Strawberry, balsamic vinegar and mascarpone cream pudding by liz isabella

Ingredients

250g/8oz strawberries (hulled)
1 tbsp grenadine

1 tsp black peppercorns

100g/3oz caster sugar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp strawberry liqueur or vodka (we used vodka)

200 ml/7 fl oz single cream

250g/8oz mascarpone cheese


Method

1) Place the hulled strawberries in a bowl and crush lightly with a fork or potato masher. Mix in the grenadine and set aside.

2) Place peppercorns in a pan. Heat on a stove for a few minutes, until the corns crack and roast. They'll look shiny. Allow to cool and then coarsely crush in a mortar and pestle.

3) In another bowl mix the caster sugar with the balsamic vinegar,vanilla and the liqueur or vodka. Mix in the single cream.

4) Beat the mascarpone and mix into the single cream mixture.

5) Spoon a little of the crushed strawberries into the bottom of martini glasses, wine glasses or knickerbocker glory glasses. Spoon over a little of the cream mixture, and sprinkle with some peppercorns.

6) Repeat until the glasses are full, finishing with the cream and the final sprinkle of pepper. Garnish with whole or cut strawberries.

Pea and Pecorino Risotto by liz isabella

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
50g/2oz butter

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

400g/14oz risotto rice

150ml/5oz white wine

1.5L/2.5 pints hot chicken stock

45g/1lb peas (frozen or fresh, doesn't matter)

25g/10oz grated pecorino cheese

handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper


Method:

1) Heat a large, heavy-based saucepan and add the oil and half the butter. Heat until it is foaming then add the onon and gently cook for about 5 minutes until beginning to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes then stir in the rice and heat through for a minute until shiny and opaque

2) Pour in the wine and boil for 1 minute to allow the alcohol to evaporate, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat to medium heat and begin to add the stock a ladleful at a time allowing the liquid to to absorbed into the rice before adding more.

3) After 15 minutes of cooking add te frozen peas and cook for another 5-7 minutes.

4) When the rice feels soft and fluffy and the texture is creamy, but each grain is still firm to the bite in the centre the risotto is ready. At this point take the risotto off the heat and stir in the remaining butter cheese and mint and season to taste. Leave to rest with the lid on for a few minutes then serve immediately.

Enchiladas with Chili Gravy by Erythrosine

1. While the tortillas do have to be cooked before you fill them, it works perfectly well to steam them, instead of individually frying each tortilla, which takes forever (and adds a huge dose of oil or lard). I learned this from Martha Rose Shulman's NYTimes piece about tacos. I wrapped twenty corn tortillas in a nice clean dish towel and steamed them over boiling water for one minute, then removed the pot from the heat and left them covered for fifteen more minutes.

2. Robb Walsh's Chili Gravy is the perfect Tex-Mex enchilada sauce, if your chili powder is good, and fresh:

Chili Gravy
1/4 cup oil or lard
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoon powdered garlic [I substituted fresh garlic, of course]
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoon good chile powder [I used Penzey's, but Gebhardt's is supposed to be good]
2 cups chicken broth (or water)

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and continue stirring for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it makes a light brown roux. Add all the dry ingredients and continue to cook for 1 minute, constantly stirring and blending ingredients, then add chicken broth or water, mixing and stirring until the sauce thickens. Turn heat to low and let sauce simmer for 15 minutes. Add water to adjust the thickness. Makes 2 cups.

For a filling, I used diced cooked chicken thighs, grated queso fresco, fresh cilantro (since there were no cilantro-haters present), and onions (cooked with the chicken thighs). Given the amount of ancho chili in the chili powder, I'm not sure how much it mattered that the chicken broth I used in the chili gravy was double-strength homemade broth, not the canned stuff, but you probably wouldn't want to add any salt if you used canned broth.

Salad of Shaved Brussels Sprouts by bookseller

This is my attempt to replicate a salad I love at a local restaurant. The sprouts are shaved into very thin slices, and then those slices are sliced into thin ribbons (this is what's known as a chiffonade). They're dressed with a vinaigrette made, I'm guessing, from white wine vinegar, olive oil, and some walnut oil or hazelnut oil, with maybe a tiny bit each of dijon mustard and honey, plus salt and pepper. And then it's all tossed with finely shredded (but not grated) pecorino cheese and hazelnuts that have been toasted and chopped. It's very, very tasty.

Brining Pork by Calamity Jeanne and bookseller

Calmity Jeanne:

I brine pork chops in the fridge for 90 minutes in six cups of water into which I've dissolved 3 tbsp. of kosher salt and 3 tbsp. sugar. Then I drain the chops, rinse them, pat them dry and proceed with the recipe.

bookseller:

I swear by Bruce Aidell; he says to make a brine of 1/4 cup each kosher salt and sugar (sugar sub is fine), plus 3.5 cups cold water and a cup of ice cubes (that's about 8 standard cubes). This for four chops. Stick the bowl or bag in the fridge, brine for 4-6 hours, then remove the chops and pat dry. At that point you can either cook them or wrap them in plastic and refrigerate to cook later.

You can flavor the brine with any number of things, from coffee to herbs to mustard to apple juice, but the basic works great. Even boneless loin chops, which I have usually found to be the definition of dry, turn out incredibly juicy and tender. REALLY good.

ETA, FWIW, same trick works great on chicken and turkey breast.

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