Boil-n-Bake Baby Back Ribs – Crime Against Nature, Or Just Guilty of Being Delicious?

Here’s what I know: I took some baby back ribs, simmered them for an hour in a flavorful liquid, glazed them in sauce, roasted them in the oven for about half an hour, and they looked and tasted really good. I also know these boil-n-bake baby back ribs would be great at any party, preferably a Super Bowl party (during which the Giants win the game).

Here’s what I don’t know: Why so many people will lose their minds over the fact that I boiled these ribs. They’ll say it’s a crime against nature, and that these are just not the same as baby backs slowly roasted over smoky coals for hours and hours. Well, duh.

These aren’t meant to replace, or even compete with, a traditionally barbecued version. This is simply a fast and tasty alternative method for having a nice stack of ribs appear on your snack table. Seriously, what’s the problem?

This is one of those recipes where I don’t want or expect you to use the same stuff I did. This is more about the quick and dirty method than any specific ingredients. I would make sure the simmering liquid is very well salted, and have a decent amount of acid and spice, but other than that, anything goes.

As far as the glaze, I just threw a bunch of stuff in a mixing bowl, in a sort of stream of saucy consciousness, but very much enjoyed the results. Chinese 5-spice is wonderful with pork, and created a beautifully aromatic base for the sweet, sour, and spicy sauce.

By the way, if it looks like I was a little short on sauce, I was, but made a little more while they were roasting, and it was fine. The amounts below will give you plenty for a rack of baby back ribs. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 slab baby back ribs

2 1/2 quarts cold water

1/2 cup rice vinegar

6 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 onion, chopped

2 tbsp kosher salt (less if using fine salt)
1 tbsp Chinese 5-spice

1 tsp red chili flakes

2 bay leaves

For the glaze:

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp ketchup

1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp sambal chili paste, or to taste

1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice

New Year’s Day Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing – Good Luck with That!

This spinach salad with black-eyed peas is a twist on one of my favorite American culinary traditions; the custom of serving beans and greens on New Year's Day. Supposedly eating "poor" on New Year’s Day brings much wealth and good luck throughout the year.

The greens, usually braised with ham or sausage, represents paper money, and the beans, usually black-eyed peas, symbolize coins. Here, we’re presenting those ingredients in salad form, which is a great delivery system for our hot bacon dressing– the true star in this video.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is, “Eat more bacon,” then here’s another delicious way to work it into your diet. This peppery, sweet and tangy sauce is fast to make, and shines on other things besides wealth-generating spinach salads.

Wouldn’t this be great in a warm potato and mushroom salad, as well as a sauce for a grilled chicken breast or pork chop? What about spooned over poached eggs, or slathered on sweet potato fries? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

If making and eating this salad on January 1st doesn’t really bring you prosperity in 2012, it will certainly bring you some tasty memories, and other pleasures money can’t buy. Happy New Year, and enjoy!

Hot Bacon Dressing Ingredients: (makes about 1 1/3 cup – or 6 servings)

1/2 pound bacon, sliced and cooked in 1/4 cup vegetable oil (reserve bacon pieces and bacon fat drippings)

1/2 cup minced onions

2 cloves minced garlic

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar, or to taste
1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/3 cup of the bacon fat drippings

1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp cold water

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

For 6 Spinach Salads:

1 pound baby spinach, washed and dried

12 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

1 (15-oz) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

A Quick and Easy Cassoulet Recipe – Pork & Beans with Benefits

Of course you can’t make a real cassoulet in an hour, but you can make this very acceptable cheater version, and as long as you manage expectations, you’re in for a great, cold-weather meal.

Real cassoulet is an involved process, with several days of prep just to make the various meats served in this rustic bean casserole. Once everything is prepared, the dish bakes for hours, during which time the ritualistic crust forming and re-forming occurs.

