Main Course
8665 recipes found
Macaroni and Beef Casserole
This homey casserole was developed by Pierre Franey in 1991 for the 60-Minute Gourmet column. It is hearty sustenance that evokes memories of childhood and sweater weather. Its preparation is simple, but its flavors veer elegant. Sauté onions, celery, green peppers and garlic. Add the meat, then oregano, basil and tomatoes. Whisk together a quick Cheddar cheese bechamel that's seasoned with cayenne and nutmeg then pour it on top. At the last minute, sprinkle a little Parmesan on top and slide it under a broiler to brown. Serve with crisp green salad and a hunk of French bread. Comfort food at its finest.
Butternut Squash Congee With Chile Oil
Congee comes in many textures and flavors, under a number of different names, and is eaten widely across East, South East and South Asia. This particular version of congee is not traditional to any region or cuisine, but is a seasonal interpretation, incorporating butternut squash for a warming, naturally sweet, earthy glow. The chile oil delivers a lively counter to the mellow nature of this congee, delivering both heat and savoriness. Using leftover rice gives you a hearty congee in just about 30 minutes, but make sure you give it a good stir at the end to further break up the rice and create a creamy finish. Butternut can be an unwieldy vegetable and many find it hard to handle, so try cutting it into smaller pieces before slicing the skin off with a sharp knife or peeler. Quicker still, opt for pre-cut cubes of butternut which can often be found at the supermarket.
Rice Cooker Steel-Cut Oats
The rice cooker isn’t a one-trick pony: It’s actually the secret to waking up to hot, creamy oatmeal. Steel-cut oats soften in the machine while retaining their nutty flavor and nubby chew — all without any effort on your part. Since rice cooker models vary, you can play around with the water proportions to achieve your favorite consistency. Generally, though, you’ll need a lot more water to oats using a rice cooker because oats stiffen and soak up even more water as they rest after cooking. Once they’re done, you can top them however you like, but regardless of whether you prefer your oats sweet or savory, be sure to cook them with salt to enhance their flavor.
Chicken Vesuvio
No one really knows who invented chicken Vesuvio, a roast chicken and potato dish in white wine sauce named after Mount Vesuvius, the volcano in Campania, Italy. Some believe the dish first appeared on the menu at Vesuvio, a well-known Chicago restaurant in the 1930s; others believe it’s a riff on the roast chicken dishes that grandmothers in Southern Italy have been making for hundreds of years. (The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.) Whatever its origins, Chicagoans claim it as their own, and you can find it at almost every Italian-American restaurant in the Windy City. The dish always includes plenty of oregano and lemon juice, and usually a scattering of fresh or frozen peas for color. We reached out to La Scarola, one of the most popular Italian-American restaurants in Chicago, for their recipe, and then we adapted it for home cooks. Serve it with plenty of crusty bread, for sopping up the mouthwatering sauce.
Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic
In the two decades after World War II, Jane Stern and Michael Stern told Marian Burros of The Times in 1991, “a nation once known for square meals and the bluenose abstinence of Prohibition fell in love with deluxe food, vintage wine and the joy of cooking.” They captured that gourmania in their book of that year, “American Gourmet,” and this recipe, for a luxe and amazing casserole of nutmeg-scented chicken and garlic, comes from it. Serve the dish with a baguette or two, and squeeze the buds of garlic out on the bread. Spread the mash like butter and use the bread to mop up the luscious sauce.
Encacahuatado de Costillas de Cerdo (Pork Ribs in Peanut-Chile Sauce)
Encacahuatados are mole-like sauces made with peanuts, dried chiles, tomatoes and cinnamon. Traditionally, they are served with chicken and prepared for special occasions, like birthdays and holidays. In Xalapa, a town in central Veracruz along the Gulf Coast, encacahuatados are made with pork, whose richness pairs well with the nuttiness of roasted peanuts in the spicy-sweet sauce.
Jamaican Curry Chicken and Potatoes
There’s nothing more comforting than chicken and potatoes, and this recipe is no exception. Getting its flavor and heat from a combination of mild Jamaican curry powder and Scotch bonnet pepper, it’s not as hot as some Indian or Thai curries. Jamaican curry powder tends to be heavy on turmeric and less on spice, and this recipe uses just one Scotch bonnet pepper, which is kept whole but punctured to gently release flavor. The result is more warming than spicy. Eat this one-pot recipe by itself as a kind of stew, or over rice, letting all the flavors meld together.
