This is a simple little side dish that my kids absolutely adore and hey, any vegetable dish that I can get my kids to ask for is most definitely worth sharing, right?  It can be thrown together out of  a few simple ingredients and is ready in minutes, yet adds quite a bit of flavor to any plate.

I generally make this using frozen ingredients I always have close at hand, but there is absolutely no reason that it could not (and indeed should not) be made with fresh ingredients if you have them.  My kids, being of a generation quite content to eat frozen snacks heated from a box in the microwave don’t mind that I use less than perfect ingredients and it’s great in a pinch, but I’d probably opt for fresh if company was coming.

Regardless of the previous temperature of the ingredients, this is a very tasty dish and works very well with chicken, pork or fish.  It plays well with others and has been seen dancing with green beans, peas and broccoli a time or two.  Give it a try, I think you’ll like it!

(Note: I probably would have called it a corn relish on my own, but you try to get a nine and eleven year old to eat something called corn relish!  That’s way too far out of their comfort zone, so I dubbed it by what I tossed in the pan and they seemed happy enough.)

Read more…

Popularity: 1% [?]

There is nothing more fun or more challenging for a seasoned cook or chef than dealing with an overage of product (leftovers for us laymen.)  While you could just reheat and serve, it will almost never be as good as the original dish was (unless it’s a soup or stew, which are sometimes made a day in advance and allowed to get better overnight.)  The idea of turning something previously wonderful into something completely different, but just as memorable is one that some shy from, but I embrace.

This dish is the result of having made far too much braised pork.  I’d used soy in the original marinade and the rest of the ingredients are just pantry staples mixed in a new way.  The difference in textures and flavors was amazing and even though the pork was braised for hours, the dish still had a light, bright flavor that was perfect for a quick breakfast.

The recipe below is for one person, but makes enough dressing for 3 or 4, so feel free to make several plates with a bit more pork and you’ll be fine!

Read more…

Popularity: 1% [?]

Butternut squash is one of those things that until a year or two ago I had heard about but never really experimented with.  It’s also one of those things I lament not having tried earlier.  It’s great for a variety of things and I use it in everything from soups to chili, but to stay with the year’s trend of keeping things as simple as possible I give you butternut squash in its most perfect state; roasted.

While you can roast butternut squash in just about any fat that suits your fancy, I have several favorites.  The most common are extra virgin olive oil and bacon fat, but using bacon grease overwhelms the delicate flavor of the squash and I just happened to have something a little more exotic hanging around in my fridge when I decided to make this dish.

I had goose fat.

A quick note: Halving the squash before you peel it is a real time saver as well as a convenience.  It’s much easier to hold on to the squash while peeling if you have the dimple left by the seeds to hold onto while you’re removing the tough outer skin and the squash won’t want to slip all over the cutting board while you’re halving it. Once skinned, it’s a snap to slice the squash into manageable pieces for roasting.

Now I’m not saying that here’s anything wrong with olive oil and if you’re looking for a vegetarian snack or side you should most definitely use it.  In my case, having one of the holy grails of roasting fats on hand was more than I could pass up and the flavors of the completed dish were just short of absolute perfection (see my notes as to why it was just short and not right on.)

Read more…

Popularity: 2% [?]

By Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Author of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes>

I would like to extend my thanks to Caitlin Price of FSB Associates for making this piece available to the readers of CBSOP.  It’s a valuable article and one that I hope you enjoy!

There is no more appropriate time than now to think about how and why we cook. Food is a way of connecting with the people who surround us. Through it, we communicate emotions like love, compassion and understanding, and there is no better opportunity to communicate with our children than at the table. It’s where we can discuss our values of life that are important to us as individuals, as a family and as a part of the world we live in.

As overconsumption and greed have come to haunt us, now is a time for reflection. We should be looking back at the generations before us to understand their approach to the table. Growing food, shepherding animals, foraging for the gifts of nature is all part of respecting food. Nothing needs to be wasted. Bread can be recycled and used in soups, casseroles, lasagnas and desserts. Water is carefully conserved as in the pasta recipe I share below where the same water in which vegetables are cooked is used to cook the pasta that follows, and then that is saved for soups or for making risotto.

When one respects the food we prepare, it also leads to a more sensible and balanced intake of proteins, legumes and vegetables.

So “waste not, want not” and make it delicious!

Excerpt from Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009)

FRESH CAVATELLI WITH CAULIFLOWER
Maccarun ch’I Hiucc

Serves 6

Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables, and I regret that many people don’t sufficiently appreciate its unique flavor and nutritional value. This is not the case in Molise, where it is cooked often and creatively, as exemplified by the following two simple vegetarian pasta dishes. The first recipe, maccarun ch’i hiucc, is zesty with garlic and peperoncino.

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the pasta pot

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

7 plump garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 large head cauliflower, cut in small florets

1 batch (11/2 pounds) Fresh Cavatelli (preceding recipe), or 1 pound dried pasta

1 cup freshly grated pecorino (or half pecorino and half Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for a milder flavor)

Recommended equipment: A large pasta pot; a heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12 inch diameter or larger

Fill the large pot with salted water (at least 6 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt), and heat to a boil.