Buttery breadcrumbs are scatted over the top, and when they form a crusty, golden brown layer, they’re pushed down into the bubbling mixture, and new crumbs applied. This is done several times, creating the dish’s signature texture. A creamy, aromatic, not-too-wet-or-too-dry bean mixture into which is suspended the chunks of succulent meat.

Here, we’re taking lots of short cuts. Chicken thighs replace the classic, and time-consuming, duck confit; canned beans replace dried; and bacon serves as a convenient substitute for other, more involved smoked pork options.

While it will be tempting to dig right into this as soon as the final “gratin” is formed, please follow the advice in the video, and let your cassoulet rest in the hot oven for 15 minutes. This will allow the beans and buttery crumbs to absorb the last of the excess liquid, and make for a better texture.

By the way, please adjust your seasoning depending on the sausage used. Mine was plenty garlicky, so I didn’t add any additional cloves. You’ll also have to taste and alter the salt, depending on whether your bacon and sausage shared enough with the rest of the ingredients. I hope you give this hearty, cold-weather classic a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 large portions:

4 oz bacon, sliced

8 oz spicy, garlicky, smoked pork sausage, sliced

12 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed

1 onion, diced

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups chicken broth, or as needed

2 (15-oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme

cayenne to taste

4 tbsp melted butter

1 cup plain breadcrumbs

1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Smoked Ham and Butternut Squash Spaghetti – Short on Daylight, Long on Flavor

I never film at night, since I don’t like the look of the video when I use artificial lights. Sure, I could actually learn how to use a real lighting kit, but it’s easier for my simple brain to just film during the day.

However, once in a great while, I’ll starting making something, like this smoked ham and butternut squash spaghetti, that looks like it’s going to be so good that I don’t care about lighting quality, and film it anyway.

Other than this less-than-subtle warning about the lighting quality, there’s not a lot to say about this simple and very delicious winter pasta. It will work with literally any type of ham or smoked sausage; and as I mention in the video, bacon would also shine.

Despite the rich and decadent mascarpone, the sauce is actually pretty light when you consider much of the sauce is really just chicken broth and squash. By the way, I didn’t add it, but I think a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end would have been a great idea. I hope you give this hearty pasta a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

14 oz package dry spaghetti

2 tbsp olive oil

4 oz thinly slice smoked ham

3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

red chili flakes to taste

1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth, or as needed

3 cups diced butternut squash

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup mascarpone cheese

1-2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Know Your Cheese

As most of your know, I LOVE cheese, and two of the most commonly used varieties in my kitchen are fresh mozzarella, and mascarpone. In addition to this recipe, I’ve used mascarpone in several recent videos, and received numerous inquires as to which brand I used.

My usual go-to brand is Galbani, so I was thrilled when Michele and I were recently invited to an event hosted by Lactalis Foodservice. Along with Galbani, Lactalis owns many of markets’ top cheese brands, such as President, Sorrento, and Precious, just to name a few.

This Chef’s Table event was held at Farina, San Francisco, and not only did we enjoy a very nice meal, but we got to talk directly to the people making the cheese. One reason I love shopping at Farmers Markets is that you get to meet the people producing the food you’re about to cook, but it’s not often you get the same experience for a product you buy at the supermarket.

Here are a few highlights from the evening.

Pardon the poor quality photo, but I just had to show this Foccacia di Recco, featuring Galbani’s Bel Paese. It’s sort of like a stuffed pizza, which uses a very basic, unleavened bread dough that’s rolled, spun, and stretched very thin, before being stuffed with the creamy cheese. It’s baked in a very hot oven, where it puffs up, and gets crispy on the outside, while the inside stays soft and cheesy. It was awesome, and something I must figure out how to make!

Chef at Farina spinning the dough for the Foccacia di Recco. By the way, the videographer seen here is my friend Vincent McConeghy, a fellow western New Yorker, and author of the novel, Gastro Detective.

This was my favorite course of the night. A golden and red beet timbale with Istara Petit Basque and shaved black truffles. What glorious combination of flavors!

