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I am a believer in dry beans. You can find these at pretty much any market. Soak them overnight in cold water, and when you awake the next morning, drain and rinse them and make something new. For me, it was coming up with a hearty bean soup that I could bring to work and have a healthy, and hearty meal to keep me going. This is my take on a chorizo and mixed bean soup. It serves a lot, can be made in a slow cooker if you wanted, and is a perfect meal for lunch or dinner. Heck, maybe even breakfast!

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 lb mixed beans, dried
• 3 ribs of celery, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 links of chorizo, thick sliced
• 1 link of venison sausage, thick sliced (optional)
• 4 cups of vegetable stock
• 2 cups of water
• 1 whole bay leaf
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 whole baguette

Begin by soaking the beans in cool water, overnight. The following morning, drain and rinse the beans, and set aside.

Heat a soup pot on medium heat. Add in the sliced sausages, and brown on all sides, about 12 minutes. The sausage will release some fat, and this is what we will cook our vegetables in. After they have browned,  add in the carrots, onions, celery, and garlic, and give a good stir. Let the vegetables begin to sweat, about 8 minutes. Stirring every now and then.

Add in the stock and water, give a good stir. Give a good pinch of salt and pepper to the mix, and toss in the bay leave. Let this come to a simmer, cover, and let it cook for 2 1/2 hours.

Give the soup a taste, and adjust any seasoning. That’s it. How easy was that for a pretty healthy meal?

When you are ready to serve, slice off a good nub of the baguette. Ladle in a generous amount of the bean soup, and eat with the bread. The result is a creamy textures from the beans, a bit of spice that balances that with the chorizo, and just a good old dunking element with the bread. Not only that, but now you have lunch and dinner throughout the week! Enjoy.

Serve with some nice crusty bread.

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Now keep in mind I use the term po-boy for this recipe, and I will use it lightly. I say that only to the fact that this po-boy is not “dressed”, meaning, it is not slathered with mayonnaise and topped with tomatoes and thinly sliced lettuce.

As my wife was gone this past week, this was an opportunity for me to get my food on. As my kids were begging for me to make calamari, this was prime time to bring my clam chowder style sandwich into the spotlight, and wow, am I glad that I did.

Let’s get started.

(Makes One Sandwich)

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 lbs of clam strips, rinsed cleaned
• 1 cup of masa harina
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 russet potato, skin on, cut into bite size cubes
• 1/2 onion, cut paper thin (mandoline works well)
• Tabasco Hot Sauce
• 1/2 loaf day old Jimmy John’s bread, or good submarine roll
• Bechamel Sauce (see below)
• 4 cups of canola oil
• More salt to taste

Ingredients for Bechamel Sauce:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 cup of whole milk
• pinch of salt
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 bay leaf

To make the bechamel sauce, add the butter to a sauce pan and let it melt on medium heat. Once it starts to bubble, add in the flour, and begin to stir, incorporating the butter into the flour. It will form somewhat of a paste, but don’t worry. Your goal is to let the flour cook, stirring along the way, for about 3 minutes. Slowly add in the milk, and begin whisking, on medium heat, for about 5 minutes. Whisk the entire time. The flour will begin to thicken and make a nice cream sauce. Add in the salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Give a good stir, then remove from the heat.

To a medium pot, add in the canola oil, and bring it to a medium heat. Your goal is to get the oil to about 375 degrees.

To another pot add the cubed potatoes, and fill with just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until they are fork tender. Drain, and return the potatoes back to the pot.

During this time, prepare all of the ingredients as cooking the clams goes very fast, so you will want to be ready , keeping in mind that you will cook all of the clams in a few batches.

Let me pause here to give a good warning here. The goal is to make the sandwich. This is the ultimate goal. HOWEVER, when you remove the fried clams from the oil, and season with a bit of salt, YOU WILL TRY A FEW. Again, the goal is to make the sandwich. I will admit, that when I seasoned the first batch of clams and let them drain a bit on paper, and had that first bite, I was in heaven, and I began eating them like popcorn! So, if you can, stay focused!

To a bowl, add the buttermilk along with the egg, and give it a good mix.

To another bowl add the masa harina, flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, giving that a good mix.

Add a handful of the clams to the buttermilk mixture, and while using your hands, make sure there are no clumps. Get the buttermilk spread evenly on the clams. Let them sit in there for a couple of minutes.

