figs, blue cheese and a drizzle of honey top toasted baguette slices for a magical, flavorful combination in this easy appetizer recipe. Look for fresh figs May through December in well-stocked supermarkets and specialty-foods stores.

Gluten-Free Cranberry Coconut Trifle

Sarah Hoff — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:47:19 +0000

Gluten-Free Cranberry Coconut Trifle

No other dessert turns heads like a trifle. Festive in every way, this trifle recipe glows from within with scarlet layers of juicy cranberries. The filling is made from an astounding 6 cups of antioxidant-packed cranberries! We made the custard “skinny” with a combination of low-fat milk and light coconut milk. From-scratch brown-butter sponge cake (gluten-free!) stands in for store-bought ladyfingers.

Potato-Leek Bisque

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:21:22 +0000

Potato-Leek Bisque

It’s hard to believe how rich and creamy this potato-leek soup is even though there’s not a drop of cream in it. Croutons topped with anchovy, olives and leek are a crunchy, savory foil to the soup. But skip them if you like and incorporate all the cooked leeks into the soup instead.

Roasted Pears with Brie & Pistachios

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:31:59 +0000

Roasted Pears with Brie & Pistachios

Roasted pears with Brie and pistachios is delicious as a first course or a side with roast pork or lamb. Leave the stems on for the prettiest presentation.

Caramelized Spiced Pears

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:20:02 +0000

Caramelized Spiced Pears

Serve these caramelized pear slices over ice cream, stir into plain yogurt or enjoy as a topping for pancakes or waffles. Brown-skinned Bosc pears hold their shape during cooking, but any variety of pears tastes delicious.

Peppermint Pattie Pots de Crème

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:14:34 +0000

Peppermint Pattie Pots de Crème

We love York peppermint patties and the flavor of these festive pots de crème is a dead ringer for the candy. Unlike traditional über-rich custard recipes, this custard uses low-fat milk, only 3 egg yolks and 1/2 cup of half-and-half for its creamy richness. Just 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract in the custard gives plenty of minty flavor, but if you want that icy mountain-breeze sensation, add a whole teaspoon instead.

Cranberry Coconut Trifle

Erin McCormick-Interactive Producer — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:03:32 +0000

Cranberry Coconut Trifle

No other dessert turns heads like a trifle. Festive in every way, this trifle recipe glows from within with scarlet layers of juicy cranberries. The filling is made from an astounding 6 cups of antioxidant-packed cranberries! We made the custard “skinny” with a combination of low-fat milk and light coconut milk. From-scratch brown-butter sponge cake, made with whole-wheat pastry flour, stands in for store-bought ladyfingers.