ROGER LABBE’S ABYMES, 2009

This is another perfect addition to your summer arsenal of exceptional wines. My friend Dave (aka the God of wine) recommended this to me and the story behind it is just as good, if not better than the wine itself. Here is the story from the distributors website:

This wine domaine was founded by the fathers of Alexandra and Jarome in 1975. At the time, their parents were subsistence farmers (a little bit of everything: milk, cows, beef, hay, wheat and some table grapes and wine not worth drinking. To survive economically, one brother, a charcutier (pork butcher) and the other, a construction entrepreneur, worked on the vines on the weekends and in their spare time and planted AC grapes varieties.Two cousins, Alexandra and Jarome took over the domain from their fathers in 2004.

So now that you know a little bit about the family running it, the region is even more influential to why this wine is so unique.

The grape is a 100% Jacquère that grows especially well in this region of France.

The Savoie region is an Alpine region in Eastern France neighboring Switzerland with many of its vineyards lying close to the Rhone River as it winds its way from Geneva southward.  Very little of its wines are found outside of the region as they are mostly consumed locally, given the region’s popularity as both a winter and summer vacation destination.

“ABYMES” comes from the French word  that loosely translates to broken and refers to the broken stones in the avalanches from the mountains (Alps).

MUSHROOM & GOAT CHEESE PIZZA

Ingredients:

• 1 large dough (cut in half and formed into 2 rounds)

• 2 Packages of cremini mushrooms sliced

• 4 oz goat cheese

• balsamic vinegar

• 2 cloves garlic (sliced in half)

This can be done in the oven as my other pizzas, but I decided to grill these ones. Shape the dough’s into round circles, rub both sides with olive oil and place directly on a hot grill. I have a pizza grate that I bought from Crate & Barrel specifically for this purpose, but I have done it directly on the grill before I knew about the pan, so either way is fine. Grill one side until golden brown, and slightly burnt, then slip over with thongs and grill the other side. You are looking for the grill marks on both sides. 

Meanwhile, saute the mushrooms in a pan with a little oil and garlic. Remove from the saute pan and drain off the liquid. Spread the mushrooms on the grilled dough’s and sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese.

Place back on the grill until goat cheese starts to brown, remove from the grill and lightly drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

ST-GERMAIN & CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

Just picture a man handpicking flowers in the foothills of the French Alps then driving his bicycle to market to sell his harvest. This is exactly what happens to produce St-Germain. It is a liqueur that is derived from elderflower blossoms. On it’s own it makes the perfect after dinner cordial, but mixed with champagne, it makes the perfect summer cocktail.

The Champagne we decided to use today is Duc de Romet. Made by Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy, who collects grapes from small-producers who don’t produce their own Champagne. On it’s own, it’s delicious with a velvety texture, and has become one of my favorites to keep on stock.

The recipe for this on St-Germain’s website, is:

• 1/2 part St-Germain

• 1/2 part Champagne.

This is slightly sweeter than I prefer, so I cut it down to

• 1/4 part St-Germain

• 3/4 part Champagne.

SAUSAGE & GREEN OLIVE PIZZA

Ingredients:

• 1 large pizza dough (cut in half and formed into 2 rounds)

• Package of sweet or spicy Italian sausage

• Jar of Green Spanish Olives, sliced

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

• 1 cup tomato sauce

This can be done in the oven as my other pizzas, but I decided to grill these ones. Shape the dough’s into round circles, rub both sides with olive oil and place directly on a hot grill. I have a pizza grate that I bought from Crate & Barrel specifically for this purpose, but I have done it directly on the grill before I knew about the pan, so either way is fine. Grill one side until golden brown, and slightly burnt, then slip over with thongs and grill the other side. You are looking for the grill marks on both sides.

Meanwhile, remove the sausage links from their casings and saute in a medium skillet.

Break up the pieces with a wooden spoon, the smaller the better. Once cooked completely, I drain off some of the grease and set aside.

Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce onto the grilled dough and top with half the sausage and a handful of sliced olives. Sprinkle with half of the shredded mozzarella and bring back to the grill to finish until cheese is melted.

Slice and enjoy.

BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA

Ingredients:

• 1 large dough

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced

• 1 cup BBQ sauce

• 1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

• 1/2 cup shredded smoked gouda

• sliced red onion

• 2 TBLS chopped cilantro

For the BBQ chicken pizza, I do the same as I did for the Plain Cheese Pizza, but instead of spreading the tomato sauce onto the dough, I spread a 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce. Dice the chicken up and saute in a saute pan until fully cooked through, add the remaining 1/2 cup BBQ sauce and cook until the chicken is coated well with the BBQ sauce.

Place the dough w/ the BBQ sauce into the oven and bake until the bottom is golden brown

Remove the dough from the oven. Sprinkle the prepared chicken evenly onto the dough, sprinkle with the fresh chopped cilantro, sprinkle the shredded cheeses evenly over the pizza and top with the red onion circles. Bake until cheese is melted.

TERRY'S STRAWBERRY PECAN SPINACH SALAD

This recipe is in honor of Terry. Forever in our hearts, one of our closest family friends who was taken too young. When I had originally posted this recipe in 2010, we were fortunate to have Terry make this salad for us on 4th of July. This is a perfect summer salad. 

Ingredients:

• (2) 10oz bags of baby spinach

• (2) pints of fresh strawberries

• 6 oz sliced toasted pecans

Dressing

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 TBLS poppy seeds

• 2 TBLS sesame seeds

• 1 1/2 tsp minced onion

• 1 1/4 tsp paprika

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or tarragon vinegar

• 1/2 cup olive oil

Wash and dry spinach or use pre washed. Place in large bowl. Wash, dry and slice strawberries. Add them to the spinach.

Slice pecans and lightly toast in oven for a few minutes.

Put ingredients for dressing into a blender and mix 20-30 seconds. Add dressing to salad right before serving.

Mix well and enjoy. Love you Terry. 

STEAMED MUSSELS & POMMES FRITES

I would never would have thought that people eat Mussels with French Fries, but it is a delicious combination. This is common on French & Belgian bistro menu’s. This dish pairs perfectly with a nice light white wine or a crisp Belgian beer. I plan on serving this with some Hoegaarden or Leffe, depending on what I can pick up. I just had fresh mussel’s this past weekend on Montauk, NY and now I am craving them again. They are one of the easiest things to make, they basically have a built in timer once they open, they’re done.

I would urge you to make sure you get them from a trusted fish source, you want to make sure these little guys are alive.

Ingredients:

• 1 large fennel bulb with fronds, base trimmed, bulb & fronds roughly chopped

• 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

• 1 lemon, sliced

• Few Sprigs of fresh thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tsp black peppercorns

• 1/4 cup white wine

• 4 lbs mussels, debearded and scrubbed

• 4 TBSP butter

• 1 small shallot, peeled and chopped

• 3oz prosciutto, large diced

• Crusty French Bread

POMMES FRITES

• 6 Russet Potatoes

• 3-4 qts Corn Oil / Peanut Oil (depending on what you’re frying them in)

• Salt

• Old Bay

FOR THE MUSSELS

Put fennel, three-quarters of the onions, one-third of the garlic, lemon, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, wine, and 4 cups water into a large pot with a tight-fitting lid and boil over high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add mussels, cover pot, and give pot a good shake to mix mussels and the aromatics together. Steam mussels, giving pot a good shake occasionally, until shells just open, about 10 minutes. Discard any shells that don’t open.

Strain mussels through a colander set over a large bowl. Set aside 1/2 cup of the strained broth, then serve remaining broth, if you like, in cups, adjusting seasonings with a little salt, or save broth for another use. Cover mussels with a clean dishcloth to keep them warm.

Melt butter in same pot over medium heat. Add remaining onions and garlic, shallots, and prosciutto and cook until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Discard aromatics from pile of mussels in colander, then add mussels to pot. Add reserved 1/2 cup broth, cover pot, and shake several times to mix mussels and ham mixture together. Heat mussels over medium heat until warmed through

Cut bread in half, drizzle with olive oil and throw on the grill or place under the broiler to crisp up. Cut up into strips to serve with the Mussels

Place the bread at the bottom of the bowl or off to the side and scoop the mussels on top of it, making sure to spoon some of the broth into the bowl as well.

FOR THE POMMES FRITES

Wash & scrub the potatoes. You can peel them or choose to leave the skin on them for a rustic look.  Cut them into batons that are about the length and width of your index finger. I used a potato cuter that I had recently purchased. It ended up being very cheap and it was not worth the $20.00 I spent on it. I plan on upgrading to a commercial grade potato cutter

Preheat a deep pot of oil to 325 degrees F.