I want to thank Lactalis Foodservice for hosting such a fun evening, and the chefs at Farina for taking such good care of us! For those of you that requested more info about the mascarpone cheese, you can check out the official website here. Grazie!

Slow Cooker Braised Pork Shoulder Roast with Apple Butter Sauce – Reducing the Need for Roux

Man, I’ve been making a lot of rouxs lately (which you’ll be seeing in all their buttery glory in a series of upcoming holiday videos), but for this apple cider braised pork roast, I wanted to keep things a little lighter and decided to use a classic reduction.

We’ve done dozens of similar style sauces, but most of those were traditional pan sauces, where the skillet is deglazed with some kind of flavorful liquid, which is reduced down, and finally finished with butter.

This is basically the same technique; except here we’re reducing the braising liquid from the slow cooker while our pork rests. By the way, I keep saying “cider” because it sounds and looks better in print, but I actually used apple juice. Both work very well, but a just-pressed, unfiltered cider would be my official recommendation.

One thing to remember about these types of reduction sauces is that a little goes a long way. You’re taking an already flavorful liquid and reducing down to maybe 25% of its original volume. This is also the reason you shouldn’t season it until the end. After the cold butter is whisked into the sauce, and your herb of choice has been added, give it a taste and adjust for salt then.

Since we’re using a relatively small amount of braising liquid for this big a hunk of meat, I decided to use the slow cooker. You can certainly do this on the stovetop, over very low heat, or in a slow (275 degrees F.) oven, but neither is quite as convenient. Regardless of your cooking method, I hope you give this delicious pork shoulder a try soon. Enjoy!
 

Ingredients:
4-5 pound pork shoulder roast (boneless or bone-in work fine)

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp vegetable oil

a couple shallots or yellow onion, sliced

1 rib celery, chopped

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 cups apple cider or juice

4 peeled garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

cayenne to taste

1 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons cold butter cut into small cubes

1 tbsp fresh herb – parsley, sage, thyme, etc.

Bacon Ranch Chicken Skewers – Perfect for Tailgating and/or Vampire Staking

These bacon ranch chicken skewers were intended to star at your next football tailgate cookout, but since these are made with sharp, wooden sticks, they could be used to inflict the true death to smaller, slow-moving vampires at your Halloween party as well.

Regardless of your party’s theme, these tasty chicken skewers are easy, interesting, and incredibly adaptable. As I sometimes do when showing a new technique, I’ve kept this recipe ultra-simple, and only used ranch dressing and hot pepper as my marinade.

I was hoping that as you watched, your mind would be racing with ideas on how to make this already delicious meat-on-a-stick even more amazing. This is the kind of thing you could do a different version for every game of the season, and still not run out of ideas!

The part I hope you follow exactly is how to weave the bacon over the chicken. Using this method, you really get two kind of bacon. The exposed bacon gets beautifully caramelized and crisp, while the meat next to the chicken stays soft and fatty, more like a thin slice of pork belly.

Speaking of thin slices, don’t use extra-thick slab bacon for this. It will not cook before the chicken is overdone. I actually like to use the thinner, extra-lean bacon, as it has just the right about of fat to flavor and moisturize, without starting a raging fire on the grill. Anyway, next time you’re planning a game day tailgate buffet, I hope you give these a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 Bacon Ranch Chicken Skewers:

12 bamboo skewers

4 large (8-10 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/3 cup ranch dressing

1 tsp hot chili paste or any spicy condiment

12 strips bacon

24 pieces of red onion

salt and pepper to taste

extra ranch dressing to dip

Country Gravy – Deliciously Dingy and Definitely Diner

This sausage country gravy recipe comes from a time before cooks tried to think of ways to trim a few calories, but rather, thought of ways to sneak more calories into a dish. This was a meal that was meant to fill you up and keep you satisfied for a long time.

