I love the changing seasons! There is something wonderful about moving from hot to cold and back again. The colors of the world change along with the temperature and the foods we eat change with them. Spring puts me in the mood for colors and lighter food. It also makes me feel like baking fruit tarts and pastries. Maybe it’s an Easter thing, I don’t know! This Spring I have been working on making my own puff pastry. Or actually, Rough Puff Pastry which is one step below traditional puff pastry in labor. Don’t worry, I’m not throwing that at you yet. I need to make it a few more ...
Main Courses
PORK LARB: AN ASIAN MEAT SALAD
You didn’t think I only made one dish with my Red Wattle Pork from Sugar Creek Meats, did you? Pork Larb, which can be made with almost any protein is, at its heart, a ground meat salad. The two most well known versions come from Laos and Northern Thailand. As an interesting aside, the Laotian version includes fish sauce and lime juice which is what I would have expected to find in the Thai larb. My recipe includes elements from both cuisines. You can serve your larb over rice or noodles, in lettuce cups, or pretty much anyway you want. It can be a light meal or a full dinner. Make ...
BEST PORK SANDWICH EVER
“Hello” The message popped up on my Instagram account. “Have you ever worked with red wattle pork before?” “No. I can’t say that I have.” I replied. Red Wattle Pork, for the uninitiated, is considered by many chefs to be the finest pork meat available. I was intrigued. And so, one dark and rainy day not long after, I found myself driving up a small dirt road in Big Sandy Mush Valley on a visit to the home of Sugar Creek Meats. Tyler De Francisco, a Sicilian transplant from New Jersey, is passionate about his pigs and his meat. Actually, Tyler is passionate about food in ...
MAKING PEA SOUP LOVELY
The other day as I was struggling to take a good picture of my homemade pea soup I realized that winter food is a lot like winter: a lot of it is brown and dreary looking. This is not to say that winter does not have its delights. There are warm and cozy evenings indoors by the fire. The first snow. The night sky on a cold and clear evening when the stars shine bright. And of course, the smell of something cooking long and slow on the stovetop with its promise of a delicious meal to come. And thinking about that, I decided not to get too fussed about the fact that pea soup is ...
TOP CHEF DINNER: LAMB BURGER PROVENCAL
All credit for this recipe goes to Chef Hubert Keller. A number of years ago, I went to Las Vegas with my daughters to celebrate Abby’s 21st birthday. Full disclaimer, this was her choice: like many others I know, I was skeptical that Las Vegas could be any fun. I was so wrong! One of the first things we found out when we got there was that it is kind of foodie paradise. In walking around through the malls and hotels we kept tripping over the restaurants of some of our favorite chefs. We had made reservations, of course, for our dinners but it was lunch that was the big ...
FINDING BALANCE IN JANUARY: CRAB CAKES WITH MANGO SALSA
I always called January “The Month of Atonement”. In the past I have viewed the start of the new year as a time to deprive myself as a means of repenting for the excesses of the December holiday season. But this year as the words slipped casually out of my mouth, I found myself wondering what was the sin I was atoning for? Christmas and New Year’s (to a lesser extent) are holidays of joy and celebration. All the feasting and partying with friends and family, the sharing of foods as gifts and offerings, are acts of love and happiness. This not something to atone for. This year I am ...
The End of the Holidays: Turkey Hash
I love the holidays. I love the decorating and shopping, the mess and the clutter and the sheer busyness of it all. And then I love taking it down, putting away the ribbons and bows, the green and red, sweeping up the pine needles and tossing out the faded flowers. Included in all of this, of course, is ridding one's refrigerator of the remnants of the year-end feasting. In our house we always make sure to have a big enough turkey (or goose) to have left overs. Next day turkey sandwiches are required! And after that it might be time for soup or, if there is enough, my real ...
A HOLIDAY DISH FOR WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE TIME (BUT IT NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE YOU DO!) MAPLE BROWN SUGAR BAKED HAM
If you are like me, your holiday shopping is barely finished (or not even), you have 200 presents to wrap, regular work to do and people keep asking you out to fun events. And to top it off, family is arriving and you want them to feel loved and cared about but you don't have time. If you had a recipe that made it look like you took extra time over the meal (even if you didn't) you would use it, wouldn't you? Presenting Maple Brown Sugar Glazed Ham. Key to this recipe is two things, the ham and a gallon of fresh apple cider. I used to search all over for the ...
HOLIDAY PARTY PASTA: ORECCHIETTE WITH BROCCOLI, SAUSAGE AND ROASTED RED PEPPERS
The occasion was my book club’s Christmas party. We would each bring a book for a gift exchange and a dish for dinner. Now I call this “my” book club but it’s barely that. I had only been to two meetings and was not at all sure I would go to the party. But they are such warm and friendly women and so inclusive that I wanted to go, and I wanted to bring something festive. This pasta dish with its bright green broccoli and Christmas-red peppers was perfect. It can be made the day before and eaten hot or cold. Before I get into the food, let me say a little bit about the book ...
TREE TRIMMING DINNER: SPICY BAKED BEANS
This year my oldest daughter, Sarah, came over to help me trim my tree. I am lucky to have her live nearby and to have her help and support. We sorted through the boxes of ornaments, removing those which had been given to her so that she could take them home and laughing over memories of who picked which ornament at our yearly summer outing to the beach-side Christmas store. And I told her the story of this little fairy, who appeared on the tree when Sarah was just a year old. She had a rolled up note in her hand with the gift of a weekend's babysitting from my mother and a trip ...
