I Want To Cook

When I was a boy, my mom on occasion would make a certain meal that tasted and felt like we were living in the lap of luxury, even if our family’s bank account indicated otherwise. The dinner was a treat, an Italian classic like the kind that generations of her family ate in their home country: linguine and clam sauce.

Now that I make this dinner regularly, I can see why my mom counted on it so often. Aside from it coming together in less than 30 minutes – my mother worked hard in an office all day, too – it’s delicious, healthful and, at about $3 a serving, inexpensive. It can feed a young couple like my wife and me for less than the cost of a bowl of soup at many restaurants, and when the recipe is doubled in portion, will still feed a family of four for around $12 or less.

Using canned clams not only cuts the cost significantly, but also makes the dish way easier to prepare: no cleaning the clams, pan-steaming them, and then having to pry the meat from the shells. Sure, canned clams won’t taste as good as fresh, but keep in mind that in this dish they’ll be complemented by additional flavorful ingredients such as mushrooms, onions, garlic and capers, all mixed in with the pasta.

I buy canned clams on sale just to make this dish, and recently found name-brand ones for $1.50 at Vons, and even cheaper at 99 Cents Only.

It’s one clam dish (literally) in which you don’t need a lot of clams (figuratively) to make. Here’s how to do it:

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I have a culinary confession to make, and I might as well just get it off my chest: I’m a sucker for fries.

Thick, thin, crinkled or in wonderful fat wedges, there is just something magical and comforting about potatoes that have been deep-fried in oil. Of course, the very thing that makes them so tasty – being deep-fried in oil – also makes them much more fattening than their baked-potato cousin. I always feel a tinge of guilt and an obligation to go to the gym after ordering a batch.

Luckily I have found a happy medium between the plain-jane baked potato and that oh-so-tempting, fat-infused order of French fries, one that packs more taste than the former and less fat than the latter. Let me introduce you to my oven-baked potato fries.

Like traditional French fries, this oven-baked version can be in the form of thin strips or larger wedges, depending on your preference and how handy you’re feeling with a knife. Also like French fries, the best potatoes for this are good old Russet, or Idaho potatoes, which have a higher starch content versus smaller “waxy” spuds like new potatoes or fingerlings.

I prefer mine with the skin on, but of course they can be peeled if you like yours naked.

To make them, you only need to slice some potatoes, coat them with oil and a blend of spices, then let the oven do the hard work of generating the heat. Cooking time will depend on how you like your fries: If you dig ’em soft, you need only cook them till they are that way; if you’re like me and want some crunch, let ’em keep baking until they get crisp on the outside.

All told, you’ll be looking at anywhere from 25-40 minutes in the oven. While that isn’t nearly as quick as deep frying, the results are worth it, and less fat now means less time at the gym later.

Ready to give this a whirl? Here’s how to make a less guilty version of fries:

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Leftovers are always a good thing in my book, and they become even better when they can be used to morph into a totally new dish. What’s better than that? When the new dish outshines the original from which those leftovers came.

That’s exactly the case with fried rice, a favorite in Chinese restaurants that is so easy to make at home that you may never order takeout again.

To make fried rice, you need first need plain old cooked rice. To get that foundation for this dish, you simply simmer or bake a medium- to long-grain white rice like basmati in water for about 20 minutes or, even easier, use a rice cooker, which can be bought for under $20.

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We usually think of pasta as something to be drenched in a rich marinara or a heavy, cream-based alfredo sauce. We also usually think of it as something that comes in long ribbons or strands.

Orzo is a type of pasta that turns that latter notion on its head, and used in the recipe below, does the same for the sauce that it’s served with.

Upon first glance, you might mistake orzo for rice. That’s because it is shaped just like those little grains. But orzo is indeed pasta, and is made from the same kind of wheat used for more familiar shapes like fettuccine and angel hair.

Because of its small shape, orzo is easier to eat than your average plate of spaghetti – no slurping needed. It can also be served as a side similar to rice, or as the main ingredient. But orzo’s small size can spell trouble if it’s paired with big, traditional partners like marinara or alfredo; the granule can get lost in a sea of sauce.

A better – and healthful – alternative is to use orzo in a vinaigrette-type sauce of olive oil and fresh lemon juice. Combined with a bounty of vegetables, herbs and one secret ingredient, orzo becomes a star player that is not only seen in all its glory on the plate, but bursts with flavor once in your mouth.

Ready to give it a whirl? Let’s make some Extraordinary Orzo

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I’m a fan of recipes whose results have family and friends think you’ve spent hours slaving away to create the delicious dinner they are so eagerly eating, but which in reality was a snap to make.

One such example are enchiladas, a Mexican dish that you can think of as burritos smothered in spicy sauce and then baked until soft and hot – a bubbly bit of cheese heaven. Like their tortilla-clothed brethren, enchiladas can be filled with any manner of goodies, from just cheese at their simplest to lobster at the other end of the spectrum.

But even making traditional enchiladas has its downsides, namely getting the tortillas pliable enough to roll in the first place, not to mention the messiness involved when it comes to rolling the things.

Enter the enchilada casserole. You get all the delicious benefits of a regular enchilada, but in an easier-to-make, easier-to-serve format. The dish is made by simply layering tortillas with cheese, sauce and your favorite ingredients (a perfect way to use leftover meat, chicken, veggies, etc.).

In addition to being affordable, the enchilada casserole is very quick to make: You can have this done in 20 minutes or less.

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Summer unofficially began this past Memorial Day weekend, and with it comes picnic season. That means loads of fried chicken, sandwiches and salads will be dished out on lawns near and far for the next few months.

