By KATIE WORKMAN

Some food trends put in deep roots, some are fleeting, some are outright silly and some are just plain fun. I am putting the “just plain fun” label on this one: pearl-shaped foods that pop in your mouth.

Tiny sphere-shaped foods seem to be everywhere, entertaining mouths with their pop-ability and the sometimes unusual transformation of familiar foods.

Call it part of a bubble moment: The bubble hem is hot in fashion, and decor is loving soft, round corners and playfulness.

Here are some examples of pearl-shaped foods, old and new.

Straight from nature

Some pearl-shaped bubble foods have been with us for a long time — not fads at all. Perhaps the classic is caviar, and fish eggs in general. Different fish eggs have different types of “pop” and different flavor profiles.

Fish roe is great on blinis, toast point and potato pancakes, but also eggs, shellfish and pasta.

Not all caviar is pricy, either. California-based Tsar Nicoulai, for example, offers gold pearl trout roe for about $14 an ounce; it’s bright orange with a firm shell and a silky, distinctive pop. Their Estate Malossol Caviar retails for about $100 an ounce; it has a softer texture, a brownish black color and a buttery, earthy flavor.

Could it be time for the finger lime?

Another natural, pearl-shaped product — one not so well-known — is the finger lime. It looks like a skinny, pinky-shaped lime, but inside are wonderful little crunchy caviar-like pearls of lime juice. It’s definitely a novelty, but not a gimmick: The flavor and texture is a terrific addition to anything from oysters to scallop ceviche.

The skin of finger limes can be green, burgundy or dull orange. The pulpy pearls can be green, pale peach or red.

To harvest a finger lime’s caviar, just slice the lime down the middle and then squeeze each half. If your finger lime is fresh, the caviar should spill out easily. Look for them at specialty stores or online.

Boba and boba tea

Boba and boba tea (also known as bubble tea) have been around since the 1980s, introduced from Taiwan and now taking the world by storm.

Boba pearls are usually made from tapioca starch (from the cassava plant), water, and sometimes a sweetener, like brown sugar, using a process known as gelatinization. The little boba balls are chewy and bouncy, and while they are most often served in a sweet cold tea, they can also be used in different preparations. There is also popping boba, designed to burst when you bite into it.

Boba tea is usually sweet and creamy, shaken before serving to create a frothy texture. A fat straw is used to slurp up the balls, which are chewed as you drink.

You can buy boba tea at coffee shops and specialty stores, and get packaged boba pearls to make drinks and other confections at home. Twrl Milk Tea, for example, makes boba offerings like Lychee Popping Boba and Brown Sugar Boba. You can also buy ready-to-drink boba tea in a can, or bubble tea kits.

Spherification: Making foods pop-able

A trend that’s been percolating for years is spherified foods — liquids that become squishy little orbs when a gelled membrane is created around them.

One of my favorites is balsamic and other vinegar pearls. De Nigris, for instance, makes a line of Italian balsamic vinegar pearls, including some flavored with truffle and orange. Messino makes balsamic pearls and also lemon pearls, filled with real lemon juice, and pomegranate pearls. Tartuflanghe turns truffle juice into truffle pearls, and also makes anchovy and pesto pearls.

Prova ’s vanilla, coffee and cocoa pearls are made for pastry chefs to serve on desserts.

You might sprinkle balsamic pearls on crostini or bruschetta, salads, and burrata or other cheeses. Try lemon pearls on top of oysters or grilled fish.

Pomegranate pearls can be served on yogurt, tarts and cocktails — as can the pomegranate’s natural pearls, the jelly-like arils that cover some seeds.

Spherification, or reverse spherification as it is officially called, uses sodium alginate and calcium to create the little orbs. The technique was invented in the 1940s and popularized by chef Ferran Adraia in the 2000s at his famed, now-closed restaurant El Bulli, in Spain. Chefs like Wylie Dufresne at WD-50 in New York have helped bring it to the fore.

Spherification beyond liquids

Some restaurants spherify their own foods, from ravioli to melons. Olive lovers might be dazzled by the spherified olives at Jose Andres’ Mercado Little Spain in NYC.

