Wow…this salad is good! The dressing is smoky, slightly sweet and slightly spicy with a nice tang from the balsamic vinegar. I love the combination of southwestern flavors: cilantro, chipotle, avocado, red onion, corn.

I used a mixture of baby romaine and regular romaine lettuces. Other good additions to the salad would be chopped red pepper, diced tomato or sliced green olives. Handy Hint: Since the recipe only calls for 1 chipotle chile, you can freeze the remaining chiles and sauce. I put a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet, then I place 1 or 2 chiles in a mound and spoon a little adobo sauce over them. Continue this with the remaining chiles then put the cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, remove the little chipotle mounds from the wax paper and seal in a freezer baggy or plastic container. Keep frozen and thaw out what you need when a recipe calls for chipotle chiles.

Baby Romaine Salad with Spicy Chicken & Warm Chipotle Vinaigrette
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

Serves four.

6 oz. baby romaine, washed and spun dry (about 8 loosely packed cups)
1/4 lb. iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced, washed and spun dry (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 chipotle chile (from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce), chopped, plus 2 Tbs. adobo sauce
3 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 cup plus 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
2 Tbs. fine cornmeal (preferably white)
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1-1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 small), cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick strips
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1 ripe avocado, cut into 3/4-inch dice
1-1/2 cups cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels (from about 2 ears)
1 lime, cut into quarters

Toss the romaine, iceberg, and half of the cilantro in a large bowl. In a blender or food processor, purée the chipotle chile and adobo sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, and mustard. With the machine running, slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the oil. Transfer to a measuring cup; season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a shallow dish, mix the flour, cornmeal, chili powder, and cumin with 1-1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Season the chicken with 1 tsp. salt and then dredge in the flour mixture.

Heat 2 Tbs. of the remaining oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it’s shimmering, about 1 minute. Add half of the chicken strips, evenly spaced, and cook without touching for 2 min. Flip and cook until the strips are just cooked through and firm to the touch, 1 to 2 min. Transfer to a large plate lined with ­paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil, and cook the remaining strips in the same manner.

Discard the fat from the pan and wipe it clean with paper ­towels. Set the pan over low heat, add the vinaigrette, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula, until warmed through, about 1 min. Return the vinaigrette to a liquid measuring cup and whisk to recombine.

Gently toss the greens with about 14 cup of the vinaigrette or enough to lightly coat. Portion among four plates and top with the chicken, onion, avocado, corn, and the remaining 1/4 cup cilantro. Drizzle with some of the remaining vinaigrette (you may not need it all) and serve with lime wedges on the side for squeezing over the salads.

Tags: chicken salad, chipotle, romaine, Salad, spicy

I like to call these cookies “Little Bites of Chocolatey Heaven”. They’re moist, delicious and loaded with chocolate. Need I say more?

Instead of using both chocolate chips and chocolate chunks,  I used 1 bag of Guittard Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (my favorite brand). I also used 1/2 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Coffee Extract instead of the espresso powder because that’s what I had on hand. I made three different versions from the same cookie dough: Some plain, some rolled in powdered sugar and some rolled in Wilton Sparkling Sugar (as seen in the photo). Although the sparkling sugar is pretty and adds a slight crunch to the moist cookie, my favorite was the plain version (pure unadulterated chocolate). The cookies are best after they’ve cooled. Mmmmm, chocolate!

Double Chocolate Chunks
-recipe from kingarthurflour.com
 
Break open these dense, brownie-like drop cookies hot from the oven to find pools of melting chocolate inside. Once they’re completely cooled, the chocolate pools solidify into nuggets; either way, they’re oh-so-chocolatey-good!

1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cups (7 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup (2 ounces) Dutch-process cocoa
1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) King Arthur 100% Organic White Whole Wheat Flour or King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chunks

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or line with parchment two cookie sheets.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating until smooth. Stir in the cocoa powder, then the flour; the dough will be stiff. Mix in the chocolate chips and chunks.

Drop the cookies by tablespoonfuls (about 1 1/2″ balls) onto the prepared baking sheets*, leaving about 1 1/2″ between them. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool on the pan. Yield: 3 dozen cookies.

*Variation: Drop the dough balls into confectioners’ sugar or coarse sugar, rolling to coat, before baking. Or sift confectioners’ sugar over the cookies before baking, or drizzle with melted chocolate afterwards—or go wild, and do it all!

