Category: Food and Recipes

Last night I posted about the German meal I made for Sunday dinner. While making the red cabbage I took photos and mentally noted amounts and directions for a recipe I would write today. The red cabbage recipe is really for our Vermont Spätzle website, but I am also sharing it with you.

Today, while scrubbing our home kitchen floor on my hands and knees, I started thinking about why red cabbage is called red and not purple. The same thing goes for red onions, which are also purple.

The bigger question to answer is why the hell with the modern invention of a mop was I scrubbing on my hands and knees? The floor was so dirty from the kitchen project; a mop wouldn’t do the job correctly.

The color of red cabbage comes from a pigment called anthocyanins. Depending on the soil’s acidity levels, where it is grown determines the color. If the soil is acidic, the cabbage will be red; if neutral, the cabbage will be purple, and yellowish-green if alkaline.

So why is it called red when it’s almost always purple? There are many answers I found today when I looked up red cabbage. All colors come from primary colors, red, blue, and yellow, and are used to name things. For example, red cabbage and red onion peels and leaves were used to make a natural reddish-blue dye. Blue and red make purple. Germans call red cabbage after it is cooked blaukraut. Blau is blue in German, making more sense. Red hair is on the yellow side, giving redheads a golden orange-red color.

Some people think it is called red cabbage because of where you live; some places call it purple cabbage, apparently not here. There are dozens of other reasons why red cabbage is called red and not purple, so we get the point.

I use bacon fat to sauté the onions, apples, and red cabbage before the braising process for my red cabbage recipe. I always keep a jar of bacon fat in the refrigerator, which we refer to as liquid gold or porky goodness. The bacon fat gives the red cabbage a lovely flavor that can’t be mimicked with butter. However, butter can be used for vegetarians, and some kind of oil can be used for vegans I suppose. I use the real deal.

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I mise en place all the ingredients before I start cooking. The cut on the vegetable is a rough chop meaning the pieces don’t have to look like perfect dice for this braise. The apples and onions disappear at the end of the cook time.

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My recipe is the perfect balance of sweet and sour, but feel free to add more vinegar if you like it that way. I use apple cider vinegar but have also used white and red vinegar; it’s up to you and what you have on hand. Please do not go out and buy a specific vinegar for this recipe.

The cooked red cabbage freezes well. We always have it for one meal; then, I freeze the rest.

Without further adieu…here’s my recipe.

Red Cabbage

Ingredients

1 head of red cabbage
2 medium apples
1 medium onion
2 Tbsp bacon fat
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup water
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Remove the outer leaves from the red cabbage. Wash and dry the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and cut out the stem. Thinly slice the cabbage.

Peel, quarter, core, and roughly chop the apples. Roughly chop the onion.

In a dutch oven, over medium heat, melt the fat of your choice and sauté the onions and apples until the onions are translucent but not brown. Stir in the cabbage, mixing thoroughly. Sauté for 10 minutes on medium heat.

Add the kosher salt, pepper, bay leaf, cloves, brown sugar, vinegar, and water. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer on low for 2 hours, checking and stirring the cabbage every 30 minutes.

Cook until the cabbage is tender and the apples are no longer visible. Check for seasoning, adding more kosher salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf and any visible cloves. Warn your diners there may still be cloves in the cabbage while they are eating.

Guten Appetit!

We own and operate a German food manufacturing business called The Vermont Spätzle Company. You would think I made more German food than I do with a German company.

Yes, our spätzle is considered a German food; however, I use it as I would any pasta as our customers do. In Germany, spätzle is served with cheese, caramelized onions, or brown gravy.

Our spätzle can be made with pesto, shrimp scampi, topped with Bolognese sauce, with Asian sauces, casseroles, and soups; you name it. Basically, it can be as simple as sautéed with butter or as complex as you wish with endless possibilities.

Our newly updated kitchen is done but still needs a few things to finish it. When everything is complete and the kitchen is finished, I’ll do a reveal. Tonight, I will show you how gorgeous the new tile wall and hood vent look. The area is so bright, light, and airy. I no longer cook in a cramped, dark space with a vent hood that wasn’t appropriate and constantly over-heated.

