Winter days and nights are perfect for cookbook perusing or catching up on favorite cooking blogs and then trying out fun ideas that catch your eye. Lately we've been all about long braises and hearty vegetarian stews. Moroccan Squash and Chickpea Stew anyone? It was full of huge flavors of Butternut Squash, Saffron, Olives, Preserved Lemon and Garlic. You can find it on one of our favorite blogs smittenkitchen.com. All we changed was to add some sliced dried apricot. Another blog we love is davidlebovitz.com , especially for sweet stuff.
The only thing we love more than trying out other chef's recipes is to come up with some new ones of our own. Sometimes it's just a matter of opening the refrigerator and coming up with the best meal possible with what's on hand. Sometimes it's the happy challenge of a shopping trip to a new ethnic market or neighborhood. But as much as we enjoy the challenge, we've heard that a lot of folks get intimidated at the prospect of approaching the stove without a recipe or cooking without a net as we call it.
To that end, we've made a partial list of flavor "profiles" of many cuisines from near and far. It's a great place to start when putting together an extemporaneous dinner. For example... you've got some chicken breasts, mushrooms, onions & broccoli... and are communing with the spirit of Doctor Zhivago...
Cook off the chicken breast how you wish. Blanch the broccoli, drain and reserve. Bring water to a boil and cook some
egg noodles . While noodles are cooking, warm some butter in a skillet to saute the onions and mushrooms, deglaze with a little
vodka. Add some
sour cream and paprika, toss with cooked noodles and keep warm. Melt a little butter, add saute the blanched broccoli, add some
poppy seeds, season and toss. Place noodles on plate, place chicken breast on top and serve with broccoli. Voila, Leningrad Chicken, Romanoff Noodles and Babushka Broccoli.
Well ... you get the idea. Hope this inspires some happy cooking.
FranceAnchovy, Artichoke, Asparagus, Bay Leaf, Butter, Caper, Chervil, Cheese, Chive, Cream, Duck, Endive, Eggplant, Foie Gras, Herbes de Provence, Lavender, Marjoram, Mesclun, Mustard, Nutmeg, Nuts, Olives & Olive Oil, Parsley, Pate, Potato, Rabbit, Rosemary, Saffron, Sausage, Shallots, Shellfish, Snails, Sole, Tarragon, Thyme, Trout, Truffle, Zucchini
ItalyAnchovy, Arborio Rice, Artichoke, Basil, Bay Leaf, Beans (Dried), Caper, Cheese, Cinnamon, Clove, Crushed Red Pepper, Eggplant, Fennel, Garlic, Greens, Honey, Lemon, Marjoram, Mint, Mushroom, Nutmeg, Nuts, Orange, Olives & Olive Oil, Pancetta, Parsley, Prosciutto, Oregano, Pasta, Pine Nuts, Polenta, Rosemary, Saffron, Sage, Sausage, Shellfish, Swordfish, Tomato, Truffle, Veal, Vinegar (especially Balsamic)
Spain and PortugalAlmonds, Anchovy, Bay Leaf, Beans (Dried), Chickpeas, Cumin, Fish, Garlic, Ham, Lemon, Olives & Olive Oil, Paprika (Sweet & Smoked), Parsley, Pine Nuts, Pork, Rice, Saffron, Shellfish, Sherry, Thyme, Tomato
GreeceAllspice, Anise, Artichoke, Beans (Dried)Cinnamon, Cloves, Cucumber, Dill, Eggplant, Fennel, Feta, Fruit, Greens, Grilled Fish, Honey, Lamb, Mint, Nutmeg, Octopus, Olives & Olive Oil, Oregano, Phyllo, Pita, Salads, Thyme, Tomato, Yogurt
