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Chicken Potpie with Cornbread Biscuits may not be a quick weeknight meal, however, with some advance prep work, this recipe can help get dinner on the table in a reasonable amount of time. For the biscuit portion of this recipe, you’ll need all-purpose flour, yellow cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder, kosher salt, unsalted butter and buttermilk. The dry ingredients are mixed together followed by cutting in the butter with your fingers or pastry cutter. Using a fork, the buttermilk is added just until a sticky dough is formed. The dough can be made 24 hours ahead and kept (kneaded and formed into biscuits), otherwise you can mix the dough up to an hour ahead of baking.
The potpie mixture consists of 1-1/2 to 2 pounds of bone-in skin on chicken breasts (2 breasts), olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, unsalted butter, carrots, celery, an onion, fresh rosemary, all-purpose flour, chicken stock, whole milk, dry sherry, fresh chives or parsley and an egg. The chicken breasts are seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted in the oven. When done and cooled, the meat is removed from the bones and shredded. Can you use a pre-cooked roasting chicken from the grocery store, why not. The filling is made in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or any pan able to go into a 400° oven. Butter is melted in the pan and prepared vegetables and chopped rosemary are added and seasoned with salt and pepper. Next, the flour is added to create a roux. The liquids are added along with salt and pepper and cooked until the sauce is thick and rich. Off heat, the sherry, chives and shredded chicken are added and combined. The mixture is topped with your homemade biscuits and brushed with an egg wash. The potpie bakes for 20 to 30 minutes or until the biscuits are puffed and golden. The potpie was delicious. The sherry added complexity to the sauce along with the chicken stock. The rosemary and parsley added a flavorful taste to the dish. This was a wonderful one pot meal. Eric Kim’s Pepper Steak was a nice quick weeknight meal. For the recipe you’ll need either flank or skirt steak, cornstarch, freshly ground black pepper, soy sauce, a neutral oil, either green bell or Cubanelle peppers, an onion, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, salt, Shaoxing wine or dry sherry, honey and cooked white rice for serving. I used flank steak for this recipe and green bell peppers. The steak was cut against the grain into thin slices. The meat marinated in a mixture of cornstarch, black pepper, soy sauce and oil for 30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerated for up to 12 hours. When ready to cook, preheat a wok or large skillet and use just enough oil to coat the pan. Cook the meat in a single layer about 2-1/2 to 3 minutes or until brown all over; remove to a plate. Next you’ll add the peppers, onion, garlic and ginger to the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables soften, which should take about 1 minute or so. When the vegetables are done, the meat is added back to the pan along with the wine or sherry, honey and remaining soy sauce. The ingredients are stirred to combine and coat the meat. Before serving, adjust salt, pepper and soy sauce to taste. This was a great meal as my husband is fond of stir fry dishes. It was quick to make as I let the meat marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes which gave me time to chop the vegetables. I served it over white rice and my husband likes to add some additional soy sauce and Chinese mustard. If you want to level up your weeknight game, then Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin “Filets” is for you. The recipe takes approximately 35 minutes to prepare, but your dining companion will think it took longer. For the recipe you’ll need one pound pork tenderloin, 2 slices of bacon, kosher salt, black pepper, unsalted butter, bourbon, apple cider vinegar, unsulphured molasses, Dijon mustard and fresh rosemary. Preheat your oven to 400°. The tenderloin is cut into 4 equal portions (approximately 2-1/2-inches thick) and flattened to 1-3/4-inches thick. The bacon is wrapped around the perimeter and a wooden toothpick is used to hold it in place. The meat is seasoned with salt and pepper. Into a preheated cast iron skillet, the filets are added to the pan, bacon side down and browned all around. Pop the skillet into an oven and baked until pork registers 145°. Remove filets to a dish and cover to keep warm. Using the same skillet, add the bourbon and scrape up any fond on the bottom of the pan. Add apple cider vinegar, molasses and Dijon mustard and let cook for a minute or two. Add the chopped rosemary, remove toothpick and add pork back to pan and drizzle sauce over filets. Wow, what a tasty dish. Between the richness of the sauce to the rosemary that added a nice peppery and woodsy flavor, simply terrific. The combination of flavors were wonderful My son-in-law sent me an IG reel of a Meyer Lemon Tiramisu by Christian Petroni. I couldn’t locate the recipe, but I did find one Lemon Tiramisu in the “Cook’s Illustrated Magazine” of March/April 2025. The recipe was developed by Erica Turner and is made with sugar, eggs and egg yolks, table salt, lemon juice, mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, limoncello, water and dried ladyfingers (savoiardi). I will admit, though I read the recipe several times, somewhere along the line I mixed up a few steps. However, that didn’t stop those of us from cleaning our plate. The recipe begins by making lemon curd which consists of sugar, eggs and yolks, salt and lemon juice. The sugar, eggs and a pinch of salt are whisked in a bowl. The lemon juice is heated in a pot just until hot; then slowly whisked into