Lobster Tails in Brown Butter
Spiny lobster tails straight from the Florida Keys. The only other ingredients you need to make this dish are salt, pepper, butter, few garlic cloves and some cheap white wine. Cut lobster tails in half lengthwise and season meat with salt and pepper. In a frying pan,...
Tuna Sashimi
This yellowfin tuna was delivered to my doorstep straight from the Hudson Canyon. No secret here. Quality fish handled with care from hook to plate. Slice thin and serve with soy. Tip: To properly prep the fish, pat dry and put in a ziplock in the freezer for 20-30...
Caprese Boats
This upside down Caprese Salad is super simple and delicious. The idea started with the gigantic basil leaves that our garden produced this year. We filled them with homemade ricotta and sliced cherry tomatoes and then drizzled with balsamic glaze. Simply awesome....
Italian Bread
Papa Louie perfected this Italian bread through much trial and error after not being able to find anything good in his local stores. Follow it close and it will be better than most you have ever had. This recipe will make one small loaf of Italian bread. Scale up as...
Homemade Ravioli
This is my sister's recipe for ravioli in 3, 2, 1 ... She has showed me how to make them, but I like her's better! Here you go: 3 cups all purpose flour 2 eggs beaten 1 cup water/olive oil mix (50/50) 1/2 tsp Salt 1. Put flour in the mixing bowl and create a well in...
Pasta Sauce
This is our family recipe for a simple and delicious pasta sauce. Take your time and taste frequently. The more you enjoy making it, the better it will be! Here’s what you need to make enough for up to 2 lbs of your favorite pasta: 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz) 1 can...
Thanksgiving Loaf
Here's an easy recipe for fresh baked bread that my sister makes. This will definitely be on our must have list every year for Thanksgiving! 6 cups flour 1 tsp active dry yeast 1 Tbs salt 1 Tbs honey 2 2/3 cup warm water Dutch Oven (or metal pot with a tight-fitting...
Because I Love You Baby, Back Ribs
This recipe includes the zest of 1 entire tangerine, 1/4 cup of raw sugar, 1 tablespoon of cumin, 2 table spoons of paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and a dash of cayenne and a teaspoon of salt. Rip the membrane off the back of the ribs and rinse with warm water...
Uncle Harry’s Rice
This is by far the quickest way to make perfect rice. A recipe from across the pond! First, measure out the amount of rice you want to cook and soak in cold water for at least 30 minutes. Longer is ok too. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a steel or nonstick pot....
Beans On Toast
Here’s a classic British dish that we pieced together from the leftovers of our 4th of July BBQ. The basic recipe is easy: make toast, put baked beans on top and eat. Here’s what we did: Heat up beans on stove top that were cooked in the crock pot the day before. We...
Rigatoni Pesto
I never liked pesto, so I decided to make it after seeing a random Italian cooking show. Adapted to my own liking, this version is fresh, easy and delicious. Here’s what you need: 1 lb pasta 2 cups fresh basil leaves 1/3 cup of cashews or almonds 4 cloves of garlic...
Chicken Soup
We make this soup in one form or another every couple weeks just to clear out the frig. We made the chicken stock from leftover roasted chicken bones and some of the typical stock veggies: onions, carrots, celery, etc. Your favorite store bought stock work just fine....
Arroz Con Pollo
Chicken Pot Pie
A classic pot pie made simpler. One of those comfort food dishes that you want to curl up on the couch with. Luckily this version is quick to make, so you can spend more time on the couch (or in my case putting your kids to bed). Buy this: Frozen mixed vegetables...
Shrimp and Biscuits
Here’s another concoction from random things we had available. It started out with a Stendal recipe for Trinidad Shrimp Curry. After some discussion and elimination of several other ingredients, it evolved into this. Here’s what we had to work with: ½ lb shrimp ½ an...
Potato Corn Chowder
Leftover Stir Fry
This is one of our typical leftover creations, which usually start with whatever the frig has to offer. In this case, we had some leftover Orange Chicken from the local Chinese restaurant, a bag of precut stir fry veggies, some pasta, half an onion and a random...
Sunday Sauce
According to Papa Louie, just about anything can go in Sunday Sauce. Pork chunks, beef ribs, chicken legs, lamb shanks, stew meat, sausage, etc. Basically anything that breaks down and gets more delicious with time. We also roast ours in the oven, which adds more...
Arugula Spinach Salad with Cherry Balsamic
Salads are an important part of the meal. It has become expected to serve salad as a first course, but that's really the job of an appetizer or a soup. A salad should be eaten between the main course and dessert to clear the palate and get digestion going. In any...
Watermelon Salad
Picked up this recipe from a dinner party and now we make it all the time. It may sound like a strange combination of ingredients but they somehow work together perfectly. There are several variations out there, but this is how we do it: Chop watermelon into large but...
Short Ribs
This dish is typically braised, but does just fine in a crock pot. We make it with a loose sauce that is meant to be absorbed by the noodles, but see tip below for thicker stew option. Here's what you need for two dinner servings: 4 beef short ribs 1/2 cup baby...
Curry Powder
This is my own personal receipe for curry powder that I developed from many sources, including my favorite cookbook by Stendal and advice from a very good friend. The list has 20 different spices that i try to keep on hand, but don't feel compelled to use them all....
Baked Swordfish
Another simple date night special. Pick up a couple swordfish steaks and make sure you have: Olive Oil Butter Salt Pepper Few garlic cloves 1 Lemon White wine of your choice 1. Prep the fish - Swordfish should come in steaks and if still has the skin around it, trim...
Chicken Marsala
This is the recipe that started the whole idea for this site. Basically, a friend asked what he could make for a special dinner with a special lady. So my wife suggested Chicken Marsala and said that was the dish that turned her into Mrs. Pierro! This may not be the...
Lobster Bisque
This is really more of a soup or chowder than a thick bisque. The recipe sounds more complex than it is, but it does require some time and dedication. It's quite decadent and will be worth the effort. Here's what you need: 2 Shallots (diced) 1 Stalk of celery (diced)...
Curry Shrimp & Mushroom Linguine
Here's the first of hopefully many from Papa Louie. Apparently this is his "go to" dish when fresh clams are not in season. This recipe makes enough for two hungry folks. Here’s what you need: 1lb linguine 1 lb. shrimp 1 1/2 cup mushrooms (any kind you like) Cheap...
Marmalade Tea Cake
This peachy keen cake is easy to make and adaptable to what ingredients you have around. Our version uses peach marmalade, dried cranberries and golden raisans but any marmalade and regular raisans would do the trick. Cake Ingredients: 1 1/2 sticks butter, soft 3/4...
Seafood What The F@#%
This dish is a major event of seafood. Named by a good friend, who proclaimed: "What's that, seafood? ... What the f@#%?" upon taking a closer look into the pot. It's basically a layered bouillabaisse that starts with various veggies on the bottom and works its way...
Shruti Gagoots
Call them squash blossoms, zucchini flowers, fiori di zucca, courgettes, or gagoots, but the fact is that they are good and you should try them sometime. These were picked fresh from Papa Louie's garden and stuffed with ricotta before being rolled in flour and lightly...
Meatloaf Sauce
How perfect for our first post. This meal started out as a way-to-salty meatloaf we had leftover. Solution? Easy. Dump one can of crushed tomatoes into a pot and crumble in meatloaf. Cook on a simmer for 30 minutes or so until sauce thickens. In the meantime, cook...