Live the Live ™

Baked ziti, lasagna, and baked ravioli are all “cousins” …slightly different versions of basically the same dish. Yet each one is unique, and it’s fun to change them up when you’re in the mood for something gooey and cheesy.

I made this recipe recently, when my daughter invited some friends over, and they wanted to avoid meat. The extra layer of spinach makes it at least a tiny bit healthy! (I prefer fresh spinach over frozen, which I think tastes awful.)

I used fresh pasta for this dish (it came frozen and I thawed it), so no need to cook it ahead of baking. But you will have to cook dried pasta to a very chewy al dente stage if you choose to use it. (Not recommended for this recipe.)

1 lb. fresh or frozen raviolis (I used ravioli stuffed with burrata and spinach this time)
1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
2 cups fresh spinach, washed
1 1/2 cups shredded whole milk mozzarella
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Thaw the raviolis, if frozen, by placing them on a baking sheet with non-stick foil. Cover them with plastic wrap to keep the moisture in to avoid cracking. (It’s not a big deal if they do.)

Preheat the oven to 400° .

Blend the tomatoes in a food processor or blender, then pour them into a large bowl. Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper (to taste.)

Spread the spinach out in the bottom of a large baking pan. Take a ladle full of the sauce and mix it with the spinach to soften it and give it moisture.

Dunk the raviolis in the sauce, then lay them on top of the spinach, one by one. Then pour the sauce on top of the raviolis. (If you use tortellini, you can mix them right into the sauce, because they’re sturdy.)

Cover the raviolis evenly with the mozzarella, then with the Parmigiano Reggiano. Dust some dried oregano on top.

Bake until the cheese melts and turns golden, and the sauce is all bubbly. Let it cool a bit before serving.

Somebody in marketing made a fortune when they took a product that had been around since 1945 (the convection oven), renamed it an “air fryer,” and sold millions of them. I still call my old oven a convection oven, but whatever you call yours, this recipe will work in it.

I love cauliflower roasted, boiled, baked–whatever–but my daughter does not. But when she had it air-fried at a restaurant, she suddenly fell in love with the stuff, and I knew it was time to make some at home.

Cutting a head of cauliflower into florets is an easy thing to do. But it’s even easier to buy a bag of cauliflower florets already cut up at a supermarket or membership warehouse.

If you want this recipe to be gluten-free, do what I do: buy a loaf of Udi’s frozen white bread, toast it in the oven, and then let it dry out a bit at room temperature. Place it in a food processor and whiz it up for larger crumbs. I like my breadcrumbs fine for this recipe, so I then move them to a blender and grind them fine.

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 large eggs
1 cup of breadcrumbs (I like them unseasoned and finely milled)
spray can of olive or avocado oil

There are many versions of sweet and spicy Asian-inspired sauces and glazes out there. Simply choose the one that has your favorite ingredients. This one works really well with the cauliflower.

4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Combine these ingredients in a saucepan and bring it up to a medium heat. When it comes to a boil, take it off the heat and let it cool. (I double this recipe simply because the sauce is so good, and I’ll want to put it on other things, like chicken.)

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Scramble the 2 eggs in a bowl.

Add the breadcrumbs to another bowl.

For the oven, set up a slotted metal tray to sit on a baking tray, so that there’s airflow underneath it. The cauliflower goes on the slotted tray, and the baking tray catches any breadcrumbs that may drop. Spray some oil on the slotted tray to keep things from sticking.

Take your cauliflower pieces and place them in batches in the egg, coating them completely. Then move them to the breadcrumb bowl, tossing them to get covered. Once they’re nicely coated, place them on the slotted tray. Do the same with the rest of the cauliflower.

Spray the cauliflower with the oil, and place them in the oven, baking for 30–45 minutes, depending on how cooked you like them.

I’ve seen restaurants that completely coat the cauliflower with the sauce, but I prefer to drizzle it on, with some extra on the side for dipping.

I was minding my own business, watching an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” on Food Network. Guy Fieri went from a barbecue joint to an Italian restaurant. Pulled pork at the BBQ place, arancini at the Italian. Then it hit me….

It just so happened that I had slow-roasted a pork shoulder that day. It just so happened that I had an opened box of Arborio rice I wanted to use up. It just so happened that I had several containers of homemade chicken stock in the freezer, an open bottle of white wine in the fridge, already opened packages of mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano, and a small container of ricotta. And I just made a batch of tomato sauce from my garden tomatoes.

I mean, come on! This recipe practically wrote itself!

First, I made the risotto. There were 3 cups of Arborio rice left in the package, so I used it all up…

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
10 cups (or so) homemade chicken broth
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

I brought the chicken broth to a low simmer in a saucepan.

