Chicken riggies is an Upstate NY thing. I have already written about how to make the red version, so I decided to show you how to make the more common white recipe. Mostly the difference here is the cream you add at the end and you also use less herbs and different oils.

Where I come from, a bit North of Utica NY, just about every family function includes a dish of riggies. It is a powerhouse of a meal so unless your feeding 10-15 people, prepare for leftovers.

1 1/2 - 2 pounds cut up bite size boneless chicken (white or dark or both).
About 2 tablespoons olive oil.
1 large yellow onion, diced.
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped.
1 20 oz. jar of sweet peppers, drained, lightly chopped.
1/4 cup of pickled hot cherry peppers, lightly chopped.
3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
About 1/2 cup of fresh basil, lightly chopped.
2 cups or so of chicken broth.
1 28 oz can/jar crushed tomatoes.
About 24 oz of dry rigatoni, prepared as per directions on the box (reserve some of the liquid).
3/4 to 1 cup of heavy cream.
Salt and fresh ground pepper.

In a really large sauce pan, add the olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Heat to medium/medium high. Salt and pepper the chicken pieces and cook in batches until just done in the sauce pan and remove.

Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 2-3 minutes until onion just - (More…)

With the relative success of my garden this year, I was fortunate to have a large amount of tomatoes and peppers. After canning a couple cases of tomatoes, I decided to make up some spicy salsa. It was nothing too out of the ordinary, just some tomatoes, red/green/yellow bell peppers, garlic and a couple handfuls of chopped jalapenos. Before I canned it, I took a little taste and it was pretty hot.

My wife and kids are not much for hot tasting foods. In fact, they think Dijon mustard is spicy, so I figured this salsa would be around for a while except for giving away a pint here and there.

Well, after seeing a few salsa chicken recipes I decided to throw this one together. I have only made it twice, but both times it was a hit. The cooking process took much of the heat out so even the kids had no trouble with the remaining flavor.

This recipe can be made with any salsa, even store bought, but let me recommend that you go for one of the more spicier versions as it will lose some of the heat during cooking. I would also recommend you find a salsa that is low in sodium. Ideally, you would want to use your own home made salsa.

4-5 chicken thighs and 4-5 chicken drumsticks.
About a cup of flour.
Salt and pepper.
Vegetable oil.
8-10 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded.
Chicken - (More…)

Cooking with liquor can be rewarding. One meat that really seems to soak it up well is chicken. I have had many chicken dishes prepared with Southern Comfort, Tequila, etc., that I have lost count. Seeing as how there was a big sale on chicken this week, I bought quite a bit of it, so I started searching for some new recipes.

After a while, I just got tired of looking and decided to create a new dish. I was beyond shocked when I finally tasted this one. I started by blowing the dust of the liquor bottles in my bar and smelling the flavors of some of the more sugary alcohols. I finally settled on Amaretto and Triple Sec. Going on just “step at a time” flavoring, this is what I came up with.

3-4 pounds chicken, cut up.
2 shots of Triple Sec.
1/4 cup white wine.
1 shot of Amaretto.
Two tablespoons fresh ground coriander, separated in half.
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, separated in half.
Salt and pepper.
1 teaspoon brown sugar.
1 small shallot minced.
2 jalepeno peppers minced.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling.

For the coriander, I just use an old pepper grinder and put the seeds in it. You can also get it pre-ground if that is all you have.

Put your chicken in a large casserole dish and sprinkle each side with salt, pepper, and also cover with the one tablespoon of coriander - (More…)

Yet another Sunday dish we are fond of here is roasted rack of pork. The real secret to this dish is getting the right cut of meat. You want the part cut from the loin rib section with the bone. Here is picture of a raw cut:

This meat is delicious. You will never believe how tender it is. There are those who will brine this cut and there is nothing wrong with it, but in my opinion it isn’t needed.

1 4lb rack of pork.
2 cups Bourbon which in other words means Jack Daniels.
3 1/2 cups chicken stock.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter.
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
2-3 tablespoons Canola or vegetable oil.

Preheat oven to 425.

Generously salt and pepper the rack on all sides. In a large skillet (I use my cast iron skillet as it is perfect for this recipe), heat the oil to medium high heat.

Sear the rack on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. The searing helps hold in the juices.

Place into the oven with a meat thermometer until the temperature reaches 145, about 30-40 minutes.

Remove skillet from oven and remove roast to rest. This is a key moment. You MUST let this roast rest. Even though the next step takes 15-20 minutes, do not worry. The roast will - (More…)

If you have ever been in upstate New York, around the Utica/Rome area for any period of time, chances are you have either heard of, or have eaten Chicken Riggies. How this dish came about is beyond me, but if I had to guess then I would say that this is the type of dish you get when you mix Irish, Italian, and German people together.

A conversation with your average cook from the area will usually yield a chicken riggies recipe. Personally, I have come across several different versions. There are many that are cream based, and there are many that are tomato based. In fact, there are a few that contain both. I myself prefer the tomato based versions. Really, this is like the difference between red or white clam chowder. :)  I also have a recipe for the white here.

Most of the recipes you will find though contain some common ingredients. These are chicken and rigatoni of course, and also some sort of jarred sweet peppers.

I have never really cooked it much before this week. You usually eat this at just about every get together, and if you have ever been to the North country, well, you know there are get togethers every week. Now that I live out of the region, I finally got my own recipe together. Of course, this will probably change over time, - (More…)

Always on the lookout for new ways to prepare lamb, I found several that use lemon, a few that use lime, but not many that used both. I decided to take from many of these and combine a bit from this one, a bit from that one, to make something new.