When your oil is ready, with a slotted spoon, remove the clams, letting the buttermilk drain back into the buttermilk bowl, then add them to the flour mixture. Using one of your hands, begin tossing the clam strips all around, making sure they do not clump up, and that all of the flour mixture is evenly distributed onto the clams. If you can, separate them, shaking off access flour, and place them on a tray or plate.

Add them to the hot oil, and begin frying. These will go extremely fast, about 1-2 minutes. Once golden brown, remove them with a large slotted spoon, or spider if you have one, letting the oil drain back into the pot, and add them to a wire strainer lined with paper. Season with salt.

Repeat until all of the clams are cooked.

Now let’s build that sandwich! You still have clams left right?

Slice your bread, lengthwise, but not all of the way through.

To the bottom, add the cubed potatoes. Drizzle with the Tabasco sauce, all along the potatoes. Top the potatoes with a good layer of the sliced onions. Top the onions with a heaping mound of the fried clams, then drizzle the top of the clams with the bechamel sauce.

PLEASE NOTE: If the bechamel sauce cooled up on you, simply bring it back to the stove on medium heat, add a bit more milk, water, or stock, and continue whisking until it is warmed through and easy to drizzle all over the clams.

Pinch both sides of the sandwich, open wide, and dig in. Not only is this sandwich super fun to eat, but it is everything you could think about when eating a clam chowder, but in sandwich form! You get the creamy potatoes on the base, the subtle hint of onion because they are paper thin, and the crunchy and awesome flavor from the clams. Not only that but you get the wonderful creamy bechamel sauce to boot!

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(Serves 2)

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 6 thin slices of Gruyère cheese
• 8 thin slices of Black Forest Ham
• 1 cup of grated Gruyère cheese
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 4 slices of thick cut French sandwich loaf
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Begin by making the béchamel sauce. Get two saucepans, and heat one on a medium low heat, and the other on medium heat. To the pan on medium, low heat, add the milk, and let it get warm. To the other pan, add the two tablespoons of butter, and let it melt down and begin to bubble a bit. Add the flour to the butter, and mix it very well to incorporate the two. Continue whisking for about two minutes, being careful not to let the flour mixture brown. Slowly add in the warm milk, and continue whisking until you everything is nice and smooth. You will whisk this for about 8-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Add in the salt, nutmeg, and the parmesan cheese. Give a good mix, then remove it from the heat until it is ready to be used.

Next, get a large skillet going on the stove, and bring that to a medium heat. Butter four slices of the bread, and lay them into the skillet, butter side down. The goal here is to get them nice and golden brown, without burning them. As they begin to cook, add a tablespoon of butter to two pieces of the bread. Lay down three slices of Gruyère cheese on top of the mustard, then top each with four slices of the black forest ham. Let them continue cooking on the skillet, lifting to peak every couple of minutes, until the have reached that golden brown color, and have a crunchy exterior.

Now for the assembly.

Get your broiler going on 475 degrees.

Add the slices of toasted bread to a baking sheet. Place the toasted bread on top of the bread with the mustard, cheese, and ham. Now take the bechamel sauce and generously spread it all of the top of each sandwich. Take half a cup of the Gruyère cheese and add that to the top of the bechamel sauce.

Place this under the broiler until the cheese is nice and bubbly and everything is warmed through, roughly 4-6 minutes.

Remove the sandwiches from the broiler, and place on a serving plate. Dig in!

This one is super delicious and has not left my mind since I last made it. It has that sort of impact. Trust me.

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It has been awhile since I last made soft pretzels, and I thought I would entertain my kids with the thought of fresh, homemade soft pretzels, not only that, but to create a beer and cheddar cheese sauce that my wife and I love.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 package of active dry yeast
• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Cooking Spray
• 12 cups water
• 2/3 cups baking soda
• 1 egg, beaten
• Kosher salt

Begin by adding 1 1/2 cups of the water to a mixing bowl. If you have a KitchenAid mixing bowl, use that. Add in the sugar, salt, and package of yeast. Gently stir, and walk away from it for about 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast foams.

Once the mixture has foamed, add in the flour and melted butter. Use your dough hook attachment, and begin mixing on medium speed for about four minutes. Your dough should be smooth and begin coming off of the sides of the bowl.  Remove the dough from the mixer and add it to another bowl. Drizzle the vegetable oil on top of the dough, and toss it to the other side, making sure the exterior is oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for about two hours.

The goal is to have the dough rise, about twice the size of which you placed it in the bowl.

Once the dough has risen, uncover, and give a good smell. I love the smell of fresh dough. Nothing beats that wonderful yeast smell. Well, bacon probably beats that, but still, it is a great smell.

