I know I just posted an Italian alternative to the New Years' beans and greens, eaten to bring prosperity in 2009, but I figured I'd better do a more traditional version. I am the American food expert on About.com after all, and it would have been bad form not to post a real black-eyed peas recipe today. This is a very old tradition, and I don't mean like pre-civil war American south old, I mean really, really old. There are records of black-eyed peas being eaten for good luck on New Year's Day all the way back to ancient Babylonia. For you kids out there, that's way before even cell phones were invented! This video recipe you are about to visually consume is a variation on something called "Hoppin' John," which is black-eyed peas, rice, and pork stewed together, usually served with some kind of greens and cornbread. For your convenience, and my pageviews, I suggest also clicking on my cornbread recipe video and doing this thing right. I want to wish you all a Happy New Year! May your 2009 be filled with happiness, new experiences, and exciting challenges. 2008 was a very hard year for everyone, but I have it on a pretty reliable source (a Chef's intuition is a powerful thing) that this coming year will be a lot better. Until then, I'll leave you with this thought - the tougher times are, the better food tastes. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 1 pound black-eyed peas, soaked overnight 3 strips bacon, sliced in 1/2-inch pieces 1 pound pork neck bones 6 oz smoked ham, diced 1 cup diced onion 1 cup diced celery 1 cup diced carrot 3 cloves chopped garlic 6 cups water 1 (10-oz can) diced tomato with green chilis 1 tsp salt 1 bay leaf 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp black pepper cayenne to taste 1 tsp dried thyme 1 large bunch kale, leaves torn cooked rice
In honor of the presidential inauguration, the title of this recipe, "Pork and Beans and Greens - Good Luck Making This," has temporally changed to this more Washington-esqe one.
As many of you foodies already know (it's on the entrance exam), a very traditional southern New Years meal is black-eyed peas, or some other type of bean, and greens. Eating this meager meal on New Years day is supposed to bring you great prosperity for the rest of the year.
This video recipe is a lighter and easier Italian take on the classic, and is topped with some crusty, caramelized roast pork. Speaking of the south, you'll see me use a spice rub (a wet rub, aka "wub") on the pork before roasting for a sort of Italian barbecue effect.
All in all, this is an odd recipe. The pork is not slow-roasted, but cooked at a higher heat for a crusty finish. The greens are not slowly braised, but just wilted. The black-eyed peas have been replaced with cannellini beans. And, I can't guarantee it will bring you the same prosperity as the traditional version. Having said all that, I thought it tasted excellent and I hope you give it a try.
By the way, I will also be doing a traditional version that - with any luck - you'll see before New Years Day. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 4 lb. boneless pork shoulder roast, cut in large pieces for the wet rub: 1/2 tsp dried rosemary 1 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp fennel seeds 2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp dried oregano 2 cloves garlic 1 rounded tbsp brown sugar 1 tbsp wine vinegar 1 tbsp olive oil
1 large bunch arugula 1 14-oz jar cannellini beans 1 lemon 1 tbsp olive oil 2 cloves sliced garlic
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I've received a lot of great feedback from those who tried the "Method X" technique for cooking prime rib, and the verdict is in.... Guilty of medium-rare perfection on all counts! I'm sure glad you guys didn't screw it up and then try to blame me.
To celebrate our success cooking such an expensive and intimidating hunk of beef, I bring you this short, two-part video of a slightly different method. Enjoy!
Here are some old (some are very old) video recipes with ideas for tasty tidbits for your New Years Eve festivities. Click on the link and off you go. Enjoy! Calabrese Lollipops – Antipasto on a stick!
If I suggested you make homemade butternut squash ravioli as an appetizer for your holiday meal, what would you say? You'd say no. That's because you would envision some long complicated process fraught with disappointment.
People throw around the "best thing since sliced bread" line for all kinds of things, and rarely do they deserve such a tribute. Ready-to-use wonton skins, however, are not only the "best thing since sliced bread," they are better than sliced bread…much better.
Anyone can slice bread (except those cooks on Hell's Kitchen), but how many people make paper-thin, perfectly round wonton skins. Hopefully this video recipe shows you just how easy ravioli can be when using this easy-to-find, and very liberating product.
I've used them for tortellini, pierogi, dumplings, ravioli, and yes, even wontons, all with terrific results. There are eight million known ravioli fillings, so once you get this simple technique down you have a lot of recipes to try. I've also posted a few (very) old videos that use the same product. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 1 cup cooked butternut squash 1/2 cup mascarpone or cream cheese 1/3 cup grated Parmesan 1 egg yolk 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper pinch of cayenne 1 package round wonton skins butter, garlic, and sage as needed More Wonton Magic - click on title to read original post (Warning: old videos with minimal production value)
Many people become paralyzed with fear when faced with having to cook a really expensive cut of meat to a perfect medium-rare.
Prime rib of beef may be the best example -- everyone sitting around the holiday table; drinking, laughing, waiting for you to appear from the kitchen with a magazine-cover-worthy slice of beef.
The method you'll see below is something I've really wanted to test for my American Food site. The problem is I normally don't have prime rib laying around to test recipes on. But, while grocery shopping this week, I noticed a great sale on small prime ribs and was able to snag a 3.75 beauty for $18.00. That's enough for four servings, and a great deal any way you slice it.
Okay, here is the formula for "Method X." The rib is brought to room temperature (this is CRITICAL), and seasoned anyway you like. Then you multiply the exact weight times 5 minutes. For me it was 3.75 x 5 = 18.75 minutes. This is said to work for any size prime rib.
