Celebrity recipes are always a mixed bag and in my experience that bag usually holds a lot of bland disappointments and ill-advised oddities. Frank DeCaro's The Dead Celebrity Cookbook does much better than most to battle this opinion. It's an amusing compendium of fond remembrances and celebrity recipes by A- , B- and C-list stars loved and lost. Most of the recipes serve to … [Read more...]
PROSPERITY SANDWICH
Because everything. And if worrying about our future isn't enough, you can also worry about the calories in this ooey, gooey, cheesy wonder: 674 calories and 41 grams of fat per serving. Oy! PROSPERITY SANDWICH Recipe 5 Tablespoons butter, divided 8 oz. white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin 1 shallot, minced 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 cups … [Read more...]
Wild Boletus Mushroom and Pumpkin Pappardelle – Pappardelle con Porcini e Zucca
As the saying goes, there are bold mushroom pickers, and old mushroom pickers, but there are no old, bold mushroom pickers. Wise words indeed, ones that have kept me on the sidelines, at least until now. I made my first fungi forage under the tutelage of an experienced guide, a friendly Spaniard with decades of successful picking under his belt. His preferred picking patch … [Read more...]
PUMPKIN SOUFFLE
I first posted this recipe in 2009 so it seems like a good time to revisit it. I'm happy to report it has stood the test of time. Now making a soufflé isn't all that difficult; it's the clean up that can feel like a bit of a chore. Soufflé aftermath gives the appearance of having used every bowl in the kitchen. This recipe requires: 2 quart souffle dish medium size … [Read more...]
SCOTCH EGGS
By all rights Scotch eggs should be a lot more popular than they are. Hard boiled eggs, yolks just barely firm, are wrapped in sausage meat then breaded and fried. What could be bad? I suppose it's the frying part that holds most people back. But why professional kitchens don't whip up Scotch eggs along with the megatons of French fries and chicken fingers they pump out is a … [Read more...]
BAKED PUMPKIN SPAETZLE
It seems time to get back to the basic tenets of this site. Spectacularly Delicious is dedicated to recipes with a proper name that require specialized equipment to either prepare or serve, call for unusual or hard to find ingredients and often take a long time to prepare, resulting in a splendid presentation with a marvelous taste. In short, spectacularly delicious. … [Read more...]
STUFFED CABBAGE CAKE / CHOU FARCI GATEAUX
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...]
TAMPIQUENA
Tampiquena is a south of the border alternative to the summer grilling familiars. At its most basic it's a seasoned grilled skirt steak served with a variety of sides and garnishes. Not surprisingly beans, rice and corn tortillas are usually included. It's the upgrades and add-ons to standard carne asada that give Tampiquena its flair. A sweet-spicy marinade is a good … [Read more...]
WHITE CLAM PASTA WITH SEA BEANS – LINGUINI ALLE VONGOLE
Freshly foraged briny little sea beans pair beautifully with just-dug quahogs for a hearty, down-home tangle of linguine alle vongole. And the best part is out here in East Hampton the ingredients are only as far away as the water. At water's edge of our favorite clam bed in Three Mile Harbor is a healthy stretch of sea beans. Also known as salicornia, glass wort and … [Read more...]
PENNE ALL NORMA: A BARILLA PASTA GAY-FRIENDLY FAMILY RECIPE
The Barilla Pasta “we don’t think gay families represent our values” dust-up last fall reminded me of a Barilla-sponsored luncheon I attended in '07 or '08. Pasta was on the plate and family mealtime was the topic at table. Although it's taken a while to dig into my files (i.e. piles of papers and random flash drives) I supposed that there must have been a … [Read more...]