A bit of a hybrid episode, focusing mostly on how to make a pie crust, plus a little about quiche. There’s a lot of misinformation in pie crust tips and recipes — this episode covers all I’ve learned in three decades. NOT-shopping list All-purpose flour (or pastry flour, if you’re fancy; preferably not bread flour; definitely not cake flour) Butter Leaf lard (only if you happen to have access to it; I personally don’t approve of Crisco, but that’s an alternative, if you want really flaky crust) Eggs Milk / cream / half-and-half / sour cream / creme fraiche (some combination of these so that y ..read more

Lentils with Moroccan spices are incredibly good and simple, and they stand up to a lot of substitutions. Alongside, a raw beet salad makes a sweet, crunchy counterpoint. Sound quality on this is pretty rough — our kitchen has been inhabited by a mysterious hum! NOT-shopping list Brown lentils (or any kind except pink lentils) Onion Garlic Red bell pepper Tomato paste (or fresh or canned tomato) Parsley Cilantro Dry ginger (or fresh, but dry is more typical) Cumin Coriander Paprika (not smoked) or other mild red chili Turmeric Olive oil Raw beet Cider vinegar (or other vin, and/or lemon juice ..read more

Schnitzel, cutlets, tonkatsu, milanesa: thin, breaded pan-fried cuts of meat are fun to make. Serve with a sweet-creamy cucumber salad and buttery potatoes (TBH, a little bit of an afterthought!). Yes, this episode is a sonic nightmare, and we’re slipping behind schedule, but oh well, aren’t we all? NOT-Shopping List Pork loin (or other boneless cut); chicken or turkey breast works too Flour Egg Bread crumbs (DIY, or panko) Cucumbers Red onions (or shallots, or even chives) Sour cream (or full cream, set with a little lemon juice) Sugar Vinegar Mustard Dill Lemon (optional) Potatoes Butter Oi ..read more

A short episode focused just on the principle of ladhera — Greek-style ‘oil-cooked’ vegetables, especially green beans. A good side dish, or a simple, satisfying dinner with bread and cheese. NOT-Shopping List Fresh green beans Tomato of some kind (paste, diced, fresh) Garlic or onion (or scallions or shallots, or even chives) Fresh herbs (parsley and dill together is most common) Olive oil Oil-Cooked Green Beans (Ladhera) They might not look like much, but these beans taste fantastic! As I say in the podcast, the vegetables are flexible and so are the proportions, depending on what you have ..read more

Alevropita is a quick baked pie with feta, done in about 20 minutes, and marouli salata (lettuce salad) is a very simple, very springy complement. Together it makes a good light dinner or lunch that comes together in less than 45 minutes (if you’re not busy talking). NOT-Shopping List Flour (wheat, but substitutions possible) Milk Egg Feta cheese (or whatever you might have) Butter (sheep or goat, if you can get it) Lettuce Fresh dill (or dried, or whatever herbs you have — just think green!) Green onions (or chives) Olive oil Lemon Alevropita (Quick Greek Pita) Pita is always cut in squares ..read more

A special short episode on the simplest and best way to prepare artichokes, which are in season now. Accidental music credit: Peter Moskos, practicing his autoharp downstairs. NOT-shopping list Globe artichokes Salt Vinegar Butter Mayonnaise Garlic Lemon juice Simplest and Best Boiled Artichokes Sorry, stock photo because I already ate our own artichokes! The only secret here is salt. Heavily salted water is what brings out the distinctive tongue-numbing effect of artichokes. So set a big pot of water on to boil; add even more salt than if you were boiling pasta — like several tablespoons. W ..read more

RIP, Southwest Airlines in-flight magazine, where I found this surprisingly delicious and easy pasta sauce recipe 20-plus years ago. Alongside: a very simple carrot-celery-almond salad. And DIY vinaigrette. It all takes a lot longer than it should, but hey, there’s some proper podcast banter at the end. NOT-shopping list ground beef (or any ground meat, really) milk (must be real dairy milk, alas, but you could use a smaller amount of half-and-half, or even a little bit of yogurt or yogurt whey, or some buttermilk…) olive oil garlic anchovies (filets in oil, salted, or anchovy paste; could al ..read more

By popular demand, Cooking in Real Time is back after nearly 11 years, with a pretty long and rambling session of cooking basic rice and legumes, with plenty of shortcuts and substitutions from limited pantries. NOT-shopping list rice, ideally basmati, but whatever you have one big onion, or one small one, or whatever you have garlic fresh ginger (dry ground ginger is OK in a pinch) ghee (clarified butter) or vegetable oil whole spices: black pepper, fennel, cumin, black mustard seeds, or…yeah, whatever you have ground turmeric ground cumin hing (asafetida), of course only if you happen to ha ..read more

This week, it’s a menu for winter doldrums. I’m nursing a light cold with some chicken soup–and adding chipotle chiles and garlic for extra health-giving kick. On the side: a baked sweet potato, packed with vitamin C. Shopping list 2 chicken thighs, bone-in 2 cups chicken stock Pasta (or pearl couscous or rice) Flour or corn tortillas Cashews Sweet potatoes 2 carrots Celery (optional) Grape tomatoes Small bunch cilantro 1 lime 1 onion 5 cloves garlic Butter Olive oil Chicken Noodle Soup with Chipotle Pesto This is basically a very generic chicken noodle soup, but with a handful of details t ..read more

This week, we cook a little risotto–it’s not as complicated or as fussy as you think. And it’s a very adaptable dish. On the side, we roast up some wee brussels sprouts and douse them in garlic and anchovies–what’s not to love? Shopping list 1 slice bacon 2 or 3 anchovy filets 1 small butternut, kabocha or acorn squash 1 pint brussels sprouts Sage (fresh or dried) 2 or 3 cloves garlic 1 small onion 1/2 cup short-grain rice Olive oil Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup almonds 1 tablespoon butter Butternut-Squash Risotto Learn to make risotto, and you’ve got an immensely versatile dish under your belt–y ..read more