It's hard to get too worked up about stuffed cabbage, at least for me. Hearty, homey, tasty -- yes. But elegant? Not so much. Until now. This stuffed cabbage cake, or better still, Chou Farci Gâteau, takes a modest meal and elevates it to true star stature. And it's not all that hard. Instead of individually stuffed rolls, the braised meat is built up in layers of … [Read more...]
MEXICAN CHORIZO
For cooks who enjoy process and transformation, leisurely, at-home sausage making can make for a very satisfying afternoon's work. This Mexican chorizo recipe is a delicious example. Not to be confused with Spanish chorizo, which is a cured sausage, dense, dark, and hard, Mexican chorizo is a fresh pork sausage spiked with chiles, cumin and coriander. A generous dose of … [Read more...]
DUCK PROSCIUTTO
The gold-leaf thin slices of Prosciutto de Parma ethereally draped over sweet summer melon. Nutty, satiny smooth Jamon Iberico or salty shards of Smithfield ham tucked in soft buttered buns. The noble swine, clown of the barnyard, terror of the forest, generous provider of robust haunches that yield to the alchemy of master curers, we are indebted for these the crowning … [Read more...]
READERS’ CHOICE: 2012 BEST READ AND MOST LOVED RECIPES
Here at Spectacularly Delicious we strive to present a little bit of something for everybody -- in the USA and the big wide world beyond. With our 2012 readership growing in such far flung reaches as Fiji, Laos and Azerbaijan perhaps, just maybe, we are inching along toward that goal. So let's close out the year with a look at the most popular stories and recipes visited by … [Read more...]
ST. LOUIS WORLD’S FAIR HOT DOGS
The impact of the spectacular St. Louis 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition still resounds lo these 108 years later. Among other splendors, the fair launched the careers of the hot dog (St. Louis World's Fair Hot Dog recipe here), the waffle cone, peanut butter, iced tea, cotton candy and Dr. Pepper. Sadly there are those who will dispute these culinary creds. I feel sorry … [Read more...]
RED CHOUCROUTE GARNI WITH DUCK AND SAUSAGES
Everyone and son frère has a tale about their first time in France when they tasted (fill in the blank) for the first time. Cue the deep swoon, the rapturous smile and fluttering eyelids that accompany the revelation that every meal before that moment had been a complete and utter sham. My moment came with this recipe for Choucroute Garni. An ethereally fragrant … [Read more...]
SPICY PICKLED VEAL HEARTS AND LAMB TONGUES
I commend you for reading this far -- not everyone is going to be interested in this cheery little tale of pickling-meets-Charcuterie-meets-variety meats. Believe it or not (and I myself find it a little incredible) I had already earmarked a recipe for pickled heart and tongue in the Treasured Amish & Mennonite Recipes cookbook (Red Chapel Press, 2011) when a stroke of … [Read more...]
HOME MADE CHICKEN AND SHITTAKE SAUSAGES: SISTERS ARE DOIN’ IT FOR THEMSELVES
The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking -- how can you not love the name of this blog? Written by Kate, a flashy cook, who sticks to things that are alarming as opposed to required (sound familiar?). She's author as well of this book with the same name. I've been following Kate and HGGH for a while and not just for the recipes -- stuff like a … [Read more...]
THE PERFECT HOT DOG RECIPE
Consider, if you will, the ingredients in my recipe for perfect hand-crafted hot dogs: fresh beef chuck, fresh pork, fresh garlic, kosher salt, paprika. Now, please take a moment to review the ingredients in Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, a New York favorite: beef [unspecified], water, salt, sorbitol, sodium lactate, "natural flavorings" [?], sodium … [Read more...]
BERLINER CURRYWURST: ORIGINAL RECIPE
For those not yet familiar with currywurst, it's a favorite snack in Berlin with an ever-widening fan base, as evidenced by this window sign here in Manhattan. Though curry and German sausage might seem a strange combination, Laurie Colwin's timeless quote from Abraham Lincoln sums it up perfectly: "For people who like this … [Read more...]