Overnight Pumpkin Spice French Toast
You only need a few everyday ingredients like milk, bread and eggs — plus a heavy dose of your favorite pumpkin spice blend — to make this warming breakfast for a crowd. The whole thing is assembled the night before, so all you need to do when you wake up is a few finishing touches before you pop it in the oven. If you don’t have a favorite pumpkin spice blend, there is one at the bottom of this recipe for you to try. Don’t forget the maple syrup — and potentially some toasted nuts or fruit — to serve.
Roast Chicken With Maple Butter and Rosemary
This simple roast chicken combines the classic fall flavors of maple and rosemary with melted butter, which is basted over the bird as it cooks to keep it juicy. The butter browns slightly and helps caramelize the outside thanks to the sugars in the maple syrup. The result is a fragrant, sweet-and-salty chicken that makes the house smell great. There will be plenty of buttery pan juices left over, which you should most certainly pass around the table, but they would also be delicious spooned over rice pilaf.
Apple-Gruyère French Toast With Red Onion
Light and fluffy, here the bread takes on a soft, cakelike texture from its custard bath, which is a nice foil to the sharp cheese, savory onions and caramelized apple. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this sandwich could replace latkes on Hanukkah. But it sure makes a nice alternative that I could see making all year long.
Pasta With Parsnips and Bacon
They may seem like an unlikely duo, but pasta and parsnips work really well together, with the parsnips becoming almost like a sweet and soft extension of the pasta. And they’re another vehicle for the creamy, bacon-rich sauce. You can roast the parsnips several hours ahead (they’ll be fine at room temperature). But the rest of the dish is best made just before serving. Then serve it hot. There are few dishes that are cozier on a cold winter night.
Guinness Pie
Beef in dark, silky gravy composed of fat and reduced stout, flecked with tender vegetables, covered in pastry: This is a dish that delivers good cheer and contentment in equal measure. We built it out of advice and instruction from the British chefs Jamie Oliver (the stew) and Fergus Henderson (the pastry). Eating it — salty and rich, buttoned with sweetness — will occasion thoughts of a coming walk or a nap on the couch with the dog. You’ll want some red wine to drink. It's awesome.
Maple Pecan Pancakes
Instead of using only wheat flour in these pancakes, I’ve combined whole-wheat flour and almond flour. The almond flour makes for a very moist and delicate pancake. Almond flour is high in vitamin E, calcium, magnesium and copper.
Cal Peternell’s Braised Chicken Legs
Here is a pleasant, delicious family meal adapted from the California chef Cal Peternell’s excellent home-cooking manifesto, “Twelve Recipes,” published in 2014 by HarperCollins. There are two steps to the process, which as Mr. Peternell points out can lead to endless improvisation. First, season the chicken and brown it well in a pan. Salt, pepper and flour are what’s called for in this basic recipe, but adding some paprika would be a delicious option, or some cumin, coriander, paprika and a dash of cinnamon and caraway for a scent of Morocco. Then, braise it in liquid — white wine for the classic, red wine for a coq-au-vin feel, or with beer, chicken stock or plain water. Mr. Peternell does his braising in the oven, but you could easily do it on the stovetop as well, simmering the chicken slowly beneath a lid. Pair with rice or boiled potatoes, with couscous, with big hunks of garlic bread.
Classic Noodle Kugel
With its wide ribbons of egg noodles bound by cottage cheese, sour cream and eggs, this classic dairy kugel recipe celebrates the sweeter, richer side of noodle puddings. You can make it the day before, store it in the fridge, then reheat it in a 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes just before serving. But it’s also great at room temperature. Blending the cottage cheese gives this version a smooth, almost cheesecakelike interior. For a more nubby texture with bits of cottage cheese peeking through the noodles, don’t use a blender; just whisk everything together in a big bowl.
Beet, Greens and Cheddar Crumble
This unusual, savory crumble is reminiscent of macaroni and cheese, but vegetable matter (beets and beet greens) standing in for the pasta. The vegetables are bound with a rich béchamel laced with grated clothbound cheddar, and the whole thing is topped with peppery oatmeal crumbs. As written, the recipe is at once comforting and sophisticated. If you like things on the fiery side, a squirt of sriracha does the trick. And if you or your family feel the need for meat to complete the meal, a side of grilled sausages would fill the bill beautifully.
