By David Harbilas

Bloody Marys seem to lend themselves best to seafood pairings, but here I’ve taken the assertive flavors of the famous cocktail and partnered them with a sort of chicken Caesar salad.

The smoky flavors of the grilled chicken and the slight bitterness of the romaine lend themselves well to the spicy and sweet flavors of the vinaigrette, which is little more than a virgin bloody mary blended with a little vinegar and olive oil.

Serves 2

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 heads of romaine, roughly chopped
• 1 ripe red tomato, peeled, seeded, and diced1 stalk of celery
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated horseradish, or ½ tablespoon prepared
• zest of ½ lemon Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

I recently had dinner with a friend at Radici Restaurant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The chef is a friend of mine, and he was kind enough to send us a simple tomato salad, but the server also mentioned a dish made with a tomato-caper-lemon salad, and though I didn’t try that dish I thought I would try it at home.

Here is what I imagine the dish to be like.

Rather than use actual lemon slices or segments, which some Italian recipes do make use of (and which I find to be just too tart), I decided to use both the zest and juice of the lemons. The basic idea is for the saltiness of the capers to off-set the sweetness of the tomatoes and for that, in turn, to be off-set by the acid of the lemon. This can easily be called a salsa, and if allowed to sit and macerate for a long enough time will resemble an uncooked sauce.

Serves 2

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tablespoon capers Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

Aioli is a very versatile sauce that seems to scare some people.

Perhaps the notion of using raw eggs as a base for a sauce is off-putting, or perhaps it’s the precarious process of making an emulsified sauce.

It really requires little effort and is a much more forgiving sauce than people realize, and it holds a little better when something else is pureed into it.

Roasted tomatoes give it a meaty, sweet flavor and a little more texture than a regular mayonnaise.

Serves 2

• 2 red globe tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 1 large clove of garlic, smashed
• Juice of ½ lemon Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

Simple sautés are a seemingly forgotten thing, and perhaps with good reason.

Many such dishes are often a forgettable mess of tough “cutlets”, a poorly made demi glace and canned vegetables like artichoke hearts or roasted red peppers.

When skillfully done, however, quick sautés can be very satisfying.

Here is one made with fresh tomatoes, a little chicken stock, lemon juice and rosemary. Part of the trick to doing it right is to add the ingredients in a certain order.

Serves 4

• 4 chicken breasts, filleted
• 1 shallot, diced
• 2 large tomatoes, large diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
• ½ cup white wine
• ½ cup chicken stock Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

Sauces are often a mystery to people, and yet it is often so much a matter of simplicity and technique that combining ingredients and being innovative is the least of one’s concerns.

Onions, for instance, are such a versatile ingredient—they can be used raw, marinated, roasted, sautéed, grilled, and stewed.

Brandy is so assertive that it seems natural to pair it with something sweet, and tomatoes are a great third part to the sauce.

Given all the rich flavors, chicken is a good protein to serve this sauce with.

Serves 4

• 1 roasting chicken
• 1 large onion, rough chopped
• 2 tomatoes, rough chopped
• 1 cup brandy Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

I feel like I should know more about Greek cuisine, since my father was raised by Greek immigrants and spoke the language fluently.

Sadly, I know little more than dolmades, keftides, and spanekopita.

But chefs often “think” in flavors, and though I do not know if this dish has any basis in traditional Greek cooking I do know that the flavors are unmistakably Greek and dependent on tomatoes.

The best, ripest tomatoes work well in this sauce, and if none are available then less than ripe tomatoes that have been roasted and pureed will do.

Serves 4

• 1 large roasting chicken
• 2 tablespoons dried Greek oregano
• 1 lemon, halved Read the rest of this entry »