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Can you believe it is almost Memorial Day? Since the first relatively nice day we had this spring, I’ve been dreaming of warm weather and outdoor grilling; I cannot wait to kick off the unofficial start of summer with a true backyard barbecue! To break in my grill for the season, what better choice than to get some ribs on the grill?
I have a few recipes on my blog for Slow Cooker Ribs, dripping in yummy homemade barbecue sauce. But when it comes to ribs on the grill, I like mine smoky and seasoned with a flavorful dry rub, like this recipe for Memphis Style Grilled Ribs. Grilling ribs takes some time but is a pretty simple process. Cooking them low and slow results in a wonderfully tender meat that is nice and juicy on the inside, with a beautiful crust on the outside.
I picked up a rack of Smithfield Fresh Pork Back Ribs from Walmart, as well as some charcoal, and hickory wood chips. Smithfield Fresh Pork ribs are hand-trimmed and have no added hormones or steroids. They are extra tender and juicy, making them perfect for grilling.
(As a said above, smoky ribs are a favorite of mine!) I love love love the flavor that charcoal imparts on grilled food.
Adding some chips on top of the charcoal adds another level of smoky flavor to the ribs.
There is a little cafe in Old City Philadelphia that I absolutely love called Wedge and Fig. It’s essentially a cheese shop converted into a bistro, so they really know how to choose the best cheese for a particular dish. One of my absolute favorite dishes they serve on their brunch menu is a spinach and cheese strata “savory layers of egg, Cantal cheese, spinach, shallots and bread.” It’s absolutely fantastic.
This weekend, I kind of had an epiphany: strata is a great make ahead option! I decided to make a batch of my own ahead of a busy week, and then portioned it out into containers to bring into work.
Like Wedge and Fig’s version, I used Cantal cheese, spinach and shallots. Cantal is a farmhouse cheese from France that has a flavor somewhat similar to Cheddar — buttery and tangy. I added in some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as well as some sourdough bread to bring a bit more tanginess to the dish.
My husband grew up on Long Island, so it’s probably no surprise that one of his favorite foods is pizza. I’ve made a few different types of pizza on my blog, including this yummy pan pizza. This time, with the help of OXO, I decided to make a thin crust pizza.
OXO has a bunch of tools to make pizza making super simple. Their Non-Stick Pro Pizza Pan features a micro-textured pattern to improve airflow for even baking and rigidity for strength and durability. The Complete Grate & Slice Set includes coarse and medium grating and straight and julienne slicing surfaces. Each can be used over bowls or plates or placed on top of the lid, which doubles as a container for collecting and measuring. The set helps prep all your toppings for your pizza including slicing veggies and grating both hard and soft cheeses. I actually used the julienne slicing surface for this salad I made last week. The OXO 4″ Pizza Wheel‘s clear plastic wheel won’t damage non-stick pans, and the slick surface prevents cheese from sticking.
Pizza is a great weeknight meal, and can be made in under 30 minutes!
We decided to keep it relatively simple, but you can add whatever you’d like on top. This pizza is topped with a homemade pizza sauce, mozzarella and fontina cheese, and prosciutto slices. After cooking, I garnished it with some freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, and thinly sliced fresh basil.
Tomorrow is one of my favorite events of the year: Flavors on the Avenue! I’ve written past posts about this event, but this year, they are switching things up a bit. The event, usually held under a tent, is coming out onto the street to make for what should be a pretty awesome five block street festival tomorrow, April 30 from noon to 5 pm. The event will be held around the Singing Fountain at the intersection of S 11th, Tasker and Passyunk.
Tickets aren’t required to attend the event, although they are strongly encouraged. Cost is $50 each and include all of the dishes, two glasses of beer or wine, and valet parking – a $130 value. You can also pay as you go; each dish will be priced at $3 to $6. Further details can be found here.
East Passyunk Avenue is known for its fantastic restaurants, and a bunch of them (27!) are participating in this event. There will also be free kids’ activities and a crafter’s market. Here is a list of participants and the food they will be serving: (note: options shown in photos above are in bold)
Bing Bing Dim Sum: Pork Buns, Corn Rangoon
Birra: Pizza slices, plain and pepperoni
Brigantessa: Chorizo Cotto with whipped ricotta and peas
Cantina los Caballitos: Tacos al Pastor, Elote, Classic and Cucumber Margaritas
Chhaya: Fried chicken and waffles, Iced coffee
El Sarape: Tacos al Pastor, Pina Coladas
Fond: Salmon Tartare with sesame, nori and avocado
Izumi: Pork Gyoza
Laurel: Chocolate egg cream pudding pops
Le Virtu: Octopus and chick pea salad
Mamma Maria: Cheese ravioli
Marra’s: Mozzarella pizza
Noir: Arancini balls, watermelon salad
Noord: Bitterballen (Dutch meatballs with nutmeg and mustard)
Paradiso: Arancini Di Riso
Perla: Pork Belly, Adobo with garlic rice
Plenty Cafe: Choripan (Traditional South African sandwich with chorizo, chimichurri, and pickled red onion on a baguette)
Will BYOB: Caramelized onion crepes, Banana and caramel crepes
I had the opportunity to go on a media tour a try a bunch of these bites. Noord’s Bitterballen remains one of my favorites (they serve it every year, and every year I love them). New to Flavors is Sate Kampar, and all of their offerings are fantastic! Absolutely go try the Achat, Sago Hula Melaka, and Chicken Sate.
