Black Lentil Stew with Sausage & Kale � Dark Food for Dark Days

There�s nothing like a big, steaming bowl of comfort food to make everything seem all right, and this dark, but delightful black lentil stew with sausage and kale is no exception. Whether you�re battling a lack of sunlight, or troubles at work, or you�re a NY Giants fan, a dish like this can do wonders to brighten your mood. 

Sausage and lentils is a marriage made in heaven, and so good together, that not even kale can ruin it. I�m kidding, and actually love kale, but if you�re not the biggest fan in the world, maybe try it one more time in this. As long as you cook the greens until they get nice and tender, you�ll be surprised how sweet, and mild they become.

In case that�s asking too much, spinach, and/or other vegetables will also work here, as these types of recipes are a perfect catch-all for seasonal produce. You people with neighbors who grow zucchini should pay especially close attention to that last part. Regardless of what you add, or don�t, I really do hope you give this black lentil stew a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 large portions:

2 tablespoons butter

1 yellow onion, large dice

1 large carrot, cubed

1 rib celery, cubed

12 ounces smoked garlic sausage, or any kind of sausage (cook fresh sausage first, and then slice)

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups black lentils

6 cups chicken broth

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

2 bunches (about 12 ounces by weight) kale or other leafy dark greens, chopped, washed

1 large diced tomato, optional

sour cream and cayenne to garnish

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Spicy Pork & Vegetable Tofu � Probably Not Mapo Tofu

This might look like I was trying to make a version of a famous Chinese dish called mapo tofu, but that's not the case, and in fact, I'm pretty sure I was making this before I knew what mapo tofu was. And now that I�ve addressed the people that were going to complain this isn�t authentic, we can continue.

I'm assuming that whatever I did get this idea from was most likely a version of mapo, but that's as far as it goes. Which reminds me, this is a great recipe to adapt to your own tastes, not only with the sauce ingredients, but also in regards to what vegetables you include.

Zucchini is our favorite, especially if you take the extra 15 minutes to salt it, but pretty much any dice-able seasonal vegetables will shine. So, please keep this one in mind as you browse the farmers market, but no matter what you put in, I really do hope you a give this delicious tofu dish a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Portions:

1 1/4 pounds ground pork

1 pound firm tofu, cubed (my package was 14 ounces)

handful of sliced green onions

minced hot chili peppers, as much as you like

3 small zucchini, cubed, toss with 1 tablespoon kosher salt (rinse after 15 minutes)

freshly chopped cilantro to finish

sliced green onions for the top

For the sauce:

3 tablespoons Korean chili paste aka Gochujang, or other chili paste product to taste (click here to read a little more about Gochujang)

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon sesame oil

4 cloves minced garlic

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

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Steamed Barbecue Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao) � Sweet, Steamy Memories

In younger, leaner times, I�d often rely on the delicious, inexpensive calorie bomb that is the steamed barbecue pork bun. They were twice the size, and for a few bucks you could get very full�for about 30 minutes, and then you were starving again. Nothing a Mission-style burrito couldn�t fix.

Anyway, the filling was chopped Chinese-style barbecue pork mixed with some kind of mysterious, gelatinous red sauce, which was significantly sweeter than what I�m doing here. 

That�s probably why they don�t seem to come out quite the same as I remember. I probably need a lot more sugar, as well as copious amounts of MSG. Having said that, I was pretty pleased with my insides, but as usual I encourage you to freestyle. 

Here�s a link to a fairly classic pork bun filling recipe, in case you want something slightly more authentic, and since it looks just like the stuff I mentioned above, I might give it a try next time. But, regardless what you fill yours with, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 Steamed Barbecue Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao):

For the dough:

3/4 cups warm water

1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoon white sugar

2 cups *self-rising flour

For the filling (this made more than I needed):

2 cups chopped Chinese-style barbecue pork, or other barbecued pork product

1/4 cup finely sliced green onions

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/4 cup hoisin sauce, or as needed

salt (soy sauce) and cayenne to taste

2 teaspoons white sugar, optional

*If you don't have self-rising flour, you can use 2 cups all-purpose flour sifted with 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon fine table salt.

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Homemade Italian Sausage � I Was the Uncle Bill of My Slow Casing Fill

The last time I remember making sausage was with my Uncle Billy many years ago, who was doing his famous dried Italian sausage for Christmas Eve. By the way, I said �making,� but for the record I actually meant mostly watching. Anyway, this fresh version is inspired by those, and while we loved how they came out, I�m kicking myself for not saving a few to dry. That�s how Uncle Bill did them, and they�d be fried after Midnight Mass, and served on bread with roasted red peppers. 

They were incredible, and one of my earliest and most vivid food memories. If you�re going to make your own sausage on a regular basis, you�ll want to get a little more professional sausage-making set-up than I suffered through here.

It did the job, but was slow, even after I figured out what was holding me up. You can also grind meat in a food processor, and there are plenty of videos out there showing how, but then you�ll have to get a sausage stuffer. Speaking of videos, I know I said I�d try to find a link to a more detailed demo using better equipment, but just head over to YouTube and watch literally any other sausage video. Besides, the actual recipe is the hard part.

