roberto!

This is the best soup! Helen Rosner is a soup queen! Go read her original recipe. The condensed version here is to make shopping easier for me.

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 big onion
2-4 cloves garlic
Salt
1 pound hot or sweet italian sausage

1 28oz can tomatoes, diced or crushed or whole (crushed)
1 14oz can of beans of any type
4 cups of broth (chicken, beef, veggie, or honestly just a mix of water and wine is great)
1 bunch of kale
Pepper
1 lemon

Put the olive oil and onions in a soup pot over medium heat, with a pinch of salt (a pinch is about a quarter teaspoon) and stir them all together. Slowly cook them all until the onions are soft and translucent, about 4 minutes, but sometimes as many as 7. Add the garlic and wooden-spoon it around in the onion until you get hit with that nostalgic garlic-and-onion smell, about 1 minute. 

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the sausage squeezed out of its casing. Stir it into the onion and garlic, breaking it up in the pot into small pieces that could comfortably fit on a spoon. It's better to overcook than undercook the sausage: For the best flavor, you want the pieces to start to brown on the outside. It should look speckled with dark spots.

When the sausage is starting to brown dump in the tomatoes (including all the liquid), the beans (it's okay if there's a little liquid left in the can, add that too), and 4 cups of the broth/whatever and bring the whole thing to a simmer. If you'd used canned whole tomatoes, use your wooden spoon to break them up against the side of the pot.

Once it's at a simmer, add the kale. Get the greens in there and put the lid on and turn the heat down back to medium and let the whole thing simmer for about 5 minutes more, or even longer if you want to. Taste the soup (use the wooden spoon, you're less likely to burn your mouth) and decide how much salt and black pepper you think it needs. Then add half as much salt as you want to, and twice as much pepper. Add a little more pepper. 

Serve the soup, which is very hot, in bowls and squeeze a wedge of lemon juice into each bowl. Add parsley if you want.

new shiny veggies

 Super tasty, super easy sauce.

1 onion
1 red pepper
kale
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon base 
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Chop onion, red pepper and kale into equal size pieces. Heat a pan, add a glug of olive oil, and add the onions and red peppers. Cook until browned. Add the kale and heat until wilted. 

In a cup combine the red wine vinegar, chicken bouillon, cornstarch and water. Add to the pan and stir until thickened and shiny.

vodka cocktail roundup

Green Garden

Makes 2 cocktails

2 ounces gin
2 ounces vodka
2 ounces celery simple syrup
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce lemon juice
Peychaud's Bitters
Salt

Combine gin, vodka, simple syrup and citrus juices in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and then pour into a coupe glass. Add two dashes of Peychaud's Bitters and a pinch of salt to each glass.

To make simple syrup:

Combine 3 sections of celery stalks with leaves, with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid into a jar.

Nick's Flower Fields

Makes 1 cocktail

1/2 ounce lavender butterfly pea flower simple syrup
1/2 ounce elderflower simple syrup
1.5 ounces vodka or gin
1/2 ounce lemon juice

Add vodka and simple syrups to a shaker and shake until tin is frosted. Pour into a glass with ice. Then add lemon juice to change the color and stir. Top with a splash of club soda and fresh flowers.

Sage Lemonade

Makes 2 cocktails

2 ounces sage simple syrup
1 ounce lemon juice
2 ounces vodka

Add the vodka, lemon juice, and sage simple syrup to a cocktail shaker and fill it with ice. Shake vigorously until cold.

Strain into cocktail glass. 

Strawberry Lemonade

Makes 1 cocktail

Strawberries
3/4 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1 ounce vodka
Polar dry orange

Cut up strawberries and muddle in a glass with the simple syrup and lemon juice. Add ice and vodka, and stir. Top with Polar orange dry.

Chocolate Orange Martini

Makes 1 cocktail

1 1/2 ounces vodka
3/4 ounce white crème de cacao liqueur
1 splash orange liqueur

Add the vodka, crème de cacao liqueur, and orange liqueur to a cocktail shaker and fill it with ice. Shake vigorously until cold.

Strain into cocktail glass. 

grape jelly ribs

Sweet and a little savory.

1 large rack baby back pork ribs (3 to 3½ pounds)
1½ teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed but left whole
¾ cup Concord grape jelly
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Position an oven rack 6 inches from the broiler and another rack on the bottom of the oven. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. If you’d like to remove the membrane from the bony underside of the ribs, use a small knife to release one corner of the thin membrane, then pull off the rest with your hands and discard.

In a small bowl, stir together the salt, onion powder and black pepper. Season the ribs on both sides with the spice mixture. Wrap the ribs tightly in aluminum foil as if wrapping a present, place on a sheet pan flesh-side down and bake on the bottom rack until the meat is tender and pulls away easily from the bones, 2 to 2½ hours.

