Ingredients

• 3/4 c. lentils, rinsed
• 4 tsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/3 c. diced carrot
• 1/3 c. diced celery
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 1 1/2 c. dry red wine
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1-2 tsp. spice blend (optional)
• 1/4-1 tsp. salt
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. pepper
• 12 red pearl onions
• 1 lg. bunch kale, washed and chopped coarsely
• 1 tbsp. walnut or almond oil
• loaf rustic bread

Preparation

Parboil the lentils for 5 minutes, drain, and rinse. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and celery. When slightly browned, add garlic and tomato paste and mash into the vegetables. Pour in the wine, water, and mustard. Add the drained lentils, herbs, and a bit of salt. Simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, 30-40 minutes.

While the lentils are cooking, blanch the onions in boiling water for 1 minute, drain, and peel. Put them in a heavy frying pan with the other tbsp. of olive oil and cook over medium heat until tender and beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Add a splash of water or wine near the end to deglaze the pan. Season with salt and pepper and remove from skillet.

Wilt the kale in the skillet, season with salt and pepper. Stir into the lentils. Serve with a swirl of walnut oil, a garnish of pearl onions, and with a thick, toasted slice of rustic bread.

Penzey’s Spices

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 c. flour
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. grated orange peel
• 3/4 c. butter, softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin
• 1 c. fresh, chopped cranberries
• 1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each one. Add vanilla, pumpkin, and dry mixture about 1/2 c. at a time, alternating between pumpkin and dry mix until all is added. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Divide batter between two 8x4 1/2" greased and floured loaf pans and bake for 55-65 minutes.

Penzey’s Spices

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. flour

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425. Combine all ingredients. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes or until crisp (when they start to pop).

Penzey’s Spices

##Brine

• 4 cups of water
• 1 tbsp white Vinegar
• 1 tbsp table salt, non iodized
• 1 tbsp Sugar, white
• 1 tbsp MSG

After 4 hours, remove the chicken from brine and rinse in fresh water. Add the brined chicken to egg wash.

Egg Wash

• 1 cup milk (The Col. used skim or reconstituted)
• 1 large egg

Combine well, dip chicken in egg wash dredge in 1- 2 cups seasoned flour depending on the size of your bird.

Seasoned Flour

• 4 cups cake flour (low protein flour is very important here)
• 4 tsp freshly ground white pepper
• 3 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tsp freshly ground sage
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground coriander
• 1 1/4 tsp high quality ground ginger
• 1 tsp freshly ground Ancho chile
• 3/4 tsp freshly ground whole vanilla bean
• 3/4 tsp freshly ground bay leaf
• 3/4 tsp freshly ground savory
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground green cardamom seeds
• 1 tsp MSG

The salt is added after the chicken has been cooked, for each 4lb chicken use about 4ts popcorn salt. Some people find that too salty so you might want to reduce it some. I use finely ground sea salt.

You need about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of this breading for a 3 1/2 to 4 lb bird plus extra for gravy. The original chicken was cut into 9 pcs and cooked in corn oil. The Colonel would use the flour mix left over after breading the chicken to make his famous milk gravy.

This method is for people who don’t want to pressure cook the chicken. It produces a tasty result but it is no where as moist as the pressure fried chicken, it is much less complicated though. If you want crunchier chicken mix a little milk with the breading, about an ounce or so, enough to make the flour shaggy. Press the flour firmly on the egg/milk dipped chicken.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Heat corn or vegetable oil in 11-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. Carefully place chicken pieces in pan, skin side down, and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip and continue to cook until golden brown on second side, 2 to 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Bake chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees for breasts and 175 for legs and thighs, 15 to 20 minutes. (Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces. Remove pieces from oven as they reach correct temperature.) Let chicken rest 5 minutes before serving.

Colonel Sanders’ Original “Cracklin’ Gravy” (1952-1964)

• 1 TBSP butter
• 1/4 cup Original Recipe breading flour
• 1/2 cup cracklings strained from the pressure cooker or frying pan
• 1 cup whole milk, cold
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup whole cream, cold

Put the butter, flour and cracklings into a frying pan over low to medium heat. Stir continuously until the ingredients are fully blended and the raw flour is lightly browned. This takes a few minutes. The roux should not be darker than peanut butter brown. If you burn it, dump it, clean the pan start again. (If you are a novice gravy maker you might want to save your cracklins until the end so you won’t waste them on a burned batch.)

Gently pour the milk, hot water, and cream, continue stirring until it begins to thicken. Taste the gravy and add extra salt or pepper if needed. Allow the mixture to come to a light boil, when it is the thickness you want turn off the heat and serve.

