Ingredients

• 6 slices white bread, crusts removed
• 4 cups water
• 2 1/2 cups (8 3/4 ounces) plus 1/3 cup sliced blanched almonds
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• Kosher salt and pepper
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 6 ounces seedless green grapes, sliced thin (1 cup)

Preparation

Combine bread and water in bowl and let soak for 5 minutes. Process 2 1/2 cups almonds in blender until finely ground, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed.

Using your hands, remove bread from water, squeeze it lightly, and transfer to blender with almonds. Measure 3 cups soaking water and set aside; transfer remaining soaking water to blender.

Add garlic, vinegar, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and cayenne to blender and process until mixture has consistency of cake batter, 30 to 45 seconds. With blender running, add olive oil in thin, steady stream, about 30 seconds. Add reserved soaking water and process for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Strain soup through fine-mesh strainer set in bowl, pressing on solids to extract liquid. Discard solids.

Measure 1 tablespoon of soup into second bowl and stir in almond extract. Return 1 teaspoon of extract mixture to soup; discard remainder. Chill for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

Heat vegetable oil in 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat until oil begins to shimmer. Add remaining 1/3 cup almonds and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately transfer to bowl and stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Ladle soup into shallow bowls. Mound an equal amount of grapes in center of each bowl. Sprinkle cooled almonds over soup and drizzle with extra olive oil. Serve immediately.

CI

Ingredients

• 3 cups jarred whole artichoke hearts (smaller the better, packed in water, not marinated or oil)
• 2 slices white bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup), plus extra for serving
• Salt and pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 12 ounces tagliatelle
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Preparation

Cut leaves from artichoke hearts. Cut hearts in half and dry with paper towels. Place leaves in bowl and cover with water. Let leaves stand for 15 minutes. Drain well.

Pulse bread in food processor until finely ground, 10 to 15 pulses. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add bread crumbs and cook, stirring constantly, until crumbs begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until crumbs are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer crumbs to bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Wipe out skillet.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add artichoke hearts and 1/8 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until hearts are spotty brown, 7 to 9 minutes. Add garlic, anchovies, oregano, and pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in wine and cream and bring to simmer. Remove skillet from heat and stir in artichoke leaves. Set aside.

Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot. Stir in artichoke sauce, remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan, 2/3 cup reserved cooking water, remaining 1/4 cup oil, parsley, and lemon zest. Adjust consistency with remaining reserved cooking water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing bread-crumb mixture and extra Parmesan separately.

CI

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 12 ounces Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 1 pound collard greens, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

Preparation

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer chorizo to bowl and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, garlic, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and pepper flakes and season with pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add potatoes, broth, and water; increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Transfer 3/4 cup solids and 3/4 cup broth to blender jar. Add collard greens to pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in chorizo and continue to simmer until greens are tender, 8 to 10 minutes longer.

Add remaining 3 tablespoons oil to soup in blender and process until very smooth and homogeneous, about 1 minute. Remove pot from heat and stir pureed soup mixture and vinegar into soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve. (Soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

CI

Ingredients

• 2 tubes canned cinnamon rolls with icing (one regular and one caramel)
• 2 small apples, gala or honey crisp
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove cinnamon rolls from the packaging and lightly flour your work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out each cinnamon roll until flat enough to roll up, about double the original size. Place each cinnamon roll, seam side down, into a pie dish and form a circle. Add two additional circles (depending on your pie pan size), ending with one single cinnamon roll in the middle.

Peel and slice 2 small apples and push slices in between the gaps of each cinnamon roll circle. Cover with tin foil and bake until the cinnamon rolls are nearly cooked through, possibly as long as 30 minutes. Uncover and brown. [CP: This is a tweak to the recipe, which didn’t begin to cook all the way through the first time we made it; we haven’t tried it this way yet. Edit me to add times when we cook it again.]

Meanwhile, spoon regular icing into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 10 seconds or until warm and slightly runny. Drizzle over the warm pie. Repeat with the caramel icing. If you can’t find cinnamon rolls that come with caramel icing, simply combine the regular icing with 1/4 cup caramel sauce and heat in a microwave-safe bowl for 10 seconds as well. Stir to combine and drizzle over the top.

Deliciously Yum

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 4 chicken thighs
• 1 lb. fresh sausage links (Italian or Bratwust)
• 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1 each red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, sliced
• 1 small container brown mushroom caps
• 1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 c. soy sauce brown rice

Preparation

Salt & pepper the chicken thighs. Heat a little olive oil in your largest skillet, add thighs skin-side down, cover, and cook until lightly browned. Cut sausage links into thirds. Flip chicken, add sausage, cover, and cook until sausage starts to brown, turning once to cook evenly. Add onion and garlic. Cook (without lid) and stir until onion begins to wilt. Add peppers and mushrooms. Stir occasionally while veggies cook.

When peppers and mushrooms are done to your liking, add sauces and stir until the pan juices thicken and glaze the meats and veggies.

Serve with brown rice.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds onions, halved and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 1/2 ounces (1 1/4 cups) green or brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/4 cups rice
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Preparation

Toss onions and salt together in large bowl. Microwave for 5 minutes. Rinse thoroughly, transfer to paper towel–lined baking sheet, and dry well. Heat onions and oil in Dutch oven over high heat, stirring frequently, until onions are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Reserve 3 tbsp. of the oil from cooking the onions. Drain onions in colander set in large bowl. Transfer onions to paper towel–lined baking sheet to drain.

Whisk the next four ingredients together in bowl. Refrigerate while preparing rice and lentils.

