Category Archives: main course

Roasted Fresh Ham with Red Currant Glaze

17 November 2013 by local kitchen

Did I mention that I’ve got a lot of pork? Yes, yes I do. And I’m trying to make some room in the very stuffed chest freezer for chicken stock, bell peppers, pumpkin purée; the last put-ups of the season, really, before the snow flies. One good way to clear out a chunk of freezer real estate is to cook a roast. “Fresh” ham is pork from the leg, but not cured or smoked (and hence not pink) like a […]

Categories: main course, pork, roasting, Use it or Lose it!, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, pork, recipes

Adobo Pork Chops

10 November 2013 by local kitchen

This year I joined my first meat CSA: in the spring, I paid for a portion of a pastured, heritage breed pig from Millstone Farm in Wilton, CT. They raised up our pigs all summer, and in August (conveniently while I was still in California) Tai went to the farm and picked up lots and lots of pork. And by lots, I mean lots: shoulder and fresh ham and roast and cutlets and bacon and sausages galore. And, of course, […]

Categories: main course, pork, roasting, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, pork, recipes

Saffron & Meyer Lemon Roasted Chicken

23 October 2013 by local kitchen

I had every intention of sharing a different recipe with you this week: a jam & almond crumb bar that was a big hit at a party a few weeks ago, or a Thai green curry udon noodle dish that I keep meaning to make again. But some recipes are simply too good not to share right now: saffron & Meyer lemon roasted chicken is definitely on that list. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to roast […]

Categories: chicken, fall, main course, roasting, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, food, local, main course, recipes

Chuzos de Pollo

20 October 2013 by local kitchen

Most of the meals I had in Panama fell into one simple category: meat on a stick. While I can’t claim to be a big fan of Panamanian cuisine; it’s very meat & starch-centric, with lots of fried food and nary a vegetable in sight; I can say that when it comes to carne en palito, Panama knows its stuff. Incredibly tender and moist chunks of chicken or beef, marinated and flavorful and perfectly grilled over an open flame: it’s enough […]

Categories: chicken, citrus, grill, main course, parsley, year round • Tags: cooking, food, grilling, latin america, local, meat, recipes

Honey-Soy Braised Beef

12 August 2013 by local kitchen

Guilty confession time: I’m having a bit of a love affair with Gordon Ramsay. And I’ve dragged in my husband. And my good friend Fran. I can see the Daily Mirror headlines now: “GORDON RAMSAY SHOCKER! Shouty chef in 4-way sex scandal! Slams lover’s food blog as “amateurish” and “not restaurant quality!”” It all started with the completely wacky ABC Baking Company episode of Kitchen Nightmares, which I first heard about over at Eater back in May. The show was […]

Categories: beef, lettuce, main course, year round • Tags: Asian, beef, braised, cooking, food, lettuce, local, recipes

Whiskey-Chile Fresh Ham Kebabs

19 May 2013 by local kitchen

So, here’s how this works: it’ll be sunny & 70 degrees for a week, I’ll make these fantastic, killer, hella-good whisky & smoked chile-marinated pork kebabs, then on the first grey, drizzly, chilly, raw day, the first day in weeks that you don’t want to grill, I’ll tell you about them. On a Sunday afternoon. When the recipe requires an overnight marinade. Oh, and I’ll include a bunch of ingredients you probably can’t find. Sound good? All indications to the […]

Categories: grill, main course, pork, summer, wine, beer & liquor • Tags: cooking, food, grilling, local, main course, pork, recipes

Ramp & Sausage Lasagna

1 May 2013 by local kitchen

Spring has officially sprung in New York: buds are out on the trees, forsythia is in bloom, peepers are filling our twilights with their song, and I found rhubarb and ramps at the farmer’s market over the weekend. Even better than peepers & ramps, Spring has brought Miss Kate back to the ‘hood, with canning classes last weekend in Coventry, demos in Manhattan this weekend, and a few days of relaxing Chez Local Kitchen in between. I had the good […]

Categories: cheese, leek, main course, pork, sausage, spring • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, pasta, pork, recipes

Put ’em Up! Fruit: Classic Blueberry Jam, Pan-Roasted Chicken with Blueberry Reduction, and A Giveaway

11 April 2013 by local kitchen

By now, you’ve heard about Put ’em Up! Fruit, the new book from Sherri Brooks Vinton, right? I mean, Marisa was dishing about it, as was Sean, and Autumn made the glorious sounding lemon, red onion & oregano jam. And with giveaways all over the blogosphere for the next two weeks, surely it won’t be long before you have a copy in your hot little hands. Right? When Storey Publishing emailed to ask if I’d like to participate in a […]

