Winter supper recipes

THIS SALAD IS so great you should never ever take red peppers off the grocery list. I know that sounds a little obsessive. But this is just one of those good-for-you finds I could eat three times a week. It’s just that good.

Preheat broiler to high. Core and cut peppers into quarters, remove seeds and membranes. Place on a nonstick baking sheet under broiler until skins blacken slightly. Place hot peppers in a plastic bag, seal and let stand 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from peppers. Place peeled peppers in serving dish.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper. Taste, adjust seasonings. Pour over peppers. Serve immediately or let stand at room temperature up to four hours.

This is mock pan fried fish but this kind of fried won’t send you to the cardiac wing. Buttery swordfish filets are my favorite fish of choice for this quick pan supper. I can’t imagine anyone not loving them but if you don’t or they’re just too expensive at the time, this recipe will work with just about any thin fish filet, you’ll just have to adjust the cooking times.

Season fish with salt and pepper. Rub both sides of fish with lemon rind. Press parsley leaves on to both sides of fish. I know it doesn’t read well but the leaves will stick to the fish like postage stamps to envelopes. Okay that’s a stretch but they’ll hold in place long enough for you to get them in the pan when they’ll really stick. Who cares if a few leaves fall about the pan? No one’s photographing dinner.

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large non-stick skillet. When hot but not smoking, add fish to pan and cook, turning once, until golden and fork tender, about two minutes per side. Serve with lemon wedges.

On those nights you’re just plain too tired to cook, this is a quick and tasty meal that doesn’t take much thought or effort. No green beans on hand? Use mushrooms, peas, onions or any kind of vegetable you’ve got. This is one of my favorite meals to eat when there’s no one home but me.

In a small pot of boiling salted water over medium high heat, blanch green beans until cooked through, about 4 - 6 minutes. Drain. In a small non-stick egg pan, melt one-teaspoon butter. Add one fourth of the green beans to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook the beans until lightly golden brown. Add one-fourth egg mixture to pan. The egg will set up quickly. Flip to uncooked side and immediately lay two slices of bread over cooked side of eggs and finish cooking, about two minutes. This heats up and softens the bread. Place bread slices on serving plate. Tip eggs onto sandwich, folding in half as you do. Make the next three sandwiches the very same way or better, let each diner make their own.

Some critics might say that this is hardly a recipe. And in a way, they’re right. So slap me with a bad recipe violation citation, what do I care. It’s much too important a dessert solution to be just another tip box idea. I didn’t want you to miss this.

I certainly don’t think I invented this either, I’m sure mom’s and grandmas have been feeding their families sugared fruit for hundreds of years but for some reason you don’t see it on dessert menus. I guess it’s too plain which is precisely the point. Most of the time all you really need to satisfy your craving for something sweet is exactly what nature intended for just such cravings, fruit at it’s best.

Divide the berries among the serving dishes and top each serving with brown sugar just before serving. Let everyone mix their own berries with the sugar so they can enjoy the brown sugar before it melts and gets lost. If you forgot what it’s like to be a kid this will surely take you back sweeter days.

You know those rich meat sauces you get in fancy Italian restaurants, the kind you’d never make at home, the kind you almost never order because you know you’re asking for cardiac trouble? This velvety rich, deep flavored sauce possesses an almost smoky quality and rivals the best of them.

Place 10” non-stick pan over medium high heat and add rib bones to pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, turning occasionally, until the ribs are golden brown (discard any excess fat). Reduce heat to medium low, add garlic and chili flakes to pan and cook for one minute. Add tomatoes (crush them in the pot using a fork if using whole tomatoes) and their juice or puree to pan, adjust heat to a steady simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until rib meat is falling off the bone and very tender, about one hour.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water until done. Drain noodles. Season with salt, add back to pot you cooked them in. Pour rib sauce over pasta, toss to coat evenly. Plate pasta and ribs.

My grandmother used to feed this to my Mother as a child. They’re called porcupines because they look like porcupines to a child. All the rice sticks out of the giant meatballs. If you’ve got finicky kids, you might talk them into these.

Preheat oven to 350. Place onions and oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and stir until onion is coated with oil. Add water to pan, cover and cook until onions have completely softened, 15-20 minutes. Set aside. Place meat and rice in a mixing bowl, add onion, season with salt and pepper and mix to combine. Form into 8 sleeping porcupines (round balls) and place in a baking dish just large enough to hold but not squish them. Pour tomatoes with juice over porcupines; season with salt, pepper and bay leaf. Bake one hour. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Roasted chicken is an easy plan-ahead dinner you can get to the table without a whole lot of fuss. In the summertime I sometimes use hyssop and lemon thyme if any of my spring planted seeds turned into usable potted herbs. Use whatever combination of fresh herbs you happen to have on hand. Dried herbs are no substitute for fresh so if they’re all you’ve got, skip them and use a simple spice rub instead keeping in mind that coarse grained salt and cracked black pepper season a bird just fine. Don’t be too heavy handed with fresh herbs, Too many sprigs and you could end up with Pine Sol tasting chicken. Less is definitely more.

One day ahead or at least four hours, season the bird generously with salt and pepper. To stuff the garlic and herbs over the breast meat and under the skin you must first loosen the skin. Begin at the neck end by sliding one hand between the skin and breast meat until loosened. Do this with each breast. Tuck half the sliced garlic and half of the herbs over the breasts and between the breasts and thighs.

Squeeze the lemon over and around the bird, throw the rinds inside the cavity of the bird. Store in the refrigerator until cook time.

Just before cooking preheat oven to 500. In a roasting pan fitted with a rack or cookie sheet with sides, place chicken breast side down. Cook for 20 minutes. Carefully turn chicken breast side up and continue cooking another 8 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 and cook 15 minutes more or until juices run clear. Let chicken rest for 10-15 minutes. Carve and serve.