We’ve arrived at the much awaited first long holiday weekend of the year, which venerates our fallen military heroes. For some it heralds the beginning of summer, although some parts of our Nation are still feeling the lingering effects of a cold spell. Before you get your BBQ on, take a minute or two to venerate the men and women that’ve sacrificed so much for our nation and have given us our liberty. This holiday isn’t about margaritas, Bud Lite…
This is another rendition of the many Bolognese sauces I prepare on any given lazy Sunday when I have plenty of time on my hands and John has a hankering for pasta with a robust meat sauce. It’s very hearty, it makes for vast quantities and it freezes criminally well. I’ve utilized this sauce as pizza base and it’s a total show stopper. There’s not much to be said as this ragù speaks volumes for itself. 1 cup of…
Most gastronomic connoisseurs will tell you there’s a difference, however subtle between Ragù and Ragoût. For most gourmands, the distinction lays in taste and variation of ingredients as embrace the same cooking technique. So, why the dismay if the differences are that understated, even though they are pronounced exactly alike? The vagaries can be blamed in the comparison of certain ingredients that are more predominant in Ragù and less prevalent in Ragoût. They both however share the same secret weapon…
In Napoli, this is a legendary, standard dish essentially served in most households as a Sunday or holiday feasts for the family to congregate. It consists of chunks of pork shoulder and beef chuck, slowly braised until it is fragrant, falling apart, melt-in-your mouth tender served over tubular pasta. Even though this falls under the Ragoût category, the Italians borrowed the word Ragoùt from the French and changed it to Ragù. Most Italian where Ragùs are concerned, like Bolognese, rely…
Spaghetti Bolognese is one pasta dish that’s achieved tremendous notoriety world-wide, the birth place being Bologna, the capital of Emilia-Romana. The infamous spaghetti and meat sauce dish that has countless takes and versions, each chef and gourmand with their own true and tested rendering. The preparation is best created in stages, with a robust tomato sauce to start and then the Bolognese. TOMATO SAUCE 1/4 cup of olive oil 1 TSP of butter 1 28 oz can of whole San…
Though the annals of time, recipes have gained fame and notoriety by their origin. Invariably their birthplace is singularly tied to a curious attention-grabbing yarn, which at times is cloaked in mystery or even intertwined to a gallant tale. Of course, it can also be as innocuous as a recipe passed down from generations of incomparable cooks. But at times it originates from a close friend and its got even greater meaning behind it. This is the story of my…
I am almost convinced there is a eulogy written somewhere about mayonnaise. Especially the homemade kind. Hard to believe that in America, it’s Numero Uno in the condiment department, having out seated its contender, the Ketchup by a landslide. Even harder to believe that Russia is the top consumer of mayo in the world. It’s rather fantastic, really, that a quick-thinking substitution in the culinary repertoire of the personal chef to the Duke of Richelieu in 1756, created the world’s…
This is a flavor explosion for lovers of Indian food and a dish that will be hailed by vegetarians and meat lovers alike. One of the best attributes of the dish, is the fact that it gets better the longer it sits in the fridge. Like with any good Vindaloo, you know it’s going to pack a healthy, spicy wallop, that is why a good raita should accompany this to cool down the palate. 1 medium onion 4 medium…
Aioli literally means “garlic and oil” in French and Catalan. It’s like a mayo on steroids, popular in Mediterranean countries, especially in France (Provence), Italy (Liguria) and most regions of Spain (called Alioli), mostly prevalent along the Mediterranean coast (Valencia, Cataluña, Murcia and Andalucía) where it is served literally by the bucket-full. Every restaurant in Alicante provides a bowl of decadent, creamy looking Alioli, with chunks of fresh baguette for customers to dunk before ordering their meal. In Cataluña, they…