These crispy yuca fries are often presented as a healthier alternative to fried potatoes, but the taste and texture is so good, I think it would be more appropriate to describe French fries as a less-healthy alternative to these. They really are that good, and do a great job of bridging the gap between regular fried potatoes, and sweet potato fries.
Once fried, the texture is remarkably similar to a russet or Kennebec potato (the variety most commonly used for fries and chips), and while these do have a slightly sweeter taste, it�s not nearly as pronounced as a sweet potato. Like I mentioned in the video, I always regret ordering sweet potato fries, since, to my palate at least, they�re just not savory enough, which is not the case with these.
Just be sure to boil them first, since they can be toxic eaten raw in larger amounts. Why you�d ever want to eat a big pile of raw yuca is beyond me, but the legal department wanted to mention that regardless. Anyway, once safely cooked, they can be pan-fried crispy as seen here, or deep fried, or place them on a foiled sheet pan, brush them with oil, and bake at 425 F., turning occasionally until they�re browned and crusty.
I was going to finish by listing off other ways you can use this delicious root, but to save time I�ll just say that if a recipe works with regular potato, it will work with yuca. And maybe even work better, which is why I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- Yuca root (aka cassava), peeled, cut, and boiled until just tender in salted water * Please note: on larger roots there may be a tough fibrous part running through the middle, which can be trimmed out after boiling. These didn't really have one, but you'll know if yours do.
I�ve wanted to do a video for baked cheeseburger sliders for a while now, but I�ve also been craving a meatball sub, so long story short, this is what I ended up with, and they were amazing. Above and beyond some decent ingredients, the real secret to these beauties is placing the meatball in through the top of the roll, versus splitting and stuffing in the traditional manner.
I can�t explain exactly why, but there�s something very special about these, and they really were a lot of fun to eat. Maybe it �s the symmetry, or center of gravity, but they just feel right in your hand. I�m not sure who invented this technique, but I first saw it on a blog called, Cooking for Keeps, so they get the credit for now.
Like I mention in the video, this easy procedure would lend itself to all kinds of variations, and I expect to see some great ones shared on social media soon. We�re getting close to the Super Bowl, and like I said before, it�s not about who wins the trophy, but rather who wins the snack table, and if you show up with these, that will be you. So, I really do hope you give these meatballs-stuffed garlic bread sliders a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 18 Meatball-Stuffed Garlic Bread Sliders:
18 dinner rolls (I used Hawaiian rolls, but will try regular less-sweet ones next time)
3 tablespoons butter infused with 3 or 4 cloves of crushed or minced garlic
1 pound grass-fed beef
1 diced yellow onion and a few cloves of garlic saut�ed until soft in olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
1 large egg
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 cup grated fontina cheese, divided (big handful in the meatball mix, and the rest on top)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste
2 cups prepared tomato sauce
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for the top
I wanted to sneak in this pork belly on black-eyed peas salad video before the New Year, to help ensure you a very lucky, and prosperous 2019. Of course, there�s no guarantee this roast pork belly on black-eyed peas salad recipe will bring you good fortune in the New Year, but what if it does?
Either way, this is still one of the most delicious ways to enjoy both pork belly and black-eyed peas, and could not have been happier with how this came out. Since I�m still officially on vacation I�ll keep this post brief, but I did want to mention the bean soaking seen herein.
There are many articles online about this being an unnecessary step, and technically it is, but it�s been my experience that if you soak your beans the night before, they seem to hold their shape better, as well as cook a lot faster. So I say soak, but either way, I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year, and I really hope you start 2019 off with a big bowl of �beans and belly.� Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 portions:
For the Pork Belly:
2 pound pork belly (skin removed)
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste
- Roast at 200 F. for 7 1/2 hours
For the Black Eyed Pea Salad:
1 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight, drained
2 quarts fresh water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 bay leaf
Dressing:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoon white vinegar
1/3 cup mild olive oil or vegetable oil
1 minced garlic clove
1/3 cup finely diced red onion
2 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne to taste
Michele and I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, as we get ready for a little winter break. One of the great perks of having corporate overlords, is that they require/encourage you to use up your vacation time, and thanks to my good friends at Meredith, and Allrecipes.com, that�s what I�ll be doing this week.
However, after Christmas I will sneak in a video before New Year�s Day, which will feature a recipe guaranteed to bring you wealth and good fortune in 2019 (or your money back). So please stay tuned for that, and as always, enjoy!
My mother, Pauline, made really nice thumbprint cookies, but unfortunately I never wrote down her recipe, and so I was forced to go online to find one, so I could refresh my memory. I knew the ingredients, but unless you have them in the right proportions, you won�t end up with that perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture these iconic cookies are known for.
Above and beyond the buttery mouthfeel, we also want a cookie that has perfectly smooth edges, with none of the dreaded cracks that give away a subpar recipe. So, I did an image search, and came across a recipe that looked very similar, and believe it or not, it was credited to a Great Grandma named �Mitzi.�Since my last name is Mitzewich, that pretty much sealed the deal.
