The holidays are a great time to make Meatballs! If you want to entertain royally this year, consider the meatball. Made well ahead of time, these bite-sized hors d’oeuvres are a perfect addition to your repertoire.  As a center of the plate item for dinner…

THIS FRESH SALMON BURGER  TAKES ABOUT AS MUCH TIME AS A BEEF BURGER Picture this: a salmon burger that’s juicy, and full of fresh salmon flavor. It all starts with fresh salmon, part of which is finely ground to create the perfect binder, while the…

THIS IS THE WORLD’S BEST LASAGNA. A symbol of Italian cuisine, this layering of an intensely flavored meaty Bolognese sauce with a silky-rich bechamel sauce, and a restrained sprinkling of cheese has made it our best lasagna recipe for years. It bears very little resemblance…

You can adapt this one-pot dinner recipe to Chicken, Pork, or Turkey. The ground meat of your choice is combined with fennel seed, Pecorino Romano, and onion and made into meatballs. The meatballs then cook in a flavor-filled Chicken broth together with orzo pasta, lemon…

Here’s a Burger you can eat with or without a bun We’re always up for a great burger. So when we came across this recipe, we jumped.  It packs a terrific punch of flavor, in this case solidly planted in Southeast Asia. There’s lemongrass, ginger,…

Polpettone in Crosta. An Italian take on Meatloaf takes the dish to another level! “Meatloaf” never looked more spectacular or tasted anything quite like Sofia’s Polpettone. Its crunchy shell of puff pastry revealed a richly seasoned pork and veal mixture greatly enhanced a handful of…

Cover Photo from “Ripe Figs” Credit: Matt Russell We’ve just returned from Greece with some great new recipes In case you don’t follow us on Instagram* or have wondered when our next post was coming, we’re back from one of the most wonderful trips we’ve…

Today, March 9th, the gods of whoever invents National Fill-In-the-Blank Days has declared in favor of the Meatball.  Who could think of a better day for Chewing The Fat to present our most popular meatballs ever?  In the past ten years, meatballs have been a…

Four Fantastic Ways to Celebrate this American Treasure Andrew went back to work this week in Manhattan. No one was gladder to do so.  While I tap away on my keyboard blissfully year in and year out, he was less than enchanted with our endless…

Rao’s, the Iconic Italian Restaurant in East Harlem, is Working To Keep New York’s Partnership Schools Open and Thriving. Fifteen years ago, Frank Pellegrino Sr. of Rao’s Restaurant helped save a nearby small elementary school in Harlem – Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary – from the brink…

Open up your Asian pantry and make great meatballs in 20 minutes flat. When I saw this recipe in the New York Times, I had misfired with meatballs all too recently. I’ll spare the ugly details, but that recipe used un-cooked rice in a meatball…

A perfect lunch or casual dinner dish features Asian flavors just right for the whole family. This is a wonderful flavor-filled casual meal for serving at lunch or dinner.  It brings Asian tastes to the table achieving the balance of sweet, sour, salty and umani…

One of New York’s great Celebrity Chefs cuts cooking time on an Italian Classic Chef Bobby Flay has been one of my favorite New York chefs ever since I worked above his store. That is to say when my office was above Mesa Grill, his…

A Passion for Asian Flavors takes us to…Australia! Ever since I went to Vietnam two years ago, through Singapore and Hong Kong, I’ve been on the lookout for Asian recipes.  I love the combination of flavors, the ease of a stir-fry and the speed with…