One of the restaurants on the media tour was Brigantessa. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my high praise for their Charred Ramp Arancini. They were absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, Brigantessa is not serving these for Flavors, but is serving Chorizo Cotto with Whipped Ricotta and Peas that sounds right up my alley as well. There will be plenty of arancini available though, a few restaurants are serving it.
I wanted to try my hand at making the Brigantessa Aracini, so here goes! I adapted this recipe to include charred ramps, which adds a slight onion flavor to the cheesy rice ball.
I’m fairly certain all avid cooks dream of the day they will receive their first piece of Le Creuset cookware or bakeware. Le Creuset products are also a staple on wedding registries. So when I was contacted to help spread the word that a Le Creuset store was opening in the King of Prussia Mall (outside Philadelphia) I absolutely wanted to get the word out. How exciting! I’m pretty pumped to visit it for the first time. The store is near the Macy’s; you can park and enter through the Orange Garage. (Address: 160 N Gulph Road • Suite C226A • King of Prussia, PA 19406)
To celebrate, the Le Creuset store hosted three separate events this past weekend, including bubbles bites with Yellow Springs Farm, a cooking demonstration with chef Ben Thomas, and sweet treats and coffee with Aux Petites Delices and La Colombe.
I was also sent a beautiful Rectangular Dish with Platter Lid, which is great for casseroles as well as for marinating in the dish and using the platter to serve.
To try it out, I decided to make a Filipino recipe I’ve been eyeing up for a while: Pork Belly Adobo. The recipe is pretty simple; you marinate the pork belly in a soy sauce marinade, brown the pork, and simmer in the marinade to finish cooking. But the result is fan-tas-tic.
Ingredients:
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
5 pounds boneless pork belly, cut into 2-inch pieces
Today is Good Friday, which means it’s about time I shared a recipe for Hot Cross Buns!
Hot Cross Buns are a sweet slightly spiced bun with dried fruit. A cross made of icing is piped on top. They are traditionally made and served on Good Friday as a way to break the fasting associated with Lent. There are a bunch of superstitions surrounding hot cross buns. My favorite is that gifting a hot cross bun on Good Friday guarantees friendship between the recipient and gift giver for the year.
Hot Cross Buns aren’t exactly the easiest recipe; it took me most of the day to make them because you need time to let the dough rise. But these tasty little guys are worth it.
I am not shy about my love of Cooking Light magazine. Their recipes are what got me started on my cooking journey. Not only are their recipes on the healthier side, but most are also great for weeknight meals. This recipe for Dijon Herb Crusted Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce is no different.
Seafood in general is a great weeknight option because it tends to take less time to cook. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a big fan of seafood, particularly salmon; I have almost 40 recipes for salmon alone on this blog!
So when I spotted a new salmon recipe in my most recent Cooking Light, well, I had to make it.
One of my favorite parts of this blog is challenging myself to use new and different ingredients and/or new and different techniques. So when I was contacted to participate in CFE’s International Saltfish Blogger Recipe Challenge, I jumped at the chance.
So what exactly is saltfish? It is fish, typically cod, pollock, or other white fish cured with dry salt to preserve it. This method of preservation dates back centuries, as it helped preserve fish without refrigeration.
CFE International offers a number of brands of salt fish: Buena Ventura, Cristobal, BacalaRico, and Isla Brisa. For this challenge, I was sent some Isla Brisa Salted Alaska Pollock Fillets to use in a recipe. (You can find these brands of saltfish in your local Cousins, H-Mart, Jetro, Price Chopper, and Price Rite supermarkets.)
I decided to do a spin on Brandade (Whipped Salt Fish Spread), a salt fish spread popular in Mediterranean countries. It’s also known as Brandada in Spain, and Baccala Mantecato in Italy.
The spread is whipped salt fish, potatoes, olive oil, and cream with seasoning and is served with crusty bread. My version below adds in some roasted garlic, caramelized onions, and horseradish to add new layers of flavor.
You can never have too many weeknight meals, especially chicken recipes! For this dinner, I combined two Cooking Light recipes (Pesto Chicken with Blistered Tomatoes and Orzo and Herb Pilaf) to make one dinner, and served it with a simple salad on the side.
Any recipe that uses pesto is a winner in my book. This particular pesto uses spinach, basil, and parsley to deliver a more complex flavor.
NOTE: I was sent some blood oranges and cara cara oranges from The Limoneira Company to use in a recipe. All opinions are mine.
It’s pretty obvious that I love citrus, I use the juice and zest of lemons, limes, and oranges in most of my recipes, so I’m excited to share this recipe for Frozen Blood Orange Margaritas.
So when The Limoneira Company contacted me to help spread the word about their new offerings, I jumped at the chance. Limoneira is traditionally known for its lemons, but recently began expanding their orchards to include more specialty citrus, including Cara Cara and Blood Oranges.
