This recipe for Cuban Picadillo comes via my old pal Tony "The Tiger" Urrutia. El Tigre is a dapper Cuban with sparkling eyes and a charmed personality where meeting him and becoming friends are one in the same. The Cuba of his childhood is one of grand Belle-Epoque mansions lining tree-shaded boulevards beneath blazing skies. A canary yellow convertible whisked him from the … [Read more...]
CROWN ROAST OF HOT DOGS
Long has the Crown Roast of Hot Dogs haunted my culinary imagination. It first caught my eye ages ago in my hometown paper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch; the recipe and photograph clipped but never actually prepared. Years later this refrigerator magnet found its way into the kitchen with the vintage photograph depicting a most glorious version, nestled in a ring … [Read more...]
10 BEST GIFTS FOR COOKS
Here are our favorite foodie gifts with easy links to purchase. But whatever you might be shopping for make this Christmas extra-special (for SpecD that is) and always enter Amazon.com via the ad link on the right hand side of this page. 1. Paderno Stainless Steel Truffle Shaver ($46) -- although one might not often have the pleasure of blizzards of truffle slivers … [Read more...]
THANKSGIVING: TRADITION WITH A TWIST! TURKEY WONTONS, BAMBOO-SMOKED SESAME NOODLES
How did our Thanksgiving menu end up featuring cold sesame noodles, ghost pepper hot wings, turkey wontons, toasted ravioli, onion rings, turkey oven-roasted and turkey deep-fried, Wana's hamburger stuffing, wild cranberry and orange sauce, pumpkin muffins and chocolate-butterscotch fondue? It started with this sweet email from our 12 year old niece: "I cannot wait for … [Read more...]
RECIPE: BAMBOO-SMOKED SESAME NOODLES
1 lb. fresh Chinese green noodles (at Asian markets) or fresh green linguini 1" knob of peeled ginger root 1 large clove garlic 2 scallions, white part only 4 T. soy sauce + more for serving 4 T. sesame oil + more for serving 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter 1/2 c. boiling water 1 T. bamboo smoked sesame seeds + more for garnish GARNISHES: cucumbers: peeled, seeded and … [Read more...]
PORTERHOUSE STEAK DIANE
God bless moms. Having your very own special birthday dinner was an exhilarating acknowledgement that mom really did love you best of all, at least for one day each year. Beef fondue made me king every January 2nd. Down in Tulsa, come June 21st my friend Diane's mom Betty presented her princess with an ultra-elegant feast starring -- what else? -- Steak Diane! My … [Read more...]
Peach Plum Pignoli — “THREE P TART”
Followers of Spectacularly Delicious may recall the blueberry semifreddo scandal of July 4th, 2011. Once again invite to dine chez Weiss, this time around I was determined to present a dessert that lived up to its billing. The sage advice in Ghostbusters' theme came to mind, albeit with a twist ending -- "If there's something weird, and it don't look good -- Who ya gonna … [Read more...]
SPECTACULAR SUMMER SALAD OF SHAVED VEGETABLES
For a limited time only: A Spectacular Summer Salad of Shaved Vegetables. This dazzler is less about a recipe than having the best ingredients and some easy techniques. Isn't it the Italians who say you first taste with your eyes? Armed with a few key kitchen tools and an abbodanza di verdure (heaps o' fresh vegetables) straight from the hand of God you can't go wrong. The … [Read more...]
BANG BANG CHICKEN
Every Chinese restaurant in NYC offers Cold Sesame Noodles, variations on the same theme that are usually predicable with an occasional encounter of awfulness and even rarer instances of excellence. In other parts of Western civilization its cousin Bang Bang Chicken, recipe included here, is the popular equivalent. No doubt about it, this is comfort food. Hearty, … [Read more...]
CARROTS SOLARI – A SPECTACULAR EMBARRESSMENT
SpecD doesn't usually dwell on Recipes to Regret but a recent acquisition of farmer's market carrots stimulated a Proustianesque shame from my past, hence this cautionary tale in this "recipe" for Carrots Solari. At a certain point during college I was what we now call "over programmed." Out the door around 7:30 or 8 am for a full day of classes. Straight from school to one … [Read more...]