Party Salads ? Why Not?

 Party and salad may not go together. One tends to pair a festive gathering with more appropriate foods, such as charcuterie or roasts. Yet a salad , done right can make a gathering interesting and delicious. It's not just a bowl of greens mixed together with bottled dressing. It's something more.

Chef and regular contributor Hetty Liu McKinnon wrote about this and gave recipes from her newest book Linger: Salads, Sweets And Stories To Savor (Knopf 2025) in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. She recommends thinking outside the bowl. Try smoky roasted veggies or pantry friendly legumes. Add comforting noodles along with homemade chunky dips and great homemade salad dressings. One way of having a phenomenal salad is choosing make ahead dishes that only get better over time. Her example for this is a take on the classic British Coronationsalad. Usually made with chicken and left to marinate , Chef Liu McKinnon subs in chickpeas. A day in the fridge makes the flavors bolder along with bolder and more exciting. Along with chickpeas, cauliflower adds more crunch especially when the two are roasted with a sprinkling of cumin on top. The dressing is a mix of Greek yogurt, apricots (as in the original recipe(, celery and red onion that';s been steeped in water to mellow out the onion-y flavor.

Chef Liu McKinnon also includes a great dip and a salad version of the classic Dan Dan dish. For the dip she takes sliced turnips and fries them in a combo of oil butter ,garlic and miso. The dip is a combination of feta and pistachios blended together with  garlic, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and a splash of water. Put this and salad leaves on a  large plate, then top with the turnips. Other veggies can also be used as well as crips pita or French bread. The second is a riff on the classic Dana Dan  dish, There is no meat in this one however. Ramen noodles combine with bock choi and canned corn. Toasted sesame seeds and cilantro give it more color and flavor. The dressing is a blend of pantry essentials. Chinese sesame paste or tahini is mixed with Chile oi or Chile crisp along with soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.Two to three tablespoons of non dairy milk like almond, oat or soy is used for creaminess . For all of these everything can be made the day before and assembled the day of , considerably cutting prep time. Just let the salads sit for thirty minutes before serving.

Salads can be the stars of  any party. Make all three or save them for different gatherings. They're sure to be hits.

A Heady Glass Of Fall

 That nip in the air means a refreshing cocktail or mocktail to welcome in fall. It's time to use the flavors of the season in tasty sips that are great on their own or with hors d'ouevres. They're easy to make and perfect for those beginners throwing parties.Pears

Apples are the main fruit and flavor of this season.Of course there is cider both hard and soft.Both make the perfect base for a layered concoction, full of zest and spice. Get a few bottles of hard cider. A chilled bottle on its'  own is refreshing but add a splash of bourbon and ginger beer. Add some lemon juice for a refreshing zing. You can also create the classic Old Fashioned.It;s cider missed with bourbon and Angostura bitters. A dash of maple syrup sweetens it up. Cider mocktails are also refreshing and have a kick of their own. Mix up a sparkling one with blending in cranberry juice, ginger ale and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Everyone thinks that cocktails and mocktails should be served cold. Not true. They can be warmed, perfect for a chilly night around the fire pit. A hot cider mocktail should be served in a  mug to contain the heat.  It's making a simple ginger syrup using ginger and brown sugar. The cider and syrup are mixed and microwaved for a minute. A squeeze of fresh orange juice  gives it a citrus-y freshness.

Pears are another fall fruit that can be used I both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Try  a fresh pear cocktail for something delightful and different. The base is a citrus infused vodka (easily made by letting vodka sit with sliced lemons in a jar for two days). there is a tablespoon of agave syrup and three tablespoons hard apple cider. Lime juice gives it brightness and either sliced or shredded pear gives it that mild, sweetly woody taste. This can be made into a mocktail by using a mix of apple juice and plain seltzer.. You don;t want to use the flavor powerful apple cider for this  because it will smother the pear taste. A more sophisticated sip is a pear martini.Use pear flavored vodka, Le Poire along with four ounces of pear juice. (if you have a juicer then make the juice fresh). Add a splash of plain sparkling water and a splash of lemon. Serve in a sugar rimmed cocktail glass. A pumpkin martini is also a wonderful fall cocktail.It's mixing pumpkin puree,vanilla and vodka. Maple syrup or a simple one gives it sweetness while pumpkin pie spice provides color and flavor.

This is the time for fun and fancy drinks. Celebrate fall with these cocktails and mocktails. Enjoy them on a nippy night.

Why Can't Chips Be CHips

 Potato chips.It's simple - .A slice of deep fried potato flavored with salt. It's perfect.It;s what makes French fries taste like heaven. It should be the same for the basic chip. Yet it isn't. Now they come in a million flavors. The question is why.

