The 60-Second Food Schmooze

Thinking outside the box, here’s a delicious, simple way to doctor boxed brownie mix. When the instructions say to add water, skip that and swap in cool brewed coffee instead. Throw in some extra chocolate chips and sprinkle a little sea salt on top before the pan goes into the oven.

Photo: Pixabay.com

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Garlic butter roast chicken is the dish my friends request most often. Melt 5 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan with 5 minced garlic cloves. Dry the outside of a whole cleaned small chicken with paper towels so it gets oven-crispy. Baste the chicken with garlic butter. Stuff the cavity with a lemon cut in half and a sprig of rosemary. Pop the chicken in a 450-degree oven for about one hour, basting the chicken with more garlic b...

When Mark Bittman figured out quick preserved lemons, it spread like wildfire. My turn! Take two organic thin-skinned Meyer lemons. Finely dice them, removing seeds. Put them in a lidded jar with 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon of sea salt. Close, shake, and put the jar in the fridge overnight. Boom. . .quick preserved lemons, ready to use on fish, chicken, in a lamb tagine, or any time you want to add a little Moroccan o...

Busy night? Make my broccoli, cheese and olive quesadilla in minutes. Zap frozen broccoli in the microwave, and squeeze the water out of it with the back of a large spoon. Place a small scoop of broccoli on one half of a round corn or whole wheat tortilla. Sprinkle cheddar or feta on top of the broccoli, and some finely diced olives. Fold the tortilla circle in half like a half moon and fry each side for several minutes on medium l...

Here’s the best grownup and kid dessert on the planet…chocolate-filled biscuit dough roll-ups. Unwrap a package of refrigerated Crescent rolls. Smear every triangle with chocolate sauce and sprinkle on crumbled salty pretzel sticks. Roll ‘em up and bake according to package directions. So fun and so good.

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Cooking cherry tomatoes in butter and olive oil is so quick and easy, and the warm blistered beauties make a fantastic side-dish with anything. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/8th of a cup of olive oil in a heavy skillet on low. Add 3 pints of rinsed whole cherry tomatoes to the pan, crank the heat to high. Don’t overcook them. About five minutes is good. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and chopped fresh or dried basil. Everybody love...

I call this the disappearing appetizer…Buffalo Chicken Crescent Biscuit Roll-Ups. In a bowl, mix together finely diced rotisserie chicken meat, Frank’s Hot Sauce, a little melted butter, and a sprinkle of crumbled blue cheese. Unroll the tube of Crescent roll triangles. Smear on some of the mixture and roll up each crescent from the wide end to the tip. Put the rolls on a sprayed sheet pan and bake them according to package d...

Want to make a delicious red sauce with just three ingredients? Toss a chopped onion into a saucepan with a can of chopped tomatoes and a combination of olive oil and butter. Simmer it on low for 45 minutes. It’s fantastic. (Thank you Food 52, for the inspiration.) I put my sauce on rice, but you can use it on pasta, of course, or as the saucy element in chicken cacciatore, in a stuffed-pepper mix, or in a thousand different dishes...

Healthy dips make good sense, as long as they’re really delicious with chips or veggies. Here’s one I love: White Bean Pesto Dip with Preserved Lemons. Drain and rinse two cans of white beans. Whip until creamy in a food processor. Stir in some store-bought pesto to taste and 1 tablespoon of finely diced preserved lemon or lemon juice. Finish it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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So what do Americans love to eat in January? Let’s brain-storm. Saveur magazine says rum-soaked broiled grapefruit. (That must be for retired people.) In the U.K., one popular site says Leek and Gruyere Gratin, which sounds delicious. And since I want it to be calorie-sensible on weeknights, I’m all about hearty stews packed with vegetables, meat or fish, and interesting international flavors, like African Peanut Stew; Chili with T...

Here’s how to make a lower-fat and crispy duck breast the easy way. Use a sharp knife to score the duck breast skin in a cross-hatch pattern, trying not to slice the meat underneath. Cook the breast skin-side down in a cast iron skillet on medium heat, until the fat has melted off and the skin has become golden brown and crispy. Place the skillet in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until the inside meat is cooked to m...

Save those orange rinds. There’s a thing that people do in the south of France, and I love it. When you peel an orange, save that peel and tie it to a little string and hang it over your kitchen sink. Let the peel dry out until it’s brittle, and then grate it. Grate it over a beef stew, into a tea, on top of ice cream or cocktails. You can do the same thing with lemon peels. It’s a little bit of the south of Fran...

Want everyone in the house to look forward to breakfast? Make easy Bacon, Tomato and Cheese Egg Muffins. In a large measuring cup beat together 6 eggs, 1/4 cup of crisp chopped bacon, 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, a dash of garlic powder, and diced tomatoes. Hit a 6-cup muffin tin with non-stick spray and pour the beaten egg mixture so that each cup is half-filled. Bake the muffins at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. The ...

A juicy piece of baked salmon with crispy browned Panko breadcrumbs on top. Heat the oven to 425°. Brown Panko crumbs, constantly stirring, in a dry skillet. Coat the fillets with a mixture of Dijon mustard and olive oil. Press the browned crumbs on top of the mustard so they stick.  Bake them for about ten minutes. Crispy with every bite.

Photo: Sandor Weisz/Flickr, creative commons

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Picture this…a meatloaf wrapped in buttery puff pastry. Make your favorite meatloaf, put down a sheet of supermarket puff pastry, place the meatloaf in the center, and wrap it like it’s a gift package. Brush it with melted butter and bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, wrapped in foil, and another 30 minutes with the foil removed. When the puff pastry is golden brown, it’s done, or use a meat thermometer to check for done...

What a great way to wake everybody up the morning after any holiday. Make melted ice cream French toast. I like egg-rich Häagen-Dazs® vanilla. Melt a pint in a saucepan over the lowest heat, but no boiling. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium. Dip your favorite bread slices into the melted ice cream, then right into the skillet they go. Brown the bread until golden on both sides. Serve them with maple syrup and soft butter. Grandpar...

How about dazzling your morning guests with plate-sized crispy potato latkes, each topped with two fried eggs! Google any latke recipe (or use this one we like). You’ll need shredded potatoes, diced onion, baking powder, and an egg. When it’s all in the bowl, as instructed, you cover the entire bottom of a cast iron skillet with a thin layer of the mixture. To that mixture I add bits of shredded prosciutto or diced cooked cho...

Savory crepes are coming, starting now. I saw the Italian master Nicola Savino make crepes on my recent food and wine tour through Puglia. Think pancakes only thinner. All you need is corn flour, milk, eggs, and cornstarch. Pour a thin layer of batter across an entire skillet. When it’s flipped and done, fill with diced ham and cheese. Roll ‘em like cigars and brown the outside of the rolled crepes in the skillet. Staggeringly deli...

One of my new favorite things to do? Use my waffle iron to make food crispy, a texture I adore. Picture those cinnamon buns in a tube at the supermarket—put them in your waffle iron. Omelettes get crazy crispy in the waffle iron, so do grated potatoes, and leftover mashed potatoes are phenomenal. Even folding a pizza slice in half and waffle ironing it turns it into a crispy calzone. Go on, try stuff!

Hash brown waffle photo: Stac...