Crab-Stuffed Corn Muffins – Just One Frosting Away From Being Cupcakes

I was originally going to call these “crab and corn cupcakes,” but since I’ve still not perfected my bacon frosting recipe, I decided to hold off and go with the slightly less exciting sounding “crab-stuffed corn muffins.” And no, I’m not kidding about the bacon frosting.

Besides, since these were inspired by the food wish for new, easy and interesting football party snacks, I think “muffins” sounds a little more gridiron than cupcakes. Regardless, they were simple to make, and (as I tested personally) quite delicious eaten while watching a football game, possibly with beer(s).

As some of you longtime viewers may have noticed, this is a variation on something we posted many years ago called “Kernel Porker's Barbecued Pork-Stuffed Corn Muffins,” and I always wondered how it would be with crabmeat. When I got the usual autumn avalanche of football-themed food wishes, I figured the time was right to find out, and I was very happy with the results!

As I mention in the video, they reminded me of a New England crab or lobster roll, where they simply pile warm, buttery seafood on those toasted rolls. This was heavier, but just as pleasurable. Anyway, unlike the replacement referees that are now calling the games, these didn’t suck, and certainly won’t be a season-long embarrassment to the league. I hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 Crab-stuffed Corn Muffins
For the crab filling:

8 oz crabmeat

1 1/2 tbsp mayo

1 tsp crushed red chili sauce

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp fresh grated lemon zest

2 oz grated pepper Jack cheese (about 1/2 cup)

salt to taste

For the corn muffins:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup corn meal

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp minced green onions

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup melted butter

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm.

White Gazpacho! I Eat This All the Time…Like Every 20 Years

A very, very long time ago, I had a white gazpacho. It was ice cold, very tasty, and super refreshing. It was similar to a classic gazpacho, but with no tomato and peppers. It was so unusually delicious that it really made an impression.

It had a cucumber base, was garnished with almonds and grapes, and was so good, I told myself to get the recipe and put it into regular summer rotation. That was probably 20 years ago, and I haven’t had it since. Totally spaced. 

Anyway, last week I came across this on Grubstreet, and it all came back to me. I knew I must try this soup! I’ve adapted the Dovetail’s versionslightly, but it’s one of those very personal recipes that you’ll want to adjust to your tastes.

Tweaking the amounts of salt, vinegar, and sweetness from the grapes will easily alter the final product, so experimentation is a must! The same goes for the texture. Add a bit more or less water depending on your dream viscosity.

The ice cube trick is optional, but really does keep the soup nicely chilled. The temperature is so critical here – you can’t serve this too cold. By the way, the dill oil I drip on the top was nothing more than a few tablespoons of vegetable oil mashed with some fresh dill with a mortar and pestle.

So, the next time you’re looking for a cool first course for that next great garden party, I hope you give this a try. You’ll love it so much, I’m sure you’ll make it all the time! ;) Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 small servings:

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 cup whites part of leeks, washed, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

2 English cucumbers, peeled

8-10 green grapes

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup crème fraiche, sour cream or plain yogurt

1 generous cup fresh bread cubes

2 tbsp sherry vinegar, or to taste

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

cayenne to taste

1 1/2 cups cold water, more if needed

dill oil and/or fresh dill leaves

Balsamic Strawberry Goat Cheese Bruschetta – Currently Trending

Some culinary trends are silly. I don’t want deconstructed soups or faux-Kobe sliders. Others are only silly when done poorly. The popular savory/sweet trend is a great example.

While it's often some kind of salted caramel bacon topped ridiculousness, It can be something as easy and approachable as this sexy strawberry goat cheese bruschetta. The way the tangy, slightly salty goat cheese works with the syrupy, balsamic-coated strawberries and crispy, charred bread is a thing of beauty. 

By the way, I’ve got great news if you stink at picking out sweet strawberries. Because we are using a balsamic reduction, this dish actually works very nicely with less-than-perfect berries.

However, one thing that will not work is poor quality vinegar. You’re going to want to use real, aged balsamic vinegar from Modena, Italy. There’s just no substitute. Every large market sells it now, so pick up a bottle, and try this very tasty, albeit trendy treat soon. Enjoy!

Special thanks to Dishing Gourmet, for it was their lovely photo on TasteSpotting that inspired this post!