In addition to the astronomically high calorie count, another advantage of a milk gravy that’s been thickened with a roux made from the rendered fat of meat scraps, is it’s very cheap. So, when you combine “cheap,” with “filling,” and “delicious,” you have all the makings of a diner classic, which this certainly is.

In a diner, this gravy (also known as sausage gravy or cream gravy) would be made with leftover cooked sausage links and other breakfast meat scrapes like crumbled bacon, or ham ends. Since we’re making ours from scratch, we have the advantage of all that freshly rendered fat to make the light roux.

This method is more authentic and flavorful, but admittedly does nothing to improve the recipe’s dingy color and questionable appearance. Let’s face it, some great recipes are just plain ugly and that’s the way it is. I used a low fat milk, which makes for the dingiest color, but whole milk or cream, if you want this extra rich, do look marginally better.

As I mention in the video, if you’ve eaten this before, and know how shockingly good it can be, the look of the dish never crosses your mind. If this were a blind date, the recipe would be described as being “really fun with an amazing personality.”

As far as serving suggestions go, you can’t miss with fresh baked buttermilk biscuits (even though I used store bought, we have a great recipe, which you can see here), but this is also out-of-this-world on things like country-fried steak, and fried chicken. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

8 oz breakfast sausage

4 strips bacon

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/3 cup packed all-purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

2 1/2 cups milk, more or less as needed

Good Morning Sausage! Pork, Fennel, and Orange Breakfast Sausage Patties

I know I say this a lot, but I can’t believe I haven’t done this recipe yet! There are few things as easy and amazing as homemade breakfast sausage, and this is my favorite formula.

The key here is to get some properly ground fresh pork from a real live butcher. The ground pork in the meat case at the supermarket is not going to be coarse enough, not to mention the fact that the meat they used was probably chosen based on it’s inability to be sold in any other form.

Tell the butcher you want a couple pounds of freshly ground pork shoulder, and be sure to use the term “sausage grind.” This means a very coarse grind, and an adequate fat content. Anything less than 30-40% fat is just not going to make a great sausage patty.

Above and beyond the meat, almost anything goes when making sausage patties. I think the fennel, nutmeg, and orange zest (an idea I borrowed from my uncle, and sausage master, Bill) really gives this a breakfast-y flavor, but if you’re not into those ingredients, use what you like.

Lastly, the overnight refrigeration really makes a big difference. All those big flavors need time to meld together, and besides, by making this in the evening for the next morning’s meal, you’ve pretty much assured yourself of some quality sausage-related dreams. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork

1 tsp kosher salt (1/2 to 3/4 tsp of table salt), or to taste

1/2 tsp dried Italian herbs blend (mine has thyme, rosemary, sage, and oregano)

2-3 tsps fennel seeds, lightly crushed

2 tsp freshly grated orange zest

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

pinch of fresh nutmeg

Gumbo a Go Go – Duck, Andouille Sausage, Smoked Pork Hock, Gulf Shrimp and Langoustine Gumbo

It’s not easy to pry gumbo-making secrets from a cook in New Orleans, but you should have better luck if you slip them some truth serum, in the form of several well-made sazeracs. 

This particular gumbo, featuring duck, andouille sausage, smoked pork hock, gulf shrimp, and langoustine, was inspired by my recent trip to New Orleans, where I sampled a half-dozen varieties.

One rye whiskey-induced tip was to cook the famous Cajun roux in some duck fat instead of the more common and mundane vegetable oil. The roux is the soul of the gumbo and one of the challenges of this recipe is giving the fat and flour enough time to turn into that deep brick red-brown color.

My little trick here is to add a couple extra spoons of flour after the roux is browned. The dark roux gives the gumbo its signature flavor, but it doesn’t have much thickening power. I just cooked it a couple minutes, and then stirred in the stock.

Another tweak is using pickled okra instead of fresh or frozen. This particular perversion was born out of necessity rather than some brilliant thought on my part. Of course, if this technique catches on, that story will change. The pickled okra gave the gumbo a great flavor and added a little bit of acidity, which is always welcome in something this substantial.

