When Forbes asked me for tips on eating well, I immediately offered this recipe, which is a stew filled with vegetables and dal. My version of a one-pot vegetable dal—an easy weeknight meal—is a play on a traditional recipe to incorporate more vegetables and greens. This stew is packed with protein and fiber. I love adding stewed tomatoes for a pop of color on top, versus cooking them down in the recipe.
You mean to tell me that you’re going to make comically, cartoonishly, large meatballs and not put one on a plate of spaghetti?
LOUISIAN A BARBECUE D SHRIMP is that sort of magical dish that’s intensely flavorful, quick to cook, and perfect for sharing—all you need to do is spend a few minutes revving at the spice drawer first. Despite the name, the recipe isn’t cooked on a barbecue but simmered straight in a spicy-bright pan sauce. As Toni Tipton-Martin explains in her book Jubilee, drawn from her collection of nearly 400 African American cookbooks, “‘Barbecue shrimp’ is just the name Louisiana Creole cooks assigned to shrimp braised in wine, beer, or a garlic butter sauce.” This one is Toni’s favorite version, based on one from the late model/chef/restaurateur B. Smith.
Sometimes, Toni doesn’t even wait to get the shrimp out of the pan, serving it in the kitchen as an appetizer, right in the skillet it’s cooked in, with lots of hot crusty bread to get every bit of sauce. No more than 10 minutes have passed.
Tastes great with: Toasted bread (as a starter), or pasta or couscous (as a main course)
The idea here is to cut a cauliflower into the tiniest florets possible. It’s not difficult, but it takes a little time. Of course, the cauliflower morsels are not really quite as small as couscous, but they are small enough to cook very quickly. A delicate, flavorful side dish.
Use this rub whenever you want to add a little kick to something. It works great on vegetables and meat alike.
For those days when you don't want to tend a fire, this is one utterly delicious oven version that will stand up to smoke-roasted ribs any day.
I’d tell you to stick a Post-It right here because, once you try these, you’ll be making them often -- but they’re simple enough that after one time through, you’ll probably remember how to make them forever. These green beans are cooked to falling-apart-ness in what’s essentially a garlic-tomato confit. Every bite is imbued with flavor -- garlicky, a little hot, meltingly tender; the kind of good that, with your first bite, you close your eyes and grow silent.
This is an amped up version of Mexican Wedding Cake Cookies by Sally’s mother, Ricki.
Ingredients