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I’ve had a head of red cabbage in the fridge for quite a while and needed to use it. I decided to make a traditional German dinner. On the menu, roasted pork tenderloin with mushroom cream sauce, sauteed spätzle, and red cabbage.

Red cabbage, not something that everyone makes very often or at all for that matter. I make a very good pot of red cabbage with my recipe I adapted from an old German cookbook from Dr. Oetker. I’ve been making it for at least 30 years and have gotten rave reviews from Germans. We had a German garden railroad event at our house; I made German food for Germans. This was long before the spätzle business, but I still felt confident that my food would pass the taste test.

As a cook who has cooked for many other people professionally, you always have a little anxiety just before service. Every cook wants their dishes to be delicious and loved by the diners. This event was no different. I made a super-strong vodka drink when it was over and celebrated I pulled it off.

I remember I grilled different German sausages. I made hot German potato salad with red cabbage. I also made a Black Forrest sheet cake that was a huge hit. I kept busy while people were eating and were so proud when the guests all told me my red cabbage was better than their mothers and omas. This was a huge fucking compliment if there ever was one!

Back to tonight’s red cabbage, I decided to write the recipe for my dish to publish on our business’s website along with many other recipes I wrote. Customers always ask for German food recipes that go with our spätzle, so this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

I mentally noted quantities, directions, and cook times while making it this afternoon. I will sit down and physically write the recipe tomorrow. I’ll share it with you guys, too, if anyone has a craving for red cabbage. My recipe is the perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty, and savory; plus, it isn’t hard to make. Jarred red cabbage is tasty, but homemade is the real deal and is much better.

As I started sautéing the red cabbage on my spotless stove surrounded by the new white tiles and light gray walls, I tried to be extra careful not to splatter. I guess this was a ballsy move, almost asking for trouble, but whatever, the stove is for cooking. During clean-up, I was happy I didn’t make a mess at all.

I took demo photos as I prepared the red cabbage and some pictures of the finished plate for the spätzle business. The German meal was perfect for a cold Sunday night with snow in the forecast, plus it was terrific too. Marty loved it! 🥰

Right now, I am going outside to make sure the hatches are battened down and pick up the dog’s balls. I’ll be sure to bring in some flashlights. 40-50 mph wind gusts will accompany the snowstorm forecasted to start soon. Terrific right? The power company is warning people for power outages already. Ugh. They say 8-14 inches of snow with wind, then turning to rain and ice. Ick.

A beautiful snowstorm when you have nowhere to go is one thing, but no one likes the shit show of a storm coming. Be safe and stay warm, my upstate NY and Vermont friends.

We had a great visit with my sister Jen, Sofia, and Julian, her children. As soon as I know we will be having guests; I start planning my menus right away. Jen and I discussed dinner options a month before they came. I asked what types of things the kids liked to eat and what they didn’t like. I chose a menu, and she said they would love it all. Yay!

Jen and I love to cook together, so it was even better when Sofia helped us in the kitchen one night. Jen’s kids like to cook; Sofia is 14 years old and already has excellent knife skills.

We made Chicken Franchise for the first night’s dinner with homemade Fettuccini (gluten-free) Alfredo. I made the pasta the day before, so we only had to cook the chicken and make the alfredo sauce. The meal was delicious, and the kids loved it.

The fun part about cooking together is that we work side by side like we’ve been cooking together forever. We trade off tasks and pull off the meals with lots of laughs and chit-chat.

Wednesday night, we made my dad’s recipe for Portuguese Shrimp with Chorizo and Yellow Rice. I have to admit the shrimp came out good. We also made Brazilian Cheese Bread. This may have been Sofia’s favorite dinner of all. She kept saying how it was the best garlic shrimp she ever had. Of course, this made me very happy, and Jen said she would be making this dish at home. The cheese bread was a big hit as well.

The next night I made meatballs, but not with tomato sauce; they don’t like it; I made Swedish Meatballs. They requested spätzle, so this was the perfect meal to serve it with. This meal was another homerun.

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New Year’s Eve would be our first authentic “holiday” dinner together. I wanted to make a traditional turkey dinner; nothing says “holiday” like turkey.