Pour the olive oil into the skillet, set over medium-high heat, and scatter in the sliced garlic. Let the garlic start to sizzle, then toss in the peperoncino and parsley; stir and cook for a minute. Ladle in a cup of the pasta cooking water, stir well, and adjust the heat to keep the liquid in the skillet simmering and reducing gradually while you cook the cauliflower and pasta.

With the pasta water at a rolling boil, drop in the cauliflower florets, and cook them for about 3 minutes, until barely tender. Drop in the cavatelli, stir, and return the water quickly to a boil. Cook another 4 to 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is fully tender and the pasta is al dente (if you are using dried pasta, it will, of course, take longer).

Lift out the florets and cavatelli with a spider or strainer, drain briefly, and spill them into the skillet. Toss well, to coat all the pasta and vegetable pieces with the garlicky dressing, then turn off the heat,

sprinkle over the skillet the grated cheese, and toss again. Heap the cauliflower and cavatelli in warm bowls, and serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE BREAD PARFAIT
Pane di Cioccolato al Cucchiaio

Serves 6

This recalls for me the chocolate-and-bread sandwiches that sometimes were my lunch, and always a special treat. And it is another inventive way surplus is used in Umbrian cuisine, with leftover country bread serving as the foundation of an elegant layered dessert. Though it is soaked with chocolate and espresso sauce and buried in whipped cream, the bread doesn’t disintegrate, and provides a pleasing textural contrast in every heavenly spoonful.

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

8 ounces country-style white bread, crusts removed

1/2 cup freshly brewed espresso

2 tablespoons dark rum

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Recommended equipment: A large rimmed tray or baking sheet, such as a half-sheet pan (12 by 18 inches); a spouted measuring cup, 1 pint or larger; 6 parfait glasses or wineglasses, preferably balloon-shaped

Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl set in a pan of hot (not boiling) water. When the chocolate begins to melt, stir until completely smooth. Keep it warm, over the water, off the heat.

Slice the bread into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and lay them flat in one layer, close together, on the tray or baking sheet.

Pour the warm espresso into a spouted measuring cup, stir in the rum and sugar until sugar dissolves, then stir in half the melted chocolate. Pour the sauce all over the bread slices, then flip them over and turn them on the tray, to make sure all the surfaces are coated. Let the bread absorb the sauce for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks form, by hand or with an electric mixer.

To assemble the parfaits: Break the bread into 1-inch pieces. Use half the pieces to make the bottom parfait layer in the six serving glasses, dropping an equal amount of chocolatey bread into each. Scrape up some of the unabsorbed chocolate sauce that remains on the baking sheet, and drizzle a bit over the bread layers. Next, drop a layer of whipped cream in the glasses, using up half the cream. Top the cream layer with toasted almonds, using half the nuts.

Repeat the layering sequence: drop more soaked bread into each glass, drizzle over it the chocolate sauce from the tray and the remaining melted chocolate. Dollop another layer of whipped cream in the glasses, using it all up, and sprinkle the remaining almonds on top of each parfait. This dessert is best when served immediately while the melted chocolate is still warm and runny.

©2010 Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, authors of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes

Author Bio
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, coauthor of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipe, is the author of five previous books, four of them accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of the New York City restaurant Felidia (among others), and she lectures on and demonstrates Italian cooking throughout the country. She lives on Long Island, and can be reached at her Web site, www.LidiasItaly.com <http://www.lidiasitaly.com/>

Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Lidia’s daughter and coauthor of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipe, received her Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance art history from Oxford University. Since 1996 she has led food/wine/art tours of Italy. She lives with her husband and children on Long Island.

Popularity: 2% [?]

If there’s one food that Americans have adopted from another culture and changed to their own liking it’s the taco.  In fact, most Americans wouldn’t know a real taco if it bit them.  We’ve changed them too much.  Chain restaurants have buried the simple and noble flavors under mounds of lettuce, yellow processed cheese goo and whatever else they can come up with.

In the end, that ain’t a taco.  At best it’s a Tex-Mex bastardization on a theme that can be enjoyed on its own merits.  At worst it’s steamed mystery meat and ultra processed and pasteurized atomic yellow hell sauce with added capsaicin for heat and all the nutritional value of eating waxed paper. (Which would taste better in my humble opinion).

This dish is an attempt to bring something a little closer to an actual taco to my kids’ dinner plate.  The lettuce and sour cream were simply there to make them more familiar to a pair of kids who thought Mexican food came from that place with a mission bell in the logo and summarily declared all Mexican and South American food as evil and grotesque.

These tacos didn’t stand a chance.  One bite in and my two haters of all things South American descended on them like a pack of ravenous jackals on a wounded wildebeest.  It was at once rather disturbing and very rewarding to see them enjoying something at least closely related to what real Mexican food should be. (And note… There ain’t no yellow cheese to be found!)

