Fresh Asparagus with Ham, Garlic and Lemon

If I had a farm, this is how I'd eat asparagus. I would plant lots of asparagus, and every spring I would collect bunches of beautiful green spears.

I would ignore the calendar - for me, spring would begin each year on the day I cut my first asparagus.

I would plant rows and rows of garlic. I would never have to buy garlic, or worry about being out. I would never stop being amazed at how every year's crop tasted a little different from the last.

I would raise hogs for so many reasons, not the least of which would be to cure my own ham. I would hang them in a dark cool cellar, and peak at them every day.

I would plant a lemon tree in just the right spot, so the warm summer breeze carried the blossom's sweet scent through the kitchen window. If I had a farm, this is how I'd eat asparagus. Enjoy.



1 pound fresh asparagus
2 tbsp olive oil
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto ham, or any ham, roughly chopped or torn
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 lemon, halved
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, optional

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Waiting for the Recovery with Oven-Fried Onion Rings

There are many theories floating around these days about what signs will accurately indicate a turn-around in the economy; things like housing starts, interest rates, and commodity futures. But, I'm going with the O.R.C.I., the onion ring consumption index.

My theory has it that the higher the frequency of onion rings ordered, the better the economy is doing - and more importantly, the better people are feeling. You just don't order onion rings any old time, mainly because they're a side dish you have to pay extra for. You have to take a moment for some self-negotiation before ordering onion rings.In those few seconds of contemplation, much is revealed. Can you afford it? Does your current mood and situation warrant this crisp indulgence? Onion rings are also ordered when good things have happened; you order them after you get a raise, after a hole-in-one, after a new high bowling score. Happy people spend more money.

I will continue to monitor the national O.R.C.I. for you, and will be sure to let you know when these tough times are over, but until then here's a video recipe for making onion rings at home.

I don't really deep-fry at home, and neither do most people, so when I find a recipe that does a reasonably good job at producing something close, I jump on it quick. This onion recipe is easy, low-fat, and if you use the recommended Panko breadcrumbs, produces a light and crisp onion ring. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
2 egg whites
2 tbsp milk
pinch of cayenne
1 yellow onion, sliced, separated into 1/2-in thick rings
1/2 cup flour, seasoned w/ salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 to 4 cups Panko, Japanese-style breadcrumbs
vegetable oil spray

View the complete recipe

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Spicy Orange Bison Balls - Feeding My Inner Adolescent

Balls have always been problematic for menu and recipe writers. You can't write "Pork Balls" on a menu, you have to write "Pork Meatballs." Even though there would be no possibility of confusing these Bison balls with the reproductive parts of a male buffalo, the "balls" would never be written without the "meat." Well, I think it's high time this practice is sacked.

Are we still so immature as a nation that we can't just serve balls? Do we have to keep adding those extra letters for fear some 15-year old can't control his giggling at Hooters? Besides, now that 72% of all information (my estimate) is transmitted via text message, I would think we'd all benefit from chopping off a couple letters, e.g., MMA Tonys 4 bison balls.

This recipe is inspired by the retro classic, cocktail meatballs in grape jelly. I took that idea, along with my love of spicy orange beef, and came up with this combination. I chose bison as the meat due to its lower fat, and slight subtle gaminess. The very simple, spicy-sweet sauce with the savory bison balls makes a great pair.

These can be used for a main course over some rice, but are really great served as an Hors d'oeuvre at a party. Just make sure you make enough. These are very addictive, and you don’t want to leave some of your guests hanging. They could get testy. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 pound ground bison
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp sambal Asian chili sauce, or red pepper flakes
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 cups water

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Beef Sliders - Insulting Your Intelligence 2-Ounces at a Time

I filmed this video recipe for beef sliders with no real intention of editing and posting the results (which explains the yellow buns). Sometimes I'll just turn the camera on, not worry about shadows, angles, quality, etc., and just cook. I felt like some sliders, and if a postable recipe was the result, so be it.

As I worked, I couldn’t help but wonder how a "how to make little hamburgers" video recipe would come off. I'm always afraid of going over that fine line between humorously helpful and annoyingly condescending… "Now we're going to cut the buns in half…see that…through the middle of the bun…I like to use a knife."But, as seemingly obvious as making little burgers may be, I realized there are two main challenges in the slider process. Forming the burgers, and consistently cooking them to the desired doneness. To achieve both I used a muffin tin to shape the burgers, and since they are exactly the same size and shape, they will always cook evenly according to your specific time.

