Recipes

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Throughout Mexico, paletas are made with fresh fruit and not much sugar, pretty much the opposite of commercial sorbets and sherbets sold here. Like sorbet or sherbet, these frozen snacks are easily made at home; all you need is a set of plastic molds, sold in many supermarkets, toy stores and online. For a lower-tech solution, you can use small paper cups and insert wooden sticks in them once the mixture freezes hard enough to support them. The dairy is optional. Adding it produces a paleta de leche, which has a more distinctive texture than the dairy-free paleta de agua, which is icier.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Little or no cooking is one way to keep the kitchen cool in the summer, but if the food you produce is cool (and delicious, of course), that’s a real plus. Cold soups are a common solution. It’s difficult to imagine one simpler than this one, and impossible to imagine one richer and creamier.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

I suppose crustless quiche is a contradiction in terms, like seared ceviche. But if, like me, you sometimes crave what amounts to savory pie filling without the hassle of making an actual crust, this is the way to go. Once you take the crust out of the quiche you not only radically alter the concept but expand its possibilities. You can produce a “quiche” Lorraine by softening onions (lots) in butter or bacon fat, then adding eggs, cooked bacon and cream or half-and-half, and baking it all as you do in the recipe here.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Good tomatoes and balance are crucial. You need sugar for the kind of gooey, sticky quality we associate with jam; otherwise, all you’re producing is a tomato sauce, no matter how different the flavor is from the classic. Once you add that sugar, however, you need acid, because even though tomatoes are plenty acidic, they can’t counter all that sugar. I tried lemon juice, vinegar and finally lime, deciding that I liked the last best.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

A huge rib-eye, cooked slowly then quickly – whether on a grill or in the oven – will yield perfectly cooked meat. The cost of the cut may seem like a lot to pay for a piece of meat, but if it’s local and well raised, with better flavor, texture and karma than cheaper commodity beef, it’s worth it for a table of four. You might think sauce is overkill with a rib-eye like this, but playing steakhouse chef means dreaming up the accompanying sauces that you would most like to see on the table. My favorite is what I call ‘‘blue butter,’’ a blend of blue cheese and butter. If blue cheese isn't your thing, try creamed spinach sauce, chile chimichurri, tomato nam prik or bourbon balsamic syrup.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Chile chimichurri is an enlivened, updated version of the classic vinegar-and-parsley sauce. Served alongside a grilled rib-eye, the sauce brightens up the dish and makes eating a steak at home feel like you're eating one while out on the town.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Playing steakhouse chef means dreaming up the sauces and side dishes that you would most like to see on the table. Creamed spinach gives you a classic steakhouse experience in sauce form, and makes the perfect accompaniment to a grilled rib-eye.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Blue butter – obviously fat on fat – is blue cheese for people who think they don’t like blue cheese: The butter tames the sharpness, and the cheese makes the butter lively and intense. Serve this sauce alongside a grilled rib-eye for a contemporary take on a classic steakhouse cut.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Consider this a recipe for a classic steak sauce, updated; that’s bourbon syrup, made with real ingredients in a flash. Sure, you could buy a sauce at the grocery store, but making it yourself is quicker and tastier. Serve it alongside a grilled rib-eye.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Nam prik, the classic Thai dipping sauce, is made more complex and intriguing with the addition of tomatoes. This version of the sauce is perfect alongside a grilled rib-eye.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

If you seek inspiration for a better pie, you need look no further than a traditional French walnut tart. It is only marginally different, but vive that difference. The reason is butter: butter in the crust and butter in the filling. Oh, and cream in the filling, too. If they had pecans in France I’m sure they would use them, as you could in this recipe.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

There are those who may not find this sweet enough, and if that’s the case I recommend adding a quarter cup or so of sugar instead of increasing the honey, because you don’t want the honey flavor to become overpowering. Other flavor possibilities to add with the blueberries: any citrus you like; a teaspoon or so of very finely ground coffee or cocoa; or chopped raisins or, I suppose, chocolate chips. I prefer the straight honey-lemon combination, unadulterated.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

In most cases, rice salads can be dressed not only minutes but hours in advance, making them ideal for entertaining or for just cooking ahead. Cook the rice a bit in advance, and dress it before it gets too cold. (While leftover rice — even from Chinese takeout restaurants — is close to ideal for fried rice, it doesn’t work nearly as well as fresh-cooked rice for salads.)