BelGiosioso makes teeny little mozzarella pearls, weighing in at 2.5 grams each. They look adorable in pasta salads and antipasti platters. They also melt into perfect little cheesy pockets in baked pastas, like baked ziti.

Easter candy, too

On the sweet side, there are translucent hard-candy rabbits stuffed with candy pearls from Pure Sugar. You’ll have to steel yourself to smash them open, or just shake the pearls out from the bottom if you can’t bear to break the bunny.

Katie Workman writes regularly about food for The Associated Press. She has written two cookbooks focused on family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She blogs at https://themom100.com/. She can be reached at Katie@themom100.com.

Inspired by the famous roast chicken at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, fashion designer and food writer Peter Som created this take that involves glazing the bird in a sweet-savory blend of hoisin, orange juice and honey. It’s served atop schmaltzy, crunchy bread and topped with parsley.

Som’s forthcoming cookbook, “Family Style” (Harvest, $40),  draws on family recipes from his Mill Valley childhood.

Hoisin Honey Roast Chicken

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

One 3½-pound chicken, giblets removed

Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup hoisin

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons neutral oil

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces, plus thinly sliced scallions for garnish

½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, plus more for garnish

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 or 3 (1-inch-thick) slices country bread, torn into bite-size pieces

2 tablespoons furikake

DIRECTIONS

Cut the chicken under the breast from the cavity to the tail on each side, leaving a hinge. Open it up like a suitcase and place skin side up. Use the palm of your hand to flatten, especially at the breastbone. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel, then season generously with salt and pepper.

In a large zip-top bag, combine the hoisin, honey, orange juice, neutral oil, sesame oil, garlic, scallions, parsley, a generous pinch of salt and 4 or 5 grinds of pepper, then add the chicken. Push as much air out of the bag as possible and seal. Use your hands to massage things around, so the chicken is coated in the marinade. Place the bag on a plate and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours, turning the bag every few hours.

Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 to 45 minutes before you’re ready to cook and let it come to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Remove the chicken from the bag, letting as much of the marinade drip back into the bag as possible, and transfer skin side up to the prepared baking sheet. Pour the marinade from the bag into a small bowl. Cover the baking sheet with foil and roast for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, baste generously with half the reserved marinade, and roast for 10 minutes, uncovered. Baste again (you should have used up all the marinade) and roast for another 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh and the chicken is burnished and deep brown.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes, then carve.

While the chicken is resting, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Toast the bread in the butter on both sides until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.

Put the bread on a platter and spoon the pan juices generously atop. Arrange the chicken on top. Sprinkle generously with the furikake, then garnish with sliced scallions and flat-leaf parsley and serve.

From Family Style by Peter Som. Copyright © 2025 by Peter Som. Reprinted by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Listen, at 21 years old, I couldn’t get enough of a pub crawl down barf-soaked streets. I think comedian Colin Quinn’s St. Patrick’s Day poem sums up why at 35, I’ve decided to stray from the pub crawls of yore.

“I’ve lost my friends and seven teeth at this festival to St. Patrick. Puked, out-duked and oft rebuked this holy day’s unholy hat trick. Can’t find the train, it starts to rain. I’m in a world of trouble and a house of pain. Still, this tradition I keep alive, it’s in my blood, at .25.”

My March 17 no longer resembles Quinn’s, and I’ve since perfected the art of the St. Patrick’s Day punk party, and it’s under my own roof. No, I’m not kicking over my garbage bins and covering my walls in black Sharpie art. I’m spinning my favorite Irish punk tunes, making my tried and true St. Patrick’s Day recipes and clinking Guinness pints with my closest friends — after I’ve toasted with an Irish proverb of course.

Here’s a guide to partying like a proper Irish punk from home.

The Tunes

“Nowadays for us, St Patrick’s Day has taken on a totally different meaning where it’s about getting together with friends and family,” Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys said in a 2013 interview. Adding what rookie mistakes not to make, and this applies to partying at home as well, Casey said “Don’t start too early. You start too early, you peak at about two, you’re in trouble. … It’s a marathon, not a sprint. You wouldn’t believe how many kids are getting rushed into the gutter outside of the club because they went a little too high, too fast.”

