408 mellow recipes

West African vegetables with peanut sauce, fried plantains, sautéed carrots, and green beans. Scotch bonnet heat, allspice warmth, and creamy peanut richness in every bite.

Rich South Texas duck gumbo with a dark roux, okra, tomatoes, and Cajun seasonings served over rice. A slow-simmered hunter's gumbo built for wild mallard duck.

Traditional Irish boiled dinner: fresh beef brisket simmered in lager with leeks, onion, carrots, red potatoes, turnips, and cabbage. A St. Patrick's Day-ready one-pot feast that feeds six from one Dutch oven.

Here is a kind of throw together recipe I came up with: If you are entertaining you can garnish with fresh parsley and serve with a caesar salad, garlic bread and a nice chablis. The vegetables can vary. I've used mushrooms, spinach, cauliflower etc. Grouper works well with this because it has a lot of flavor. I've used fresh tuna and halibut but prefer grouper.

A slow-simmered lamb chili with black beans, fresh ginger, allspice, and Zinfandel wine. Beans cook with lamb bones for deep flavor. Best made a day ahead for the richest taste.

Low-fat unfried rice with marinated shiitake mushrooms, bell peppers, brown rice, and teriyaki. All the flavor of fried rice without the oil, using rice wine to keep vegetables from sticking.

A delicious marsala recipe made with shredded zucchini, spinach and banana peppers. Tastes great when served over basmati rice.

Wild rice and zucchini salad with brown rice, grated zucchini, avocado, spinach, tomato, and bell pepper. A colorful vegetarian grain salad that works as a main dish or side.

Slow cooker Tucson-style chili with ground beef, pinto beans, green chiles, jalapeños and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Classic Southwestern crockpot chili for a crowd.

Crispy cornmeal-fried soft shell crab sandwiches on sourdough with smoky chipotle adobo mayo and a citrus bell pepper slaw. A restaurant-quality seafood sandwich you can make at home.

Massive pot of black bean cassoulet soup with garlic sausage, Italian sausage, bratwurst, and a meaty ham bone. Simmered for 5 hours with sherry, brown sugar, and lemon. Feeds 16.

Shrimp, chicken, water chestnuts, and Chinese ham wrapped in pork caul fat, deep-fried into crispy golden rolls, and served with hoisin dipping sauce. An impressive Chinese banquet appetizer with showstopping presentation.

Hearty black bean cassoulet soup loaded with three kinds of sausage, a meaty ham bone, cumin, oregano, and a splash of dry sherry. Feeds a crowd of 16 with a sour cream finish.

Salad bar pizza is a vegetable-loaded deep-dish pie on whole wheat crust with broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, carrots, and red onion under mozzarella and Parmesan. Vegetarian, lower calorie.

Classic succotash with fresh corn, lima beans, sweet onions, tomatoes, and torn basil. A simple Southern-American summer side dish that showcases peak-season produce in a single skillet.

This is a very simple one-bowl meal, perfect for when you don’t have the time to spend cooking after work. You can easily double or triple the recipe and use the leftovers for lunch the next day.