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  • BBQ!!!

    BBQ!!!

That Pesky Duck Fat Again! Potatoes Sarladaise

There are many, many recipes for this regional dish, but the common ingredients are potatoes, duck fat, garlic and parsley. And really, what could be better? Supposedly every single one of the 60 plus restaurants in Sarlat, this dish’s namesake, serve

Baked Penne With Eggplant

Not my typical dish! This is the kind of stuff that I love to pick up at a good deli, expecting that it will be executed well. And it usually is. But I had a nice eggplant just sitting on the counter, daring me to cook it. Why, you may ask, was it there to [...]

Barbecued Turkey: It’s Easy!

I don’t have a double oven. Okay, I admit it. Please don’t think less of me. What to do when the menu includes three ducks and one 17-pound turkey? Well, I guess we could have had Thanksgiving at my sister’s house. The one with the double oven (can you tell I have double oven envy?). [...]

Outright Theft, But A Good Dish!

Otto is a great pizza joint with lots of other good food available, in addition to having an excellent bar and a fantastic wine list. To top it off, the bartenders are pros, and so are some of the waiters. Some guy named Batali runs the place, or at least wanders in occasionally, and obviously [...]

Chipotle Marinade

I am not a big fan of strict recipes for things like marinades, because the thickness of the meat* (yes, meat! What else is there to marinate?) and the amount of water in it can affect how quickly the marinade flavors it. For instance, if I were marinating something very thick I would use more [...]

I Love My Cast-Iron Skillet

You can easily spend $200 on a skillet. And a set of pots and pans made from some weird copper alloy sandwiched between stainless steel with a hi-tech coating will set you back the price of a used car. Before you shoot me horrible e-mails and comments about how I don’t appreciate the technological advances [...]

Pasta With Fresh Mussels And Bay Scallops

This is an easy dish that can be prepared in advance. Just don’t add the spaghetti until you are ready to eat. Or do what I do when I am even more lazy than usual. Make the dish, stick it in the refrigerator, and then when you reheat it just toss some reserved pasta water [...]

Pasta With Spicy Sausage And Spinach

This a great dish for a hearty, last-minute meal. I bought the sausage at a local market ( The Market Basket) that makes its own. The sausage is nicely spiced, so I knew that I wouldn’t have to do much in the way of thinking about flavors. If all you can find is commercial sausage, [...]

Another Quick And Easy Meal

Those sautéed tomatoes that I wrote about a few days ago? Fantastic with penne and prosciutto. Use another ounce of olive oil, and when the tomatoes are cooked, add 4 ounces of prosciutto (cut into strips works well) and one pound of cooked penne. Toss to coat the pasta with the oil, and serve with [...]

Marinated Tuna Steak

I realize that tuna is an expensive fish, but there is almost no waste, it tastes great, and it is full of those wonderful fatty acids that we are supposed to eat. I made this dish last night, and had I not known what I was eating, I would have sworn that it was a [...]



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