For the next few steps you will want to have everything prepared as things go pretty quickly.

To a large baking sheet, spray the cooking spray on it. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Add the salt to a small bowl.

In a roasting pan, if you have one, add the water and the baking soda, and bring it to a boil. If you do not have a roasting pan, use a  deep skillet or another vessel that can hold that water to a boil.

OK, back to the dough. Take the dough and divide it into about 8-10 balls. The dough will be a bit sticky, so use a bit more vegetable oil to lightly coat your hands.

Take each ball and begin to roll it into a rope like shape. Once you begin to get the rope, grab both ends and swing it a bit. Your goal here is to get the rope to be about 7 inches long, or so.

Lay the rope down, and cut about 2 inch pieces. Add these pieces to the boiling water. Let these cook in the water for 20-30 seconds. What happens here is that the dough begins to soften, par cook, and enlarge a bit. Remove with a slotted spoon, trying to remove as much water as possible, and add the cooked dough to the oiled baking sheet.

Brush the egg wash onto the top of each pretzel bite, then sprinkle each one with kosher salt.

Repeat this process for the remaining dough balls.

Once the baking sheet is filled with some pretzel bites, add them to the preheated oven and cook for about 15 minutes. They should come out golden brown. The smell is amazing. Take it in. Remove them from the baking sheet and place on a wired rack to cool.

Repeat this process until all of the pretzel bites have cooked.

As the pretzels cook, make the cheddar cheese beer sauce.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces of light beer
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cracked black pepper

Add the beer to a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil. Toss the flour with the cheese. Once the beer is boiling, add the cheese and flour mixture, dial down the heat, and stir constantly. Toss in some salt and pepper. Stir, and add to a serving bowl.

When you are ready to plate, add the pretzel bites to a plate with a small bowl of the beer sauce, and dig in.

The flavor of these pretzels are just phenomenal to say the least. Packed with this yeasty smell and flavor, every bite is nicely salted, and that beer and cheese sauce, well, I will let you judge. A perfect snack any time of the day, and better yet, a great game day appetizer that will get all of your friends and family dipping everything into that beer and cheddar cheese sauce! Enjoy.

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See, these are poppers on steroids. Well, not really, but they are wrapped in delicious pork. These game time appetizers will get your family and friends talking. When they are fully cooked, and plated, the questions will pour out. There is some mystery behind these, and not only that, but a lot of great flavor.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 8 whole jalapeno peppers, seeds and stems removed
• 6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of colby jack cheese, shredded
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 2 chipotle peppers, seeds removed, chopped
• 1 tbsp chipotle adobo sauce
• 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups of panko bread crumbs
• Cooking Spray

Start by getting all of your ingredients ready. To a small bowl, add the cream cheese, colby jack cheese, salt, pepper, chopped chipotle peppers, and the adobo sauce. Give this a really good mix to incorporate all of the flavors. Set this aside.

As you can see by the photo, I have this really cool jalapeno pepper corer. This corer came with a purchase I had made in the past, and really proves useful for seeding jalapeno peppers. So once you have the seeds removed, cut them in half as noted in the photo below.

Take the cream cheese mixture and stuff it inside of the jalapeno peppers. Repeat until the peppers are filled.

Add the beaten egg to one small bowl, and the panko breadcrumbs to another bowl.

Take the ground pork, enough to flatten in the palm of your hand, and enough that you think would lightly cover the jalapeno pepper. Using your hands, wrap the pork around the pepper, shaping into an egg shape, until it is fully covered. Repeat until all peppers are covered.

Add the pork egg to the egg wash, then over to the panko breadcrumbs.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray your baking sheet with the cooking spray, or lightly coat with some oil. Add the coated armadillo eggs to the baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until the breadcrumbs turn a very light golden brown.

When the are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool for about five minutes before plating.

Now you can eat these two ways. Once with your hands, or the other with fork and knife. Biting into them yields the wall of pork, then you are hit with the great texture of the pepper. A nice heat level to them is quickly balanced by the smoky cream cheese. Something new for your to try in 2012. You could also deep fry these until a darker golden brown, but regardless of how you do it, you do get a nice crunch from the panko breadcrumbs.

Hope you enjoy!

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If you have never had, nor heard of pozole, it is basically a Mexican soup that has this wonderful corn, and is loaded with super tender pork, a simple stock (in this case a red stock), and is garnished with shredded cabbage, thinly sliced radish, and fresh cilantro. It is a soup to be reckoned with. In a nutshell, it is just plain awesome.

