Recipes

IWBW Brussel Sprouts (the world famous recipe)

1 lb fresh Brussel Sprouts

½ sweet onion

Olive Oil

Ground Black Pepper

Sea Salt (Kosher Salt)

Cast Iron Skillet with a cover

Prep –

Chop the stems off the sprouts, halve them if they are small
quarter them if they are large.

Dice the onion

Bring the skillet to medium heat

Coat the bottom of the skillet with olive oil about 1/16”
deep.

Cooking-

Toss the sprouts into the skillet trying get them cut side
down as best as possible.

Stir the sprouts every minute or so until they are golden on
a few sides and add the diced onion then salt and pepper to taste, cover and
reduce heat to low, cook an additional 20 minutes.

Options-

Start with sautéed bacon rather than olive oil

Add hot pepper

Add crumbled cooked Italian sausage

Pasta is almost a religion in our house, we thrive on it and it renews our spirits –  seriously!

We have developed a very simple recipe that can take infinte adaptations but at it’s core is comfort, honesty and truth. All welcome in today’s world.

Why do we make our own sauce? Because cooking relaxes me and Lorraine loves that I cook for her, need I say more.

Why should you make your own sauce? Because it will relax you and your dinner mates will love you for it, trust me it works.

Ingredients

Chopped tomatoes – 4c fresh in season, we use Hunt’s Chopped 28 0z canned tomatoes exclusively when not using fresh.

Fresh herbs, Basil, Rosemary, Parsely, pick one you have or can easily obtain, dry Italian herb mix when nothing fresh is available, handful of basil or parsely, two nice sprigs of rosemary

Garlic – the fresher the better, locally grown if possible, 2 – 5 cloves

Olive Oil – Extra Virgin

Sea Salt, Fresh Ground Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper

IWBW wine, you choose they are all good with pasta, consume while cooking, add to sauce, consume while dining.

Caution, we like it HOT !!! this base recipe is mild, apply what ever heat makes you happy.

The Process

Dice garlic 2 – 5 cloves depending on size, strength and your taste buds

Coat bottom of a heavy sauce pan with oil

At a medium low heat saute garlic, do not brown garlic, browned garlic is bitter and a completely different experience, it’s not bad, just not for this recipe.

Dice half of the herbs, reserve the rest to garnish the finised pasta

Add salt and pepper to taste and crushed red for a hint of heat.

Add the tomatoes bring to a hard simmer and reduce to a low simmer

Is the water boiling yet for the pasta? If your stove is like ours you should have turned the water on first, good lord it takes time to boil water on a gas stove!

103% of the time Lorraine wants Linguini, we usually have Linguini, I was a Capellini guy, but now I like Linguini ( Happy Wife, Happy Life)

Cook the pasta per directions to al dente, drain and place in serving dish, cover pasta with sauce, chop the remaining fresh herbs and sprinkle over the pasta.

Serve with crusty bread and dust with fresh grated romano cheese. Please use Freshly Grated Cheese, after all this you deserve it.

Pretty Simple eh?

Worth the time, every time

Future posts will expand the recipe stay tuned.

The Story Behind The Recipe:

When I was a kid my dad and godfather always talked about going on a fishing trip to Canada, when we finally got there, after a day of ice cold fishing, here’s what dad cooked….Which I have named ” Italian pork stew” – this recipe is approved by Lorraine Izzo, Sous Chef IWBW

Ingredients:

• Pork Chops – enough for who’s coming to dinner
  (I now use cubed pork loin, no waste and easier to work, figure about 1/3 lb per guest or more)
• Peas – 1-2 cans
• IWBW Pinot Noir or IWBW Seyval, enough for who’s coming to dinner, some in the meal, some in the cook, some in the Guest!
• Onion – diced
• Garlic – diced
• 28 oz of canned tomatoes – crushed or diced, which do you prefer?
• Potatoes cubed to 1/2
• Mushrooms – small can – be a man add some fungus
• Seasoning, salt, pepper, hot pepper (Zane Cramer* seasoning)

Time to Cook:

1. Cube the pork and season with salt pepper and Zane Cramer Seasoning.
2. In a heavy skillet brown potatoes in a coating of oil, EV olive oil is my favorite.
3. When potatoes are starting to brown, add some diced onion and continue the party.
4. In your other heavy skillet brown the pork coated with oil and seasoning, either cubes or chops when hey start to caramelize (brown) open, drain and add the mushrooms, douse with either Pinot Noir or Seyval and sauté till wine is reduced (reduced is a fancy word for absorbed and evaporated)
5. Now add the potato mixture to the pork mixture, stir, add the tomatoes, stir, add the peas, stir, and let simmer 10 minutes. Enjoy with crusty bread and a nice salad

Serve with:

• IWBW Pinot or Seyval.
• All thanks to Mario, my dad and one hell of a cook!

*Zane Cramer sold me a snowmobile years ago and happens to grow, dry and crush very hot peppers. A year after my purchase we received a sample of Zane’s craft and still (5 years later) have a shaker of this wonderful blend, second to none for flavor and HEAT.

Inspired by Fred Lawton of Ogdensburg NY.

I met Fred while we roomed together in 1984 at the rehab unit of SUNY upstate, we both had become paraplegics and were working our way back into the real world. We ordered out and when the meal was delivered Fred questioned why on earth would anyone eat chicken wings—here’s no meat on em.

Fred we have a solution.

Ingredients

12 country style chicken wings AKA drumsticks

UncleBuck’s Chicken Fry Seasoning mix – Hot & Spicy (available at Bass Pro)

Follow the directions on the UncleBuck’s mix and you will end up with Huge authentic chicken wings, usually I am not a proponent of prepackaged solutions, but this stuff is easy and pretty damn good – semi serious heat and buffalo style flavor on a piece of meat Fred Lawton would think was worth the trouble to nibble on. Folks you can’t gourmet everyday!

Recommended wines – Izzo’s White Barn Winery, White, Blush or Red, these full flavored semi sweet wines pair well with the rich, hot and spicy meat of “Country Style Wings” a true comfort food.