The fennel-spiked sausage that turns up in such favorite Italian American preparations as pizza, meatball sandwiches (page 38), custardy casseroles, and savory pies has so captured the heart of American cooking that it can be found in supermarkets and deli cases from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Northwest and everywhere in between. Not only is it one of the tastiest and most popular sausages, but it is also one of the easiest to make at home because it doesn’t require a casing. In fact, most recipes call for taking it out of its casing. If you want to serve the sausage as links, stuff it into hog casing. The recipe yields a larger amount than the other recipes in the book because this sausage is so versatile that I like to have some on hand in the freezer.
A pinch of sugar in the spice rub ensures picture-perfect grill marks with layers of flavor.
Palets bretons are oversize cookies that feature butter, and because they’re from Brittany, they’re traditionally made with beurre salé, salted butter.
Developed in the 1980s by a chef in Hong Kong, this sauce is all about umami.
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.
This version of pork skewers is made in the oven, which tastes just as good, but you could always throw these on the grill for a version closer to the original.
Originally called omelette à la neige (snow omelet) in reference to the fluffy snow-like appearance of the meringue, île flottante (floating island) has a lengthy history that dates back to the 17th century.