A Simply Recipes reader, Ms. Annie M, sent us a garlic chicken recipe she found on Epicurious that looked so good we couldn't wait to try it. (Annie, by the way, knows how mortified I am by typos and thoughtfully points them out to me whenever she finds them on the site.) The recipe is basically chicken pieces and a lot of garlic cloves that have been browned in olive oil and braised in white wine with herbs. The catch is the garlic. We used 40 unpeeled cloves. Lest the sheer volume of garlic scare you off of this recipe, let me reassure you that the browning and braising mellows out the garlic significantly, so it ends up tasting a lot like roasted garlic. Leaving the peels on the garlic is traditional in Mexican cooking, I imagine it may be in Spanish cooking as well? Not sure. But the peels do have flavor, much like the shells of shrimp. You don't eat them, but when the dish is done, the garlic just slips out of them. Absolutely delicious recipe, thank you Annie!

Sometime in the mid-80s I gave my father a subscription to Gourmet Magazine for Christmas. I think this goes down in family history as the most appreciated gift ever given to him by one of his kids. He continued to subscribe to Gourmet for at least 15 years. Over the last few years, mostly to get ideas for this site, dad has been skimming through decades old issues that he still has in stashes all over the house. Here's a recipe he came across last week that was surprisingly good, considering how simple the ingredients, and how quickly and easy it was to cook. The original recipe called for chuck, we used top sirloin, which made the beef strips very tender, but because the strips are so thin, and cut across the grain, you could easily use chuck. I also added sliced onions to the peppers because well, steak and onions are just plain good.

My friend Arturo taught me how to make this simple salsa the other day. He calls it "Salsa Fresca", which he says is what this salsa is called where he's from in Mexico. What we in the states usually call salsa fresca, a chunky salsa with chopped fresh tomatoes, onions and chiles, is something completely different. Looking for similar recipes in some of Diana Kennedy's books I find several references to "salsa de jitomate" or simply, "tomato salsa", and none for salsa fresca. But that's not surprising. The names for dishes, and even ingredients, can vary widely, depending on where you are in the country.

Fortunately, the salsa is more simple than its name's etymology. And likely you've had it before, if you've ever stepped inside a taqueria. There you usually have a choice of salsas, one smooth, red, and hot, the other made with chopped fresh tomatoes, onions, and chiles. This would be the first, the smooth, red and hot one. It's great for dipping tortilla chips, or over quesadillas.

Please welcome guest author Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen who brings us another great Chinese-American classic, Sweet and Sour Chicken. ~Elise

When Elise asked me to be a guest writer for Simply Recipes, we decided to take Chinese favorites and make them better, lighter and easier to cook at home. So, I grabbed a take-out menu from the local Chinese restaurant and I will be working my way around those recipes for you.

If there's one thing that I detest, it's greasy fried food covered in goopy Chinese take-out sauce. Okay, so sometimes I like that stuff, but it usually those cravings come at 3 o'clock a.m. during a certain time of the month.

But, I digress.

This recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken doesn't deep fry, but instead uses a method for creating a delicate, smooth and succulent chicken that goes perfectly with a lighter sweet and sour sauce. The secret is in the chicken marinade, specifically using egg white and cornstarch, which creates a super-light coating all around the chicken. It won't be a crunchy, deep fried coating, but I think it's a nice alternative, both texture-wise and weight-wise!

Guest author Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic brought 2 dozen of these cookies over today. We inhaled them. ~Elise

Almost all of the pistachios grown in America are produced right here in California (we’re a lucky state, we are). It’s a surprisingly labor intensive crop that requires a lot of attention for yields that can greatly differ from year to year. Still, the crop is relatively new to the U.S.; up until 1976, almost all of the pistachios were imported from Iran until President Carter placed an embargo on the country. It was then California farmers started to plant the first pistachio trees here in America. Nowadays we can get pistachios from any local market and use their rich, mellow flavors as we please.

This cookie makes delicious use of pistachios, pairing them with white chocolate (or dark, should you so prefer). The original recipe came from an article in the Sacramento Bee by way of Jane Dewey, a wife of a local pistachio farmer. After a bit of tweaking I finally got them to come out the way I prefer them. I prefer using a brick of white chocolate and chopping it into chunks for a more rustic look, but white chocolate chips will do just fine. I also reduced the butter a bit and used kosher salt which gives a nice spark of contrast to the sweetness. Very chewy and amazingly good, I promise these cookies are keepers.

My father walked through the door the other day with half of a fresh whole wild salmon, announcing to me that he would like me to grill it. Sure dad! When someone presents truly fresh fish to you, there really isn't a "save it for another day" option. The thing to do is to keep it chilled and cook it as soon as you can. Save for tomorrow? Fuggetaboutit. Fresh fish should be cooked the day you get it. Now, according to my favorite grilling experts, Andrew Scholss and David Joachim (Mastering the Grill, excellent book, must have if you are into grilling), wild salmon is great to grill whole, and easier to do so than farmed salmon, because it tends to be thinner, easier to cook through without getting dried out on the edges.

From the recipe archive

With apple season in full swing, and cooler weather on the way, here's a casserole pie that combines sweet Italian sausage with Granny Smith apples, and a mix of cheeses. Our neighbor Pat (the wonderful neighbor who has been teaching me all about organic gardening) brought over this delicious casserole for a block party recently. What a hit!

You know what the best thing is about boneless, skinless chicken breasts? They cook up in about nothing flat. Great for midweek meals when you are just rushing to get something on the table. Chicken breasts also take to sauces well, including this cream-based sauce loaded with mushrooms. What are your favorite sauces for chicken breasts? Let us know in the comments.