Could there be a more representative image of spring than a couple ladybugs having sex on a spear of asparagus?
This great photo by Flickr user Benimoto inspired me to post these links to some previously published asparagus recipes.
One of my biggest vegetable pet-peeves is undercooked asparagus. Many cooks are so afraid to overcook it, that they tend to not cook it long enough, and this results in a crisp and still bitter stalk.
There's a perfect degree of doneness when the spears are barely firm, tender, and sweet. Go buy a couple bunches of fresh asparagus and give one of these recipes a try. Enjoy! Asparagus and Chicken Noodle Casserole
I've always thought that more home cooks would try recipes that call for brining the meat, if it were simply referred to (incorrectly, by the way), as a marinade.
Marinating sounds easy, brining sounds complicated. When people see "marinade" they think oil, vinegar, and a few spices rubbed on some meat. Mmm… marinade.
But, when they see "brine" in a procedure, I think they anticipate formulas, ratios, and percentages. Mmm…math?
For all practical purposes, a brine is really nothing more than a water-based marinade. Molecularly-speaking there are big differences between brining and marinating, but as far as cooking skill, or amount of prep work, there is no difference.
This video recipe for maple-brined pork roast is a delicious way for you to experience just how easy a simple brine really is. What a brine does that a marinade doesn't do is force moisture and flavor into the roast. I love the way the meat gets infused with that subtly sweet maple flavor.
I paired this roast pork loin with the rocket beans side dish, which just recently aired, and it was perfect match. By the way, the leftover pork loin, sliced thin and served cold, makes a sandwich that's to die for. Enjoy!
UPDATE: What you are looking at is chicken breast wrapped around a filling of garlic-parsley breadcrumbs, prosciutto, and provolone cheese. The sauce is a roasted tomato and white wine reduction. In the center sits a cold lentil salad.
Over the last few years, Arugula has gone from rare and exotic, to common and mainstream. Bags of baby arugula line almost every lettuce case in the country, and it appears on restaurant menus with such frequency one could make the case it's over-used.
Another, infinitely cooler, name for arugula is Rocket. My sources deep within the European foodie subculture report that this is the term most commonly used. That's where this lovely, and extremely easy bean side dish gets its name.
While rocket is a wonderful green for salads, I really enjoy using it as an herb in hot dishes like this one. The secret is a very, very brief cooking so it keeps its fresh spicy flavor, and bright color.
This makes a great side dish for so many main courses, and in the video you'll see it next to a maple-brined pork loin that I'll be airing soon. By the way, don't let the bacon fat in this recipe scare you. Believe me, it's way more afraid of you than you are of it. Enjoy!
4 strips bacon, sliced 1 tbsp olive oil salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste 15 oz jar or can butter beans, drained and rinsed 3 cloves garlic, minced large handful arugula, chopped 1/2 lemon, juiced
Whether you're celebrating for religious reasons, or you’re just in it for the candy (the real miracle is how much they charge for a hollow chocolate rabbit these days!), I want to wish you all a happy Easter. Today it's okay to keep all your eggs in one basket.
If you're a regular reader, you probably know about my goal to keep this blog virtually religion and politics free, but that doesn't mean I can't remind you to take a moment to think about all the miracles that happen all around us on a daily basis.
The latest example is pictured here, my new niece Malia Grace Manfredi. Congratulations Kenny and Josette! Now that's an Easter basket.
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and stay tuned for some great video recipes this week, including Rocket Beans, Maple-Brined Pork Roast, and Lamb Meatballs. Enjoy!
It's not often I can work a Vanilla Ice song into a video recipe, but here it fit like a pair of baggy pants.
This quick and simple lemon icing recipe is what I frosted my Easter bread with, and it works nicely as an all-purpose glaze for all types of cookies, breads, and pastries.
You remember that comedian, the one with the big porn-stache, that did the, "you might be a redneck if" routine?
By the way, if you were at one of his shows, you were a redneck. This recipe reminds me of that bit. You could come up with a whole list of "you might be a bad cook if…" statements, but one of them for sure would be, "you might be a bad cook if you buy icing."
There can't be an easier recipe than a simple sugar icing. Can you stir? Good, then you have what it takes. I'm assuming if you do buy your icing, it's because you simply don't know the recipe, or just assumed (like everyone at a Jeff Foxworthy show is a redneck) it was too complicated. It's not. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 2 tsp grated lemon zest, optional 1 tbsp milk 1 small drop food coloring, optional
Easter is a very underrated food holiday. What red-blooded, red meat eater doesn't salivate at the site and smell of a garlic-studded roasting leg of lamb?
I've always enjoyed the simple pleasure of a properly cooked hard-boiled Easter egg, and its colorfully decorated shell. And, of course, there's the chocolate eggs, tucked down in pink plastic excelsior grass.
Remember how you would slowly lift the egg out of the basket and immediately gauge the weight. In a millisecond you knew if it was a feather-light, hollow chocolate shell, or heavy and dense - filled with solid chocolate or some other exotic goo.
If you were lucky enough to grow up in an Italian-American home, there's a good chance you got to enjoy the smell of freshly baked Easter bread, with its unmistakable anisette aroma filling the air.
The smell was heady, but so was the sight of those glossy iced braids, bejeweled with candy sprinkles (click here for the icing recipe). The sweet, spicy, eggy, buttery taste was complex, but at the same time, familiar and comforting.
This loaf of Easter bread is one of my favorite holiday traditions, and an authentic family heirloom recipe. Made the same way as my mother, and her mother, and her mother's mother made it. I hope you give this a try, and remember, it's never too late to start and old family tradition. Happy Easter! Enjoy!
Ingredients: 1 package active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water (100 degrees F.) 3/4 cup sugar 4 eggs 1 tsp aniseeds 1 1/2 tbsp anise extract 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract 1 tbsp lemon zest 1 1/4 tsp salt 2 tbsp vegetable oil 6 tbsp melted butter 1/4 cup milk 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed *CLICK HERE for the icing recipe!
Could there be a more representative image of spring than a couple ladybugs having sex on a spear of asparagus?
Asparagus and Chicken Noodle Casserole
