Looking back I’ve noticed it’s been over a year since I’ve posted a new sausage recipe. Since it’s Oktoberfest time I thought this would be a good week to unveil my latest creation: homemade Onion Brats. I’m not breaking any new ground with this onion brat, as I’m sure it’s been done, but I’m impressed with the extreme flavor derived from just a couple of ingredients; pork, salt, shallots and parsley.Continue reading “Oktoberfest Sausage – Onion Brat!”
Braised Pork Belly with Apple and Fennel
One thing I really like about cooking pork dishes is that pork does fantastically well absorbing the flavors you surround it with. Yet another reason why the pig is such a magical animal. Think about it, from sausages to bacon to tenderloin and chops, a lot of the flavor comes from the herbs and spices used in the preparation and cooking. Pork is a wonderful blank canvas for any cook and pork belly is very good choice because it has layers of delicious fat to keep it moist. Reasons enough for me to make braising a perfect technique for preparing pork belly. Especially as we head into cooler Fall weather.Continue reading “Braised Pork Belly with Apple and Fennel”
Pane al’Formaggio – A Great Bread for Autumn
Hard to believe we’re a third of the way through September already. I know I’ve said this before but I get excited when September hits because it means I can start weaning myself off of the grill and getting back into cooking and baking in the kitchen, especially fresh bread. As usual, when it comes to bread I pick Carol Field’s The Italian Baker off of the shelf to find a good loaf I haven’t tried. This week I found her recipe for the bread equivalent of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, two great tastes which taste great together. Pane al’formaggio, cheese bread!Continue reading “Pane al’Formaggio – A Great Bread for Autumn”
Grilled Jimmy Nardello Italian Peppers
That’s right, it’s another post about the wonderful produce we’ve been getting in our CSA this summer. I think I’ve featured vegetables more during the past few months than any other time during the life of this website. This week’s interesting pick was Jimmy Nardello Italian Peppers, an heirloom pepper named after…Jimmy Nardello. Who’s he and how did he get a pepper named after him? Jimmy just happened to be the son of the Italian immigrants who came to the USA in 1887. The Nardello’s (originally Nardiello) used to grow these peppers back home and liked them so much they brought the seeds over with them and continued to grow them where they settled in Connecticut. Despite their fiery red color Jimmy Nardello Italian Peppers don’t have much heat at all, in fact they are very sweet and are the right kind for quick grilling or frying for a late summer antipasto.Continue reading “Grilled Jimmy Nardello Italian Peppers”
Dutch Beets in Our CSA Box – What are Those?
My wife posted a picture last week with the caption: ‘Living with Peter means you walk into your kitchen and think what is that and how the hell do you eat it? Dutch beets apparently. Not some weird radish/carrot/potato hybrid thing like I thought.’ Ha! Working with new vegetables like Dutch beets is just one of the many reasons I really like our decision to get a custom CSA this year from Montalbano Farms in order to supplement our backyard plantings. I’d never seen this variety before so I eagerly added them to our weekly box!Continue reading “Dutch Beets in Our CSA Box – What are Those?”
Elevated Elote: Sweet Summer Corn Salad
For me, August means sweet corn. Back home where I grew up, in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York, this is the part of summer when sweet corn is coming into peak harvest and ‘fresh corn’ stands sprout up on rural roads like…well…corn stalks. I love to eat corn on the cob but variety is the spice of life so this week I’m taking elote, the grilled Mexican corn treat, and turning it into an even more savory summer corn salad.Continue reading “Elevated Elote: Sweet Summer Corn Salad”
Caponatina – Another Summer Garden Dish
I can always tell if a recipe in the Wall Street Journal weekend edition is decent to look at and maybe try because Cheryl will usually make a yea or nay comment like, “hey look at this” or “there’s nothing good this week.” A couple of weeks ago there was a featured a recipe on caponata, Cheryl saw it, and a not-so-subtle request for the Sicilian antipasta dish was made.Continue reading “Caponatina – Another Summer Garden Dish”
Zucchini Tomato Basil Tart
My tomatoes are ripening, my basil plant is a bush, and zucchini are abundant. I think this zucchini tomato basil tart really captures the vegetables we’re starting to see come to markets now. It’s also a perfect summertime dish as a light accompaniment to any grilled meal or part of a lunchtime salad.Continue reading “Zucchini Tomato Basil Tart”
Minty Peach Cobbler
Summer means peaches and peaches mean sweet summer desserts. Pies, ice cream, raw, there’s only a short time you can get your fill, so you need to take advantage. I tend to lean towards a good peach pie in the summer, but there just weren’t enough for a pie in the basket from our local Saturday farmer’s market so I opted to make something which didn’t require a pie sized amount of them: peach cobbler.Continue reading “Minty Peach Cobbler”
Horseradish Greens Pistou – More CSA Fun
I was talking to my mom about the horseradish greens (after last week’s post) when a really good idea popped into my head: use them in a pistou-like sauce. Prime rib and horseradish sauce are a classic pairing so I thought horseradish greens, which taste like horseradish, would go well with a nicely grilled steak in the form of an herb sauce. Over the weekend I had a great opportunity to turn the idea into a horseradish greens pistou and see how it turned out.Continue reading “Horseradish Greens Pistou – More CSA Fun”
The Roaming GastroGnome 