Whether you’re spinning records from The Pogues, Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphys, you can’t party like a punk on St. Patrick’s Day without some Celtic Punk tunes vibrating your walls. If you don’t have any records handy, I made a Spotify playlist to make your celebration a festive one. And like all the party playlists I make, it starts nice and easy with songs including The Pogues’ “Dirty Old Town,” The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” and The Kilkennys’ “Galway Girl,” and ramps up as you get deeper into the list with pub songs like Flogging Molly’s “Drunken Lullabies,” The Real McKenzies’ “Chip,” and Dropkick Murphys’ “Rose Tattoo.” The playlist, “Party like an Irish Punk on St. Paddy’s,” is searchable via Spotify, or you can check it out by clicking the link here.

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The Feast

What could be more punk than a grab-what-you-have traditional Dublin stew known as the Irish Coddle? Bacon, sausage, potatoes and of course, Guinness, make this super easy stew rich and filling. Check out Casey Elsass’s recipe for Food Network Kitchen below.

Ingredients

• 1 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound Cumberland sausage or any mild pork sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 large white onions, halved and thinly sliced
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1/4 cup Irish stout, such as Guinness, optional
• Irish soda bread, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Add the bacon to a large Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders, about 10 minutes. Add the sausage and increase the heat to medium high. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon and sausage are nicely browned, about 10 more minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon and sausage to a plate.
3. Drain the fat from the pot and return it to medium heat. Add the onions, a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup water. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pot, then sprinkle the onions with 1 tablespoon of the parsley and plenty of black pepper. Layer the bacon and sausage over the onions and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley and more black pepper. Layer the potatoes over the meat and add enough water to submerge everything but the potatoes, about 2 cups. Season the potato layer with a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Bring the liquid to a boil (don’t stir!), then cover and transfer to the oven. Bake, checking halfway to add more water if needed, until the onions are very tender and caramelized and the liquid has reduced slightly, about 2 hours.
4. Finish with a pour of stout, if using, and a final garnish of the remaining parsley. Serve immediately with soda bread.

For some other St. Patty’s recipes, check out:

• Clodagh Mckenna’s mum’s Classic Irish Lamb Stew takes a bit of time to make, so you may want to whip it up the night before or start early in the morning. It’ll feed six to eight people and keeps well if you’ve got some left over to nurse a hangover with on March 18. The stew pairs well with Irish soda bread. Find the recipe here.
• My go-to St. Patrick’s Day recipe is Alton Brown’s Shepherd’s Pie, which calls for lamb, but you can swap it with ground sirloin or even ground chicken or turkey if you steer away from red meat. This is a hearty dish that will feed several of your closest mates and doesn’t take too long to make.
• Southern California News Group contributor Cathy Thomas has a recipe for Colcannon, a rustic dish of mashed potatoes moistened with milk and butter and mixed with cabbage and onions. It’s a St. Patrick’s Day favorite served with corned beef, and she’s got a recipe for a “quick” corned beef here.
• Scotch Eggs aka St. Patty’s Pub Eggs are soft boiled eggs with a gooey center, wrapped in sausage and breadcrumbs and deep-fried. They are fantastic, and you can find a recipe for them here.
• John Mitzewich’s highly-rated Guinness beef stew is “a very simple dish, but at the same time, it has a deep, complex, rich flavor. The maltiness of dark beer really does amazing things for the gravy.” He serves it in a nice ring of green onion-mashed potatoes. Find the recipe here.

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The Drinks

If you have the patience to make a proper craft cocktail, start with the Dubliner, a citrusy take on the Manhattan using Irish whisky. Find Gary Regan’s Liquor.com recipe below.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces Irish whiskey
• 1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
• 1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
• 3 dashes orange bitters
• Garnish: 1 green maraschino cherry

Directions

1. Add the whiskey, Grand Marnier, sweet vermouth and orange bitters into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
3. Garnish with a green maraschino cherry.

Some other St. Patrick’s Day cocktails to try are:

• The Dead Rabbit Irish Coffee may be the perfect hot cocktail to keep you warm this March 17, which is expected to be a relatively chilly and cloudy one. Grab the recipe here. For an Irish coffee with a twist try the Shamrock Flip by Luis Gudino, which incorporates an egg.
• If you prefer your St. Patrick’s Day drink simple and easy, try an Irish beer like the Murphy’s Irish Stout, a Guinness Extra Stout, O’Hara’s Irish Craft Lager or Sullivan’s Malting Irish Red Ale.
• A McGlashan is a funky twist on a whisky sour, which incorporates smooth Irish whiskey, orange-ginger marmalade, and a fiery kick of ginger for a balanced mix of warmth and spice. Here’s the recipe.

