Rosemary

Basting the chicken with lemon juice while it’s on the grill gives it a tangy taste. For the marinade, steeping the rosemary in hot water intensifies the flavor of the herb.

For the porchetta at the RoliRoti truck, Thomas uses a deboned pork middle, cutting out about half of the belly fat and leaving about 1/2 inch of fat on the loin. If you’re unable to find pork middle (a special request item, for sure), he suggests using a skin-on pork belly and wrapping the loin inside of it. Thomas also uses his signature rotisserie. Using a home version would be ideal, but this recipe has been adjusted so that it can be made in a standard oven.

This butter is delicious with eggs, seared fish, steaks, pork chops, chicken, or to spread on savory muffins or scones. When making it, it is important that the butter is still a little firm, but not so cold that it won’t whip in the mixer. Take the butter out of the refrigerator a half hour to an hour before making the compound. For best results, don’t freeze this butter.

Marrying textures and tastes to one another is one of the most satisfying pleasures of cooking: the soft with the crisp, the steamily hot with the icily cold, the spicy with the mint cool. I somehow had a feeling that crisp crumbs might work well with the soft, collapsing flesh of a squash. They do, but are more interesting when the crumbs are not packed on top like a crumble but lightly scattered over and between the pieces of squash.

Onions make an important contribution to the filling of pies, providing a sweet balance for the savoriness of the meat and a necessary change of texture, too. A meat pie with no onions would be hard going. I rarely make a meat pie. It is one of those recipes I reserve for a cold autumn day, when it’s too wet to go out.

Cornmeal is often thought of as purely an American ingredient, probably because of our infatuation with cornbread, but Italians love cornmeal as much as we do. It’s not unusual in Italian bakeries to see rows of golden cakes and baskets of crumbly cookies made with polenta and sometimes flavored with a pour of olive oil, just in case you forget you’re in Italy. A bit of minced fresh rosemary infuses this cake with a familiar, yet elusive flavor. I wouldn’t dream of leaving the rosemary out. Polenta gives the cake a rustic feel; you can use stone-ground cornmeal instead to make a cake with a more refined texture that retains that agreeable crunch. As for the olive oil, use one that’s strong and fruity; its flavor is more important than its provenance.

This rustic flat bread is great served with white bean dip or dunked in red sauce. It’s also wonderful dipped in olive oil. Be sure to serve it warm.

Healthy bioflavonoids in orange zest and nutritious antioxidants in rosemary make this nourishing delight the perfect complement to a late afternoon cup of chai.

Although this excellent traditional Italian bread is yeasted, it does not take as long to make as other yeasted breads, since it requires only one rather brief rising. If you are making a long-simmering soup, this bread will likely fit into the time frame. It’s a natural pairing with Italian-style soups such as Minestrone (page 50), but it’s good with most any tomato-based soup.

Try this recipe with steak or tempeh or even veal. Spoon any residual broth over the chicken before serving and remember to remove the rosemary sprig.

I like to think of this recipe as comfort food without all the pots and pans. In the Western tradition, rosemary has traditionally been a symbol of friendship, love, and remembrance. In Chinese medicine, the evergreen herb is used as a warming remedy. Either way, this meal is guaranteed to bring a sense of warmth and security to all who partake. To prepare acorn squash, cut off the top and bottom ends and cut in half. Then scoop out the seeds and strings with a spoon. Cut into wedges and peel. Or cook with the peel on, as it will easily come off once cooked. The deep orange of this squash boosts your intake of vitamins A and C. If using very large potatoes, cut into one-inch cubes to be sure they cook through. The smaller the cubes, the more thoroughly they will cook.

The Marsala and fennel seeds give this recipe the familiar flavor of the classic dish, while the red pepper flakes add a bit of a kick. If you are a fennel fan, double the amount given here. You can grind fennel seeds in a mortar or purchase the spice already ground. Feel free to use any type of fresh or dried mushrooms. Cut dried mushrooms into thin pieces to be certain they will hydrate enough. To presoften particularly thick dried mushrooms, soak them in boiling water for 15 minutes before draining, chopping, and adding to the pot.

This recipe was born in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee where, as kids, we went camping with our parents. We caught fresh trout, and Mama cooked them right up on the grill in foil packs. It was the best-tasting fish we’d ever had. If we’re making this over a campfire, we serve it on its own. At home, it goes well with green beans.

Drumsticks are always our favorite, but Mama always likes the thighs, so we make it so that everyone can get what they want. Rosemary really complements the new red potatoes and gives them a hearty garden flavor, and using dark meat keeps the dish juicy. We love this with a light side salad like our crunchy iceberg lettuce salad with blue cheese.

There were certain food pairings in the Pollock house that never varied. When meatloaf was on the table, it was a given that these scalloped potatoes and green beans were faithfully by its side. No, maybe not a given—a guarantee, something you could bet the farm on. Today we serve these potatoes with more than just meatloaf. In fact, they’re a great sidekick for Beef Burgundy (page 68) and our Coq au Vin (page 78).

Roasted potatoes can be snore city. But when you do them well, they’re simple, totally rustic, and super-delicious. Fingerlings are perfect for roasting because they’re small and creamy, but a mix of red bliss and white new potatoes cut into bite-size pieces works well too. Don’t be afraid to use lots of olive oil, salt, and herbs here—and roast these lovelies until they’re brown, brown, brown. Remember, brown food tastes GOOD!

I’m a fan of anything called hash. When I was a kid my parents would make fried eggs for breakfast and bust out a can of corned beef hash—it was a huge treat. Now I jump at anything that reminds me of hash. In this recipe I mix together sweet potatoes, apple, onion, and, of course, a bit of bacon for my own take on hash—a bit sweeter and certainly healthier than anything from a can!

I don’t know if my love of beans comes from living in Tuscany or if I was Tuscan in another life, but I adore beans. And when I want a stick-to-your-ribs side dish, I immediately think of Tuscan white beans. They’re creamy and delicious, and they say, “Put me with pancetta!” And I say, “Sure, I’d be happy to.” Then I toss in a bit of rosemary (but sage would be SOOOOO good here too!) and serve these with a yummy porky main—or just on their own for lunch.

When I was working in Tuscany I made this dish every day. It’s a traditional osso bucco, but instead of using cross-sections, it uses the whole shank. I love it this way—big and meaty—but if you want to make these into individual portions, have the butcher cut the shanks into cross-sections for you. Because it’s a basic braise, you get started the way you would with any braise—by browning the meat really well and then browning the veggies. The big difference here is I’ve added apples to the soffritto for a little something special. SWEET!