Ingredients for 12 Balsamic Strawberry Goat Cheese Bruschetta

12 slices of Italian bread
olive oil, as needed

1 cup fresh goat cheese, room temp

1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar, reduced to 1/4 cup

1 pound strawberries, washed and diced

salt and pepper to taste

fresh thyme leaves as desired

How NOT to Roast Stuffed Artichokes

Everyone knows that before you stuff and roast an artichoke, you have to boil it first. I know this, and have used this accepted technique many times.  

However, somewhere deep in the memory banks were vague recollections of a stuffed artichoke appetizer that the chef claimed had been roasted raw. This video shows what happens when a cook’s heart ignores a cook’s brain.

The finished product was visually arresting (to put it kindly), and despite looking completely inedible had quite a nice taste and texture. No, that wasn’t the problem. It was the almost 2 1/2 hours (seemed longer) I spent making it that took the wind out of my sails. I love stuffed artichokes, but not that much.

So, I’m recommending we boil our trimmed artichokes in salted water for 30 minutes, or until they just start to get tender. Then, drain very well, stuff with the crumbs and roast until tender and crispy-brown. You’ll have the same amazing artichoke appetizer without the Monopoly-tournament time commitment. Enjoy!

For each artichoke:

1/4 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

pinch of dry or fresh herbs

2 tbsp olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 clove minced garlic
*boil for about 30 minutes in salted water, drain very well, stuff and roast at 375 F. until tender and browned.

Potato and Mustard Greens Salad – I Invented This Recipe Right After I Stole It

I was enjoying some barbecued beef brisket recently, and as I went to stick my fork into the potato salad that accompanied it, I could see something looked very different. The salad was chock full of what appeared to be some kind of chopped, dark, leafy greens.

I took a bite, and quickly realized it was mustard greens. What a great idea! The greens not only added an interesting heat, but provided texture as well. I made up my mind right then and there that I’d borrow this idea, and share it before Memorial Day weekend.

On my way out I thanked the counter person for the great lunch, and said how much I loved the mustard greens in the salad. He smiled and said thanks, but that they were actually dandelion greens. I mumbled something like “that’s what I meant” as I realized I’d been fooled by the prepared mustard and hot spices that dressed the similarly flavored green.

Anyway, I decided to stick to my original plan and use the easier to find mustard greens, and I was very happy with the results. As you’ll see, I went extremely simple in the ingredient list, but obviously you can dress this up with lots of additions.

By the way, this is no beginner’s potato salad. Mustard greens are spicy, slightly bitter, and not at all subtle, but when you consider the sleepy array of potato salads at your typical Memorial Day cookout, this original and very tasty alternative would certainly be a welcomed treat. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6-8 Portions:

2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
4 cloves garlic (boiled with potatoes)

1 cup chopped mustard greens, or to taste

1/2 cup chopped dill or sweet pickle

salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing:

*this is what I used, do yours to taste!

1/2 cup mayo

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp Sambal chili sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Drunken Mussels – Way Fewer Than 12 Steps!

This seriously delicious drunken mussels recipe is one of the quickest shellfish preparations known to man. Bring a flavorful, wine-based broth to a boil; add mussels and cover; cook until they open, and eat. That’s it!

Of course, before this big bowl of awesome can happen, you need to get everything prepped and ready to go. You long time foodwishers know this is called “mise en place,” which is just culinary lingo for organizing your ingredients.

Speaking of ingredients, most large seafood departments stock P.E.I. mussels, but if you can’t find them, this works beautifully with clams as well. Clearly, this is one of those primary recipes that can be twisted and tweaked in hundreds of ways by using different beverages, peppers, citrus, and herbs. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

For 2 Portions:

2 pounds mussels

2 tbsp butter

4-5 cloves of garlic minced

red pepper flakes to taste

zest from one large lemon

2 cups white wine

freshly ground black pepper to taste

handful of chopped Italian parsley

grilled bread and lemon to garnish

“Pad Thai” Popcorn – How Five Seconds of Late-Night TV Changed the Future of Caramel Corn

Every once in a great while, I get a food wish from someone I admire and respect so much that I just can’t say no. This “Pad Thai” popcorn recipe was their latest request, and as always, I was more than thrilled to make this very influential person’s snack dream come true. Who is this mystery foodie? Me!

I was channel surfing late one night, and caught the very tail end of a show featuring a hot spot in Charleston, SC, called The Gin Joint. The theme was unique bar eats, and the host was talking about something called, “Pad Thai” popcorn. What was that?

