Boys of Cooking

Category: Year Round

  • Italian Walnut Cookies

    Italian Walnut Cookies

    Moist, sweet nutty cookies that as a side bonus are also gluten-free.

  • Prune Ice Cream with Coffee and Brandy

    If you’re going to bother making ice cream at home, don’t waste your time with flavors you can buy in the store. Try this classic flavor combination.

  • Quick Yeast Loaf Bread

    Quick Yeast Loaf Bread

    Great bread for making toast or sandwiches. It mixes easily without a mixer and rises quickly.

  • Underwater Chicken

    Underwater Chicken

    This dish, with the most unusual name and cooking method, is one of the most flavorful Asian chicken dishes I have ever encountered. We’ve become addicted to it and kept looking for a reliable recipe until we found this one.

  • Sugar-and-Spice-Baked Shrimp

    These are wonderfully delicious — the perfect thing with cocktails. Spicy-salty-sweet shrimp. Just make sure you check the temperature before serving them as they are deadly when they first emerge from the oven.

  • Squid Stuffed with Scallops and Shrimp in a Saffron Sauce

    A bit of trouble but so yummy. You can probably cut down on the cream but using fish stock to make the filling, but why would you?

  • Taramosalata on Cucumber

    This is a tasty (fishy) hors d’oeuvre that comes together in minutes.

  • Arroz con Calamares (a.k.a. Squid Rice)

    Made with canned cuttlefish, this is a real favorite of ours. When we are feeling lazy, it’s an easy meal. And faster than calling Jiffy Squid for a delivery! We’d never serve this to friends, who generally don’t like fishy flavors or things with tentacles, but for us it’s perfect comfort food.

  • Cardio-Dental Bars

    Cardio-Dental Bars

    Yes, we did rename this recipe after finding it years ago. We couldn’t decide whether the American Dental Association or American College of Cardiology might benefit more from this recipe — loaded with sugar and butter. These are delicious. Just don’t tell your doctor or dentist you ate them!

  • Wedding Cake

    Wedding Cake

    The afternoon we returned from our elopement/wedding, Bob decided to bake a wedding cake. We do everything backwards, don’t we? Evan volunteers on Tuesday mornings, so he took the cake next day, shared it with his fellow volunteers and brought a piece back for Bob to eat afterwards. We’ll make another one and maybe we…

  • Mischievous Squid Rice (arroz de lulas malandrinho)

    Mischievous Squid Rice (arroz de lulas malandrinho)

    A Portuguese rice dish that’s tasty and simple. I can’t explain why it’s considered mischievous though — it’s just delicious!

  • Black Tea and Fig Jam

    Black Tea and Fig Jam

    Not too sweet: the black tea helps tone down the intense sweetness of the dried figs.

  • Garlic Allioli

    Garlic Allioli

    This is sheer garlic heaven. I originally used this to accompany Shellfish Paella, but it’s equally fantastic with grilled vegetables or anything else that needs a little garlic creaminess.

  • Shellfish Paella

    Shellfish Paella

    This recipe is a bit involved, but truly worth the trouble. The traditional shellfish paella is a little soupy and is typically served with a dab of Garlic Allioli on the side. Feel free to vary the seafood according to your taste and its availability.

  • Earl Grey Tea Shortbread

    Buttery complex cookies with a hint of smoky bergamot flavor from Earl Grey tea.

  • Roasted Beet & Garlic Linguine with Walnuts & Feta

    Roasted Beet & Garlic Linguine with Walnuts & Feta

    Even if this weren’t so delicious, it would be worth it for the color alone.

  • Pasta with Carrot Miso Sauce

    Pasta with Carrot Miso Sauce

    This looks like perfect M&C, but it’s vegan and umami-ful. The sauce can be used for other purposes (on vegetables, for example).

  • Chocolate Cake of My Dreams

    Chocolate Cake of My Dreams

    I had a dream that involved a chocolate cake. The next day I felt compelled to make one. You can mix this cake faster than your oven will heat up.

  • Banana-Walnut Yeast Bread

    I wanted to create a yeast bread that was flavored with bananas, filled with nuts and not too sweet. This hits the spot.

  • Biscotti

    Biscotti

    We have worked our way through variety of source recipes to finally settle on this one. They are perfect for dipping in vin santo or coffee.

  • Salt Cod (Porto Style)

    Salt Cod (Porto Style)

    Throughout Portugal you will will find a variety of recipes for bacalhau à brás, a dish of potatoes, onions and salt cod, bound together with beaten eggs. While traveling to Porto, we were served something more like this recipe, topped with poached eggs instead of being held together by softly scrambled eggs. We added the…

  • Black Risotto with Braised Squid

    Black Risotto with Braised Squid

    Braising the squid provides tasty liquid for cooking the rice and ensures that the squid meat is tender. This is even better if you add some roasted red pepper strips near the end.

  • Fennel with White Beans and Tomato

    This started out as a fish main dish, but after tasting it, we decided to just have it as a vegetable dish. Side or main? Who knows.

  • Cantucci/Biscotti

    Cantucci/Biscotti

    Mix together in a bowl 1 egg 1 egg white 125g white sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp sesame seeds ½ tsp fennel seeds In a small bowl, combine 200g flour 1½ tsp baking powder Stir the flour mixture into the batter along with 125ml (½ cup) canola oil When mixed completely, add (by…

  • Honey Cake Crisps

    Honey Cake Crisps

    If you want to make a vegan version of this recipe, see the note at the end. Butter and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Preheat oven to 325º F. Brew ¾ cup strong coffee Alternatively you can dissolve 2 TBL instant espresso coffee in ¾ cup hot water. Set the coffee aside and let it…

  • Dried Scallop Congee (Conpoy Congee)

    Dried Scallop Congee (Conpoy Congee)

    In a pressure cooker, combine ¼ cup (45g) dried scallops ¾ cup (170g) white rice 8 cups water Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes, let cool for 15 minutes and then release remaining pressure. Add salt to taste, probably about 1 to 1½ tsp salt Serve with your favorite condiments: I like pickled mustard…

  • Gigantes

    Gigantes

    Pick through 2 cups picked over dried large lima beans removing any foreign objects (rocks) you find. Place them in a 3-quart saucepan, cover them with plenty of water and soak them overnight, at least 5 hours. Drain off the water and add fresh water to cover them by at least two inches, add 2-3…

  • Onion Caraway Shortbread

    In a medium frying pan, melt 2 tsp butter over medium heat. Add 1 cup finely chopped onion (1 medium) and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is soft and the edges are brown. Put aside in a bowl to cool thoroughly. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350º…

  • Dal Masala

    Heat Soak all day or overnight 1 cup black lentils½ cup kidney beans Drain the beans and place in pressure cooker. Mince the following 1 medium onion2 medium tomatoesa 1-inch piece of ginger4-5 garlic cloves and add to pressure cooker along with 4 cups water1 tsp cumin seeds or ½ tsp cumin powder½ tsp red…

  • Sesame Seed Cookies

    In a large skillet over medium-high heat, lightly toast 1 ¾ cups sesame seeds This will probably be easier to do in two batches. Set aside in a pie plate or similar. In a stand mixer, beat 1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks) 1 scant cup granulated sugar until smooth and pale, about one minute.…