I want to make meatloaf, and for me a meatloaf has a bacon wrapping and a ketchup glaze. I could buy the bacon and ketchup, I suppose, but really, where’s the fun in that?
Chipotle Ketchup
1 onion, chopped
1½ tablespoons oil from garlic confit or extra-virgin olive oil
Put the onion and oil into a deep saucepan and [...]

Categories: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, vegan, vegetarian

Sitting under all that cheese is a simple marinara sauce. By itself it’s an excellent sauce for pasta, polenta, and that Italian-American standby Chicken Parmigiana (or it’s vegetarian/vegan version, Eggplant Parmigiana). It makes a great pizza sauce. I even used some as part of a seafood stew whipped up in just a few minutes. As [...]

Categories: gluten-free, mother recipe, pantry, preserving, sauce, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, mother recipe, pantry, preserving, sauce, vegan, vegetarian

Whether you’re serving a nice pâté or are putting together a charcuterie platter, want some crunch in your sandwich or just need a quick burst of flavor, a sweet pickle chip is just right! Michael Ruhlman published a recipe for a delightfully simple, wonderfully flavored sweet pickle chip in Charcuterie, a book I highly recommend [...]

Categories: charcuterie, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, side dish, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: charcuterie, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, side dish, vegan, vegetarian

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have an abundance of cherries, particularly Rainier and Bing cherries. When I saw Rainier cherries for $1.49 per pound, I knew it was time to try making a liqueur.
I started with two pounds of Rainier cherries, unpitted, and added 1½ cups of sugar and a fifth of grain alcohol. [...]

Categories: beverage, dairy-free, pantry
Tagged: beverage, dairy-free, pantry

In the garden, the beets are beginning to look like they’re ready to eat. If I have a large crop, I’ll want to pickle some of them.
There are three steps required for good pickled beets, and all three take some time. First you need to make a good picking vinegar, then the beets need to [...]

Categories: dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: pantry, preserving

It was a very hot day for Portland, and I didn’t really want to add to the heat by warming up my kitchen. With fresh blueberries, herbs in the garden, plenty of greens on hand, and a full pantry, I didn’t need any heat.
The key component in this vinaigrette is blueberry syrup. I made some [...]

Categories: gluten-free, ingredients, pantry, salad, vegan, vegetarian, vinaigrette
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, ingredients, pantry, salad, vegan, vegetarian

Garlic confit is magical stuff. I keep some around to use in everything. I even warm up a clove or two and smear it on bread when I want garlic bread. It’s so easy to make that you should never be without some.

Categories: condiments, gluten-free, ingredients, pantry, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, gluten-free, ingredients, pantry, vegan, vegetarian

The oil you use to cook with will be the foundation flavor upon which you’ll build. Even though heat destroys some of the oil’s character, it will still play an important role in the final flavor profile of what you’re cooking.

Categories: condiments, ingredients, pantry
Tagged: condiments, pantry, vegan, vegetarian

I had just finished breaking down a chicken for a photo session when I realized that it was time to eat. Fortunately, I had some chicken on the cutting board. A quick trip to the pantry for inspiration yielded sweet Marsala wine and veal demiglace.

Categories: Lunch, chicken, entrée, mother recipe, mushroom, pantry, skillet, supper
Tagged: chicken, Lunch, main course, mother recipe, mushroom, pantry, supper

There was a time when every home cook knew how to break down whole poultry into parts, because they didn’t have a choice. Then we learned to pay exorbitant amounts of money for other people to do it for us. Well that’s just silly. It only takes a small amount of instruction and one chicken to learn how to break down poultry, and you get to eat the chicken because YOU CAN’T FAIL.

Categories: chicken, pantry, poultry, stock, technique
Tagged: chicken, pantry, poultry, stock, technique