Roasted Sausages & Pears Recipe

Sometimes the story behind a given dish is complicated. This is one of those recipes, though the recipe is is easy as can be. I'm particularly proud of it because it's rather original and I got a number of compliments on it and even a couple of requests for the recipe. It's spicy fennel flavored Italian sausages roasted with vinegar-marinated pears and onions. The resulting dish has spicy, savory and sweet flavors and can be made for as many or as few people as you like. It's a perfect dish for Fall. It represents my favorite type of recipe because it takes very little time, few ingredients and techniques but yields something absolutely delicious. I think you could call it foolproof. It can also be varied pretty easily--add other fruit, seasonings, vegetables, or different kinds of sausages. Here are the steps that lead to the recipe: 1. My initial motivation was to make something savory with pears. My mom has a pear tree that went a little crazy this year so I had...

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ChikaLicious Dessert Bar

I don't think it's possible to go to New York and not have wonderful culinary experiences. It's just that kind of town. When something terrible happens, you can keep your "brown paper packages tied up with string" I will simply call to mind my dream dessert experience at ChikaLicious in the East Village. I wrote about it years ago, because as someone who is terribly indecisive, the idea of a multi-course dessert menu sounded like a lot of fun. And I love the idea of a dessert only restaurant. Yes, a restaurant. It's much more than a cafe, it's fine service, pretty china, a lovely and relaxing ambiance and heavenly, perfectly balanced and proportioned desserts. It's also intimate, they can accommodate four guests per party, max. The menu offers plenty of "a la carte" options, but I recommend the three course menu, with or without wine. These days with fine plated desserts hovering around $10, the prix fixe price of $12 feels like a bargain. ...

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Keitt Mangoes: Favorite Things

Last year in the steamy Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden of South Florida I tasted about 15 different types of mangoes. I discovered that some are sweet, while others are tangy and refreshing. Some have subtle floral aromas, others have hints of citrus, spice, even nuts as well as tropical fruit. The world of mangoes is luscious and delicious to explore and I was one enthusiastic taster! While most mangoes in the US are grown in Florida, there are some grown in California like the organically grown Keitt . It's in season and in stores until the end of October and you don't want to miss it . The Keitt is one of my favorite mangoes, it's green on the outside and very large with a particularly thin seed. While more expensive than some mangoes, I think they are still a good value because they yield a ton of fruit. I recently had one that was almost 2 pounds and yielded several cups of diced fruit, 2 or 3 times as much fruit as a typical mango. The delectable Keitt has no fiber...

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