Regarding the last of those picnic staples, potato salad and macaroni salad are the usual suspects, but did you know that you can bring so much better to the party than those mayonnaise-drenched excuses for side dishes so popular in supermarket delis?

One easy alternative is a corn-based salad.

While corn probably isn’t the first thing you think of when the subject is salad — after all, most of us eat corn slathered in butter on the cob or microwaved from a frozen state in a bag — this vegetable actually makes for a great salad base. It’s got crunch, it’s bright, it loves being covered in a simple dressing, and is a total team player when other ingredients want to join the fun.

Corn is also low in fat and provides a good dose of fiber. And, of course, it’s inexpensive. In fact, for the recipe below, I purchased most of the ingredients at my local 99 Cent Only store.

With my Corn Avocado Bacon Salad, the kernels will provide the foundation for other delicious and vibrant ingredients to build upon. Tomatoes, avocado, bacon bits and cilantro add some serious pizazz to this salad, which for a dressing uses a light and bright lime vinaigrette.

Still skeptical about this whole corn-as-salad thing? Try making the one here, and after one bite you’ll never go back to boring old potato salad.

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If you happened to go out for dinner last night, there’s a good chance the meal involved tacos, those meat-filled soft- or hard-shell wonders that are as popular in the United States as they are in Mexico. And if you were out celebrating Cinco de Mayo, I bet at some point between bites of your treat you thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to make these at home?”

Good news, amigos: Tacos are totally easy to make. More precisely, today we’ll conquer the ground meat filling, which in addition to being the main attraction in a tortilla or crunchy taco shell, can do double duty bulking up tostadas, nachos, burritos or even a salad.

Making your own taco meat is surprisingly simple and surprisingly cheap: Plan on serving a family of four with it for about $5. The filling can be made in under 30 minutes and tailored exactly to your liking, from mild to super spicy.

Ground beef is the ingredient of choice in many a taco, but I prefer ground turkey because it contains less fat and is even easier to cook since you don’t have to drain the grease that comes with beef. Add some zest with onions and peppers, along with tomatoes, corn and spices, and any night can be taco night at your casa.

Ready to get the fiesta started? Let’s make some tacos

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In theory, making an omelet is not a difficult task. Throw some eggs in a pan, flip, presto. Then again, in theory, the concept of gravity seems pretty simple, too.

Despite their presence on breakfast, lunch and dinner tables everywhere – not to mention being made rapid fire like at the end of every overpriced Sunday brunch line – the perfect omelet can be an elusive entree for the novice cook.

Though the ingredients are simple and ubiquitous – eggs, milk and fillings such as cheese – the dish itself too often turns into scrambled eggs when the attempt at flipping or even getting the thing not to stick to the pan go haywire. Yes, the perfect omelet, folded over on itself and cooked to creamy perfection, can present a challenging endeavor.

Many omelet newbies make their first mistake before they even begin. The problem? Using eggs straight from the fridge. When cold eggs meet a hot pan, that’s a recipe for disaster because the eggs will be prone to stick, not slide.

The second major faux pas is using a pan that isn’t lubricated or hot enough. Omelets should only take about 2-3 minutes to make, and to do it in that time, you need to make sure your pan has preheated on the stove.

As for pans, this is where nonstick is a major help, especially for those new to making omelets. Size also matters: For a two- to three-egg omelet you’ll want a 10-inch nonstick pan with sloped sides for easier flipping.

Do omelets still sound eggs-cruciating? If you’ll pardon my bad pun, I’ll show you how to make the perfect cheese omelet that will be a quick, nutritious meal any time of the day or night. Let’s get crackin’!

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Pasta with raisins and nuts? The very notion may sound like that last ingredient, but trust me on this. The first step is expanding your notion of “pasta.”

Couscous, which is a traditional North African dish and the main ingredient in today’s recipe, is actually a tiny form of pasta. You may have had couscous before either warm or at room temperature and thought you were eating rice, but the soft little granules are most often made of coarsely ground semolina, the same stuff used to make spaghetti.

Couscous is great to build recipes around because it’s very versatile and can be made in about 10 minutes. As for ease of cooking, it doesn’t get much simpler than this. If you can boil water, you can make couscous.

The nutritious little spheres also act as great conveyors for a variety of flavors – even ones involving fruit. Ready to give it a go? Let’s get a little crazy with
the ‘cous.

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Spring has officially sprung, and in the cooking world that means out with warm and hearty soups and in with cool and fresh salads.

So go ahead, conjure up the image of a wonderful salad.

Did something with lettuce come to mind — a side of ranch, perhaps? Very likely so.

Yet a salad needn’t suffer from being the same old wilted field of greens slathered in heavy buttermilk dressing.

In fact, one of my favorite salads doesn’t involve even a shred of lettuce.

No, this salad’s base is pasta, the same stuff we often drown in marinara sauce. Well, it makes a wonderful partner for salad, too, and I find it much more filling for a lunch than those of the lettuce variety.

Of course, pasta alone a salad does not make, and I’d shutter at the thought of using plain old macaroni that is only a shade lighter than cardboard. Enter tri-colored pasta, a much more colorful affair, accompanied by wonderful additions such as tomatoes, cheese, olives and onions, all splashed lightly in the easiest herb vinaigrette you’ll ever make.

Get ready to wow your friends and be the star of the next picnic with a healthful, flavorful salad that only costs a few dollars to make. All it takes is half an hour and a little shaking and chopping. Let’s get to it.

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