Zucchini Rigatoni Recipe

Zucchini Rigatoni is a light pasta dish that is perfect for the warm summer months. The zucchini, garlic, basil, onion, tomato, mushroom, and other vegetables combine to create a complex flavor mosaic. Zucchini rigatoni is an uncompromising vegetarian classic!

Ingredients:
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
3 tbsp butter
1 Serrano pepper, chopped with seeds removed
3/4 medium yellow onion, diced
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 tbsp dry basil leaves
2 tbsp butter
1/2 of one large zucchini
2 1/2 tbsp dry porcini mushrooms, chopped fine
4 sprigs flat leaf parsley, chopped
14 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Rigatoni pasta noodles
Parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation:

1. To a skillet over medium heat, add 3 tbsp of olive oil, 3 tbsp butter, and the Serrano pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes.
2. Add the diced onion to the skillet and cook until the onions begin to change color and are translucent.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then pour the tomato sauce into the skillet along with the dry basil.
4. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer.
5. In a pot, boil water for the pasta. When water begins to boil, add pasta noodles and cook until al dente.
6. Cut the zucchini into thin medallions. I like to cut the zuchinni at a diagonal to create medallions with a greater surface area.
   
7. In a separate pan, add 2 tbsp butter along with 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-low heat.
8. Add the zucchini medallions, porcini mushrooms, flat leaf parsley, and fresh basil leaves to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. When the pasta is ready, strain it and pour it into a large bowl.
10. Coat the hot pasta with a thin layer of grated Parmesan cheese, mixing it with the pasta noodles.
11. Next, pour the red sauce into the bowl and mix it with the pasta. You may not need to use all of the red sauce. Use enough to coat all of the noodles.
12. Add the zucchini mixture to the bowl to combine with the pasta.
13. Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese if needed.
    

Italy

Hey, Nice Glove!

Whenever someone sends me a link to check out a new food-related product or invention, my first question is, "is this a real product, or a joke?" After watching half of this video, I still wasn't sure. What do you guys think of this invention? Great idea? Totally ridiculous? Too hard to match with your shoes and belt? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Speaking of turning meats with your hands, Michele and I are headed up to Sacramento to grill some steaks with the in-laws. I hope you all have a delicious weekend, and stay tuned for a bunch of tasty new video recipes!

Orange Chicken Recipe 陈皮鸡

Orange chicken is a dish originating from Hunan cuisine. It is similar to General Tso's chicken in appearance and in the way it is prepared. Orange chicken is battered chicken that is fried and then coated with a sweet, citrus flavored chili sauce.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp orange juice
2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp orange zest, grated
1 tspn fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3-4 green onions, chopped
1/2 tspn red pepper flakes
3 tbsn corn starch
2 tbsp water
3-4 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tspn salt
1/4 tspn pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

1. Pour 1 1/2 cups of water, lemon juice, orange juice, soy sauce, and rice vinegar into a saucepan on medium high heat. Add the orange zest, ginger, brown sugar, chopped onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
2. Bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool.
   
3. Put 1/2 inch pieces of chicken into a resealable plastic container. Pour 1 cup of sauce (after it has cooled) into the container with the chicken. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Save the remaining sauce in a separate container.
   
4. In a resealable plastic bag, mix the salt, pepper, and flour.
5. Remove the pieces of chicken from the marinade and put them into the bag containing the flour mixture. Seal the bag and shake the chicken so that it is coated with the flour mixture.
6. Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add some of the chicken to the skillet and cook it for about 4 minutes until golden brown. (You will probably need to cook about 3 batches this way in order to cook all of the chicken).
7. After each batch has cooked, remove the chicken and place it on a plate covered with paper towels. Cover the plate with a piece of aluminum foil.
8. After all of the chicken has been cooked, clean the skillet. Add the remaining sauce from step #3 to the skillet. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium high heat.
9. Add 2 tablespoons of water with the cornstarch and slowly add this mixture to the sauce then reduce the heat to low.
10. Add the chicken back to the sauce and stir so that all of the chicken is coated with sauce.
11. Serve over rice with fresh orange slices.
    

China

Faking Making Bacon – Part One

The inspiration for my recent making-bacon-at-home fascination comes from this "My BLT From Scratch" post on Michael Ruhlman's blog. Last summer Ruhlman challenged his readers to create and submit their own interpretations of a completely homemade BTL. This included baking the bread, making the mayo, preferably growing the lettuce and tomatoes, and of course, making the bacon.