I set a fancy table for our New Year’s Eve dinner. We used placemats instead of table cloths for the rest of the meals. I decorated the table with greens and candles; it looked beautiful.

I kept the turkey dinner simple and didn’t make as many side dishes; as usual, they weren’t necessary. I went with stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce. The basics, but the basics are the best. Marty loves sweet potatoes and stuffing best, while I like turkey with mashed potatoes & gravy.

We only had dessert two nights; we ate late every night and played cards right after dinner, so it wasn’t missed that much. We made hot fudge sundaes one night, then the kids and I made Chocolate & Peanut Butter Lava Cakes on New Year’s Eve day.

I have a lot of experience cooking with kids. I taught a six-week after-school cooking program one year, and I had students helping to prepare food in my kitchen when I worked at the school district as their food service director and lunch lady.

First, I made us read the recipe all the way through. I can’t beat this into adults’ heads, so I always make sure to teach it to kids.

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Next, we got out the ingredients and double-checked the recipe again. Then, we started baking. I divided the tasks; Sofia melted chocolate and butter in a double boiler while Julian buttered and dusted the ramekins with cocoa powder.

I had Sofia whisk eggs and sugar while I poured in the hot melted chocolate. Next, Sofia filled the ramekins halfway with the batter while Julian scooped peanut butter and carefully put the peanut butter right in the center of the ramekin. He was adorable doing this, and he did a great job. Sofia finished topping the ramekins with more batter, then we covered them and kept them cold until after dinner.

Later on, I popped the ramekins into the oven while they were watching a movie. I was praying the lava cakes would easily come out of the ramekins, and the peanut butter would ooze out when cut open. It did! Yahoo! I breathed a big sigh of relief. I never made lava cakes before and wasn’t sure if they would come out as expected.

Klaus and Otto were good boys during their visit. Julian and Marty took the dogs outside one night to play catch. Klaus didn’t forget that Julian was a new playmate and kept staring at him to play. I took them outside the next day and was pleased that Klaus and Otto played nice with him.

My family stayed at an Airbnb up in Manchester, but we decided that they would camp out in our living room on New Year’s Eve. There are way too many stupid people who still drink and drive; I didn’t want them traveling back to Manchester.

Kausie-boy thought it was the greatest thing in the world when we plopped a twin mattress in the center of the living room! He climbed on it right away and wasn’t planning on moving. LOL!

They left early New Year’s Day morning to head back to NJ. We had a great time even though there wasn’t any snow. We planned on snowshoeing and sledding, but of course, that didn’t happen. At least they got to go ice skating.

Jen and I wanted to start our own family traditions; this was an excellent place to start celebrating the New Year together.

What is raclette? I had no idea, but I married a German and was introduced to it thirty years ago. Raclette is a cooking method and a cheese at the same time. Raclette cheese is a Swiss variety of cheese that melts quickly and becomes ooey and gooey.

Raclette originated in Wallis, Switzerland, more than 400 years ago. The first written records date to the early 1800s as a “sumptuous feast” with roasted cheese. Shepherds came down from the alps and sat around a fire and kept watch over a quarter cheese round they placed over the fire. As soon as the cheese beganto melt, a knife scraped a slice of the hot cheese from the round and spreads it onto a piece of bread. Yummo right? Good idea, guys!

The name raclette comes from the french word “racler “meaning to scrape, which is the method of preparation or preparing the cheese. Restaurants do not have an open fires to melt the cheese as the shepherds did but have a raclette melter that holds a block or half wheel of cheese under a heating element. Once the cheese is melted, it is scraped onto prepared potatoes, vegetables, or bread.

Raclette is famous in Europe, especially in the Swiss Alps and other ski regions, as an after-ski warm-up treat after a long day on the slopes. Raclette is also well known in Germany and France; however, raclette places are popping up all over the US and Canada.

Many European households own a raclette grill which allows melting individual portions of cheese and a grill on top to serve grilled vegetables and meats with the cheese. Raclette is a popular Christmas Eve dinner in Germany and Europe. This is the first year we will have raclette on Christmas Eve.

