What to cook in February
Minestrone, French winter salad, Taiwanese cookbooks and more (lots of recipes!). Plus an update on the chocolate situation.
Happy Friday, cozy cook!
February normally means hearty soups, long simmers and braises of various kinds. Although we’re having a weird warm spell in my neck of the woods, I’ve had minestrone on my mind — so I concocted one, with turnips and lots of lacinato kale (aka Tuscan kale or cavolo nero). It’s a winner — a soup I’ll be making again and again (Thierry and Wylie loved it!). Just this morning I published the recipe on Cooks Without Borders (the big site). I haven’t written a story about it yet, so it’s just buried in the recipes; here it is just for you:
Recipes and stories from January
Here’s a run-down, with links, to things you’ll want to cook from the big site since the first of the year:
• “Celebrate New Year’s like an Italian: Make a big pot of braised lentils and kale.” This was written to ring in the new year, but it’s something I’d be thrilled to eat all month (and beyond).
• “Five feel-good recipes to deliciously kick-start January” — when health the idea
• Tinga de Pollo — the first dish many Mexican cooks learn from their parents
• Shrimp Gỏi Cuốn: Yes, summer rolls in the dead of winter!
• Salade Frisée Lardons, a classic French winter salad
• Chicken Thighs with Savoy Cabbage and Turnips — one-pan wonder
• Hooni Kim’s Japchae: A star chef’s take on a classic Korean comfort dish that’s wonderful any time of year
Update on the chocolate crisis
We also covered the current chocolate situation, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Read this to celebrate safely.
• Or skip to the recipe — for The Mexican Chocolate Situation.
Review: Three exciting Taiwanese and Taiwanese American cookbooks
Just yesterday, I posted a review of Win Son Presents a Taiwanese American Cookbook (by Josh Ku and Trigg Brown with Cathy Erway); Frankie Gaw’s First Generation and Made in Taiwan by Clarissa Wei with Ivy Chen.
With the triple review comes seven wonderful adapted recipes. The Pickled Mustard and Pork Noodle Soup shown below feels just right this month; you’ll find it (and the other six) linked in the review:
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Wishing you a marvelous month.
Love, Leslie