No ingredient makes people lose their minds like bacon, so let me be clear right from the start, this is not technically "bacon," so save the "this is not technically bacon" emails. My only goal here was to establish a homemade bacon baseline. Instead of trying to paint a masterpiece on my first attempt, I thought I'd start with a simple charcoal sketch.

The technique shown herein is very straightforward, and could be easily mimicked by anyone able to get their hands on pork belly. The idea was to rub the meat with smoked paprika, salt and cracked black pepper, before slowly roasting until tender. After an overnight chill, the belly would be sliced and fried crisp.

For a first attempt, I was very happy with the results. The texture produced by this approach was very bacon-like, although I sliced it too thick for it to get truly "crisp." Above and beyond textural considerations, it needed more salt. Next time I'd be much more aggressive during the dry rub application.

Stay tuned for upcoming versions, which will include brining, curing, and some kind of smoking. In addition to better flavor and texture, these future attempts will also be much more exciting as we substantially increase the odds for some type of serious food borne illness.

By the way, since this wasn't "real" bacon, I decided to show it as humble breakfast meat, and not displayed in its most glorious form, the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. Enjoy!




Ingredients (what I used here):
3 pound piece pork belly
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Vegan Coleslaw Recipe with Peanut Dressing

Crunchy cool vegan slaw with a light peanut dressing.

It's almost the end of July. How has your summer been? Moonlit and sultry? All Popsicles and kiddie pool? Or just plain flat out busy as a bee? If it's been busy, Sugar, I can relate. Here in our tiny corner of the world we've been too crazy to cook much. We've been living on salads and smoothies. We're apartment hunting. Spending hours in the car navigating the neighborhoods of West Hollywood, searching for the perfect place. Or rather, the quasi-perfect place because perfection is unattainable. I know this. I do. But I still (naively) make a top ten priority list.

If I find a unit with a window over the kitchen sink (high on my list) there's inevitably no dishwasher. If I tour one with a dishwasher, there's no  window, and no patio (I'd love some outside access to put a small table and plant a few pots by the door). Washer and dryer? Ha. You know that saying, If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans? Well, if you want to hear the gods laugh even harder, make a wish list. For an apartment in West Hollywood. For example...

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German Coffee Cake Recipe

This recipe for German Coffee Cake has been popular in my family for as long as I can remember. It was always baked on weekends when people were in town for a visit. German coffee cake is a great choice for a stand alone breakfast paired with a strong cup of coffee and fresh fruit.

Recommended Equipment:
tube or bundt pan

Ingredients:
cake
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups butter (softened)
3 eggs
1 1/2 tspn vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tspn baking powder
1 1/2 tspn baking soda
3/4 tspn salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream

filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 tspn cinnamon

glaze
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tspn vanilla
1 - 2 tbsp milk

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease a tube or bundt pan.
3. Beat eggs, sugar, butter, sour cream, and vanilla together.
4. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
5. Mix the mixture from step #4 in with the mixture from step #3.
6. In a separate bowl construct the filling. Mix together the brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon.
7. Pour a third of the batter into the tube pan. Top this with a third of the filling.
8. Repeat step #7 two more times.
9. Bake for one hour and then remove from oven and let cool.
10. Construct the glaze by combining the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk in a sauce pan. Stir these ingredients over medium-low heat until they form a white, clear glaze.
    
11. Drizzle over cake.
12. Optional: Top with additional chopped pecans.
    

Germany [ print this recipe for German Coffee Cake ]

Grilled Spanish Mustard Beef Doesn't Have a Ring to It

When people ask me if I'm ever afraid of running out of recipes to film, I usually joke that new recipes aren't the problem, it's running out of things to call them that's the real fear. Take this horribly named Spanish mustard beef for example. Least poetic name, ever.

Despite the awkward name, this fast and user-friendly wet rub did a fine job flavoring some carne asada I grilled recently (yes, that was redundant). I'm calling it Spanish mustard since I spiked the Dijon with a couple of my favorite ingredients of all time – smoked paprika and sherry vinegar.

Be sure to go find the real stuff (that it comes from Spain is one clue). If your marinade is only going to have a couple ingredients, you better make sure you're using top shelf stuff. The other two keys to this recipe are as follows: only let the meat marinate for about an hour, otherwise it may start to "cook" in the acid; and be sure to build a very hot fire.

