Ramp Biscuits with Ramp and Jowl Bacon Gravy from Above
Breads & Baked Goods Meat Sauces & Condiments Wild Foods

Country Comfort: Ramp & Jowl Bacon Gravy

It’s not surprising that most classic recipes are built on the solid foundation of good old-fashioned country cooking. Ramp and Jowl Bacon Gravy is insanely good over hot, homemade biscuits (check our recipe for Ramp Buttermilk Biscuits), but would be equally at home gracing a roasted veal chop in a fancy white-tablecloth restaurant. No wonder that down-home ingredients like ramps have found their way onto the menus of so many upscale dining establishments! A spoonful or two of this rich, …

Ramps laying on a green platter
Sauces & Condiments Vegetables Wild Foods

Ramps: America’s Love Affair with the Smelly (But Addictively Delicious) Wild Leek

Over the years, many North Americans have come to know and love the lowly wild member of the onion family known as the “ramp” (Allium tricoccum). Why? Ramps possess an unmistakable flavor and powerful aroma that immediately announces their membership in the widespread onion family (Alliaceae), but which is, at the same time, absolutely unique. Ramps, or wild leeks, as they are commonly known in the northern part of their range, have earned their place in the lore of the …

Meat Sauces & Condiments

Ramp Chimichurri

It’s now officially spring, and while winter weather is still hanging on across much of the country, we can’t help but anticipate warmer weather and all the wild spring bounty that comes along with it. Fresh ramps, or wild leeks as they’re known in the north, are beginning to shoot up and should be ready for harvest in a few more days, but in the meanwhile, we’re satisfying our cravings with plump, mellow ramp bulbs that were frozen at the …

Pan-Fried Bison Steak with Morel & Ramp Bordelaise Sauce
Meat Mushrooms Sauces & Condiments Wild Foods

Steak with Morel & Ramp Bordelaise Sauce

The quickest, easiest and – some would say – best way to cook a steak is to pan-fry it. Certainly, this is an attractive option in the depths of winter, but the results are exceptional enough to make it a preferred method year round. After a quick sear on both sides, the steak can be cooked to perfection in 10 minutes or less without all the fuss and mess of a broiler or grill. With the steak right there in …

Poultry

Black & White Garlic Chicken

Inspired by the classic 40 Clove Chicken, this amazing slow-cooked casserole of falling-off-the-bone, garlic-scented chicken is worth the wait. Yes, we actually used 40 cloves of garlic in this dish – 20 cloves of regular, every day fresh garlic and 20 of the startlingly ebony-colored black garlic. In case you’re unfamiliar with the stuff, black garlic is not a new strain of garlic; it’s created by fermenting whole heads of normal garlic in a carefully controlled environment of heat and …

Sweet Potato & Cornmeal Pancakes with Spicy Maple Syrup
Breads & Baked Goods

Sweet Potato & Cornmeal Pancakes with Spicy Maple Syrup

“Romance” may not be the first word that springs to mind when you’re making pancakes. But consider again. Our Sweet Potato & Cornmeal Pancakes with Spicy Maple Syrup are sweet, they’re hot, they NEVER disappoint – and they’re a delight to wake up to in the morning. Sounds a lot like true love. We’re not talking about your usual pancakes. These tender cakes are light and fluffy, of course, but they’re also generously laced with tasty bits of shredded sweet …

Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kho)
Asian Soups & Stews

Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kho)

It’s hard to imagine anything more appetizing than the house-filling fragrance of simmering bo kho, the classic Vietnamese beef stew. For those die-hard carnivores who shy away from Asian food, this dish is the perfect introduction to a new world of flavors. This is rib-sticking comfort food at its finest, with a new dimension that comes from the creative use of the intensely aromatic herbs and spices that infuse it with the characteristic flavors of Southeast Asia. Vietnam has long …

Pasta with Porcini & Artichokes
Mushrooms Pasta Vegetables Wild Foods

Bucatini con Funghi e Carciofi (Pasta with Porcini and Artichokes)

The artichoke is technically a thistle, but its prickly exterior and leathery leaves aren’t enough to deter devoted fans. Underneath that tough exterior lies a tender, delicately flavored and meaty heart. Once the artichoke is cooked, whether by steaming, boiling or roasting, the outer leaves can be stripped away, one by one, and their succulent tips devoured, revealing the hidden prize inside. The artichoke lover’s dilemma: eat the heart now or save it for another use? It’s often too much …

Poached Pears and Chestnuts from Above
Desserts

Poached Pears with Maple & Black Pepper-Glazed Chestnuts

  Fall is the time of plenty. With a bounty of produce, fruit and nuts at hand, the biggest challenge is often deciding how to make the best possible use of it all. But it’s not an unpleasant task, and finding creative new ways to combine familiar ingredients can be its own reward. Pears and chestnuts are one such combination, but they go together quite well indeed. Both have interesting textures; similar, yet subtly different in unique ways. When cooked, …

Appetizers Tips and Techniques Vegetables

Roasting Fresh Chestnuts (Open Fire Not Required)

  Everybody knows that song about “chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” right?  Well, if you have a special chestnut pan you really can roast them over an open fire. Your chestnut pan will have holes in the bottom and a long handle so that you can hold it over an open fire at a comfortable distance. Don’t have a chestnut pan?  Not to worry – you can still easily and successfully roast fresh chestnuts, with no open fire required! There are …