Black Eyed Peas with Pork and Greens – Good Luck with This!

I love the New Year's day tradition of eating beans and greens to bring luck and prosperity. This video was posted a few years back, and features black-eyed peas, and not one, but three kinds of pork. How can that not bring good fortune?This is a very old tradition, and I don't mean colonial America old, I mean really, really old. There are records of black-eyed peas being eaten for good luck on New Year's Day all the way back to ancient Babylonia. It must have worked, because look at all the good fortune that has befallen the middle east since then. Okay, maybe that's not the best example. This...

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Doing the Limbo

For me, this time between Christmas and New Years is the laziest week of the year. Many are off work, and those that aren't are probably doing a half-assed job anyway. Generally people are tired, distracted, and really not into any heavy thinking. This is exactly how I feel. Anyway, to help make up for this just-phoned-it-in post, I will say that I have so many exciting things planned for the new year, including a video on how to do your own sous vide steaks at home (my first test pictured here), using absolutely no special equipment. Spoiler alert: it was awesome. Stay tun...

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When it Comes to Beef, I Usually Leave Wellington Alone

Photo (c) David Blaine's Flickr PhotostreamI get lots of requests for Beef Wellington, especially around the holidays. In case you don't know, Beef Wellington is a whole tenderloin of beef, covered in foie gras pate, coated with a rich mushroom paste, wrapped in buttery puff pastry and baked to a golden brown. Sound good doesn't it? That's the problem.The idea of Beef Wellington is amazing, and the aforementioned list of ingredients is spectacular together, but I've always considered the actual dish more of a risky showpiece than anything else.I can sear a filet mignon steak, top it with mushrooms...

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New Year's Eve Menu Idea: Stuffed and Rolled Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Pan Jus

Yesterday's Pork Diablo recipe reminded me of this Stuffed and Rolled Pork Tenderloin recipe I posted over three years ago. This is one of my favorite recipes on the entire blog, and when I saw it only had 14 comments I realized that many of you might not have seen it yet.It's funny to see and hear how the videos have evolved. This is some very early work, and was shot with a tiny web cam. There's no music, the sound sucks, and the video rambles on for over 8 blurry minutes. That said, there is a certain charm to it, and I got a kick out of watching it today.Like I said, the recipe is a favorite,...

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Pork Tenderloin "Diablo" – The Devil is in the Details

This roasted pork recipe is the first meat dish I remember learning in culinary school. It was demonstrated by a German chef at the Hotel Saranac, and when I asked why it was called "Diablo," he said because that means "devil." Um, thanks. Eventually I learned that "Diablo," referred to the old-school culinary terminology for something spicy being, "deviled." Back then entrée's had names. Dishes like Beef Wellington, Clams Casino, Steak Diane, Lobster Thermidor, and this Pork Diablo, would be proudly displayed across menus in bold font, followed by the chef's brief description.Nowadays, naming...

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Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas!

Ornament Photo (c) Elin B's Flickr Photostream Michele and I are heading up to Bodega Bay today for Christmas with the family, but before we do, we wanted to wish all of you who celebrate, a very Merry Christmas! I hope you'll also be surrounded by loved ones, and of course, lots of great food. The holiday table is the perfect reminder of what an amazing effect home cooking can have on the people around you. We'll be taking a little break from the blog until Monday (I may actually try to go a whole day without looking at email, but we'll see about that one). Have fun, play nice, travel safe,...

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Brussels Sprouts Roasted with Cipollini Onions – Warning: Takes Longer than 60 Seconds

As many of you know, I also do recipe videos for About.com, but what you don't know, and would probably never guess, is that out of all the recipes I've produced for them, the most popular is a Brussels sprouts dish!It's called 60-Second Brussels Sprouts, and you can see the original post here. As the name suggests, the recipe calls for a super-fast sear-and-serve approach. Here, we're at the other end of the spectrum. These actually get cooked twice, and for a much longer time.The secret here is a quick blanching in boiling salted water, and then 15 or 20 minutes in a really hot oven. The searing...

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Take a Little Break from Christmas Shopping and Vote!

You're out there shopping, stressed, tired, hungry, and at your wit's end. Why not take a break, and go vote in the 2011 Tasty Award's Viewer's Choice Award? How will this help you? It won't, but it would be really cool if you did it anyway.As some of you may know, I'm nominated in the "Home Chef in a Series" category, so if you would like to help, please click here to vote! It's the fifth category. Thank you so mu...

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A Christmas Lasagna

It only took about 300 food wishes before it finally came true, but here is my favorite lasagna. Since this is such a traditional Italian-American Christmas recipe, I figured what better time to post it? By the way, this is simply my rendition of Italian-American lasagna, and not intended to claim any type of superiority, authenticity, or other such nonsense. If your Nonna uses fresh pasta, or insists on a béchamel, then bless her heart, but that's not how this half-Italian rolls. There are only two things you need for great lasagna; a thick, rich, super-meaty meat sauce, and lots of it; and a...