Bring lentils, 4 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt to boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook until lentils are tender, 15 to 17 minutes. Drain and set aside. While lentils cook, place rice in medium bowl and cover by 2 inches with hot tap water; let stand for 15 minutes.

Using your hands, gently swish rice grains to release excess starch. Carefully pour off water, leaving rice in bowl. Add cold tap water to rice and pour off water. Repeat adding and pouring off cold tap water 4 to 5 times, until water runs almost clear. Drain rice in fine-mesh strainer.

Heat reserved onion oil, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne in Dutch oven over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until edges of rice begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups water, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to boil. Stir in lentils, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until all liquid is absorbed, about 12 minutes.

Off heat, remove lid, fold dish towel in half, and place over pot; replace lid. Let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff rice and lentils with fork and stir in cilantro and half of crispy onions. Transfer to serving platter, top with remaining crispy onions, and serve, passing yogurt sauce separately.

CI

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds beef flap meat, trimmed
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons cornstarch
• 10 (3-inch) strips orange peel, sliced thin lengthwise (1/4 cup), plus 1/4 cup juice (2 oranges)
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 cups vegetable oil
• 1 jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin lengthwise
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Preparation

Cut beef along grain into 2½- to 3-inch-wide lengths. Slice each piece against grain into ½-inch-thick slices. Cut each slice lengthwise into ½-inch-wide strips. Toss beef with 1 tablespoon soy sauce in bowl. Add cornstarch and toss until evenly coated. Spread beef in single layer on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Transfer sheet to freezer until meat is very firm but not completely frozen, about 45 minutes.

Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, orange juice, molasses, sherry, vinegar, and sesame oil together in bowl.

Line second rimmed baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels. Heat vegetable oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until oil registers 375 degrees. Carefully add one-third of beef and fry, stirring occasionally to keep beef from sticking together, until golden brown, about 1½ minutes. Using spider, transfer meat to paper towel–lined sheet. Return oil to 375 degrees and repeat twice more with remaining beef. After frying, reserve 2 tablespoons frying oil.

Heat reserved oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add orange peel and jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, until about half of orange peel is golden brown, 1½ to 2 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and ­pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is beginning to brown, about 45 seconds. Add soy sauce mixture and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until slightly thickened, about 45 seconds. Add beef and scallions and toss. Transfer to platter and serve immediately.

CI

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lb beef (oxtail, short rib, shank—something with fat, flavor, and preferably some marrow and gelatin), in one or two large pieces
• Salt to taste
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and minced
• 2 ribs celery, minced
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 lb ground pork (preferably from the shoulder)
• ½ cup minced pancetta
• 1 small can whole peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano), drained and crushed
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Season the beef on all sides with salt and cook until deeply browned all over. Remove from the pan.

If the pan is dry, add another splash of oil. Sauté the carrot, celery, and onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the pork and pancetta and cook until lightly browned, then stir in the tomato and continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Return the beef to the pan, add the wine, stock, bay leaf and cover. Turn the heat to low and simmer for two hours, until the beef is falling apart.

Shred the beef by hand or with two forks and fold back into the sauce, discarding any bones, excess fat, or cartilage. If the sauce looks too dry, add a splash of broth or water to get the right consistency. Serve over pasta with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Makes about 8 servings.

Matt Goulding, Roads and Kingdoms

Ingredients

• 5 medium garlic cloves, pressed, divided (3+2), plus 4 medium cloves, smashed
• 1 pound large shrimp (21-25), peeled, deveined, each shrimp cut into 3 pieces
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Table salt
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 pound pasta in short, tubular shapes
• 2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry vermouth or white wine
• 3/4 cup clam juice
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice plus 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• Ground black pepper

Preparation

Toss 2 cloves pressed garlic, shrimp, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Let shrimp marinate at room temperature 20 minutes.

Heat 4 smashed garlic cloves and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is light golden brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and use slotted spoon to remove garlic from skillet; discard garlic. Set skillet aside.

Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta. Cook until just al dente, then drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water, and transfer pasta back to Dutch oven.

While pasta cooks, return skillet with oil to medium heat; add shrimp with marinade to skillet in single layer. Cook shrimp, undisturbed, until oil starts to bubble gently, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir shrimp and continue to cook until almost cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to medium bowl. Add remaining 3 cloves pressed garlic and pepper flakes to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute; stir in vermouth and cook for 1 minute. Add clam juice and parsley; cook until mixture starts to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and lemon juice. Add shrimp and sauce to pasta, adding reserved cooking water if sauce is too thick. Season with black pepper. Serve, passing lemon wedges separately.

CI

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup frozen white pearl onions, thawed
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 small bunch kale, center ribs and stems removed, leaves chopped
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 rotisserie chicken, meat torn into bite-size pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 large egg

Preparation

Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 425°. Heat oil in an 8-inch cast-iron or other heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic and sage to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic begins to brown, about 2 minutes.

Add kale and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing often, until wilted, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle flour over. Cook, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes.

Stir in broth, 1/2-cupful at a time, then add squash. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until squash is just softened and broth is thickened, 8-10 minutes. Add chicken to skillet, stir, and season with salt and pepper.

Unfold pastry and smooth any creases; place over skillet, allowing corners to hang over sides. Whisk egg and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Brush pastry with egg wash; cut four 1-inch slits in top to vent.

Bake pot pie until pastry is beginning to brown, 15-20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375° and bake until pastry is deep golden brown and crisp, 15-20 minutes longer. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Bon Appetit