Remove the ribs from the oven, then heat the broiler. Unwrap the ribs and, reserving the foil with its juices, transfer the ribs to the sheet pan flesh-side up. Carefully tip the juices from the foil into a large skillet. Stir in the garlic, jelly, vinegar and soy sauce, and bring to a simmer over medium-high. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the glaze is syrupy and reduced by about half, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Brush or spoon half of the glaze, including the garlic cloves, over the ribs. Place back in the oven and broil until charred in spots, 1 to 3 minutes. (Don’t step away!)

Place the ribs on a cutting board and spoon over the rest of the glaze. Cut between the bones into individual riblets and transfer to a large platter to serve.

now for umami fish

Another killer fridge clean out dish.

1 pound of white fish
4 yellow potatoes
1 package of chard
7-10 campari tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup pickled banana peppers, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
3 tbsp pickled banana pepper liquid
splash of Cynar
ground mustard
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Quarter potatoes, coat in oil, sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

Coat fish in ground mustard, salt, pepper and olive oil. Add a pat of butter and a tbsp of olive oil to a stainless steel pan over high heat. When butter is bubbling, add fish and cook on each side for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan to a plate.

Add sliced garlic to the hot pan. Cook for a couple minutes until browned but not burned, add a splash of Cynar and then add the tomatoes and banana peppers and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the chard (chopped if large pieces) and combine. Cover and let chard wilt for a couple minutes and then stir again. Add the fish to the top of the vegetables, cover, and put back in the oven for 8-9 minutes.

Plate the fish with the vegetables on top and spoon sauce over the top.

little chefs calamari

The best calamari recipe I've ever had.

Calamari Marinade

1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1.5 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
zest of one lemon
3 smashed and chopped garlic cloves
1 handful chopped basil
1 handful chopped parsley
1 handful chopped Cuban oregano
1/4 cup olive oil (enough to have a wet marinade)
squid tubes and tentacles

Calamari Dressing

5 olives
1 handful parsley
juice of 1-2 lemons
zest of half a lemon
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons crisp white wine

Combine all ingredients in the marinade and then marinate the squid for 20 minutes. Add as much olive oil as necessary to make it saucy.

Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more wine if needed to loosen the dressing.

Grill calamari until cooked and plate with arugula and dress both the calamari and the arugula with the dressing.

negroni sbagliato vinaigrette

Campari
Sweet Vermouth
Orange Juice
Champagne Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

pork piccata because i need more capers in my life

Give me all the capers!

1 1/4 pound pork tenderloin (or boneless cut pork chops, or thin pork cutlets)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
¼ cup white wine (or bianco vermouth)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons capers (drained)
2 tablespoons minced flat leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Slice pork tenderloin into eight 2-inch thick slices. Place each slice between two pieces of plastic wrap and use the flat side of a meat tenderizer to flatten to ¼-inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the cornstarch and tapioca starch on a plate and beaten egg in a shallow bowl. Dredge pork in starches and then egg and then dredge in the starches again. Shake off the excess.

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbsp. of the oil and 1 Tbsp of butter.

Place half of pork slices in the pan and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and keep warm under a tent of foil. Warm the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in the pan and repeat to brown the remaining pork. Place that pork under your foil tent as well.

Reduce the heat to medium and melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter in the pan. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Add the vermouth, lemon juice and broth, increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter, the capers and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the sauce over pork and serve immediately.

gin cocktail roundup

Green Garden

Makes 2 cocktails

2 ounces gin
2 ounces vodka
2 ounces celery simple syrup
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce lemon juice
Peychaud's Bitters
Salt

Combine gin, vodka, simple syrup and citrus juices in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and then pour into a coupe glass. Add two dashes of Peychaud's Bitters and a pinch of salt to each glass.

To make simple syrup:

Combine 3 sections of celery stalks with leaves, with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid into a jar.

Rhubarb Gimlet

Makes 2 cocktails

2.5 ounces gin
2 ounces rhubarb simple syrup
1/2 ounce lime juice

Combine everything in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and then pour over ice.

To make simple syrup:

Combine 3 stalks of rhubarb, diced, with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft. Strain the liquid into a jar. Save the softened rhubarb for jam.

Butterfly Pea Flower Cocktail

Makes 2 cocktails

2 ounces gin
2 ounces butterfly pea flower simple syrup
1/2 ounce lemon juice
splash of club soda

Add gin and butterfly pea flower simple syrup to a glass with ice. Then add lemon juice to change the color and stir. Top with a splash of club soda and fresh flowers.

Purple Lotus (Improvised Water Lily)

3⁄4 oz. Dry Orange Curacao
 3⁄4 oz. Lavender/Butterfly Pea Flower Simple Syrup
 3⁄4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
 3⁄4 oz. Gin

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice; shake vigorously and strain into a coupe. Garnish with orange zest.