For the first fry, deep fry potatoes in the oil for 5 to 6 minutes, or until a light golden color. Do not over load fryer. Fry in 3 batches if necessary. Remove the potatoes using a slotted spoon, and allow them to cool to room temperature.

Raise the temperature of the oil to 375 degrees F.

For the second fry, deep-fry the potatoes for 2 minutes, or until crispy. Remove potatoes, and transfer into a colander or bowl. While still hot, salt the potatoes & sprinkle with old bay

Serve along side the mussels and a nice glass of white wine or a beer

Mussels recipe- courtesy of Saveur.com

Pommes Frites recipe- courtesy of Pommes Frites in New York, NY

CRANBERRY-ORANGE BUTTERMILK SCONES

When I hear scone I think of the Queen of England or a tea party. As much as I love having imaginary tea party’s during my day, these scones are meant for the Queen. 

I was recently given a cookbook from my brother and cousin Anna, “A Taste of Wyoming.” It's surprisingly amazing. Who would of thought that Wyoming would be known for its food. Each page has something new and exciting and these scones are only the beginning. 

This recipe was graciously provided by the “Wildflower Inn” at Jackson Hole. I did some research and this Inn is famous in the area for their breakfast. They have an open floor plan so you can see the chef’s cooking and they are happy to share their tips and tricks with you.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 3/4 tsp salt

• 3/4 cup firm butter, cut into small pieces

• 3/4 cup chopped fresh or dried cranberries

• 1 tsp orange zest

• 1 cup buttermilk

• cinnamon to taste

• sugar to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Cut the butter into the mixture with a fork until the dough resembles course crumbs

Mix in the cranberries and orange zest. Add the buttermilk and stir until a dough ball can be formed.

Divide the dough into 2 equal balls; roll out each dough ball on a floured surface to a 3/4″ thickness. Cut each flattened dough circle into 6 equal wedges or use cookie cutters to shape them.

Place the cut dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar

Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

OLIVE TAPENADE & GOAT CHEESE CROSTINI

Whose doesn’t love olives? I am Italian, so being from the Mediterranean, olives are kinda our thing. My mothers family still operates an olive farm in Italy, which one day I plan to visit and raid. This is a really simple, light appetizer that can be thrown together right before your company comes. If you don’t have a food processor, then you just need to chop everything up really fine, but this is much easier with one.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pitted Kalamata Olives

• ¾ cup pitted green olives

• 3 TBLS capers, rinsed and drained

• 2 tsp grated lemon peel

• 2 TBLS lemon juice

• 2 garlic cloves, quartered

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper

• 6oz goat cheese

• 1 8oz loaf baguette style French bread, cut into ¼” thick slices

Use a zester or cheese grater for the lemon zest. You can then squeeze the lemon into a bowl to save the juice or use a juicer.

In a food processor, combine Kalamata olives, green olives, capers, lemon juice, and garlic.

Mix while gradually adding 3 TBLS of olive oil. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in lemon peel and crushed red pepper. Cover and chill for 1-24 hours to blend flavors.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450°F. Brush both sides of bread with remaining oil. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheets. Bake 5 to 7 minutes or until browned.

Let olive mixture and goat cheese come to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

To serve, spread the bread slices with goat cheese and top with olive mixture.

FROSTED FLAKE CRUSTED FRENCH TOAST

They’re GRRRRRREAT! Tony the Tiger is missing out on how good these are, but you don’t have to. I first saw someone make this with Corn Flakes, but I wanted something a little sweeter, so I decided to try it with Frosted Flakes. They really are a treat, I wouldn’t suggest eating them everyday. since you would probably weight more than a tiger, but its nice to treat yourself sometimes.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups crushed Frosted Flakes

• 6 pieces of bread (the thicker the better)

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup milk

• 2 TBLS melted butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F

Place the frosted flakes into a zip lock bag and crush them with the back of heavy pan or a rolling pin. 

Place the crumbs into a shallow dish/plate. Next, mix the eggs, salt, vanilla and milk in a bowl. Dip the bread into the mixture and then into the crushed frosted flakes, flip to coat both sides

Place onto a greased & foiled baking sheet. Drizzle with melted butter and bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.

FRAN'S FRIDAY PIZZA

Who doesn’t love pizza? Well I am sure the Atkins diet doesn’t, but that is just silly. Being from New York, I was born to eat pizza, being Italian, I was born to make it. 

