Dinner tonight! Skirt steak carpaccio with raw asparagus and fava salad

For a refreshing -- and quick -- answer to dinner tonight, try this steak carpaccio recipe from Travis Lett of Gjelina. Sear a good piece of seasoned skirt steak, then slice into thin strips. Pound the strips so they're nice and thin, and serve with a simple salad of shaved asparagus and fresh beans dressed with a little lemon juice and olive oil, and a sprinkling of sea salt and pepper. You can make it in about 40 minutes.

For more quick-fix dinner ideas, check out our video recipe gallery here. Food editor Russ Parsons and Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter show you how to fix a dozen dishes in an hour or less.

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-- Noelle Carter
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Photo credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

Eat Beat: Artichoke hearts with harissa salad

In this Eat Beat, I demonstrate a simple, savory artichoke salad with cubed potatoes and which gets a nice touch of heat from added harissa paste (a Tunisian paste made with chiles, garlic, spices including cumin and caraway, and olive oil). The dish, which takes less than an hour to prepare, can easily be made ahead of time for later serving.

Catch our televised recipe demonstrations on KTLA-TV, Channel 5 weekly toward the end of the 1 p.m. news hour; you can also watch the videos on Food's homepage.

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Mac 'n' cheese recipes galore!

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

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-- Noelle Carter
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

Video credit: KTLA.

Dinner tonight! Prosciutto-wrapped halibut with grape tomato salad

Because lean halibut dries out so quickly and can be sticky on the grill, wrap meaty fillets in a sheet of prosciutto for moist richness and flavor, and to make them easy to manage over a hot grill. The fish cooks up in almost no time -- 4 to 5 minutes on each side, just until the prosciutto is lightly crisped. Throw some soaked mesquite wood chips over the fire before grilling for a little added aroma and sweet flavor. Served alongside a simple cherry tomato salad, it makes a perfect dinner.

For more quick-fix dinner ideas, check out our video recipe gallery here. Food editor Russ Parsons and Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter show you how to fix a dozen dishes in an hour or less.

ALSO:

Mac 'n' cheese recipes galore!

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

-- Noelle Carter
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter

Photo credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

Dinner tonight! Green papaya salad with shrimp

Perfect for the summer season, this Vietnamese salad combines fresh papaya or mango tossed with a bright dressing of lime juice, garlic, sugar and chopped Thai chile. Top the salad with fresh grilled shrimp, peanuts and a sprinkling of fresh herbs. The whole dish comes together in less than 45 minutes.

For more quick-fix dinner ideas, check out our video recipe gallery here. Food editor Russ Parsons and Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter show you how to fix a dozen dishes in an hour or less.

ALSO:

Mac 'n' cheese recipes galore!

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

-- Noelle Carter
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter

Photo credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

Test Kitchen video tips: Skimming fat with a paper towel

If you need to remove a small amount of fat from the surface of a soup, stock or other hot liquid, skim the fat using a paper towel. Gently lay a flat paper towel over the surface of the liquid, and pull it across the surface to absorb the fat. Continue until the fat is gone, using new paper towels as needed. This won't work for large amounts of fat (best to break out the ladle for that one), but is a great tip when you want to catch that last little bit on the surface of your soup.

If you have any kitchen tips or questions you'd like me to explore, leave a comment below or shoot me an email at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

ALSO:

134 recipes for your favorite restaurant dishes

What's hot: Recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

-- Noelle Carter
Twitter/noellecarter

Video credit: Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times

This week's Culinary SOS: Lawry's Carvery's macaroni and cheese

This week's Culinary SOS request comes from Arlene Rebuyon in Rancho Santa Margarita:

 I have been to Lawry's Carvery many times. I wish I knew how to make their baked macaroni and cheese. I hope you can acquire this recipe. They have many of their recipes on the website, but the mac 'n' cheese is not on it.

Lawry's was happy to share its take on this classic comfort food. This makes a lot of mac 'n' cheese, so it's perfect for a summertime get-together.

Thanks, Arlene! You can find the recipe here.

Click here for more Culinary SOS recipes. If you have a favorite restaurant recipe you'd like to request, feel free to email me at noelle.carter@latimes.com. I'll do my best to track it down.

ALSO:

Mac 'n' cheese recipes galore!

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

134 recipes for your favorite restaurant dishes

-- Noelle Carter
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

Photo: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

This week's recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

In our latest Master Class, Thomas Keller explores cold soups, perfect for summer:

I have come back to soup time and time again (and that's in both my cooking and acting career for those of you who are Pixar fans) — always fascinated and challenged by the possibilities it offers.

Soup is an ideal way to begin a meal, and it will always have a place at my table regardless of the time of year. In summer, when we crave fresh flavors and light dishes, chilled soups offer us a perfect venue for showcasing an array of produce from the garden.