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The Toast

No St. Patrick’s Day is complete without a proper Irish toast, here are a few of my favorites to clink glasses to:

• “May the winds of fortune sail you, May you sail a gentle sea. May it always be the other guy Who says, ‘this drink’s on me.”
• “Here’s to cheating, stealing, fighting, and drinking. If you cheat, may you cheat death. If you steal, may you steal a woman’s heart. If you fight, may you fight for a brother. And if you drink, may you drink with me.”
• “May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.”
• “May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, The foresight to know where you are going, And the insight to know when you have gone too far.”
• “May the lilt of Irish laughter, Lighten every load. May the mist of Irish magic, Shorten every road. And may all your friends remember, All the favors you are owed!”

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St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration enjoyed by Irish and Irish wannabes alike. From coast to coast, at the core of the fun is satisfying, easy-to-prepare fare.

Thumbing through Kevin Dundon’s book, “Modern Irish Food” (Beazley), sparked devilish hunger pangs. Dundon, an award-winning Irish chef and PBS television personality, features recipes for what he calls “modern Irish house cooking.” He explores the classic dishes of his homeland, giving them appealing updated twists.

I love his beautiful-but-simple apple tart. Use refrigerated prepared dough, such as Pillsbury Pie Crusts, and then layer thin apple slices on top, slightly overlapping the slices in concentric circles to cover the dough. The flavor of the tart-sweet apples shines through in this scrumptious finale, the crust offering a pleasing texture contrast that compliments the fruit and corrals the rich juices.

But before the dessert, a traditional Irish stew is a must. To accompany the cozy dish, Irish Guinness Brown Bread is an irresistible partner. Cookbook maven and Food Network star Ina Garten has a recipe that comes close to the real deal. Her formula calls for a 9-by-5-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan. My pan is slightly smaller, with the same depth but is only 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inches. So, when I bake it, I make two, the second one baked in a tiny loaf pan. That puny loaf is for this baker’s secret pleasure.

Simple Apple Tart

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated crusts (2 rolled crusts in rectangular box), chilled

Juice of 1 lemon

5 to 6 medium-sized Pink Lady apples; see cook’s notes

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted, divided use

1/3 cup turbinado sugar, divided use

2 tablespoons honey

For serving: Whipped cream or ice cream

Cook’s notes: Pink Lady apples are delectable in this tart. I sometimes find them at my local supermarket, but if you prefer, substitute Gala apples. Turbinado sugar is raw sugar that has been steam-cleaned. The coarse crystals are a honey-brown color and have a subtle molasses flavor. It’s often sold in the natural food section of the supermarket and is available at natural food stores.

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll one of the pie crusts and place on parchment paper. Unroll second pie crust and cut out a ring 1/2-inch-wide around the edge of the crust. Cut crosswise into three pieces to make them easier to transfer. Transfer to edge of crust that is on the pan and press in place (so now you have a double layer of crust around the edge). Pinch to make a ridge around the edge about 1/2-inch high. Prick with tines of a fork at 2-inch intervals. Place in refrigerator.

2. Squeeze lemon juice into a medium-large bowl. Peel, core and cut apples into thin slices, placing them as you work in the bowl with the juice and tossing them from time to time to prevent browning.

3. Remove crust from refrigerator and lightly brush with butter. Arrange apple slices in two concentric circles overlapping them slightly (start with the outside circle). Brush with half of the remaining melted butter. Remove 1 tablespoon of the sugar and set aside to use as garnish; sprinkle remaining sugar over apples. Bake 12 minutes.

