Serves 6

• 2 lbs pork ribs – individually sliced
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons basil
• 1 lb peeled baby carrots
• 8 oz sliced portabello mushroom
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 oz marsala
• 1 lemon
• 6 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 3 cloves garlic – sliced thin
• 1 lbs of a shaped pasta (farfalle, fussilli) just not long and thin
• 2 onion – diced
• 2 tablespoons butter – softened
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• water
• salt

1. Place the 6 quart pot on the stove and start to preheat it
2. When it is pretty hot, add the oil and begin browning the ribs in batches. Let the ribs get to a nice golden brown on all sides. Do not let it burn and do not over stuff the pan. If there are too many ribs, brown a few and then take them out of the pan onto the extra plate. This is most easily done with a set of tongs
3. After browning all the ribs, let them rest on the plate and turn the heat to medium.
4. Toss in the onions and let them caramelize.
5. Toss in the mushrooms, butter, and garlic and cook until soft.
6. Throw in the alcohol to deglaze the pan and squeeze in the lemon juice. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or a spatula to get all the little bits of caramelized pork
7. Turn on the heat to high again and let the liquid reduce by half.
8. Add the ribs, Worcestershire, tomato paste, the maple syrup, diced tomatoes, basil, and the cayenne pepper. Stir well and simmer for 30 – 40 minutes.
9. Add the carrots and some salt to taste and simmer another 10 minutes.
10. Add about another 3 cups of water, two big pinches of salt. Bring to a boil.
11. Add your choice of pasta and cook according to the directions.  I recommend cutting off the heat halfway through because the pasta will continue to cook and expand.

This is actually really easy to make.  It tastes incredible. Look how beautiful it is.  It presents well, only takes a few minutes to make, so is perfect for “fancy” dinners.  We made it for the caregroup valentines dinner and was a huge hit.

I tend to use more shallots than most, so you can cut down if you want.  Also if the pepper crust is too strong for you, just dust off more of it before you put it in the pan.  Piece of advice about steaks.  Don’t cook them more than medium, or at worst medium well.  If you can bear to eat it nice and pink in the center (I personally like it redder) you’ll enjoy it much more.  We were in Quebec in a small restaurant and we overheard a nearby table ask their waiter for the steak to be prepared well-done.  The waiter responded, “Well done as in slightly pink in the center or like the sole of my shoe?”  Gives you a sense of how seriously the French take their food!

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbls freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 filet mignons (8 oz each)
• 1 tbl virgin olive oil
• 3 tbls butter
• salt
• 4 tbls diced shallots
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbl dijon mustard
• parsley for garnish

1. Sprinkle salt over both sides of the steaks
2. Press the steaks into the pepper to form a nice crust
3. Preheat oven to 250^oF
4. Add the oil and 1 tbls of butter to a large skillet.
5. When the butter sizzles, turn the heat to high and add the steaks.
6. After 2-3 minutes turn the steaks over to brown the other side.
7. Cook another 3-5 minutes on medium heat to desired donenes.
8. Slide them on a plate in the oven to keep warm.
9. Pour off any excess fat from the pan, add the remaining butter, shallots, and a little more salt.
10. Cook a few minutes until the shallots are soft, then add the cream and mustard.
11. Cook 30 seconds to a minute until the sauce thickens.
12. Plate your steaks and spoon some sauce over each steak.  Garnish with a little parsley.

I saw this recipe in Gourmet.  It’s really easy to make and multiplies really easily.  I usually use wingettes, but sometimes you can’t find this in the store.  If you can only get regular chicken wings, cut off the wing tip at the joint and discard.  Then cut the wing in half at the elbow.  Now you’ve got two nice little wingettes.

Gourmet lists this as an entree, but I always think of chicken wings as a side dish.  So if you want to serve it as a main it’ll probably make four servings instead. In terms of tasting the sesame seeds.  Toss them into a dry skillet over medium heat until the seeds get darker by a shade or two.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 large garlic clove
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbls soy sauce
• 2 tbls hoisin sauce
• 2 tbls honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• pinch of cayenne
• 3 lbs wingettes
• 1 1/2 tbls toasted sesame seeds
• 1 scallion finely chopped – discard white portion

1. Preheat the oven to 425^oF. Place the rack in the upper third of the oven.
2. Line a shallow baking pan with foil and lightly oil.
3. Mince the garlic and use the salt and a heavy knife to turn it into a paste.
4. Mix the sesame oil, hoisin sauce, honey and cayenne pepper with the garlic in a larg bowl.
5. Add the wingettes and toss to coat.
6. Arrange the wingettes in the pan in a single layer. and roast for 35 minutes.  Turn once.
7. Transfer to the serving bowl and toss with sesame seeds and scallions.

