If you love to snack on olives, look for ways to add them to your main courses. We enjoy everything from olive mashed potatoes to olive omelets and olives in pasta.

This classic Moroccan dish, courtesy of OlivesFromSpain.us, combines chicken with briny olives and preserved lemons, which contribute their own special pickled taste. The result: rustic flavors layered with citrus accents.

Manzanilla olives are the Spanish green olives are available in most supermarkets, often pitted and stuffed with pimento or garlic. You can substitute other green olives or even caperberries.

You can buy preserved lemons at many olive bars, or make your own with this preserved lemons recipe.

RECIPE: MOROCCAN CHICKEN & OLIVES

Ingredients For 4 Servings

How delicious does this look? Photo courtesy Olives From Spain.

1. PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

2. HEAT a large, heavy bottomed sauté pan over medium high heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. When hot, add the chicken breasts skin side down. Cook until skin is golden brown and the skin is crispy, about 4-5 minutes.

3. FLIP chicken breasts over, add the rosemary sprigs to the pan and place the entire pan in the oven. Cook until the chicken is just cooked through, about 10-12 minutes, or until a thermometer placed in the chicken reads 150°F.

4. REMOVE the chicken from the pan, add the olives, preserved lemons, lemon juice, parsley and about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil to the pan. Whisk to combine; this will be the sauce.

5. DIVIDE the chicken among four plates, heat the sauce over medium heat and spoon evenly over the chicken breasts. Serve while hot and enjoy with a vegetable side such as roasted onions or carrots, plus a optional starch—rice or other grain, or crispy roasted potatoes.

Check out what they’re up to, and adapt the ideas to your own sandwiches.

PB&J. At South Water Kitchen in Chicago, the PB&J stands for Pears, Brie and Jam. The sandwich is composed of sliced pear, Brie and blueberry jam on whole wheat bread. If you want a “real” PB&J, Chef Todd Richards of The Shed at Glenwood, Atlanta, batters and fries a conventional PB&J sandwich (see the photo).

Grilled Cheese. At Cannery Brewing Company in Monterey, California, the Short Rib Grilled Cheese combines braised short rib, oven-roasted tomatoes, goat cheese and Provolone, along with balsamic onions and pickled peppers on sourdough bread.

Dagwood. How about a piled-high Dagwood with lamb instead of cold cuts? Chef Rodney Scruggs of The Occidental in Washington, D.C. combines thinly sliced lamb shoulder with goat cheese, arugula, pickled ramps and strawberry jam. (That sounds awfully gourmet for a Dagwood!)

Panini. Italian grilled sandwiches—panini—go fusion filled with Middle Eastern and Asian ingredients such as grilled tofu. The Peanut Panini from Parish in Atlanta combines green peanut “hummus,” tomato jelly and prosciutto on ciabatta bread.

Pulled Pork. Chef Allison Leono of Goodyear, Arizona transfers classic Carolina pulled pork in mustard sauce from its classic bun into Thai rice paper wraps—with fresh mango!

You don’t have to travel the country to try these sandwiches. Here are the latest hot recipes described above:

Read the full article.
  

But in 2014, other foodie favorites were added to our lexicons: You can read the full article here.

Some of these foods have been available in the U.S. since we were in grade school, but familiar only to those who frequented say, bistros (Croque Monsieur, anyone) or Sicilian-style restaurants (arancini).

The criterion for inclusion in the dictionaries, according to the article, is how widely the term is now used. That is, has it reached mainstream America via everyday cookbooks, or mentions in broadcast cooking segments, digital and print articles?

Thanks to a proliferation of cooking shows, and of food media in general, the answer is often yes. (The article points out that few people had heard of ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend, before Top Chef. Thanks to its frequent use on the popular cooking show, it entered the American Heritage Dictionary in 2011.)

So grab an imaginary fork and knife and dig in!

New Food Terms In The American Heritage Dictionary

New Food Terms In The Merriam-Webster Dictionary

New Food Terms In The Oxford Dictionaries Online

 
It’s still January, and you’ve got time to make more new year’s resolutions. Resolve to try everything above that you haven’t yet had!
  

Ingredients Per Serving

 
Preparation

1. BEAT the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in microwave-safe bowl or 12-ounce coffee mug, until blended. Add cheese or herbs as desired.

2. MICROWAVE on HIGH for 45 seconds, then stop and stir. Continue to microwave until the eggs are almost set, 30 to 45 seconds longer. Serve immediately.

Variations For Any Scrambled Eggs Recipe

 
MILK VERSUS NO MILK

Always add milk (ideally whole milk) or cream to scrambled eggs. The fat in the milk/cream slows down the cooking process, and the additional water (milk is approximately 87% water) adds to the tenderness.

On the other hand, don’t add milk to omelets. They have a more compact structure; adding milk can make them harder.

While many American home cooks are wary of taking on Indian cuisine without the benefit of a class or an expert friend, here’s one of Junoon’s dishes that’s easy to make. The Indian name is Lahsooni Gobi, but Crispy Fried Cauliflower sounds so much more tempting.

We love cauliflower in all its forms, plain and fancy. But here, lightly battered and tossed in a tomato garlic sauce, this hearty appetizer or side will make even those who don’t typically crave cauliflower want more.

No eggs are used in the batter because in India, eggs are not part of a vegetarian diet (this recipe is actually vegan). This recipe is also gluten-free. Chef Vikas Khanna notes, “I use rice flour here, not just for its superior crisping quality but also for people who are gluten sensitive. It’s a warm and homey dish and can easily be adjusted in terms of heat and garlic to suit anyone’s palate.”

Junoon’s delicious Crispy Fried Cauliflower. Photo courtesy Worleygig.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

Preparation

1. SPRINKLE 2 teaspoons of sea salt evenly over the cauliflower and let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. PREHEAT the oil to 350°F: Heat two tablespoons of oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and ginger, stirring constantly until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.

3. ADD the tomato purée, water, cayenne pepper, sugar, salt and ketjiap spice; mix well with a whisk until combined. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary just before serving.

4. PREPARE the batter by quickly blending the rice flour and water together in a large bowl. Coat the florets in the batter by placing all of the florets in the bowl. Toss gently and then carefully drop the florets into the hot oil. Fry the cauliflower until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

5. BRING the sauce to a simmer over medium heat and then add the cauliflower to the pan. Stir and toss gently to coat the cauliflower with the sauce until well combined. Serve the cauliflower in a bowl garnished with cilantro.

KETJIAP SPICE MIX

Ketijap is a traditional Indonesian spice mix used for the many different sauces that are loosely called cat-siop and ketjiap (and other spellings*). A pinch or two livens up soups and sauces. You can keep the spice tightly covered in a cool, dark place for up to two months.

 
Preparation

1. LIGHTLY TOAST the whole spices in a small heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat for about one minute.

2. COOL, then grind to a fine powder with the cinnamon in a spice grinder.
 
*Yes, this is the origin of our word catsup/ketchup, although our familiar tomato ketchup was a New World invention. Here’s the history of ketchup.

†It can be difficult to find mace flakes, also called mace blades, in consumer markets. Use ground mace instead.