How to Make Homemade Pastrami (a.k.a Smoked Meat)

Ok, enough with all those travel and event posts.  Time for an actual food-from-scratch post!  Pastrami!  This is one definitely one of our favorite dishes!  In New York where I’m from (Mid-Hudson Valley) there’s nothing like a good pastrami sandwich from a proper deli.  Head to Montreal and Quebec City and you’ll find it’s calledContinue reading “How to Make Homemade Pastrami (a.k.a Smoked Meat)”

The Best Raisin Bread Ever! Pan Tramvai!

I know, I know, not another bread recipe so soon.  But seriously, this has to be the best raisin bread you can make.  It is so chock full of raisins the dough can barely contain them.  How chock full?  Well the amount of raisins in the bread is equal to the amount of flour used. Continue reading “The Best Raisin Bread Ever! Pan Tramvai!”

Baking some Italian Bread: Pane di Como

My mom is always sending me recipes she’s tried.  I’ll suddenly get an envelope in the mail from her and inside will be a recipe clipped from a newspaper or magazine.  Every now and then though a larger package will arrive in which I’ll find a cookbook she saw or found.  This week, one ofContinue reading “Baking some Italian Bread: Pane di Como”

How to make Aioli: A perfect condiment for grilled foods

Aioli, when made from scratch is very unlike the flavored mayo you get at places passed off as aioli.  It’s much creamier, packs quite the garlicky punch, and can be used to enhance the flavors of almost anything from soups to grilled vegetables to meat to crostini.  Aioli is also very easy to make andContinue reading “How to make Aioli: A perfect condiment for grilled foods”

Duck Rillette – More Ducky Fun

“How do you make a rillette?” Cheryl asked me when we dug into a pork and duck rillette after a long afternoon of car shopping.  I replied that a rillette is just slow cooked shredded meat, kinda like pulled pork, mashed together with some fat.  I’m sure you can all guess the follow-up: “Sounds easy.Continue reading “Duck Rillette – More Ducky Fun”

White Bean Bruschetta with Duck Skin Crackling

It has been a real whirlwind spring so far.  I’ve been really busy with work (a good thing) and in our spare time we’ve been revamping the back yard, tearing out shrubs, expanding the patio, making some raised bed gardens (an even better thing).  Cooking has temporarily taken a back seat.  However, this past SundayContinue reading “White Bean Bruschetta with Duck Skin Crackling”

St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef (Part 2 – the finished product)

After 6 days in brine the brisket was ready for cooking and the photo above does not begin to do justice to this corned beef.  If you could only taste it!  The ready-to-cook corned beef you buy in the store has nothing on this version in terms of flavor.  There’s no way you get asContinue reading “St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef (Part 2 – the finished product)”

Homemade Gnocchi – It’s Taken a While but I Finally Did It

Ah gnocchi.  When gnocchi is made right they are like light and airy pillows; when made wrong like heavy and dense globs of potato.  They are one of Cheryl’s favorite foods and always in the running if we’re at an Italian restaurant and gnocchi is on the menu.  Gnocchi are made with the simplest ingredients,Continue reading “Homemade Gnocchi – It’s Taken a While but I Finally Did It”

Palette de Porc a la Biere (ou en anglais Beer Braised Pork Shoulder with a Dijon Mustard Sauce)

Over the weekend Cheryl requested something new and untried for Sunday dinner and said she’d pick from the cookbook shelf.  The winning recipe of the ones she chose: Bourdain’s Palette de Porc a la Biere; a.k.a beer braised pork shoulder with mustard sauce.

Linguine with Clam Sauce

For the longest time I had huge problems trying to make linguine with clam sauce like my mom’s.  Try as I might I could never get it as thick as hers.  I tried everything too, more butter, less liquid, more clams, nothing ever seemed to work.  I had pretty much given up hope I’d everContinue reading “Linguine with Clam Sauce”