This can be made with hundreds of different combinations of smoked meats, game, poultry, and seafood; and in my opinion, the more the merrier. As usual, I’d love to hear about any variations you may come up with. As you’ll see, the procedure is pretty straightforward, although you’re talking about a full day’s project. This is a dish that takes time, but I still hope you give it a try. Enjoy!

2 duck legs

1 tbsp vegetable oil, more as needed

1 cup flour, plus 2 tbsp for second addition
6 cups chicken broth

1 pound andouille sausage

1 large onion, chopped

4 green onions chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup diced peppers (any combination of sweet and hot)

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 smoked pork hock
2 cups water, or as needed
1 cup sliced okra, fresh, frozen or pickled
1 pound gulf shrimp
1 pound crawfish tail meat or langoustine
rice to garnish

What’s Cooking? Allrecipes.tv That’s What!

Even though it will be business as usual here on the blog and Foodwishes’ YouTube channel, one advantage of the new partnership with Allrecipes will be working with my friend, Michael Ketchum, the host and brains behind Allrecipes.tv.

A few years ago, I thought it would be a cool idea to travel around the country for a few months, filming favorite recipes in some of our viewers’ homes. I didn’t have any travel funds for such a trip, so when my sponsorship pitch to Amtrak was politely declined, the idea was shelved. Well, that concept is basically what Michael’s “What’s Cooking?” is all about. 

In each webisode, an Allrecipes' home cook shares the tips, tricks, and stories behind their favorite dishes. Anyway, I wanted to introduce you to Michael and Allrecipes.tv, and hope you’ll head over to take a look at their collection of video recipes. Here, Michael joins Kerri in Hutto, Texas, to capture her making a batch of tender pork spare ribs. You can subscribe to the Allrecipes' YouTube channel here.

By the way, I’ll have a brand new video recipe up tomorrow for shrimp and ham gravy (see photo below). Enjoy!

"What's Cooking? How to Make Pork Spare Ribs

Click here to get the full story and written recipe!

Tomorrow on Food Wishes: Shrimp and Ham Gravy!

Molasses-Brined Pork Chops – More Similar to "The Sopranos" Than You Think

I was so happy with how my Carolina barbecue sauce experiment went, I almost forgot I'd filmed the molasses brined pork chop I slathered all that sauce on. So, I figured I better get cracking and post this before grilling season turns into hockey season.

Brining pork chops is like upgrading to premium cable, once you do it, you can’t go back to basic. You hear people say HBO wins all those awards because they have the big advantage of using the profanity and casual nudity that the network competition can't.

When it comes to brining, the F-bombs and low-cut blouses are the flavor and extra moisture that the sweet, salty solution brings. When compared to your standard grilled pork chops, these brined beauties will surely get better reviews.

Other than having to wait a few hours for all that sexy, semipermeable membrane-on-membrane action to take place, this recipe is incredibly easy. Dissolve salt and molasses in water, toss in the chops, and wait. And what do you get from such little effort? A pork chop that's seasoned from the inside out, with a firm, but very moist texture.

I brined mine for about 6 hours, but according many osmotic experts, as little as one hour per pound of pork chop is adequate. For me, that would have been about 45 minutes, but since I learned this trick from a chef that used to leave these overnight, I can’t bring myself to brine them any less.

Whether you cover these with a Carolina barbecue sauce, or some other shiny glaze, I hope you decide to upgrade to premium pork chops soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 thick double-cut loin pork chops

For the brine:

1/2 cup kosher salt (only use 1/4 cup is using fine table salt)

1/2 cup molasses

4-5 whole cloves

1 cup boiling water to dissolve salt

7 cups cold water

North South East West Carolina-Style Barbecue Sauce

The only thing I know for sure about Carolina-style barbecue sauce is that there isn't one. The base is usually always vinegar and pepper, but then depending on which part of the state(s) you're dealing with, there are countless additions and variations.

