Food
February 13, 2017
20 Of Our Favorite House & Home Classic Recipes
In honor of our 30th anniversary, we’re sharing the best-loved recipes from our archives. You’ll find our top three versions of timeless dishes — including steak, Caesar salad, macaroni and cheese, chicken wings and french toast — and food editor Kristen Eppich’s fresh takes on the perennial classics. They’re the recipes that you’ll reach for again and again when entertaining for family and friends (and we’ve put them online so they’re always at the ready).
“Basting anything in butter is always a good idea, but treating a rib eye like this does wonderful things. Start with a quick pan-sear to caramelize and give it a few minutes in the oven before hitting the pan with garlic, thyme and lots of butter. Basting the steak with the foamy butter finishes off the cooking and takes the flavor over the top. A cowboy cut is a 2″-thick steak cut on the long bone — it’s the premium cut of the rib eye. Call your butcher ahead of time to order one, and be sure they trim the bone to a size that will fit your pan.” – Kristen Eppich
Get the recipe here.
In the 1950s and ’60s, this dish was traditionally prepared tableside and flambéed, but you can skip that step if it’s too elaborate.
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Inspired by the city’s great delis, Montreal steak spice should be garlicky, spicy and have a floral hint.
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Flank doesn’t have a lot of marbling, so a great marinade is a must if you’re going for tender perfection.
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“Rich, garlicky and good for you? When you can take something as unctuous as a Caesar salad and make it healthy, you have a true winner. This is the ultimate guilt-free-ish Caesar salad. Avocado is substituted for the egg, Tuscan kale replaces romaine, while superfoods come in the form of pepitas, sunflower seeds and whole-grain bread. Shaved Parmesan adds the essential umami, and some crispy capers layer in the crunch.” – Kristen Eppich
Get the recipe here.
Former food editor Lucy Waverman explained the origins of this timeless salad from our October 1994 issue, writing that while the Tijuana, Mexico, original did not contain anchovies, hers does: “The anchovies give a subtle background taste to the dressing; don’t leave them out.” She also included instructions for extra-crunchy Parmesan toasts, a winning substitute for croutons.
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Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, warm polenta croutons add more substance to a Caesar salad than traditional crunchy bread croutons.
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The Caesar salad has been one of Black Dog’s most popular dishes since it opened in 2005. The trick, says owner Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh, is to completely dry the romaine leaves so the tangy dressing will adhere well.
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“If you feel like this recipe calls for too much cheese, you’re pleasantly correct. It’s inspired by the “World’s Best” mac and cheese from Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in New York, Seattle and Wisconsin, and the subtle addition of chipotle and garlic powders takes this classic to the next level. Beecher’s uses their signature Flagship and Just Jack cheeses to create the heavenly dish, but a great two-year aged cheddar and Monterey Jack will do for those of us not lucky enough to be close to a Beecher’s.” – Kristen Eppich
Get the recipe here.
This recipe of Jennifer Low’s took comfort food to a new level. Wrote a reader, “I have two daughters and, every year for their birthdays, I make this delicious recipe. With the addition of the caramelized onions and sherry, it gives it a grown-up flavor that adults can’t resist!”
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This rich dish is soul-satisfying with sharp cheeses, caramelized onions and a crunchy panko topping. The extra crispy bits that come from cooking it in the skillet help make this mac and cheese a perfect midwinter meal.
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Since this recipe uses less cheese than traditional mac and cheese, it’s best to use quality aged cheeses for maximum flavor.
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“We can thank Andy Ricker of the famous Pok Pok restaurants for this essential style of Vietnamese fish sauce-spiked chicken wings. If you’re a fan of salted caramel, these wings epitomize that flavour. They’re cooked then tossed in a salty, sweet and subtly spicy caramel sauce. Crispy garlic chips, bright cilantro and mint top off this perfectly balanced chicken wing.” – Kristen Eppich
Get the recipe here.
These marinated wings don’t skimp on flavor, even though the sauce isn’t brushed on constantly during grilling.
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Sweet, fiery and crackling with sesame seeds, these succulent morsels leave Buffalo wings in their dust.
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To make this recipe, you’ll need ovenproof cooling racks, which lift the wings above the tray allowing the heat to circulate.
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“Lynda Reeves first tasted this french toast at the Okura Hotel in Tokyo. She was so swept away by its mile-high, fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth qualities that she persuaded them to share their recipe. Sadly, the original building, a beautiful modernist postwar masterpiece, was torn down last year (a new wing is set to open in 2019), but their famed French toast lives on. The secret of this recipe is soaking the bread overnight in a rich custard mixture; just make sure to flip the slices once during that process.” – Kristen Eppich
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There’s nothing quite like thick French toast filled with cream cheese and sweet cherries.
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This recipe is a rich delight. Pre-cut the baked toast into six or eight portions so guests can help themselves.
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A Dutch baby is a large, light and fluffy oven-baked pancake usually served with a fruit topping. It’s the perfect recipe for a laid-back brunch since it only takes 10 minutes to prep, requires no flipping, and all the portions cook in one cast-iron skillet.
Get the recipe here.