Try this sweet and simple side dish, which is elegant enough for a Thanksgiving party but also humble enough for a weeknight meal.
Annie made this dish for Thanksgiving last year, but we’ve only gotten around to posting it now. They were tuber-rific! I think we scarfed these down even before the turkey came out! My mom, who was visiting us in San Jose then, asked Annie for the recipe so that she could make it for the family Christmas party back home in Honolulu.
Looking for a flavorful side dish for your Thanksgiving or Christmas party? There’s no compromising on flavor with this creamy Winter greens gratin.
Updated 17 Nov 2009
Originally posted 25 Nov 2006
Annie last made this gratin a while ago but I wanted to revisit it because it was such a memorable dish. It was one of two, fantastic side dishes that she made for a Thanksgiving party at our place. (The other was a really wonderful green bean casserole that I unfortunately don’t have very good pictures of – guess we’ll have to make it again soon!)
This recipe for bread pudding is so easy and can be used for just about any stale bread you have lying around.
Sometimes, when I’m making sandwiches, I save all the crust pieces in the freezer. If I have end pieces of bread, I save those too. When I’ve got a lot stashed up, I just break them all up and make this delicious bread pudding.
Of course, if you happen to have day old brioche bread, you could use that and have a really rich bread pudding but I think it’s just fine with regular bread. Matter of fact, when my friend’s mom gave me this recipe, she told me that you could use pretty much anything you have leftover that is going stale—bagels, doughnuts, sweet breads, french loaves, or any other bready thing.
A sweet and savory, easy to make Malaysian chicken dish that has become a mainstay in the House of Annie’s kitchen.
I first tried Ayam Pong Teh at a Nyonya restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. My cousin had taken me to eat it and we all enjoyed the flavorful tender chicken and potatoes and also the savory sweetness of the sauce on our rice. It was the most popular dish that day.
I had been wanting to try to make Ayam Pong Teh ever since then. So imagine my surprise when I saw that this recipe was featured in one of my Saveur magazines many years ago.
When I saw the feature on Malacca and saw the recipe, I must admit I was skeptical. Very often, I don’t trust Western magazines to do justice to Asian recipes (they often substitute and “westernize” the flavors a little so that they are no longer truly authentic). But when I looked at the Ayam Pong Teh recipe, I thought it sounded pretty good. And I should have trusted them more—Saveur’s editor is James Oseland after all and he has spent many years in this part of the world, even coming up with a cookbook that I love. And next to Fine Cooking, Saveur is the other food magazine that I love. (Man, I’m missing both these magazines right now!)
So, I tried the recipe, and ever since that first time, this has become a mainstay in my kitchen. The flavors were just right! Also, it’s quite a simple recipe really for something that delivers so much flavor.
Continue reading Ayam Pong Teh (Nyonya-style Braised Chicken with Potatoes)