My Friend Chef Jason Dowd and I made a Porchetta Roast in the test kitchen one day after talking about it for a week. I watched as he rubbed the meat down with a blend of seasonings that included fennel pollen. Here is a great video from LuckyPeachTV that shows how Italy's Best Porchetta is Made.

"Vito's Norcineria was established a century ago or so in Marino, a small town a few kilometers south of Rome. There, he makes a mix of classic salumi, sausages, and prosciuttos, along with some more esoteric stuff that has grown out of his obsessive desire to research and perfect his craft: coppa di testa without testa, Arnad-style lard, and three kinds of salumi made from three different breeds of local pigs (some of whom are raised for him by an acquaintance who regularly blood-tests the animals to confirm the purity of their pedigree)."

Of course you could go to you local butcher and ask them for a pork loin roast with belly attached make sure the skin is on as well. The skin becomes like pork cracklings and is delicious!

Here is a recipe from Forking Tasty that seems easy to follow!

After it is done you can carve it thin ans serve it with potatoes roasted in the oven or make some great sandwiches on Ciabatta with an Caper and Parsley Aioli. Here is a recipe from Kelsey Nixson, Food Network.

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Roast Pork Loin with Blood Orange and Red Onions

Beer Batter Fish!

Is I write this post I have memories of my mother standing on one leg in the kitchen patiently frying shrimp, cod and smelt for Christmas Eve.  Anna Marie loved her fried fish!

This is a great recipe to use for the Christmas Eve Feast!

When not the holiday season, we also served Beer Battered Fish at our family restaurant to rave reviews!  We would usually batter cod, halibut and perch then serve them up "all you can eat" with piles of potato pancakes ( apple sauce and sour cream), french fries, tarter sauce and coleslaw.

So get some beer and some fish, make some batter, fry some fish, drink some beer.....

And if you are looking for an amazing seafood cookbook check out the one by celebrity chef Rick Moonen below!

Breading for Calamari

There is nothing better than a large plate of beautifully light and crisp fried calamari!  My friend Peter use to be manager at Centro in Chicago and they featured a large portion piled high on a platter with lots of Parmesan and lemon.

The following breading for calamari is similar but I added a few ingredients for flavor and heat.

I soak the squid in milk so it is tender.  You may serve this with marinara sauce and lemon. 

Try this also with shrimp as well. Here is a link to ChefTalk regarding some often asked questions about frying calamari.

This is great for the Christmas Eve Feast!

Braised Greens

I use to wonder if my relatives were crazy when they went into the yard and picked dandelion greens.  I use to think what are they doing eating "weeds"!  Little did I know at 7 years old that braised greens taste great!

I personally like escarole and have made this recipe in the past as a side, a base for chicken dishes, toss into pasta, with polenta or as a pizza topping.

I have even seen it used as a filling for Arancini