Ham and Cannellini Bean Stew

This was one of those thrown together dinners that I really had no intention of photographing- but it turned out to be a great surprise. Take some leftover ham steaks cut into chunks, add a can of cannellini beans, a chopped onion, and a diced tomato, toss them in a pot, add a little salt and pepper to season, and enough water to cover everything. Let it simmer for two (or more) hours. At the end, you will have a thin broth- thicken it up with a slurry of warm water with a little dissolved flour, and serve it over a bed of rice. As simple as it sounds, it is greater than the sum of its parts- all the meatiness of the ham permeates the dish, and plays really well with the beans. I love the fact that it's a dish that can take leftovers, add a few new items, and transform them into something great. I'll be keeping this one in my bag of tricks for a while.

Shiraz - Greenwood Village, Colorado

As I've said in my last few posts- the Denver area appears to boast a very lively, varied, and vibrant restaurant scene- especially to the south of town near the concentration of technology companies known as the Denver Tech Center. When I stopped for my sushi lunch, I noticed there was also an interesting Persian restaurant in the very same shopping center, so when the opportunity arose, I paid a visit to the restaurant called Shiraz...

Las Brisas, Greenwood Village, Colorado

Denver is a city that runs mostly under the radar for most people from the northeast. What most of us don't realize is that the mile high city is a bustling, lively community, and home to a surprising number of technology companies and big businesses of all types. This is most apparent in the area callen the "Denver Tech Center" about 30 minutes south of downtown. The area is filled with office buildings, industrial and commercial parks, and all manner of smaller supporting businesses, includinga surprising number of restaurants of all sizes- Las Brisas is one of them.

Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia's foodie paradise



Any self-proclaimed "foodie" worth their salt should feel compelled to visit the Reading Terminal Market if they are in Philadelphia. It is a place out of an earlier time, when refrigeration was rare, and produce had to be sold as close to the transportation bringing it into a young and rapidly expanding city center. This market occupies an entire city block underneath the Reading rail terminal (now the Market East rail station). It's location in the heart of a hungry city, and arms length from the trains that brought in supplies and produce made it a natural place for a market to develop and thrive. Now that food can easily be stored and preserved anywhere, such a market is no longer a necessity, but Philadelphia's has been preserved out of tradition, and is now part marketplace, and part food court- a center of activity, and a place to go for high-quality food and produce still made with artisan-level care and skill. Below you will find a series of photos I snapped, along with the meal I enjoyed there.

Chile Relleno with Pork Carnitas from Spicy Cantina, Seaside Heights, NJ

The Boardwalk at Seaside Heights has a reputation as a place for party animals, guidos, steroid freaks, and young ladies with loose morals and a low tolerance for alcohol. So, naturally, you'd go there and climb the stairs from the first floor beach bar and quick pick-up grill to find yourself in....

A Trip to the Cheesecake Factory, Bridgewater, NJ

So, we all know chain restaurants are typically held to lower standards than most restaurants. In recent years, the chain restaurants seem to have made a concerted effort to step up their game- so when my young daughter innocently asked to go to the Cheesecake Factory after her pre-school "graduation" ceremony, I was curious to see how they would do (and have a nice big hunk of cheesecake too...)

A Simple Steak Dinner

My readers may have noticed that I've been posting far fewer home cooking articles, and more about restaurant food. Over the past few months, my "day job" has been going through a few changes- I'm not home as often, so my wife ends up doing most of the day-to-day cooking, plus my job now involves occasional travel and more meetings with clients, vendors, and whatnot- meaning more opportunities to eat out at interesting places... In any case, this was my first opportunity in a while to spend a little time really cooking, so I chose something simple and classic that stands on it's own with little need for adornment...

Stuffed Peppers - Paradiso Deli & Cafe, Moonachie, New Jersey

There is a small Italian Deli/Cafe occupying part of the ground floor of an office building very close to where my "day job" is. Paradiso is a classic, traditional Italian deli, with a handful of tables crammed into their relatively small space. They have a small deli counter packed with a tempting assortment of cured meats whose names end in vowels, and generally make a nice Sicilian boy from New York, like me, feel right at home. Their location makes them a perfect spot for hungry workers in this mainly industrial/commercial area, so they also feature a selection of high quality hot food specialties. Despite the fact that the food is served in styrofoam take-out containers, they get it right, absolutely, wonderfully right.