*Reader Mrs. M. says she makes a “Chunky bar” variation of these with 4 ounces (2/3 cup) chocolate chips, 4 ounces (3/4 cup) raisins, and 4 ounces (3/4 cup) peanuts, instead of all chocolate chips and chunks. We found that these cookies will be VERY soft coming out of the oven, but don’t panic; they’ll firm up nicely as they cool. Thanks, Mrs. M!

Tags: chocolate, cookies

This recipe rocks! The whole meal can even be cooked on the grill (meaning no kitchen mess…always a bonus). The tacos call for skirt steak which is a long, thin cut of beef. Flank steak or rib-eyes would work great, too, if you can’t find the skirt steak (you will need to alter the cooking time if you use a thicker cut). The skirt steak I bought was folded in half for packaging. After unfolding the meat, I cut the skirt steak into shorter pieces for grilling (adjusting the cooking time for smaller pieces of meat). After cooking, I let the steak rest then I sliced it thinly against the grain (the meat will be very chewy if you slice it with the grain). You can substitute corn tortillas for the flour tortillas if you prefer.

Although the steak tacos were good, the Grilled Tomato Salsa is the real star of this recipe. The salsa was quite spicy so I recommend using 1 serrano or substituting a jalapeno chile which has less heat (you can always add more chile if you want it hotter). The recipe calls for sautéing the chiles with the onions and garlic. However, I decided to grill everything (chiles, onions, garlic) on my gas grill since I was already using the grill for the tomatoes and steak. Grilling all the veggies worked great and I didn’t have a pan to wash afterward. I left the tomatoes and chiles whole but I cut the onion into big slices. For the garlic, I removed several cloves from a whole head, leaving at least six cloves intact to the root and rubbed the whole thing with oil. I then rubbed all the other veggies with oil and then I put everything on the grill at high heat. The garlic took the longest to cook so next time I’d start it first. I removed the veggies when they had softened and had a nice char.  Once the veggies were cool enough to handle, I removed the skin from each clove of garlic and cut the stem ends off the chiles and tomatoes. I then put all the veggies into the food processor to blend. Remember to use less chile to start with if you want a milder salsa. As a final touch, I added 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke to add just a hint of smokiness to the salsa. Olé!

Skirt Steak Tacos with Grilled Tomato Salsa
- Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay – foodnetwork.com

Makes 4 servings

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 pounds skirt steak
2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 head romaine lettuce, thinly shredded
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, halved and diced
Grilled Tomato Salsa, recipe follows
8 ounces sour cream

Directions:
Heat grill to high.

Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil and on the top rack of the grill while the steak is grilling.

Heat grill pan over high heat. Brush steak with oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill on one side until golden brown and slightly charred, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the steak over and cook to medium-rare doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes longer. Let rest 5 minutes then slice against the grain into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Fill each tortilla with some lettuce, 3 to 4 pieces of meat, onion, grilled tomato salsa, sour cream, and avocado.

Grilled Tomato Salsa:
2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for brushing tomatoes
2 serrano chiles
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
6 plum tomatoes, halved and seeded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 limes, juiced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Heat grill to high.

Heat oil in a small saute pan and saute the chiles, onion, and garlic until soft.

Brush tomatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides until slightly charred and soft.

Transfer tomatoes and serrano mixture to a food processor; add the lime juice and salt and pepper and process until smooth. Add the cilantro and pulse a few times (there should be flecks of cilantro in the salsa.) Transfer to a bowl.

Tags: Beef, grilled tomato salsa, Grilling, Mexican, Quick Cooking, skirt steak, tacos

Here’s a good, quick springtime recipe if you’re hankering for a steak. The colors and flavors of the tomato salsa are vibrant and fresh, and it adds an Italian flare to the pan-seared rib-eyes. This is an easy recipe to cut in half if you’re only cooking for two (or even one). I served the steak with crusty bread and sauteed zucchini.

Pan-Seared Rib-Eye Steak with Balsamic Onion & Tomato Salsa
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into medium dice (to yield about 1-1/2  cups)
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
4 boneless rib-eye steaks, 3/4 to 1 inch thick (6 to 8 oz. each)

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot; add the onion and sugar. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften but not brown, 4 to 5 min. Add the vinegar and cook until the onions are soft, 2 to 3  min. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, until they just begin to soften, 1 to 2 min. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the basil, and season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and keep warm.