Categories: berries, chicken, jams, main course, preserving, quick & easy, roasting, Use it or Lose it!, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: canning, chicken, cooking, dinner, food, local, preserving, quick & easy, recipes

Mexican Black Bean Pizza

2 April 2013 by local kitchen

I threw together this pizza for a quick lunch the other day. While homemade black bean pizza might not be your idea of “quick & easy” lunch fare, it mostly consisted of tossing together a bunch of already-prepared things: cooked black beans, par-baked and frozen pizza crust, salsa from last summer; and adding a bit of fresh veg and cheese. As it was, it took longer to preheat the oven than to put this pizza together and 20 minutes later […]

Categories: main course, pizza, quick & easy, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, main course, pizza, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Use It or Lose It! Drunken Cherry Chicken

20 March 2013 by local kitchen

In addition to my main stores in the garage pantry, I keep a small stash of jarred goods in a corner of one of my way-too-deep and inconveniently-high kitchen cabinets (the extra-convenient one above the fridge). I was pawing through the jars the other day (balanced precariously on the invaluable kitchen step stool), hoping I could avoid a snowy trip downstairs to pick up a jar of salsa, when I unearthed a dusty jar of drunken cherries: from 2009. Oops. […]

Categories: braising, cherries, chicken, main course, Use it or Lose it!, wine, beer & liquor, winter • Tags: cherries, chicken, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Lemon Lime Linguine

6 March 2013 by local kitchen

I should be home by now. Curled up on my couch, exhausted from a long day’s travel, but happy to see my husband after nearly a week away, and excited by the thought of my own bed. Apparently Winter Storm Whatever-Silly-Name-We’ve-Picked-This-Week had other plans. I got up in the wee small hours of the morning, still dark outside, bleary-eyed from yet another fun night in San Francisco. My friend Christina graciously offered to drive me to the airport before she headed […]

Categories: appetizer, citrus, main course, spring, vegetarian, winter • Tags: citrus, cooking, food, local, recipes, spring, vegetarian, winter

Jacket Potato

27 February 2013 by local kitchen

My friend Christina was in the UK last week and she ended up in Windsor, by the castle. She snapped a pic of a pub we had visited last spring, whiling away a stormy afternoon (and a substantial hangover) with lunch and a pint, while the rest of our crew toured the castle. Just seeing a blurry, nighttime snapshot of the front of the pub brought me back to that afternoon: the warm & cozy (and dry!) wooden booths, the […]

Categories: 100% local, main course, potato, quick & easy, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, potatoes, quick & easy, recipes

Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash & Sausage

9 January 2013 by local kitchen

I’ve mentioned Liana Krissoff’s new cookbook Whole Grains for a New Generation a couple of times now, on Facebook and Twitter, mostly because it’s been a ridiculous bargain on Amazon ($3, really?!). I ordered a copy for myself before Christmas (when it was a still-ridiculous $5) thanks to a tip from Emily at Nomnivorous, and I’ve been paging through it, planning various meals, since we returned from Maine. It’s a lovely book: nice, heavy paper stock, lots of photographs, with […]

Categories: fall, grains & legumes, main course, quinoa, sausage, winter, winter squash • Tags: cooking, fall, food, local, quick & easy, quinoa, recipes, sausage, winter

Tepary Bean, Pork & Winter Vegetable Soup

5 January 2013 by local kitchen

Have you ever had tepary beans? Apparently, once upon a time, they were an important food source for Native Americans in the American Southwest, and the history of their use dates back over 6,000 years in Mexico. Yet, until recently, I had never heard of the tepary bean (whose name seems to derive from t’pawi, Papago Indian for “it’s a bean”) and without Rancho Gordo, I probably would not have been able to find them. Tepary beans are drought-resistant, native […]

Categories: carrot, celery, heirloom beans, leek, main course, pork, scallions, soup, winter • Tags: cooking, food, heirloom beans, local, pork, recipes, soup, winter

Downeast Beef Chili

4 December 2012 by local kitchen

As you might have heard, I’ve been staying with Tai’s grandmother Louisa, in Downeast Maine, since before Thanksgiving. Louisa is awesome: she is bright, warm, and generous, and has always made me feel welcome and an important part of this big, wacky family into which I married. But Louisa is 88 years old, and while she has maintained an amazing amount of independence and vitality throughout her ‘golden years,’ in the last six months or so she has suffered some […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, beef, bell pepper, carrot, heirloom beans, hot chile peppers, main course, stew, winter • Tags: beans, beef, chiles, cooking, food, local, recipes, winter