This one features fresh apple to add a little extra something, but otherwise it's a fairly straightforward, totally in-your-face with tang and heat barbecue sauce recipe. It was fantastic on a molasses-brined pork chop that you'll see in an upcoming video.

One note for those of you that pay particularly close attention to these videos; you may wonder why I mash the cooked apples in the saucepan, when I'm going to put the sauce in the blender anyway. Extreme sauce ugliness, that's why.

I was originally going to leave the sauce unblended, with the hopes the apple would basically disintegrate into the sauce, but when I stirred in the mustard the sauce suddenly looked like the opposite of something you'd want to eat.

Happily a quick trip to the blender made everything okay again, and I was blessed with a superb summer grilling sauce. It's beautiful for basting, or as a can't-miss condiment. It was really nice on these chops, but I think it shines brightest with pulled pork. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 apple, peeled, cubed

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

Warm Roast Potato Salad with Black Forest Bacon

Potato salads make the perfect accompaniment to many meat dishes or a delicious and hearty meal on their own. I personally prefer the roasted potatoes instead of usual boiled one for my potato salads as it intensifies the flavour. If you can't find the smoky black forest bacon, use regular bacon.

• 800 g Small potatoes, cut into 2-3 chunks
  
• 2 tbsp Rosemary infused olive oil
  
• Salt
  
• 5 slice Black forest bacon, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp Fresh rosemary leaves
  
• 2 tbsp Sour cream
  
• 2 tbsp Homemade mayonnaise
  
• 1/2 tbsp Lemon juice
  
• 1/2 tbsp Capers, drained and chopped
  
• 1/2 tbsp Fresh basil leaves, chopped
  

1. Heat oven to 210C/420F. Place the potatoes in a roasting pan, then rub with rosemary infused olive oil, rosemary leaves and a sprinkling of salt. Roast for 30 mins until the potatoes have turned a deep golden brown. Leave to cool slightly.
   
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Dry-fry the chopped bacon until crisp. Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers, and the basil in a large bowl. Add in roasted potatoes and crispy bacon. Toss to coat and serve.

I want to thank Elisabeth at foodandthriftfinds for passing the "Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award" to me and Raven at Ravienomnoms sharing her "Stylish Blogger Award" with me. Thank You, ladies!

Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Pancetta

I know there are plenty of Brussels sprouts haters out there, but seriously this veggie deserves one more chance. Not to mention their fantastic health benefits, like cholesterol-lowering ability, anti-inflammatory support, cancer-protective substances, etc., they don't taste bad. Ok, I agree that they don't taste heavenly like chocolate, but they are great just like many other vegetables.
Don't overcook them or they will smell stinky and taste bitter. It's better to serve them while they are still slightly crunchy.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

• 400 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed
  
• 120 g Pancetta, diced
  
• 200 g Cooked chestnuts, broken into large pieces
  
• 1 tbsp Sugar
  
• 200 ml Vegetable stock
  

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the Brussels sprouts for 3 minutes until they are starting to soften slightly. Remove and drain.
   
2. Heat a frying pan and fry the pancetta until crisp, then remove and set aside. Add the chestnuts and sugar, tossing in the pan, then pour in the vegetable stock and reduce by half.
   
3. Add in Brussels sprouts and pancetta back to the pan. Stir to combine. Transfer to a plate and serve warm.

Bacon Pistachio Cookies

Bacon and cookies...the combination might sound odd to you, but they are so freaking good with salty, nutty, and crunchy texture. Highly addictive!

