The Best Watermelon Salad By Andrew Zimmern Hot, sour, salty and sweet, this salad is one of my favorite summertime meals. The crunchy fried chicken perfectly compliments the cold, juicy watermelon topped with tart Vietnamese-inspired dressing, fragrant herbs and toasted coconut. It’s the contrast of texture and flavor that I can’t get enough of. Like this… Read More →
Simple Sweet & Spicy Stir-Fry By Andrew Zimmern Velvet Chicken. Sexy name. Great dish. Classic technique. I wouldn’t call this entry-level Chinese cookery—it’s 201 coursework—but any novice can produce a stellar version of this dish because it’s so easy to execute. The boiling of the marinated meat in oil results in a velvety texture that… Read More →
Beer-Battered Chicken Sandwich By Rebecca Lang Nearly everyone loves a fried chicken sandwich. This version does not disappoint. Choose a malty ale, such as Bell’s Best Brown, or a good seasonal beer from your favorite local brewery. A rich, caramel-kissed brew helps the flavors hold up all the way through frying. This batter is light… Read More →
Cornmeal-Crusted Chicken & White Barbecue Sauce By Rebecca Lang While living in Birmingham, Alabama, I had my first eye-opening taste of white barbecue sauce. To first see a barbecue sauce that’s on the opposite end of the color spectrum from the typical red varieties is intriguing. Its tart, peppery creaminess is simply wonderful. Common throughout north… Read More →
Grills Gone Wild I love cooking over wood, live fire, coals and smoke. Grilling is very social—you can have friends over and stand outside and man the grill. It’s the best part about summer. Just in time for the unofficial start of grilling season, here are 12 reasons to fire up that grill, from seafood like scallops,… Read More →
Grilled Cuban-Style Creole Chicken By Andrew Zimmern This killer grilled chicken recipe is inspired by a trip to Cuba. Be sure to serve with fresh salsa, guacamole and plenty of rice.
Game Day Snacks & Soups I’m a huge football fan and love any excuse I can find to veg out on the couch with family and indulge in my favorite finger foods and one-pot meals. And even if your hometown team didn’t make it to the Super Bowl, I’ll bet you still need some snack-time… Read More →
My Grandmother’s Christmas Chicken By Marcus Samuelsson My grandmother Helga Jönsson always salted her chicken and left it in the cool basement for a couple of hours. Then she’d pull out her spices—cardamom, ginger, coriander seeds—to rub over the chicken, and she’d stuff it with apples and onions and rosemary from her yard. Then she’d… Read More →
Chicken with Black Limes By Andrew Zimmern I got hooked on salted dried limes in India and then fell in love when I ate them in Syria. Often referred to as loomi or lumi, these limes are crucial to the authentic cooking of the Middle East and northern India. The flavor of these limes is intense. They’re… Read More →
The Best Sunday Couch Chow Few things excite me more than the prospect of a lazy football Sunday spent hanging out with friends and family. I love cooking for a crowd, rolling out different finger foods, hearty soups and snacks throughout the day. Here are some of my go-tos always sure to please the masses… Read More →
Globally Hot Chicken Music City Food + Wine Festival is one of the best food festivals in the country. It’s small and intimate, there’s great food and demos, and needless to say, amazing music. Here are the recipes from my Globally Hot Chicken demonstration at this year’s Music City Food + Wine Festival: Duck Tsukune… Read More →
Family-Friendly Meal Inspiration It’s that time of year again. Summer is coming to a close, kids are going back to school, and it’s time to get back into the routine of family dinners. So I dug through the archives to find recipes for my family’s favorite meals and, while these are especially appropriate for fall,… Read More →
Salty, Spicy, Tangy Goodness One night at his eponymous Brooklyn restaurant, former Top Chef contestant Dale Talde tasked his cooks with replicating the Americanized version of kung pao that they all jones for after grueling double kitchen shifts. When nothing but a hit of salty, spicy, tangy goodness will do, this should be your go-to… Read More →
Fried & True Who thought a Jewish girl from Argentina could produce one of the best takes on an American favorite? But Michy—as everyone affectionately refers to beloved Miami restaurateur Michelle Bernstein—does exactly that. On summer Wednesdays she serves an incredible all-you-can-eat fried chicken buffet—the chicken gilded with an impossibly crisp coating—that calls to mind… Read More →
Get Outside & Fire Up That Grill I love cooking over wood, live fire, coals and smoke. Grilling is very social—you can have friends over and stand outside and man the grill. When it comes to equipment, I’m currently obsessed with my Cowboy Cauldron, it’s like a barbecue pit on a tripod. It’s perfect because I can do really… Read More →
Pollo e Patate della Mamma By Lidia Bastianich Chicken and potatoes cooked together in a big cast iron skillet until it’s crisp and moist at the same time is my mother’s specialty. Growing up, my brother and I demanded it every week; a generation later, our kids, Tanya and Joe and Eric, Paul and Estelle,… Read More →
Recipes from My Weekend in Austin I love the Austin Food & Wine Festival. First of all, Rock Your Taco is unlike any taco event at other big festivals. The level of creativity and expression of “taco” blew my mind. It’s superb. Then there’s the incredible line up of musical talent attached to all of… Read More →
A Classic Combination By Andrew Zimmern Family meal nights across America just got easier, healthier and budget-friendly. My kid begs for this recipe, and I love making it for him—look at how many veggies are crammed in there! The best part: This healthy, paleo recipe is Whole30 approved!