4. Remove from oven (and shut oven door). Brush apples and rim of tart with remaining butter. Drizzle apples with honey. Return to oven and bake 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from oven and sprinkle with reserved sugar. Cool at least 20 minutes before serving. If desired, serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Source: “Modern Irish Food” by Kevin Dundon

Irish Stew

Irish Stew often calls for lamb, generally hearty chunks of lamb shoulder. This recipe uses pieces of beef; they attain lovely tenderness with long simmering. The stew can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. Cool, cover and then refrigerate it. Bring to a simmer before serving.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces

6 large garlic cloves, minced

7 cups beef stock or canned beef broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped, see cook’s notes

2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Cook’s notes: If you wish, substitute pearl onions for the chopped onion. Peeled and frozen, they are generally available in many supermarkets. Or peel fresh pearl onions by boiling in water with the skin in place for 1 1/2 minutes, then transfer them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process; once cool, the skins should easily come off by squeezing the onion between your fingers.

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and sauté until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef broth, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine and scrape up browned bits on the pot. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 10 minutes. Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt the pan and spoon off fat. Transfer stew to serving bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Source: Bon Appetit magazine

Ina’s Irish Guinness Brown Bread

Serve this delicious brown bread with honey butter. To make the honey butter, combine room temperature unsalted butter with honey to taste; you can use a mixer to do this or stir by hand with muscle and determination. My favorite combination is unsalted Irish Kerrygold butter mixed paired with clover honey and topped with coarse salt.

Yield: 1 loaf (see story)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup McCann’s quick-cooking oats (not instant), plus extra for sprinkling

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 (11- to 12-ounce) bottle Guinness extra stout beer, at room temperature

1 cup buttermilk, shaken before measuring

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for brushing pan

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For serving: Honey butter (unsalted butter combined with honey to taste, topped with a smidgen of coarse salt)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, place oats, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir with whisk to combine. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together beer, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into the well. With your clean fingers, stir batter from middle of bowl to the outside, until it is well mixed. It will look more like cake batter then bread dough.

3. Brush a 9-by-5-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan with melted butter. Pour batter into pan and sprinkle top with oats. Put the bread in the oven, immediately turn the temperature down to 400 degrees and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn bread out onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Slice and serve with honey butter.

Source: Adapted from Ina Garten, Food Network

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at CathyThomasCooks.com.

By CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL, Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street

Zuppa forte, also known as zuppa di soffritto, is an old-school Neapolitan dish made by slow-cooking meats with garlic and other aromatics, along with tomatoes and preserved chilies, until reduced and concentrated. The rich, spicy paste-like mixture can be spread on crusty bread, though it’s more commonly diluted and used as a soup base or pasta sauce.

Zuppa forte traditionally was made with odds and ends of meats, including offal, but in our cookbook, “Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year,” we use salty cured pancetta as a stand-in. For best flavor, purchase a chunk of pancetta, which contains a decent amount of fat, and cut it yourself. The type sold pre-diced is too lean and cooks up with a tough, leathery texture.

A combination of deeply browned tomato paste and canned whole tomatoes, blended until smooth and simmered in a skillet, yields a sauce with concentrated flavor. Don’t use canned tomato puree or canned crushed tomatoes, which have slightly tinny, metallic flavors that only become more pronounced in the finished sauce. The flavor of whole tomatoes, blended until smooth, is fresher and cleaner.

Instead of harder-to-source preserved chilies, we use Korean gochujang, which may seem out of place, but delivers a similar complex, fermented spiciness along with welcome notes of umami. But if you can find it, spicy, tangy Calabrian chili paste also works well. Fresh basil and dollops of ricotta complement the richness and intensity of the sauce.

Pasta with Spicy Tomato and Pancetta Sauce

Start to finish: 30 minutes

Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 14½-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons gochujang (see headnote) or 1 tablespoon Calabrian chili paste
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces pancetta (see headnote), chopped
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 sprig rosemary
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 1 pound penne, ziti or rigatoni pasta
• ½ cup lightly packed fresh basil, torn
• Whole-milk ricotta cheese, to serve

Directions:

In a large pot, bring 4 quarts water to a boil. In a blender, puree the tomatoes with juices and gochujang until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds; set aside.

While the water heats, in a 12-inch skillet, combine the oil, pancetta, garlic, bay, tomato paste, rosemary and ½ teaspoon pepper. Cook over medium, stirring often, until the pancetta has rendered some of its fat and the tomato paste darkens and begins to stick to the pan, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the pureed tomato mixture and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer, uncovered and stirring often, until very thick and the fat separates, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, when the water reaches a boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente. Reserve about 1½ cups of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot. (If the sauce is done ahead of the pasta, remove the skillet from the heat.)