Please note, this is still a very much Americanized recipe, but it’s a lot closer to real Mexican-American food than my kids have ever been exposed to.  I’m using recipes like this as a stepping stone to get them acquainted with flavors before going “all the way” to authentic dishes.

But these were good.  Very good.

Read more…

Popularity: 3% [?]

Waking up in the morning should not be a dull affair.  Anything with a copious amount of Mexican chorizo can never be dull.  See where I’m going here? why not start your day with a zesty punch of flavors that will keep you going all day long. (Or at least until lunch time.)

This dish was directly inspired by my friend Ben at What’s Cooking and his recipe for Huevos a la Mexicana. One look at that glorious image and I wanted something similar as soon as I could get it cooked.

My version relied on what I had hanging out in the house.  I’d bought some Mexican chorizo and Anaheim peppers a few days before. I had some salsa and I always have cilantro, tomatoes and seasoning blend vegetable mix in my freezer, so I was on my way to a dish that I’ll most definitely make again.

Read more…

Popularity: 3% [?]

I’m a huge fan of a simple dish that still has the ability to get my guests to “Oooh” and “Ahhh” as though I’d slaved over it for days, rather than whipped it out in a few minutes. This is one of those dishes.  Utterly simple in preparation but a great wow factor, especially for my friends who may not deal with lamb regularly.

Another great thing about this dish is the price.  I used lamb shoulder chops for this dish which cost less than half of what a loin chop or another high-end cut would cost.  Like most lesser desired cuts, these chops have more flavor for less money and sacrifice nothing except tat “lollipop” effect you’d get with bone-in center cut chops.

Lamb and potatoes are the perfect partners in this dish.  The potatoes are also simple, easy to prepare with just a little forethought and make a nice impression on the plate.  For a full course meal, go with a light citrus salad as a starter and finish with a light lime sorbet.  A perfect meal all the way ’round.

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% [?]

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of HealthyTuna.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

A lot of people contact me to write posts for them.  Most are horribly unsuited for this venue, but every once in a great while one comes along that gets my attention, not just because the people behind the product are willing to compensate me for my time, but because what they have to say is relevant, important and has an impact for the most important people in this blog’s world; You, the faithful readers of CBSOP. This is one of those instances.

Several of my female food-blogging partners in crime either are, or have very recently been pregnant.  This post is dedicated to making sure that their health and the health of their children is in the forefront at all times.  It seems that a lot of women avoid seafood during pregnancy due to concerns about mercury.

While it is certainly a good idea to avoid high-risk seafood such as shark, mackerel, swordfish and tilefish, studies have proven that the high levels of Omega3 fatty acids present in seafoods such as salmon and tuna help to prevent depression as well as helping the development of your baby, both in the womb and while breastfeeding.

Since I am not a doctor (I just play a chef on the Internet), I will refer you to the studies provided by healthy tuna. I’ve looked them over and they seem to be reputable, I give them credit and will vouch for them insofar as being worth a good-hard read, at which point I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

The lovely Veronique at healthy tuna also sent along a few recipes with a request that I give one a try and share it with all of you.  From the group sent, I chose the Southwest Tuna Salad for the sake of simplicity.  The original instructions were for a salad that would very likely have been tasty, but on film would have been far from appealing.

After a few days of conversations, I was allowed to play with the recipe a bit, as I am wont to do with every recipe I touch on occasion.  I decided that the salad would be far more presentable if presented as a composed salad, sort of in the bent of a Cobb salad (remember those from the 80’s?) and I was off.

The original recipe is presented as given to me, my changes are detailed below.

Read more…

Popularity: 3% [?]

Christmas is for cookies and brownies and other luscious sweets. In my house this has traditionally meant all different kinds of cookies, but none were ever really a true Christmas tradition. None were seasonal, none were specific to the holidays and I suppose most of all, none were mine.

This year I set out to remedy that and to do something that I absolutely never do. I stepped out of my comfort zone completely and modified a cookie recipe to reflect what my kids love to eat and to enhance the flavors that I like.

I was terrified.  I was uneasy.  I was sure it wouldn’t work, because I’m a cook, not a baker and i was sure to screw this up.

I didn’t. It was wonderful! The cookies were perfect, tasty, sweet, tangy and speckled with tiny glimpses of cranberry and white chocolate.

This is a modified version of my wife’s famous Cowboy Cookie recipe, but with a few twists however, a cowboy cookie has a traditional set of ingredients.  This recipe is no longer a cowboy cookie by definition, so I decided in the spirit of the season to dub these “Reindeer Wranglers”, both because the tiny speckles of cranberry reminded me of Rudolph’s nose and because I figured that Santa’s reindeer crew would probably enjoy these a great deal.

Now our family has its very own Christmas cookie tradition, invented in our own kitchen and made with love. It makes me happier than it should, I think.

What are your Christmas cookie traditions?  Is there anything that jut HAS to be baked every year? We’d love to hear about it.

Read more…

Popularity: 6% [?]