A raclette dinner is a social style of slow eating. There are various cheeses, raw meats, cooked sausages, and charcuterie on the table. Small boiled potatoes, raw and pickled vegetables, and crusty bread slices are also traditional raclette items. Guests can choose what and how to grill and melt cheese on. Sauces and condiments are also available on the table to individualize each guest’s dishes further.

I decided on raclette this year for Christmas Eve to extend our dinner time. Sam has to work in the ER at the hospital in Bennington on Christmas Day, so this is the only holiday meal we will be having together as a family. Typically, a holiday dinner can last a mere 20 minutes, and boom, everyone is done and up from the table.

Raclette will slow us all down while cooking our food on the raclette grill. Everyone watches what combos each other makes and either copies it or tries to one-up each other.

I am preparing thinly sliced marinated flank steak, shrimp, and pork belly for my raclette proteins. I bought actual raclette cheese that I found at Aldis. I will serve asparagus, snow peas, mushrooms, sliced onions, and red peppers for veggies. For the pickled part of the selection, I will be making pickled red onions and carrots.

Pickled vegetables are included in raclette for a reason; to cut through the richness of the meats and cheeses. I also have some hard smoked sausage and prosciutto. I always include sliced apples and different james like quence or fig for people to choose from; sweetness breaks up the savory foods as a nice change for the palate.

A raclette dinner party is fantastic because everything is done ahead in the prep work. This frees up the host or hostess to spend time with their guests socializing, not cooking alone in the kitchen or panicked if everything will be done simultaneously. A crisp white wine, beer, and lots of water are beverages of choice for a raclette dinner party.

I got out our raclette grill this afternoon and have it ready for tomorrow night. I still have to pick out what type of tableware I want to use for all the food. Setting the table, choosing plates, bowls, napkins, and tablecloths are just as fun for me as cooking.

I still have a couple of gifts to wrap and am in the process of making a cake to bring to a holiday get-together at our next-door neighbor’s house tonight. I am crossing my fingers it comes out how I want.

Good luck getting everything done; it’s hard to believe Christmas is right around the corner, and remember, everything doesn’t have to be perfect. A tough lesson for me to remember myself especially when it comes to this holiday cake I am making.

Last year, I made two Korean dishes; kimchi arancini (rice balls) and Korean beef and rice flakes. I made it up, sort of. I was inspired by a dish that I saw and had a bag of rice flakes that I wasn’t sure what to do with. I also had some leftover risotto which I always use to make Italian arancini.

I nosed around the internet for rice flake recipes and found a one close to what I was thinking, but I distinctly remember not following it too much. As usual!

Since I was making Korean flavors, I chopped up some kimchi and added it to my rice balls aka arancini. I made a Korean gochujang dipping sauce for the rice balls.

When I asked my oldest son Noah what he wanted for his birthday dinner, he told me his favorite bite of 2020….Korean Beef Rice Flakes with Kimchi Arancini & a Gochujang Aioli. Shit!

I searched for my inspirational recipe and found it. So now the pressure is on to figure out how in fucks name I made this dish. The arancini rice balls are easy, at least I don’t have to worry about recreating that dish. Same thing with the aioli.

Noah has talked that dish up so much all year, the last thing I want to do is to disappoint his birthday taste buds. 🤞🏼

Whenever I hear potluck dinner, I immediately start thinking about what to make. I always make a hot dish or appetizer for our belly dance Holiday Hafla; this time, I needed to make a cold dish because there wasn’t any way to reheat or keep a dish hot. 

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am 90% of the time a hot food person. If given a choice, I will always pick a hot dish: a sandwich, entree, appetizer, soup, or chowder. 

I am also a savory person. I will choose potato chips or french fries over cookies or ice cream any day. This doesn’t mean I won’t eat a cold sandwich or salad. Before bed, I like to have something sweet, but I wouldn’t consider myself a sweets lover. 

We usually do a potluck sign-up sheet, but we didn’t this time since there were only seven of us. This could be a total crapshoot because sometimes there are too many desserts or all hummus and chips.

We all like to cook and eat, so I knew there would be different choices. I wanted to make something with flavor and easy to eat in its own edible cup. I decided to make Mediterranean Cucumber Cups, something I’ve never made or had before, but they sounded right for a hafla.