Scrape the sauce into the pot with the pasta and add ¾ cup of the reserved cooking water. Cook over medium, stirring and tossing often, until the sauce clings and the pasta is al dente, 2 to 4 minutes; add more reserved pasta water as needed to loosen the noodles if the mixture is very dry and sticky.

Off heat, remove and discard the bay and rosemary. Taste and season with salt and pepper, then stir in the basil. Serve topped with dollops of ricotta.

For more recipes, go to Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street at 177milkstreet.com/ap

Comedian, actor, and TV host Stephen Colbert and his wife Evie McGee Colbert have written a lovely cookbook, “Does This Taste Funny?” (Celadon Books). The recipes sound delicious and the photos make me hungry. I dogeared many pages, signals meant to remind me to return to them and test them out.

The easy-to-prepare swordfish was my first try, and it paid off big time. Because that scrumptious fish is expensive, my thought was that it would make a great entrée for a special company meal. The swordfish is broiled with butter, quick and easy. The accompanying mustard sauce can be cooked up while the fish broils; it includes white wine, capers, heavy cream, and of course, Dijon mustard.

And as for the expense, I decided to offer smaller swordfish portions, about 8 ounces, and load up the menu with rice, vegetables and a big salad. Delicious.

Kitty’s Swordfish with Mustard Cream Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

4 swordfish steaks, about 1 inch thick and about 12 ounces each, serve a smaller amount if desired

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, divided use

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons drained caper, coarsely chopped

Optional garnish: Lemon wedges

Cook’s notes: Be aware that broilers in home ovens vary, and the Colberts note that in a tip next to the recipe. The instructions advise placing the rack in the highest possible position. That would be too high in my oven, a position that would put the fish less than three inches from the broiler element. Instead, I opt for the position that’s a little over 5 inches from the broiler, placing the top of the swordfish about 4 inches from the broiler.

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to about 5 inches below the broiler element (see cook’s notes). Preheat broiler. Place swordfish in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides. Dot each with 2 1/2 tablespoons of butter.

2. Broil the fish for approximately 5 minutes on each side, basting with butter before you turn them over. When it is time to flip the butter should be rich nutty brown. (In my oven I broiled for 5 minutes, basted, flipped, and cooked 3 more minutes.)

3. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Stir wine, cream, mustard, and capers in a small saucepan and bring to a boil on medium-high heat, then lower heat and gently simmer until sauce is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Serve the swordfish topped with sauce. If desired, accompany each served with a lemon wedge.

Source: “Does This Taste Funny” by Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert (Celadon Books)

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at CathyThomasCooks.com.

Beef short ribs are first rate candidates for preparing in a slow cooker. They turn out tender and juicy without supervision. Generally, they are slow-cooked in a wine mixture and served over mashed potatoes. This rendition switches it up in a delicious way, using a balsamic mixture as its sauce.

Serve it over rice and accompany it with either broccoli or broccolini.

Honey Balsamic Short Ribs

Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

6 bone-in beef short ribs, each about 12 ounces, about 4 1/2 pounds total

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 peeled shallots, halved

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

Pinch of dried red pepper flakes

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup pomegranate juice (without sugar added), red wine, or low-sodium beef broth

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup water

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

For serving: cooked rice

DIRECTIONS

1. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper; place them in the slow cooker. Add shallots, garlic, thyme, oregano, and dried red pepper flakes. In a small bowl or measuring cup with a handle, place balsamic, pomegranate juice, honey, and water; stir to combine and pour over ribs.
2. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours. Use a large spoon to skim off and discard excess fat from the surface of the sauce. Use tongs or two forks to shred the meat, discarding bones. Toss the meat into the sauce to coat well.
3. In a bowl, combine feta, pine nuts, dill, and lemon juice. Mix to combine. Spoon meat and sauce over cooked rice and top with the feta mixture.

Source: “Half Baked Harvest Quick and Cozy” by Tieghan Gerard (Clarkson Potter)

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at CathyThomasCooks.com.