Pastelón
Pastelón is a layered Puerto Rican casserole of plantains, cheese and picadillo, a tomato-based ground beef mixture seasoned with onions, peppers, herbs and spices. The dish is often referred to as Puerto Rican lasagna, and to say there is only one real recipe for pastelón would be like saying there’s only one true lasagna. Variations abound! Some cooks boil the plantains and make a mash with taro; others fry them until they’re sweet and crisp. Nearly any mild, meltable cheese may be used, though there is debate over whether or not to add raisins. This recipe is adapted from from Natalia Vallejo, chef and owner of Cocina al Fondo in Santurce, Puerto Rico. She doesn’t serve pastelón at her restaurant, but she grew up eating it. Her version includes fried plantains, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and raisins, because she says “Puerto Ricans like that sweet-and-salty mix.”
Slow-Baked Beans With Kale
Beans baked very slowly for several hours develop a creamy texture, while the liquid they cook in, which thickens to a syrup, acquires a caramelized flavor. The kale practically melts in this casserole, going from bitter to sweet. I love using lima beans in this dish because they’re so big and their texture is so luxurious.
Braised Chicken Thighs With Caramelized Fennel
To play up the licorice flavor, I add a pinch of fennel seed and a drizzle of Pernod. The vegetables serve as a bed for seared chicken thighs, ideal for absorbing the herbal aromatics.
Steak Diane
A classic recipe, steak Diane dates to the 1930s, when it was prepared tableside at restaurants with much fanfare. The piquant sauce, a mix of cream, Cognac, shallots and Worcestershire, is speedy and simple to make from the steak’s pan drippings. Flambéing the Cognac adds drama, but you can skip that step, and just let the Cognac simmer for 2 minutes to cook off some of the alcohol. Use any cut of steak you like. Even chicken breasts or pork tenderloins will work in the heady, creamy sauce. Serve with a simple salad alongside, if you like.
Pescado Zarandeado (Grilled Fish With Chile-Citrus Sauce)
This pre-Hispanic dish comes from Mexcalitlán, a small island in the state of Nayarit on the mid-Pacific Coast. Originally, the fish was seasoned with a chile-lime salsa and grilled over a zaranda, a pit made of mangrove wood from which the dish gets its name. But there are many regional variations, using either freshwater and saltwater fish, found along the Pacific Coast as well as inland, in the northern central states.
Butternut Squash and Green Curry Soup
This creamy, vibrant soup is a Thai-inspired version of the puréed squash soup you know and love. The green curry paste, which is relatively easy to find in the international aisle of the grocery store, along with coconut milk and fish sauce, perfectly complements the butternut squash's sweetness. But it's the topping — a spin on miang kham, a snack in Thailand and Laos full of peanuts, coconut and chiles — that's the real standout.
Quick Chicken and Dumplings
This is the perfect soup for when you’re craving chicken and dumplings, but not quite up to the task of making the traditional dish. Store-bought rotisserie chicken and gnocchi live their best lives here, simmered in a comforting broth of chicken stock and heavy cream seasoned with rosemary and thyme. Leeks, carrots and celery are standard, but butternut squash, parsnips, mushrooms, fennel or shallots are worthy additions. Simply sauté your aromatics and vegetables, simmer with some chicken stock and cream, stir in the chicken and gnocchi, and dinner is done in 20 minutes from start to finish.
Arroz con Pollo
Ubiquitous throughout Latin America and beyond, arroz con pollo can be as simple or as complex as your ingredients allow. The key is to layer flavor, adding dimension as you go. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are preferred, but bone-in will also work well. (Chicken breasts lack the same amount of fat and flavor, so they are not recommended here.) Watch the rice carefully as it cooks, absorbing the liquid, as pots and stoves vary greatly. If it starts to smell a little burned, reduce the heat, toss and put the lid on the pot. But don’t worry, as this aroma can be part of creating the coveted pegao, a layer of toasted rice that develops on the bottom of the pan and sticks to it, similar to Persian tahdig, Spanish socarrat or Senegalese xoon.