CHOURICO WITH ARUGULA PESTO
Posted: October 14, 2026 in Carnivore!, Food, frying, Recipes, Rhode Island, Southern New EnglandTags: arugula, chourico, food, pesto, recipes
Chourico is as important to the Portuguese as bacon is to us Lithuanians. Here in Southern New England, they pronounce it “sha-rees,” not “chaw-reezo!”
I was joking with a friend the other day that if I won the lottery, I could buy a lifetime supply of chourico at my favorite store: Mello’s, in Fall River, Mass. His response was: “Is there such a thing as a lifetime supply of chourico?!”
Good point!
If you’ve had really great chourico, you’re always looking for new ways to include it in your cooking. Inspired by chef Chuck Hughe’s recipe, this is a great chourico appetizer that’s really easy to make. Whip up the arugula pesto ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. Then when guests come, just slice the chourico, sauté it in a pan until brown, and serve.
3 cups fresh baby arugula
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup + one tablespoon grated Parmigiano Reggiano
2 lbs. chourico, sliced into 1/2″ pieces
Combine the arugula, walnuts, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and the 1/2 cup of cheese in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Set the remaining tablespoon of cheese aside for garnishing later.
Remove the casing from the chourico and slice it into 1/2″ thick pieces. Sauté the chourico slices in a pan until both sides are caramelized and golden.
Place the chourico on a plate, topping with some of the pesto. Sprinkle a touch of the grated cheese to garnish. Serve immediately, while the chourico is still hot!
Margeaux is located in the Porter Square Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I had the opportunity to dine there recently, and it was a really enjoyable experience.
Where most restaurants don’t want to bother with varying portion sizes, Margeaux excels. You can order just about every as a small plate or main course. You can combine random plates or go with 3 that follow a particular theme. And sharing plates is encouraged.
With the many meats we chose to share, a glass from a flight of wine was always the perfect match!
Had a blast hanging out with my buddy, John, in Cambridge, MA, yesterday, at the ultimate tiki bar: Wusong Road!
The entryway was decorated for Halloween, but this massive place is all tiki! So much fun!
We were just there for cocktails, but next time I will return for the food.
Two zombies was the limit!
BAKED ZITI, CLASSIC OLD-SCHOOL ITALIAN COMFORT FOOD
Posted: October 11, 2026 in Food, Italian, pasta, RecipesTags: Bechamel, dinner, food, GF, gluten-free, Italian, lasagna, pasta, recipe, recipes, ziti
My baked ziti recipe is always a crowd pleaser. This time, I used rigatoni pasta, because that’s what I had in the cupboard, but use whatever shape you like.
As a teenager growing up on Long Island, I worked long hours at a local Italian restaurant called Pizza City East in Plainview. (The original Pizza City was in Ozone Park, Queens.) Though the pay sucked, I made some important friendships that have lasted to this day. I also learned many Italian cooking basics: how to open clams for red and white clam sauce, the secrets of great pizza dough, the art of a perfect espresso, and how to make massive quantities of baked ziti.
When I got older and I shared an apartment with my buddy, Don, we would regularly invite a large crowd of people over for a party, and a huge tray of baked ziti was an inexpensive and hugely popular way to feed a crowd that was doing some serious drinking.
The basic ingredients of baked ziti are the same as lasagna, the main difference being the wetness factor. If you make lasagna too wet, the thing will fall apart when you try to slice it. But baked ziti is meant to be sloppy, and it actually shines in its incredible gooiness!
My baked ziti consists of a meat sauce and 4 cheeses (ricotta, mozzarella, provolone, and Parmigiano Reggiano) using pasta that is boiled much firmer than al dente. Technically, I like to use penne, not ziti. It’s firmer, and really works well with this recipe. And there are plenty of great pasta choices out there for gluten-free diets. Our favorite brand of GF pasta is Garofalo.
I used to add a béchamel sauce to this recipe, but I’ve found that plain milk does the job just as well. Béchamel is better used in lasagna, where you want a bit of a thickening agent to keep it firm.
Meat Sauce…
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 lb. grass-fed ground beef or pastured pork, or a combination of both
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil for sautéing
Heat a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil in a large pan and sauté the onions until translucent. I finely chop the carrots by peeling them all the way down until there’s nothing but a pile of peeled pieces, then chopping them up so small, they almost melt into the sauce. Add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Add the beef (or pork) and cook the meat until it browns. Add the parsley, oregano, basil, salt, garlic and pepper and mix well.