The rib is cooked at 500 degrees F for exactly that many minutes. Then the oven is turned off. You wait 2 hours, without opening the oven door. Then you remove the prime rib and slice into the juiciest, tenderest, most perfectly medium-rare meat you've ever seen!
NOTE: This is a specific formula for achieving a perfect med-rare prime rib. I have no info on altering it for other degrees of doneness. (although I would say don't spend money on this cut if you like your meat cooked more, since it will get dry. I've also included the recipe for my seasoned butter below. Enjoy!
Seasoned Butter Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cayenne 1 tsp Herb de Provence
I have a feeling that homemade Christmas gifts will be all the rage this year (unless you got one of those sweet bailout bonuses). So, I decided to re-post this video I did last year.
This simple how-to video recipe, done for About.com, is perfect for those impossible-to-shop-for foodies. It's amazing how much people appreciate a homemade gift. The fact that you took the time to create an actual handmade "finishing salt," will make up for that "Kiss the Cook" apron you bought them. By the way, how many times have you seen them wear it?
A finishing salt is a flavored salt meant to be sprinkled on food right before serving. A nice slice of roast leg of lamb is great, but finished with a little pinch of this aromatic salt and you have something even better. It's also great to cook with, and makes a mean pan of roasted potatoes.
As you'll see, a food processor is really the only equipment you need, and the technique can be used for many different herbs and types of salt. Enjoy! Click here for ingredients and transcript
For decades I've made and enjoyed chicken cacciatore without ever realizing what a terrible name it has. Chicken cacciatore basically translates to "hunters-style chicken." So, what's wrong with that you say? What kind of lame-ass hunter settles for chicken??
Are you telling me the proud, cunning hunters of Italy have allowed their official dish to use chicken as the main ingredient? Where's the dangerous wild boar? How about hard-to-shoot pheasant? I mean how hard is it to hunt chicken? My hunting skills are only slightly better than Paris Hilton, yet I could shoot a damn chicken.
Sorry to have to call you out, Italy. Don't feel too bad; you still have your cooks, artists, lovers, and opera singers to be proud of. All that being said, chicken cacciatore is a very delicious dish, and this video recipe shows my favorite version. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 whole roasting chicken, cut in quarters salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste 1 large onion, sliced (so they hold together, slice the onions "with the grain" in the same direction as the lines of the onion, instead of across the onion like they are usually sliced) 8 oz fresh mushrooms, quartered 4 cloves garlic, sliced 3 springs rosemary 1 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste 1 cup tomato sauce 1/2 cup water 2 red bell peppers, sliced 2 green bell peppers, sliced
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I did this scrapple video recipe for my America food site on About.com, and decided to make a couple minor changes to the original recipes - like leave out the main ingredient.
Scrapple, a Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast staple from days gone bye, is basically a bunch of hog scraps (you don't want to know) bound together with a cornmeal mush. Once cooled, it's sliced, fried, and "enjoyed."
This more user-friendly variation uses polenta as the binding agent, and is studded with pieces of pork you can actually identify and would eat on purpose, like pork shoulder and ham. This is the perfect day-after-pork-roast breakfast.
Now that I've guaranteed a flood of email and comments from insulted Pennsylvania Dutchmen who swear by the heirloom recipes, I will say this slightly usual morning side dish is quite tasty with a couple eggs, and certainly fills you up for a long day of doing whatever they do all day in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Enjoy!
This Salmon Cakes with Creamy Corn Relish video recipe reminded me that some of the best, and most satisfying cooking I do seems to happen when there's nothing to work with. Of course, I don’t literally mean nothing, that would require the ability to conjure things up, and my training in the dark arts is relatively minimal. I mean no obvious fresh ingredients to use.
I recently found myself in this predicament when a driving rain made a trip to the store seem like a poor choice when compared to a look-around the pantry and freezer. What I found led to one of the more delicious lunches I've had this month. These salmon cakes are so easy, so cheap, and since canned salmon is always wild salmon, very healthy.
You'll also see me use a couple spoons of crème fraiche, which I showed you how to make in a recent video recipe. You can sub milk or cream, but why? Make some crème fraiche.
Anyway, next time you're at the store make sure you pick up a bag of frozen corn and a few cans of salmon. You never know when you're going to have to cook with "nothing." Enjoy!
Salmon cakes ingredients: 2 (7.5 ounce) cans red salmon 2 tbsp capers. chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp tarragon mustard (or Dijon and some chopped fresh tarragon) 1/2 lemon, juices 1 egg 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste olive oil
For the corn: 8 oz frozen corn 1/2 lemon, juiced 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or fresh hot pepper diced) 3 tbsps crème fraiche, or milk, cream, sour cream salt to taste
For the sauce: 1/2 teaspoon tarragon mustard 2 tbsp crème fraiche or sour cream 1 tsp lemon juice salt to taste
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I know I just posted an Italian alternative to the New Years' beans and greens, eaten to bring prosperity in 2009, but I figured I'd better do a more traditional version. I am the American food expert on About.com after all, and it would have been bad form not to post a real black-eyed peas recipe today.
This video recipe you are about to visually consume is a variation on something called "Hoppin' John," which is black-eyed peas, rice, and pork stewed together, usually served with some kind of greens and cornbread. For your convenience, and my pageviews, I suggest also clicking on my cornbread recipe video and doing this thing right.
