• Mortadella Fritters

    One of the best moments from my recent trip to Italy was exploring the Bacari in Venice and sampling the bar bites known as Cicchetti, Italy’s version of tapas. My family and I basically stick out as tourists and can be spotted from a mile away. As we piled into these hole in the wall spots down the side alleys of Venice in the pouring rain we would first get interesting looks from the waiter/bartender/food preparer. Once he could tell that we sort of knew what we were doing with little things like ordering wine as “ombra” instead of asking for house red, everyone relaxed a bit. In the Venice bacari, ombra means a small glass of local wine. Once we got settled with our wine and dried off a bit, it was time to get to the food. All of the small bites would be lined up behind a glass case and it was easy to point at what we wanted. Little bit of this, couple of these, maybe one or 2 of the weird looking one, and we were ready to eat! We went to 3 or 4 bacari during our time in Venice, some more traditional, and others more modern, and we sampled tons of Cicchetti, most of which I hope to recreate for posts in the coming months.

  • Salmon Gnocchi in a Creamy Pea Sauce

    If I was running a diner a couple decades ago, I would probably call these “salmon croquettes”. If I was running a fancy modern american place I might call them “salmon-potato dice” cause they have the fun square shape. I think salmon gnocchi is a good name for them though. This recipe is inspired by the old school salmon and pea pasta, and also by the upcoming spring when fresh peas will soon be available.

  • Mac and Cheese Fries

    Crispy french fries smothered in creamy cheesy mac and cheese and topped with lots of crispy bacon and scallions.

  • Veggie Loaded Meatloaf

    I was craving meatloaf. This is a sentence I have said as many as never times in my life, but it was the case the other night. If you are following along, you probably noticed the trend of healthy, mostly meatless, and pretty inexpensive dishes recently, because that is how I try to cook this time of year. Plus I keep having to make mac and cheese stuffed burgers for the cookbook publicity so I am trying to counteract some of that. That all being said, I wanted to make a vegetarian or mostly vegetarian “loaf”. I did some research, but most veggie loafs were loaded with grains and tofu, and not actual veggies like I wanted. I decided to just wing it and do mostly veg with a little beef and some cheese, sort of like a veggie heavy lightened version of a regular meatloaf.

  • Pastrami and Pickle Soup

    We’re buried under about a foot of snow here in Boston this morning, and naturally my thoughts go right to a hearty soup. Even if you are snowed in today too, you can probably still make this soup if you can find some pastrami somewhere. If not, just toss in any meat instead. Everything else is pantry staples. This soup is a riff off of a dill pickle soup I once was intrigued by on an episode of Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, that I finally decided to make a version of.

  • Hash Brown Wrapped Eggs

    It’s been hard for me to switch gears from the whole “Stuffed” concept. It’s too late to get this guy into the book, so here it is, Stuffed DVD special features! This is a play on a scotch egg, but also a Peruvian dish called papas rellenas. The key is perfectly soft boiling the eggs so that the yolk stays soft and comes running out when you cut into it.

  • Corned Beef Hash and Egg Sandwich

    My two favorite breakfasts are either corned beef hash, or eggs benedict. I had leftover corned beef, as we all do right now, so I decided to sort of combine the two breakfasts, but in sandwich form, and without the fussy hollandaise sauce. It took me like 10 minutes to pull this together, and it was a perfect hangover remedy yesterday morning.

  • Crispy Cheese Gnocchi with Spicy Ketchup

    It makes sense to dip your gnocchi in ketchup since gnocchi is made of mostly potato. But these weren’t just any gnocchi, they were marbled with a sharp cheddar, and perfumed with a splash of truffle oil. And it wasn’t just your ordinary ketchup either, it was fortified with some garlic and olive oil, and spiked with a nice hit of sriracha. These cheese gnocchi were nice and crispy on the outside, but extremely delicate and soft on the inside and exploding with flavor on every bite.

  • Pierogi Lasagna

    Lasagna with flavors inspired by pierogi – noodles layered with mashed potato, sour cream, cheese, and bacon

  • Truffled Potato and Onion Tart

    Potato and caramelized onion make this tart unique and delicious, but the truffle oil and blue cheese are what take it to the next level.