In a large skillet, I warmed the olive oil and rice over medium heat for a few minutes.
I added the wine and sautéed for another minute or two, until it had been absorbed.
I added the hot broth to the rice about a half-cup at a time, stirring until the broth absorbed completely each time before doing more.

I continued adding the broth a half-cup at a time and stirring until it was fully absorbed and the rice was Al dente and creamy, not mushy. This usually takes about 20 minutes…and you don’t always have to use up all the broth.

I removed the pan from the heat, and stirred in the Parmigiano Reggiano.
I set it aside and let it cool.

In a saucepan, I warmed the tomato sauce up.

Meanwhile, I chopped the mozzarella up into small cubes, a little bigger than a 1/4″ square.

I took the pork out of the fridge, and finely chopped up about a pound of it. I didn’t know if I would need that much, but it was a good start. I added about a 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese to it, mixing well, making it into a paste.

Using a scoop, I made small meatballs out of the pork mixture, pushing a cube of mozzarella into each one before rolling it into a little meatball.

Then, scooping up some of the cooled risotto with my hands, I molded it around the meatball, forming a larger rice ball, setting aside on a tray.

I used plain gluten-free breadcrumbs in this recipe to keep it GF, but regular breadcrumbs are just fine. I like to make my own breadcrumbs by toasting GF bread and then putting it in a food processor. This gets it to a crumbly stage. If I want it fine, I move the breadcrumbs to a blender to grind it down to almost a powder, first adding oregano, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and granulated onion, then blening well.

With the oil in my fryer hot and ready to go at 350 degrees, I roll each rice ball in the egg, and then the seasoned breadcrumbs.

Then I place them gently in the fryer, being careful not to overcrowd them.

I fry them until they’re golden brown.

I place the fried arancini on a wire rack to cool, sprinkling them with sea salt while they’re still hot.

I don’t know why it took me so long to try this recipe. But this year, perhaps with a late start due to a cold spring, my tomato plants didn’t start forming fruits until much later in the season. And so, I still had a lot of green tomatoes on the vine as the summer came to an end. Fried green tomatoes were the tasty solution to the problem.

It’s a really simple process of slicing the tomatoes, seasoning them with salt and pepper, dusting them with flour, dipping them in egg, and then rolling them in some flavored breadcrumbs before frying.

Good news for those that need it all gluten-free! It can happen if you follow my instructions below.

Green tomatoes, sliced
Salt and pepper
All-purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour)
2 eggs, beaten
Seasoned breadcrumbs (I make them gluten-free…see below)

At first, I sliced my tomatoes at about 1/4″ thick, but I found that if I could make them just a bit thinner, they would come out even crispier.

I placed the tomatoes on a cutting board, and seasoned them with the salt and pepper.

I then set up my 3 bowls for adding the breading. In the first bowl, the all-purpose flour. (I like using the Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour because it’s mostly rice flour and it makes the coating lighter.)

In the second bowl, I whisk a couple of eggs.

In the third bowl, I place my seasoned breadcrumbs. (You can buy Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, but I make my own by toasting a loaf of Udi GF bread, tossing the pieces into a blender to mill them down to a powder. I add oregano, basil, parsley, salt and pepper, granulated garlic and granulated onion, then whiz the blender for just a few seconds to combine everything. I place this in the third bowl.)

Then it’s time to do the one-handed method of dipping the tomato slices one-by-one into the egg, then dropping it into the breadcrumbs, where the other hand takes over to cover the tomato with a light layer of breadcrumb. Do the same for all the tomatoes.

Fry the tomatoes at 350 in an oil with a high smoke point, like grapeseed oil or avocado oil, until golden.

Place the tomato slices on a wire rack to cool, seasoning them immediately out of the fryer with some sea salt.

I’m not a jealous guy….usually. But when I saw my friends post that they’re on their way to one of my favorite islands in the world, St. John in the USVI, I wanted to just drop everything and join them.

I’ve been to St. John at least 7 times, whether solo, or with family and friends, and I always had a dream of retiring there…that is, until Hurricane Irma devastated the island almost to the day 6 years ago. (September 6, 2017) It changed St. John forever, and I haven’t been back since before that catastrophic event. I am long overdue.

I thought about the many trips I’ve taken there, and the mandatory catamaran trip we took to sip Painkillers at my all-time favorite beach bar, the Soggy Dollar on the island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands.

The Painkiller is one of the tastiest rum drinks you can make, and one that certainly brings you back to the Caribbean. And it was invented at the Soggy Dollar. Located on White Bay, a stretch of the whitest most beautiful sand in the Caribbean, surrounded by sparkling turquoise waters, there is no dock. You have to anchor your boat offshore and swim…hence the name: the Soggy Dollar.

