Late Winter Inspiration: 20 Things On the To-Cook List

Joanna's post earlier today on finding inspiration in the home stretch of winter rings true for most of us here at The Kitchn. It's too early for the excitement of spring produce, but Soup Month is definitely over. It seems like this cooking ennui is a blog meme; Dana asked about it last week; Orangette confessed she wasn't terribly excited about cooking these days, and Heidi at 101 Cookbooks shared a I-don't-feel-like-cooking recipe, too.

Here's the thing, though. I have scads of things in my bookmarks folder marked "To Cook" -- and perhaps now is the time to dig through them. Here, for your reading pleasure, is a whole list of bookmarked recipes and good ideas; maybe they'll spark something in you too.

This list is slightly random -- no balanced meals here. I have so many bookmarked recipes it was hard to choose among them all! (Recipes pictured above are in bold below.)

• Grilled Beef Tagliata with Rosemary, Capers, and Lemons - I really can't think of a more attractive combination of flavors.

• Komisbrot - A bread, or a fruitcake with egg whites and dried fruit - it's unclear. But it has a beautiful back story.

• Italian-Style Cabbage Salad - It was the capers, again. Or maybe just the cabbage.

• Grapefruit-Ginger Sherbet - It looks so pink, and sounds so refreshing.

• Deep-Dish Pecan Pie - By far the most stunning pie I have ever seen.

• Gan Bian Si Ji Dou (Dry-Fried Green Beans) - I am semi-obsessed with Chinese-style beans (and greens), and this recipe is one more step towards the perfect recipe.

• Bengali Style Malabar Spinach - See above, except, you know, Indian instead of East Asian.

• Garlic Soup - Still haven't gotten around to this one, but should soon.

• Lemon Ginger Baked Chicken for a Crowd - Every other week I cook for a big group of friends, and I am constantly bookmarking recipes for this.

• Mulled Red Wine - I'm a sucker for wine punches and hot drinks. This one has kirsch, cinnamon, and whole peppercorns!

• Amazing Black Bean Brownies Recipe - Fascinated by the idea of beans in brownies.

• Sablés Korova (Korova Cookies) - Chocolate and salt cookies from Dorie Greenspan and Pierre Hermé. How can this go wrong?

• Onion Omelettines - Simple, easy, and good.

• Persian Nougat - Nougat has been on my to-cook list for a long time.

• Balzano Apple Cake - There are many apple cakes and apple desserts on my list; this is just one.

• Tourte Aux Blettes - A sweet tart with chard. This is a specialty of Nice, and I have wanted to try making it ever since I had it there last fall.

• Chocolate Spice Cake - An unusual cake: cocoa with chopped nuts and a spice blend of cinnamon, pepper, orange peel, raisins and nuts.

• Sweet Potato Rosti with Goat's Cheese> - Sweet potatoes are a thing in my kitchen; my recipe list is littered with them.

• Fennel-and-Sage Crusted Pork Tenderloin - A very attractive riff on an old dinner stand-by.

• Tea-Smoked Pork and Tender Cabbage Stir-Fry - Home-smoked meats are very intriguing to me; I'd like to try one out.

OK, now it is your turn. What's the last recipe you bookmarked to try?

(Images: Clockwise from upper left, Waitrose; Charles Schiller for Country Living; Tara Fisher)

Comments (13)

I love Chinese style dry-fried green beans too. I just bookmarked this recipe to try. Thanks!

That dry-fried beans recipe is pretty similar to one of my mom's basic vegetable recipes. The preserved vegetable is a crucial ingredient, don't skip it!

Yuuuum, I want to go home and cook now! Maybe just some stir-fried cabbage or something but still. That grilled beef tagaliata sounds amazing.

ooooh... Sables Korova aka Korova Cookies but more importantly... aka...

World Peace Cookies... so good they should bring about world peace.

Oh... how we all wish. I made them for everyone as Christmas gifts. Fabulous!

ooh, thanks for the link to the sables korova recipe - adding that one to my list.

the recipe that i've been desperate to try is david lebovitz's (and dave lieberman's) braised short ribs. i think someone said that they were going to make it in the last open thread..

You really should get going on the Korova cookies -- they are AMAZING!

I second what burrda2000 and melting say about the Dorie Greenspan cookies: they are beyond tasty. So go soften butter for them right away!

The last thing I bookmarked was a chocolate stout cake on the King Arthur Flour blog ... for my husband's birthday at the end of the month. Chocolate and beer, together at last!

Great list--thanks for sharing!
The black bean brownies really are amazing! I've been making them and variations of them for a while now. Made a version with e.v. coconut oil instead of butter and pepitas instead of walnuts (and less agave and more chocolate) the other day and blogged about it. Really good. Just ate the last one yesterday.

http://bunnycucina.blogspot.com/2009/02/black-bean-brownies.html

Now I'm wondering if I could get away with a white bean blondie...?

That sounds good, I love grilling especially in the spring, summer and fall months.But I even do it in the winter time in the rain.If you want more recipes or if you want to take a look at the collection of tips I have for grilling you can visit www.cookingandgrillinoutdoors.com

I am super stoked to try those green beans. What exactly is that preserved vegetable business? I'm assuming some sort of jarred prodject? I normally just do soy and sesame oil, which while tasty, isn't quite the flavor I'm looking for.

http://makingitwithmeleyna.com/?p=174

@meleyna,
The preserved vegetables are something you'd get from an Asian market; you don't need to make it yourself. They're little strips or pieces of brined vegetable (I honestly have no idea exactly which) and taste a bit like capers.

P.S. After musing about a possible white bean blondie recipe I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I made up a recipe for Maple-Walnut White Bean Blondies and they came out pretty fine!

Posted here

http://bunnycucina.blogspot.com/2009/03/white-bean-blondies.html