Normally made with the small calms called ‘Little Neck’, at least in the eastern U.S., Clams Oreganata has been a favorite Italian appetizer since at least “The Golden Age of Pompous Dining”. When I cooked professionally during that fabled culinary period I served many a portion and they were tender and delicious. But I don’t…
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Bread and Sausage Dressing
This is a wonderfully versatile dressing that can be used with roast chicken, turkey, duck or goose. It’s great for stuffed pork chops and can be rolled up in chicken, pork or veal cutlets. Your holiday crown roast of pork would certainly benefit from having this recipe cooked inside the crown. Truth is, it makes…
Low Carb Sausage And Pepper Pinwheels
I was invited to a party by a neighbor not too long ago and I offered to bring an appetizer. I was feeling adventurous so I decided to make something new. Not “new” as in something that I had not made prior. “New” as in something that I’d never even heard of. I settled on…
Leonard’s Grilled Potatoes
When my wife was a child, her Dad would make a summer side dish that her whole family loved. He would slice potatoes and onions, season them and add a bit of oil. Then he would wrap it all up tightly in aluminum foil and throw it on a hot charcoal grill. After a short…
My Beloved Weber Q
If you’ve spent any time at the Chef Hacker Kitchen website or YouTube page you may know that I have an early model Ducane Grill that I absolutely love. I bought it in 1997 and I’ve been using it several times a week, winter and summer, for the last 25 plus years! But what I…
Easter Wheat Pie
My Great Aunt Mary served me a slice of this delicious pie many years ago and when I asked her for the recipe she handed me what looked like a business card with a short list of ingredients written on it. She told me that the hardest part of the recipe is finding the wheat…
Matzo Ball Soup With A Greek Diner Hack
I love to eat at diners. Fresh coffee in ceramic mugs. Hard top tables, booths and counters. Pastries on display under plasti-glass domes. Authentic gum chewing servers. Menus that have multiply pages of breakfast lunch and dinner items that can be had anytime of the day or night. What is not to like? Whenever I…
Roast Leg Of Lamb
Is there a roast that engenders more passion than a leg of lamb? I think not. People seem to either love it or hate it. Why Is That? I don’t really know but I do have a couple of suspicions that I feel have high odds of being correct. The first is, that some folks…
Lets Explore Mirepoix!
A lot of cooking is elemental. That is, finished dishes are often made by taking ingredients that have already been prepared and combining them with additional ingredients or preparations. One simplest of examples is Spaghetti and Meatballs. Perhaps you would first mix, roll and fry the meatballs. Next you might cook the tomato sauce. After…
Rice Pilaf: An Easy-To-Make Classic Side Dish
Not only is this is classic and versatile side dish quick and easy to make. It’s also delicious and universally appreciated. Over the years I’ve made it for family and friends of many different social and ethnic backgrounds and I can say with certainty that everyone has enjoyed it. In fact, when I entertain I…