The Publican’s Signature Dish By Paul Kahan and Brian Huston The James Beard Foundation Award nominees are announced today, so we asked last year’s recipient of the Outstanding Chef award, Paul Kahan, to share one of his favorite recipes. From modernist fine dining to a beer-focused gastropub, chef Paul Kahan’s multifaceted restaurant empire is a… Read More →
Irish Country Cooking By Rory O’Connell Watercress, while peppery when eaten raw, becomes sweet and aromatic when lightly cooked. If you go foraging for wild watercress, it is essential to ensure you have found a clean source. The top leaf on sprigs of watercress is always the biggest, whereas the top leaf on wild celery, which often… Read More →
Delicious Ways to Celebrate Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras is an indulgent holiday, a perfect excuse to eat, drink and celebrate all day long before the start of Lent. Next to king cake and party beads, you can’t forgo a meal of classic Creole and Cajun flavors. Here are some of my favorites from the archives.
A Take on Hainanese Chicken Rice By Andrew Zimmern This is the dish to make when you get a fresh, natural chicken and you really want to show off its insane flavor. I use heritage chicken breeds and the results are stellar. It’s a take on the classic Malay-style Hainanese chicken rice dish, but it’s… Read More →
A Classic Combination By Andrew Zimmern Family meal night across America just got easier, and so did entertaining on a budget. Ratatouille paired with roast chicken pieces is a classic combination that even your kids will devour. If you care to, this dish works equally well with turkey quarters on the grill: Use the same… Read More →
Let the Ingredients Shine This recipe is from Erik Soderholm of Davenport Roadhouse, an avid volunteer who has cooked at many Homeless Garden Project events and a great supporter of our work. We really appreciate all the chefs that bring their passion and talent to our farm dinners – helping us to reach a wider… Read More →
A Back-to-School Dinner at the Zimmern House By Andrew Zimmern This butter fried chicken recipe is in my head more often than not. That’s saying something. It’s one of our monthly meals at the Zimmern house, and its yet another brilliant way to do chicken for a crowd that includes kids. Paired with a bright… Read More →
A Toast to the New Year During Rosh Hashanah at my house, you’ll find dishes ripe with raisins, apples, honey and pomegranate alongside the traditional brisket or roasted chicken and noodle kugel. My grandma’s chopped chicken liver always has a place at my table, but especially during the holidays. This time of year it’s so… Read More →
Savor the Last Days of Summer This end-of-August heat wave has me digging through the archives for refreshing, light recipes for my Labor Day get-together. Here are a few ideas for appetizers and sides that’ll cool you down, from citrusy tomatillo salsa and pistachio-studded guacamole to tuna and cherry ceviche. If you’re looking for an… Read More →
Summertime Recipe Round-up The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. There’s no better way to celebrate America’s independence (and my birthday) than sitting around with the family, swimming, grilling up my favorite meat, noshing on fresh summer eats and indulging my inner pyro. Here are a few of my top picks, from… Read More →
Alternatives for the Grill Step away from the traditional burgers and brats, and celebrate the unofficial start of summer with one of these recipes. Grilled lamb is a favorite in my family, it reminds me of little taverns all over Sardinia that serve perfectly charred, herb-infused lamb lollipops. Or get adventurous and try the rich… Read More →
My Seder Traditions For the uninformed, the Passover seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is held at sundown on the 14th day of Nissan in the Hebrew calendar and on the 15th by observant Jews living outside Israel. It’s basically Thanksgiving for Jews, and it’s… Read More →