I like mine medium-rare, so I did 3 minutes per side in a nice hot pan. As usual with all burgers, resting is imperative. Your times will vary, depending on fat %, pan used, and heat, but after a couple test sliders you'll know exactly how many minutes per side for the perfect petite haché de boeuf. I would explain the physics, but I'm sure you wouldn’t understand it. Enjoy!



Secret Sauce Ingredients:
2 parts mayo
1 part ketchup
1 part mustard
1 part relish

Approximate cooking times:
3 minutes per side: rare to med-rare
4 minutes per side: medium
5 minutes per side: med-well to well

View the complete recipe

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Some Sweet and Hot Mustard-Glazed Chicken Wings for a Buffalo-Free Super Bowl

We know the game will be Buffalo-free, but if your as burned-out on the basic Buffalo-style chicken wing recipe as I am, then this video recipe's for you.

The simple technique is the same as any oven-fried chicken wings, but the hot, sweet, mustardy glaze is a very welcomed change of pace from Frank, and his ubiquitous hot sauce.

Not that you should be thinking of your waistline at a super bowl party, but this recipe also avoids the stick of melted butter found in the Anchor Bar's classic recipe. The secret here is not one, but two kinds of mustard.

That's right, I hope you're sitting down - I use Dijon and yellow mustard in the same recipe - now that's a true culinary rebel. I can't think of a more unusual combination since, um…Buffalo chicken wings and blue cheese dressing. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
2 pounds wings, separated into 2 pieces each
2 tbsp Dijon
2 tbsp yellow mustard
3 tbsp honey
2 tsp cider vinegar
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp hot sauce, or to taste

* Please help support free video recipes, and visit my new sponsor, MOZO Shoes. Find out why chefs (like me) are buzzing about their great shoes!

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Appetizing Appetizers Appropriate for New Years Eve Entertaining

Here are some old (some are very old) video recipes with ideas for tasty tidbits for your New Years Eve festivities. Click on the link and off you go. Enjoy!

Calabrese Lollipops – Antipasto on a stick!

Three Cheeses in Three Minutes

Chicken Caesar Springrolls – The Ultimate Low-Carb Wrap

Piquillo Peppers stuffed with Orange and Cumin Scented Goat Cheese

Clifton Springs Chicken Wings - Oven-Fried with Sticky Ginger Garlic Glaze

Bekri Meze – A Small Plate of Greek Food for Drunks:

Prosciutto Wrapped Prawns – Sorry Pancetta, We’ve Met Someone Else

Savory Chocolate Crustini with Maldon Sea Salt Crystals

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Mascarpone Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage - It's the Best Thing Since Wonton Skins!

If I suggested you make homemade butternut squash ravioli as an appetizer for your holiday meal, what would you say? You'd say no. That's because you would envision some long complicated process fraught with disappointment.

People throw around the "best thing since sliced bread" line for all kinds of things, and rarely do they deserve such a tribute. Ready-to-use wonton skins, however, are not only the "best thing since sliced bread," they are better than sliced bread…much better.

Anyone can slice bread (except those cooks on Hell's Kitchen), but how many people make paper-thin, perfectly round wonton skins. Hopefully this video recipe shows you just how easy ravioli can be when using this easy-to-find, and very liberating product.

I've used them for tortellini, pierogi, dumplings, ravioli, and yes, even wontons, all with terrific results. There are eight million known ravioli fillings, so once you get this simple technique down you have a lot of recipes to try. I've also posted a few (very) old videos that use the same product. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 cup cooked butternut squash
1/2 cup mascarpone or cream cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
1 package round wonton skins
butter, garlic, and sage as needed

More Wonton Magic - click on title to read original post
(Warning: old videos with minimal production value)

Wonton Soup



Salmon Ricotta Tortellini with Spring Peas and Lemon

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"There's Nothing in the House" Salmon Cakes with Creamy Corn Relish and Tarragon Drizzle

This Salmon Cakes with Creamy Corn Relish video recipe reminded me that some of the best, and most satisfying cooking I do seems to happen when there's nothing to work with. Of course, I don’t literally mean nothing, that would require the ability to conjure things up, and my training in the dark arts is relatively minimal. I mean no obvious fresh ingredients to use.