the sugar mixture until smooth. The liquid is transferred back to the empty saucepan and cooked. The mixture needs to be stirred constantly either with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until it’s thick and registers 170°. When it reaches temperature, its removed and immediately poured through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl, pressing lightly to push the curd through. Using a lightly greased parchment paper or plastic wrap, press it on the surface and cool for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment whisk the mascarpone cheese until smooth and creamy. Add salt and 3/4 cup of lemon curd and whip until there are no streaks (This is where I goofed and added ALL the lemon curd). Move mixture to a large bowl and set aside. In the now empty bowl, whip the cream until frothy then add sugar and whisk until you have stiff peaks. Starting with a small portion of whipped cream, fold it into the mascarpone mixture and then add remaining whipped cream and blend until there are no white streaks. The savoiardi are rolled in a mixture of limoncello, water and lemon juice and placed in an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish. When you have one layer done, spread half the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers and spread to all corners and smooth the top. Continue the same way for the next layer, dipped lady fingers then topping with remaining mascarpone mixture. With the remaining lemon curd, you’ll make nine dollops on top and with a offset spatula or back of a spoon, smear the curd. Cover and chill for 6 to 24 hours. Although I made a misstep in the recipe, it turned out scrumptious. The tiramisu was light and had just the right amount of lemon tang. It was very refreshing to have after a rich prime rib dinner. By the way, my brother and sister-in-law went to Italy a few years ago and brought me a small bottle of Terre Pompeiane Limoncello, which I kept in my freezer. It was just enough for this recipe. If you have a question about a recipe, click on "Contact" to reach me. Be sure to include your email address so I can directly reply to you.
Chicken Potpie with Cornbread Biscuuits
By Lidey Heuck, The New York Times/NYT Cooking Total time: 1-1/2 hours Servings: 6 to 8 For the Filling 1½ to 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (2 breasts) Olive oil Kosher salt and black pepper 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice (about 1½ cups) 4 large celery stalks, trimmed and cut into ½-inch dice (about 1½ cups) 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1½ cups) 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1½ cups chicken stock ½ cup whole milk 3 tablespoons dry sherry 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives or parsley 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash For the Biscuits 1¼ cups/160 grams all-purpose flour ¾ cup/105 grams yellow cornmeal 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder ¾ teaspoon kosher salt 5 tablespoons/70 grams chilled unsalted butter, diced ¾ cup/180 milliliters buttermilk, shaken Preparation
Tip - The biscuit dough may be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. If you plan to make the biscuit dough more than an hour in advance, follow the directions for kneading the dough and cutting out the biscuits before chilling them. 
Pepper Steak
“A Stir-Fry to Convert Green Bell Pepper Skeptics,” By Eric Kim The New York Times, June 22 2023 & NYT Cooking Total time: 40 minutes, plus marinating time Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 1 pound beef flank or skirt steak (see Tip) 1 tablespoon cornstarch 2½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving 3½tablespoons soy sauce, plus more to taste 2 tablespoons neutral oil, plus more for stir-frying 2 medium fresh green bell peppers or Cubanelle peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1-inch pieces 3 garlic cloves, crushed and thinly sliced 1(1½-inch) piece ginger, peeled, crushed and thinly sliced Salt ¼ cup Shaoxing wine or dry sherry 2tablespoons honey Cooked white rice, for serving Preparation
Tip - If using a tougher cut like bottom round steak, add ¼ teaspoon baking soda to tenderize the meat, but don’t let it marinate for longer than 30 minutes or it’ll turn mushy.
Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin ”Filets”
By Katie Rosenhouse “Southern Living Magazine”, March/April 2025 Active time: 20 minutes Total time: 45 minutes Servings: 4 Ingredients 2 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic (about 5 large cloves) 1 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. coriander seed, coarsely crushed 1 tsp., plus a pinch of kosher salt 1 (1 1/4- to 1 1/2-lb.) pork tenderloin, trimmed 5 to 7 center-cut bacon slices 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 Tbsp. apricot preserves 1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar 1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard Directions
Lemon Tiramisu
By Erica Turner “Cook’s Illustrated” magazine March/April 2025 Total time: 45 minutes, plus 6-1/2 hours chilling Servings: 8 to 9 The lemon curd was developed for this recipe; do not substitute another lemon curd. Do not allow the mascarpone to warm to room temperature before using; it has a tendency to break if allowed to do so. Be certain to use hard, not soft, ladyfingers. Ingredients 2/3 cup (4-2/3 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided 2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks 1/8 teaspoon plus pinch table salt, divided ½ cup plus 1/3 cup lemon juice, divided (5 lemons) 8 ounces (1 cup mascarpone cheese 3/4 cup heavy cream 1/3 cup limoncello 2 tablespoons water 7 ounces dried ladyfingers (savoiardi; 26 to 34, depending on size) Preparation
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