Chef Chris Cosentino proves here that you can elevate the humble grilled cheese sandwich into something magical with just a few tweaks. His buttery, crisp version is filled with luscious Taleggio cheese, then drizzled with honey and sprinkled with flaky salt and coarsely ground black pepper. It’s so simple, but also jaw-droppingly good. Slideshow: More Grilled Cheese Recipes
Advertisement
Chef Chris Cosentino of Porcellino in San Francisco loves pork blade steak: It’s well marbled, intensely flavorful and nicely chewy, plus it cooks quickly in a skillet. Also called pork steak or pork shoulder steak, it’s an inexpensive cut from the shoulder that contains the blade bone. Slideshow: More Pork RecipesRecipe from Food & Wine Chefs' Easy Weeknight Dinners.
Making pesto with kale instead of basil isn't just healthier, it's unexpectedly delicious. And according to the dish's creator, chef Chris Cosentino, it's a simple way to get kids to eat kale. Plus: Pasta Recipes
A classic Italian panzanella (bread salad) combines juicy tomatoes and bread cubes. Here, Chris Cosentino swaps in stone fruits like apricots and peaches for the tomatoes. Then he pushes the dessert over the top by dolloping the "salad" with an airy zabaglione, a frothy sauce of egg yolks whipped with sweet dessert wine. More Fruit Desserts
Chef Way Chris Cosentino adds briny flavor to his pasta with cured tuna heart. He shaves it on right before serving.Easy Way This recipe calls for anchovies, rather than the tuna heart Cosentino uses. Egg yolks form a silky sauce. More Recipes by Chris Cosentino
Chris Cosentino remembers charring tomatoes when he was a line cook under chef Mark Miller at Red Sage in Washington, DC. "Mark always said, 'It needs fleck,' " Cosentino says, referring to the blackened bits on the skins. "The fire brings out the sweetness in the tomatoes." More Tomato Recipes
Salsa verde means "green sauce" in both Italian and Spanish. In Chris Cosentino's lemony version, fresh tarragon gives the salsa a nice summery quality. The salsa verde also goes well with grilled fish like swordfish or tuna steaks, as well as in sandwiches or swirled into soups. If chervil proves difficult to find, a mixture of extra tarragon and parsley is a fine substitute. More Salsa Recipes
Advertisement
Chris Cosentino of San Francisco's Incanto is known for his offal dishes but a hearty fish like sardine, served whole, can also appeal to the nose-to-tail crowd. Cosentino pan-fries the omega-3-rich fish with an exhilarating mix of olives, capers, lemon zest, parsley and chiles. To make this more of a main course, he prepares a crunchy salad of artichokes and sunchokes to eat alongside. Restaurant Coverage from F&W Editors Fast Fish Recipes
This garnet sauce is Chris Cosentino's take on the classic Piedmontese anchovy-and-olive-oil dip, enriched here with red wine. Italian for "hot bath," bagna cauda is served warm with crudités. This version, with both oil-packed and marinated anchovies, doubles as a terrific sauce for grilled meat. More Party Dip Recipes