Soup For You!

I'm not sure where you're reading this from, but for the sake of this post I'll assume it's freezing outside, and you're craving a huge bowl of steaming, hot soup. Sweaters are great, but when you need to get warm from the inside out, there is really only one way...well, two actually, but this isn't a cocktails blog, so we're just going with soup. Here are a few of my personal favorite cold weather soups. Click on caption to read the post and watch the video. Bundle up and enjoy!

Spicy Coconut Shrimp Bisque

Bumblebee Soup - Bacon, Black Bean and Corn Chowder

Minestrone Soup

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

Garlic Parm Hot Wings – Video Recipe 800! 800? Really?

This garlic Parmesan hot wings video represents the 800th recipe we’ve uploaded to YouTube since we launched the channel in January 2007. As I waited for the file to upload, an odd sense of disbelief started to wash over me. Had I really cooked, filmed, and posted 800 video recipes? It didn’t seem possible.

The more I thought about just how much content that is, the more improbable it seemed. 800 recipes? That’s like 10 cookbooks! Then, a different kind of disbelief came over me as I considered all the dishes I’ve still not done.

After all these hundreds and hundreds of recipes, I still have not done things like risotto, goulash, blue cheese dressing, calamari, or beef Wellington; just to name a few. Anyway, it was an interesting and introspective ten minutes, sitting there watching the upload progress bar slowly move across the screen, thinking about what I had done, and how much I still needed to do.

As far as these gorgeous wings go, they rocked. My wife Michele, who is not a big fan of chicken wings, ate more than I’d ever seen her eat before, and deemed them my best yet. I’m not sure about that, but they did come out really, really well.

One reason it’s hard to get a crispy-crusty coating on a wing in the oven is all the moisture that leaks out during the initial phase of baking. Here, we are parboiling the wings in a very flavorful liquid, which not only helped season the chicken, but also produced a surface texture in the oven that your guests will swear came straight out of a deep fryer. I hope you give these a try soon, and as always, and for the 800th time, enjoy!

Ingredients for 5 pounds of wings (about 48 pieces):

3 quarts cold water

1/4 cup salt

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried rosemary

4 to 5 pounds of chicken wing sections

8-10 cloves garlic plus big pinch of salt

3 or 4 tbsp olive oil, or as needed

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste (obviously you can add cayenne or other hot stuff to make these even spicier)
2 tbsp fine breadcrumbs

about 1 cup of very finely and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

creamy Italian dressing for dipping, optional

View the complete recipe

The Tuna Melt – Open Face, Insert Hypocrisy

If you watch as much food television as I do, then I’m sure you’ve heard a celebrity chef or two, pontificating about the horrors of combining cheese and fish. They say it’s never acceptable, no exceptions, never, ever.

Of course, after the show ends, they have a couple beers and head for their favorite late-night diner, where they enjoy delicious tuna melts. Those hypocritical bastards. I’m not saying to start pouring nacho cheese sauce over your sautéed sand dabs, but when it comes to food, it’s best to never say never.

As I mention in the video, this will only be as good as your tuna, so use something nice. You know I’m a Tonino man, but any imported, olive-oil packed brand should work fine. By the way, I enjoy the classic, toasted sandwich-style tuna melt a great deal, but this open face version is a little easier to execute, and perfect for larger groups, since you can fit a bunch on a pan.

Whether you use my formula or embellish to your tastes, I really hope you give these a try soon. And, if you know any celebrity chefs, invite them over and see if you can get them to admit this totally works. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large tuna melts:

2 thick slices of Italian or French bread

2 tbsp soft butter

6.5 oz jar of oil-packed tuna, drained

2 tbsp small diced celery

1 tbsp minced green onion

2 tsp capers

1 tsp hot chili sauce or other hot stuff to taste

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp mayonnaise, or more to taste

about 1/3 cup shredded or crumbled fresh mozzarella

1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

cayenne to taste

Next Up: Tuna Melt

Sausage Ribs – Deliver A Bone-Jarring Hit to Your Football Food Lineup

Chips and dips may be fine for regular season gridiron action, but when the playoffs roll around, and you need to go that extra yard to score a touchdown with your guests’ taste buds, these Italian sausage-spiced baby back ribs are a proven big game performer. 

If only I could’ve somehow added a few more forced football references into that intro.

Sweet and succulent pork ribs are never a bad addition to the game day buffet, but they can get predictable with the same old rubs and sauces. Here we have all the baby back rib-y goodness you know and love, but with the flavor profile of sweet Italian fennel sausage.

I know a lot of you wrap your ribs in foil for the initial slow/low cooking phase, as do I, but here we’re doing them uncovered to help achieve a slightly chewier, more toothsome texture. These are still quite tender and juicy, but just not too soft, and falling off the bone.

These really did have a wonderful flavor, which was further highlighted by the spicy, sweet, and tangy orange glaze. My only regret was that I didn’t have any hotdog buns around, as I would have pulled out the bones, and served these just like a real sausage sandwich. There’s always a next time.

Anyway, I enjoyed all that rich and fancy holiday feasting as much as anyone, but now all I’m craving is a couch, a cold beer, and a simple plate of ribs…that tastes like sausage. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 racks of baby back ribs:

2 trimmed racks of baby back pork ribs

For the rub:

1 tbsp fennel seed, crushed fine

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cayenne or to taste

For the glaze (simmer until reduced by half):

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup orange juice

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

2 tsp hot chili sauce or to taste

1 tbsp orange zest

- Bake ribs at 275 degrees F. for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until fork tender.

- Cut, coat with glaze, and finish in a hot 425 degrees F. oven until caramelized.

View the complete recipe

Next Up: Sausage Ribs

Mushroom Ricotta Bruschetta – This Was Anything But Flat

Please do not take this post’s brevity for any kind of lack of enthusiasm or excitement over this very handsome mushroom and ricotta bruschetta. Time’s a little short today, as my car’s left-front tire was fatally injured last night in a brutal pothole attack.

Everyone else is fine, but I didn’t want to delay the uploading of this fine recipe until I had time to do a proper blog post. So basically, I’m phoning this one in. Of course, my biggest fear isn’t that you’ll be disappointed…it’s that you won’t notice that big a difference.

Anyway, this was super tasty, and very simple to make. I show making the ricotta bruschetta part first, but as I mention, you’ll obviously want to have your mushrooms cooking while you prepare the bases. I hope you give this delicious, and very versatile dish a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Mushroom Ricotta Bruschetta

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg

zest of one lemon

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper to taste
red chili flakes to taste

4 thick slices of lightly toasted bread

1 tbsp olive oil

For the mushrooms:

2 tbsp butter, divided (half to sauté, half to stir in at end)

1 tbsp olive oil

16 large white mushrooms

1/4 cup green onions and/or 3-4 cloves of garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup marsala wine

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

View the complete recipe