I recently found myself in this predicament when a driving rain made a trip to the store seem like a poor choice when compared to a look-around the pantry and freezer. What I found led to one of the more delicious lunches I've had this month. These salmon cakes are so easy, so cheap, and since canned salmon is always wild salmon, very healthy.

You'll also see me use a couple spoons of crème fraiche, which I showed you how to make in a recent video recipe. You can sub milk or cream, but why? Make some crème fraiche.

Anyway, next time you're at the store make sure you pick up a bag of frozen corn and a few cans of salmon. You never know when you're going to have to cook with "nothing." Enjoy!



Salmon cakes ingredients:
2 (7.5 ounce) cans red salmon
2 tbsp capers. chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp tarragon mustard (or Dijon and some chopped fresh tarragon)
1/2 lemon, juices
1 egg
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
olive oil

For the corn:
8 oz frozen corn
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or fresh hot pepper diced)
3 tbsps crème fraiche, or milk, cream, sour cream
salt to taste

For the sauce:
1/2 teaspoon tarragon mustard
2 tbsp crème fraiche or sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste

* Please help support free video recipes, and visit my new sponsor, MOZO Shoes. Find out why chefs (like me) are buzzing about their great shoes!

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Greek Grape Leaf Wreath - Festive and Filling!

I had a request recently from the Greek food guide on About.com, Nancy, for a video recipe for a dish called "Rolo me Abelophylla," which is a meat, rice and cheese loaf in grape leaves. I decided to do a vegetarian version using lentils since I've always enjoyed cold rice and lentil salads, and thought this combo would be perfect with the grape leaves. It was.

When you add the tangy feta, and consider the very holiday-ish design, this would be a fantastic item to bring to that Holiday party. Imagine the look on everyone's face when you walk in carrying this! Suddenly their cheese ball doesn't look so hot.

If you decide to attempt this fairly easy ring of rice, you can find jarred grape leaves in any Greek market, or high-end store. Nancy suggests using the dried leaves if you can find them - these are boiled to soften and are larger and easier to use. But, the brand you see in the video in the larger jars worked fine. Enjoy!

* Please help support free video recipes, and visit my new sponsor, MOZO Shoes. Find out why chefs (like me) are buzzing about their great shoes!


Click here for ingredients and recipe transcript.

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A Food Wish Field Trip: Feasting at FallFest '08

This past weekend I attended San Francisco magazine’s annual epicurean event, FallFest '08, which benefits the fine folks at Meals On Wheels. I was covering the event for Foodbuzz, and even though I was given a ticket, I was determined to post an objective, unbiased report. The challenge is if I'm eating free food, and drinking free wine, I tend to praise it more than if I was paying for it. Being a food blogger, I'm bound by no moral or ethical standards for objectivity.

With that disclaimer out of the way, I was very impressed with what San Francisco magazine managed to pull off. Organizing 43 restaurants, paired with 43 wineries, along with chef demonstrations, and live music, is no mean feat. By the way, whoever was in charge of weather should get a raise. It was the most beautiful fall day imaginable - clear blue skies, brilliant sun blazing at that lazy, low autumn angle, and a cool breeze too perfect to describe.

The event was held at Justin Herman Plaza, near San Francisco’s Waterfront, in the shadow of the Ferry Building. On entering the event, I received an opaque oval plate for my food, and a sparkling new Riedel wine glass. Equipped, I turned on my camera, and proceeded to graze my way across the grounds.

The food highlights, some of which are pictured here, will be explained in the video clip below. As far as the wine, I only had two glasses, so I can’t really comment other than to say the vinophiles in attendance seemed very impressed. I noticed something odd, especially for events like this, it was crowded, but there were no lines. There was plenty of room to move around, yet it felt cozy and intimate.

There were two disappointments. First, the official water for this fine event was not delicious San Francisco tap water, but bottled Fuji water. I'm no geography expert, but Fuji is so not local. I will assume since this was a benefit for Meals On Wheels, that Fuji kicked in some cash to be involved, but I would have left the info regarding how "green" their water is back on the island.

The second, and most disappointing, was the presence of Top Chef contestant, and fledgling San Francisco celebrity chef, Ryan Scott from the Mission Beach Café. When I saw him, and his full head of thick hair, I was so excited, as I figured I could do a whole blog post ripping him and his food. I would expose him as the overrated, untalented, reality show pretty boy, he must so obviously be.

