One of the best parts of having my wife home for a visit is that she is also an excellent cook.  This has not only given me a much needed break from the kitchen, but has given the entire family a perspective on cooking that is different from my own.

While my cooking style tends towards Asian influence with go-to spices and sauces like soy, curry and five-spice powder, my wife’s cooking is heavily Puerto Rican and Mediterranean in influence. The change has been welcome and has me longing to broaden my horizons as well.

This was one of the dishes she made during her visit and is one that I could eat over and over again if it were possible. I am very much looking forward to having it again at the end of her time in Turkey.  The roasted garlic in the filling makes all the difference and elevates this Manicotti above many of the others that I’ve had.

Read more…

Popularity: 2% [?]

Cooking for three growing boys has its challenges.  They may always be hungry, but having been raised up to this point on primarily convenient foods, they have a very limited idea of what is acceptable to eat.  Unfortunately for me, just about any vegetable that I consider to be amazing is not currently on that list.

After months of trying to accommodate their wants with a real need to get them to eat in something like a healthy manner, it has come time to put on my “Dad” hat and just start making the right foods, regardless of the amount of noise coming from the dining room when something green comes out of the larder.

What do you do to get your kids to eat better?  Do you have tricks for sneaking healthier alternatives into the mix, or do you just sit staunchly by until they finally cave in and eat what they should eat?  I’d be very interested to know what other parents are doing here, especially since I’m starting with kids that haven’t been eating my food for the last four years.

I’ll grant that the only nod towards health that this particular dish shows is the spinach itself.  This is not the world’s healthiest pasta dish, but I’m using sausage, butter and garlic as gateway foods to introduce healthier items like spinach and fresh basil. (They loved the basil… Not so much the spinach, but they ate some of it, so it’s a start!)

Another trick I’ve begun using is to decrease the amount of “the good stuff” in the dish.  While I more than likely would have made this a year ago with a pound of sausage and simply saved the leftovers, now I’ve cut it down to 1/2 pound, knowing full-well that the two older boys will not leave even the smallest meaty bit in the pan or on their plates, regardless of how little they touch the vegetables.

Read more…

Popularity: 3% [?]

I think I was 19 the first time I tried this dish. I think I had it at Don Taylor’s Omelette Express in Santa Rosa California, but if so, it’s no longer on their menu. No matter where it was that I tried this dish the first time, I was an instant convert.

Omelets are one of my culinary weaknesses.  For me they are on the same order of obsessive magnitude that some people hold chocolate.  The very nature and versatility of the omelet is mind boggling. Whether it be the classic folded French version or the currently more popular Italian frittata, there seems to be no limit on the flavor combinations possible and I think I may have tried them all.

Even after years of experimenting, I always come back to this simple dish. It satisfies a craving for me. Even though it’s been years since I last made this it instantly took me back to a time in my life where the world was exciting, my culinary horizons were expanding and the road forward didn’t seem like it was going to be paved with as much blood, sweat and tears as it has been. Food can do that.

This one is comfort food folks.  Make it with love and share it with someone you care about.  It will make memories.

Read more…

Popularity: 3% [?]

If there’s one food a kid can’t resist, it’s pizza. of course, ordering pizza for two kids with different tastes can cost a small fortune, so making your own is much more budget friendly.  (I think these cost me a total of 6 dollars.)

On a normal day I would have simply made a batch of pizza dough, some marinara sauce and topped the pizza as desired. Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to restock after the move and while I have flour, I have no yeast, nor did I have have the time to buy it and then make the dough. Luckily, my local bakery sells sweet French loaves for 97 cents each, and just one loaf is more than enough dinner for two growing boys.

The trick to this recipe isn’t so much what you use, but how you cook the “pizzas”.  Timing is critical if you want the bread to be crisp on the outside, soft and warm in the center and not soggy from the sauce. With just a little preparation and a touch of patience (difficult with two boys screaming “I’m Hungry! in your ear every ten seconds), you can have a wonderful meal in just a few minutes that will please kids of all ages.

Read more…

Popularity: 4% [?]

Let’s face it, sliders are fun.  you get all the flavor of a full-sized burger in an easily had held and extremely portable package that’s perfect for tailgating, game day parties or any other circumstance where you need to have a lot of food handy without the requirements of plates and flatware.  They’re also perfect for kids parties, since sometimes a full burger is too much for a little mouth to handle.  With sliders they can just go back for more if they’re still hungry.

This particular dish is a riff on two recipes.  The first was this recipe for Italian Turkey Sliders, written by the lovely and always charming Anne from short Order Mom.  The recipe made me want to jump in and make sliders and I’ve been trying to get around to it since I first saw her recipe.  The idea for the relish is my personal spin on a burger topping I saw Gordon Ramsay create on his BBC show Kitchen Nightmares.  His was for a beef burger, but I thought that the concept would make the perfect condiment for the turkey and I was not disappointed in the slightest.

Of course, fresh basil is out of season at the moment, but I’ve got a bunch of it in the freezer, thanks to this method from Kalyn’s Kitchen. Now I always have at least a semi-fresh supply of basil at my disposal, rather than having to run to the market and pay inflated prices for a few wilted leaves in a plastic package.   In this case, the garlic was by far the more inferior of the ingredients, but still totally serviceable noetheless. And if you’re not in posession of fresh or frozen basil, feel free to use dried basil, but only use half as much.  it will still be wonderful.

Read more…

Popularity: 2% [?]