I picked up a couple of European cucumbers at Trader Joes the other day, along with some kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, a red onion, a couple of lemons, an orange bell pepper, and feta cheese. The only other ingredients I needed were kosher salt, pepper, and dried oregano in my pantry.

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I peeled stripes in the cucumbers and cut them into one-inch pieces. I used a melon-baller to scoop out the insides of the cucumber, leaving enough on the edges to form a cup. I cut up the olives, tomatoes, red onion, and pepper. I zested a lemon and squeezed out the juice.

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Next, I put all the cut-up veggies into a bowl and added the lemon juice and zest. I added kosher salt, pepper, and dried oregano to taste. I popped it into the fridge until later; I didn’t add the feta cheese yet until I was ready to fill the cups. The feta cheese would get cloudy and runny if I filled the cups too soon.

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Later on, I added the feta cheese to the veggie mixture and filled the cups. They came out super cute, and I was happy with how festive and tasty they were.

At the hafla, we had different cheeses, cut-up fruit, sticky mango rice, fresh bread with honey butter, peppermint candies, and gluten-free brownies. The cucumber cups complimented everything on the table; everyone liked them. Everything I tasted was delicious; the sticky rice was my favorite. It wasn’t too sweet; it was perfect. I appreciated the gluten-free brownies as well.

I would have rather made something warm like spanakopita or a hot spinach & artichoke dip, but it wasn’t about the food I brought; it was about the dancing. I like hot food at the end of the day, but that’s just me.

Silverskin is a nasty topic they never really address on cooking shows or even in most cookbooks. Home cooks follow recipes in their favorite cookbook or try to recreate dishes they see celebrity chefs make on tv and wonder why the hell their meat came out tough, chewy, and mangled.

This type of cooking mistake isn’t the home cooks’ fault; it’s the food industry in general. Yes, I have a strong theory about famous chefs’ cookbooks and how their recipes are entirely different from what you eat in their restaurants. I’ve spoken with chefs, and they agree 100%.

The quick lowdown is the amount of fat, sugar, and salt used in restaurant food. One quick example out of many is Gordon Ramsey himself said on the tv show Master Chef that his mashed potato recipe is 60% potato and 40% butter with a tremendous amount of salt. No more wondering why his potatoes are so delicious, right? He isn’t making healthy food in his restaurants; he’s making delicious food you can’t replicate at home.

Ok, back to silver skin; what is it, and how do you get rid of it? Silverskin is the connective tissue found in certain cuts of beef, lamb, and pork, most noticeably on ribs. 

Silverskin is a silver, translucent membrane found on ribs, pork tenderloin, skirt, flank, other cuts of steak, and rack of lamb. Silverskin isn’t found on poultry. I am not sure about wild game meats since I don’t cook or eat them—sorry, hunters.

Silverskin is different from fat on meats. The fat renders down on a grill or melts away when braising meats. Silverskin doesn’t render or melt away; that nasty shit is there to stay, making the meat chewy and tough. Another thing about silver skin, when it’s not removed, it blocks seasoning and rubs from penetrating the meat. Silverskin mangles the meat when grilled or baked. 

When I was learning to cook, I assumed that the supermarket butcher “cleaned” the meat I was buying. What do they say about the word assume? Oh yeah, it makes an ass-out of-u-and me. Butchers will clean and trim fat and silverskin if you ask them to, or you can do it yourself. People who enjoy cooking may get the same satisfaction that I get after cleaning and trimming meat. It’s weird, I know.

The good news is silver skin is easy to remove with a bit of practice. You will need a sharp knife with a thin blade like a paring or boning knife, a cutting board, and some paper towels.

Whenever I make a pot of stew I buy chuck roast instead of stew meat. Stew meat is often filled with grizzled and fat in pieces smaller than I would like. Chuck steak is a relatively inexpensive cut of beef, although these days, nothing is inexpensive. Chuck steak is a tough piece of meat that needs to be braised. Dishes such a pot roast, sauerbraten, stew, or Mexican shredded beef used in tacos.