But, then I met him. Much to my chagrin, he was very nice, extremely courteous, and happily chatted up the guests. He even graciously posed for pictures with lots of ladies, and a few well-groomed men. Even worse, he can cook! His pork and white bean crostini was to-die-for, and in an informal poll I took, was voted to be the outstanding bite of the day. Congratulations Ryan, and thanks for nothing.

In conclusion, I will say in all honesty, I'll definitely be attending FallFest '09, even if I have to pay for my own ticket. Coming from a media freeloader such as myself, there is no better recommendation. Enjoy the video slide show!




All photos (c) John Mitzewich, except Chef Ryan Scott photo (c) Jo Boston @ Taking Over the World One Bite at a Time

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Three Cheeses in Three Minutes

This "How to Make a Cheese Plate" video demo was done for About.com, and was quite a challenge to edit down to the requested three minute duration. I usually film about 10 minutes of footage and edit it down to about five, then do a voice-over. The rough cut is then edited to the three-minute final cut. It's usually a very painful process involving me deleting frames and narration that I'm convinced is nothing short of brilliant.

But, as the deadline approaches, and my delusions of grandeur fade, I always manage to whittle it down somehow. This video was assigned to follow a 3-cheese selection already published on About's cheese site. I was excited when I saw the choices, since these were three of my all-time favorites. That was also the problem - if I had covered all the info I wanted, the video would have been 15 minutes long!

Since "bring a platter" party season is almost here, this basic how-to may come in handy. These cheeses are fairly easy to find, but if you can't, there are so many combinations that will work. Don't be afraid to ask the person in charge of the cheese department at the local high-end grocery store. The only thing that cheese-heads like better than eating cheese, it's talking about it (my wife sold cheese for years, so I know this for a fact!). Enjoy!

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Classic, Traditional, 100% Completely Authentic Peruvian Ceviche - This is Exactly How They Make it in Peru, for Real

Most gastronerds credit Peru with giving us the marinated seafood salad called "ceviche," but I imagine that most coastal fishing cultures developed similar dishes. In fact, tuna poke, which is a very popular appetizer here on the West Coast, is a very similar idea.

I've already posted one ceviche recipe on the blog, called "Bay Scallop and Mango Ceviche." It was originally posted to Youtube, where it caused a virtual riot among my Peruvian friends. Ceviche is their national dish, and they don't take kindly to people like me adding things like mango, and still calling it ceviche. Apparently, there is only one way to make ceviche, and no variations shall bear the sacred name, ceviche.

I tried to defend myself with the usual, "it's my recipe, and I'll call it whatever I want." This only infuriated them more, and it almost turned into an international incident as I ignored their demands to change the name. While this recipe is much more traditional, I'm sure I did something wrong, and undoubtedly the title will be gently challenged. Enjoy!

Click here for ingredients and transcript

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Fried Green Tomatoes - Better Than the Whistle Stop Cafe

This video recipe for the southern classic, fried green tomatoes, was made using the giant green tomatoes picked at the Wild Boar Farms tasting. They almost went unpicked when we felt how hard they still were, but then the idea for a green, green fried tomato came to mind.

I always assumed that this recipe was nothing more than a way to use up those unripe green tomatoes before winter's chill, but, origins aside, it's interesting, uniquely flavored, and surprisingly light for a fried item.I've always had a bad attitude about this recipe thanks to the movie of the same name. I'll pretty much go and see any movie with food in the title, figuring that even if the movie stinks, at least it will have food in it.

So, you can image my disappointment that the movie didn't have very much green fried tomatoes information in it. What it did have was women talking to each other about other women talking to each other.

Anyway, I've gotten over it, and can now enjoy this recipe without thinking about whether Ninny was really Idgie, or not. I hope you can find some large green tomatoes, and give this recipe a try. Enjoy!



Ingredients:

4 (1/2 inch) slices green tomato
1 cup flour
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
3/4 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup corn meal
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
cayenne
vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter

Sauce:
equal parts sweet relish and mayo
hot sauce to taste

View the complete recipe

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Warm Mozzarella and Bread Salad - Sunshine on My Salad Makes Me Happy

One reason I like making pizza so much are the great leftovers it provides. I don’t mean the cold pizza, which is in the leftover Hall of Fame, I am referring to all those great toppings that didn't get used. A few mushrooms here, a hunk of cheese there, maybe some roasted peppers hiding behind the olives. Some of my greatest omelets, pastas, and risottos have followed a pizza-making binge.

