…if what they want is GOOD food.

My girlfriend and I made a trip to Marin Sun Farms just south of the West Marin town of Point Reyes and found that they were having a special on chicken. With the intention of taking advantage of discounted, pasture-raised, healthy chicken, we decided to grab a few pounds of thighs and legs.  While we debated about several complex recipes  on the car ride home, it was a simple and resourceful recipe from Nigel Slater’s, Real Food that ultimately, won us over.

With rapidly wilting basil in the refrigerator and a couple of extra chiles on hand, this satisfying dish came together in minutes and offered the comfort of traditional pan-roasted chicken, but with the refreshing zip of chiles, wine and lemon to cut through the delicious rendered fat. While we ended up eating ours with rice, Slater recommends serving the chicken among a bed of a few green salad leaves “to mop up the sticky, aromatic pan juices from the plate.” A nice baguette might also do the trick.

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Growing up, my mother would only let me eat Kraft’s french onion dip from a tub on vacation. Later in life, while away at college, I would find that people didn’t just eat the stuff out of tubs, but mixed their own using sour cream and onion soup mix from a packet. Don’t get me wrong, both are good, but nothing compares to the overwhelming richness and depth of flavor that comes from the real thing — deeply, caramelized onions.

This stuff is just plain good. So good, in fact, that after making a fresh batch for a party the following day, my two former roommates devoured an entire bowl in one sitting. When brought to parties and potlucks and served alongside crudites or a bowl of sturdy, ridged potato chips, it has been known to disappear in minutes. My sister has even taken to slathering the stuff on turkey sandwiches for lunch; an application that certainly gained my seal of approval.  

Real, homemade onion dip is the kind of thing that catches the unsuspecting eater off-guard. Those expecting a mild, light hint of dehydrated onion among a sea of sour cream and mayonnaise are taken aback by this version’s astounding savory flavor. After all, this is just the type of dish that people don’t take the time to make from scratch. The word “time” is key in this instance as it does take quite a bit of it to coax the inherent sweetness from the onions. So, next time you have a few extra onions on-hand and are craving something ultra-indulgent, think about whipping up a real batch of onion dip.

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Learning to stir-fry properly has taken me a very long time. In fact, I still have a ways to go. What is seemingly the easiest and quickest way to cook is in fact quite difficult to do well.  We’ve all done it at one point or another: soggy, partially cooked vegetables, under-browned meat with no flavor and heavy, copious amounts of grease. No, stir-frying isn’t as easy as Martin Yan and Rachel Ray might have us believe after all. But if you can remember a few simple rules, you can see results on par with some of the best asian takeout spots in your neighborhood.

Simply put, you need to bring the heat. From the second the first item goes into your pan to last moment before it’s plated, you must have your wok or skillet on the largest burner cranked-up as high as it will go. While this might seem intimidating at first, keep in mind that this intense heat will render the most authentic end-product; it’s the closest we home cooks can get to the insane amount of heat created by a 300,000 BTU wok station at a Chinese restaurant.

This recipe is a great one to get your feet wet with high heat stir-frying. Once your prep work is done, this meal comes together in a matter of minutes. Delicious, crispy pork blends perfectly with the crunch of cashews and a floral hit of mint and basil. Salty fish sauce and the bright tang of lime juice and zest elevate the dish beyond your humdrum takeout order, adding a taste that is both pleasant and unique.

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