Today’s recipe is a classic, simple Italian dish that definitely satisfies – especially on this snowy, winter day. As many of you know from previous recipes using guanciale, I think this ingredient adds a special type of magic to these Italian recipes (pasta all’amatriciana, spaghetti alla carbonara, and penne arrabbiata ) and should be sought out before just substituting thick-cut bacon. The guanciale renderings are the star of this dish as it is those renderings that form the sauce – that and starchy, pasta water. I used the tips from the Serious Eats recipe to produce a velvety sauce rich in the slightly smoked pork flavor that is so well suited to Romano cheese. There are several keys to this dish that I think…
Today’s recipe is a delicious Dominican staple made from mashed green plantains, served with cooked onions, fried cheese, and/or a fried egg or fried salami. My wife makes this amazing dish for me, but today I made it for myself since she is away visiting family in the Dominican Republic. I was missing her and craving her cooking so I took matters into my own hands. This dish is simple to prepare – a real treat for a busy weeknight dinner or a relaxing weekend breakfast. Now I know some of you that have never enjoyed plantains may think mashed ‘bananas’ sounds gross, but plantains are a magical ingredient. Whether enjoyed fried and mashed as mofongo or twice fried as tostones, these tropical…
Tonight’s dish is a great dish for using leftover pasta, especially straight pasta like spaghetti, capellini, etc. And if you don’t have any leftover pasta? No sweat, just make a small batch while you crisp up the guanciale! This dish is based on a flexible ‘use what you have’ type of recipe but can be adapted to a planned meal easily enough. I used asparagus and red pepper for vegetables, which pairs wonderfully with eggs and pasta. Just think, this dish is just out of the ordinary to give you something new to enjoy for dinner… or brunch! Give it a try and adapt it to suit your pantry and tastes. I am confident you will enjoy the results! Save Print…
Today, I want to share a mash-up recipe. If you have been a regular follower, you have seen kielbasa and macaroni and cheese show up a few times. Well, they are easy meals to prepare and are some of the comfort foods that many people like. So, I figure if you are going to cook, you should cook what you like to eat, right? And what better way to satisfy your hunger than by combining two items you like to make a third. This recipe uses the Macaroni and Cheese recipe from earlier this week, adds fried kielbasa and frozen green beans, packs it into a small casserole dish, and bakes it with a panko crust. How easy is that? Just think, with a few quick changes…
Ahhh, the joys of comfort food. There is something about homemade macaroni and cheese that is so satisfying and it is so easy to make. This recipe will show you how to make a delicious macaroni and cheese in about the time it takes to boil the pasta. So pick up some tasty cheeses and let’s get busy making one of the classic comfort foods! Save Print Macaroni and Cheese Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 20 mins Serves: 2 Ingredients 6 oz shell or elbow pasta 2 oz bacon, sliced (optional) 1½ oz gruyere cheese, cubed or shredded 1 oz gouda cheese, cubed or shredded 1½ oz fontina cheese, cubed or shredded 1 oz…
Today, I want to show you how I prepare chicken cordon bleu for cooking sous vide style. If you have ever made chicken cordon bleu before, you know that cheese usually begins spilling out before the chicken is done, making a mess and impacting the final results you hoped for. So rather than use a combination of complicated folds and toothpicks/skewers to avoid this situation, I use the vacuum sealed bag to keep everything tight and in place while it cooks in the water bath. Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly, simply open the vacuum bag and finish preparing the rolled chicken breast by breading and frying or just pan searing it. Another bonus is that you can prepare several chicken breasts at once and conveniently freeze…
Tonight I decided to use my new quick pizza dough recipe in a skillet pizza. Think deep dish (sort of Chicago style) pizza. I am really liking this new pizza dough recipe – it is fairly simple and the results are fantastic. I tweaked my pizza sauce recipe as well and think it is a winner too. Just remember to allow it to cool sufficiently or else the pizza will fall apart (I couldn’t wait and experienced this issue first hand!) Save Print Skillet Pizza Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Serves: 1 Ingredients Pizza dough Pizza sauce Toppings 5 oz Canadian bacon 8 oz can pineapple chunks, drained 2 – 3 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded…
Remember when I teased a few weeks back about experimenting with a macaroni and cheese recipe? Well, today I am going to share the results of the latest effort. I shared the results with a group of friends and it received overwhelming positive comments (i.e. everyone raved about it!). This recipe takes a little bit of effort, but then sometimes you have to make the effort to get the optimal results. I thinks this recipe could be augmented with additional lobster in larger chunks if desired where I opted for smaller pieces more likely to be in every bite. Either way you decide to make it, I suggest just making it! Let’s fire up a burner or two and get the oven hot, it’…
Let’s get ready for the holiday season by making some simple appetizers based on some earlier recipes. I am going to make a toasted cheese appetizer with two types of cheeses and 3 types of toppings. The mild goat and Madrigal cheeses I am using are left over from the Macaroni and Cheese experiment, and the toppings are the pepper jelly, fig jam, and honey. Appetizer plates are easily extended and augmented with nuts and fruit – pecans, walnuts, almonds, pears, apples, grapes and olives. I kept my plate simple for this blog post, but let your creativity take wing and serve up simply fabulous appetizers for friends and family. Are you ready for a tasty start to your Friday evening? Save Print Toasted Cheese Appetizers…
This recipe is something I crafted from ingredients I had at home after a recent short trip. It is said ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. If so, then ‘hunger is the motivator to recipe creation’! From a few fresh, frozen, and pantry ingredients, this recipe came into being. It is simple and quick to prepare – something perfect for times when patience alludes you, like when I came home the other night! Well, it isn’t going to make itself, so let’s get cooking! Save Print Creamy Cheese Ravioli with Artichoke and Asparagus Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 15 mins Serves: 1 Ingredients 8 oz fresh ravioli 1 6oz jar…