In A Nutshell

I don't have any idea what Old Bay is made from but I'm in love with the stuff- it's magical. I'm not usually a huge fan of chicken wings but these are crazy good! The baking time can vary and I don't really have any explanation of why this happens-- you will have to keep an eye on them and if they don't look good and brown, simply bake them longer before tossing them with the sauce. Adapted from Food and Wine. 2 lbs chicken wings 2 T flour 1 T Old Bay seasoning 1 t salt 3 T Frank's Red Hot sauce 2 T unsalted butter 2 T Worcestershire sauce Preheat the oven to 500º and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, preferably the non-stick foil but if you are using regular foil, spray it with cooking spray. Combine the flour, Old Bay and salt and toss the chicken wings with the spice mixture. Spread out on the baking sheet and spray the wings with Pam (canola cooking spray). Bake for a total of 45-50 minutes or so turning them wings over at the

This recipe is adapted from  Claudia Roden’s Arabesque ; it’s so scrumptious! The cookbook has beautiful photos and a great deal of information about Middle Eastern cuisine. 4 bell peppers (I like to use different colors if possible; red, yellow and orange) 14 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 4 T EVOO juice of 1 large lemon salt and pepper 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped chopped parsley goat cheese crumbles Roast the peppers on the grill or over a flame on the stovetop; put them in a covered bowl to sweat the skin until cool. Peel the peppers and cut into strips. While peppers are cooling, soak the garlic in a very small amount of the lemon juice to take out the sting. Once the peppers are cooled and cut into strips, combine them with the garlic, parsley and chickpeas. Whisk the oil, lemon juice and salt/pepper; you don’t need to use all the dressing. Start with half and see if you want more. Add the goat cheese crumbles before serving.

 This is adapted slightly from  Leite’s Culinaria ; I had made a strawberry-infused gin a couple of weeks ago and thought that this could only be a positive change to the recipe. The strawberry gin is gorgeous in a gin and tonic as well; it keeps forever so no need to worry about finishing it quickly (although I don’t think you’ll have it hanging around for too long). I also use less of the rhubarb syrup because I don’t like an overly sweet drink. You can start with less and always add more if you like it sweeter. I made this drink both with  strawberry-rhubarb syrup  and the rhubarb syrup recipe that follows. Either is delicious. Any unused syrup can be frozen. Strawberry-infused gin: 1.5 L gin (I actually used the Kirkland gin) 500 grams strawberries, sliced Combine in a container with a tight fitting lid and let steep for 1 week; strain out the gin. Rhubarb Syrup: 1 lb rhubarb, sliced 1 cup sugar 2 cups water Optional flavorings: vanilla bean, citrus zest, cardamom pod