Chopped Chicken Liver By Andrew Zimmern If you want to cook like a baller Jewish grandmother, this chopped chicken liver is a great place to start. My Bubbe made this to-die-for dish for every holiday meal. It’s been one of my favorite recipes since I was a kid when I would spend hours upon hours… Read More →
El Taco Riendo There are a handful of spots in the Twin Cities that I can rely on for excellent Mexican food, and El Taco Riendo is one of them. Located on Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis, the fast casual restaurant has a Chipotle-style ordering system where your meal is made fresh in front of… Read More →
Hollandaise Sauce By Andrew Zimmern Mastering this classic French mother sauce is a skill every cook should learn—it provides a base for many other sauces and is a versatile technique to have in your back pocket. Making traditional hollandaise can be intimidating, many attempts to emulsify butter and egg yolks have certainly resulted in a… Read More →
Pho 79 As the cold weather settles in, all I’m craving is a steaming bowl of pho with rich, flavorful beef broth. Lucky for me, the Twin Cities are a pho-lover’s paradise. And in a town chock-full of great Vietnamese restaurants, it’s difficult to name the best, so I won’t go there. What I can… Read More →
What to do with turkey leftovers By Andrew Zimmern I always make a Thanksgiving turkey because I love the leftovers turned into sandwiches, soups, and my son’s favorite, turkey tetrazzini. I use up my last scraps of meat and the salty kiss of some killer parmesan with this creamy pasta casserole. On a cold fall… Read More →
Tips & Recipes for Thanksgiving Success Sharing a table with family and friends in celebration of tradition and great food is what makes Thanksgiving my favorite holiday, and I know I’m not the only one. Thanksgiving is about our cultural demonstration of collective thanks, expressed by a delicious meal…followed by football. Hosting the biggest feast… Read More →
Thanksgiving Turkey 101 By Andrew Zimmern Roasting a turkey can be intimidating. It’s the crown jewel of the Thanksgiving table, the star of the show—and yet so many things can go wrong, from dried-out white meat to overcooked stuffing and underseasoned gravy. Try these simple tips for Thanksgiving success, whether this is your first or… Read More →
How to Roast Chestnuts Roasting chestnuts is an essential part of my holiday traditions. Only harvested in the fall, I like to take full advantage of this seasonal beauty. I roast them and put them in my stuffing at Thanksgiving, candy them for Christmas or chop them up and saute them with brown butter and… Read More →
America the Great Cookbook I’m honored to be a part of America the Great Cookbook, a celebration of our country’s food scene with more than 100 recipes by chefs, producers and food heroes from every region of the United States. Flipping through the pages, you’ll notice that what makes America’s food American is its sheer… Read More →
Slow Roasted Salmon with Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette By Andrew Zimmern Slow roasting in olive oil is a foolproof cooking method that results in silky, tender and moist salmon. Gently poached in a 200-degree oven, it’s a low maintenance technique for perfectly cooked fish. Served on top of seared avocado and drizzled with a preserved lemon… Read More →
Ginger Scallion Noodles By Andrew Zimmern If you love to cook, you should learn how to recreate the tent poles of culinary wisdom from cultures around the world, starting with these addictive ginger scallion noodles. This recipe has the hallmarks of classic Shanghai-style scallion noodles mixed with Japanese-style charred scallion noodles with tsukemono pickles. It… Read More →
Spicy Meat-Filled Bulgur Dumplings By Robyn Eckhardt These chewy bulgur dumplings hide a filling of ground lamb and onion spiked with tomato and Turkish red pepper paste. Deep-fried versions are found all over Turkey, but I prefer this boiled version from Van, especially when it is drizzled with tomato butter before serving. You will have… Read More →
Basic Tomato Sauce I am a huge believer in culinary literacy. Everyone should know how to make a simple tomato sauce because there are so many ways to use it in the kitchen. The best part? This recipe only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. Once you master the basic recipe, feel free… Read More →
Baltimore-style Country Club Crab Cakes By Andrew Zimmern This is my favorite crab cake recipe. If you don’t overmix and don’t pack your mounds too tightly, you will experience pure, unadulterated crab cake heaven. It’s a true Baltimore-style country club crab cake, without filler ingredients. I make these in double batches and put the leftovers… Read More →