This warm mozzarella and bread salad was no different. What was different was the bright idea I had when I went to serve the salad. I placed it on the table, and went to get the rest of the meal. As I looked across the kitchen, I saw the pesto glistening on the bright white cheese. It looked good. So, I decided to film the plate being placed in the sunny window as part of the recipe (which you'll see in the video).

The results were stunning. The sun warmed the cheese, woke the pesto, and turned a very good bread salad into a memorable one. Now, I'm not saying the sun's rays imparted some kind of mysterious, magical energy into it, but I have been humming John Denver tunes ever since. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
stale Italian bread
8 oz mozzarella fresca (fresh mozzarella)
1/2 cup pesto
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
sun

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Clifton Springs Chicken Wings - Oven-Fried with Sticky Ginger Garlic Glaze

My mom lives in a small town in western New York, called Clifton Springs. It was home to a popular spa around the turn of the century, thanks to a natural sulfur spring. People came from all over to soak in the therapeutic water, which was supposed to cure all kinds of things. Unfortunately for the town, medical science was unable to verify these claims, and eventually people realized they were just paying to sit in stinky water. Things have been a little slow ever since. So, I figured the least I could do is name a recipe after the place (and it rhymed).

Whenever I go home to visit, I usually indulge in some Buffalo chicken wings from a place called Emerson's. They have two flavors of wings; Buffalo-style, and sweet and sour. I've only had the later once and wasn't impressed. I'm just a traditionalist I guess. This week I got a craving for chicken wings, and since there isn’t a decent chicken wing place west of the Niagara River, I decided to make some myself.

I don't use a fryer, but have a great method for frying them in the oven. The surprising part was when I went to make the classic spicy sauce to glaze them, for some reason I remembered those sweet and sour wings, and decided to try something new. I came up with what turned out to be a deliciously sticky, ginger and garlic glaze. I really hope you give these a try. But, if garlic and ginger aren't your thing, at least use the oven method I demo, and glaze them with your favorite wing thing. Enjoy!



5 pounds chicken wings
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 tbsp Frank's hot sauce
2 tbsp veg oil
flour
For the glaze:
3 crushed garlic cloves
2 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp Sambal chili sauce (or 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes)
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp soy sauce

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A Wonderful Wine-Soaked Weekend with Food and Friends at Frick

This weekend's food and wine pairing at the Frick Winery was a smashing success! We served a record 1,200 guests, and had a lot of fun doing it. I'm still catching up on a massive email backup and have some deadlines at About.com to meet, but I hope to do some video recipes of the items soon. For now you have to settle for a quick photo (click to enlarge) and description. By the way, special thanks to Bill, Dallas and the entire Frick family, as well as our incredible kitchen crew; Al, Peggy (this year's MVP), Julie, Merv, and my beautiful and talented wife Michele!

The first item was wild Ahi tuna seared and served rare on a wasabi rice chip. It was topped with a pink ginger dressing and a pinch of seaweed salad. It was probably the most popular bite we served. It was paired with Bill Frick's white wines; a Grenache Blanc, and Viognier.

The second item was ripe Cambazola cheese served on fig bread, with sweet organic strawberries on the side. This is called the "Cinsaut Classic" since we've served it with the Frick Cinsaut wines for the last 12 years! It's a perfect pairing, and while we change the food pairings every year, this bite remains a sweet, salty, and savory constant.

The next bite was a pistachio mortadella on olive bread with shaved grapes. This was paired with the Carignane. This idea was borrowed from Chef Tom Colicchio (head judge of Top Chef). He has a sandwich restaurant in San Francisco called "Wichcraft" and these ingredients made up a sandwich Michele enjoyed last year. The flavors worked so well together, we thought it would make a nice canapé.

Next came a mini-meatball sandwich. Olive oil and spicy tomato sauce were spread on some herbed focaccia, which was topped with a slice of meatball, Parmesan, and fresh mozzarella. A little garlic oil and Italian parsley finished this delicious bite. It was paired with a Merlot, and Frick's new Red/Red, which is a Cabernet/Syrah blend.