LevantAleppo Pepper, Chickpeas, Chile Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Coriander, Crushed Red Pepper, Cucumber, Cumin, Dill, Feta, Fish, Fruit(dried), Ginger, Goat, Honey, Mint, Nuts, Olives & Olive Oil, Oregano, Parsley, Phyllo, Pita, Pomegranate, Sesame, Sumac, Yogurt
RussiaBeets, Cabbage, Caraway, Caviar, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cumin, Dill, Fish (Smoked & Pickled), Fruit, Garlic, Mint, Mushrooms, Nutmeg, Paprika, Poppy Seeds, Potato, Sour Cream, Tarragon, Vodka, Yogurt
MoroccoAlmonds, Chile Pepper, Cilantro, Cilantro, Cinnamon, Coriander, Couscous, Cumin, Fish, Fruit (dried), Ginger, Harissa, Lamb, Mint, Orange Flower Water, Paprika, Phyllo, Preserved Lemon, Ras al hanout, Rosewater, Saffron, Stews (Tagines), Sumac, Turmeric
GermanyAllspice, Bay Leaf, Beer, Caraway, Chives, Cinnamon, Clove, Cream, Dill (Leaf and Seed), Chive, Ginger, Horseradish, Juniper Berry, Mace, Mushrooms, Nutmeg, Paprika, Poppy Seeds, Vinegar
ScandinavianAllspice, Aquavit, Bay Leaf, Cardamon, Cinnamon, Clove, Cucumbers, Dill, Fish (Pickled), Ginger, Juniper Berry, Meatballs, Mushrooms, Mustard, Nutmeg, Potato, Salmon(Gravlax), Sour Cream, Vinegar
CaribbeanAllspice, Bay Leaf, Chile Peppers, Cilantro, Cinnamon, Cloves, Coconut, Curry Powder, Fish, Fruit (Tropical), Garlic, Ginger, Goat, Lime, Molasses, Nutmeg, Plantains, Rum, Shellfish, Sugar (Brown), Tamarind, Thyme
MexicanAvocado, Beans, Cilantro, Canela (Mexican or True Cinnamon), Chile Pepper, Chile Powder, Chocolate, Corn, Cumin, Epazote, Fish, Lime, Oregano, Peppers, Plantain, Rice, Sausage, Seeds, Shellfish, Tomato, Tortilla
South America (Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, and others)Avocado, Cheese (fresh white), Chile Pepper, Chile Pastes, Cilantro, Cinnamon, Cloves, Coconut, Coffee, Corn, Cumin, Garlic, Ginger, Greens, Grilled Meats, Lime, Orange, Oregano, Parsley, Peppers, Plantain, Pork, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Raisins, Rice, Rosemary, Saffron, Sausage
Southeast Asia - (Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam)Distinctive balance of salty, sweet, sour and spicy
Chile Pepper, Cilantro, Cinnamon, Clove, Coconut Milk, Curry Paste, Dried Shrimp, Fish Sauce, Galangal, Ginger, Lemongrass, Kaffir Lime Leaf, Lime, Mint, Shrimp Paste, Peanuts, Rice, Siracha, Soy Sauce, Sugar (Brown), Tamarind, Thai Basil
IndiaAllspice, Anise, Basmati Rice, Cardamom, Cauliflower, Chile Pepper, Cilantro, Coriander, Cumin, Curry Powder, Curry Leaves, Fenugreek, Ghee, Ginger, Greens, Lamb, Lentils, Mint, Mustard Seed, Mustard Oil, Nutmeg, Onion, Poppy Seeds, Potato, Saffron, Tamarind, Tomato, Turmeric, Yogurt
Chinese Chile Pepper, Cinnamon, Dried Seafood, Duck, Five Spice Powder, Garlic, Ginger, Hoisin Sauce, Noodles, Nuts, Rice, Scallion, Shellfish, Sesame, Soy Sauce, Star Anise, Szechuan Pepper, Tangerine Peel, Tofu, Vinegar
JapaneseBonito Flakes, Chile Pepper, Daikon, Dashi, Ginger, Mirin, Miso, Noodles, Pickles, Ponzu, Rice, Sake, Scallion, Seaweed, Sesame, Shellfish, Soy Sauce, Tea, Tofu, Vinegar, Wasabi, Yuzu