Since this is a wet rub, we need the meat to sear and caramelize, not to steam in its own juices. After successfully grilling and slicing thin, against the grain, this can be eaten in hundreds of ways; all delicious. You'll see my tortilla delivery system, but everything from paper-thin rice paper wrappers to thick slices of grilled bread would be perfect.

This is also a fantastic marinade for thin-cut pork shoulder chops, or any of your favorite chicken parts. By the way, while you're grilling, sipping on a cold beer, or sangria, try and think of a better name. Enjoy!




Ingredients:
2 pounds thin sliced beef (any thin flap meat, skirt steak, flank steak, round steak, etc.
2 tablespoons Dijon
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
4 cloves minced, crushed garlic, optional
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup light olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to tastes

A Tuesday Tease: Homemade Bacon

Vegan "Tuna" Salad Recipe

Not Starkist Salad. Eat groovy. Save a tuna.

The older I get the more I crave simple. You know what I'm talking about. Home cooking. Childhood classics- like tuna salad. Instead of getting all worldly and sophisticated and dabbling with truffle oil, with each new gray hair my taste is hula hooping into kid-friendly food faster than Marisa Tomei can waggle. Well, maybe not that fast. She is pretty nimble. But you get my drift. I'm whipping up peanut butter and banana sandwiches, not oysters Rockefeller. Actually, I wouldn't know an oyster Rockefeller if it bit me in the tuchas. Filet Mignon (would you believe I've never had it?) doesn't even tempt me, Darling. And Chicken Cordon Bleu vs Chicken Kiev? 

Okay. It is here where I confess  that I'm no Betty Crocker and I've never attempted either recipe. Most likely because I was never what you'd call a big meat eater. I went vegetarian at age thirteen. If I've dabbled at all in the culinary arts it's been because of Anna Thomas and not Julia Child. The first cookbook I ever bought was The Vegetarian Epicure. That was 1972- the first time I ever made soup from scratch, thanks to Anna.

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A Grilled Salmon Sauce So Simple Even Someone Like You Can Make It

There's a certain art to making a recipe sound very easy and approachable, but at the same time not insulting people's intelligence.

I always get a little chuckle when I see food blog articles that contain wording like, "…for Dummies" or "A Complete Idiot's Guide to…"

Of course, since Food Wishes enjoys the reputation for having the smartest, cleverest, best looking audience in the entire blogisphere, I don't need to resort to such discourteous phraseology (pandering is another story).

Having said that, if you are indeed a dummy, and/or an idiot, pay particular attention to this amazingly simplistic salmon sauce recipe.

I never get tired of this style of grilled fish topping. As I say in the clip, there isn't really anyway to screw this up. As you watch the video, I want you to already be thinking about how you would tweak the formula.

As long as you start with the basic brown sugar and rice vinegar reduction, you can swap out any of the other ingredients to create countless versions.

This is really wonderful on salmon, but equally delicious on swordfish, halibut, tuna, or any other firm, full-flavored fish. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!




Ingredients for 4 portions:
4 (8-oz) grilled salmon filets (by the way, fish was salted before grilling)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sambal chili sauce, or any spicy Asian-style chili paste
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger or ginger puree
4 cloves garlic, very finely crushed or minced
1 teaspoon soy sauce, or to taste
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup basil chiffonade

"Steak Pizzaiola" Sunday Dinner with Someone's Italian Grandmother

Anyone that grew-up in an Italian-American family can tell you about Sunday dinner, where someone just like the adorable woman in this video cooks an old family favorite, after which the family gathers around to eat, drink, and talk way too loud.

I've wanted to film a version of Steak Pizzaiola for a while now, but can't decide which version to do; the quickly seared, pan sauce style, or the long, slow-cooked recipe seen here. Maybe I'll try and combine the best of both. Thanks to fellow YouTube foodie, Foxbytes, for this tasty-looking clip. If you have a favorite recipe for this Italian-American classic, please send it my way. Enjoy!

Chocolate Éclair Cake

Chocolate Éclair Cake is inspired by the French classic dessert. This version is fast and easy to prepare and will be a favorite of anyone that loves chocolate.

