If we can cook it, you can cook it!

Category: Comfort Food

Easy Duck Confit…Revisited.

Easy Duck Confit…Revisited.

 It’s been almost ten years since we made this recipe and it’s still as good as it gets. One of the great challenges I face is to constantly look for new recipes, new combinations and new takes on the classics.  When you think about it,…

Blueberry Maple Granola

Blueberry Maple Granola

I’ve been working on Chewing The Fat’s first book. It’s a compendium of Andrew’s masterful baking.  The very last recipe was for homemade Granola.  The mere thought of it brought back memories of just how good it was.  It was so far superior to any…

Instant Pot Chicken Soup Two Ways…with and without Noodles

Instant Pot Chicken Soup Two Ways…with and without Noodles

If you live in the East, you’re experiencing an arctic blast of obscenely low temperatures. We’re so bundled up against the cold, not even the runners are out these mornings.  There is a cure for the cold. And that of course, is a bowl of…

Thick Cut Pork Chops with Mushrooms, Shallots and Spinach

Thick Cut Pork Chops with Mushrooms, Shallots and Spinach

On Chewing The Fat, the recipes really do come from everywhere.  However in this case, it came from closer to home–our own kitchen. I had an intense desire for a Pork Chop and not one of those boneless half inch deals swathed in plastic wrap. …

Jeff Lobb’s Herbed Rack of Pork and Trine Hahnemann’s Red Cabbage

Jeff Lobb’s Herbed Rack of Pork and Trine Hahnemann’s Red Cabbage

Our friend Jeff Lobb is a wonderful cook and entertains beautifully. Especially when his partner Don is in the kitchen with him.  And if Jeff is famous for one dish above all others, it is his fondness for Rack of Pork that stands out.  This…

15 Minute Skillet Pan Pizza

15 Minute Skillet Pan Pizza

I consider Pizza a perfect food.  In one slice, you combine dairy, vegetables, carbohydrates and protein.  And you pick it up with one hand to eat it—no utensils necessary. All right, I use a fork which is contrary to New York pizza etiquette but not…

Jacques Pépin’s Superb recipe for Spinach and Gruyère Stuffed Pork Chops

Jacques Pépin’s Superb recipe for Spinach and Gruyère Stuffed Pork Chops

If you follow me on Instagram (@montemathews) you know that I have been in Scandinavia all last week.  I boarded Viking Star in Germany and sailed to Denmark and Norway. As soon as I can cook them, I’ll be sharing some wonderful discoveries on my…

Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie

Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie

An old favorite takes on new flavors in just about 60 minutes Out here in the Hamptons, the day after Labor Day is called “Tumbleweed Tuesday”.  It is the day when the place completely clears out as everyone heads back to school and work. It…

Weeknight Spaghetti and Meatballs: Beef and Pork Meatballs in Tomato Fennel Sauce

Weeknight Spaghetti and Meatballs: Beef and Pork Meatballs in Tomato Fennel Sauce

Andrew’s sister Lauren and I have an ongoing contest to find people who comment on a recipe they’ve so radically altered it bears no resemblance to the original. Despite having tinkered with the ingredients, the quantities, the cooking time until the recipe is unrecognizable, you’d…

Perfect For Super Bowl Sunday and “This Is Us”…Monte’s Bourbon Chili

Perfect For Super Bowl Sunday and “This Is Us”…Monte’s Bourbon Chili

If you are a fan of “This Is Us”, the television phenomenon, you may have seen the episode leading up to this week’s Finale after the Super Bowl.  Last week, Jack and Rebecca were all prepared for Super Bowl Sunday.   I don’t know how…

Chicken Pot Pie in a Puff Pastry Crust

Chicken Pot Pie in a Puff Pastry Crust

Starting this blog off with an entirely new design involved a lot of trips down Memory Lane.  It was a very long and complex project just to get the old posts transferred over.  Each and every one of them had to be reviewed and the…

Orecchiette with Sausage and Green Vegetables

Orecchiette with Sausage and Green Vegetables

I sometimes think I should have called Chewing The Fat “Chewing the Pasta”.  I have such fondness for pasta that I make it on a weekly basis.  I am well aware of how many people eschew its carbohydrates. Sorry, they’re missing one of life’s great…

Yankee Pot Roast

As we head into winter, what could be better than a Yankee Pot Roast for dinner one of these weekends.  Slow-cooked over a period of hours, the relatively inexpensive cut of meat used in the dish becomes meltingly tender. The sauce created lends itself to…