• 50 g Bacon
  
• 120 g Butter, cut into small pieces
  
• 60 g Caster sugar
  
• 50 g Egg white
  
• 200 g Pastry flour
  
• 1/2 tsp Dried thyme
  
• 50 g Pistachio, roughly chopped
  

1. Cook the bacon until crisp. Dry them in a paper towel and roughly chop. Line two baking trays with paper. Set aside.
   
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg whites until combined. Add in the pastry flour, dried thyme, and chopped pistachio. Work the mixture until it comes together. Fold the cling film so that the dough is completely covered. Lightly roll it until you get a log, about 5 cm in diameter. Chill them at least 2 hours or overnight until thoroughly firm.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Line two baking trays with paper. Remove from the fridge, and slice the log into cookies, about 5 mm thick. Place the cookies on the prepared trays and bake 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on wire racks. Stir them in an airtight container for at least a week.

Baked Carnival Squash with Smoked Bacon and Rosemary

Carnival Squash - Cream colored with orange spots or pale green with dark green spots in vertical stripes. Carnival Squash have hard, thick skins and only the flesh is eaten. It is sometimes labeled as a type of acorn squash.

The delicious yellow meat is reminiscent of sweet potatoes and butternut squash and can be baked or steamed then combined with butter and fresh herbs. Also great in soups. Source: What's Cooking America

Recipe Source: Kürbis aus dem Ofen-Essen und Trinken

• 1 Carnival squash (acorn or hokkaido)
  
  
• Salt and black pepper to taste
  
  
• 100 g Smoked bacon, diced
  
  
• 50 g Olive oil
  
  
• 1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
  
  
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
  
  
• 1/5 tsp Nutmeg
  
  
• 1 tsp Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Cut carnival squash into halves, scoop out seeds and fibers, and cut each half into two chunks. Place them cut-side up on a shallow baking tray. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper.
   
   
2. Dice the bacon and combine with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, nutmeg and sugar in a bowl. Divide the mixture among the carnival chunks. Bake in the middle of the hot oven for 25-30 minutes.

Ginger Sherry Braised Pork Trotters

These pork trotters are really succulent, and truly a delicious combination of sweet, sour, and piquant flavours. Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea as they are high in cholesterol, but I do enjoy them once in a while, you know, in moderation.

1 kg Pork trotters, cut into smaller pieces 1 large chunk Ginger root, peeled and shredded 5 Dried chillies 6 clove Garlic, smashed 1/2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns©angiesrecipes 80 ml Rice vinegar 12 slices Dried Chinese haw

60 ml Maggi seasoning©angiesrecipes 3 tbsp Sugar 1 tbsp Caramel colour©angiesrecipes 3 tbsp Oyster sauce 2 stalk Spring onions 60 ml Sherry, medium-dry 450 ml Chicken stock or water

1. Blanch the pork trotters in a pot of boiling water. Remove and rinse with cold water. Drain and place them in the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker.
   
   
2. Add in shredded ginger, dried chillies, smashed garlic cloves, peppercorns, rice Vinegar, dried haws, Maggi, sugar, caramel colour if used, oyster sauce, chopped spring onion and sherry. Pour in the chicken stock to cover the trotters.
   
   
3. Cover and secure with the lid. Plug in the pressure cooker and turn the knob to pork cooking cycle. Once it is done and cools down, then open the lid and transfer the pork trotters into a baking dish. Strain the soup into the baking dish. Bake at 180C/350F for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the top with some spring onion and garnish with a tomato rose if desired.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara for Real

I've never been obsessed with recipe authenticity. If you want to call your bagel half spread with sauce and cheese, a pizza, well, more power to you. I will, of course, make fun of you behind your back, but publicly I'll defend you enthusiastically.

I remember posting a ceviche recipe years ago, which had some diced mango mixed in. I received at least a dozen emails from Peruvian readers, not suggesting, but demanding that I change the name.

Their point was simple; true ceviche never features mango. My point was equally straightforward; mine does. So, while I normally don't worry too much about such matters, sometimes I do enjoy demonstrating a recipe in its original form, simply because I find it interesting.

