Mexican pork ribs. Chili. Tomato. Spice. Creamy cheese grits. It comes together beautifully on the plate. A deeply flavoured, mildly spicy sauce blends with the creaminess of the grits. Meltingly tender pork ribs add a touch of richness. This dish takes Mexican cooking into fine dining territory.
Sausage with peppers. A classic American-Italian dish. Fry some sausage. Add peppers and onions. A bit of garlic. Some dried oregano and basil. Pile it on a hoagie. Melt some cheese. That’s downtown.
Roast sausage for colour. Sweat peppers and onion slowly until melting. Add white wine. Reduce. Now the tomato. Simmer. Add the browned sausage. Simmer a bit more to bring the flavours together. Serve on polenta enriched with butter, cream and fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano. Simple, clean tastes. That’s uptown.
I live in Canada. I have a taco addiction. That’s a bit of a problem. There are no taco trucks here. No mom and pop taquerias. There are a couple of places doing great tacos in town but there are lineups. For tacos. That’s why I make my own. Loaded carnitas tacos are how I get my taco fix at home. And you can too.
Carnitas are the star of this particular taco. Lousy carnitas – lousy tacos. Well, that’s not the only place to fall down with tacos. Lousy tortillas – lousy tacos. But let’s not get distracted. I make carnitas a couple different ways. Sous-vide carnitas are really good. Make them ahead of time and just fry them up to order. Or you can go old-school and make more traditional pork carnitas. They are really, really good too. Read More
Crispy pork carnitas make some of the best tacos around. Little bits of pork wrapped in a soft corn tortilla. That is just good living.
Chili is a funny thing. Everybody’s got a recipe and no two are alike. Some focus on the chilies. Some on the meat. Some have beans. Some don’t. Some are closer to Mex. Some are definitely Tex. Some taste like spaghetti sauce with a bit of grocery store pre-fab mystery chili powder thrown in. Some I get. Some I don’t. This black bean chili is one I get. I hope you get it too. Read More
Neapolitan lasagna is a delicious baked pasta dish made with a rich rag and fresh mozzarella. It is a lasagna for when your regular lasagna just won’t do.