Every Friday night at my parents house, there is bound to be a pizza in the oven. If there isn’t a pizza in the oven, then we are in the car on our way to Vermont, and stopped for pizza along the way. 

Everyone has their comfort food, be it fried chicken, cupcakes, taffy, mine is pizza.

Now that I am on my own, I need to keep the tradition alive and make pizza every Friday night. 

Once you see how easy it is to make your own pizza, you will think twice about ordering in delivery. Now you can certainly make your own dough and I have several times, but I would rather focus my attention on the toppings and let the dough be made by the pros. Believe it or not, a pizzeria will sell you plain dough. The prices can range anywhere from $2.00 to $4.00 for a large dough, it depends how much they want to rip us off. I purchased 4 large dough’s and then cut 2 of them in half to create 4 small ones.

This Friday I cooked 2 large pizza’s in the oven and 4 small pizza’s on the grill. You can go either way here, but I would suggest trying to grill your own pizza sometime. It tastes like it was cooked in a brick over, without the investment of Italian bricks. I will show you the basics of both methods and then you can get as creative you would like with the toppings.

Ingredients:

PLAIN CHEESE PIZZA

• 1 large dough

• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

• 1-2 cups tomato sauce (home made or store bought)

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

• Fresh Basil torn into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F

For this pizza, I decided to bake it in the oven, just like my mother would do every Friday. Using a rimmed baking sheet, whether it be round or square, drizzle the pan with oil. Then you need to stretch the dough to fit the pan. There is no need to throw the pizza in the air, you can certainly try. I grab the edges and hold it up so the dough naturally starts to stretch. You can also make fists and put the dough over it and slowly expand it.

Since I am using a rectangular baking sheet, I need to stretch it a little more one side then the other. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to fit inside the pan. The imperfections are what makes this pizza yours.

Now that the dough is in the pan, I spread the sauce onto the dough with a spoon. I leave about an inch or so of the edge un-sauced, so there is a crust.

Once the sauce is on the pizza, you can place is in the pre-heated oven and bake until the bottom is golden brown. It takes 10-15 mins to get the bottom golden. Depending on your oven, the time can vary. The easiest way to know, is to take a fork and lift the dough up to see the bottom. Once it’s golden brown. Take it out of the oven, sprinkle it with the grated parmesan cheese and then sprinkle with the torn basil. Then evenly sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the pizza. Place back into the oven until it reaches the desired crispiness. 

I like my pizza well done, so I leave it in a little longer.

HUEVOS RANCHEROS

Do you speak Spanish? Well I don’t, but this translates to eggs ranch-style or eggs country-style. You’ve got to love Mexican food. Here is breakfast with eggs, beans, tortillas and cheese. It doesn’t even have to be limited to breakfast, it can be eaten anytime. I woke up this morning and decided that I needed to eat this. I’ve ordered it out at restaurants several times and it’s really hit or miss. It’s either really good, or should never be served to humans. I decided to step it up and make it myself.

Ingredients:

• 1 TBLS vegetable oil

• 1 cup chopped onion

• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp cayenne

• 1 TBLS minced jalapeno

• 1 tsp minced garlic

• 1 cup chopped tomatoes and their juice

• 1 cup chicken broth

• 3 TBLS chopped cilantro

• 2 tsp vegetable oil

• 4 large corn tortillas

• 1/2 cup warm refried beans

• 2 TBLS unsalted butter

• 8 large eggs

• 1 1/2 cups shredded pepper Jack

RANCHERO SAUCE:

in a medium pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell peppers, and cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the cumin, salt, cayenne, jalapeno, and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add the broth and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro. Adjust the seasoning, to taste, and cover to keep warm.

In a large skillet, heat 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add 1 tortilla and cook until warmed through and just starting to brown about 30 seconds. Turn and cook on the second side. Remove, cover to keep warm, and repeat with the remaining oil and tortillas.

In 2 medium skillets, melt 1 tablespoon of butter each, over medium-high heat. Break 4 eggs into each skillet and fry until beginning to set, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the eggs with the cheese and cover to finish cooking, about 1 1/2 minutes.

Place 1 warm tortilla on each of 4 plates and spread each with 2 tablespoons of warm refried beans. Place 2 eggs on top of each tortilla and top with the warm Ranchero Sauce. Serve immediately.