Ingredients:
1 box graham crackers
2 packages French vanilla pudding
3 1/2 cups of milk
9 oz. cool whip
3 1 oz. squares semi-sweet chocolate
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
3 tspn light corn syrup
1 1/2 tspn vanilla extract
1/8 cup of milk
5 tbsp butter

Preparation:

1. Oil a 9 X 13 inch baking pan.
2. Cover the bottom of the pan with one layer of graham crackers.
3. Mix pudding powder, 3 1/2 cups of milk, and a 9 oz. container of cool whip in a mixer.
4. Put half of the pudding mixture from step #3 over the first layer of graham crackers.
5. Cover the pudding mixture with another layer of graham crackers.
6. Put the remaining pudding mixture on top of the second layer of graham crackers.
7. Put a third layer of graham crackers on top of the second layer of pudding.
8. In a saucepan, add the chocolate, butter, corn syrup, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1/8 cup of milk. Heat this mixture over medium heat until it forms a smooth chocolate mixture.
9. Pour the chocolate mixture over the third layer of graham crackers. You may need to spread it evenly with the back of a spoon so that it covers the entire top of the cake.
10. Cover the top of the pan with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
    

France

Contests and Awards Update!

You may have noticed over the course of the last year or so, I've been much more aggressive in regards to entering, or asking for nominations in, various contests and competitions. While these awards are good for the ego, more importantly, they're also great for generating new traffic. I want to thank you for all you've done to sustain these efforts, and for your continued support!

Next Food Network Star YouTube Challenge


The response to my entry has been stunning! My loyal, cult-like following of 56,000 subscribers on YouTube has basically taken over the Food Network's YT channel, where there have been over 1,000 comments of support. If we're chosen as one of the 15 finalists, the voting will begin on August 2, so stay tuned for an update then!




On the Lamb


Our All-American Lamb Moussaka Burger has won the grand prize in the American Lamb Board's third annual “Get Your Grill On” video competition. The prize is two tickets to the New York City Wine & Food Festival’s “Blue Moon Burger Bash, hosted by Rachael Ray. Of course, we'd have to fly to NYC and get a hotel to collect, but still.


Help Nominate Chef John for a 2011 Tasty Award!


The Annual Tasty Awards are the premier broadcast awards show to celebrate the best in food and fashion programs on TV, in Film, and Online. Last year, Food Wishes wasn't nominated for an award, but that was my own fault. I was so busy at the time the awards were announced, I never asked for a help getting nominated!

If you'd like to help nominate me, please follow this link and cast your vote. Nominations are open through September 5th. I believe you can nominate the website in several categories, but "Best Food Program - Web" and Best "Home Chef in a Series" are the ones I'm hoping to get. Thanks!

Rochester's Famous "Chicken French" - Spoiler Alert: Only Half the Name is Correct!

Chicken French has everything I love in a recipe. It's delicious and easy, frugal, yet fancy, and everyone loves it. Better yet, it has a vague, confusing history and completely preposterous name.

This not-French recipe hails from the Rochester area of New York State, where it's a staple on virtually every Italian-American restaurant menu. It's something of a mystery why this recipe would have exploded in popularity in this one city in particular, but that's exactly what happened.

The origins of the recipe go something like this. Italian cooks in northern Italy have a sautéed veal dish called vitello francese, which uses a wine/lemon/butter pan sauce similar to ones used in France. The recipe comes to New York City with the first wave of Italian-American immigrants, where it becomes known by the locals as "Veal French."

Eventually, the recipe migrates to Rochester's large Italian-American community, where chicken is substituted for the more expensive and harder to find veal. The rest, as they say, is history – delicious, tender, moist, buttery history.

Since I'm from the Rochester, NY area, it's a little surprising I haven’t done this one already. Thankfully, a wonderful dinner at my Aunt Joyce's on a recent trip home caused me to realize I hadn’t yet immortalized this hometown favorite. I really hope you give it a try. Enjoy!




Ingredients for about 4-6 portions:
1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
4 eggs, plus 2 tablespoon milk, beaten
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
cayenne to taste
2 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon butter for sautéing

For the sauce:
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup good white wine or dry sherry
1 cup vegetable broth or chicken stock
4 tablespoon cold butter, cut in cubes
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Coming Soon: Chicken French

Tomorrow we'll be airing a new video recipe for Chicken French. This delicious and super-fast chicken recipe from Rochester, NY is a bit of a culinary mystery. Stay tuned!

Using My Melon… for the Third Time!

So, to celebrate the last rerun you'll have to suffer through for a while, I've decided to post this spectacularly delicious watermelon and feta salad with toasted cashews. Not only is this a rerun, it's a rerun of a rerun.

The original was filmed when I first started online. The camera I used back then was a tiny web-cam, duct-taped to a spice rack. The sound was bad, the humor even worse. A couple years ago, I decided to use the original footage and some of the audio to produce a new clip in iMovie.

