Dedicated To Lee Frank:

I was planning on making  these nachos that paired traditional Mexican ingredients with Spanish, French, and English elements as some kind of an elaborate culinary commentary on American colonialism. However, it would have been kind of a stretch to credit my Cracker Barrel white cheddar to the English, right? I also intended to make my tortillas from scratch, but when I went to my favorite Mexican supply store to find a press, they only had this gigantic metal one for like $80. They also had a three inch stack of fresh blue corn tortillas for $1.25.

So I still made my tortilla chips from scratch.

Topped with:

• White cheddar (Cracker Barrel, baby)
• Spicy Black Beans (chipotle peppers, garlic, lime juice, butter, shallots, honey. and sea salt)
• Fresh Salsa (cherry tomatoes, shallot, pickled Basque peppers, apple cider vinegar, and lime juice, sea salt)
• Pickled Basque Peppers

Go here: http://nachosny.com/

Chef Boy R.D.

My moth infestation came from a bag of semolina flour I foolishly bought from an irresponsible vendor. I have since learned that the local Italian baker is the best place to get my flour, since they basically rely on it for their very existence. Here are some photos of me making my hand made tagliatelle. There is no pasta machine here, just a rolling pin and a cleaver.

The final dish I made is ridiculously simple, just some butter, a few marinated black olives from Spain, and some grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Frankenstein & Beanies

My mom used to make really good franks and beans for us when we were kids, and still I like to make it for myself but with better quality ingredients than Hebrew National hot dogs and canned beans. This one was made with Ukrainian sausages, Scotch Bonnett peppers, double smoked slab bacon, brown sugar,  Dominican red beans, and is served with a few slices of  farmer’s rye bread to put out the fire.

Risotto Rosso

I have been on a chili pepper kick lately, and wanted to see if I could make a decent tasting spicy risotto. This dish came out so good that I don’t think I will ever make it without chilies again.

Comemierda Columbus.

My Cuban friend told me that my Moros was so good that maybe more white people should start cooking Latin food. (besides you, Bobby Flay)

The actual name of this dish is  “Moros y Cristianos”, or “Moors and Christians”, which cleverly describes the white rice being darkly colored by the black beans. As a Sephardic Jew, this is a rather ironic dish for me to be cooking since it clearly excludes my people  from the recipe. It’s somewhat appropriate to point out that today is Columbus Day, and in 1492 not only did Columbus sail the ocean blue, but Spain expelled all the Jews.  It was a busy year for them. This clearly explains why this dish doesn’t have any gefilte fish in it.

Stuffed Meat.

So if you follow this blog (which you probably don’t because its like 5 posts old) you may have noticed that I haven’t posted anything in about three weeks. Why is this you ask? I have been the unfortunate victim of a pantry moth invasion which brought about by purchasing a contaminated bag of semolina flour. I had to throw out pretty much everything I had and keep my pantry empty until they died out. After waging mothicide for weeks, I furnished my pantry with about $100 worth of gorgeous Bormioli Rocco Fido jars. I am now in the process of steadily restocking everything back to pre-war stock, and have many culinary projects planned. Stay tuned for more porn, it’s coming…..on your face.

While out of commission I did manage to make it out to Hartford,  where I had a reunion with basically the only thing worth going to Connecticut for: Lena’s stuffed meat pizza. This thing has more animal protein in it than pizza, basically the bread, sauce, and cheese are just garnishes for about a pound of delicious assorted meats.

Shrimpish Good Looks

Man I love shrimp…

Broiled shrimp with whole wheat penne an my homemade marinara.

Grilled shrimp marinated in ancho chili, garlic, lime, and ginger.

Shrimps onn the barbie.