Recipes Master 12

I wanted to sneak in this pork belly on black-eyed peas salad video before the New Year, to help ensure you a very lucky, and prosperous 2019. Of course, there’s no guarantee this roast pork belly on black-eyed peas salad recipe will bring you good fortune in the New Year, but what if it does?   Either way, this is still one of the most delicious ways to enjoy both pork belly and black-eyed peas, and could not have been happier with how this came out. Since I’m still officially on vacation I’ll keep this post brief, but I did want to mention the bean soaking seen herein. There are many articles online about this being an unnecessary step, and technically it is, but it’s been my experience that if you soak your beans the night before, they seem to hold their shape better, as well as cook a lot faster. So I say soak, but either way, I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year, and I really hope you start 2019 off with a big bowl of “beans and belly.” Enjoy! Ingredients for 6 portions: F

Michele and I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, as we get ready for a little winter break. One of the great perks of having corporate overlords, is that they require/encourage you to use up your vacation time, and thanks to my good friends at Meredith, and Allrecipes.com, that’s what I’ll be doing this week.  However, after Christmas I will sneak in a video before New Year’s Day, which will feature a recipe guaranteed to bring you wealth and good fortune in 2019 (or your money back). So please stay tuned for that, and as always, enjoy!

My mother, Pauline, made really nice thumbprint cookies, but unfortunately I never wrote down her recipe, and so I was forced to go online to find one, so I could refresh my memory. I knew the ingredients, but unless you have them in the right proportions, you won’t end up with that perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture these iconic cookies are known for. Above and beyond the buttery mouthfeel, we also want a cookie that has perfectly smooth edges, with none of the dreaded cracks that give away a subpar recipe. So, I did an image search, and came across a recipe that looked very similar, and believe it or not, it was credited to a Great Grandma named “Mitzi.” Since my last name is Mitzewich, that pretty much sealed the deal. I usually have to adapt recipes I steal online, but with these, I didn’t need to change a thing. They really were perfect, as advertised. So, sincere thanks to Stacy from Wicked Good Kitchen , and her Great Grandma, Mitzi.   My Mom would’ve loved these, although she

Topping a thick-crust pizza with breadcrumbs might sound like a strange idea, but it really is the secret sauce behind this Sicilian Christmas Pizza. Well, that and the actual secret sauce. Speaking of secrets, whether you tell your friends and family that the sauce is made with onions and anchovies is your business, but if you think that’ll turn them off, then maybe keep it to yourself, at least until they realize it’s one of the most delicious things they’ve ever had. Hey, all’s fair in love, war, and pizza. Besides the crispy, cheesy, crumb topping, and super savory sauce, the other secret to this amazing pizza is the extremely wet and sticky dough. You could use a more standard pizza dough for this, but it won’t be the same experience. One reason we can get away with putting breadcrumbs on the top is the contrast between that texture, and the feather-light, spongy crust. Besides, if you use enough oil on your fingers, it’s really not that hard to work with anyway. As usual, I’m not

If you’ve never made a Yule Log because you thought it would take a lot of time and effort, then you probably made the right decision, since it does. But, if you haven’t tried this classic holiday dessert because you thought it required advanced baking and pastry skill, then get ready to bûche, since the techniques required are actually quite simple. This classic holiday dessert is a showstopper, but it’s often better looking, than it is tasting, which is not the case here, thanks to a simple-to-make, rich chocolate sponge cake, and mocha buttercream filling. Having said that, if you have a favorite frosting or filling, literally anything you can spread will work here. As long as you can slice it later, pretty much anything goes. I forgot to add the vanilla extract, and I’ve made that correction in the ingredients below, but above and beyond what you add to the batter, you can also drizzle the baked sponge with many delicious, possibly adult beverages. Coffee liqueur is a great choice

I remember getting a request for kimchi pancakes many years ago, and while I recall being intrigued, apparently not enough to actually research the recipe, and do a video for it. That all changed after seeing it on a local bar menu, where Michele and I enjoyed not one, but two orders of these incredibly tasty, and visually thrilling, savory pancakes. I loved the taste and texture, but what really got my attention were the dancing bonito flakes on top. I’d never seen anything quite like that, and found it as mesmerizing, as I did delicious. As I mentioned in the video, those kimchi pancakes came with a little drizzle of spicy mayonnaise, which depending on how decadent of an experience you’re going for, isn’t a bad idea, especially if you plan on frying these up, and cutting them in wedges to serve as a snack at a party. If you want a thicker, and more substantial kimchi pancake, you want to use less liquid, or more flour, so that your batter isn't quite as runny as mine. Personall