Daphne Henderson was the owner of the Soggy Dollar years ago, and she is credited for inventing the Painkiller, which used Pusser’s rum, a British rum that is readily available here in the United States. Charles Tobias, a businessman that received permission from the British Royal Navy to commercialize Pusser’s rum in 1980, tasted the Painkiller and realized the potential of this amazing drink. He took some Painkillers home to the island of Tortola, where he experimented in recreating that drink, coming up with what he thought was something that was as good as—if not better than—the original. He called it the Pusser’s Painkiller.

Tobias never found out what Daphne Henderson’s original recipe was, but when he brought his own Pusser’s Painkillers back to the Soggy Dollar, and had a tasting battle between the two recipes, legend has it that his recipe won 10 out of 10 times. With Pusser’s bars and restaurants in the Caribbean and more in the states, Tobias quickly made the Pusser’s Painkiller the signature drink of these now-famous establishments…and perhaps the most popular drink among the sailing community in the US, Caribbean and West Indies.

The drink itself is simple…

PUSSER’S PAINKILLER

4 parts pineapple juice
1 part cream of coconut
1 part orange juice

Combine these 3 ingredients, with lots of fresh grated nutmeg in a glass with ice. How much Pusser’s rum you use depends on how hammered you want to get! A Pusser’s #2 uses 2 parts rum…a Pusser’s #3 uses 3 parts rum…and a Pusser’s #4 uses 4 parts rum!

I’ve had several Pusser’s #4’s back when there was a Pusser’s bar on St. John many years ago. I’ve also sampled them in the BVI at the Pusser’s locations on Tortola.  But I still prefer going back to Jost Van Dyke and knocking back a few at the place where the Painkiller was born, the greatest beach bar on planet Earth: the Soggy Dollar Bar.

A short time ago, there was an article that posted what they claimed was the original recipe of the Painkiller from the Soggy Dollar. It seems the only difference between the original and the Pusser’s version was the ratio of pineapple to orange juice. That’s just a personal preference.

Recently, the Soggy Dollar folks upped the game by putting their name on a line of rum. I just saw it in the store the other day, and have not yet had a chance to try it.

Whether you use this rum, Pusser’s, or whatever your favorite rum is, fact is, the best Painkiller is the one in your hand!

I didn’t mean to cheat…honest. But I wasn’t thinking when I bought my corn in the supermarket, and I bought ears that were already shucked. Classically, Mexican street corn is made by throwing unshucked ears of corn on the grill to cook them. So I improvised.

 

I took the shucked ears of corn, placed them in a pot of cold water, and brought it to a boil. I boiled the corn for just 2 minutes, removing them from the water at that point.

 

I placed the ears of corn on the grill, and watched over them carefully, rolling them back and forth so that they would have a nice char on them but wouldn’t burn. When I liked the color of the corn, I brought the ears inside and added the remaining ingredients, which can be prepared ahead of time.

 

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

Combine these ingredients in a bowl and place it in the fridge until it’s ready to use.

Cotija cheese, crumbled
Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
Fresh cilantro, finely chopped

 

Once the corn comes off the grill, brush on the mayo/sour cream mixture all over the corn. Traditionally, chili powder is sprinkled on, but I prefer the Tony Chachere’s. Sprinkle the cotija cheese on top, and garnish with a little cilantro.

I’m always looking for a new way to enjoy chicken, and I found a chicken wing recipe that sounded pretty good…but it needed a few special tweaks to make it my own.

 

 

Sweet, a bit spicy, and incredibly delicious, you can’t stop eating these wings once you get started!

My next project will be to cut up a whole chicken and use this amazing glaze on an entire bird!

3 lbs. chicken wings
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Chinese chili garlic sauce
salt and pepper
chopped scallions
white sesame seeds
chopped cilantro (optional)

 

To make the glaze, combine the ketchup, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and chili garlic sauce in a sauce pan. Simmer it over medium heat, reducing the sauce by half. Set it aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Season the chicken wings with oil, salt and pepper. Spread them out on a sheet pan lined with non-stick foil and bake them until done, about 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the sheet pan and place them in a large bowl. Raise the oven temperature to 400. Pour off any fat or liquid from the sheet pan and discard it.

 

 

Add the glaze to the bowl with the chicken and toss the wings in it until they are really nicely coated. Then return the wings to the sheet pan.

 

 

Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until you just start seeing a little char on the edges of the wings.

 

 

Plate the wings and top them with the scallions, sesame seeds, and cilantro.