So lets get started on making this wonderful pozole rojo. Rojo by the way means red in Spanish.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 lbs of pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch cubes
• 6 Guajillo chile peppers, stems and seeds removed
• 4 Chile de Arbol peppers, stems and seeds removed
• 2 cups of boiling water
• 2 large, white onions, diced
• 1 head of garlic, thinly sliced
• 12 cups of water
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp Mexican oregano, crushed with your fingers
• 30 oz can of Hominy, or Mexican corn, drained
• 1 lime, quartered
• 10 radishes, thinly sliced
• 3 cups of green cabbage, thinly shredded
• Fresh cilantro
• Fresh Jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, sliced (optional)
• Tortilla chips or fresh corn tortillas (optional)

Begin by hydrating the peppers. Add the chile peppers to the two cups of boiling water, cover, and set aside for about 30 minutes.

Next, add the pork to your soup pot. Cover with the 12 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium. During this time, start skimming the brown foam that comes to the top of your stock, and start discarding that. Continue this process until you no longer have those impurities. Continue cooking the pork for about 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is super tender. Once the meat is cooked, remove the meat with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Let the meat cool so that you can handle it with your fingers.

Once the chiles have rehydrated, add them to a blender with about 1 cup of the water that they were hydrating in. Add the two cups of chicken stock to the blender, along with the salt, pepper, and garlic.  Blend until you have a very smooth mixture.

If you have a mesh strainer, now is the time to use it. Your goal is to add the blended chile mixture through the strainer, just in case there are any portions of the flesh from the chile peppers. Strain that directly into the pork stock and give a good stir. You now have the beginnings of your red stock, the rojo in pozole rojo. Give yourself a pat on the back, and carry onward.

Once the meat is cooled, tear it up into manageable bite size pieces and add it to the stock. Toss in the diced onions, as well as the strained hominy. Give it a good stir, bring it to a simmer, cover and let it cook for an additional two hours.

Once the soup is cooked, give a couple of good ladles of the soup into your bowl, and top with the jalapeno slices, radishes, cabbage, cilantro, and lime. Not all of it, just generous serving of each.

To eat, well,  you can probably figure this one out. Get your spoon and tortilla chip ready. Mix the cabbage into the soup, along with some of the radishes and cilantro, and dig in. Every bite is amazing. Tender bites of delicious pork pairs ever so nicely with the subtle heat of the stock. Then you can the tender bites of hominy and the crunchiness of the cabbage and radish. Wow! Comfort in every bite. This batch of pozole can be eaten of the course of a few days, and gets better every day.

Classic, comforting, and truly Mexican, this pozole rojo is worth making. Trust me.

Shortly after the kids ran madly from the school bus, returning home from school, they rushed into the house with excitement knowing that they were going to Rocky Rococo. Rocky Rococo, I think, is a midwestern pizza joint, where in the past, they served up some fairly descent pizza. It was not thin crust, or deep dish, but it was a pizza unlike no other. It was, in my opinion a Sicilian style pizza. I remember it being good.

When we arrived, three people were in the very large restaurant (not a good sign on a Thursday night at 6pm), and we ordered from the somewhat, hectic manager. My eyes looked upward at their menu, and as my kids rattled off what they wanted (cheese, cheese and pepperoni x2), I decided I would go with the classic cheese and sausage. That cheese and sausage is what I remembered the last time I had Rocky Rococo’s.

The fierce intensity of making these pizzas was beginning to annoy me. I like to watch people in the kitchen cooking my food, so don’t get me wrong. What was so stressful about making four pizzas that arrive in rectangular boxes, a box design that was totally out of style? These are not enormous, single serving slices. No clue, but about twenty minutes later, our pizzas arrived. By the way, no one else had arrived to order since that time.

My first bite. Gnarly, and not in a good way. 20 minutes? Stress upon taking my order, and panic on knowing how to cook a classic? Not impressed. But as I talked about the day with my kids (the best part of the meal), they were not phased about how unpleasant I was, and furthermore, my oldest asked if he could have another ‘square’. My time is precious with my kids, so as the good father that I am, I went back to the stressed out manager and asked for another slice of cheese and pepperoni slice, or rectangle,or whatever shape, only hoping that I was not going to have to wait another 20 minutes for a slice of pizza!

