Cotechino with lentils is the classic, but in the American south eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is the tradition. So, here the Hoppin’ John stands in for the lentils and a mighty fine stand-in it is too. Making Hoppin’ John is not difficult but it does pay to have a solid recipe to…… Continue reading Lowcountry Hoppin’ John and Cotechino
Category: Sausage
Fresh Extruded Pasta: Rigatoni, Sausage and Ricotta
Making pasta at home is nothing new. I’ve been doing fresh egg pasta, flat, stuffed, hand-rolled or on a chitarra for years. However, making “dry” fresh pasta was not something I’ve tackled. I did not want to invest in a pasta extruder and was not sure it will be worth it. Also, most books never bother with…… Continue reading Fresh Extruded Pasta: Rigatoni, Sausage and Ricotta
Cassoulet and Green Salad, Country Bread and Red Wine, Walnut Tart – A Dinner from Southwest France
A long titled post suitable to a properly labor-intensive and delicious cold-weather meal. Both the Toulouse-style Cassoulet and the Walnut Tart are based on Paula Wolfert’s recipes in her book “The Cooking of Southwest France”. The bread is the Pain de Campagne (country bread) recipe from Peter Reinhart’s “The Bread baker’s Apprentice”. Making a proper Cassoulet is a good bit…… Continue reading Cassoulet and Green Salad, Country Bread and Red Wine, Walnut Tart – A Dinner from Southwest France
Labor Day Bocks and Brats
We were in San Antonio this past weekend, so I did not have much time to prepare a full-fledged barbecue spread. San Antonio was a fun close getaway with the family and as usual we had a great meal at Dough Pizzeria Napolitana (might be one of the best of it’s kind in the country) and…… Continue reading Labor Day Bocks and Brats
Super bowl XLIV: Gumbo and Sweet Potato Pie
I was pretty happy that the Saints made it to the Super Bowl this year, but I honestly did not think they would actually win! That was a fantastic game. Either way I knew I’d be making some good food to match the Saint’s home state. The main course was gumbo. This one is shrimp,…… Continue reading Super bowl XLIV: Gumbo and Sweet Potato Pie
Cotechino with Polenta
Cotechino is a traditional sausage from Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is traditionally served on New Year’s Eve. Italians serve it with lentils (to bring rishes in thew upcoming year), potatoes or polenta. I make Cotechino once a year, by that I mean I make the sausage mixture once a year. That mixture however,…… Continue reading Cotechino with Polenta
Oven Dried Tomatoes 