I heard those words, and saw maybe five seconds of footage of what looked like caramel corn in a basket, and that was it. Frustrated, but quite excited, I jumped online to find the bar’s website, and hopefully the recipe. Nothing.

There were a few links with people talking about it, and a couple cell pictures, but no actual official recipe to be found. So, I decided to give myself a food wish – figure out how to recreate this extraordinary-sounding snack. I decided to simply fortify a standard caramel corn recipe with peanuts, lime, hot chilies, fish sauce, and cilantro.

Maybe it was beginner’s luck, or the collective consciousness of all the poor souls who’ve tasted that popcorn and desperately wished they could make it at home, but it came out incredibly well. Crispy, crunchy, sweet, spicy, aromatic, and awesome! You know I’m a fan of the hyperbole, but it’s with all sincerity that I say, this may be the greatest caramel popcorn-related snack breakthrough since balls.

By the way, since this was my first attempt, please feel free to adjust the ingredients amounts and report back. I think next time I’ll add a bit more lime and fish sauce, for a little extra kick. I may also explore using tamarind juice and/or palm sugar. Anyway, I hope you give this unbelievably addictive “Pad Thai” popcorn a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 8 cups of Pad Thai Popcorn:

1/3 to 1/2 cup popping corn kernels (roughly 8 cups prepared popcorn)

1 cup finely chopped dry-roasted, salted peanuts

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

For the caramel sauce:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup corn syrup

2 or 3 tsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp freshly grated lime zest

1 1/2 tbsp Asian fish sauce (fyi, if you don't use fish sauce, you'll have to add salt)

1 rounded tablespoon Sambal red chili sauce, or very finely diced fresh hot chilies

rounded 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (not baking powder)
*bake 45 minutes at 250 degrees F., tossing 3 or 4 times during the cooking.

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup – Thank Goodness We Had Roasted Chicken Broth Around!

In case you haven’t been following along, let me catch you up. On Wednesday we made a gorgeous roasted chicken broth for the expressed purpose of making this soul-warming soup. Here, we used that wonderfully flavorful broth to complete the recipe, and let me tell you, it was incredible.

You know how much I hate to complicate a recipe, and I'll always err on the side of too few ingredients vs. too many, so when I make this chicken noodle soup it’s a constant battle to not add other “stuff.”

Not that’s there’s anything wrong with stuff, per se, but if properly made, this soup is just too amazing in its pure and natural state for any distracting, supercilious additions. By the way, a little advice to you young up-and-coming food bloggers; never use “per se,” and “supercilious” in the same sentence.

Yes, other than the mirepoix, and a tiny pinch of fresh thyme, the rest of this soup is basically chicken and noodles. Speaking of the noodles, I’m hoping you go with the wide ones I used. I was only half-kidding about this soup being a meditation, and egg noodle wrestling is half the fun.

Like I said in the video, this will work with regular chicken stock, but if you do decide to make this, I sincerely hope you go ahead and make the roasted chicken broth first. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4-6 servings:
1 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp rendered chicken fat

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves or pinch of dried thyme

2 quarts roasted chicken broth

1 pound cooked chicken breast, cubed

4 oz dry wide egg noodles

cayenne, salt and black pepper to taste

Creole Crab & Corn Chowder – Let the Good Clichés Roll!

It’s so trite to say that something is only as good as the ingredients that go into it. Everyone knows that, right? It’s just common sense. Except, there I was, eating a very good bowl of crab and corn chowder that could have, should have, been very great; but it wasn’t because I didn’t remembered that old cliché.

As I mention numerous times in the video, this would ideally be made in the middle of summer, with ears of fresh, sweet-as-sugar corn. If that’s not seasonally possible (i.e., you’re doing a Mardi Gras themed recipe in winter), you can make a perfectly fine version using a premium-quality, extra-sweet, frozen corn. Or, you can do what I did.

I used an old bag of budget-brand corn I found in the freezer. The odd thing is, I’m not sure where it came from, or what it was purchased for. There are things like vodka and fair-trade coffee beans that somehow appear in my icebox as if placed there by invisible kitchen gremlins (btw, that would make a pretty cool name for a band), and I can only assume that’s how the corn got in there.