With that experience, I decided that I will never go back to that Rocky Rococo. I’m sorry to say that, as after all it is an establishment that I would like to support in my neighborhood.  A classic joint with some history, but I’m sorry, your pizza did not cut it. Hence why I decided to make my own, and I will not call it Rocky Rococo style pizza, but instead a Sicilian style pizza.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• My pizza dough, or  about 2 lbs of pre-made pizza dough
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp dried oregano, pinched with your fingers
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 15 oz can of tomato sauce
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Pepperoni slices to cover, leaving 1 inch gaps
• Fresh Italian sausage, pinched, casings removed (optional)
• Sardines, flaked (optional)
• 1/2 cup red onion (diced), optional
• Black olives, sliced, optional
• Grated parmesan cheese, optional
• Your favorite pizza ingredients, optional

My kids are still, believe it or not, in the basic pizza eating style. They like either cheese, cheese and sausage, or cheese and pepperoni. I will focus on a 50/50 cheese and sausage/cheese and pepperoni, but as the man that I am, I recommend the red onion, sardines, and olives. You know what you like, so go for it. Just stick with the dough and process, and you should be good to go.

Begin by making the dough. Let it rise. It takes a few hours, so take that into consideration, or make the dough the night before, let it get to a good warmth and let the yeast do its thing.  Take in the smells. Nothing better than a kitchen that smells like yeasty dough!

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, fahrenheit.

So you have the dough. Lightly flour it, very lightly. Take a large sheet tray, or at least 18×13, if not larger. Add the olive oil to the the sheet tray, and make sure the base is coated. Take your risen dough and place into the center of the tray. Begin massaging the dough, attempting to stretch the dough, without tearing it, to the edges of the sheet tray. Do your best.

Once you think you’ve done your best without tearing, shower it with the salt, pepper, and oregano. Cover the sheet tray and let it rise another hour, or so.

Once the dough rises a bit more, add the sauce, and gently spread all over the dough, lightly, not too heavy.

Add the mozzarella cheese, coating the sauce, then add your favorite ingredients. I was down for simple pepperoni, and sausage.

Place in a preheated oven for  about 35 minutes. What you are looking for is golden, crispy edges, a nice melted and golden cheese  crust in the center, and well, something better than Rocky Rococo’s.

Once cooked, take the sheet pan out of the oven and let it rest for about ten minutes for slicing into it.

Cut into long rectangular shapes and enjoy.

I’ve made this about four different times, and every time it delivers a crunch exterior with a fluffy interior, only to be enjoyed with your favorite toppings. Not only that, but you make a whole sheet of pizza for dirt cheap! I think I walked out of Rocky Rococo’s paying something like thirty dollars. Mine, about eleven dollars, and a much better experience. Enjoy.

By the way, my kids are just excited when they see the sheet pan of pizza, I think, more than they saw the stressed out manager, and the solo boxes of pizza.

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Lets get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 4 whole jalapeño peppers, large and firm, stems removed
• 1 tbsp canola oil, to lightly coat the peppers
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• Heavy cast iron skillet

That is it. Three ingredients that when combined, will knock your socks off. Let me also state that these peppers can be hot, so if you are into the hot food, this is great. Remember, the seeds are in there, but if you eat around the edges, you should be just fine.

Begin by adding the peppers to a mixing bowl. Add in the oil, and mix around until you know all of the peppers have been coated with the oil.

Add these to a cast iron skillet, and heat on medium to medium-high heat. As the skillet comes to temperature, begin moving the peppers around in the skillet, making sure all of the sides become roasted. This should take anywhere for 8-12 minutes for them to roast.

As soon as the peppers are fully roasted, carefully move them to the mixing bowl and shower them with the salt, gently mixing. Add them to a serving bowl and have your guests (that like hot and spicy) add one to their plate. You simply eat them whole, starting with the smaller tip, and eating your way down.  These can be served alongside just about anything, and they go perfect if you and your friends are drinking beer.

The flavor, although mildly spicy in my opinion, is really amazing. Something about the salt and the roasted flavor of the chile really get the meal going. Simple, fun, and delicious. What could anyone else ask for? Enjoy.

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This bacon jam was not only phenomenal on the burger and could be my go to condiment for burgers now, but in its simplest form is awesome on pretty much anything, including a basic cracker.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 lb of good bacon, cut into pieces
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
• 1/2 tbsp Hungarian paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 cup of strong coffee
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of light brown sugar

Begin by heating a large cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add the sliced bacon pieces, and begin cooking this, rendering all of the fat, and cooking just until slightly crisp, but not super crispy. This will take about 10 minutes or so. During this time, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

When the bacon is cooked, remove with a slotted spoon onto some paper towel to remove any excess fat. Pour off most of the bacon grease, reserving for a later use. Return the skillet back to the heat and add the tablespoon of butter. Toss in the onion and garlic, and let them begin to sweat, cooking on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring along the way.

