Don Mauer

Arlington Heights

Contributor at Daily Herald

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Articles

With care, cast-iron can serve for a century

2 weeks ago | dailyherald.com | Don Mauer

A well-kept cast iron skillet is perfect for creating one-pan dishes such as this Asian Hot Slaw. Courtesy of Don Mauer Editor’s note: Don Mauer is taking some time off. This column originally ran May 1, 2019. It's no secret. I love my 12-inch, beautifully well-seasoned, cast iron skillet. I bought my skillet new and unseasoned so far back I don't remember the year. Today it has a deep black patina and gets used at least once a week, usually more frequently.
Colorful cold chickpea salad a great way to get legumes on your plate

4 weeks ago | dailyherald.com | Don Mauer

This cold chickpea salad uses canned organic chickpeas as the base for less hassle and easy cleanup. Courtesy of Don Mauer Other than baked beans with burgers, I have a difficult time incorporating beans (legumes) into my food plan. Yes, beans are excellent in a number of ways: They’re high in vegetable protein, fiber and several B vitamins. I like bean salad a lot, especially during the summer when I roll out my version of sugar-free, three-bean salad.
Sheet pan chicken gets dinner on with only 10 ingredients

1 month ago | dailyherald.com | Don Mauer

I began my late-afternoon thinking about what to do with a large head of organic cauliflower (it had been on sale) and a package of boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs. Wanting to do something different, I headed to the internet to look for a way to cook them both together. I found a recipe at mashupmom.com and I decided to use it as a very loose guide to get dinner done quickly, but with a new twist. The recipe’s ingredient list was short — 10 ingredients, including salt and pepper.
Famous peanut butter chocolate chip blondies get low-sugar makeover

1 month ago | dailyherald.com | Don Mauer

A brown sugar substitute made with erythritol and stevia prompted this makeover of a favorite blondies recipe. Courtesy of Don Mauer Who doesn’t like chocolate and peanut butter? If you asked the fans of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, their answer would be: “No one.” Years ago, I found an excellent recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies that, according to then-current beliefs, had too much fat. Back then, mistakenly, sugar was not an issue.
Making chicken Marsala with my own twist for my sweetie

2 months ago | dailyherald.com | Don Mauer

Serve chicken Marsala over some spaghetti with a vegetable, such as sautéed green beans with almonds. Courtesy of Don Mauer My sweetie, Nan, loves chicken Marsala and orders it every time it appears on an Italian restaurant menu. Since those restaurants are so good at making it, and because I don’t normally stock Marsala wine, I’ve never tried making it; until now. I bought a bottle of real Marsala wine, not cooking wine, and began searching for a recipe.
Quick cannellini bean and bacon soup warms and delights on a cold day

Jan 22, 2025 | dailyherald.com | Don Mauer

Canned cannellini beans and store-bought chicken broth make soup preparation a flash. Courtesy of Don Mauer What a surprise, cannellini beans are also called white kidney beans. Are you familiar with the famous Italian soup Pasta Fagioli (pronounced paa·stuh faa·jow·lee)? Yes, I mispronounced it as pasta faa-zool for years. Either way, it’s a very tasty cannellini bean-based soup. Not all white beans are the same. Cannellini beans are larger than other white beans and firmer in texture.
This chilled asparagus side dish goes the distance

Jan 7, 2025 | dailyherald.com | Don Mauer

Cook fresh asparagus for about two minutes before shocking it in ice water. Courtesy of Don Mauer January is not the best time for fresh asparagus. Late spring, at my local farmers market, is when I find stellar fresh asparagus. If I lived in Peru, now’s the time for good asparagus, which is what I found in my local supermarket today. I was surprised, after traveling as many miles as it had, that this asparagus looked as good as it did.
Holiday gift ideas from Don Mauer’s kitchen, to yours

Dec 10, 2024 | dailyherald.com | Don Mauer

If you have a ham bone in the freezer, you can easily turn it into lentil soup. Courtesy of Don Mauer The gift-giving holidays are upon us, and here are a few ideas. What I am reading may interest others who love to cook. My recommendation is not a new book, but one that I’ve loved from the first time I read it (now on its third read): Ruth Reichl’s “Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table.” Reichl was the restaurant critic for the LA Times first, and then The New York Times.
Walnuts, orange add zest to no-sugar-added cranberry relish

Nov 24, 2024 | dailyherald.com | Don Mauer

This No-Sugar-Added Cranberry Relish comes together quickly and tastes amazing; so much better than any canned product. Courtesy of Don Mauer For many, cranberry sauce or relish is an absolute necessity on a Thanksgiving dinner table, which was true for most of my young life. Every year, our family had two Thanksgiving dinners since my folks couldn’t choose between either of their families. Cranberry sauce resided on both dinner tables.
Brother’s memory inspires this twist on a lettuce wrap

Nov 12, 2024 | dailyherald.com | Don Mauer

Here are the ingredients needed for Don Mauer’s A Twist on Lettuce Wraps. Courtesy of Don Mauer I tried my first lettuce wrap at lunch at my brother’s home 10 years ago. It was both delicious and difficult to eat. Tom was a superb chef, and the Asian-flavored ground chicken filling was an amazing amalgam of layered flavors. The issue: I had to cut it and eat it on the plate since the filling was so hot and the leaf lettuce wrap was so thin the heat went right through. Ouch.