Fare for the family table
I have discovered homemade carnitas, and I am in love.
Not sure why it took me so long to make carnitas on my own, I mean I've loved them in great Mexican take-out joints for years, but for some reason never thought to make them myself. As you all know, I am a big fan of braising, and my favorite dish of all time is duck confit (another dish I've never made….doh!), so it should come as no surprise that carnitas and I are made for each other.
I found this recipe in the latest Bon Appétit and knew immediately that we had to make it. As the weather turns cooler here in the Northeast, braises like this tagine come screaming back into fashion. With the exception of freshly baked bread, there is nothing to compete with a delicious braise in the way it fills a home with hearty aromas and warmth. As it had been some time since we've had lamb around here, this dish was a perfect way to hop back into cool weather cuisine.
How many of you tremble at just the thought of making a soufflé?
I know, I know….I used to too.
But you know what? Of all the things in this world that you might legitimately fear, making a soufflé shouldn't be one of them. Really…. all the stories you've heard about having to tip-toe around the oven, or the need to speak in whispers when a soufflé is baking are all ridiculous. I'm not sure who started these nasty rumours, but I guarantee you that with just a little attention paid to timing, you too can deliver delicious and ethereally light soufflés to the table without breaking a sweat.
I love curries, and I mean all curries. Thai, Indian, Pakistani, Cambodian, you name an ethnic cuisine that boasts a curry and I'm all over it like…..well….
Like curry on rice!
It doesn't matter to me whether the curry is a long braised Indian lamb curry, or a quick to the table Thai version like this one here, there is just something special about the spice blends that define curries that I find very appealing. Some are scorching hot, others not so much, but one thing all curries share is a complexity and depth of flavor that I find absolutely addiciting.
No, this is not a picture of a "Nathan's" hot dog from the world renowned "Nathan's Famous" on Coney Island, NY.
This is even better!
Hey, I've got nothing against "Nathan's Famous" dogs, in fact of all the commercially made franks I've tried, they are my favorites, but these homemade beauties leave even Coney Islands' famed meat tube in the dust.
We were originally going to make these hot dogs for a Charcutapalooza challenge a few months back, but weren't able to schedule all the right folks in the kitchen to meet the deadline and so let the challenge pass. In the meantime, we've had the pleasure to meet the son of a friend, Nathan, who as a high school freshman, is already an accomplished cook. When he heard we were trying to find time to make hot dogs, he expressed an interest in joining in the fun.
We were happy to have him join us in the kitchen that day, plus let's face it, with a name like Nathan, this kid was born to make hot dogs!
In our seemingly endless effort to ferret out the best brownies on the planet, for you, our devoted readers, we come to you today with yet another contender for the title. Many of you will recall our first foray into "Baked NYC" territory with this post about them back in January. In it, we put the original "Baked" brownie to the test, and found we really loved it's deep dark flavor, and almost fudge like consistency.
Well, the guys at Baked Bakery in Brooklyn are back with not only a new cookbook called Baked Explorations , but also a new take on their now famous brownie. To put it simply, the Sweet and Salty Brownie is their original on steroids, and while we may hold steroids and all those stupid athletes that use them in low regard, in this instance, they are a VERY GOOD THING!
This little ditty has fast become one of our favorite condiments to have on-hand. Vibrant, light and fresh, it is equally at-home as a sandwich spread, a fajita topping, or a dip for chips. It's got a nice kick without being too much, and the acidity from the tomatillos and the 1/2 lime make your mouth sit up straight and give thanks. Hallelujah!
Never cooked with or eaten tomatillos before? Well, that's gonna change…..NOW!
Every year for the past few, Boris and I get away for a father-son hiking weekend. Over the past several years we've summited all five of Vermont's highest peaks, so this year we set our sites a bit further north and headed to Maine to summit that state's tallest mountain, Mt. Katahdin.
Katahdin is located in Baxter State Park, which unfortuntaley is about a 7 hour drive from where we live in Massachusetts. I always forget how big a state Maine is, it takes forever to get anywhere up there. That said, we found ourselves in need of a little pick-me-up about halfway through our drive up, and pulled off at a Starbucks for a recharge. I ordered up a grande mocha, but Boris, not yet a coffee drinker was at a loss. He had just asked me what I thought he might like when I saw that their chalkboard special was a pumpkin-spiced latté. All I had to tell him was that it would taste like a liquid piece of pumpkin pie and HE WAS IN! He ordered up an iced version and was grinning ear to ear as he savored his first coffee-drink treat.
Boris and I just before our lunch in the clouds atop Katahdin.
He like it so much, in fact, that we stopped at the same Starbucks on our return trip so that he could grab another one (and so that his ancient and exhausted father could get a caffeine fix to keep him awake for the long drive home after our challenging hike the day before). After polishing off his second latté, he turned to me and stated that he was such a fan that he'd decided that he wanted his birthday cake this year to be a pumpkin cake with a cream cheese frosting. As his 15th birthday was just a couple weeks away, I had a little planning to do.
Without too much trouble I found this recipe on Epicurious, and with a little tweaking to amp the spice of the cake, delivered a big two thumbs up treat for our guy. Pumpkin may be a bit of an unorthodox choice for most foks for a birthday cake, but Boris just loved his. For those of you less inclined to sing happy birthday while carrying this lovely around, it would be a fabulous addition to a Thanksgiving dessert spread.
Cheers – Steve
Arthas and I tossed these wings together a few weeks back as a treat to bring to a neighborhood barbeque…..they were fabulous! The recipe is a rif on my friend Winnie's "Sweet and Spicy Rubbed Wings", which she submitted some time ago for a Food52 contest for your best chicken wings.
According to Winnie, she had developed this spicy coffee-cocoa rub to use on ribs and loved it so much that she then tried it on some homemade roasted nuts, and then finally these wings. It sounds like she was tossing it on anything that didn't move! Don't you love a condiment that can be put to use in so many different ways?
Let me just start by saying that I could eat this tart every day of the week and be a very happy camper. Of course, my doctor might have something to say about a diet that consisted of wedge after wedge of this deliciousness, but I'm just sayin'.
Look, I love chard just simply sauteed with a little garlic, some EVOO and maybe a few red pepper flakes, but the kids…..not so much. They are much more liable to snarf down this super-nutritious veggie if surrounded by a buttery crust, some melted goat cheese, and a few chunks of pork sausage.
Hey, can you blame them?