Above and beyond having some fun at the expense of the rerun complainers, I wanted to post this today because watermelon has been super-sweet lately, and there are few things as perfect together as sweet, wet watermelon and salty, feta cheese.

This is Michele's favorite summer salad (probably mine as well), and anyone I've ever talked to that's made this, and brought it to a summer cookout, has gotten an embarrassingly large amount of compliments. So if you're into that kind if thing, please give it a try!

UPDATE! Sorry, I should have mentioned that this salad is even more awesome with some fresh mint on top (as pictured above).

Note: We attended a very cool cookbook release party at Domaine Chandon last night (if you were following me on Twitter, you saw some of the highlights, like this blurry iPhone pic of green gazpacho with tiger prawns), and are driving back into San Francisco today. Stay tuned for some amazing new video recipes very soon! (like tomorrow, I hope)

Maryland Steamed Blue Crab Recipe

Sorry for the lack of posts last week but I was on a much needed vacation on the Maryland coast. The regional specialty there was steamed blue crabs. You could buy blue crabs almost anywhere already steamed. However, we decided to buy a couple dozen fresh from the docks and steam them up in our own kitchen.

It is a fairly simple process with only a few basic ingredients. The key is obtaining large, fresh blue crabs which may be difficult for anyone that does not live near the central Atlantic coast of the United States. If your fish monger is able to get you some blue crabs, give this recipe a try.

If you're in Maryland and don't have the time or desire to steam them yourself, you should visit Phillips Crab House. They have an incredible seafood buffet featuring all you can eat steamed blue crabs. Their Crab Imperial is not bad either. If you're in Baltimore, you should visit Lexington Market and go to Faidley's for blue crab cakes.


Cantler's Riverside Inn in Annapolis is another great choice to get blue crab served at its finest.

Recommended Equipment:
large metal pot

Ingredients:
water
apple cider vinegar
Old Bay Seasoning
live Blue Crabs

Preparation:

1. Fill the bottom of the pot with equal parts water and vinegar. Fill to a depth of 1 1/2 inches.
2. Heat liquid to a soft, steady boil over medium high heat.
3. Add live blue crabs to the pot in layers. After each layer, sprinkle generous amounts of Old Bay seasoning.
4. After all of the crabs have been added to the pot, cover the pot with the lid and steam the blue crabs for 30 to 35 minutes. Do not remove the lid during the steaming process.
5. Cover the dining table with newspapers and serve the crabs hot with cold beer.
   

United States Maryland

En Route

I'll be traveling all day today (including a lovely 5-hour layover at JFK where I'm posting this from…hey, I'm still smiling!). I arrive into San Francisco late tonight after a wonderful, albeit too short visit to my homeland, and as many of you predicted, I have a head full of new video recipe ideas!

FYI: Michele and I are heading up to Napa Wednesday for a special event at Domaine Chandon, but after that it will be back into the kitchen to do what we do. Thanks a million to all of you who commented on the Next Food Network Star YouTube Challenge, as well as defended my honor against the "others." It means a lot. Stay tuned!

Five Ways To Chill

1. Creamy dark chocolate sorbet. It's dairy-free and vegan. Rich but not filling. Cool and dark as midnight jazz. A respite from the shimmer of summer heat. Spoon it into chilled glasses. Turn off the lights. Light a candle. Music: Melody Gardot

2. Quinoa salad with lime and fresh mint. Cook quinoa in a rice cooker and keep the kitchen cool. Toss with just squeezed lime juice, good olive oil and garden ripe tomatoes. Spike it with whatever your heart desires- scallions, red onion. Kick off your flip-flops. Music: Crowded House's new album Intriguer

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The Tao of Reruns

Whenever I travel, whether it's somewhere I want to go, or somewhere I have to go, I always get a bunch of irate emails regarding my "slacking off." When I have a trip coming up, I'll film a few videos ahead to post from the road (as I did this time with the beef neck sauce and grilled shrimp recipes), but invariably I have to fill in the gaps with either reruns or other types of filler.

This trip I've been accused of "short-changing" the fans, of being too "distracted by shows and travel," and of "not caring about the blog as much as you used to." Even though I'm sure their hearts are in the right place, I can't tell you how upsetting I find these emails. The only thing more annoying are the accusations that my mustache is not real.

I won't spend too much time explaining myself since I believe 95% of the visitors here "get it," but I did want to cover a few points. I can't make a living (yet) just providing few video recipes on this blog. So, as many of you know, I'm also a freelance employee of the New York Times Co., writing the American Food site on About.com.