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

My basic technique works like this: Cook the rice as you would pasta, in abundant salted water, tasting as you go; the cooking time will range from around 15 minutes for white rice to as long as 45 minutes for the most stubborn brown varieties (almost all will be done in 30 minutes or so). Drain and rinse; you want to get any remaining surface starch off so the salad isn’t too clumpy. When the rice is cool enough to handle, dress it; it will absorb a bit of the dressing. Add herbs and garnishes just before serving.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

In all of American cooking there is probably no term less meaningful than “salad.” I’m racking my brain for a way to narrow the definition, but the best I can do is a dictionary-like “mixture of food, usually cold or at room temperature, with some kind of dressing.” That’s not saying much, but it opens a world of opportunities, especially when the base ingredient is rice, which offers a far wider variety of flavors and textures than any other grain.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

You can use any cut of pork or chicken. The marinade is also good with mackerel or other fish (floured and sautéed or fried before marinating).

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Whether it’s tender and tasty short-grain, astonishingly fragrant basmati or superchewy red, brown and black varieties, rice is one salad ingredient that does not deteriorate when dressed. It absorbs and thrives on the addition of liquids.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Rich Torrisi developed this intense and terrific recipe for the menu at Dirty French, one of a number of chic restaurants in downtown Manhattan that he runs with Mario Carbone. It is on one hand a simple dish: thin-sliced mushrooms layered with butter and salt, then pressed and chilled until they resemble the French dessert known as mille-feuille, or "thousand leaves." Sautéing a slice of the resulting loaf in a hot pan, and then pairing it with a lovely coulis of fresh tomatoes and herbs? That elevates it to the divine. Mark Bittman

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

In order to bring out all their flavor and sweetness, you must sauté bell peppers before putting them on this variation of the Pittsburgh-based baker and cook Rick Easton's pizza; but that’s hardly any work at all. (If you like, add a couple of semihot peppers to the mix.) The mozzarella is a nice touch, as is the rosemary, but almost any herb will work beautifully here. Don’t skimp on the olive oil, and don’t underbake the pie; it should be good and brown on the bottom. Mark Bittman

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Potatoes may seem an odd topping for pizza, but the Pittsburgh-based baker and cook Rick Easton has developed a crust that is so sturdy it can actually support more than its own weight, and these potatoes – boiled until soft, hand-crushed, flavored with olive oil and rosemary and made even more delicious by the addition of mozzarella – are not only traditional, but amazing. Be sure to bake the pizza until it is good and brown on the bottom; take a peek if you’re not sure. See the other variations on this pizza, and experiment freely. Mark Bittman

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Here, ribbons of raw asparagus are simply dressed with a nutty vinaigrette of toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil and rice vinegar.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

Boil a couple of cups of wine with shallots and butter as quickly as your stove will allow. When the wine is almost completely gone, cook the shrimp in this sauce. The keys to finishing the dish are seasoning and body: it will take plenty of salt and a fair pinch of spice. Serve this with good bread to sop up the sauce.

Mark Bittman · NYT Cooking

The first time I made brownies without my mother was in the late 1960s, using a recipe from Paula Peck, the cookbook writer. Over the years, I tinkered with that and a similar version by Marion Cunningham. As my daughters learned to cook, they experimented a bit further. But we never really strayed from the originals. As long as you keep the flour to a minimum and don't add chemical leavening like baking powder, you will produce a true and beautiful brownie.