The soup recipes here demonstrate the variety of tools we use to extract these flavors in their purest form. Some (gazpacho and vichyssoise) are practically meals unto themselves, while others (corn soup and carrot consommé) are meant more as a palate-awakening amuse bouche.

And restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila profiles London-based chef Yotam Ottolenghi:

Until very recently, I'd never actually eaten Yotam Ottolenghi's food. I'd certainly cooked a lot of it, but I had never been to one of his London restaurants. I knew the Israeli-born chef strictly from his two cookbooks, but that was enough for me to admire how he can take seemingly ordinary ingredients and make them add up to something more vivid than you'd ever imagine from reading through a recipe. His cooking has a clarity and authenticity unusual in a world where chefs work harder and harder to amaze with daring technique and surprising ingredients.

This week's recipes include:

• Gazpacho
• Cucumber vichyssoise
• Chilled corn soup
• Carrot consommé
• Zucchini and manouri fritters
• Shakshuka
• Lawry's baked macaroni and cheese

When you try one of this week's recipes or any L.A. Times recipe, let us know! Upload a photo onto the "Our Recipes, Your Kitchen" gallery to share your take on the recipe and tell us about yourself. Your photo will be posted online and may be selected to run in print with our weekly section.

ALSO:

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

134 recipes for your favorite restaurant dishes

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

— Noelle Carter
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

Video: Chef Rory Hermann demonstrates how to make chilled corn soup. Credit: Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times.

Test Kitchen video tip: Cleaning tamarind pulp

I love the tart, bright flavors of tamarind. It's a perfect ingredient when you want to add a fresh "zing" to a dish. The photo above is from a recipe for salmon skewers with tamarind sauce, adapted from a recipe by Marcus Samuelsson and a favorite go-to dish when I'm grilling on a summer evening.

The flavor is magical, but tamarind can come across as a difficult ingredient if you've never used it. While seedless pulp is available at many markets, it's commonly found packaged in blocks — the pulp (or paste) is often packed with bits of seed and solids, which need to be strained before the pulp can be used.

But the method is simple:

Take a block of tamarind (14 ounces), place it in a large bowl and soak it in about 2 cups of really hot water. The hot water helps to loosen the block. Set it aside for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the block is softened and the water is cool enough to handle. Work the block with your fingers, breaking up the block and massaging the pulp to dislodge the solids. Run the pulp through a strainer, discard the solids, then cover and refrigerate the pulp until needed. This makes a generous cup of seedless pulp (amounts can vary by brand and amount of solids packed with the block), which should keep for a good week in the refrigerator.

You can increase or decrease the amount of water for soaking depending on how strong you want the finished product.

Depending on the recipe, you might also want to make tamarind liquid. We ran a recipe, along with a great story on the many uses for tamarind, a few years ago.

Enjoy!

If you have any kitchen tips or questions you'd like me to explore, leave a comment below or email me at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

ALSO:

134 recipes for your favorite restaurant dishes

What's hot: Recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

-- Noelle Carter
Twitter/noellecarter

Video credit: Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times

Dinner tonight! Chicken under bricks

For an extra crisp bird that cooks up in less time than traditional grilling, give the brick method a try. Slice the chicken open down the back and remove the backbone, then weigh the chicken so it lies flat on the grate. Serve the chicken alongside a simple salad, and you've got dinner ready to go in less than an hour.

For more quick-fix dinner ideas, check out our video recipe gallery here. Food editor Russ Parsons and Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter show you how to fix a dozen dishes in an hour or less.

ALSO:

Mac 'n' cheese recipes galore!

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

-- Noelle Carter
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter

Photo credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times

Test Kitchen tips: Scaling fish (without the mess)

If you've ever tried scaling fish at home, you know what a mess it can be. Scales everywhere, just like confetti. Except they can be even more difficult to clean, because scales seem to stick to everything.

Don't worry. It is possible to scale fish without the gigantic mess. Simply use a trash bag. Place the fish in a large plastic trash bag (not a plastic grocery bag, you need a big garbage bag so you have room to work), and cover the fish and your arms as you scale to contain the mess.

And while you can buy fish scalers to do the job, I find a nice, somewhat flat soup spoon works just fine to pry the scales. Just be sure you don't put too much pressure on the fish as you scale, or you can bruise the flesh. (Gutting a fish is for another post, but I promise to cover that soon.)

For some great whole fish recipes from Food editor Russ Parsons, continue reading below.

If you have any kitchen tips or questions you'd like me to explore, leave a comment below or shoot me an e-mail at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

ALSO:

Go behind the scenes at the Test Kitchen

134 recipes for your favorite restaurant dishes

Browse hundreds of recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

-- Noelle Carter
You can find me on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter

Photo credit: Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times