A bunch of crazy people on an entire forum dedicated to KFC recipes, via Reddit

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 pound firm tofu, drained
• 1/3 cup sliced scallions
• Soy sauce

Preparation

Put the oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until their juices release and they begin to dry out slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.

Crumble the tofu with your fingers and add it to the pan along with the scallions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is heated through and dried out a bit, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve, drizzling with soy sauce at the table. Note: To make Scrambled Tofu With Corn, Tomatoes and Basil, use olive oil instead of neutral oil and reduce the amount of tomatoes to 1 cup. Substitute 3/4-cup corn kernels for the scallions and stir in some chopped fresh basil before serving. Skip the soy sauce and drizzle with a little more olive oil at the table if you like.

Mark Bittman, New York Times

Ingredients

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 standard ice cube (about 2 tablespoons frozen water)
• 10 ounces (about 2 cups)
• all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
• 5 ounces (about 3/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 ounces (about 1/2 tightly packed cup plus 2 tablespoons) dark brown sugar
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped with a knife into 1/2- to 1/4-inch chunks
• Coarse sea salt for ganish

Preparation

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, gently swirling pan constantly, until particles begin to turn golden brown and butter smells nutty, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and continue swirling the pan until the butter is a rich brown, about 15 seconds longer. Transfer to a medium bowl, whisk in ice cube, transfer to refrigerator, and allow to cool completely, about 20 minutes, whisking occasionally. (Alternatively, whisk over an ice bath to hasten process).

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Place granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium high speed until mixture is pale brownish-yellow and falls off the whisk in thick ribbons when lifted, about 5 minutes.

Fit paddle attachment onto mixer. When brown butter mixture has cooled (it should be just starting to turn opaque again and firm around the edges), Add brown sugar and cooled brown butter to egg mixture in stand mixer. Mix on medium speed to combine, about 15 seconds. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until just barely combined but some dry flour still remains, about 15 seconds. Add chocolate and mix on low until dough comes together, about 15 seconds longer. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate dough at least overnight and up to three days.

When ready to bake, adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions and preheat oven to 325°F. Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or a spoon, place scoops of cookie dough onto a non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheet. Each ball should measure approximately 3 tablespoons in volume and you should be able to fit 6 to 8 balls on each sheet. Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown around edges but still soft, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating pans back to front and top and bottom half way through baking.

Remove baking sheets from oven. While cookies are still hot, sprinkle very lightly with coarse salt and gently press it down to embed. Let cool for 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 for remaining cookie dough. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container, plastic bag, or cookie jar at room temperature for up to 5 days.

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, Serious Eats

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 blocks firm tofu
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
• Chopped scallions for garnish

Preparation

Put oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, 3 to 5 minutes.

With your hands, crumble tofu into the pan. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet occasionally and adjusting heat as necessary, until tofu browns and crisps as much or as little as you like, anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with the chili powder, cumin and cinnamon; stir and cook, continuing to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan until the mixture is fragrant, a minute or two. Stir in vinegar and adjust the seasoning taste. Garnish with cilantro and scallions and serve with warm corn tortillas or over rice.

Mark Bittman, New York Times

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh pink grapefruit juice (from 2-3 grapefruits)
• 1/2 cup St-Germain
• 1/4 cup Campari
• 1 750-ml. bottle chilled sparkling wine

Preparation

Combine grapefruit juice, St-Germain, and Campari in a large pitcher. Cover and chill until cold, about 2 hours. Divide grapefruit mixture among glasses and top off with sparkling wine.

Bon Appetit, May 2013

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces Campari
• 1/2 bottle (6 ounces) IPA beer
• Lemon twist, to garnish (optional)

Preparation

Fill a glass with ice. Add Campari. Slowly pour in the beer. If garnishing with the lemon, squeeze the lemon peel over the drink to release the oils, and rub around the rim of the glass. Drop garnish into the glass and serve.

The Kitchn

Ingredients

• 2 oz Campari
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 oz lime juice
• 1/4 cup basil leaves, loosely packed
• Basil leaves for garnish

Preparation

In the bottom of a cocktail shaker or glass, add the brown sugar, lime juice and 1/4 cup basil leaves. Muddle together with a muddler or a spoon until the sugar has mostly dissolved into the lime juice and there is a nice basil scent released from the leaves. Add the Campari and stir well to combine. Fill a Collins glass or other glass with crushed ice. Pour the Campari-basil mixture over the ice and top with a splash of sparkling water. Serve with basil leaves for garnish.

Set the Table