So, while I could have just walked two-blocks, and bought an expensive bag of something sweet and delicious, I instead went ahead and used a product that only a prison warden could love. The good news is that even with the almost-flavorless corn, this chowder was very good, so if you do as I say, and not as I clichéd, yours will certainly rock.

If you’re from New Orleans, I’d love to hear if they make anything similar to this. As I admit in the video, this is not my take on some iconic Creole recipe, but a simple soup inspired by those ingredients and style of cooking. Anyway, I hope you give it a try soon, and laissez le bon (corn) temps rouler!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon melted butter

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced bell pepper, or jalapeno, or combination of any sweet/hot peppers

1/2 cup diced celery

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay

1 1/2 tbsp flour

3 1/2 cup water or stock, divided (2 1/2 for the pot, and 1 cup for the blender)

1 pound sweet corn kernels, divided
2 cloves peeled garlic

8 oz fresh crab meat, divided

1/4 cup cream

1 tsp sweet Spanish paprika, or to taste

green onion to garnish

Valentine’s Day Carpaccio – A Meat Heart for Your Sweetheart!

I like carpaccio. My wife and Valentine, Michele, likes carpaccio. So for us, a heart-shaped version of this classic Italian beef salad seems nothing short of fabulous. Of course, I do understand that this isn’t for everyone. If you don’t like, or more likely, are afraid of rare meat, I don’t imagine you’ll be giving this a try.

That’s perfectly fine, and we’re all too busy to bother trying to convert you over to the red team. However, for people that do enjoy this classic dish, and realize that properly handled, high-quality beef is no more dangerous to eat raw than sushi, or a spinach salad, I think this would make for a creative, and visually arresting start to their Valentine’s Day dinner menu.

While this preparation is fairly classic, I do like to keep my beef a little bit thicker than is traditionally done. Most carpaccios are pounded very, very thin, but if you’re using a really nice piece of beef tenderloin, why smash it so flat? Since it’s naturally tender and buttery, I like it to keep a little bit of its texture, instead of being mashed too thin.

Another tip is to season the meat generously. The salt is very important here, almost as much as some kind of bracing salad tossed with a sharp, acidic dressing. By the way, just because I went with arugula and traditional lemon mustard dressing, doesn’t mean you can’t take this in other exotic directions.

I’ve enjoyed some great renditions over the years, including several which incorporated Asian ingredients into the mix. As usual, I’d love to hear about (and maybe see?) how you adapt this carpaccio to your own personal tastes. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions:

4-6 oz freshly trimmed, high-quality, beef tenderloin, sliced thin

1 cup baby arugula leaves

1 oz shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano

2 tsp capers

For the dressing:

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of cayenne

Baked Buffalo Chicken Dip – Don’t Bet the Ranch this Super Bowl

Arguing about what salad dressing is more appropriate for a baked Buffalo chicken dip recipe is kind of like debating about which shoes to wear with that Hawaiian shirt. Still, to some of us (and by “us,” I mean people from Western New York), these kinds of things are important.

No one can explain why, but for whatever reason, deep-fried chicken wings coated in hot sauce, taste really good dunked into creamy blue cheese dressing. However, despite this if-it’s-not-broke-don’t-fix-it dipping sauce, people started serving Buffalo wings with Ranch dressing. I’m not sure why, but assume it was some type of strong-arm tactics by the buttermilk industry. Those bastards.

I’m not saying that chicken wings dipped in Ranch are terrible; I’m just saying that the sharper, saltier tang of blue cheese dressing works much better. That goes for the classic hot wings, as well as when this iconic recipe is in dip form.

As I joked about in the video (it wasn't a joke), you can’t keep showing up at these Super Bowl parties with a bag of chips every year. So, if you’re ready to go from snack scrub to appetizer all-star, then give this great baked dip a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cups diced cooked chicken

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot pepper sauce, or other Louisiana-style hot sauce

1/2 cup blue cheese dressing

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese, plus a little for the top

1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (if you can’t find, here is what’s in it)

cayenne, to taste

Spicy Peanut Butter & Pepper Jelly Chicken Wings – Gimmicky, But No Gimmick

On the surface, it may seem as though this gimmicky-sounding peanut butter and jelly chicken wings video is nothing more than a cheap attempt to get a recipe to go viral right before the Super Bowl. Sure, the semi-shocking name will probably generate some added buzz, but I promise you, this is no gimmick.