I can’t take credit for this recipe, but it really makes a great waffle.  Sarah loves waffles, and I wish I was energetic enough to make these on a regular basis.  The main problem I’ve found is having buttermilk on hand.  If you don’t use it right away you can freeze it in single use measurements.  It’s generally not a good idea to refreeze after a defrost because the milk tends to separate.  So if you tend to make a double recipe freeze 2 cups worth.  If you have time, give the buttermilk a good stir to try and homogenize it again.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg – separated
• 7/8 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butte – melted

1. Preheat the waffle iron
2. Wisk all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
3. Wisk the egg yolk with the buttermilk and butter.
4. Beat the egg white until it forms stiff peaks
5. With a steady pencil thin stream,pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients while gently mixing with a rubber spatula.
6. Fold the egg whites into the mixture.
7. Pour the appropriate amount of batter onto the iron and cook until golden brown, usually 2-4 minutes.

I’m still not entirely sure what to call this dish.  I made it last night at a whim and I figured I’d just go ahead and post it. I served it with a side of rice, and the type of sausage I think you could change as you want.  I had chorizo on hand so that’s what I threw in.  It’s almost like a Chicken Madeira, but it’s not quite.  If you think of something better let me know.

If you increase the amount of chicken, you probably don’t really need to increase the amount of chicken stock.  But if you make more than 6 chicken breasts you’ll probably need another pan, at which point you might as well just double the whole recipe.

edit: ooo how about Braised Chicken and Garlic

Servers 4 – 6

Ingredients

• 4 – 6 chicken boneless breasts
• 10 cloves garlic (slice off the woddy end)
• 1 can chicken broth (low sodium recommended)
• 6 oz chorizo sausage (julliened)
• 1 medium onion (cut into strips)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 10 oz spinach
• 6 oz mushrooms
• 1 tbs butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Salt and pepper the chicken on both sides and brown in a skillet with some olive oil over high heat.
3. Remove chicken after about 2 minutes per side
4. Reduce the skillet to low and add the butter and onions.  Season with salt and pepper.
5. Once the onions are soft add the chorizo and cook about 5 minutes.
6. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sautee for 3 minutes on medium.
7. Turn the heat to high and deglaze the pan with the chicken broth.
8. Add the thyme and bay leaf
9. Return chicken to the skillet, cover and place in the oven
   1. Make sure you are using an oven safe pan.  It should have a solid metal handle, no plastic or rubber!
10. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes.  The chicken broth will keep the chicken moist.
11. Remove the chicken from the skillet, and place the skillet on high heat.
12. Reduce the broth by about half, and adjust seasoning
13. Add the spinach and cook until just soft.  Plate the mixture over the chicken.

I love getting this at Hunan Manor.  I can’t quite get it right, but this is pretty close.  If you find a better version let me know!

Don’t skip the purging step.  It really helps make them taste better.  All the extra water that eggplants hide inside will make this all very watery and the taste will be weak.

Servers 6

Ingredients for marinade

• 3 tablespoons light soy
• 3 tablespoons dry sherry
• salt
• 1 large or 3 small eggplants, 1 inch slices

Remaining Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup + 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• peanut oil
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons Mirin rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 dried red chille

1. Slice the eggplant into 1 inch thick round pieces.
2. Sprinkle salt on the eggplant slices on both sides and let it sit on the wire rack for at least 30 minutes. This process is called purging. It draws water out from the eggplant
3. The eggplant should look a little shriveled after 30 minutes. Rinse it off and pat dry. Mix the soy and the sherry together and let the eggplant soak in this for another 30 minutes. With the excess water out of the eggplant, it will soak up the marinade very well.
4. Beat the eggs in the bowl and place the 1 cup of cornstarch on the plate. Start heating the oil in the wok
5. Add the egg to the eggplant and the dredge the eggplant in the cornstarch. Dredging is just dipping and coating the outside of the eggplant with a thin coating.
6. Once the oil is hot (~400^oF), start frying in small batches. Fry the eggplant for only 30 seconds and take it out for 10 seconds. Then dip the eggplant in for another 15 seconds. Take it out again for 10 seconds. Finally put the eggplant in for a good minute, until the coating is golden brown. This process makes the coating very crispy and not soggy. Make sure you do this in small batches so that the oil doesn’t cool down too much.
7. After all the eggplant pieces are fried up, pour out all but a tablespoon of the oil. Add the chille’s and let them fry up for awhile. The longer you leave them in, the spicier it will get. But don’t let the chille’s burn.
8. After 1-2 minutes add the garlic and the eggplant and stir fry for a little bit. Add the chicken broth and let the mixture reduce a little bit.
9. Take a little of the hot stock out into a small bowl. Mix in the remaining liquid ingredients to cool it off a bit, then add the remaining cornstarch. Make sure you mix it well so that the lumps are all out. Then add the mixture to the wok. This will thicken up the sauce.
10. Cook until it is just a little thinner than you would like, turn off the heat and serve it. As the whole thing cools down, the sauce will thicken further. So don’t cook it until it is at the desired consistency because it will just become a huge congealed mess.