It is in that capacity that I'm occasionally blessed with press passes to things like the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen I covered last month (and where the photo above, from one of the after parties was captured). When these trips come up, I jump at the chance to go, not only to collect content for About.com, but also to help raise my profile as a food writer and "influential blogger."

Other trips, like this one, are personal, and I'll never apologize for taking time away from the blog to visit my family (having said that, I believe I still always apologize when I post reruns and filler). I sleep well knowing no one posts more original video recipe content than I do; not even close. By the way, as the regularity of these side trips, projects (like the cookbook), and "distractions" have increased, so too has the blog's traffic and popularity – almost tripling in the last year.

So, in summation, please continue to enjoy what you see here, no matter the frequency (or quality), and save the emails lecturing me on my commitment to the blog. Also, reading the unbelievably inspiring comments under the Next Food Network Star post is pure, ego-swelling joy, but many of you voiced concerns I'd stop doing this blog. That will never happen. I wouldn't take any job that meant the end of Food Wishes.

All right, now that I got that off my chest, here are a couple reruns originally posted way back in 2007. In addition to seeing my mom and sister's family, one of the great treats of returning home is getting to cook and eat with my aunts and uncles. They were very popular when first aired, so I thought I'd give them another run for the newer viewers. Enjoy!

(if you click on the recipe's title you will be taken back to the original post)

Uncle Billy's Chicken D’Arduini



Uncle Billy's Homemade Pasta



Aunt Joyce's Giambotta (Vegetable Stew)

How to Make Cashew Cream and a Curry Ranch Dressing Recipe

Cashew cream makes a divine dairy-free ranch dressing.

I've been reading on Twitter it's too hot to cook. So why not go raw? Numero uno, it's easy. Numero dos, it's tasty. And as an added bonus (if you need another nudge) cooking raw keeps the kitchen cool as a cucumber- which, by all accounts, is chilly by default and well. Raw. I've been flirting with raw cuisine lately to heal inflammation and tame my monkey gut. And wouldn't you know it. It's working. Eating vegan and often raw is soothing my symptoms and revitalizing my cranky little body. I am amazed at how much better I feel. Now if I could only quell the stress factor.

 

Did I mention, we're moving again?

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Will Work for Food…Network

It's the most common question I get on my YouTube channel; "Why don't you have a show on the Food Network?" There are so many answers to this question, the most obvious being, "Have you seen me?"

So, when I saw that Food Network was having a Next Food Network Star YouTube Challenge, I was unsure whether or not to enter.

Part of me doubts I'm FN material, and another part wonders if it is even something I'd want to do – I mean, notwithstanding the long hours and semi-poverty, I have a pretty fun gig here.

I finally decided to submit a video, if only for the fact that I am considered to be one of YouTube's best and most popular chefs (and by "one of" I mean "the"), and it would have been bad form not to offer up something to the gallery of entries.

As you know, I'm in New York visiting my mom, and without any of my video equipment. Thankfully an old friend of mine, Jim Kerins from iTownVideo came to rescue and helped me film this clip. In addition to being a great musician, Jim is a Finger Lakes audio/video legend and did an amazing job pulling all this together. Thanks Jim!!! To see more of his great work, check out his YouTube channel here.

One important note, the video had to be under 3 minutes to qualify for the contest, so there was very little time to actually spend on the recipe, hence the severe editing. I will hopefully be able to post a director's cut soon with a lot more footage. Enjoy!

Cajun New York Strip Steak

If you're tired of grilling hamburgers and brats, try Cajun New York Strip Steaks at your next cookout. Cajun Style New Yorks are rich in flavor with just the right amount of spice. This marinade for Cajun Style New York Strip Steaks also works well with ribeye and porterhouse steaks.

Ingredients:
2 - 4 New York strip steaks
1 tbsp sea salt
1 1/2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp oregano leaves, chopped
1 tbsp thyme leaves, chopped
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup canola oil

Preparation:

1. In a container large enough to hold all of the steaks, combine all of the ingredients.
2. Let steaks marinade in the refrigerator overnight.
   
3. Light grill. Place cast iron skillet on grill.
   
4. When grill is hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle, put steaks on the grill.
5. Cook steaks for about 8 to 9 minutes on one side.
   
6. Flip steaks and cook for another 8 to 9 minutes.
7. Remove and let steaks rest for about 8 minutes. Do not cut into the steak to check how much it has cooked.
8. Serve hot.
   

United States Louisiana