Here I'm doing a spaghetti alla carbonara, as the recipe was made before people started "cheating," and started adding cream. Spaghetti alla carbonara's "creamy" sauce is simply a thin egg and cheese custard, spiked with pork and black pepper. People add cream because they're afraid of scrambling the eggs. But, if you follow the steps in the video, this will not be an issue.

By the way, there are many theories for where the name "carbonara" comes from. The one I officially endorse is that the name was inspired by the specks of black pepper in the sauce, which look like particles of charcoal. It just makes the most sense.

Speaking of authentic, try and find some pancetta or guanciale, which is cured like pancetta, but made from pork cheek. Those two products are not smoked, which works much better in this delicious pasta. Enjoy!




Ingredients for 2 portions:
6-8 oz dry spaghetti (or any pasta)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 oz pancetta, guanciale, or in a pinch, a mildy smoked bacon
fresh coarsely ground black pepper
2 eggs
about 3/4 cup grated Italian cheese (a half Pecorino Romano and half Parmigiano-Reggiano blend is perfect)

Roasted Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus …And That's It

This super simple prosciutto wrapped asparagus recipe sets a new record on Food Wishes for fewest number of ingredients. Some asparagus, prosciutto, and that is it. The fat from the roasting prosciutto provides numerous benefits.

It adds the perfect amount of saltiness. It imparts that rich meaty flavor that only pork can deliver. You'll even get a little pepperiness . I'm more than happy to enjoy asparagus in its natural, swine-free state, but once in a while I need to animal it up a little.

This is such a versatile dish. You can make it for a quick snack as I did, but image a little raft of these glistening spears as a base for a piece of grilled chicken, or tossed on top of a pasta, or salad. You can also break from the two ingredient plan and add lemon, parmesan, aioli, romesco…actually, it would be quicker to list what it doesn't go with.

Asparagus is plentiful right now, so next time you're at the grocery store, or better yet, the farmers market, pick up a few bunches and give it a go. You can really use any thinly sliced cured meat, and I've done this with Serrano ham, as well as smoked Black Forest ham with equally delicious results. Enjoy!

Ham Steaks with Caramelized Apples – Timely and Finally

I'm done! The cookbook is finally done! Well, at least the first phase of submitting all the recipes, and photographing all the plates. Pictured here is the last recipe I had to shoot, a lovely ham steak with caramelized apples.

I couldn’t video the recipe, but I have included the very simple written recipe below, since these apples would be great with that Easter ham. Especially after that amazing breakfast of coffee and warm, homemade Easter bread you're probably going to be enjoying.

Michele and I are getting ready to head up to Bodega Bay for Easter with the family, and a much needed break. I want to thank everyone who helped test recipes, and gave me such great feedback regarding the various dishes going in the book.

I'll have publishing details soon, and now that the bulk of the cookbook production is done, after this little break I hope to return to my normal routine of doing at least 2-3 new video recipes a week. In the meantime, I hope those of you celebrating enjoy your Easter meals, and that some of you find this apple sauce recipe useful and delicious. Enjoy!

Caramelized Apple Sauce
Enough for 6-8

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup apple cider or juice
small pinch of cinnamon
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 firm apples (I like Granny Smith, but any good cooking apple will work), peeled and sliced into 16ths. Cut each apple into quarters, and then each quarter into 4 slices.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
fresh baked ham slices or pan-warmed ham steaks

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cider vinegar, apple cider or juice, cinnamon, and Dijon mustard. Reserve until needed. Prep the apples as directed.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over high heat. As soon as the butter melts, wait half a minute and add the apples. Sauté for 3-4 minutes, or until the edges start to brown slightly.

Pour in the reserved mixture, turn the heat down to medium-high, and cook until the apples are tender and the liquid has reduced down to a glaze. If the liquid begins to get to thick before the apples are tender, just add a splash of water and continue cooking.

Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. It may seem odd to add salt and black pepper to this apple sauce, but it's a very important flavor component. Serve hot, spooned over sliced ham, or ham steak.