Enjoy.

Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

FRESH FIGS W/ RAW HONEY

Do you ever have hungry people in your house and you literally are getting ready to cook dinner? How annoying are they? Hovering like vultures in the kitchen…waiting to attack any ingredient I take out. Ideally I would beat them with a wooden spoon, but apparently thats not appropriate (unless you were an Italian mother prior to Child Protective Services being launched).

So I open the fridge….my second fridge, because the average number of fridges in my family is (3) per household, technically I need to buy another fridge, right mom?

There is a box of figs. Perfect.

Slice em and drizzle honey….done. The vultures are ready, I place the plate on the floor. They need to work for this snack.

Ingredients:

• 6 fresh digs, cut in half

• Honey

• Salt

Directions

Slice Figs in half, place on plate, drizzle with honey, pinch of salt. Done.

CRAB SALAD WONTONS

This is the perfect appetizer for the spring. Its so refreshing and somewhat healthy. The crab salad is so good on its own, that you will find yourself dipping anything you can into it. I woke up at 8:00am on Mother’s Day to prepare these and ended up eating a few. Yep, crab for  breakfast, why not?

When I first made this recipe years ago, the hardest part was finding the wonton wrappers. Now most supermarkets carry them and have them usually where they have tofu and vegan items.

Ingredients:

FOR THE WONTON CUPS

• Cooking spray

• 18 wonton wrappers, thawed if frozen

• 2 tsp canola oil

• kosher salt or sea salt

FOR THE DRESSING

• 2 TBLS fresh lime juice

• 2 TBLS olive oil

• 1 tsp grated lime zest

• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

FOR THE SALAD

• 1/2 lb lump crabmeat

• 1 rib celery, finely diced

• 1/2 cup peeled and finely diced ripe mango

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions (white & green parts)

• 2 TBLS chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat 2 mini muffin tins with cooking spray.

MAKE THE WONTON CUPS

Brush both sides of the wonton wrappers with canola oil and place each wrapper into a section of a mini muffin tin. Gently press each wrapper into the tin and form it into a cup shape. Sprinkle with salt.

The trick is to make sure you crease the edges a bit inside the cups, you need to press them together, or else they will fold into each other during baking.

I am speaking from experience, because my first batch got messed up and I had to eat half the wontons, yes, I had to eat them all. Don’t judge me haha.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until browned and crisp.

MAKE THE DRESSING

In a small bowl, whisk the lime juice and zest, salt, and red pepper. Add the olive oil and whisk until combined.

MAKE THE SALAD

In a medium bowl, gently toss the crabmeat, celery, mango, scallions, and cilantro, trying not to break up the crab too much. Add the dressing and gently toss to combine.

Both the salad and the wonton cups can be made up to a day ahead of time. Store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator and the wontons at room temperature in an airtight container. To serve, fill each cup with the crab salad and serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Finecooking.com

OLD BAY GRILLED CHICKEN

Who would have thought that the word Old Bay and Chicken would be in the same sentence. It is typically associated with eating crabs, since that’s where it had originated. It was created by a German immigrant in the 1940’s as a seasoning to be used on crabs. Similar to how you can find peanuts up for grabs at most bars, at those times in Maryland, they would offer free crabs to encourage people to drink.

If you’ve never tried it, then you need to pick it up next time your at the store. The little yellow can is a unique blend of: mustard, paprika, celery seed, bay leaves, both black and red pepper, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, salt and ginger. It’s full of flavor and I am sure you will find many more uses for it.

On the back of the can they have a few recipes suggestions, this chicken being one of them (I adjusted it slightly).

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1 Lemon

• 1 TBLS of Old Bay Seasoning

• Handful of fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley

• Salt & pepper to taste

In a glass dish or plastic zip lock bag, combine all ingredients. Add some fresh cracked pepper and salt to your preference. I personally don’t add any pepper, I add a pinch of sea salt. Give the lemon a good roll on the counter to get the most juice out of it. Squeeze the whole thing in, don’t worry about the pits.

Now, seal up the zip lock bag and work all the ingredients together to make sure the chicken is evenly coated. Refrigerate this 20-30 mins and then grill on a medium-high grill. You can also broil in the oven until no longer pink inside

Grill 5-10 mins a side, until fully cooked through.

Serve with some veggies and rice. I grilled some corn for this meal and made some brown rice. 