Season the steaks generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Wipe out the skillet and melt the butter in the skillet over high heat. Cook two of the steaks until nicely browned on both sides and cooked to your liking, about 3 min. per side for medium rare. Transfer the steaks to plates or a platter and keep warm while you cook the remaining two steaks. Serve the steaks topped with the onion and tomato salsa.

Serving suggestions: Serve alongside a mixed salad of Bibb lettuce, spinach, and torn basil.

Tags: balsamic vinegar, basil, Beef, onions, Quick Cooking, rib-eye, steak, tomato salsa, tomatoes

This recipe, a twist on traditional chicken noodle soup, features corn, orzo (a rice-shaped pasta) and saffron (the stigma of a Mediterranean crocus flower). Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice by weight, and is popular in Spanish, Indian and Mediterranean cooking. The recipe calls for a “pinch” of saffron which is approximately 1/8 teaspoon (much more than that will overpower the soup). If you don’t like saffron or don’t have any, the soup will still be good without it although it will be missing some of the golden-yellow color and the distinct flavor that saffron gives to food. To make it a heartier soup, add more orzo, chicken and corn.

Golden Chicken, Corn & Orzo Soup
-Recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

Serves five to six as a main course.

 2 Tbs. olive oil     
2 large ribs celery, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 pinch saffron threads
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 qt. homemade or low-salt chicken broth
2 cups finely diced or shredded cooked chicken (such as leftover roast chicken)
1/2 cup orzo
1 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; more to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tip: You might wonder why the orzo is cooked separately. There are two reasons. If you boiled the orzo directly in the soup, the starch from the pasta would cloud the soup broth, and the orzo would also suck up too much of the soup broth as it cooked. Boiling the pasta separately solves both of these problems.

Bring a medium saucepan of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, saffron, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the chicken and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. While the soup simmers, cook the orzo in the boiling salted water until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.

Add the drained orzo, corn, and parsley to the soup and cook just until the corn is heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if needed.

Tags: chicken soup, corn, orzo, Quick Cooking, saffron, Soup/Stew

Curried chicken salad is simple to make and packs a ton of flavor in every bite. This recipe calls for “commercial chutney” which is pretty vague. I always use a Major Grey’s chutney, a  type of mango chutney (not a brand) that is slightly sweet and spicy. You should be able to find it at most major grocery stores.  Trader Joe’s  has a Mango Ginger Chutney that works great, too.

For the chicken mixture, I always add a few tablespoons of finely chopped red onion (or scallions) and substitute roasted cashews for the walnuts. If the chutney already has raisens in it then I usually don’t add any more because I don’t want it to be too sweet. Serving the curried chicken salad on halved croissants makes the sandwich a bit fancier, but your favorite bread or pita bread works great, too. If using pita bread, soften it in the microwave for about 15 seconds to lessen the chance of it breaking apart when you fill it with the salad. Or, skip the bread all together and serve it with mixed greens.

Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich
- Recipe from  foodnetwork.com

Makes 4 servings 

Dressing:
2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup commercial chutney
3 tablespoons mild curry powder

Sandwich:
6 bone-in chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dark raisins
3/4 cups finely chopped celery
4 croissants

To make the dressing: Combine the mayonnaise with the chutney and the curry powder in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.

To prepare the sandwiches: Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper then put them in a large skillet. Add water to cover. Put a lid on the skillet and simmer the chicken until it is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. When the chicken is chilled remove the skin and cut the meat from the bones. Dice the meat and place it in a large bowl. Add the walnuts, raisins, and celery and mix well. Moisten the salad with the curry dressing. Cut the croissants in half. Fill each with chicken salad and serve.

Tags: Chicken, chicken salad, curry, sandwich

I make fried egg sandwiches all the time for my family. It’s a great protein-loaded breakfast (or snack) and can be eaten on the go. It’s really not a dish that needs a recipe but I’ve included one with handy tips on making 4 breakfast sandwiches at a time.