I usually have to adapt recipes I steal online, but with these, I didn�t need to change a thing. They really were perfect, as advertised. So, sincere thanks to Stacy from Wicked Good Kitchen, and her Great Grandma, Mitzi.My Mom would�ve loved these, although she would�ve asked where the chopped walnuts were, since she liked to add those to hers.
Speaking of family, if you�re entertaining some of yours during the holidays, these beautiful cookies would make a lovely addition to your dessert table, which is why I really do hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients to make 20 to 24 Thumbprint Cookies:
1 stick (1/2 cup) soft unsalted butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar (not sifted)
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (5 ounces by weight)
1/2 cup fruit jam to fill centers
- 325 F. for 15 minutes
For the icing:
- Combine powdered sugar with a little milk or water, and mix until you have a consistency that will hold its shape when piped.
Topping a thick-crust pizza with breadcrumbs might sound like a strange idea, but it really is the secret sauce behind this Sicilian Christmas Pizza. Well, that and the actual secret sauce. Speaking of secrets, whether you tell your friends and family that the sauce is made with onions and anchovies is your business, but if you think that�ll turn them off, then maybe keep it to yourself, at least until they realize it�s one of the most delicious things they�ve ever had. Hey, all�s fair in love, war, and pizza.
Besides the crispy, cheesy, crumb topping, and super savory sauce, the other secret to this amazing pizza is the extremely wet and sticky dough. You could use a more standard pizza dough for this, but it won�t be the same experience. One reason we can get away with putting breadcrumbs on the top is the contrast between that texture, and the feather-light, spongy crust. Besides, if you use enough oil on your fingers, it�s really not that hard to work with anyway.
As usual, I�m not claiming any kind of authenticity here, so I don�t feel bad that I didn�t use casciocavallo, which is the traditional cheese for this pizza. I ended up using mozzarella, aged provolone, and pecorino, which I think work very well on this, but having said that, use whatever melty cheeses you like. The same goes for adding other toppings, but I can�t imagine anything making this any more amazing that it already is. Either way, whether it�s for Christmas, or another occasion, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for a 18" X 13" Sheet Pan:
For the dough:
2 cups warm water (105 to 110 F.)
1 package dry active yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, or more as needed to achieve a very wet, sticky dough
Note: For best results, sauce should be highly seasoned
For the crumb topping:
3/4 cup fine plain dry bread crumbs
1 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
1 tablespoon anchovy oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
For the pizza:
3 ounces grated mozzarella
3 ounces aged provolone cheese
- Bake at 400 F. for about 35 minutes (go as long as you can without the crumbs on top burning, so that the crust cooks as much as possible) -- For best results, slide cooked pizza on to a cooling rack to prevent the bottom from getting soggy. --- If bottom gets soggy, pizza slices can be reheated in a dry pan, which will crisp up the crust nicely.
If you�ve never made a Yule Log because you thought it would take a lot of time and effort, then you probably made the right decision, since it does. But, if you haven�t tried this classic holiday dessert because you thought it required advanced baking and pastry skill, then get ready to b�che, since the techniques required are actually quite simple.
This classic holiday dessert is a showstopper, but it�s often better looking, than it is tasting, which is not the case here, thanks to a simple-to-make, rich chocolate sponge cake, and mocha buttercream filling. Having said that, if you have a favorite frosting or filling, literally anything you can spread will work here. As long as you can slice it later, pretty much anything goes.
I forgot to add the vanilla extract, and I�ve made that correction in the ingredients below, but above and beyond what you add to the batter, you can also drizzle the baked sponge with many delicious, possibly adult beverages. Coffee liqueur is a great choice, as is dark rum, Kirsch, and Framboise, just to name a few. This practice probably started to cover up dry, overcooked cake, which of course would never be a problem for us, but even a perfectly cooked sponge can benefit if you�re so inclined.
As far as the decorations go, just a dusted and frosted Yule log makes for a great presentation, but half the fun is creating a scene around your log, and an image search should give you plenty of ideas. I may try to sneak in a video for how to do the meringue mushrooms, but not sure exactly when. Regardless of how you decorate it, or what you flavor it with, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for one Chocolate Yule Log (8 portions): NOTE: This was for a 13 X 18" sheet pan)
2 tablespoons melted butter for greasing pan
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 large room temperature eggs (do not use cold eggs)
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla - Bake at 400 F. for 8 to 10 minutes
For the filling: NOTE: I thought mine had too much buttercream, so I'd probably use 2/3 rd for this and save the rest for cupcakes)
1 2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup room temp butter
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons coffee liquor, and or any other flavoring or extract, or a splash of milk to achieve a light, fluffy buttercream
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
Ganache frosting:
1 cup hot heavy cream
8 ounces dark chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