This dawned on me when I made amy local  trip to the Acme yesterday and saw their brand Signature feature a stuffing flavor . I'm guessing it taste like sage and bread - possibly with hints of turkey and chicken broth, The problem with this is where would the potato flavor be? It's less of a chip than something else.Flavored chips are nothing new.They've been around for a whopping seventy-f9ve years first being made in Ireland(!!!!!!)  and not where everyone would guess - the US. it was Dublin based Joe Murphy who created the variant  - cheese and onion - along with the British favorite salt and vinegar. The last probably mimicked the taste of the French fries or chips themselves doused with salt and vinegar. He developed a way to season the chips during the production portion. His company Tayto gained worldwide recognition and soon copies followed. The United States quickly got on board and produced barbecue and sour cream and onion flavors. The last seemed a logical jump. Most Americans were dunking their chips into a sour cream based onion dip at parties.

However in those three quarters of a century , flavors seemed to have gotten out of hand. Lays alone has a large array of different ones and sponsor a  write in contest where fans can submit their sometimes wild suggestions. They even offer a chip that's layered with all the popular flavors - salt and vinegar, barbecue and sour cream. I'm not sure how the flavors would be mixed together , The original potato flavor would be smothered.Other snacks like Takis, the rolled tortilla chips snack has these Fuego or super spicy flavored crisps. Lays has taken a cue from them and produced a flaming hot chip . Other flavors reflect growing ethnic groups such as  Latinx. This gave birth to the flavor Chile limon which sort of is like a spicy margarita.  They laos have a Korean chicken flavor, as they cater to the growing Asian population. Here's is also on board with different  flavors too.There's an Old Bay one that is like  the famed crab leg dish along with ketchup and even steak. There is also a dill pickle flavors, ripe with dill for pickle lovers.

DO these flavors enhance the potato chip? Some fans might say yes. However they're missing the great tasty of fried potato with salt.

Fall Ingredients

 It;s time to rethink cooking and baking now that it's fall. It a chance to bring in mellower flavors along with heartier recipes. It's also time to use the season's bounty in a variety of ways.

This is pumpkin season. The versatile squash can be used in a variety of different recipes, both savory and sweet.Pumpkin soup is a hearty bowl of goodness. make it Piedmontese style by adding butter sauteed onions ,milk or cream and cooked rice. The base can either be chicken or vegetable stock. Keep in mind that this recipe  can also be made with acorn, Hokkaido and butternut squash too for a nice fall lunch or dinner. Pumpkin can also be turned into a rich pasta sauce. It's as easy to make as the tomato kind. The base is pureed pumpkin enhance with vinegar, oregano,basil and garlic. Milk is added to create a silly textured sauce.It CNA be poured on any kind of pasta but us especially good with gnocchi or as a sauce for Italian sausage or saucisse and polenta rounds.Of,c ourse, pumpkin makes for an excellent pie and there will be plenty of them baked this fall. Try something different like a crostata which has a freer form of crust. There are also breads too made from pureed pumpkin. Make sure you have that important of all spice to flavor these treats - cinnamon. It's also a  major ingredient in coffees and un savory sauces as well.

Cinnamon may be the big star of fall spices but there are others to consider and add too. Amp up your sage .It is used in mostly stuffings but can also be used for cooking chicken and in sauces gracing breasts and thighs. Nutmeg is another autumn must have .It's perfect for giving extra zing to lattes and chais but also good sprinkled ion egg custards for color and flavor. Nutmeg is  also perfect in simple cakes and cookies.It ccan be also used in frosting for spice cakes too. Never forget spiced fruit as a lovely end to a fall dinner. Take advantages of the newly burgeoning harvests right now. All sorts of apples are on the market and waiting to b picked in various orchards across  North America. Again these can be used in both sweet and savory recipes.Like pumpkin they are great in pies and crostatas but you ca also use them for maki ng tasty. apple cakes and muffins. They also good cooked with onions and gracing a hearty pork roast.The sweetness is the perfect foil for the meat's rich unami flavor. American Concord grapes are flourishing right now. Yes they're good on their own but you can use them in chicken stews and pork roasts.

Fall is here. Use its' harvests and spices to create richly flavored recipes. It's time for a delcious change.

Fall Fruit Savory Or Sweet

 This is the season for apples, plums pears and grapes. All of these make wonderful tarts and corstatas but they can also be put into salads of all sorts of cooked with meats such as pork roast or chicken.

Here's the question - what  would you  rather use fall fruit in? Savory or sweet dishes? To be honest poached pears in wine are a great autumn dish. however a good pork roast cooked with apple slices and onions also make for a delicious meal.

