Fruit
Wed Jul 6, 2011
Fried: Tostones
Before I digressed into the virtues of an all-out barbecue bash, and how to plan one, I was on a bit of Cuban kick with pernil, followed by Cubanos. Picking back up from there, I can't image how you could have either of those without plantains— inseparable in my book. Of course, grilled plantains can be excellent, but I have a sweet spot in my clogged arteries for tostones—twice fried green plantains.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Tue Dec 7, 2010
Sweet, Shiny Christmas Swine
Being Jewish and all, my idea of the Christmas meal growing up came mostly from the pages of magazines and whatever sitcoms were delving into humorous Christmas follies that holiday season (where was all Chanukah hilariousness...oil + fire seems like comedy gold to me). What I could gleam from those detached encounters was that Christians loved pork, and loved even more to make it look shiny and sickeningly sweet, and I knew that I wanted it. Forget Santa, Christmas trees, and presents, it was the honey hams, crown roasts, and glazed pork loins that made me long for a taste of the other side. With 13 years now between myself and my kosher past, I've found out that I can have my cake Christmas pork and eat it too, and boy is it fantastic.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Mon Nov 22, 2010
The Saving Graces of Pears
Thanksgiving excitement is brewing—meal is planned, shopping list is with my Mom, and packing has commenced. With all of that behind, now starts the plotting of a cooking strategy, the enormous process of putting together a dinner big enough for 12, to be eaten by 6 (leftovers! leftovers!), in a kitchen made for 2. The task can be daunting and a timeline almost down to the minute is a must. It's a given that with such a large meal prepared in tight quarters, tensions will be high, and I look to the grill as my godsend. Not only can it move some cooking outside of the kitchen, it can also offer a well needed moment of solitude in any otherwise hectic and social day. After the total gluttony of the feast, I see dessert as a great time to retreat to the grill and put together something a little lighter, more simple, but no less delicious to finish the night—like this recipe for Bartlett pears a la mode.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Tue Oct 26, 2010
All Hail the Pumpkin Ravioli King!
Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins! Last week it was an influx of apples, this week it's all about pumpkins. Unlike the CSA being the root of my apple predicament, I'm the creator of on my own pumpkin destiny, and when I see them just about every step I take right now, I just seem to want them all the more. Along with a few big fellas for carving taking up the majority of my kitchen table, I'm quite fond of the smaller sugar pumpkins, who can still undergo the transformation into a jack-o-lantern, but do even better in edible incarnations, like this pumpkin ravioli.
More and recipe after the jump >>
Wed Oct 20, 2010
An Apple (or Ten) a Day
The changing leaves and cool, crisp air brings along with it one of my favorite times of the year to grill. The toasty grill makes the perfect companion to enjoy the outdoors right now, and the bounty of the fall harvest presents new grilling challenges that coaxes an excitement out of me akin to the first signs spring and the coming "grilling season." As a local CSA member, there's also a downside to this, which is variety. The vast array of summer crops have given way to a monotony of fall fruits and vegetables, and the weekly collection of 5lbs of apples is starting to feel more of a burden than a gift from the earth. So what to do with all this excess? Well, you know me, I grill it!