Scallops in Aguachile Recipe by Chef Carlos Salgado from Taco Maria In the Pacific states of Sinaloa and Nayarit, aguachile de callo de hacha (scallops in chile water) is the Rolls Royce of ceviche dishes, in which the luxurious scallop is bathed in a fiery solution of lime and fresh green chile. Traditionally, only two… Read More →
Make Whipped Cream from Scratch, It’s Easy Canned whipped cream doesn’t even compare to freshly whipped cream. It’s so easy to make, and in my opinion, the best way to top off my favorite dessert—key lime pie. Really, the only mistake you can make is over beating it and turning your cream into butter. When making whipped cream, it’s… Read More →
Wok-Tossed Twice-Cooked Soft Crabs By Andrew Zimmern
This recipe is beautiful in its simplicity. By Richard Blais Lobster, meet mayo. Who could have predicted that this personal introduction that I made years ago would have evolved into such an amazing marriage of flavor? I’m such a mensch . . . and a liar, obviously! This outstanding combo goes way, way back, before… Read More →
Fried Duck Confit with Eucalyptus Honey & Mustard Greens By Richard Blais Who can resist crispy duck skin that gives way to supple, yielding, moist meat? I can’t, which is why I suggest you make this “times two” because you’re sure to want seconds. Or—gasp!—you can indulge in cold fried duck confit tomorrow. Recipe from… Read More →
Szechuan Spice Of all the great regional Chinese cuisines, Sichuan food holds a special place in my heart. While we don’t have as many great Chinese restaurants as I would like in Minnesota, we do have a few that absolutely blow me away and Szechuan Spice in Uptown is one of them. It’s best to… Read More →
Easy Salmon Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Salmon takes well to almost every cooking technique imaginable—grilling, broiling, sautéing, steaming and poaching… even raw, the fish is buttery and oceanic. Here are eight ways to prepare this healthy menu star, from a classic poached salmon served hot or cold, to a throw-back tomato and salmon… Read More →
Herb-Cured Salmon By Andrew Zimmern Inspired by classic Scandinavian gravlax, this salmon is cured for two days with dill, parsley, juniper berries, sugar and salt. The salt and sugar draw out the liquid from the fish, so the texture and flavor are superb without having to weigh it down to expel the moisture. While it… Read More →
San Francisco’s In Situ By Bob & Sue By offering the signature recipes of many of the world’s greatest chefs, Michelin 3-star chef Corey Lee of Benu and his executive chef Brandon Rodgers have made In Situ, located in the renovated Museum of Modern Art, one of the most unique dining experiences in the world. The… Read More →
Celebrate Chinese New Year With These Recipes Chinese cooking has complex, technique-driven elements, which makes it a bit daunting for the average home cook. But, practice makes perfect. Get a great cookbook, and cook a new dish twice a week. Next, make sure you have the right equipment (a good wok, a bamboo steamer) and the… Read More →
The Best Way to Welcome the New Year New Year’s Day is for taking a deep breath after a few weeks of holiday celebrations, lazing on the couch with the family, and naturally, eating lots of good food. Here are a few easy brunch ideas to start your new year off right (and combat that… Read More →
Deep Fry Like a Pro The word ‘fried’ is one of the most maligned terms in the kitchen. There’s no denying that fried foods aren’t the healthiest thing you can put in your mouth. But let’s face it, we’re pleasure seekers at heart and a little fried food every now and again is soul satisfying.… Read More →
Grilled Spatchcocked Turkey By Andrew Zimmern Oven space is always at a premium on Thanksgiving, so why not put the turkey on the grill? Spatchcock and brine the bird before laying it flat on the grill with the dark meat closest to the fire. This method will take less time and leave you with an evenly… Read More →
Fish in Chili Sauce By Kei Lum and Diora Fong Chan Recipe from China: The Cookbook by Kei Lum and Diora Fong Chan.
Valencian-Style Chicken Paella By Katie Button This is my take on the classic Valencian-style paella that combines rabbit or chicken with snails and beans. I love the creaminess of giant lima beans, especially the ones from Rancho Gordo, a bean company in Northern California. Their earthy sweetness pairs so well with the savory seared chicken… Read More →
Flan de Huevo By Katie Button Flan is the classic Spanish dessert found all over the country. This recipe is unadulterated because I love the pure, simple flavor of eggs with milk and sugar. I add just a bit of lemon peel to give the custard more complexity and a bright citrus note. Recipe from… Read More →
