Recipes By Alex Witchel
67 recipes found
Creamy Pasta With Smoked Bacon and Peas
This elegant riff on a childhood favorite came to The Times in 2009 by way of Jamie Oliver, the British chef and cookbook author. It was featured in his cookbook “Jamie’s Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals," and it's a favorite of his daughters, Poppy and Daisy. It's wholesome (no powdered cheese!), and it can be ready in about 15 minutes.
Pan-Seared Halibut With Olive Oil Potatoes
Edna Lewis’s Angel Food Cake
This recipe by Edna Lewis, which was featured in a Times article about her in 2009, is an easy one, a classic light cake that is delicious topped with fruit, glazed with lemony sugar, turned into a summer parfait, or eaten all by itself. Be careful not to overbeat the egg whites, and bake it until it springs back to the touch.
Easy Apple Tart With Apricot Marmalade
Hana says: This tart is not kosher for Passover, so wait until after the holiday to make it. Gitta Friedenson, an old friend, passed along the recipe. Use a glass dish so you can check how brown the bottom gets. And don't serve it too hot, because it falls apart.
Classic Deviled Eggs
This recipe is adapted from “U.S.A. Cookbook,” written by Sheila Lukins, an author of the “Silver Palate” cookbooks that were popular in the 1980s and ’90s. If you’re looking for an introduction to deviled eggs, this is the place to start: just eggs, mustard, mayonnaise, a dash of Tabasco and a festive sprinkle of paprika (or jazz things up with a garnish of chives). They are a simple and spectacular addition to a holiday table.
Denver Chocolate Sheet Cake
Since the 1950s, when the Junior League first started publishing cookbooks to raise money for charity, it has sold hundred of millions of copies. This recipe came to The New York Times in 2003 from the Denver chapter: a basic chocolate sheet-cake of tremendous moistness that's very easy to make. It is meant to have a very mild, milk chocolate flavor, but if you prefer a bit more depth, double or even triple the cocoa in the cake and frosting.
Elaine’s Fettuccine Alfredo
This recipe came to The Times in a 2004 article about Elaine Kaufman, the founder and proprietress of the famed New York restaurant and celebrity hot spot that bore her name and where this dish was served. There is nothing fancy or complicated about it — it’s glorified macaroni and cheese, really — but it is delicious and deeply satisfying. (Fun fact: Jackie O. was a fan.)
Banana Everything Cookies
Here's a treat for the vegans in your life. Adapted from the cookbook “Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar,” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, these cookies, which are chunky with chocolate chips, walnuts and rolled oats, are best when they are completely cooled, so their exteriors can crisp up. They do not taste strongly of banana — it's just a hint.
Sea Scallops With Brown Butter, Capers and Lemon
This bright yet rich treatment for scallops came to The Times in a 2009 article about Kevin Zraly, the wine director of Windows on the World from 1976 to 2001. Mr. Zraly turned the restaurant into an international wine mecca: at the time it was destroyed, when the World Trade Center fell, its cellar held close to 100,000 bottles of 1,500 labels. Mr. Zraly and Michael Lomonaco, the chef at the restaurant (both of whom were not at work on Sept. 11 when the planes hit), worked together on hundreds of wine and food pairings throughout the years. This was Mr. Zraly's favorite of Mr. Lomonaco's creations. With it, he recommends a Puligny Montrachet, Olivier Leflaive.
Ken Hom's Classic Kung Pao Chicken
This recipe is adapted from the great Chinese-American chef Ken Hom, for a Sichuan stir-fry is made with chunks of boneless chicken (breasts or thighs, though we prefer thighs), peanuts, chile peppers and plenty of garlic, scallions and ginger. Making it is not at all difficult, but it does require one fussy step: The chicken takes a dip into a combination of egg white, salt, sesame oil and cornstarch before it goes into the hot wok. This step creates a lovely crust on the chicken that sears in moisture and later serves to hold onto the savory-sweet soy-sesame sauce. The dish is quite spicy, so serve it over rice or plain pasta to foil the heat, alongside an ice cold beer.
Pan-Seared Marinated Halibut Fillets
Coconut Basmati Pilaf
Adapted from a recipe by the Indian chef, cooking teacher and cookbook author Julie Sahni, this pilaf is an excellent accompaniment to a vindaloo or other Indian main dish. In addition to the coconut milk, it’s flavored with cardamom and ginger.
Roasted Delicata Squash Purée
Lemon Mousse for a Crowd
Japanese Burgers With Wasabi Ketchup
This burger recipe comes from the chef Tadashi Ono's 2011 book, “The Japanese Grill: From Classic Yakitori to Steak, Seafood and Vegetables,” written with Harris Salat. The writer Alex Witchel raved about it in The Times that same year: “Half beef, half pork, it stayed uncannily moist despite being cooked through. Perfection.”
Sinatra's Spinach
Sinatra loved this dish because it isn't fattening and he believed the olive oil was good for his voice.
Christina Tosi's Pickled Strawberry Jam
Mocha Chocolate Chip Cake
Alice’s Tea Cup, which is owned by the sisters Haley Fox and Lauren Fox, is known for its scones, but the chainlet of teahouses in New York also makes pastries, cakes and other treats. This recipe is an adaptation of a chocolate chip cake with mocha frosting that originated with the Fox sisters’ mother. The cake has a tender crumb, and the frosting is silky and rich.
Potato Kugel
Make this ahead — the flavor really comes out after it has been reheated.
Burrata With Bacon, Escarole and Caramelized Shallots
Barbecue Sauce
Raisin-Hater’s Apple Chile Chutney
Moroccan Chicken Smothered in Olives
Chicken, that old weeknight standby, can get pretty boring day after day. This dish, adapted from "Mediterranean Cooking" by Paula Wolfert, is almost as easy as a few pan-fried chicken breasts, but its flavors – ginger, turmeric, cumin, Spanish sweet paprika, briny olives – are far more exciting. If you have the time, brining the chicken thighs for a couple of hours in a salt-sugar-water solution before cooking will yield supremely tender meat, but if you're in a rush, skip it. You're still going to fall in love with this dish.