Retro Recipes and Traditional Fare

When ever we go out for barbque, I always, choose baked beans as one of my sides. There is something so satisfying and so comforting in eating a dish like this along with my tri-tip sandwich and a double portion of asian slaw.

I have had this particular recipe for baked beans in my repertoire for over 25 years. They serve a crowd – a very large crowd. Therefore, I only have a few opportunities through out the year to make this dish. Using only 5 ingredients, cooked slowly in the oven for about 5 hours, these baked bean are always the star of the evening.

This past July 4th, we celebrated the day with our good friends and 60 of their nearest and dearest. When I heard the number of people I asked if I could make my homemade baked beans. My friend, B, responded with, “my husband will love you and covet the whole pot, please do”.

In soups or stews, when grilled or braised, or when poached or seared, halibut is a wonderful fish no matter the cooking method. Its white sturdy flesh holds together very well in different preparations. It has a meaty texture much like chicken and a subtle fish flavor.

A preparation, like this Italian poached recipe, is the perfect way to show off halibut in all its glory. Poaching the fish in a flavorful broth makes it a very appealing dish for a chilly fall day. There's a story behind the name of this recipe: acqua pazza in Italian means crazy water. Neapolitan fisherman would poach their catch of the day in a spicy, briny broth flavored with wine and herbs. More often than not, they would use seawater as the stock base. A few years ago I tasted a wonderful rendition of monkfish in acqua pazza at the now-closed Lunetta. I've had the inclination to make it at home ever since.

My recipe takes traditional acqua pazza and gives it an Asian twist. Inspired by the cuisine of Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who is well known for fusing classical French technique with Asian flavors, I create a recipe that builds flavor upon flavor.

I found the secret to the crispiest, most delicious home fries.

It all started with a late night binge. I was still hungry (or maybe just bored…) after dinner one night, so I decided to make a baked potato. While I was waiting, I snacked on about a million other things, and when my potato was ready, I wasn’t hungry anymore. The potato spent the night in the fridge.

While I was thinking about breakfast the next morning, I decided to see what I could whip up with the potato…and wow, if you want a quick and easy breakfast side, this is the way to go!

Wow, I was exhausted yesterday.  Somehow the kid's first day at school wore me out.  I'm not sure how that happened since all I did was sit around and wait for them to come home while I talked a bunch of jibber-jabber on Facebook

By mid-afternoon I was tired.  Doing nothing can suck the life out of you.  I decided I only had enough energy to make dip for dinner.  So I whipped up this Feta Pepper Dip.

However, as the dinner hour quickly approached, the responsibility of being a mother and a wife extinguished my extreme lack of motivation.  I am happy to report chicken and salad made it to the table along with this awesome dip.

Here's whatI love about it...the salty feta, with the slight heat of the pepperoncini and the tang of the lemon zest make a tasty little treat. The end all is to it up with barbecue chips.  The barbecue chips are really a must here, the sweetness of them adding another layer of flavor.

But I'm also thinking this would be some kind of heaven slathered on a grilled lamb burger.  That just might be lunch for us today.