I was thinking of doing some kind of chicken wing glazed with an Asian-style peanut sauce, but texturally wanted something a little stickier. That brought thoughts of a possible peanut butter and jelly collaboration, which came into final focus after a brilliant suggestion by Michele to use pepper jelly.

The result was a spicy, sticky, and, thanks to the peanut sauce base, quite unusual chicken wing-eating experience. If you're a fan of satay, you should enjoy this approach. As I mention in the video, this recipe can be easily adapted, and finding unique brands of pepper jelly would be just one way to tweak it.

I’m also excited to share a method I’ve been working on for getting oven-baked wings with a texture closer to something that comes out of a deep fryer. By adding a thin layer of potato starch to the wings, a nice crusty exterior is forged in the hot oven, which not only adds some great texture, but really helps grab on to the sauce.

With the NFL playoffs in full swing, it’s time to raise your game when it comes to the snack table. Have your Buffalo wings become too predictable? Has that ranch dip lost a step? Then I hope you consider shaking up the roster with these spicy peanut butter and pepper jelly wings. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 40 pieces of Peanut Butter & Pepper Jelly Chicken Wings:

For the wings:

5 pounds chicken wing sections, thawed, patted very dry

toss with…

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

cayenne to taste

1/4 cup instant mashed potato powder or flakes

*Bake at 425 for about 50 minutes, turning once

For the sauce:

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup pepper jelly

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

2 tbsp fish sauce

sriracha hot sauce to taste

4 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Recipe 666: Deviled Eggs – Damn, These Were Hella Good

As I approached my 666th upload on YouTube, several subscribers wondered if I would do some sort of satanic-inspired recipe. Since one of my New Year’s resolutions was to eat less chocolate cake, I decided to go with the next most obvious choice.

My deviled eggs recipe is fairly standard, except I like to add a little cream cheese. Unlike mayonnaise, cream cheese firms up when chilled, and provides a little more luxurious texture. The other glaring addition is a simple, yet stunning ring of candied Fresno chili pepper. I think a little sweetness is important to balance the sharp flavors, and these “rings of fire,” along with a dash of rice vinegar, worked perfectly.

Besides sharing this much-requested recipe, and the gratuitous use of the words, “damn” and “hell,” the other reason I wanted to do this video was to prove that our previously posted hard-boiled egg method works as advertised. The procedure was posted back in March 2010, and some complained it didn’t work. Well, I used the exact same method, and it worked perfectly, again.

This time I’m giving an exact temperature of 210 degrees F, whereas before I just said to bring to a simmer. I imagine many failures were due to people not getting it to a high enough temperature. You also need a heavy pot and tight lid, as well as live close to sea level, but other than that, you should be fine.

By the way, I did try to get the Devil to make a cameo appearance, but he was too busy meeting with the Kardashians on a new deal. Anyway, the NFL playoffs are just about to start (Go, Giants!), so maybe give these sinfully delicious deviled eggs a try for your next big game day buffet. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

12 large eggs cooked in 3 quarts of water as shown

2 tbsp cream cheese

1/3 cup mayo

1/2 tsp Sriracha or to taste

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp rice vinegar

salt and pepper to taste
chives to garnish

For the candied peppers:

1/4 cup red chili rings

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp water

Italian Rice Croquettes aka Rice Balls aka Arancini – Back by Popular Demand… Aunt Angela and Uncle Bill D’Arduini!

I just flew back from New York, and boy, are my jokes tired (as you’ll hear). So is everything else, and there’s no rest for the weary as I pack for a quick trip to see the team at Allrecipes.com in Seattle. So, time is short, and I’m posting this incredibly delicious Italian rice croquette recipe, sans extra wordy article.

There isn’t much to add anyway; what you see is what you get. This great appetizer was filmed at a recent family dinner at my Aunt Angela and Uncle Billy D’Arduini’s, and if they sound familiar, they should! They’ve been featured on the blog numerous times; in such smash hit recipes as, Cabbage Rolls, Chicken D’Arduini, and Homemade Pasta.

You can definitely do this recipe completely vegetarian, by skipping the giblets, or switch those out for almost any other cooked meat. Sausage, prosciutto, or ham are just a few of the many options.

When it comes to the rice, we used a standard long rain, and went with a 2 parts water to 1 part rice ratio. You want fully hydrated and completely cooked grain. Al dente rice is not going to work here. Slightly overcooked is not a problem.