For a little nicer flavor, you can toast the fennel seeds in a dry pan just until you begin to smell them. This goes for any other whole spices you may want to grind and toss in. Also, if you can manage not to eat them right away, I think letting them dry for a day or two really deepens the flavor, and firms up the texture as well. So, with a wink heavenward to Uncle Billy, I'll close by saying, I really do hope you give these homemade Italian sausages a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 8 to 10 Italian Sausages:

3 pounds pork shoulder

28 grams kosher salt (1 ounce)

4 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons whole fennel seed, toasted

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon anise seed

2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon marjoram

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice berries

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 tablespoons cold water

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Deviled Ham is Coming Back! Start Spreading the News

Deviled ham isn�t nearly as popular as it used to be, which even in its heyday, wasn�t very popular, and that�s a shame, since it�s such a delicious, and easy-to-make spread. By the way, its decline in popularity was a major factor in the collapse of America�s steamed ham industry. Just ask any Simpsons fan.

Besides providing a tasty treat, it�s always nice bringing something that no one else will. That means there�s no added stress wondering if your [insert popular dip or spread name here] is the best. I�m proud of my guacamole, but I don�t need it judged against three others. Besides, it's all politics.

I�d be happy to give you some additional tips here, but there aren�t any. Just be sure to taste and adjust for heat, and salt. The saltiness of different hams will vary greatly, so just because I didn�t need to add extra, doesn�t mean you won�t. And, like I said in the video, not only is this a great spread, but it also make a magnificent sandwich. Regardless of your delivery system, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 4 cups Deviled Ham:

1 1/2 pound smoked ham, cut into cubes

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup chopped celery, with some leaves included

1/2 cup shredded hot pepper cheddar, or other cheese, optional

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons hot sauce

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2/3 cup mayonnaise, plus more if needed

salt to taste

chives and pickled red peppers to garnish

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New England Clam Chowder Dip � Because Great Soups Make Even Better Dips

Truth be told, this New England Clam Chowder Dip is actually the first soup I�ve ever turned into a dip, but I still stand by my title. After all, what are soups, if not really thin, hot dips you eat with a spoon? 

The point is, while this may be my first soup-to-dip conversion, it�s probably not going to be my last. I�m looking at you, Mulligatawny.

I thought I was inventing something new here, but of course, like everything else, many people had already given this a go. The funny thing was, every recipe I looked at called for this to be served with sliced bread, which I thought was odd. To me, potatoes are like the second or third best ingredient in a chowder, so why not serve this with chips?

Besides that, my other big improvement was to up the bacon content. Some recipes called for as little as two slices. Two slices of bacon? What am I supposed to do with that? So, I went with three times as much, and it turned out to be a very good decision. While quite �bacon forward,� the clam flavor still came through, and all in all, this really was very chowder-like.

The only semi out-of-the-ordinary ingredient used was a spice blend called, �Old Bay.� This is not very hard to find in the big grocery stores, but just in case, here is a link to make a your own. Besides, even if you have some in the pantry, it may have been there for quite sometime, and while Old Bay works well, old, Old Bay may not, so it might not be a bad idea to make a batch anyway.  Either way, I really do hope you give this a great hot dip a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one small casserole dish:

6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/3 cup diced celery

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more if needed

1 pound cream cheese, room temp

4 ounces white cheddar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

2 cans (6 1/2 ounces) chopped clams, drained

2 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley

pinch of cayenne for the top

potato chips to serve alongside

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Sticky Garlic Pork Chops � What Do You Think, About Slightly Pink?

This sticky garlic pork chop recipe seems too good to be true. It only takes a few minutes of prep work, requires no tricky techniques, and doesn�t call for any hard-to-find ingredients.

And for the last time, Asian fish sauce is not hard to find. It used to be, but it�s now carried in every major grocery store, and I consider it a must-have in anyone�s kitchen.

Above and beyond the sauce, which is also our marinade, the other key to this recipe is finding some nice, thick, bone-in pork chops. While this will theoretically work with thin, boneless �chops,� we give ourselves much more room for error when it comes to achieving the perfect doneness.

Speaking of which, I shoot for about 140 to 145 F. internal temperature, which will produce a very juicy, tender piece of meat. Sure, you may see a subtle, pale pink hue, but it�s still perfectly safe to eat, and you�ll be amazed at how much nicer the texture is, especially after sitting in the brine-like marinade.

Of course, if you�re one of these people who always cooks pork well done, because your grandparents told you about the horrors of trichinosis when you were a kid, then fine. Go ahead and cook it all the way through, until it�s nice and dry, but you really are missing out. You�re still not convinced? Either way, I really do hope you give these sticky garlic pork chops a try soon. Enjoy!

For the marinade/sauce mixture (would probably be enough for 4 chops):

1/3 cup light brown sugar

6 to 8 cloves crushed or very finely minced garlic

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

2 thick-cut pork chops, bone in (about 10 to 12-ounce each)

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