Starters

From Barbara Rotger, Melrose, Ma

Hand written recipes from beloved relatives are our treasures. This recipe for Asparagus roll ups came from Barbara Rotger, a woman I interviewed for the article Something old, something new. It is from her grandmother, Marion Griswold Doane, who lived in Essex, Conn., and entertained a lot. “Grandma’s recipe box is full of appetizers and dips. My grandfather, Charlie, had a large vegetable garden and small farm stand. He would have grown the asparagus that Grandma used in this recipe,’’ says Rotger. Combined with cream cheese and blue cheese, the toasted bread asparagus roll-ups make elegant finger food.

The Wooden Bowls

Stick with ribs for these two tasty meals

Boston Globe, May 5, 2010 Chinese spare ribs are restaurant food, and usually gnaw-the-bone good. You can also make delicious ribs at home, where you don’t have to worry about table manners. There are three cuts of ribs: meaty pork ribs, sometimes called St. Louis-style; baby-back pork ribs that have less meat; and country-style ribs …

Four Tasty Tofu Recipes

Boston Globe, January 6, 2010 Chinese steamed silken tofu with ginger and scallions Serves 4 At Rice Valley in Newton, cooks use silken tofu, which they steam with shreds of ginger and scallion. Then they bathe the cubes in hot soy sauce and chicken broth. You don’t need a wok or steamer. Use a deep …

Korean Scallion Pancakes

Makes two 8-inch (20 cm) pancakes Batter 1 1/4 cups flour 1/3 cup rice flour 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt or kosher salt 1 1/2 cups (500 ml) water Vegetables 1 large zucchini, cut into 2-inch long matchstick strips 1 carrot, cut into 2-inch long matchstick strips 1 medium onion, cut into thin strips 3 …

Sweet and Sour Onions

These little onions make a wonderful condiment with roasted meat dishes, as part of an antipasto platter or served on their own as an appetizer served with drinks. Sweet and Sour Onions Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds cipolline, Italian baby onions or yellow pearl onions 4 1/4 cups water 1 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup white wine …

Okonomiyaki- Japanese savory pancake

Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake filled with shredded cabbage, bits of briny seafood, slivers of meat and pickled red ginger (beni shoga). After cooking it is shellacked with a tangy glaze made of Worcestershire-like sauce with a dusting of dried seaweed flakes (aonori) and a flourish of shaved bonito flakes (katsuo) that seem to dance, …

Caponata

Boston Globe, March 26, 2008 Caponata Makes about 2 cups Caponata is the sweet, sour, and salty Sicilian eggplant appetizer that looks like a relish and often comes as one of the tastes in an antipasti course. The dish begins with sauteed eggplant cubes, which lend their deep purple color to the mixture, and is …

Crudite Platter with Spicy Miso Dip

Boston Globe, November 7, 2007 If you’re hosting or contributing to a party and looking for an appetizer, a crudite platter is always welcome. For years, Americans had a mundane approach to this French tradition by dipping veggie sticks such as carrots and celery into ordinary mayonnaise-based sauces. Raw broccoli and asparagus spears joined the …

Healthy and Cool Tofu Sandwich

Boston Globe, June 20, 2007 Tofu, the sensational block packed with protein that is popular in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese cuisines, is no longer exclusively available in Asian markets. Unfortunately, while the widely distributed brands like Nasoya are good, they don’t have the same strikingly fresh taste as tofu from Asian grocers. When you go to …

Salmon Mousse with Sour Cream Dill Sauce

Boston Globe, May 16, 2007 If you’re hosting a crowd for a graduation party or wedding shower, you might want to turn the oven off and keep things light. Stash away the stew and lasagna recipes for fall — it will be here soon enough. A flavorful fresh salmon mousse makes an elegant addition to …

The layered look is easy and elegant

Watching a chef create individual pieces of sushi at lightning speed is quite a sight. Rice is compressed into a perfect oval in a slightly cupped palm and topped with a thin slice of fish. Artistry and skill and many years of practice are in evidence. But without any training or experience at a sushi …