I’m not a fan of American cheese so I always use thin slices of cheddar (or sometimes jalapeno jack), and I like Canadian bacon because it’s lower in fat and can be quickly heated in a few seconds in the microwave. When microwaving Canadian bacon, cover it with a paper towel and check it at 15-20 second intervals (the bacon explodes quickly). When frying the eggs, I always break the yolks so that they’re hard cooked…nobody wants to take a bite of a breakfast sandwich and have soft yolk squirt out all over them (I’ve tried it and it’s messy).

Fried Egg Sandwich
-recipe from Cook’s Country Magazine

English muffins are our favorite choice for fried egg sandwiches, but toasted bagels, biscuits, or even plain toast work fine, too. And improvise with the cheese as well: Any type of semi-soft melting cheese can be used in place of the American. If the bacon, sausage, or Canadian bacon is very salty, omit the salt in step 3.

Serves 4

4 English muffins , split in half
8 slices bacon , 4 sausage patties, or 4 slices Canadian bacon (optional)
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Table salt and ground black pepper
4 slices American cheese

Adjust one oven rack to the middle position and a second rack 6 inches from the broiler element. Heat the broiler. Arrange the English muffins on a baking sheet, split-side up, and toast under the broiler for 2 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Set the oven to 200 degrees and move the muffins to the middle rack to keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon or sausage (if using) in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until well browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, cover with foil, and keep warm in the oven.

Wipe the skillet clean and return it to the lowest possible heat. (If the bacon or sausage has been omitted, heat the pan for 5 minutes on the lowest possible heat before continuing.) Meanwhile, crack the eggs into two small bowls (2 eggs in each bowl). Add the butter to the hot skillet and melt, swirling to coat the pan. Add the eggs to the pan simultaneously so that all four eggs will be done at the same time. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper, cover, and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. Check the eggs and, if necessary, continue to cook, covered, until the eggs have cooked through as desired, up to 3 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly assemble the sandwiches by layering the fried eggs, cheese, and bacon between the toasted muffin halves.

Tips for making a Fried Egg Sandwich:
Some recipes are so simple that they don’t seem to need a recipe. The fried egg sandwich is a case in point. Isn’t it just a fried egg and breakfast meat sandwiched between pieces of toast? Yes and no–a lot can go wrong with those simple components. We wanted to make the perfect fried egg sandwich. Here’s what we discovered:

- Cook the meat–be it bacon, sausage, or Canadian bacon–before cooking the eggs. The meat can be kept warm more easily than the eggs.
- To fry the eggs, use a nonstick skillet and preheat it for five minutes over low heat so that it is evenly heated.
Crack the eggs into two bowls and then slide the eggs into the pan simultaneously. With this method, there’s little risk of the yolks cracking and the eggs will cook evenly and be done at the same time.
- Toast English muffins (our preference, although you can use bread, biscuits, or bagels) under the broiler so that they can all be cooked–and ready–at the same time.
- Keep the English muffins and meat warm in the oven while the eggs cook to ensure that the sandwich is warm through and through.

Tags: Breakfast, canadian bacon, Eggs, english muffin, sandwich

Bruschetta (prounounced “broo-SKEH-tah”) is grilled bread that is served with some kind of topping (fresh or grilled vegetables, cheese, etc.). Bruschetta is one of those appetizers that, when made with good-quality ingredients, is a crowd pleaser. I especially love bruschetta topped with tomato, fresh basil and garlic. This simple tomato mixture is absolutely delicious atop a golden-brown piece of grilled artisan bread. Obviously, this topping is best in summer when tomatoes are at their peak of flavor. Sometimes, though, I can’t wait until summer so I pick out the ripest tomatoes I can find (usually tomatoes on-the-vine or cherry tomatoes). Don’t even think about using the scary orangish-looking things they call tomatoes in some grocery stores. If you can’t find decent tomatoes then figure out a different topping for the bruschetta. I like lots of basil so I double or triple the amount that this recipe calls for, and I just chop the garlic instead of mashing it into a paste. Taste the tomato topping before serving to make sure it is properly seasoned; add more salt if needed.

When grilling the bread, you must tend to it so that it doesn’t burn. You can go back to multi-tasking once the bread is grilled. Stay close to the grill so that you can check the bread slices and turn them to toast the other side.  You’re going to love this appetizer!

Basic Bruschetta
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

As a starter or on the side, bruschetta is an ideal choice for outdoor entertaining: You can make it in minutes, eat it while mingling, and top it to suit everyone’s tastes. Just start with Basic Bruschetta and top it as you please.