This lemon lime recipe for lamb has a different taste. It is very similar to some of the lemon based lamb recipes but with the fresh cleanliness of lime. I have used it for both lamb chops (loin) and for shoulder chops. It was an instant hit here with the family.

The marinade:

8 cloves of garlic, minced (it seems like a lot, but in the end the flavor is remote).
1 large lemon.
1 lime.
1/2 sprig of rosemary, stem removed, lightly chopped.
1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper.
2 tablespoons of mint, chopped.
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil.

Add the juice of the lemon and lime to a small bowl. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. In a large plastic resealable bag, add your lamb chops. Pour the marinade over the chops.

BEFORE you put it all back in the refrigerator, let it marinate for a half an hour at room temperature turning once. You can marinade up to 24 hours, turning the meat on occasion.

Remove from marinade and discard marinade. Grill or broil the lamb chops at high heat so as to sear the meat - (More…)

I decided lately that instead of buying that pre-made pizza dough in the supermarket, that I would try making it at home. I never had much luck in the past making it, or at least making it good, but since I began making my own breads, I decided to give it another shot. Once I realized how easy it was, I started fooling with different pizza dishes.

One of my favorites is deep dish pizza and my recipe for it changes almost every time I make it. I find it fun trying different things with the sauce and the dough, in fact, lately it seems like I am making home made pizza twice a week. It really is a delight making it, and it is also a good dish to make with the kids. Instead of buying a deep pizza dish, I just use my cast iron skillet and it works great.

I think everyone should try this at least once so I figured I would write up my basic sauce and dough to get you started!

Sauce (make the dough shown below first):

1 large can crushed tomatoes (15 oz.).
1 pound hot Italian sausage removed from the casings.
3 cloves of garlic minced.
1 large carrot minced.
1 medium red onion or shallot, diced.
1/2 pound mushrooms (I use Crimini) sliced with stems removed.
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
2 tablespoons each chopped basil and chopped oregano.
Salt and pepper.

You will need some - (More…)

While still on my grilling kick, I went a little overboard and cooked a pork shoulder on the grills rotisserie; a TEN POUND fresh shoulder. Seeing as how there is only four of us (two adults, two children), it was just slightly overkill.

As delicious as the roast was, there was a ton of leftover meat. So I packed it all into a piece of Tupperware, and let it stew on my mind overnight. What was I going to do with all this meat? It is the beginning of the week and we do not eat that many sandwiches!

I looked around the net to get some ideas and someone mentioned using it to make a Shepard’s pie. This seemed perfect and in the end it was. Now I just whipped this together so don’t hold me to exact measurements here. This is the kind of dish where just about anything goes so don’t be afraid if you change little things.

Leftover pork shoulder or butt, cut into bite size pieces. Probably about a pound or two.
1 small onion chopped.
1 - 1 1/2 carrots chopped.
I used a half can each of corn, peas, and green beans, but feel free to use what you want. I used a total of about 1 1/2 cups.
2-3 tablespoons oil (I used canola).
2-3 tablespoons flour (depending on how much oil you use).
About 2 cups of chicken stock.
3/4 tablespoon - (More…)

The warm spring and summer months starts up the grilling. The other day I wanted to grill something on my new grill and started going through the fridge. The loin lamb chops that were on the meat shelf screamed out loud “Grill Me!”

I then started going through the vegetable drawer trying to find something else I could cook up with the lamb at the same time and came across the parsnips. I prepared all of this ahead of time and so can you.

Parsnips:

3-4 pounds of parsnips cut in half lengthwise.
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika.
About a tablespoon lightly chopped sage.
Salt and Pepper.

Place the parsnips in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil for about 5-6 minutes until almost done. Cool.

Mix the rest of the ingredients (salt and pepper to taste) and toss with the parsnips in a suitable container. Refrigerate.

Lamb Chops:

10 loin lamb chops.
1 long sprig of rosemary.
3 cloves of garlic, minced.
1/4 cup of olive oil.
The juice of one lemon.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Strip the leaves from the rosemary and lightly chop. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and pour over the lamb chops in a suitable container and refrigerate.

Let the chops and parsnips marinate for at least an hour and up to 24 hours.

Preheat your grill on high and cook the parsnips and lamb chops together, placing the parsnips on - (More…)

I am always trying different things when it comes to leg of lamb. Sometimes it can be hard to find just the right taste with such a flavorful cut of meat. Many of the recipes you find for leg of lamb involve some sort of mint spice, but recently I decided to try something a little different.

I have read about people using Juniper berries with lamb but I am one of the few who does not care for that particular berry so I decided to go with cranberries instead. I use a well trimmed leg that has had most of the shank removed but still has the bone in higher up.

1 leg of lamb 4-6 pounds.
1 can of Guinness.
1 can of cranberry sauce (the whole berry version).
3 tablespoons honey.
Canola oil.
4 bay leaves.
2 sprigs of rosemary whole.
1 medium yellow onion, quartered.
5 cloves of garlic minced.
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Preheat oven to 250.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the beer and honey. It will take a couple minutes if the beer is cold as the honey will temporarily harden. It will be easier if the beer is room temperature. Add 3/4 of the can of cranberries to the mixture. Set aside.

Liberally salt and pepper the leg of lamb. In a medium skillet, add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Heat to medium high and when the - (More…)