Anyway, I'd like to thank Aunt Angela and Uncle Bill for sharing their recipe, and I hope you can give it a try soon. It would be a great addition to any party menu. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

*Sorry, I never found out how many this makes, but I’m guessing about 70-80

2 pounds cooked chicken giblets (gizzards and hearts)

2 cups rice cooked in 4 cups salted water

2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp parsley, optional

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

2 large eggs

1/2 cup marinara sauce

salt and pepper to taste

plain breadcrumbs, as needed

vegetable oil for frying

lemon wedges

Butternut Squash and Mascarpone Gnocchi – I Don’t Like Gnocchi, But I Love These!

When I tell people I don’t like gnocchi, I always have to clarify that I’m talking about the traditional, potato-dough style dumplings, and not the much easier and lighter, cheese-based versions, like this one featuring butternut squash and mascarpone cheese.

Unless created by the hands of a true master, traditional potato gnocchi are too often dense, gummy nuggets of disappointment. However, as temperamental as the classic recipe is, these cheesier, low-starch versions are really quite simple.

These are often made with drained ricotta, and you are welcome to substitute, but here we’re going with mascarpone, a very rich and luscious Italian-style cream cheese. Along with Parmigiano-Reggiano, all you need besides the cheese is some cooked squash, and just enough egg and flour to keep it all together.

Once your mixture is done, and you let it firm up overnight, you have a few options as far as final service. You can follow the spoon-boil-fry-serve method seen herein, or you can do the spoon-boil part ahead of time, and then fry in the sage butter when ready.

If you do want to make these ahead, simply fish them out of the boiling water as they’re cooked, draining well, and place on a plastic-wrapped sheet pan to cool. Once cooled to room temperature, they can be carefully wrapped up (in a single layer), and kept in the fridge for at least a day, until you’re ready to crispy up in the butter.

Either way, prepare your palate for some incredibly light, tender, and delicious gnocchi. You can use them for a first course, like I did here, or as a very special side dish to some roasted meat. I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 12 appetizer-sized portions:

2 cups cooked butternut squash

1 cup mascarpone cheese, or cream cheese, goat cheese

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 oz (about 1/2 cup) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (if you’re going to use fake Parmesan cheese for this, don’t even bother)

1 packed cup all-purpose flour

1 stick unsalted butter for frying, used in batches

cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup sliced sage leaves

Ham and Potato Soup – Tuberlicious!

This title is dedicated to all those who chimed in on our root vegetable gratin video to let me know that a potato is a tuber, and not a root, even though I mentioned that fact in the video and the post! Bless your hearts. ;-)

I know we did a black bean soup not too long ago, but I had a piece of leftover ham that needed to be used up, and this time of year you just can’t have too many soup recipes. In addition to being a proven antidote for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the recipe is definitely filling enough to serve as a main course.

The version I presented here is a little on the lighter side, but by adding more meat (including bacon, sausage, etc.), and finishing with cheese, you can significantly increase its heartiness.

By the way, if you do want to finish this with some nice sharp cheddar, or perhaps a pepper Jack, do NOT add it until you’ve turned off the heat. Cooking the cheese is never a good thing, unless you want an oil slick floating on the surface of your soup. There will be plenty of residual heat to melt shredded cheese, so turn off the heat, stir it in, and dig in.

If you’re one of these vegetarian types, may I suggest you caramelize some diced mushrooms to a dark meaty brown first, and then proceed with the rest of the procedure as shown. Either way, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb gold potato (or any other kind will work)

1 onion

1 carrot

1 celery
8 oz diced smoked ham

3 cloves garlic

3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup flour

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1/2 cup cream

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne

chives

Bay Scallops with Garlic Parsley Butter Sauce – I’ll Have the Nostalgia on Toast

They say smell is the sense most closely linked to memory recall, and that was certainly the case while making these garlicky, buttery bay scallops on toast. As waves of the wonderful aromas wafted up from the pan, they brought back a flood of vivid memories of my first real kitchen job.

Barely a teenager, I was hired as a dishwasher at an Italian steakhouse, called The Depot (pictured below is the train station that predated the restaurant). While it was fun being inside a bustling kitchen, washing dishes was anything but. By comparison, what I saw the line cooks doing looked like the greatest job ever, and this certainly played a role in my future career plans.