Let us know how you like to use fall's bounty.

Sushi The New American Classic

How did a Japanese classic become one of Amerca's favorite foods?Surprisingly the pandemic had something to do with it.Add in the easy transportability of seafood adds to it being popularity.It's also tasty, being more flavorful than pizza and CHinese.

Regular contributor Julia Moskin wrote about this phenomenom in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section.Forty years ago it was regarded with a raised eyebrow. It had a mystique yet it didn;t pique enough of America's curiousity. It was common init;s native country with it being sold in gas stations and vending machines.Kroger, the Midwestern supermarket giant started selling it in 1991. Now it's everywhere from expensive omnikase restaurants to Target.The pandemic was the dish's biggest booster. People wanted a different flavor. Sushi, with its'briny, sweet and hot flavors did the trick.Also playing into the need is that the generation who were children in the Nineties  when sushi became common , were craving it as adults. There was a whole new slew of consumers according to Richard Barry,, f the National Fisheries Institute The millennials grew up with it and tastes donl't change. If they loved it in childhood, then they'll continue living it into adulthood.

It's not just them heading to expensive sushi bars for three hundred dollars dinners. They're buying it everywhere from big box shops to gas stations. Even bowling alleys and stadiums are selling it to fish hungry Americans. Retail sushi , also, called deli sushi because of its'location in supermarkets , is the fastest growing segments in the stores. Retail sushi brought in close to three billion in sales. Because of this high end sushi bars are also investing in this to go phenomena. At Sugarfish, located both in Manhattan and Southern California, each order is packed in a patterned box by Clement Muk, Chef Kazumori Nozawa fills them with warm rice, cool fish and sauces brushed on at the last minute, He approves for sushi being eaten right after it's made. Healso tested dozens of cardboard take out boxes that didn't absorb soy sauce and kept warm rice from being sticky. Sushi is also number one in the catering industry , letting vegans and pescatarians enjoy fun ,delicious foods. Keep in mind that ist's also becoming more Americanized. Raw fish is being replaced with cooked .

Sushi is the new American classic. Will it replace a burger and fries? Actually yes. People love it more than the standards.

A Different Take On Mexican

Warm days of early fall bring to mind still summery foods. One that fits the bill perfectly is sea bass with garlic chips, in warmed tostada. It brings the taste of bright flavors of Mexico to the fall table.

Regular contributor and chef David Tanis wrote about this and a side and dessert in today's Wednesday New York Times Food section. Early fall, with its' lingering summery warmth is the perfect time  for a meal like this. it reminds Chef Tanis of his time in Veracruz Mexico. He ate in a lovely seaside restaurant there that now unfortunately gone. Their specialty was a whole fried fish topped with a liberal amount of garlic chips.Next to it was warmed and steamy tortillas along with lime wedges and a bowl of salsa. His variation calls for fillets of any kind of meaty fish from red snapper to halibut. Corvina, rockfish or snapper can also be used. Fry very thinly sliced garlic in oil and then reserve the oil for frying the fish Mr. Tanisha,however recommends grilling or baking th elfish to avoid any extra oiliness. Serve it with salsa matcha ,a condiment made from dried Chiles, peanuts, garlic and sesame seeds. Shower it with the garlic chips and then serve with rice ro potatoes. It could be flaked and put into warmed tostadas for a truly Mexican experience.

What would go with this? A dish that would be perfect on its' own - avocado black bean tostadas. It's pickling such vegetables as onions and jalapenos with black peppercorns, cinnamon, white sugar and apple cider vinegar for pickling. The tostadas fillings are a tasty mix of canned  refried.black beans , fresh avocado slices and queso freso sprinkled on top.. Warm oiled tostadas then build layers of the beans , spices such a as cumin, an d the avocados. Top with the pickled salsa and the cheese. Slivered radishes and a dab of crema can be added too. The meat should be finished with a cooling flan.Chef Tanis prodives flan de Coco or coconut flan made without the usual dairy. Two kinds of coconut milk are used instead, one is sweetened condensed while the other is just plain coconut milk. Since flan is very egg, four large eggs plus two large yolks are used for giving it richness and density. A caramel of just Palin white sugar is made first, heated ,melted and then poured into the bottom of a flan pan. It;'s then beating the eggs and coconut milks a long with a pinch of salt . This is paced into the flan pan and baked for an hour at 350 degrees Farenheit for an hour. After its';cooled, remove it from the pan, sprinkled shredded coconut on top and then serve.

A taste of Mexico is still a great way to hold onto the summer. Make this dinner to enjoy bright flavors and colors/. It's the perfect blend of spices ,both sweet and savory.