For only marinating 20 minutes, this chicken has a ton of flavor.

GRILLED TOMATO SALSA

What is the most popular condiment in the United States? You would first assume its ketchup or mustard, but apparently over the last few years, salsa has been taking over the pantry. I heard this fact a few years ago and I can’t seem to find any current statistics that prove it, but for our purposes, lets assume its #1.

I enjoy the taste of jarred salsa, but nothing compares to fresh. It reminds me of going to a Mexican restaurant, sitting down and instead of bread at the table, there are chips & salsa. It’s their own unique blend, its their signature. Here is a chance to make your own.

You can easily do this in the oven, but the grill creates a great charred flavor that the oven lacks.

Ingredients:

• 3lbs Roma tomatoes

• 8 peeled garlic cloves

• 1-2 peppers (serrano chile peppers or jalapenos)

• 1 cup fresh chopped cilantro

• 1 tsp sugar

• 3 TBLS white vinegar

• Kosher salt to taste

Preheat the grill to high or your oven to high broil. If you are grilling these, then place the garlic cloves in aluminum foil and wrap tight. If you are using the oven, line a rimed baking sheet with foil and place tomatoes, peppers and garlic directly on the pan. For broiling, you are going to broil them for 5-10 minutes on 1 side, making sure to brown them slightly. Flip everything over and then continue broiling for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven to let cool.

For the people that are grilling, place the tomatoes, peppers & garlic (wrapped in foil), directly on the grill.

Close the grill and grill for 5-10 minutes until charred black. You will start to notice the skin is peeling off the tomatoes. Flip them over to continue grilling the other side.

Remove them from the grill and let cool completely. Once cooled, peel the tomatoes. Cut off the tomato top to remove the core and make peeling easier. These tomatoes are juicy and will make a mess, I do them on a cutting board and make sure there are plenty of paper towels to soak up the juice. Sometimes I do these in a strainer to drain some of the juice, but its up to you. Peel the peppers and cut off the stem.

Next, place the garlic, cilantro, peppers (seeds & all), sugar & white vinegar into a food processor. Finely chop everything up.

If you don’t have a food processor you can just mince up everything finely and you will have a chunkier salsa then one made with a food processor. Once these base ingredients are finely chopped,  add the peeled tomatoes and few handfuls of kosher salt and pulse everything together. I like to just pulse a few times, so that its chunky. You can mix it as much as you want if you prefer something more liquid.

Make sure to taste for flavor and add salt as needed. Place the salsa in a container and then store in the fridge until ready to serve. You can serve immediately or store for up to 5 days.

After you taste this salsa, you may see why American’s voted salsa #1.

MANDEL BREAD (ALMOND BREAD = BISCOTTI)

Biscotti literally means “twice-baked.” When I think of Biscotti, I think ITALIAN. The word is sacred to Italians, they own biscotti and no one should even attempt to compete with them. However, the Jewish have their own version of Biscotti that is up for the challenge. These cookies are called Mandel Brodt, which translates to Almond Bread. A very traditional Jewish cookie that is cooked in the same fashion as an Italian Biscotti and if one didn’t know any better, you could easily confuse the two. 

My mom has been making these for over 20 years and she was given the recipe from one of our Russian neighbors. We don’t exactly know where this recipe originated and if she added a Russian flare to these, but who cares, they’re delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 3 cups flour

• 1 cup sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 cup slivered almonds

• cinnamon, sugar (they sell this pre-mixed, but you can easily make your own by mixing 1/2 cup sugar with 1.5 TBLS cinnamon)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl, blend the vegetable oil and the sugar together with a hand mixer.

Crack the eggs into a bowl or measuring cup and then add the eggs one at a time to the bowl, blend well. Add vanilla to the bowl and also all of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder). Mix well.

Add in the slivered almonds and mix well until fully incorporated. Place 4 globs on 2 cookie sheets and shape like a loaf with wet hands (makes it easier to spread without sticking to your hands or the pan)

Sprinkle loafs generously with cinnamon sugar mixture

Bake at 350° 20-25 mins. When golden cut into biscotti and turn on side sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake additional 10 mins. Then turn over on other side, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and bake additional 10 mins.

Cool on a wire rack and enjoy.

JOSH'S MARGARITAS

I lie awake in bed some nights thinking about the next time I get to make these. 