Anyway, there was a scallop dish on the menu, which consisted of 6 large scallops being placed in a small metal broiler plate, seasoned with salt and pepper, and then doused with wine, lemon, garlic, and butter. This was placed under the flame until the scallops were browned, and the sauce was bubbling below. It was finished with fresh parsley, and served with toasted Italian bread for dipping into the amazing juices.

(c) All rights reserved by John R. Stewart

The smell of that sizzling plate as it went by my station was almost too much to take, and once in a while, thanks to some kind of ordering mishap, I’d actually get to eat one. It was pure bliss, and a flavor combination I still love to this day.

By the way, unlike the large day-boat scallops you’re seen me cook before, these are way too small to worry about searing brown. In a restaurant kitchen, if we’re just cooking a couple ounces, we could get a decent sear and still finish the sauce without overcooking. But doing this many at home, all we really need to concentrate on, is not over cooking them. Besides, bay scallops are so naturally sweet, tender, and delicious, the sear is not as important as with the larger ones.

As I mention in the video, this makes a beautiful appetizer, but will also make a killer pasta sauce with some cream added in to stretch it. I hope you can find some small, wild scallops soon (frozen are great, as long as “Scallops” is the only ingredient listed on the bag), and give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4-6 appetizer size portions:

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 pound bay scallops

4-5 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup white wine (NOT cooking wine)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 tbsp cold butter, cubed

cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

buttered and toasted Italian bread slices

*Note for pasta sauce, add a 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream with the wine, and proceed as shown. Should make enough sauce for about 4 portions of pasta)

Quick and Easy Black Bean Soup – Something from Almost Nothing

This black bean soup saved me during a recent attack of, “Oh my God, there is nothing in kitchen to cook with!” Even though it sometimes seems that way, there's rarely, literally nothing to cook with. I quickly found a few slices of bacon, a couple cans of beans, and an onion, and with the help of a spicy lime and green onion relish, turned it into a very decent bowl of soup.

It got me thinking about all those long shelf life, must-have pantry and fridge staples you can count on to produce a meal when lacking supplies. My short list is olive oil, beans, pasta, bacon, Parmigiano-Reggiano, eggs, tomato sauce, anchovies, salami, capers, garlic, onions, potatoes, and fresh citrus. As long as those things are close by, I can still look forward to a great meal no matter how sparse the rest of the provisions.

By the way, this will work with any smashable bean, and rumor has it that a handful of sausage in place of the bacon is a great variation. With wet, chillier days ahead, I think you’ll have occasion to give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Servings:

6 slices bacon

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chicken broth or water

2 cans black beans, rinsed, plus 1 can of water

pinch dried oregano

pinch cayenne

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp black pepper

salt and pepper to taste

For the relish (note – I only made a little bit in the video. This is enough for 4 servings):

1/3 cup minced green onion

2 tsp crushed or minced red chilies

juice of one lime

green onions to garnish

sour cream to garnish

Bacon Ranch Chicken Skewers – Perfect for Tailgating and/or Vampire Staking

These bacon ranch chicken skewers were intended to star at your next football tailgate cookout, but since these are made with sharp, wooden sticks, they could be used to inflict the true death to smaller, slow-moving vampires at your Halloween party as well.

Regardless of your party’s theme, these tasty chicken skewers are easy, interesting, and incredibly adaptable. As I sometimes do when showing a new technique, I’ve kept this recipe ultra-simple, and only used ranch dressing and hot pepper as my marinade.

I was hoping that as you watched, your mind would be racing with ideas on how to make this already delicious meat-on-a-stick even more amazing. This is the kind of thing you could do a different version for every game of the season, and still not run out of ideas!

The part I hope you follow exactly is how to weave the bacon over the chicken. Using this method, you really get two kind of bacon. The exposed bacon gets beautifully caramelized and crisp, while the meat next to the chicken stays soft and fatty, more like a thin slice of pork belly.

Speaking of thin slices, don’t use extra-thick slab bacon for this. It will not cook before the chicken is overdone. I actually like to use the thinner, extra-lean bacon, as it has just the right about of fat to flavor and moisturize, without starting a raging fire on the grill. Anyway, next time you’re planning a game day tailgate buffet, I hope you give these a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 Bacon Ranch Chicken Skewers:

12 bamboo skewers

4 large (8-10 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/3 cup ranch dressing

1 tsp hot chili paste or any spicy condiment

12 strips bacon

24 pieces of red onion

salt and pepper to taste

extra ranch dressing to dip