Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season. Catch them on the Farm to Table episode of 'Rachael's Vacation' on the Food Network.
We had a bounty crop of carrots this year. We sliced them and diced them every which way we knew how and still they kept coming. It seems like you can open almost any refrigerator in America and find a neglected bag of carrots. You use one or two in a salad and then get stumped as to what to do with the rest.
We turned to our friend Sandy Gluck who always helps us out with our overstock. The result is a sweet and spicy carrot dish that will definitely clear up crisper space in refrigerators across the nation.
Find the recipe for Sicilian Glazed Carrots after the jump...
Like almost everyone on the planet, I love the smell and taste of golden, perfectly cooked french fries. Granted, though having the deep-fried variety is a once-in-a-while treat, I often prefer the baked version, which I can flavor any way I want. The secret is in the seasoning and technique.
Here's a step-by-step guide to making your own oven fries.
Step 1: Choose the right potato and slice 'em up.
Russet or sweet potatoes are best for fries. Sweet potatoes have to be peeled before slicing, but you can keep the skins on white potatoes. Cut the potatoes as uniformly as possible to ensure even cooking.
Step 2: Toss with oil and seasonings to coat.
Place the fries in a large bowl and start by drizzling a tablespoon of olive oil and seasoning with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then feel free to spice it up -- use one or two cloves of garlic (minced), one teaspoon chopped parsley or rosemary, 1 teaspoon hot or mild paprika, 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin or curry. Once you've chosen your spice(s), place the spice(s) in a small bowl and mix with 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."
When we think of peanuts, we think Virginia, ballgames and a top hat-wearing, cane-holding, monocled mascot. However, peanuts are also a staple in West African cooking and used prominently in many dishes. One such typical meal is a hearty stew made with tomatoes, sweet potatoes and peanuts.
This vegetarian version of the soup relies on the saltiness and creaminess of peanut butter -- the pantry staple and venerated American spread that is an often unsung hero in meals that don't include jelly or two slices of bread.
Presenting a new (and more acceptable) way to eat peanut butter by the spoonful.
A 170-year-old food secret was almost lost to the trash heap.
The original recipe notes for Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce have been unearthed in a dumpster near the sauce factory by former company accountant, Brian Keogh. It was unclear why he was digging through the trash.
The accountant passed away in 2006, but his discovery only recently came to light after his daughter Bonnie Clifford brought the notes to Worcester City Museums.
Whole wheat linzer cookies. Photo: Jennifer Iserloh.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, baking season has officially begun. I consider desserts a special treat, but if I can find a way to make them lighter without compromising on taste, that's even better.
Here are some suggestions on how how to lighten up your baking.
Use plain low-fat or non-fat yogurt (I especially love the thick, strained Greek non-fat yogurt) to cut back on a quarter or half the oil. Yogurt will reduce the fat, but not the moisture, and it adds protein.
1-percent buttermilk makes excellent, tender cakes and can be used in place of whole milk or heavy cream – it can also be used to lessen the amount of oil or butter.
Substitute fat-free or reduced-fat sour cream for full-fat sour cream. Either makes lovely coffee cakes and light fluffy muffins.
Use fruit puree, such as applesauce or blended canned pears or peaches in natural juice, to cut the butter or oil – or to cut back on the amount of sugar – to make brownies and cookie bars soft.
Substitute two egg whites for every whole egg to make baked goods lighter on fat without drastically changing the texture.
Find the Skinny Chef's Whole Wheat Linzer Cookie recipe after the jump.
Though we've never been able to choose sides on the vanilla-versus-chocolate debate, blondies as unique as these render the traditional brownie somewhat uninspired.
Frites & Fries' recipe for Butterscotch and Whiskey Bars inventively pairs the dulcet butterscotch with a not-so-subtle dash of whiskey (a quarter cup!), adding a pleasurably harsher nuttiness to what becomes a complex, sweet-savory confection. The grown-up recipe aims to please both those with a penchant for sweets and those with a weakness for whiskey -- and provides an easy, soul-warming wintery treat.
The flexible blondie serves as a vessel to showcase whatever ingredients you favor, from cranberry and white chocolate, to coconut and lime. What are your favorite blondie additions? Share your recommendations in the comments!
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When you don't have the foods you grew up eating, you sometimes get that sharp craving for specialties that simply don't exist where you live. My husband grew up in the land of pretzels, wurst and beer in a small town in northern Germany, and every six months or so, he looks off into the distance and utters longingly two words: curry wurst.
My first encounter with curry wurst was in Berlin -- soft tasty sausage and spicy curry ketchup sauce that's also slightly sweet. No one that I've spoken to seems to know the origin of this fast-food delight, which is still made with very high-quality products in Germany. My challenge was to make it with American ingredients and update it so we could enjoy curry wurst as a healthy meal that can be served for dinner with a side of steamed broccoli.