Serves eight to ten.

1-lb. loaf rustic country bread or crusty baguette, sliced 1/2 inch thick (cut baguettes on the diagonal)
Extra-virgin olive oil as needed, about 1/2 cup
Garlic cloves (optional)
Bruschetta toppings (optional)

Coat the bottom of one or two rimmed baking sheets with olive oil and set the bread slices on top in a single layer. Brush the tops with a little more oil and set aside until you’re ready to grill.

Light a charcoal fire and heat it until you can hold your hand above the grate for no more than 2 seconds or heat a gas grill to medium high. Grill the bread until one side has dark grill marks and then turn them to toast the other side.
As soon as the slices are done, rub with garlic, if using, and cut the bruschetta into serving-size pieces (if using large slices of bread). Now add a topping and serve right away.

Chopped Tomato with Garlic & Basil Bruschetta Topping
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

Serves eight to ten. Yields about 3 cups topping.
 
1-1/2 lb. ripe tomatoes (about 5), cut into 1/4-inch dice
Kosher salt
Pinch cayenne
1 clove garlic, mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt (use a mortar and pestle or a knife)
2 leafy sprigs basil, leaves picked and torn or roughly chopped
1 recipe Basic Bruschetta

Season the tomatoes well with salt and put them in a colander to drain for 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the tomatoes to a bowl and fold in the cayenne, garlic paste, olive oil and basil. Taste for seasoning and add salt or a pinch more cayenne if you like. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the grilled bruschetta.

This Hawaiian-inspired pork dish is simple yet very tasty. The pork becomes extremely tender from braising over an hour in a broth mixture seasoned with Chinese five-spice powder, a blend of spices that incorporates the five basic flavors of Chinese cooking (sweet, sour, bitter, savory, and salty).  To save time on the Stir-fried Cabbage, substitute a bag of coleslaw mix for the whole cabbage and proceed with the recipe as written. Serve with steamed rice.  

Hawaiian-Style Braised Pork with Stir-Fried Cabbage
- recipe from Bon Appétit  Magazine, April 2002

“My wife, Jean, and I run a coffee farm on the Big Island of Hawaii,” writes George Fike of Keauhou Mauka, Hawaii. “I really love to cook, so we entertain a lot, and I enjoy planning the dinners as much as I do making them. I tell people the best restaurant in town is our house! Since I do most of the cooking, recipes must either be relatively fast or look after themselves. My recipe for Hawaiian-style pork has both of those qualities. It’s based on the traditional Hawaiian kalua pig, in which the meat is steamed in an underground oven. For this version, you don’t have to dig a pit in your back yard, and once everything’s in the pot — which involves chopping a few ingredients — it cooks slowly but doesn’t require a lot of attention.”

Complete this main course with steamed rice. Look for Chinese five-spice powder in the spice section of the supermarket.

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

3 1/2 pounds boneless country-style pork spareribs, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 14-ounce can low-salt chicken broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Stir-fried Cabbage (recipe below)

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of pork to pot and sauté until brown, about 6 minutes; transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining pork. Add garlic, green onions, and ginger to pot; sauté 1 minute. Return pork and any juices to pot. Add 1 1/2 cups broth, soy sauce, sugar, crushed red pepper, and five-spice powder; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until pork is very tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Stir remaining broth and cornstarch in cup to dissolve; mix into pork. Simmer until gravy thickens, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Season with pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly and chill. Rewarm over low heat.) Serve pork with cabbage.

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of pork to pot and sauté until brown, about 6 minutes; transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining pork. Add garlic, green onions, and ginger to pot; sauté 1 minute. Return pork and any juices to pot. Add 1 1/2 cups broth, soy sauce, sugar, crushed red pepper, and five-spice powder; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until pork is very tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Stir remaining broth and cornstarch in cup to dissolve; mix into pork. Simmer until gravy thickens, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Season with pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly and chill. Rewarm over low heat.) Serve pork with cabbage.

Stir-Fried Cabbage

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 2-pound green cabbage, quartered, cored, very thinly sliced
6 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil

Heat vegetable oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add ginger and stir 30 seconds. Add half of cabbage and toss until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add remaining cabbage, green onions, and sesame oil. Toss until all cabbage is crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Tags: braised, Chinese five-spice, ginger, hawaiian-style, pork