211 plum recipes

Italian potato salad tosses steamed red potatoes with green beans, Kalamata olives, Roma tomatoes, and fresh basil in a light cornstarch-thickened red wine vinaigrette.

Chicago-style deep-dish pizza crust, Part 1: a cornmeal-laced yeast dough shaped with high walls and parbaked for 4 minutes. The foundation of authentic Chicago deep-dish at home.

Pasta Provencal tosses delicate angel hair with a light, brothy tomato sauce full of summer squash, mushrooms, scallions, and fresh basil. A quick, vegetable-forward weeknight dinner finished with Parmesan.

Robust Italian beef stew with red wine, cinnamon, cloves, Nicoise olives, and roasted peppers, slow-simmered and ladled over soft polenta. A true feast-day spoon-and-fork dinner.

The sauce was too much like spagetti sauce. I cooked the pork chops in the sauce for hours and it was tender, but the pork flavor was diminished; I would prefer to taste the pork more.

Texas-style chili loaded with cubed brisket and ground chuck, simmered low and slow in beer, beef stock, and toasted cumin. No beans, no tomato sauce, just bold, meaty heat that's worth every minute of the 4-hour cook.

Slow cooker chili packed with hot Italian sausage, ground chuck, pinto beans, and chickpeas. Toss it in the crock pot in the morning and come home to a bold, meaty bowl that's been simmering all day.

Light summer vegetable soup with green beans, yellow squash, and spinach. Garden-fresh vegetables in a Worcestershire-seasoned broth ready in 50 minutes.

Black Bean Chili with Toasted Spice Seasoning recipe

Spice-rubbed chicken baked crisp then simmered with okra, tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, and onions in a thick, aromatic Louisiana-style gumbo. Ladle it over rice and taste the bayou.

Cornmeal and whole wheat pizza dough topped with caramelized Vidalia onion marmalade, dry-cured ham, Roma tomatoes, and melted Fontina cheese.

Veggie chili with chunky bell peppers, jalapenos, kidney beans, and Roma tomatoes simmered with chili powder and cumin. A hearty meatless chili topped with Monterey Jack and served with cornbread.

Oaxaca tostada bites: tortilla chips topped with a mole-spiced black bean mash of cocoa, cumin, and cinnamon, cool avocado cream, pepper jack, and lettuce. A no-cook, party-ready Mexican appetizer.

Moroccan-style okra and chickpea tagine simmered with tomatoes, red bell pepper, cumin, ginger, and a swirl of harissa. A vegan North African stew where blanching keeps the okra tender, not slimy.

"There are many versions of this stew-soup in Central and South America. Scented with cumin, it makes a hearty supper on a chilly winter night."

First Alert Chili made with 4 pounds of ground beef, kidney beans, beer, and blended plum tomatoes. A big-batch chili loaded with cumin, paprika, and heat.