Newsletter: In the kitchen: Cornmeal muffins from New Orleans, and rethinking kitchen scraps
Every once in a while you run across a dish that stays with you. Just ask reader Susan Slesinger of Seal Beach; she’s been thinking about the lemon cornmeal muffins from John Besh’s Willa Jean Restaurant in New Orleans ever since she was in the Crescent City last July. These little cakes make the perfect breakfast or dessert — or a fun snack any time of the day, really. Luckily, we were able to get the recipe.
And did you know that more than one-third of the food we buy will end up in the trash? Food waste is a serious issue, but there are creative — and delicious — ways to combat the problem. We’ve come up with a dozen of our favorite recipes using kitchen scraps. You’ll never look at asparagus ends in the same way.
CULINARY SOS
With just the right balance of buttery cornmeal cake and fresh lemon, the lemon cornmeal muffins at Willa Jean in New Orleans have a rich but gentle tang, each cake topped with a coating of sweet lemon glaze. Chef Kelly Field was happy to share her recipe with us, so you can have a little taste of the Big Easy at home. It’s just one of the many restaurant recipes we feature in our Culinary SOS column. (Have a request? Email me at noelle.carter@latimes.com or write to Culinary SOS, Food Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Please include your name, phone number and city of residence.)
12 GREAT RECIPES USING KITCHEN SCRAPS
Sautéed cauliflower leaves over soft mascarpone polenta; beet green ravioli with sage butter; marinated broccoli stems and more. Before you throw out those carrot tops, have you thought about how you might use them in a dish? Though most of us are conscious of the serious issue of food waste, we don’t always realize how easy it is to contribute to the problem. Check out our list of a dozen great recipes that will have you rethinking your kitchen scraps, and check out some other great tips for reducing food waste.
WHAT TO DO WITH STINGING NETTLES
Stinging nettles might look like ordinary weeds, but these greens, normally in season during the late winter months, have a bright, assertive flavor with just a hint of pepper. And with the proper care, nettles work well in a variety of dishes. We share tips for handling, as well as a few of our favorite recipes.
VIDEO TIP: HOW TO TRUSS A CHICKEN
If you’ve ever roasted a chicken, you probably know the importance of tying the chicken, called trussing. Trussing tightens the bird to give it that appealing shape. You can have your butcher truss a bird for you, but it’s easy to do at home. And because you can never have too many go-to ideas for roast chicken, here are six of our top recipes.
BREAKFAST IDEAS TO GET YOU OUT OF BED
Cinnamon rolls, English muffins, scones, doughnuts and more. Sometimes there’s nothing like the heat and wonderful aromas from the oven to start the day. We’ve compiled a list of some of our our favorite breakfast recipes to start your day out right.
The Los Angeles Times Food Bowl: Want to spend 31 days exploring the food of this city through a Night Market, forums, dinners, films, pop-ups and more dining and drinking? A monthlong food festival is coming to L.A. in May.
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