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This is a delicious way to make a one pot meal. It all goes into a big roasting pan and you are done! I started with leg quarters- if I am not roasting a whole chicken, I like to cook leg quarters. Dark meat has a lot of flavor and is very forgiving as it doesn’t over cook.

When using very few ingredients, it is important to use very bold flavors. In this case, I used garlic, pancetta and balsamic glaze. I cooked the pancetta and then mixed it with the garlic, thyme and the glaze. I then slathered the chicken with the yummy mixture and roasted it.

To make things more interesting, I lined the roasting pan with slices of delicious sour dough bread and some potatoes. The potatoes and the bread come out deliciously crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I especially love the bread- all the flavors absorb really well.

I served this delicious meal with a green salad and a delicious glass of red wine. I love simple, delicious food with very good quality ingredients!

• 4 leg quarters with skin
• 6 to 8 slices of sour dough bread
• 4 to 5 small potatoes, peeled and cut in half
• Salt

Marinade

• ¼ cup pancetta, chopped
• 5 to 6 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic glaze

Cook the pancetta in a hot frying pan until the fat is rendered on medium heat- it should take about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn heat off and take out in a bowl.

Pound the garlic, salt and thyme in a mortar and pestle till smooth. Add the olive oil and balsamic glaze. Mix well and add to the cooked pancetta. Mix well and keep aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the bread slices in a medium, lined baking sheet (9X13). Smear some of the marinade on the bread. Add the chicken quarters and the potatoes. Rub the marinade all over covering all the surfaces. Sprinkle salt generously all over. Roast in oven for 30 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil and finish roasting till the chicken is done. Serve a piece of the chicken on top of the cooked bread with potatoes on the side.

I can’t think of a better way to start the New Year than with some delicious scallops. We all love scallops in our family. Especially with some delicious risotto. A lot of people are intimidated to make risotto- but one needs to have a bit of patience. The method is quite simple and the flavor combinations are limitless. I decided to add fresh thyme and Pecorino cheese in this dish. I love Pecorino for its delicious punch of flavor.

The scallops are super easy to make. All one needs is a good non-stick pan, some delicious olive oil and salt and pepper. The pan needs to be screaming hot and the scallops are done in minutes. To complete the meal, I dressed some delicious arugula with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

The whole meal was very easy to make and didn’t take very long. Try this in the New Year…. a great start!

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium shallots, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 4 cups chicken broth, heated
• ½ cup half and half
• 1 cup Pecorino cheese, shredded
• Salt
• Pepper

Heat a large frying pan with the olive oil on medium heat. Add the shallots and cloves and sauté on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the thyme and rice and sauté for a minute. Add the chicken broth half cup at a time, stirring constantly on medium heat. Keep repeating the process till the rice is cooked. Add the half and half and cheese. Taste for seasonings and add the salt and pepper.

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 12 large scallops or more
• Salt
• Pepper

Heat a large non-stick pan and add the oil. Saute the scallops on high and brown on both sides, about 2 minutes each (depends on the size of the scallops). Serve on top of risotto.

Arugula Salad

• 3 cups baby arugula
• Juice of half lemon
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Toss the arugula with the lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. Add a cup of tossed greens on top of the scallops and serve.

I was doing an article for the patch for New Years. My editor told me something about a tradition in the South called Hoppin John. I had never heard to the dish or the tradition and decided to do some research.

Turns out it is a dish made with rice and beans. It is to be eaten at midnight, New Year’s eve to bring good luck. The idea is to eat poor that night and eat rich the rest of the year.

Sounded good to me. As I read a bit more, I noticed it is usually made with some pork product and is served with some Southern style greens. I started thinking and decided to make mine with pancetta. I added some onions, garlic and green peppers to that. I also added dried thyme and made it mine by adding- yes, you guessed it- smoked paprika. I sauteed the mixture and added a can of black eyed peas, the rice and chicken broth. Once the rice was almost cooked, I added a lot of baby spinach.

I decided to make this into a one pot meal and healthy. Since traditionally the dish is served with greens, I decided to add mine right into the rice and beans.

The result was a delicious and quick comforting dish. Definitely make this for New Year’s Eve to ensure good luck for the rest of the Year- and Happy New Year to you and your family!
Click here for the recipe… »

Christmas is done and hopefully everyone is a bit more relaxed about entertaining, gift giving and everything else that comes with the holidays. This is the week to relax when everyone is home and together.

I like to make great meals at home and enjoy them with my family. It is nice to go out and give yourself a break, but nothing like cooking a meal at home, from scratch.

This particular one is quite easy to make. I usually don’t end up making pork chops too often. I don’t really care for the pork quality we get in most stores. I tend to stick to local meat from Whole Foods but somehow the pork is not that great. Once cooked, it tends to dry up since it is so lean.

I decided to pick up pork chops and challenge myself. I have seen many time on television how most cooks brine the pork to make it juicier. It is a great idea, but I find it a bit time consuming and laborious. So, I figured out a short cut. I had apple cider in my fridge. I used that as the base and added some salt- a brine has a sweet, tangy and savory element to it. I brined the chops overnight and cooked them the next day with a glaze.

The glaze was again a combination of apple cider, apricot jam and of course- smoked paprika. I am obsessed with smoked paprika right now- I absolutely love the flavor. Well, the chops were amazing with the tangy glaze and amazing roast potatoes. I also served roasted brussels sprouts- recipe to follow.
Click here for the recipe… »

I made these for a get together. My friend serves great food and wine at her house but she is not into dessert. I can understand why- it is not so healthy for you, etc, etc. Intellectually I get it- but having a get together without a dessert is unthinkable for me.

I think that is why she assigned me the dessert. I could have bought something- there are many bakeries and stores with very good and well made treats- but nothing like homemade, right?? Well, that is what I thought too…

So, I started thinking about what to make. My friend had mentioned she would be serving finger foods- so maybe I could bring cookies or something along those lines. I started thinking of different kinds of cookies- oatmeal, chocolate chip- the usual. I wanted to make something different and started looking for Italian ones.

I found a recipe with pecans mixed in with flour, butter and sugar. I decided to use hazelnuts and dried cherries. I substituted the regular flour with white whole wheat flour ; regular sugar with raw sugar  and also added some hazelnut liquor- you can’t go wrong with any of these ingredients. The one thing I wanted to do but couldn’t since I was taking these to someone’s house- was to substitute extra light olive oil for butter… maybe next time- or if you try it with oil, do let me know.

Well, these cookies were delicious. The liquor gives the cookies a subtle yet a great nutty flavor. I know that because I only had one- yes that is right- the key is in moderation and not deprivation. These are perfect for a holiday get together…

• 1 cup soft unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• ½ cup evaporated cane sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups white whole-wheat flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1 cup hazelnuts, chopped fine
• ½ cup hazelnut liquor
• ½ cup confectionery sugar in a small bowl

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the butter and sugar until fluffy in a mixer. Add the salt, vanilla extract, flour and liquor. Mix well and add the nuts and cherries.
Mix with both hands until well incorporated. Form a ball and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on the cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool and roll in confectionery sugar.