When the onions and garlic and cooked, add the salt and pepper, along with the brown sugar. Give a good stir, letting the sugar begin to melt away into the onions. After a couple of minutes, add the remaining ingredients and let it come to a boil. Toss in the bacon, stir, and add this to a slow cooker, on low heat, for 3 hours.

After a few hours in the slow cooker, place the mixture into a food processor and pulse down for your desired consistency. I like mine to have some recognizable bacon pieces, but pieces that are not extremely big, almost like bacon bit consistency. Return the mixture to a sauce pan, and cook on medium heat until most, if not all of the liquid evaporates, leaving you with a jam like consistency.

Store in a sealed container for up to three weeks, if it lasts that long.

When you are ready to serve, feel free to spread this on pretty much anything. The texture is spot on, and the flavor is something out of this world. You get the sweetness from the onion, sugar, and maple, and a subtle but ever so delicious bitterness from the coffee, along with the smokiness of the bacon and a slight sourness from the cider vinegar, this bacon jam was something else. Give it a shot and let me know your thoughts! Hope you enjoy.

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As the Christmas meal often stems around a bone in, spiral ham (which I love), I decided to surprise the family with something new. I wanted them to experience a whole new dish, and something that is elegant in its own right. The porchetta.  Days prior to the holiday feast, I began preparing the porchetta. A bit labor intensive, and time consuming, the end result is nothing but spectacular.

Lets get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 11 lb pork belly, thick skin in tact
• 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of sage, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tbsp toasted fennel, ground
• 3 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp cracked black pepper
• 2 heads of garlic, minced
• olive oil
• 15 slices of pancetta, thinly sliced
• 4 lb pork shoulder, butter flied
• Additional Salt, pepper, chopped rosemary, thyme, sage
• 3 large carrots
• 3 celery ribs
• 3 cups of chicken stock
• butcher’s twine

Begin by cutting the meat side of the pork belly into crisscross incisions being careful not to cut through the skin. Do this for the whole pork belly.

Add the minced garlic, and herbs to a bowl. Drizzle enough olive oil until it just becomes wet. Set aside.

Generously season the pork belly with salt and pepper. Take the garlic and herb mixture and begin massaging it into the pork belly, making sure you get into all of the scoring of the meat. Roll, and securely wrap it in plastic wrap. Place this in the refrigerator for 3 days.

To the pork shoulder, season with some salt, pepper, and the additional herbs, just enough to lightly coat. Lay down the pancetta on a flat surface, making it a blanket for your pork shoulder. Add the shoulder to the pancetta, and carefully roll into place. Place in a large plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for 3 days.

When you are ready to prepare the porchetta, take the shoulder and belly from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. Unroll the pork belly. To the top of the pork belly, add the pork shoulder, making sure everything is nice and snug. Roll the porchetta, lengthwise, into a roll. Take your kitchen twine and begin securing the porchetta.

Now what you end up with is a pretty darn long pork roll. My guess is that it will be too long for your roasting pan, so what I did is simply cut the porchetta in half and roasting them in two separate roasting pans. With that said, to the bottom of your roasting pan, add the carrots and the celery stalks, laying the porchetta, skin side up, on top of the vegetables. Drizzle a bit of olive oil onto the skin and massage it all over the skin. Season with a bit more salt.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Lay your roasting pan in the preheated oven, and cook for roughly 45 minutes. Take in the smell, it’s amazing. After this time, begin basting the top of the skin with the pan juices every 30-40 minutes.

Your total cook time for the porchetta will be roughly 4 hours.  After this time, remove the porchetta from the oven and onto your cutting board. Let this rest for about 20 minutes so that all of the juices distribute throughout the porchetta.

Remove the butcher’s twine and discard. With a serrated knife, or better yet if you have an electric knife, begin slicing through the crisp pork skin, then through the succulent pork. Cut into rounds if you can. Plate on a large serving dish for your guests.

A layer of crisp pork fat, then a wonderful blend of herbs and pancetta, followed by succulent pork shoulder, every bite is succulent and extremely delicious. This porchetta was the perfect meal to serve lots of people, inexpensive compared to most other holiday meals, and I had plenty of leftovers for some really killer sandwiches.