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Trimming a chuck roast is pretty straightforward. You remove the fat with the knife or your fingers, then check for silverskin. Next, carefully slide the blade of your knife under the silverskin. If the meat is slippery, you can hold the meat with a paper towel for a better grip.

Remember these words…let the knife do the work. Carefully slide the knife under the skin and begin to pull up using your hand. The silverskin will lift off the meat; it’s pretty gratifying for me when I can get a big piece. Go to the next area and repeat, trying not to cut into the meat.

It sounds simple, but it does take some practice. You don’t want to trim meat your first time while rushing to get a weeknight dinner on the table. Practice your meat trimming skills when you have some time. I usually trim meat earlier in the day or the day before, then either marinate, dry rub, or wrap tightly for later use.

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Silverskin on ribs is easy to remove and is only on the exposed bone side. Just lift one side with a paring knife, and the whole thing peels right off. Everyone in the bbq world removes the silverskin, so the ribs pull apart easily with that rubbery thing. 🤮

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When cleaning a pork tenderloin, the silverskin is only on one side and starts at the end of one side of the tenderloin. The silverskin removal is a little tricky because it’s easy to take some of the meat with it. Getting the knife under the meat is harder than other meats. Slow and steady, then it comes right off with the help of a paper towel if necessary.

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Some of our favorite cuts of meat are ones that people don’t know what to do with, let alone how to clean them; these cuts are flank steak, skirt steak, hanger steak, brisket, tres major, and flat iron.

Skirt and flank steaks have a lot of fat, which is easy to remove by pulling it off with your fingers. The silverskin is also easy to remove. You don’t want to remove all the fat since fat = flavor, and it is a fatty cut of meat; however, the fat melts away when grilled, resulting in a very tasty, tender piece of steak.

I have been wanting to write about trimming meat for months. If this is something that you have no interest in doing or are afraid to try doing, ask your butcher to trim the meat of the fat and silverskin for you. You can even ask the butcher department of a supermarket to do this for you as well. If they refuse, then find yourself a new supermarket. You don’t have to tell them to go to hell like I would. LOL!

Hopefully, I could explain meat trimming clearly and understandably. It takes practice like other kitchen skills; you can watch how-to videos on Youtube. Chefs and cooks weren’t born doing any kitchen task perfectly the first or second time they tried doing it. The biggest and most important thing with all knife work is using a sharp knife; if you don’t have one, make the investment and buy a new knife.

To sharpen your knife or new knife that will need sharpening, ask a kitchen store for advice for a good knife sharpener, or take your knives to a professional knife sharpener. Smith’s brand is my favorite kind of knife sharpener, which you can buy in a hardware store for about $17 bucks. Just watch a YouTube video on how to use it, and it will be your favorite too!

I rarely preach something but, you should be sharpening your knives regularly. I sharpen mine every time I use them. They don’t need much, just a new, fresh edge. I know people who have never sharpened their knives or only do it once a year then complain how much they hate cutting things. When people use dull knives, they are pressing down on the knife to cut, not let the knife glide through whatever you are cutting; back to “let the knife do the work.”

Well, I never imagined I would go on and on about silverskin and meat trimming. I hope this information has been helpful if it’s something you aren’t familiar with doing. I guess if you don’t eat meat or cook, this post definitely wasn’t for you.

It’s a snowy night here in Vermont, nothing real but snow showers. I stayed home from belly dance class. I haven’t regained my energy or strength yet from my booster; I need to save the little bit I have for spätzle production tomorrow and Friday. Have a great night!

*** If you enjoy my recipes, please consider making a mall donation to my blog in the “support my blog” section. No matter how small, all donations are welcome and make me feel like my time and effort is appreciated. Thank you so much for your support! 🤗

Fondant Potatoes are probably one of the most elegant dishes you can make. These potatoes wow the hell out of people and are pretty easy to make.

Fondant potatoes are something that anyone who goes to culinary school has made. I’m a self-taught cook who likes to learn new things. I was thrilled I nailed them the first time making them. Anyone can do it, seriously.

Fondant potatoes aren’t a well-known dish, and it’s rare to find them on a restaurant menu. They are, however, still served frequently in restaurants in France and England. 