A few years ago I took a cooking class at L’Academie De Cuisine.  Since this was a very basic recreational class I didn’t get that much out of it, but I did get a few good recipes.  This is one of them.  I love pound cake.  It’s probably one of my favorite desserts.  Other than coconut custard pie and cheesecake.  Then there’s Creme Caramel and cream puffs and ok have to stop!

I think Entenmann’s makes one of the best butter pound cakes commercially, but it is incredibly bad for you.  This version is pretty good and a little better for you.  You can make these in 3 small loaf pans as well instead of one 9×5.  Easier to give out as gifts.  If you’re going to make lots of pound cake get your hands on a stand mixer.  It’d be too tiring otherwise.  You can also choose to use vanilla instead or in addition to the lemon extract.  Try other flavors as you like.

Serves 8

• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted Butter – room temperature
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 5 large eggs – room temperature
• 2 tsp. lemon extract
• 1 tbl. lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 325^oF.
2. Spray a 9x5x3 loaf pan with some cooking spray and dust with flour.  Remove excess.
3. Sift together flour and salt.
4. Cream butter until it is light and fluffy.
5. Add sugar and beat well.  Scrape everything into the center of the bowl.
6. Add eggs one at a time and comine well after each egg.  Continually scrape the sides of the bowl.
7. Add flavorings
8. Slowly add the salted flour and combine well.
9. Pour into the preped pan and smooth out the top
10. Bake for 1 hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
11. Let it cool before serving.

This is so much better than that molded cranberry jelly most people use.  I can definitely understand if you choose to use jelly for the convenience, but this sauce actually gets soaked up by the turkey so you don’t just have the bouncy, squigly, topping, but an actual flavor agent.  You can make this quite a bit in advance and just reheat it when you need it.

Serves 20

Ingredients for Cranberry Sauce

• 2 bags (12 oz) cranberries
• 2 cups orange juice
• 3 cups ginger ale
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 10-16 oz can of pineapples

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a big pot and bring to a boil.
2. Turn the heat down and let it simmer.30-45 minutes.
3. With the stick blender, puree all the solid material.This can be done in a regular blender, but it is a bit messier. Also be careful to let the sauce cool before putting it in to prevent the glass from shattering.
4. Bring the mixture back to a boil and skim off the yellow scum which rises to the top.
5. Strain the mixture and serve!

Hey we’ve got a new feature on the site.  As I get time, I’ll put up recipes again.  My old site had a few things scattered about, and people have been asking for them as well.  I’ll do my best to get at least one up a week.  At that rate, I’ll run out of my own creations in about 2 months .  Better get started cooking again.

I started making this about a month ago, and people seem to like it.  So I’ll go ahead and put it up.  It’s not complicated at all, just takes a little patience to mix the rice.

 Serves 4

• 8 oz Andouille Sausage – diced
• 1 small yellow onion – diced
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 2 cups of  white rice
• 2 pinches salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
• pepper

1. I usually use a rice cooker, but basically cook the rice.
2. Melt the butter in a sautee pan on low heat.
3. Add the garlic
4. Just as the garlic turns brown, remove, and add the onions, salt, cayenne, and pepper.
5. Once the onions are soft, turn up the heat and add the sausage
6. After the sausage browns pour the whole mixture over the white rice (I do this in a glass mixing bowl)
7. Mix until the rice is completely separated.  You may need a little more butter, to completely coat.
8. Just before serving, mix in the parsley, and check seasoning.

I tried my first bottle of Coke Zero today. Seems to taste pretty good. I think I might actually like it better than Diet Coke.

So what is the difference? The only thing I see is the addition of acesulfame potassium. Seems to be a new artificial zero-calorie sweetener. I couldn’t figure out why Coke Zero tasted better than Diet Coke until I found this article. So it looks like Diet Coke tastes like a calorie free version of New Coke, which was designed to taste like Pepsi. This is what caused the huge public backlash against New Coke to begin with, despite the fact that for most people they choose Pepsi in blind taste tests because of the sweeter taste.

I’ve always liked Classic Coke better, but switched to Diet Coke because I was getting a little round in the middle. When C2 came out I was somewhat excited, but it tasted a little funny since it was just half and half. But Coke Zero is suppose to be a zero-cal version of Classic Coke, and that may very well be why I like it better. It’s not quite as sweet tasting as Diet Coke, and is a little smoother and less after-taste. I’ll have to keep trying to really see, but so far it has caught my fancy.