Cured Meat

I really love grilled chicken salad as a go-to, no-brainer supper solution, but the Chicken Caesar is so over for me—I need a few years off! So here’s another fresh chicken salad idea; eat your heart out, Caesar!

When I made my annual Christmas Pasta for the holiday this year we discovered that both my mom and I had shopped for the ingredients, so we had lots of leftover hot and sweet sausage and ground beef in the fridge. The next day, this recipe was born.

For me, this is chicken and rice recipe number 14,655. And for you?

Fancy? Yup! Got people you need to impress? Invite them over . . . you’ll get the raise. Then you won’t be so tired.

French bread pizza from Stouffer’s was my favorite frozen food as a kid. Now that I’m all grown up I make my own, because I can overstuff them. (My appetite grew, too.)

Though I haven’t lived on Cape Code since I was eight, this dish proves I’m not just a Red Sox fan but a true New England Patriot. With Chowda and Mac ’n’ Cheese in one dinner, you can get to Massachusetts in 30 minutes or less, even if you live in Michigan.

Bacon, Leek, and Tomato Soup is a soup for all seasons! So easy and too delicious; you’ll make this one January or August, year after year. It is especially welcome on rainy nights.

Try halibut, mahi-mahi, or tilapia in this recipe, too. Leeks and bacon are so delish . . . add some fish and they become good for you, too.

Bacon—what’s not to like? It’s smoky flavored salt and fat! Yum-o! In fact, the only way to improve on bacon is to wrap it up with beef and top it with cheese, then open wide! You gotta be more hungry than tired for this one!

The ingredients list is the whole sales pitch. Need I say more?

Eat this meal in front of the TV. Invite Clint Eastwood and the cast of your favorite spaghetti western (mine’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly).

Recently I went with some close girlfriends to Nova Scotia. There’s a lot more than lox going on up there! At the Normaway Inn on Cape Breton Island our favorite meal was brunch; this is my version of their Eggs Benedict. It’s good for B, L, or D—breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

I make this dinner every Christmas. I have included it in other books, but I cannot finish any year without it. I have made some small improvements in the recipe over the years, so it’s faster and easier to make than ever. You can eat it all year long as do I. For Italians, after all those fishes on Christmas Eve, this dish, with four different meats in it, is especially nice on Christmas night. This is the greatest gift I can give to myself and those I love: a big bowl of pasta with the works. Have a great year! Serve with tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad (the colors of the season and the Italian flag).

Serve with steamed broccoli or asparagus.

My mom created the pancetta-wrapped shrimp years ago. I love her SOOOOO much!

This meal is another B, L, D: good for Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner.

This is a mix-up of pasta e fagioli and minestra. Again, my indecisiveness is at play.