Call for Genius Recipe Tips (+ More Greatest Hits)

And Nigella's clementine cake, in which whole clementines are used!

Angela Liddon's glo bars

Something with cashew cream!
And these uber good truffles
http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/the-best-chocolate-truffles/

Cathy Whim's Fruit Crisp, from Nostrana in Portland, Oregon.
http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2008/06/recipe_detail.html?id=8262&search=&q_dish=Desserts
It's so simple! Do what the restaurant does and put a little almond extract or perhaps amaretto spiked cream on top before serving it quite warm.

Smitten Kitchen's oven-roasted tomatoes http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/08/slow-roasted-tomatoes/ (I do them at 250 and store in oil). They are divine, require only garic, salt, and oil, and can be used on everything. I blend them into sauce, toss into pastas, use on pizza or bruschetta, put on sandwiches, blend into mayos-- they are beautiful and SO EASY.

Marcella Hazan's recipe for cabbage/arborio rice dish. Somewhere between a porridge and a risotto, comforting, simple and absolutely delicious. I cannot stop making it. Molly @ Orangette posted it a while back: http://orangette.blogspot.com/2013/12/approximately-soup.html

Kienow's Bavarian Banana Cake is a favorite in our home and community. Sadly Kienow's closed years ago, but they shared their recipe with The Oregonian, so the cake lives on. http://food52.com/recipes/25822-bavarian-banana-cake

This is my go-to recipe for cut-out sugar cookies. When I was younger, I had went through several sugar cookie recipes, but they wouldn't roll out good, but this one is pretty no-fail. http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/2217/best-ever-butter-cookies

Momofuku's ginger scallion sauce on poached chicken.... or by the spoonful on anything.

David Lebovitz's warm sticky toffee pudding recipe is amazing and fool-proof. It's the perfect desert for this time of the year, or all year if you're a stp glutton like me...

Porchetta stuffed with herbs, garlic and most of all -- and the most distinguishing ingredient -- fennel pollen. It transforms pork roast into something wonderous.

Veggie potato hamburger or black pepper and honey muffins! www.foodstyleforaliving.com

Nigella's My Brown Bread from How to be a Domestic Goddess, Delia Smih's Flaky Fish Pie, Long Fusilli with Roasted Tomatoes by Lidia Bastianich, Beer Braised Short Ribs of Beef by James Villas and my husband's recipe for Shrimps in Whiskey! All so simple and so delicious!

Another one is chicken with sumac. You can just rub chicken parts with sumac salt and pepper before roasting on a bed of onions, or roast it as in this recipe, adapted from Mary Laird Hammady's Lebanese Mountain Cooking: http://alandivack.blogspot.com/2010/03/chicken-with-sumac.html

After boiling an egg, right after being rinsed in cold water, lightly crack it all around. Place a teaspoon thru a crack and under the membrane slightly pushing spoon with the curve of the egg. Once u get the hang of this it's amazing how effortlessly the shell comes off.

When making chicken stew, do like they do in the Philippines with adobo: simmer the chicken first, then broil to brown while you reduce the sauce. No messy browning, and no flabby skin. I use it whenever I stew chicken with skin, but especially in this recipe for Armico, an old Sephardi chicken dish: http://alandivack.blogspot.com/2009/09/armico-sephardi-chicken-dish-for-before.html

Edna Lewis' Chicken Stock.
Simple, fast and delicious!
Pure genius!
Quoting Edna from her book "In Pursuit of Flavor"....
"I do not believe in cooking stock for a long period of time; it loses its good taste."

I agree with Edna!

Just tried Marcella Hazan's Rice and Smothered Cabbage Soup from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, which I found via Orangette and The Wednesday Chef. It was genius given the few ingredients, simplicity of preparation and seriously comforting result. A recipe to share widely and make over and over again this winter.

http://orangette.blogspot.com/2013/12/approximately-soup.html
http://wednesdaychef.typepad.com/the_wednesday_chef/2008/01/marcella-hazans.html

Grown-up Paleo chicken nuggets made with pork rind crust. Quick and easy, and seriously good. Especially when you're craving "naughty" food.

Richard Olney's classic Brussels Sprouts Gratin with cream, bacon and breadcrumbs from Simple French Food (1974). I have been preparing this recipe for nearly 30 years. I have never found a Brussels sprouts recipe that even came close to this ones deliciousness. Converts all Brussels sprouts haters. My children used to beg for this dish (and still do when they come home).

Cranberry relish adapted from James Beard

A genius recipe for a fast, delicious cranberry sauce to brighten up beef, pork or chicken.

Makes about 3-1/2 cups

- 1 lb (4 cups) fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
- 1 small navel orange, quartered with peel left on
- 3/4 to 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier liquor or bourbon

Equipment: food processor with metal blade

Add half of the cranberries (2 cups) and half of the orange (2 quarters) to food processor. Pulse a few times until mixture is coarsely chopped. Scrape out of food processor into a bowl. Add remaining cranberries and orange pieces to food processor, pulse a few times until coarsely chopped. Return first batch from bowl to food processor. Add ¾ cup sugar and Grand Marnier or bourbon. Pulse three or four times to mix. Taste and add more sugar as desired. (Pulse only once or twice to blend in sugar – you don’t want to pulverize the cranberries.)

Refrigerate in an air-tight container. Can be made several days ahead.