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Oldies But Goodies: Strawberry Pistachio Cake

Oldies But Goodies: Strawberry Pistachio Cake

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is perfect to celebrate spring and this year’s exceptional strawberry crop. This is a recipe for Strawberry-Pistachio Cake.…

Turkish White Beans

Turkish White Beans

These Turkish White Beans are wonderful—delicious and with a distinct Mediterranean flavor.  This would be perfect for a plant-based main dish served with crusty bread and a green salad (maybe with feta?) or as part of a mezze assortment of dishes. This recipe is from…

Maple-Roasted Carrot Salad

Maple-Roasted Carrot Salad

This is a beauty!

Having grown up in a household where a chopped iceberg lettuce salad (with Wishbone Italian dressing) was the only game in town, I have always sought out beauty and variety on the salad plate in my adulthood. 

This Ina Garten salad creation hits all the positive notes for me. It is gorgeous (and inviting) on the plate. It is delicious. And, there are those sweet mapley (is that a word?) carrots to die for. 

This recipe is from Ina Garten’s cookbook Cooking for Jeffrey. You can find the cookbook at your local bookstore or on Amazon here.

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.

Maple-Roasted Carrot Salad

April 26, 2024
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds carrots
  • Good olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
  • 1/4 C. pure maple syrup
  • 2/3 C. dried cranberries
  • 2/3 C. freshly-squeezed orange juice
  • 3 T. sherry wine vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
  • 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 oz. baby arugula
  • 6 oz. goat cheese
  • 2/3 C. roasted Marcona almonds
Directions
  • Step 1 Peel and trim carrots into 2-inch pieces. Place carrots in a small bowl and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.Arrange carrots on two parchment-covered cookie sheets and roast carrots in a preheated 425 degree for 20 minutes, tossing once midway. Now, transfer all the carrots on a single sheet plan and toss with maple syrup. Return to the oven and roast for 10 to 15 minutes more. You want the edges of the carrots to begin to caramelize. Remove from the oven and let the carrots sit for about 10 minutes.
  • Step 2 While the carrots are cooling, prepare the dressing by combining vinegar, garlic and 1/2 t. salt in a small bowl. Whisk. Whisk 3 T. olive oil into the vinegar mixture. Set aside.
  • Step 3 Combine dried cranberries with orange juice in a small pan. Heat until the orange juice simmers and then take the pan off the heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
  • Step 4 To make the salad, place arugula in a bowl. Toss with dressing. Add cranberries with their liquid, carrots, crumbled goat cheese and Marcona almonds. Toss, add more salt to your taste, and serve.
Bouchons au Chocolat

Bouchons au Chocolat

I don’t know about you, but corks don’t sound all that appetizing to me. Nevertheless, these chocholaty treats, Bouchons au Chocolat,  are basically called “little corks.”  This Bouchon au Chocolat recipe is from Aleksandra Crapanzano’s wonderful cookbook Gateau: The Suprising Simplicity of French Cakes. Crapanzano…

Oldies But Goodies: Italian Chickpeas With Pesto

Oldies But Goodies: Italian Chickpeas With Pesto

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is perfect to celebrate spring. It’s a recipe for Italian Chickpeas With Pesto. You don’t want to miss…

It’s all in the sauce: Indian Butter Chickpeas

It’s all in the sauce: Indian Butter Chickpeas

Having enjoyed perhaps more than my fair share of wonderful Indian butter masala (makhani) recipes, I’m a tough critic of “butter” recipes. From the original Moti Mahal restaurant in Old Delhi (which claims to have invented the dish)  to the scruffy airport restaurant in Bagdogra, India, eating on a free meal voucher from Indian Airlines after a problematic flight to restaurants in Artesia’s Little India,  I’ve enjoyed the dish in many of its permutations–chickpeas, dal, paneer. 

 

 

I can say without equivocation that this is a really tasty recipe, reminiscent of the original if not as spicy.  

This recipe is adapted from one that appears in the New York Times. You can find that recipe here.

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.

Indian Butter Chickpeas

April 14, 2024
Ingredients
  • 4 T. unsalted butter
  • 1 large onion (minced)
  • 1 1/2 t. kosher salt (or more to your taste)
  • 4 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 T. fresh ginger (grated)
  • 2 t. ground cumin
  • 2 t. sweet paprika
  • 2 t. garam masala
  • 1 small cinnamon. stick
  • 1 28-ounce can whole peeled plum tomatoes
  • 1 15-ounce can coconut milk
  • 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas (drained)
  • Ground cayenne
  • Cooked white rice
  • Chopped cilantro (for garnish)
  • Heavy cream
Directions
  • Step 1 Saute onion and 1/2 t. salt in melted butter in a large pan or Dutch oven until the onions begin to brown on the edges. Stir as the onions are sauteeing. This will take about 20 minutes.
  • Step 2 Add ginger and garlic to the pan with the sauteed onions and saute for another minute. Add cumin, paprika, garam masala and cinnamon stick to the pan and saute for about 30 seconds.
  • Step 3 Break the tomatoes up by crushing them with your hands or cutting them with scissors or a knife. Add tomatoes to the pan. Add the coconut milk and the remaining 1 t. of salt. Stir to mix well and cook this mixture for about 10 minutes.
  • Step 4 Add the chickpeas to the pot. I added a generous pinch of cayenne pepper at this point but you can omit it if you don’t want your finished dish to be spicy. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to your taste adding more salt if necessary.
  • Step 5 To serve, add some heavy cream and top with chopped cilantro. Serve with rice or naan.

 

Who Knew? Japanese Potato Salad

Who Knew? Japanese Potato Salad

My friend Joyce recently made a heritage trip to Japan with her daughter. From luxury hotels to rustic ryokans, they savored the sights and tastes of Japan.  As dedicated foodies, Joyce and I talked a lot about Japanese food before her trip. While we were…

Harissa-Creamed Cauliflower

Harissa-Creamed Cauliflower

Harissa. What in the heck is harissa? Harissa is a middle eastern paste. It is made with hot chili peppers and a variety of spices. It is a common ingredient in dishes served across North Africa and is especially associated with the cooking of Tunisia.…

Oldies But Goodies: Hot Cross Buns

Oldies But Goodies: Hot Cross Buns

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is perfect to celebrate spring. It’s a recipe for Hot Cross Buns: Hot Cross Buns.

You don’t want to miss this great recipe…again.

Want to dive deeper into our recipe archive? Just click one of the categories at the top of this page or use the category search drop down menu on the right side of this page.

And…here is a link to Blue Cayenne’s main page: Blue Cayenne.If you are in the mood to cook (or eat!), we hope you will take a moment to look at the many excellent recipes we have featured.

Red Potatoes With Lentils and Avocado Sauce

Red Potatoes With Lentils and Avocado Sauce

  Interesting salads. I love interesting salads! Clearly, I’m not alone.  Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a “funeral garden”  outside a rock-cut tomb on Dra Abu el-Naga hill in Luxor. Apparently, they have found four thousand year-old evidence of lettuce! There also are ancient…