GENERAL HONORE’S SWEET POTATO SOUFFLÉ

General Honore's Sweet Potato Soufflë

Ingredients:

3 medium-size sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/3 cup evaporated milk

For topping:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/3 cup flour

Directions:

1. Peheat oven to 350 degrees F. Boil sweet potatoes or yams in enough water to cover until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and mash well, ensuring there are no lumps. You should have about 3 cups

2. In a large bowl, mix together mashed sweet potato along with the sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and evaporated milk. Pour into buttered baking dish

3. For the topping, combine butter, brown sugar, pecans and flour and sprinkle evenly on top of sweet potato mixture.

4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until mixture is set and topping is bubbly.

GENERAL RUSSELL HONORE’S ROAST PORK

GENERAL RUSSEL HONORE'S ROAST PORK

"I grill year-round, in spite of  [the] weather," says Lieutenant General Russel Honore. "If my kids come for a long weekend for Thanksgiving, I finish off the high-calorie weekend with my grilled Boston butt." The general, who has a book coming out in May 2009, Survival: How A Culture of Preparedness Can Help Save Your Family During Disaster (Simon & Schuster), sears, smokes, and roasts the pork, which he calls "my Thanksgiving dish" because he not only loves to grill, but he also loves to serve pork during the holidays like his parents did.
Ingredients:
10-pound Boston butt
4 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons black pepper
4 tablespoons paprika
4 tablespoons garlic powder
4 garlic cloves
4 whole, cayenne peppers

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, mix together salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder and work the mixture into the meat. With a sharp knife, make four holes in the roast and plug each hole with a garlic clove and a whole red cayenne pepper.
3. Heat grill (may use charcoal or gas grill) on high. Put roast on grill and sear on each side until butt is browned, but not burned, about 20 minutes per side. Stay with the grill to ensure the roast does not scorch. If using a charcoal grill or smoker, you may add your favorite wood chips to the fire if you like the smoke flavor.
4. Remove roast from grill and put into covered Dutch oven or any roaster covered with aluminum foil. Roast in oven for a half hour, then reduce heat to 280 degrees F and roast for another 2 1/2 hours or about 15 minutes per pound, until the roast registers an internal temperature of 170 degrees.
5. Remove from oven when cooked and let stand for 15 minutes before slicing. You should have a lot of gravy in pan. Skim off grease from pan gravy and serve roast with a plate of white beans and rice or on crusty bread, with pan juices.
Serves 6 to 8.

FRUIT AND TOMATO SALAD

FRUIT AND TOMATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS

1 pint multicolored cherry tomatoes, halved

½ cup blueberries

½ cup grapes, halved if large

½ cup raspberries

1 nectarine or plum, pitted and diced

¼ cup pomegranate seeds

Best-quality balsamic vinegar, to taste

Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste

Finely ground black pepper, to taste (optional)

Mix the tomatoes and other fruit in a bowl, seasoning them very lightly with a few drops of vinegar and oil and, if you like, a pinch of pepper.

CARROT ORANGE SORBET

CARROT ORANGE SORBET

Carrot Orange Sorbet

Makes 1 quart

Orange extract is used in this recipe to add some orange flavor without adding water from juice. If you love carrots and want a more pronounced carrot flavor, feel free to leave the orange extract out of the recipe. If you don’t have orange extract, you can substitute a little orange zest.

1/3 cup water

1 cup sugar

2 cups carrot juice

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp triple sec

1/2 tbsp orange extract

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water and sugar and bring to a simmer. Cook until sugar is dissolved, about 6 minutes. Cool sugar syrup to room temperature.

When syrup is cool, add carrot juice, lemon juice, triple sec, and orange extract. Stir to combine.

