Category Archives: Mains

Here are the big boys. The heavy hitters. Main courses to build a meal around. We specialize in strong flavors and quality ingredients and not overly complicated preparation. Check ’em out.

Recipe: Utica-Style Chicken Riggies

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers

There are a lot of renditions of Chicken Riggies on the internet, but this is the real deal. I know because I brought home an order from the Chesterfield Restaurant, where Mike Schultz claims he put this Italian-American classic on the … Continue reading →

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Recipe: Beef Stroganoff

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers

Beef stroganoff was a staple of my supper club back in college. It was basically beef stew with some sour cream mixed in at the point of serving to add richness and a bit of tang. I’m grown up now, … Continue reading →

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Recipe: Main Dish Quinoa Salad

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers

The carb-avoiders in my household have been gobbling up this quinoa salad. Even though it is full of protein and fiber and other healthy stuff, it’s pretty tasty. Makes 6-8 main-dish servings or a dozen side salads. Ingredients: ½ c … Continue reading →

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Recipe: Porcupines (Meat Balls with Rice)

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers

I tinkered with Dorothy Crum’s very plain recipe in the Phi Beta Phi cookbook by adding the ingredients marked with a *. Makes six porcupines. Ingredients: 1 lb lean ground beef ½ c uncooked rice ½ chopped onion 1 clove … Continue reading →

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Recipe: Chef Salad

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers

Is it Chef Salad or Chef’s Salad? Considering its roots in the aspirational 1950s, “Chef” might have been some food writer’s idea of a descriptive adjective connoting quality—the kind of salad a chef (as opposed to a mere cook) might … Continue reading →

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Recipe: Popcorn Chicken with Real Popcorn

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers

What to do with leftover movie popcorn? Here’s a mod of my General Tso’s Prawns which uses popcorn instead of (or in addition to) rice as the starch to make popcorn chicken. Serves 4. Ingredients: 3-4 c popped popcorn* 1 … Continue reading →

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Recipe: Ceviche

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers

Two critical decisions when making ceviche are a/whether to add oil and b/how long to let the fish “cook” in its acid bath. The answer to the first question is no. The second is a bit more nuanced. Serves 3-4 as … Continue reading →

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Recipe: Grilled Squid

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers

When it’s in oil, it’s calamari. When it’s over the flame, it’s grilled squid. That’s how we roll in my house. And this is one of the easiest yet most delicious preps you’ll find. Just be sure to use a … Continue reading →

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Recipe: Steak American Pharoah

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers

Here’s my contribution toward the excess caused by the arrival of the Triple Crown winner to run in this weekend’s Travers Stakes. It was inspired by some ripe stone fruit and a tub of duck fat that was in danger … Continue reading →

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Recipe: Texas Schoolburgers (IMPROVED)

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers

After preparing a palatable version using my recollections of school lunches in Dallas and ideas I’d found on the web, I finally bit the bullet and converted the original institutional recipe. Guess what: it is terrific. No idea why we … Continue reading →

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