Thank you Josh who introduced me to these a decade ago and I can't stop making them.

They are so good and so easy that you will never go back to buying a mix or making your own from scratch, it will be hard to top these.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz Corona

• 12 oz Can of frozen Limeade

• 12 oz Lemon/Lime Soda (Sierra Mist / Sprite / or 7-Up)

• 12 oz Tequila

• Lime for garnish

• Coarse Salt for rim

In a large pitcher, add the frozen limeade, beer, and Lemon/Lime soda. Use the empty limeade container to measure out exactly 12 oz of Tequila. Mix all ingredients well until there are no large chunks of limeade. Meanwhile, run a lime along the rim of your margarita glass and then gently press into a small dish of course salt.

Add a few ice cubes and pour the mix into the glass, serve with a lime wedge as garnish. 

Enjoy.

BIG GREEN TRUCK PIZZA NEW HAVEN, CT

Who doesn’t love pizza? Who doesn’t love wood fired brick oven pizza? Who doesn’t love a travelling pizza truck that cooks on site? Ok so you get the idea. The Big Green Pizza Truck is located out of New Haven, CT and although their website says they don’t offer their services outside of CT, they catered an anniversary party in NY today (so call them to see if they will come to your area).

My former co-worker was celebrating 30 years of service and had an amazing party at one of PepsiCo's houses. Let’s just say the house is a small mansion and the grounds include a pool, tennis court and full basketball court. 

Those weren’t as impressive as a 1946 Antique truck that has been fully restored and converted into a mobile kitchen fully equipped with; pull out wooden picnic tables, cappuccino machine, sink, refrigerator, generator, sound system, and most important, a wood fired brick oven.

The Menu included a fresh salad and of course, fresh pizza. They come with all their toppings and will cook custom pizza’s to order based on your preference. The pizza’s just keep coming.

A few of my favs were the traditional plain pizza, bacon with mashed potatoes & caramelized onions, white clam, and bruschetta pizza. If that wasn’t enough, they finish the meal off with fresh ice-cream and gelato.

They have 4 trucks and their website includes all the details for pricing and the specifics. Impress people the next time you’re having a party and consider calling the truck in for some pizza. It was an awesome experience and memorable.

For information you can check out their website:

http://www.biggreentruckpizza.com/

If your interested in booking:

Office hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 9am – 3pm

E-mail: doug@biggreentruckpizza.com or phone  203-752-9547

ALANE’S NEARLY FAMOUS BLUEBERRY TART

This has to be the most sought after recipe I have ever come in contact with. There isn’t a week that goes by that someone doesn’t mention it or ask me for it. It’s become a staple in my arsenal and I have made it more than anything else in the last 8 years.

I can only trace it back to my Aunt Patty’s former sister-in-law, Alane. I don’t need to know any more than that. It’s been titled Alane’s Blueberry Tart in my folder for years now and it needs to be known as that. The ingredients are simple and can be easily stored in your pantry. This is the perfect dessert in a pinch and tastes like it was made professionally. You can use any fruit filling, cherry, apple and of course blueberry. I venture into the cherry realm every now and then, but for me, blueberry is the winner.

I must warn you that when this starts baking, your kitchen is going to fill with the most amazing smell that reminds me of shortbread. You will be making this frequently, so get used to it.

I must thank Alane for sharing this with us years ago and now I am able to share it with everyone here. In the words of my Aunt Patty, I friggan love her for that.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 2 sticks of butter (softened)

• 1 egg, add milk in a liquid measuring cup, till it makes 1/3 cup

• 1 can of Blueberry fruit filling (or any fruit)

• confectioners sugar, for dusting

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Work all dry ingredients and softened butter in a large bowl with a fork. When mixed together, lightly beat the egg in the measuring cup and then add to the mixture. Continue working together with a fork, then use your hands to bring it all together.

Grease a 10″ spring-foam pan. spread half the dough on the bottom and slightly up the sides. Pour filling over the dough and spread out evenly with a spatula or butter knife, then break the rest of the dough into pieces and sprinkle on top

Bake for 35-45 mins @ 400 degrees F. I have noticed that my oven browns it up nicely within 35 mins. You want it to be golden brown, so keep your eye on it.

Let cool for 1 hour and sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

I couldn’t wait the whole hour, so I just started eating it after I quickly took the picture.

Continue to pass this recipe on, so that one day it could really be famous, because it should be.