Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross have been writing together as a team for more than a dozen years. Their Desperation Dinners column is nationally syndicated by United Media. Beverly lives with her husband and two children in Miami, and Alicia lives with her husband and two children in Raleigh, N.C. They have three cookbooks, Desperation Dinners!, Desperation Entertaining! and Cheap. Fast. Good!, all published by Workman.
Contact them through their website, www.desperationdinners.com.
Climbing rice prices and news reports of shortages in Asia have caused an unexpected ripple here at home: Many people, especially immigrants from countries where rice is a mainstay, are stocking up. At one point, some warehouse stores were limiting consumers to no more than 80 pounds of rice at a time.
DESPERATION DINNERS
Steep prices are challenging everyone who craves beef, and meat packers are responding with new, more economical cuts. This can be a bit confusing at the supermarket, since the names may be unfamiliar and vary by region.
SIDE DISH MIAMI-SPICED COCONUT RICE Look for canned reduced-fat or ''lite'' coconut milk in the Asian section of the supermarket. Regular works, too, but omit the oil. You'll have about 1 ¾ cups leftover coconut milk; it's great in smoothies. Or add ¼ cup water to stretch it to 2 cups and you'll have enough for two more batches of rice. Leftover coconut milk keeps in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Time required: 25 minutes...
GRILLED STEAK WITH CILANTRO CHIMICHURRI Any cut labeled ''suitable for grilling'' is fine. Allow at least 4 to 6 ounces per person. For testing, we used a 1-inch-thick boneless top sirloin.
Summer officially begins on Saturday, and for us, the solstice marks the time to take those evening strolls, garden in the cool of the day or steal a swim after work. We'll be celebrating summer's longer evenings by eating later -- and eating lighter.
Today's recipe for Dot's Blondies with Chocolate Chips is my mother's secret weapon for any and all occasions. They are, to put it mildly, utterly remarkable.
From Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross' Desperation Dinners DESSERT DOT'S BLONDIES WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS To get the proper texture, do not use an electric mixer. You do not need to sift the flour, but spoon the flour into the measuring cup so as not to pack it down too much. Use the spoon handle to brush away extra flour, leveling the top of the measuring cup.
SANDWICH TOMATO-SWISS BRUSCHETTA SANDWICHES 4 teaspoons bottled Italian vinaigrette, or more to taste 8 slices (1 ½ inches thick) European-style baguette (for about 8 ounces total)
