Tag Archives: healthy recipes

Chef’s Tips for Gluten-Free Treats: Peanut Butter Cookies and Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Ask Chef Phyllis: I need some recipes for gluten-free cookies or treats that will satisfy children and are really easy to make. I’ve already tried the prepackaged, store-bought products available, but I think they have unhealthy ingredients to make up for taste. The rice flour, tapioca flour, and almond flour that most supermarkets sell are […]

Ancient Grain Primer: Taking a Closer Look at Nutrient Dense Grains

I recently had the privilege to write an article for the Weston A. Price Foundation titled “To Gluten or Not to Gluten,” and I was amazed to see so many responses of the not-so- favorable type. It didn’t take long to realize that I’d touched a very sensitive nerve with my suggestion that we stop […]

Three Winning Recipes: Chef’s Tips for Chicken Thighs and Legs

Chicken legs

Ask Chef Phyllis: I confess that I buy chicken breasts at the supermarket each and every week. I bake them, grill them, smother them in cream of mushroom soup, and overcook them in every way possible. I’m tired of them. I never buy whole chickens anymore, or other parts of the chicken except for wings […]

Time to Dust Off Your Slow Cooker

When the temperature cools and the leaves begin to change color, I always seem to get the urge to dust off my slow cooker. Not that it’s neglected at other times of the year—after all, what better way to keep your baked beans warm at the neighborhood cookout? But fall and winter are definitely the […]

Chunky Beef Borscht

As we transition from the Indian summer days of September to the crisp autumnal days of October, I start to feel a strong hankering for comforting food. Nothing quite satisfies on a cool, blustery fall day like a bowl of piping hot soup. Most gastronomic historians will agree that the lineage of borscht (or borsch, […]

Chef’s Tips for Gluten-Free Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ask Chef Phyllis: Our life has changed ever since we found out that our daughter is gluten intolerant. We buy rice pasta and gluten-free flours, and we read every label in the supermarket. It makes me tired because I feel our favorite recipes all have to be redone. Some of our favorite soups are broccoli […]

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Basil, Beef, and Sausage Ragu

With summer holidays well behind us and school back in full swing, all of a sudden it seems like dinner is once again an issue. I don’t know if it’s the shorter days or the extra activity that hits in the fall—probably a little of each. But every year around this time I find myself […]

Chef’s Tips for Flavorful Venison Two Ways

Ask Chef Phyllis: My husband is a hunter—mostly large game like deer, elk, and moose, which comprise much of our winter menus. I have a few large roasts and many packages of steaks, chopped meat, and stewing meat in the freezer. On weekends, I like to make a roast, but sometimes it’s dry. I need […]

An Italian Specialty: Chicken Saltimbocca

Chicken Saltimbocca

Ask Chef Phyllis: My Mom used to make chicken breast or veal cutlets with fresh sage leaves and prosciutto as a special dinner. She called it “saltimbocca,” which she said meant “jump in your mouth.” I don’t know about that, but I do know it’s an old Italian specialty from the Rome region where my […]

Grilled Swordfish with Strawberry-Avocado Salsa

Grilled Swordfish with Strawberry-Avocado Salsa

With its dense texture and mild flavor, swordfish is a surefire hit on many a summer table. Even people who think they don’t like fish might be persuaded by its distinctly un-fish-like characteristics. Because of these traits, swordfish is perfectly suited for bold flavors that other, more fragile kinds of fish could simply not stand […]

Green Chiles Rellenos Casserole with or without Chicken

Casserole

Ask Chef Phyllis: We recently celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. A surprise gift from our children was a class at the famous Santa Fe cooking school, since I love to cook Southwestern foods. At the class, which was wonderful, we donned aprons and pitched in after our instructor made some regional appetizers and entrees. Guacamole, […]

Grilled Nectarine Salad with Feta and Arugula

Few things scream summer like sweet, juicy fruit. And to me, nothing tastes better than a perfectly ripe nectarine—all the flavor of a peach without the fuzzy package. While most days I simply choose to eat my summer fruit in hand, I also love presenting the bounty in more creative and elaborate ways. After all, […]

Greek-Style Buffet: Moussaka, Spanakopita, and Greek Salad with Feta and Olives

Moussaka

Ask Chef Phyllis: I’m a friend of your niece Michelle, who lives in Brooklyn. I was so glad to hear that you have a Q&A blog about food. So here goes…two other ladies and I are going to host a neighborhood bridal shower soon. We want to do a Greek theme since the bride will […]

Whole-Grain Sourdough Pancakes

At the start of adolescence I began my first job in a hip, made-from-scratch bakery. It was an experience that propelled me into my adoration for all things food, and made me truly appreciate the love, patience, and dedication that goes into preparing artisanal breads and pastries. I didn’t realize at the time, though, how […]

Chef’s Special Thai Style Chicken, Appetizer, and Coconut Drink

Ask Chef Phyllis: About two years ago, my company sent me to Bangkok, Thailand. Instead of the European style food that was available, I chose to enjoy local Thai foods from street vendors. Sad to say in all the specialties I tried, I only recognized the flavors of garlic and ginger in the dishes I […]

Kid-Friendly, Healthy Chicken Strips with Mango Mustard Sauce

I’m always on the lookout for new foods to feed my 3-year-old. Thankfully, she has somewhat of an eclectic palate for a child her age—and loves vegetables, phew! But she still has that picky toddler thing going on. Being a chef and food-lover myself, I try to introduce her to unusual, exciting flavors so that […]

Authentic Veal Piccata from the 1939 World’s Fair

Ask Chef Phyllis: My parents attended the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It might have been part of a honeymoon trip that they never forgot. They both lived into their 80s and talked about the event as though it were yesterday. Their favorite memory was one of eating veal piccata with a bottle of […]

Spicy Cilantro-Lime Roasted Garnet Yams

Though orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are often referred to as yams in North America, they’re two botanically distinct species. It’s a little-known fact that true yams—a unique tuber rarely, if ever, available on this side of the pond—only grow in Asia and Africa, while sweet potatoes are native to the Americas and thrive in warm climates. […]

5 Dinnertime Survival Tips for Your Busy Family

I find summer to be a really relaxing time with the kids at home—nowhere in particular to be for the majority of the day until…dinnertime. This can cause some real problems and complaints from hungry kids in the backseat on the way home from a ball game (or whatever the activity was that night). The […]

Men in Kitchens Is Hot Off the Grill!

Order your copy now for only $5! Attention, guys! With the first eBook in our Men in Kitchens series, A Good Day to Dine Hard, you’ll finally conquer that last frontier—the kitchen. There’s only one thing sexier than a man who cooks, and that’s a healthy man—who cooks. Nick Armstrong and Patrick Earvolino want to […]