Empty the can of tomatoes into a blender and blend it until smooth. Add this to the pan and mix well.
Cook the meat sauce for about 10 minutes, then remove it from the heat and set it aside.
4 slices provolone cheese (about 4 oz.), chopped
ricotta cheese (about 8 oz.)
mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 8 oz.)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 cup whole milk
12 oz. small pasta, like ziti or penne
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine the provolone, ricotta, mozzarella (save a little bit to sprinkle on top at the end), Parmigiano Reggiano, and milk. Add this mixture to the meat sauce and mix well.
For baked ziti, I use a deeper pan than I would for lasagna, about 4″ deep.
Boil the pasta in a pot of salty boiling water until very firm…firmer than al dente. Drain the pasta and pour it into the pan. Add the cheese and sauce mix and mix it all really well.
Smooth the top of the ziti mix flat with the back of a large spoon, then sprinkle the remaining mozzarella evenly over the top. Sprinkle a little oregano on top, and place the pan in the oven to bake for 30 minutes, or until the mozzarella on top is a beautiful golden brown.
Berkshire pork is very special. Humanely raised, it’s got a lot of fat, and it’s “good fat.” So when I trim a piece of it, like the pork chop I had last night, I take that fat and render it in a pan, then save it in my little pork fat piggy! Ready to use another time!
THE VELVET ELVIS
Posted: October 9, 2026 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, mixology, Recipes, restaurants, travelTags: Capital Grille, cocktails, drinks, food, recipe, recipes, stoli, Stoli Doli, travels, vodka
As I mentioned previously, Stoli filed for bankruptcy in 2024, and now they’re getting rid of their USA inventory. I grew up with this vodka, so I’m making sure I have a supply of it at home before it’s all gone.
I consider Stoli elit to be the best vodka out there, so I’ve already secured my stash! (I never mix with it.)
And I consider Stoli Vanilla to be the best vanilla vodka you can find. This recipe , which I’ve been making for many years, is still my favorite way to use it in a cocktail.
The inspiration for this incredibly easy to make cocktail is the famous Capital Grille Stoli Doli. I think I’ve done it one better with my Velvet Elvis.
A Stoli Doli is simply Stoli vodka that has been infused with fresh pineapple. If you sit at the bar at the Capital Grille, you won’t be able to miss the very large jar of freshly-cut pineapple pieces swimming in vodka. They literally pour it “from the tap,” and serve it straight up, like a martini, or on the rocks. It’s delicious, and I’ve certainly had my share of them.
I decided to make my own at home one day, to serve to my friends at an upcoming party. But to my disappointment, I didn’t have any Stoli vodka in the house. (An embarrassment to most Lithuanians.) But…I found a bottle of Stoli Vanilla, and it changed everything! I used that instead of regular Stoli and I came up with a sweeter, smoother drink that is now legendary among my friends.
VELVET ELVIS
2 ripe, sweet pineapples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1.75ml Stoli Vanilla
Find a gallon-sized glass jar with a lid. Peel, core and slice the pineapples and drop the pieces in the jar. Pour the vodka in, mix well, and seal the jar. Keep it at room temperature for 7–10 days, giving it a gentle shake every day.
After 7–10 days (don’t worry…a little longer won’t hurt anything), strain it, squeezing the pineapple pieces to get every bit of liquid out. Discard the pineapple pieces. (As much as you might think they would be fun to munch, they’ve given up all their flavor to the cocktail, and taste terrible!)
Keep the Velvet Elvis refrigerated. Serve with rocks (or 1 big rock!), or shaken and poured into a martini glass.
The end is near for the vodka that I literally grew up with.
I remember my dad having a bottle of Stoli in the freezer, and when Mom’s cooking was a bit too greasy, he would pour himself a shot of vodka instead of reaching for the Pepto! And he started pouring me a little bit somewhere around my 12th birthday!
Stoli filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and are now selling off all of their USA inventory. What that means is, if you like Stoli, especially what I consider to be the best vodka out there, Stoli elit, get to your liquor store now. Many have already sold out of the product.
And my version of the Stoli Doli, made famous at the Capital Grille, is called the Velvet Elvis. I use Stoli Vanilla with pineapple and it’s fantastic! So grab yourself a 1.75 ml bottle, and I will repost the recipe.
Getting back on my diet required some changes. Here a few things that I’ve tried that have pleasantly surprise me.
