Weekend Cook and Tell: Unsung Heros of the Kitchen

Posted by Caroline Russock, August 19, 2009 at 2:43 PM

Welcome to the Weekend Cook and Tell. Every Wednesday we scan the food sections of various national newspapers to come up with an article or recipe to inspire a weekend cooking project. We want all of you to cook along with us and share your experiences, recipes, and photos.

This week's idea comes from Kristine Subido of the Chicago Sun-Times. She wrote a great little piece entitled Ingredients That Get No Respect. It's all about highlighting the ingredients that usually act as background players in our everyday cooking, namely carrots, celery, and onions. Everyone knows that sauteing these vegetables together makes a flavorful base for sauces and stocks, but what about letting them shine on their own?

These ingredients have served us all very well over the years, why not give them an opportunity to take center stage? Here are a few ideas to get you started: Braised carrots or celery, a fresh celery salad with celery leaves and a simple vinaigrette, pickled or caramelized onions, or a chilled carrot soup. This week's challenge is to make a dish using one of the unsung heros of your kitchen. Don't limit yourself to carrots, celery, and onions. If there is an underappreciated ingredient that you use in your everyday cooking that you want to feature, go for it!

Of course we want to hear all about the dishes that you are making at home. Show us your photos on Photograzing (make sure to include "Cook and Tell" in your submission title) and tell us about your recipes in Talk with comments on this thread! If you'd like to blog along from home, leave a link to your Cook and Tell blog post in the comments. We'll post a round-up of your photos and recipes next Wednesday.

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