Side

Baby arties are much easier to prepare than big ones and you don’t end up with nearly as much waste. They’re a perfect side when they’re in season—they go beautifully with meat or fish and just scream springtime. Whenever I tell people I’m making artichokes they go, “Ohhh! Artichokes!!!” They just sound exciting.

Fava beans require some preparation, but to me it’s a labor of love. Shelling and peeling them may seem like a drag, but it’s SOOOOO worth the effort. Mix them with some luxurious mushrooms and sexy spring onions, and you end up with springtime on a plate. I love this combo so much I wish these veggies were in season all year long!

This dish reminds me of summertime as a kid. Growing up we had a vegetable garden and we always grew zucchini—one of those veggies that if you grow some, you get a ton. So my mom was constantly coming up with different ways to use all the zucchini we had hanging around—we had stuffed zucchini, grilled zucchini, zucchini bread, you name it. (I took more zucchini bread to my teachers at school than you can imagine!) This preparation of stewed zucchini was one my favorites. Zucchini with tomatoes and cheese . . . HELLO? What’s not to love???

For years polenta reminded me of the Cream of Wheat my mother used to send me off to school with in the morning. It was totally boring. But once I started making polenta for myself I discovered I LOVED it. My special twist? I fat it up with milk, Parm, Fontina cheese, and mascarpone until it’s creamy, decadent, and delicious. Just remember, the kicker here is to season the liquid with plenty of salt in the beginning—it makes all the difference.

Brussels sprouts are one of those things my mom made once when I was a kid. My sister—the perfect middle child—ate hers right up while my little brother and I sat there frowning at them. I think I was almost thirty years old before I gave Brussels sprouts a second shot. Now they’re one of my favorite vegetables, and this dish is my special take on coleslaw.

As a kid I remember my grandmother talking about how much she loved Swiss chard, but the weird thing is, I never saw her eat it—ever. But she always had it in the garden and she attributed her good health, even in her old age, to eating Swiss chard. Coincidentally, her name was Gramma Green! I find Swiss chard to be one of the most interesting and delicious greens around. Here I use both the stems and the leaves and mix them with turnips. People give turnips a bad rap, but I think it’s just because they haven’t experienced them. I realize I’m combining two ingredients in this dish that people might not think of eating on their own, let alone together, but I’m on a mission to make Swiss chard and turnips popular. And if any dish with chard and turnips can turn you on, I’m betting this one can!

I don’t know if my love of beans comes from living in Tuscany or if I was Tuscan in another life, but I adore beans. And when I want a stick-to-your-ribs side dish, I immediately think of Tuscan white beans. They’re creamy and delicious, and they say, “Put me with pancetta!” And I say, “Sure, I’d be happy to.” Then I toss in a bit of rosemary (but sage would be SOOOOO good here too!) and serve these with a yummy porky main—or just on their own for lunch.

This is more of a technique than a recipe, and it’s the perfect method for cooking any green vegetable. The technique, called blanching and shocking, is the same no matter what vegetable you’re making; only the cooking time will vary. The idea here is that you PARcook the veg first in boiling water (Get it? Partially cooked), then you stop the cooking process immediately by tossing the whole shootin’ match in salty ice water. Once your veg is parcooked, you can finish it however you like—sautéed in olive oil and garlic, for example, as I do here. This method works for broccoli, broccoli rabe, haricots verts, green beans, sugar snap peas, English peas, fava beans, asparagus . . . as I said, anything green!

When I worked at Savoy in SoHo, we had salt-roasted duck on the menu but we served only the breasts, so there was always an excess of duck legs hanging around. We’d eat the legs at our family meal, but after a while everyone was sick of them. Then one night, I was in a pinch for an hors d’oeuvres idea, and that’s when I came up with my cheater’s confit. As they say, desperation can be inspiration! My confit tastes just as good and authentic as a traditional confit, but it’s SOOOOO much faster. As far as I’m concerned, the time you save with my recipe is outstanding (this is one streamlined operation!) and so is the flavor.

Everyone thinks of mac and cheese as comfort food, but there’s a lot of bad mac and cheese out there, and frankly, that food makes me UNcomfortable! Great mac and cheese should be creamy and tangy and luscious—it should get me excited with every bite. I promise that this recipe is what mac and cheese should be. And it’s got bacon! What could be better?

If you wheel your grocery cart down the rice aisle, you will not find “risotto.” Risotto is not a type of rice—it’s a method used for cooking Arborio or Carnaroli rice. And once you learn how to make risotto using my Risotto-Without-a-Recipe method, you’ll be able to make any kind of risotto simply by adding ingredients and flavorings to this basic technique.

These gnocchi are also called malfatti (which translates to “badly made”) or gnudi (which means “nude”) because essentially these are ravioli without the pasta—they’re naked! No matter what you call them, I ADORE these delicate little cheese dumplings. They’re little bundles of spinach and ricotta sitting on top of melted Fontina mixed with heavy cream, mascarpone, and egg yolks. A little bit of this dish goes a long way—right to my booty usually!

I’ve had a lot of bad gnocchi in my life. You know the kind I’m talking about: You eat three and suddenly your belly expands and you feel like balls of bread dough are rising in there. Gnocchi should be light and airy, like clouds! Over time I’ve perfected the secrets to great gnocchi and if you follow this recipe, even as a beginner, you will be successful EVERY time.

I call these my little Parmigiano puddings and when I say they are easy to pull together, I’m SOOOOO not kidding. They’re also easily made ahead of time—in fact, I recommend doing so—and they’re a huge crowd pleaser at a party. Just put them in a 300°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes to take the chill off before serving.

I love sugar snaps because they’re crispy, they’re crunchy, and they’re snappy! Just blanch, shock, and cut them into little slivers to enjoy the full sugar snappy experience. To keep things interesting, toss in some minty fresh deliciousness and some salty, crispy prosciutto! Now that’s what I call a summertime salad.

Everyone makes a big production over roasting beets when the truth is that you can literally throw them in the oven—no foil, no nothing, totally naked—and let them do their thing. Combine those beautiful beets with lovely fresh herbs and you get a gorgeous salad with different flavors in every bite. Who knew beets could be so exciting?

This is one of my best recipes (if I do say so myself!) and it’s become one of my mom’s favorites, too. People will say, “What is this?” and then, “Who knew you could eat raw asparagus?” It’s simple and unique and, I promise, it will make you a rock star with your guests.

When soft-shell crabs are in season, it’s the one time of year I like being crabby! I adore these guys perched on a delicious veggie salad with garlic mayo. The beauty of the soft-shell crab is you can eat the whole shootin’ match—on a salad, in a sandwich, however. Who says being crabby isn’t fun?

I don’t think there’s anything terribly exciting about grilled scallops—but I do think you can put them together with interesting ingredients and make them exciting. That’s why I pair scallops with—wait for it—watermelon! I know, who would think of putting scallops with watermelon, let alone three kinds (watermelon, watermelon rind pickles, and watermelon radishes)? It may seem wacky, but the sweetness of the watermelon offset by the bitterness of the dandelion and the sharp red onion makes this a spectacular combo. And, if you’re thinking ahead (like we always try to do!), make the pickles a day (or a week) in advance and keep them in the fridge. These pickles make anything taste tangy and delicious; I keep a jar on hand for whenever a salad or sammie needs an extra little pickle-y punch!

I look forward to tomato season all year—then when it comes, I always eat too many and practically overdose on them! But what’s better than tomatoes with olive oil, vinegar, and a little salt? Tomatoes with goat cheese! What more can I say about an in-season heirloom tomato salad with other fabulous summer stuff thrown in? It’s perfection.