The meaning of fondant potatoes is to roast in butter and stock. These gorgeously browned potatoes are crispy on the outsides and creamy in the center. Fondant potatoes look so much like perfectly seared scallops they fool people when presented on a plate.

You only need a few essential ingredients, a sharp knife, and prep time. Yes, it takes a little practice learning how to cut the potatoes into cylinders, but if you love to cook, it’s a fun challenge with a big payoff. I made volcano potatoes that I saw online; what a pain in the ass they were to make and not as spectacular as I was expecting. I wouldn’t make those again. 

Russet potatoes are the potato of choice for fondant potatoes; you can not achieve the same crispy exterior and creamy interior with yellow or plain old white potatoes. The cut potatoes are soaked in cold water to remove excess starch, ensuring maximum crispness.

A smoking hot cast iron skillet is the perfect cooking equipment to make these potatoes. You can use any skillet that can get hot and go directly from the stove to the oven. 

I mentioned you only need a few ingredients to make this dish. All you need besides the russet potatoes is a little oil, butter, fresh thyme or rosemary sprigs, and kosher salt & pepper to taste. That’s it. Some people put garlic in theirs; I use a lot of garlic in my cooking, but not in this dish. The garlic can burn quickly, so I find it best to leave it out. 

I’ve wanted to write about fondant potatoes for a while. I figured it’s the holiday season, so why not now? These potatoes are something different to make for holiday dinners or buffets and look super “cheffy” even though they aren’t very hard to make. I would advise practicing making them at least once before serving them to holiday guests; I am sure your family or friends wouldn’t mind being your guinea pigs. Hell, I could probably eat them all myself; they are that good!

Here is the link to the recipe I used the first time I attempted making fondant potatoes; they do an excellent job explaining exactly how to make them. The recipe is also straightforward and easy to follow, the best kind of recipe for dishes you’ve never made or even eaten before.

I missed wishing everyone a happy Friday yesterday but want to wish you all a great rest of your weekend. If life seems crazy and hectic with holiday preparations, shopping, and running around, take a deep breath and remember everything doesn’t have to be perfect. Enjoying life is perfect! Cheers! ❤️

Last night, after a long day on the road, I wanted to eat something flavorful, comforting, and easy to make. We had a big lunch in Albany, so this meal didn’t have to be a five-course meal, just something to put in our bellies before bed.

I’ve been making Spaghetti and Sand for at least 32 years. We lived off of it the first couple of years of our marriage because we were broke! We also ate a lot of oatmeal.

When we moved to Vermont from NJ in 1989, I took a job making $5.05 an hour. That was a huge money loss after working in NYC & NJ, but worth the peace & quiet plus the nicest thing of all…no traffic. 

I’m not sure when I first learned about Spaghetti and Sand, but I’m sure it came from one of my Italian coworkers at work in NYC or NJ. It doesn’t matter…forgetaboutit!

I researched the dish and was surprised to find that it’s known to Italians in Italy and here in the US as St. Joseph’s Spaghetti or Spaghetti & Sawdust. Have you made the connection yet? St. Joseph was a carpenter and is the patron saint of Sicily, where there the dish originated. It’s pretty clever calling the breadcrumbs sawdust; it’s brilliant! Thanks are given to St. Joseph on March 19 for preventing a famine in Sicily during the middle ages and his role as Jesus’ father on earth.

I wrote a blog post back on March 19, all about St. Joseph’s Day cream puff. (You can read the post by clicking on the underlined blog post.) I found out that Spaghetti & Sand, aka St. Joseph’s Spaghetti, are traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve and St. Joseph’s feast day. Shit, I wish I knew this sooner. I know what I’ll be making for dinner on 3/19 to go with our cream puffs.

Spaghetti and Sand is a peasant food dish. Peasant food doesn’t always have to be categorized as cheap food but food using humble, simple, high-quality ingredients.  

St. Joseph’s Spaghetti can go from a rags to riches dish with just a few additional meager ingredients such as anchovies, crushed red pepper, lemon, freshly chopped parsley, parmesan cheese, or fresh clams.

My version of Spaghetti & Sand is straightforward, using just a few ingredients. Most recipes include frying the garlic in olive oil; I poach mine for a clean and not bitter garlic flavor. I use both butter and olive oil as opposed to just olive oil.