Nick's Flower Fields

Makes 1 cocktail

1/2 ounce lavender butterfly pea flower simple syrup
1/2 ounce elderflower simple syrup
1.5 ounces vodka or gin
1/2 ounce lemon juice

Add vodka and simple syrups to a shaker and shake until tin is frosted. Pour into a glass with ice. Then add lemon juice to change the color and stir. Top with a splash of club soda and fresh flowers.

The Sweet and Sage

Makes 2 cocktails

1 oz. Dry Orange Curacao
2 oz. Sage Simple Syrup
2 oz. Gin

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice; shake vigorously and strain into a coupe. Garnish with orange zest.

tequila cocktail roundup

Pompelmo

Makes 2 cocktails

3 ounces reposado tequila (can also be made with blanco)
3 ounces grapefruit juice
½ ounce Campari
small pinch of smoked salt

Add the grapefruit juice, tequila, Campari and smoked salt to a cocktail shaker and fill it with ice. Shake vigorously until cold.

Strain into cocktail glass. 

Smoked Tequila Old Fashioned

Makes 1 cocktail

2.5 ounces of añejo tequila
½ ounce agave syrup
4-5 dashes of orange bitters

Garnish: Orange peel and thyme

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir gently to chill and combine ingredients. Strain into a double old-fashioned glass over fresh ice. Garnish and smoke.

Tequila Sweet Tart

Makes 1 cocktail

1 oz blanco tequila
1 oz Aperol
1 oz strawberry rhubarb simple syrup
1/2 oz lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and pour over ice.

Fall Sunrise

Makes 1 cocktail

2 ounces of añejo tequila
1 ounce spiced apple syrup
3/4 ounces lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a coupe glass.

Autumn Sunset

Makes 2 cocktails

4 ounces of añejo tequila
2 ounces spiced apple syrup
1 ounce Aperol
3/4 ounces lime juice
4 dashes rhubarb bitters

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a coupe glass.

cocktail round up

First up, my favorite:

Jungle Bird

Makes 2 cocktails

1 ½ ounces dark rum
1 ½ ounces pineapple juice
3/4 to 1 ounce Campari/Aperol (to taste)
½ ounce lime juice
½ ounce simple syrup or maple syrup

For the garnish: Pineapple wedge, pineapple leaves (optional)

Add the dark rum, pineapple juice, Campari/Aperol, lime juice, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker and fill it with ice. Shake vigorously until cold.

Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, pineapple leaves, or fresh mint.

Orchard Bird

Makes 2 cocktails

1 ounce dark rum
2 ounces peach nectar
1 ounce Aperol 
½ ounce lime juice
½ ounce maple syrup

Add the dark rum, peach nectar, Aperol, lime juice, and maple syrup to a cocktail shaker and fill it with ice. Shake vigorously until cold.

Strain into cocktail glass.

Tropical Brazilian Spritz

Makes 2 cocktails

2 ounces cachaca
2 ounces pineapple juice
2 ounces peach juice
calamansi seltzer

Combine juices and cachaca in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and then pour over ice. Float calamansi seltzer on top.

Peppered Amaro

Makes 1 cocktail

1 ounce black pepper simple syrup
1 ounce Cynar or Ramazotti
1 ounce whiskey/bourbon

Add ice to a rocks glass, add all 3 ingredients to the glass and stir.

In Cold Blood

Makes 1 cocktail

1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Cynar
1 ounce bourbon
Lemon twist
Pinch of salt

Add ice to a rocks glass, add first 3 ingredients to the glass and stir. Twist lemon over glass and add a pinch of salt.

pork loin non-roast

 Couldn't be easier to make - my instant pot is currently my favorite tool in the kitchen.

2 to 2-1/2 pound boneless pork loin roast
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3/4 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (dried also ok)
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves (dried also ok)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chicken broth (or wine, beer, or water)

Take pork loin out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking.

In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, lemon zest, parsley, and thyme.

Season pork loin with salt and pepper; then, brush the butter mixture all around the meat. Set aside.

Press the Sauté function on the Instant Pot and heat up the olive oil. When oil is hot, sear the pork loin on all sides until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove pork from IP and set aside.

Add broth to the Instant Pot and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom.

Cancel the Sauté function and place a trivet in the IP and set the pork on top of the trivet. Lock the lid and pressure cook at HIGH PRESSURE for 15 minutes. Then, let pressure come down naturally for 15 minutes, and quick release any remaining pressure. Open the lid and check internal temperature with an instant read meat thermometer; it should read 145˚F. If it’s less than this, you can place the lid back on the pot to let the carryover heat cook the pork to doneness. Shouldn’t take more than 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer pork loin to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes before cutting. This will help seal in the juices.

In the meantime, prepare the pan-sauce: Select the Sauté function on the IP and bring liquid to a boil. Continue to cook at a slow boil for 5 minutes, or until reduced by half, stirring occasionally. (If not thick enough, add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup of water and stir constantly.

Slice the pork and serve with the pan juices.

Adapted from Diethood