And last, but in no way least, was a wild boar sausage skewered with a black mission fig and watercress leaf. It was served on some crushed hazelnuts, and paired with Frick's magnificent Syrah. The sweet dried figs were quickly poached in the Syrah, sugar, and black pepper. This was probably my favorite bite, and a great combination of flavors and textures.

I will hopefully be caught up soon, and back with new videos and other assorted foodie fun. I hope you enjoy the photos and descriptions, and maybe even order some wine from the Frick winery. Cheers!

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Hello and Goodbye

We're just about ready to leave for Sonoma, so I probably won't be posting until Monday or Tuesday. I will hopefully have some beautiful photos of our menu to show. Below I've reposted the only video I have of an actual Passport appetizer. We've served this one several times and it's a great bite to pair with red wine. Keep it in mind the next time you are entertaining.

This version uses cream cheese, but we've done it using Teleme, and Crescenza (you'll have to Google them unless you are a real cheese head). Anyway, keep an eye on the blog while I'm gone. Enjoy!

The following video was originally included in a post entitled: "Calabrese Lollipops – Antipasto on a stick!"

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Where's Waldorf? My Second Favorite Way to Eat Apples

My favorite way is fresh off the neighbor's tree when they're not home. After that, this is my favorite raw apple dish - the ancient and excellent, Waldorf salad. It's a shame how some of the greatest American recipes fall out of fashion, and get lost in foamy waves of new, cutting edge cuisine.

The ingeniously delicious Waldorf salad is a great example. Why isn’t this very healthy, and addictive, salad on every menu in the country? It's a masterpiece of perfectly paired tastes and textures. Sweet, crisp, juicy apples, aromatic celery, exploding grapes, and crunchy walnuts - all brought together with a light and creamy lemon dressing.

This tasty bit of culinary Americana was invented by Oscar Tschirky, the maître d'hôtel of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. It first appeared in 1896, much to the delight of the early "ladies who lunch." Old Oscar is also credited with creating another classic - eggs Benedict. Do yourself a favor and whip up a batch of Waldorf soon. This is a fairly basic version (which I believe is best), but dried fruit is also a common addition. Enjoy!
Click here for ingredients and transcript

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Who Fried the Cheese?

Fried Halloumi, native to Cyprus, may be the only food where the word "squeaky" comes up when people are describing this unique cheese. Halloumi is traditionally made from goat and sheep's milk, and is similar to a mozzarella, but denser, saltier, and…squeakier. Let me explain.

What makes Halloumi unusual is it's very high melting point. Because of how the curd is heated, then brined and pressed, the cheese can be fried without melting. This makes for a very cool appetizer or meze, as they would call it in Cyprus. This video recipe I did for About.com shows my favorite way of preparing Halloumi. I think it's best when seared in a very hot pan, nice and brown, and then drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Oh, and about this "squeakiness;" when you bite into the warm, fried cheese, it makes a slight squeak against your teeth. I find the sound and sensation oddly addictive. But, that's just part of the fun - the firm texture, and salty flavor, work great with the sweet balsamic vinegar and cherry tomatoes. Before you send me the "but, where do I find Halloumi cheese?" comments and emails, I'll tell you it's quite common in any high-end chain grocery store that has a cheese department (which they all do). So get some Halloumi, and get your squeak on. Enjoy!
Click here for the transcript and ingredients.

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Is a Case of "Plantain Envy" Driving You Bananas?

I used to have a serious case of "plantain envy." I'd be standing in the supermarket checkout line, and the person ahead of me would be placing their big, bunch of plantains on the belt. I would glance down sheepishly at the puny bananas in my basket, suddenly feeling inadequate. The plantain dwarfed my banana in both length and girth. But, I was too afraid to try - not knowing what to do with them, not knowing if I would enjoy them. If only I had known how easy to prepare, and delicious to eat, these tropical giants were!

Well, eventually I had these fried at a Cuban restaurant, and they were delicious! I was shown how to prepare them properly, and I've loved them ever since. Unlike bananas, plantains are not eaten raw. Unless they are extremely ripe, with black skin, the flesh is way too firm and starchy to eat uncooked. In this video recipe I did for About.com, I'll show you the traditional method for preparing the fried plantains, or "tostones," as they are called in Latin America. These would make for an interesting appetizer at your Super Bowl fiesta. I also show a quick dipping sauce that works great with these. Enjoy!
Click here for the transcript and ingredients.

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