Blog / Sides

The Gift of Pie and Other False Economies

Jackie Gordon Singing Chef - The Gift of Pie and Other False Economies

Write on the blackboard 1,000 times: Food Gifts Do No Save You Money. Drill it into your head and give up this crazy notion. Labor + ingredients + packaging + delivery all come with a dollar value. My mom and I discovered this false economy the year she decided to sponsor a Save-the-Children child instead of giving people Christmas gifts. She made them a little something, including her famous Cheese, Onion, and Tomato Pies. Don’t bake this pie as a gift; give a copy of The Vegetarian Epicure (Random House) from whence the recipe comes as a gift, perhaps with a pound of cheese to put in it.

My Potato Salad Never Weeps, But I Do.

Jackie Gordon Singing Chef - My Potato Salad Never Weeps, But I Do.

I call my Southern-style potato salad, confetti because it’s colorful and tastes like a parade is happening in my mouth! My taste buds are like little cheerleaders marching, screaming with delight and doing cartwheels with every bite! There’s something about the combo of potato chunks, mayo, American mustard, sweet relish and hard boiled eggs that comforts me and makes me feel cozy and loved. Plus, you get a good dose of veggies, so it must be healthy-ish.

The 4th of July screams potato salad, but did I make it this year? No. My host and co-party chair made German potato salad for our Independence Day 2015 barbecue. I shelved this recipe until our Labor Day “End Of Summer” celebration. We threw a small shindig for eighty guests. We had so many people we made two different potato salads because we could!

I’ll admit I felt a twinge of sadness as I prepped this salad.

Need A Picnic Dish? Pick Pickled Beets

Jackie Gordon Singing Chef - Need A Picnic Dish? Pick Pickled Beets

I picked pickled beets. Finding the right savory picnic foods in summer is a challenge. It needs to be not-too-much-work-to-make because it’s usually too hot to cook. It needs to be good “siege” food as in easy to serve and eat while sitting on the ground and being attacked by ants and wasps. It needs the resilience to hold up well in the heat.

Garlic Chives Two & Ten Ways

Jackie Gordon Singing Chef - Garlic Chives Two & Ten Ways

Whenever I’m in Chinatown, I have grab a bunch of garlic chives now and ask questions later approach. The question is usually what am I going to do with all of these garlic chives? You can get a quite a decent sized bunch for just a buck. I snap them up because I can’t buy them in my neighborhood. My last bunch made it into at least two dishes recently, Garlic Chive & Chinese Mushroom Potatoes and a dish I’m calling Garlic Chive Garlic Chard.

Delight Your Vegan, Gluten Free Food Loving Friends With Cecina: Chick Pea Crêpes

Jackie Gordon Singing Chef - Delight Your Vegan, Gluten Free Food Loving Friends With Cecina: Chick Pea Crêpes

Monday, I was back at Santina, a restaurant in the meat packing district that I’d been to this past February. I’ve been obsessed with one of their dishes, the cecina, since my first visit. It’s rare that I visit the same restaurant twice in a short time since I have restaurant ADHD. I want to eat at pretty, shiny new restaurants all the time. But my cecina obsession trumps my ADHD and I had a good blogger friend in from DC who wanted to try it. It hits many marks. It’s unusual. It’s easy to make. It’s gluten free. It’s vegan. It’s cheap to make. It’s fun to eat. It can be eaten alone or with a myriad of toppings or even a salad on top.

This Cucumber Salad Is Smashing

Jackie Gordon Singing Chef - This Cucumber Salad Is Smashing

Do you ever want to just smash something? When I was a little girl I was rather partial to a temper tantrum. I’d get so angry, I’d simply want to throw things and hear them smash. There is something so satisfying about the sound and it’s a nice way to get one’s aggression out. Are you angry about the never-ending winter or the coming of spring? You can take your aggressions out on the cucumbers in this salad… they don’t seem to mind.

Maple My Endive, Apples, Blue Cheese and Candied Hazelnuts Salad

Jackie Gordon Singing Chef - Maple My Endive, Apples, Blue Cheese and Candied Hazelnuts Salad

I first had a version of this Endive Salad with Apples, Blue Cheese and Candied Hazelnuts at the Dominion Square Tavern, in Montreal, on Boxing Day. On their menu, it’s called a “Witlof and Blue Cheese Salad” since witlof is the English word for endive. When I tasted it, I thought, “I must make this!” and never did. I tasted it again in the summer of 2014 and finally made it for a French themed dinner party in October.