Apparently, Whoring Runs in the Family
Twenty years or more ago I started making a simple pasta dish for those nights we wanted something light and basically meatless: I’d fry some garlic and anchovies in olive oil, then mix it with spaghetti. At some point I…
Black & Red Fish
Trying to lower your cholester oil? Try some black & red fish! Aren’t eggcorns fun? I crack myself up! Okay, seriously . . . I mentioned in an earlier entry that the side burner on our new gas grill was…
First Use
Ditalini authorized the purchase of an electric rotisserie for the new Weber gas grill, and I’ve been looking around for something to use it on. Friends recommended I brine and rub a chicken, then cook it on the spit, so…
Breaking In the New Grill
At last, Ditilani and I have a new gas grill, a big black Weber patriotically made in America, and what better way to break in our new American grill than a couple of big bloody American steaks? Here are some…
Friday Night Grilling
Dinner & a DVD always make for a nice Friday evening. But grilling dinner makes the difference between Friday and TGIF! The DVD was Pride & Glory. Okay, but nothing to write home about. Dinner, on the other hand, was…
Uncle Art’s Chili Beans (a Work in Progress)
Continuing with the saga of Uncle Art’s Beans: I cross-posted my last blog entry to Facebook, where various family members told me I probably didn’t have the real recipe after all. But this wouldn’t be much of a cooking blog…
The Ongoing Saga of Uncle Art’s Beans
Ditalini brought several secret family recipes to our marriage (her wonderful Italian meat sauce is one), but one I never quite got was the recipe for Uncle Art’s beans. Legend had it that Uncle Art made a mean pot of…
Smoked Beef Brisket, Redux
What is this “redux?” I blogged about preparing and smoking beef brisket once before, but am doing things differently this time around. Ditalini and I hate fat, so I cut away a lot of the fat you’d normally leave on…
Grilled Polenta, Italian Sausage, & Peppers
Yeah, I know, I’ve posted about these things before, here and here. But I felt like photoblogging last night’s dinner and, this time around, presenting it in recipe format. My method is to put the peppers on the grill first,…
Sarma (Stuffed Grape Leaves) & Pilaf
More years ago than I care to admit, Armenian-American friends shared their family recipe for stuffed grape leaves and pilaf with us. Ditalini’s been making the dish ever since, and whenever our kids come to visit they always ask her…