Cover and place in refrigerator to fully chill, at least 4 hours. Once chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place parchment over sorbet (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

ITALIAN EASTER PIE

Italian Easter Pie

If you’re looking for a classic Italian Easter Pie recipe (also called Pizza Rustica), the search is over. This baby is packed with more than two pounds of meat, including sweet Italian sausage, salami, hot capicola, smoked ham, and prosciutto. The buttery homemade crust sandwiches the filling, which oozes with melty pockets of mozzarella cheese. The addition of roasted red peppers adds a nice bright flavor to this rich Italian Easter Pie pie. The pie needs to sit for at least 3 hours after it’s baked before you can slice into it, so we suggest making it the day before, then heating to serve.

Ingredients

For the crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 large egg

7 tablespoons ice water

Nonstick cooking spray

For the filling:

8 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1 (15-oz.) container whole-milk ricotta cheese

8 ounces low-moisture mozzarella cheese, cubed

⅛ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

4 large eggs

8 ounces salami, cubed

8 ounces hot capicola, cubed

8 ounces smoked ham, cubed

2 ounces thinly sliced proscuitto

1 cup tightly packed whole roasted red bell peppers (about 7 oz.), drained and patted dry with paper towels

2 (10-oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry and pressed between paper towels to remove all moisture

2½ ounces Parmesan cheese, finely shredded (about 1 cup)

How to Make It

Prepare the crust: Combine flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined, 3 to 4 times. Add butter and egg; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 times. Sprinkle ice water over dough; pulse until dough begins to form a ball. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half, and shape into 2 (4-inch) disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle position. Unwrap 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll to a 16-inch circle, and carefully fit into a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the filling: Cook Italian sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high, breaking up sausage with a spoon until crumbled and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate and let cool completely, about 15 minutes. Whisk ricotta, mozzarella, pepper, and 3 of the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in salami, capicola, and ham.

Shingle prosciutto slices in bottom of prepared dough-lined pan. Spread ricotta mixture over prosciutto. Scatter browned sausage over ricotta mixture, pressing lightly into an even layer. Shingle red bell peppers over sausage; top with spinach and Parmesan.

Roll remaining dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Carefully place over filling. Trim overhang so that it’s even with bottom crust; pinch top and bottom crusts firmly together. Fold dough under and crimp edges.

Lightly beat remaining egg and brush liberally over top of pie. Using a paring knife, cut 4 (1-inch) vents in top of dough in a circular pattern. Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 1 hour. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until a thermometer inserted in center of pie registers 150°F, about 30 more minutes. Transfer pie to a wire rack, and let cool at least 3 hours before serving. Carefully remove sides of pan, and cut pie into slices to serve. Or cool completely, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

LECHON IN HONOR OF FIDEL

LECHON IN HONOR OF FIDEL

LECHON ASADO IN HONOR OF FIDEL

12-15lbs Pork Leg (three pork butts will do)

2 1/2 cups of sour orange juice (2/3 orange juice, 1/3 lime juice if sour orange unavailable)

3 heads of garlic, finely chopped

2 1/2 tablespoons of oregano

2 1/2 teaspoons of cumin

2 1/2 cups of white cooking wine

sea salt to taste

Poke holes in leg and insert garlic, rub with salt

Mix remaining ingredients in bag

Place roast in bag and marinate over night (turning to coat several times)

Remove roast from marinade

Preheat oven to 350 degress

Place covered in oven for 5-6 hours, remove and baste several times during the process.

Remove from oven and sprinkle a dash of chopped parsley for color

Serve with Rice and Black beans or Boiled Yuca, spoon the juice over meat and yucca!

TOMATO SALAD WITH RED ONION AND BASIL

We could call this Saints Dip for last year's Super Bowl winners! Parmesan cheese helps hold ingredients together. You can also serve this versatile recipe with crackers over a block of cream cheese or toss leftovers in a Caesar salad.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Italian olive salad, drained 1 cup diced salami (about 4 oz.) 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini salad peppers 1 (2 1/4-oz.) can sliced black olives, drained 4 ounces provolone cheese, diced 1 celery rib, finely chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley Serve with: French bread crostini

How to Make It

Step 1

Stir together first 9 ingredients. Cover and chill 1 to 24 hours before serving. Stir in parsley just before serving. Serve with French bread crostini. Store leftovers in refrigerator up to 5 days.