Get my updated curry wurst recipe after the jump...
Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."
The time-honored Italian dish, saltimbocca, traditionally calls for veal cutlets, but the classic is easier and more practical for singletons to make with commonplace chicken breasts.
Saltimbocca, roughly translated, means to "jump into your mouth" -- and with thin slices of chicken wrapped in savory prosciutto and autumn sage, the translation seems fitting. Paired with roasted tomatoes on the vine, this 10-minute, one-pot meal yearns for a table under the Tuscan sun. In a concrete jungle, fresh sunflowers will have to suffice.
The beauty of this variation is that everything is cooked in the oven, at one temperature, in one pan. After all, when it's just one person doing the cooking, that same person has to do the cleaning too.
'Tis the season for pumpkin carving, but don't throw out the scraps! AOL Food's toasted pumpkin seed recipe and these tips make it easy to turn a pile of pumpkin seeds (or pepitas) into a tasty and healthy snack.
There are very few nights when I sit down to a homecooked meal that does not include a salad that reflects the season. Even if I put little effort into the main dish, I always have fun creating new dressings and salad combinations. While there are hundreds of salad dressings on supermarket shelves, I encourage you to make your own. Not only are they better for you, homemade dressings are simple to prepare and have a delicious, clean flavor.
Fall is full of some of my favorite ingredients, and the colors and textures of all the seasonal fruits and vegetables create amazing salads. Grilling pears and apples adds a smoky flavor, and a good quality cheese and simple dressing brings the dish together. You can top salads with toasted nuts, pomegranate seeds or even pumpkin seeds. Grilled portobello mushrooms also lend a nice, earthy flavor during the cooler months.
Get creative with seasonal ingredients, buy local and use fall nights to create delicious grilled dinners for your family and friends.
If you really want to make your Halloween party guests squeal, raise the gross-out factor of the foods.
This Halloween concoction, meant to resemble kitty litter just might take the cake with the gross-out gourmets. And don't worry, those are Tootsie rolls.
As a teen, I had a real passion for fried rice and, since I was a vegetarian at the time, I thought that ordering takeout Chinese vegetable fried rice at least twice a week was a fairly healthy choice.
I could literally eat an entire takeout container and call it dinner. Now that I cook at home more frequently and often have leftover rice, I find that making my favorite takeout dish at home is cheap, healthy and delicious. The trick to making the best fried rice is to use day-old rice that has been in the fridge and slightly dried out. My version is made with hearty short-grain brown rice, and gives you two servings of vegetables (which usually means about half a cup).
Find a healthier version of Chinese vegetable fried rice after the jump.
I love to host a party around Halloween time -- dressing up is optional, eating is a must! Every year I'm reminded of a story my Granny tells at Halloween. She is the queen of holiday celebrations and always had plenty of food, decorations and guests.
One Halloween, as she was giving away the best treats in the neighborhood, my family cat, Ariadne -- black as night -- decided to show off by stretching and cleaning her paws in the window. Just then, a little boy from across the street rang the doorbell. "Hey lady, did you rent that cat?" he asked my Granny, who responded quickly, "Yes, we just got her yesterday but she expires tomorrow!"
After the jump, find a recipe for Pumpkin Tortellini with Sage and other menu ideas to host your own "Black and Orange" Halloween fest. The catch? You'll have to rent your own black cat!
Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.
Last month we concluded America's Oldest, Largest Garden Party by asking all of you to submit the best recipe you've concocted from ingredients from your own garden.
We were overwhelmed with all of the culinary talent out there, and we had to turn to our friend, celebrity chef and gardener Alice Waters, to help us choose the best of the best.
The recipe that emerged victorious was a succulent (and some might even say sexy) lamb stew that's just perfect for chilly autumn weekends.
Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."
Oh, beloved pimento cheese; the Southeast's answer to cheese dip and queso.
The bright-orange spread is nothing more than extra-sharp cheddar, mayonnaise, diced pimiento peppers and cracked black pepper. Homemade pimento cheese is a snap to make and leftovers are a cracker's best friend. You could spruce up the spread with serrano peppers, garlic, cayenne, different types of cheese or even bacon. But to most, nothing is better than the classic four-ingredient mix between two pieces of bread.
The pimiento is a small cherry pepper which loses the "i" in cheese-spread form to become plain ol' "pimento." Known for its sweetness, you'll probably recognize it in the jarred and diced forms. As a relative of the red bell pepper, many cooks -- including Matt and Ted Lee -- even admit to substituting the latter for pimientos.
In "The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook", they write, "Conventional pimento cheese recipes call for canned pimentos, but we broil a fresh red bell pepper, skin it and cut it into small dice before mixing it with cheese. Sure it makes some eyes roll in Charleston, but we think this is a simple route to a more vibrant and sophisticated (less chemical-tasting) pepper flavor."
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