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It's Time for Michele's Famous Christmas Gingerbread Cake

My wife Michele makes this great gingerbread cake every Christmas, and in addition to being quite delicious, it's really simple and would be a perfect item to bring to any holiday party.It has a very simple lemon glaze on top, but also works nicely topped with lemon curd, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.This has been posted previously, and here is the original post in case you'd like some more information. Enjoy!Click here for Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Glaze Recipe.Photo (c) Flickr user terren in Virgi...

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This Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Recipe (Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil) Almost Left Me Speechless!

I hope this video recipe for Spaghetti Aglio e Olio looks better than it sounds! A fairly minor cold led to a few days of semi-laryngitis, but I just couldn't wait any longer, so I summoned up my best Phyllis Diller impersonation and went for it. Like Phyllis always said, "the show must go on!"Spaghetti aglio e olio is about as primal a pasta dish as there is. This is easily the most popular spaghetti recipe in Italy, and if you'll pardon the probably-annoying-to-Italians analogy, the comfort food equivalent to our "mac and cheese."This is a very simple recipe – in fact, the recipe is much easier...

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Why Fried Gnocchi is a Bad Idea

They say timing is everything, and that was certainly the case this morning. Due to a blur of licensing contracts, book proposals, travel arrangements, and other less-than-enjoyable administrative duties, I was in serious need of a chuckle. Well, this video sent to me via @mysticl on Twitter sure took care of that! I hope you love this guy's laugh as much as I did. This is from Webstaurantstore's YouTube channel. Enj...

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How to Make Horseradish Sauce and Giving the Gift of Summer

You Curb Your Enthusiasm fans may find this post, "a little saucy." First up, we have a quick and dirty tutorial for making homemade horseradish sauce. It makes me a little sad when I see someone in the market buying a jar of horseradish sauce. You know I have nothing against the convenience of using the occasional prepared sauce, as a good jar of marinara or carton of organic broth can save hours in the kitchen. However, a cold sauce like this only takes minutes, and the results will be noticeably superior to even the least picky. It will also include about 12 less ingredients. If you are...

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Coming Soon: Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

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Holiday Gift Idea: Homemade Herb Salt – Remember, You're Not Cheap, You're Creative!

Homemade, edible holiday gifts are kind of tricky. There is a fine line between giving a unique, thoughtful, carefully prepared gourmet goodie, and giving someone something that looks like it was just an easy way out. Hopefully, this beautiful looking and smelling fresh herb "finishing" salt will be seen as the former.If this looks familiar, I did a similar version a few years ago for About.com, and since I needed a Holiday-themed gift idea to film for this year's YouTube Holiday Solution Center, I decided to give it another go.As you'll see, I used rosemary and lemon thyme, but other hearty green...

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Eight Great Christmas Appetizers

It's about time to plan your Christmas menu, and no matter how marvelous your main courses are, the appetizers need to be just as special. Here are eight of my favorite holiday entertaining ideas. Enjoy!Prosciutto-Wrapped AsparagusSavory Chocolate CrostiniTurkey Cocktail MeatballsArtichoke Hearts GratinCandied Bacon StripsSpinach Artichoke DipClams CasinoCalabrese Lolli...

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You're a Viewer and Have a Choice: Please Vote for Chef John in the Tasty Awards!

One problem I've always wanted is not being able to keep track of which online awards I'm up for, and which contests I should be asking people to vote in. Well, my wish has come true.As many of you may know, I was nominated for a 2011 Tasty Award in the "Home Chef in a Series" category, but I forgot to inform everyone that there is also a Viewer's Choice Award, which quite frankly is my best shot at heading down to Hollywood and taking home a trophy. So, if you would like to help make my Tasty dreams come true, please click here to vote! It's the fifth category. Thank you so mu...

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Lamb Caldero – A Shank that Won't Break the Bank

This lovely Latin lamb shanks recipe is the result of a little experiment I just did with the help of my friends from Imusa. You all know how much I love my Le Creuset Dutch oven, but I realize the high cost puts it over the budgets of most home cooks. So, I was interested to see how this "caldero," which costs under $30 would perform.The model they sent me looked like a Dutch oven, but was so incredibly light that I really wasn't sure how it would work. I assumed the caldero would be fine for the browning step, and it was. My main concern was would the ultra lightweight lid be heavy enough to...

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Gluten-Free Butternut Squash Cakes with Chef John and His Wacky Sidekick Stephanie

This video recipe for butternut squash cakes is a team effort between me and my friend, Stephanie Stiavetti, from Wasabimon.com. Stephanie eats gluten-free, and since this is one area I have very little experience in, I gladly accepted her invitation to come over and film a GF dish.I'm notoriously reclusive when working, so it was nice to get out for an afternoon of tag-team food blogging. We thought it would be fun to shoot the video together, but then each of us edit and post our own versions. I'm looking forward to seeing Stephanie's, and I hope she enjoys mine!With all due respect to Stephanie's...

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All I Want for Christmas is a Few More Links

Hey, you can't say I'm not easy to shop for! As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I decided not to do a holiday donation fundraiser for the blog this year. Happily, because of all the new projects, I didn’t feel the urgent need to beg for money to keep afloat like past years. Also, I've decided I'd like something more important than money. I'd like links.For a site that gets as much traffic as we do, there are relatively few other websites that link to Food Wishes. One problem with spending 95% of my time on production and the creative process is that it leaves very little time to surf the web,...

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