Blood Oranges have a slightly less acidic taste than regular oranges, and their bright red color makes for some really beautiful dishes. I wanted to showcase their color, so I decided to make blood orange margaritas.
As much as I am trying to will it to be spring, it is still pretty cold in Philadelphia, so this version has a bit of cinnamon to add a bit of warmth to the flavor.
This recipe for Arepas Pabellón is inspired by a visit to an absolutely delicious Venezuelan restaurant. Last week, I checked out one of Philly’s newest restaurants: Puyero Venezuelan Flavor.
source: puyeroflavor.com
Located just off of South Street on S 4th, the restaurant serves Venezuelan street food including arepas, patacones and tequenos, plus yummy desserts like churros.
The 22-seat restaurant is vibrant and colorful, very welcoming. I enjoyed reading a selection of Venezuelan sayings that decorate one of the walls; my favorite: “Más hambre que piojo en peluche” or “I’m hungrier than a tick on a teddy bear.”
Owned by brothers Simon and Gil, and Gil’s wife Manuela, the restaurant has a very “homey” feel to it. The entire menu is available for lunch and dinner, with brunch options coming in the spring. You can also order delivery through Caviar (which I’ve totally already done. Hence the photos below, showing my delivery food).
While there, I tried quite a few menu items, but my favorites were the tequenos, white cheese wrapped in deep fried dough, and arepas pabellon, which is an arepa filled with shredded beef, black beans, fried sweet plantains, and white cheese.
I wanted to try to make Arepas Pabellón for myself at home. This recipe can be made ahead of time, reheated, and assembled when ready to eat.
Shredded Beef:
garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup crushed tomatoes
4
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tablespoon hot sauce
Arepas:
1 1/2 cups masarepa (a type of cornmeal found in the international section of most supermarkets. white or yellow is fine)
Chelo Kebab or Chelow Kebab is a Persian dish made with steamed saffron rice and kebabs. This version parboils the rice which then browns in a large pan, covered with a cloth, and steams with a little bit of butter to deliver a crispy, golden crust.
The lamb kebobs are marinated for hours to lock in flavor. The result is probably one of my favorite dishes I’ve made recently; it’s well worth the morning prep to have an amazing dinner!
Ingredients:
Kebab:
2 onions, very finely chopped (or pureed)
2 garlic cloves, minced (or pureed)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
We’ve been pretty lucky weather-wise in Philadelphia recently, but are back to it feeling like actual winter. Blah.
I’ve been dreaming of warmer weather (and warmer weather recipes)! I must not be the only one, because the Florida Keys & Key West are hosting an awesome event tomorrow night to help the Philadelphia area dream of the sun and sand.
Tomorrow, 24 of Philadelphia’s top food writers and influencers are getting behind the stove to face off “Iron Chef style” at Walnut Hill College. The influencer who creates the best Keys-inspired dishes within the time limit will win a trip to the Florida Keys and be named an honorary Keys Chef. Guest judges from the Keys will include Chef Bobby Stoky and Philadelphia’s favorite son Pat Croce. The sold out event includes an evening of food, cocktails, fun and friendly competition.
How awesome would it be to win a trip to the Keys? The Florida Keys are a string of tropical islands off the southern tip of Florida and are known for their awesome fishing, snorkeling and scuba diving. In fact, the Keys have the only living coral barrier reef in the U.S., not to mention awesome food and drink. The most well known dish from the Florida Keys is Key Lime Pie.
I was bummed that I wouldn’t be able to attend, but still wanted to get in on the fun, so I decided to make a spin on Key Lime Pie — Key Lime Pie Cupcakes!
Key Limes are smaller than “normal” limes and are a bit more tart. These little guys don’t give off a lot of juice though, so it takes quite a bit to make this recipe. Key Lime Pie is made with key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk to make a smooth, tangy pie filling with a graham cracker crust.
Ingredients:
Crust:
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
My husband and I (obviously) love trying new and different recipes. Living in Philadelphia, we are lucky enough to have a pretty solid restaurant scene, covering quite a range of cuisines. So my interest is always peaked by a recipe I haven’t tried before that comes from a different part of the world and I can make at home, like this recipe for Cape Malay Curry.
Cape Malay Curry comes from Cape Town, South Africa. Beginning in the 17th century, slaves from Indonesia and Southeast Asia were brought to work the farms of Cape Town, South Africa. Known as Cape Malays, the name “Cape” is derived from the Cape of Good Hope and “Malay” refers to the community’s Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean ancestry.
The Cape Malay community has had a lot of influence on South African foods, particularly with the introduction of certain spices, hot sauces, and curries. This chunky beef stew is a sweet and savory curry dish, which reminds me a bit of my husband’s favorite meal, Slow Cooker Chicken and Chickpea Tagine, so I had a feeling we’d like this recipe.
This is definitely a weekend meal; it simmers on the stove for 2 hours. However, it could easily be multiplied to make a large batch and frozen for future meals.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 1/4 cups less-sodium beef broth
1 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup apricot spread
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk (or coconut milk to make dairy-free)
