555 patte recipes

Creepy cheese-stuffed rigatoni shaped into slithering snakes with BBQ sauce markings and peppercorn eyes. A kid-friendly Halloween party snack that's equal parts gross and genius.

Chilled asparagus and strawberry salad tossed in a honey-walnut oil vinaigrette with strawberry vinegar. A stunning spring side dish that's equal parts sweet, tangy, and crisp.

Twinkies floating in orange Jell-O made with vanilla ice cream, pineapple juice, and 7-Up. A retro no-bake dessert that's equal parts ridiculous and irresistible.

Smoky chipotle black bean soup built from dried beans, cumin, oregano, and a bruised-cilantro bouquet. Finished with sherry, lime, and part-pureed for creamy-chunky texture.

Crab cakes with tomatillo salsa bind lump crabmeat with bread and egg white for a light crust, pan-seared and topped with tangy diced tomatillo-lime salsa. Southwest-style seafood dinner.

Apricots in brandy, an 1831 American recipe: fresh apricots blanched in light syrup, bottled, and covered with equal parts syrup and French brandy. A heritage spirit-preserved fruit.

Crock-made crystal sweet pickles brined for 2 weeks, then dressed in a cinnamon and clove vinegar syrup over 5 days. A labor of love from grandma's kitchen that yields jars of glass-clear, spiced pickles.

Hazelnut pastry cream (creme patissiere) with scalded milk, eggs, flour, and hazelnut paste, lightened with whipped cream. A professional-grade filling for pastries.

White Michigan bean soup is a three-ingredient classic: white navy-style beans simmered slowly with a smoked ham hock, then partly mashed to thicken. Old-school, no-fuss comfort.

Mushrooms à la Grecque: mushrooms simmered in tomato, coriander seeds, bay, and garlic. A classic French-style braise served chilled as part of a meze or hot as a vegetarian side.

Barb's special sweet bread dough Part I. A laminated yeasted dough folded with butter in three turns, the master base for danishes, kringles, and filled pastries. Family recipe from 1850s tradition.

Seasonal root vegetables are tossed with olive oil, salt and black pepper, after baking, they look nice and colourful, you can serve them with any kind of your favorite gravy or roasted turkey, chikcen, it is also a fantasitc side dish.

Microwave black bean burritos done in minutes, no stove required. Spiced black beans, partly pureed for a creamy texture, wrapped in tortillas with a fresh avocado-tomato salsa. An easy vegetarian dinner.

Vichyssoise with baked potato and leek, topped with salmon roe and snipped chives. A chilled summer soup with deep roasted flavor and pearls of briny caviar.

Olive oil and vinegar chicken cacciatore braised with white wine, garlic, and rosemary. Italian hunter-style chicken without the heavy tomato sauce. Pan-to-oven in 45 minutes.

Broiled chicken breasts stuffed with red bell pepper, Parmesan, and pine nuts, served with a fresh mango-papaya-coconut salsa spiked with ginger, lime, and jalapeno. A 45-minute dinner that's equal parts elegant and easy.