Sherry

This soup is decidedly uptown and was inspired by one I had at the Ritz-Carlton dining room in Atlanta. It’s a perfect marriage of Southern ingredients and French techniques that clearly states, bon appétit, y’all! I like to serve it in mason jars or French glass yogurt cups so you can see the layering.

Well known by their Cantonese name har gow, these delightful pinkish-white morsels are among the most popular offerings at dim sum houses. They go fast, and I’ve chased down my fair share of dim sum ladies to get a fresh order. When I started making my own and realized that they can be kept refrigerated and frozen, my fear of har gow scarcity diminished. These are difficult to prepare only if you aim to produce exemplary diminutive ones, which most dim sum places don’t. Start out with ones that are a little bigger and scale down as you gain dexterity. You can even make these dumplings as half-moons, and they’ll taste swell. Use the best shrimp possible, and immerse the canned bamboo shoots in boiling water to rid it of its tinny flavor before chopping. To make the pork fat easier to mince, blanch it in boiling water for 1 minute, or until firm. Obtain the fat from fatback (I go to a Latino butcher counter) or cut it off a pork chop. Fatty bacon works well, too.

When I was going over the recipes to include in this book, next to this one my editor wrote in big letters “BY ALL MEANS.” So I took that as a “yes.” Because of the caramel, the mousse is slightly soft even when frozen, so it’s best stored in the coldest part of your freezer. But don’t forget about it back there. Once you taste it, I doubt that you will.

Eggplant with garlic sauce is one of my favorite dishes at Chinese restaurants. This version tastes slightly different because it is not wok-fried; it is much less oily than the traditional version but has a similar sweet/spicy/salty sauce. I like to use sushi rice in this recipe, but any kind of white rice or even parboiled precooked brown rice will work. Use this recipe to make almost anything with garlic sauce—broccoli, tofu, chicken, or whatever you like. Edamame are soybeans. The Japanese traditionally like to munch on these, boiled and salted, as a healthy source of protein. If you aren’t familiar with jicama, try it—it is a light, crunchy, slightly starchy root vegetable. It peels easily with a vegetable peeler and is wonderful raw in salads or as a crudité. If not using jicama, substitute carrots or celery in thin strips or a four-ounce can of sliced bamboo shoots, drained.

Feel free to experiment with cheeses besides Parmesan. Try mozzarella, feta, or provolone—each makes a completely different meal. Fresh wild mushrooms, such as chanterelle or shiitake, add a complex, earthy flavor, but dried mushrooms work well, too, and may be easier to find. I like to keep dried wild mushrooms in my pantry for spur-of-the-moment dishes. Sometimes I place them in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and let sit for fifteen minutes to soften, then drain and use. Other times I simply chop the dried mushrooms and throw them into the pot for a chewier version that adds another texture to the meal.

In a pinch, substitute a drained can of diced tomatoes for fresh and any kind of wine for the dry sherry. For light and fluffy couscous, fluff it with a fork and let sit for a few minutes before eating. An easy way to peel an avocado is to halve it lengthwise and remove the pit by striking it firmly with the blade of a knife and twisting slightly to loosen. Then, make a few lengthwise cuts and a few cuts across, making sure not to pierce the skin. Push the avocado inside out and effortlessly knock the cubes of flesh from the skin.

Barley is a comfort food in my book. Hulled barley is a whole grain and offers all of the health benefits of other whole grains, including cholesterol-lowering qualities and fiber. Use a variety of mushrooms for a deeper, earthier flavor. This recipe tastes great with turkey, too! I cut and seed winter squash, but often I don’t peel it as the peel comes off very easily after it is cooked. You can also make this dish with yellow summer squash.

I’ve loved shirred eggs ever since I first sampled them in a Paris brasserie years ago. But I didn’t know exactly how to make them until I came across the carefully instructive recipe in Julia Child’s masterful tome, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, where they were called oeufs sur le plat or oeufs miroir (in deference to their shimmering surface). Here’s my favorite version, which I invariably make when I have plucked the packet of giblets from the cavity of a chicken. It should always include a plump liver—the cook’s treat.

Contrary to popular belief, chicken tetrazzini was served at many upscale restaurants throughout the United States in the early 1900s. The dish was inspired and named after the great Italian opera star Luisa Tetrazzini, and it was widely popular. In fact, it was so popular that home cooks everywhere began trying to re-create the famous dish in their homes, and it lost its appeal as a gourmet delicacy in fine dining establishments. Lucky for us at home, we can still enjoy this amazingly good comfort dish with our family and friends, unfettered by any unnecessary pretenses. Typically it is made with heavy creams and lots of butter, but we have found some healthier substitutions, such as low-fat cream cheese, which still provides the decadence and creaminess of the original. The opera isn’t over until the fat lady sings, but this much lighter version of a comfort food favorite will leave you enjoying the music!

Crystal’s brother-in-law Jim is a native of Maine, and he has a passion so strong for lobster that we have nicknamed him “Lobster Boy.” We have joked that if he were rich, he would eat lobster in some form or fashion every day—lobster rolls, lobster omelets, and even lobster casseroles. This casserole salutes you, Lobster Boy! We recommend serving it over buttered egg noodles that have been tossed with poppy seeds for color and a bit of a crunch.

We had too many seedlings to plant and so Monica also used them for the dessert for a tomato dinner: sweet tomato gelée and cream garnished with the tiny leaves. The tomato soup here also gets an assist from larger stems and leaves that are removed at the end, but very small, tender leaves from young plants (or volunteer seedlings) make a nice garnish as well.

Mushrooms simmered in sherry and sweet and savory seasonings—an elegant, yet hearty sauce.

This way of cooking eggplant makes the flesh soft and creamy. The miso glaze sweetens it with a Japanese flair.

Warm and aromatic—like bouillabaisse without all the fuss. Mussels are best eaten right away, so call everyone to the table when you put the mussels into the pot.