I add a small amount of pasta cooking water to the dish before I add the breadcrumbs. I toast my breadcrumbs in a dry skillet and not in the oven as some cooks do.

I use a decent gluten-free spaghetti that works perfectly if you eat it the second it comes out of the sauté pan; if not, the spaghetti will break into pieces resembling something like rice. Forget about leftovers; the spaghetti can’t handle it; it will be a mushy mess the next day.

Adding freshly grated parmesan cheese is optional for the dish. Marty piles it on, and I eat mine without. It’s a personal preference.

Why don’t I use our spätzle instead of spaghetti for the dish? I guess it could be called Spätzle and Sand, but sometimes a gal just wants to twirl some spaghetti with a fork and spoon before shoving it into her mouth. As far as mushy leftovers? There aren’t any leftovers. Ever.

I hope you consider trying Spaghetti & Sand for yourself, and it becomes one of those go-to dishes when you don’t feel like making an extravagant meal or have any meat in the house. Bon Appetito!

Spaghetti & Sand

Ingredients

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
4 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 lb or box of spaghetti (I use a 12 oz box of Schar gluten-free spaghetti)
1/2 cup cooking liquid from the spaghetti
1 1/2 cups dried Italian breadcrumbs (I use 4C gluten-free Italian breadcrumbs)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan top each dish (Optional)

Directions

In a large skillet, over low heat, heat the olive oil and butter. After the butter has melted, add the minced garlic and oregano. Slowly poach, not fry the garlic until it becomes soft. Turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente.

While the spaghetti is cooking, place the dried breadcrumbs into a dry skillet. Toast the breadcrumbs over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes, constantly watching, so the breadcrumbs don’t burn. Set aside.

Drain the spaghetti reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Reheat the garlic and oil over medium heat. Add the drained pasta to the garlic oil. Stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup cooking water to the spaghetti again, mixing well. Add the toasted breadcrumbs to the pan. Stir to combine—season with kosher salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately into a large serving dish or individual bowls. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired.

Eggs in Purgatory are one of my favorite ways to use leftovers while giving them a total transformation. There are many versions of Eggs in Purgatory, meaning you can make them any way you want to. You can serve Eggs in Purgatory for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Eggs in Purgatory is the Italian version of Shakshuka. Purgatory? Shakshuka? Let’s start with Shakshuka which is a dish where eggs are poached in a tomato sauce. The dish’s origins are claimed by Libyan, Moroccan, Tunisian, Turkish, and Yemeni cuisines.

Many other cuisines have their versions of Shakshuka containing different spices and spice levels, meats such as minced lamb, sausage, or chorizo, and various cheeses made from sheep, goat, or cow’s milk. The dish can be made with or without meat, making it not only an excellent option for vegetarians but also gluten-free diners.

Eggs in Purgatory Eggs or Uova All’inf”rno or Uo”a in Purgatorio is a dish from Naples, Italy. The hearty, spicy, and robust tomato sauce is the “purgatory” portion of the name; the fiery red tomato sauce symbolizes hell in which the eggs are poached in.

I didn’t learn about Eggs in Purgatory until I was an adult; this wasn’t something I grew up eating. I’m pretty sure I stumbled on it watching some food or cooking show. The first time I made it, I realized it contained all the ingredients that I loved in the first place; using leftovers in the dish makes it even better.

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My version of Eggs in Purgatory is made with leftover marinara sauce and usually contains leftover starches such as mashed potatoes or polenta. I do not use meat in my version, and my cheese of choice is parmesan cheese. I do not poach my eggs in the tomato sauce like shakshuka; I serve mine with over-easy eggs topped with parmesan cheese.

There are hundreds of recipes for Eggs in Purgatory and Shakshuka on the internet; it just depends on what you have on hand and your preferences.

I decided to make Eggs in Purgatory this morning for breakfast when I looked through the refrigerator; I haven’t made this dish for a long time. I served it with focaccia bread to dip in the egg yolk. I forget how much I love this comfort food dish, which is like having a tasty, satisfying hug for breakfast, especially on a 14-degree morning.