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How I Turned Ham, Cabbage + Beans into…Pasta Cavalo con Polpette di Proscuitto Cotto e Fagioli

OK, who has leftover ham squirreled in the freezer from the holidays? This one’s for you!

There was an article in the food section of The New York Times this week about using leftover meat mixed with raw meat to make meatballs. I don’t know about that, but the idea of meatballs made from leftover meat lingered. And, somewhere in the recesses of my brain, it met up with all the pork and cabbage dishes I’d seen around the blogosphere New Year’s weekend — and the idea for this dish was born. Continue Reading

Tips for Making a Really Great Paella

Most people think Paella is the national dish of Spain but that would be disputed by the Spaniards who consider it a regional dish. There is no dispute, however, that it is their most popular and widely-known dish.

There are myriad recipes out there for paella. This post goes beyond them. Do you want to know what makes a really good killer paella? Continue Reading

Wine with Food…Dammit!

Not quite a revolt of the masses so to speak but Leila, a/k/a @flyingpigfoodie, started this sub-group of So FL Foodies after attending several wine tasting events where diverting attention from the wine, even to pair it with food(!), was frowned upon, seriously poo poo-ed :-( . I wasn’t there but I can just picture the group mantra came about with this lighthearted chant.

(we want) wine with food dammit! Continue Reading

Date-Almond Pesto: The Best Thing I Ever Ate…Recently

2011 officially started off with a fabulously decadent New Year’s Eve dinner of caviar and blinis, foie gras, and a perfectly steamed 2-lb. lobster (per person).

I didn’t think it could get any better — and maybe it hasn’t, but that meal was the genesis for this lip-smacking and unique sweet and savory pesto.

With such an extravagant meal (not to mention ?# glasses of champagne), I could not finish my lobster so I went home with leftovers (the whole tail and 2 claws). I know that’s what most people eat first but I’ve always had a “Hoover” approach to eating lobster, sucking out the carcass and going from there.

So one day not long after the holiday (who could wait?), I popped the tail out of the freezer for my dinner.

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Country Pork Ribs, Red Cabbage + Apples

The aroma emanating from the oven tantalized. I wanted to turn the temperature up to get it cooked sooner, but I waited patiently. I set the table, I started this post, I poured a glass of wine. And I waited. The dish slow cooked at 325 degrees for about an hour-and-a-half.

The wait was worth it. The pork was tasty and the cabbage and apples mingled with the drippings created a hint of sweet, salt and spicy (my favorite flavor combo). Continue Reading

Caper Pesto (Pesti di Caperi)

My friend Liz forwarded me an email she received with a selection of pesto recipes which are attributable to Southern Italy. They included garlic pesto, mint + parsley pesto and this very interesting caper pesto.

I don’t have a photo of the pesto alone as I wasn’t planning to do a post about it but after the pasta was tossed and I took the first bite, I knew I had to share it.

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