Seafood

A lower-carb alternative to pot stickers and other dumplings.

This dish is so good that if you ever share it with friends they’ll each be calling you the next week for home delivery. Ask for a generous tip.

Why roast the carrots? Well let me tell you, a roasted carrot will kick a boiled carrot’s you know what, any day. That’s why.

I often throw holiday parties with a casual theme. This dish was the centerpiece of a holiday-style Make Your Own Take-out gathering. You will never find anything like this delivered to your door in a brown paper sack, but if you do a little bit of chopping you’ll be famous for many holidays to come. P.S. Don’t wait for a holiday to make it.

Guilt-free pasta? Everything is a pasta-bility when you add fresh fish and lots of veggies.

Rich, but not heavy, this dish is delish.

Here’s a hipster menu for urbanites or just hep hicks from the sticks like me.

Fancy? Yup! Got people you need to impress? Invite them over . . . you’ll get the raise. Then you won’t be so tired.

This dish is preventative medicine; it prevents one from ordering and pigging out on bad Mexican-style take-out food. If you make this instead you won’t end up feeling too fat or too full.

This is one of my mom’s recipes so it’s better than good . . . it’s the best.

This quick pasta has big flavors and lots of texture. Salty, sweet, crunchy—Delish!

Though I haven’t lived on Cape Code since I was eight, this dish proves I’m not just a Red Sox fan but a true New England Patriot. With Chowda and Mac ’n’ Cheese in one dinner, you can get to Massachusetts in 30 minutes or less, even if you live in Michigan.

Wade, my good friend and coworker for many years, joined me at a fancy restaurant in Las Vegas in honor of our friend Lucky’s birthday. He saw me cringe as he politely asked our server to request that the chef prepare a “Chicken Caesar” for him. The broad menu of culinary creations just struck him as too complicated for a late-night-following-a-long-workday meal. I rolled my eyes and the server gave a bit of a twitch. In hindsight, I have rarely been so ashamed of my own behavior: me, an Upstate New York blue-collar girl, suddenly acting too haughty to even sit with someone who would request a Chicken Caesar outside of a highway pit stop. Chef Eric Klein at SW at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel made Wade a fabulous free-range roast chicken Caesar salad. Eric was neither shocked nor insulted by the simple request. Instead, he made a humble visit to the table to remind us all of the Golden Rule of food: the customer is always right. Wade, this burger is for you. Viva Chicken Caesar!

This is my favorite fish dish in the book. Try it and you’ll taste why.

Tuna casserole was a classic back in the day when I was a kid. I’m bringing it back—Mediterranean style!

Wild Alaskan canned salmon is a great staple to keep on hand—it’s packed with good nutrition and calcium. This is my favorite way to use it, but also try it scrambled up with eggs and sweet peas, or tossed with some cream, pasta, and fresh dill or tarragon. It’s so versatile!

Try halibut, mahi-mahi, or tilapia in this recipe, too. Leeks and bacon are so delish . . . add some fish and they become good for you, too.

So easy! Too delish! I make Chicken Francese all the time, but this recipe for Sole Francese is actually based on a fish sandwich served at The Algonquin on Lake George, New York. I have been eating this fish there, dockside in the summer sun, for more decades than I care to acknowledge. (See you there next year!)

Meaty, easy, and Mediterranean-style, this recipe will make any list of favorites.

I know, I know, you’re exhausted. Well, let me tell you, this stew is easy to make, is good for you, and has a big satisfying flavor. You’ll be slurping away in front of the TV before you know it . . . and then you can go to bed, early, like your mom always said you should.