Restaurant Industry

Roasted loin of pork is my family’s most requested Easter main course, served either for lunch or dinner. While I love my glazed spiral honey baked ham, this dish is not only a unique take on pork, but also more economical in this crazy time of inflation we are all living through. This entrée may become your family’s favorite too.

This easy chicken and kale soup will keep you warm on a cold and rainy day or any day that calls for a simple, hearty soup. For convenience, you can make this soup with frozen kale without the need to thaw it beforehand.

When I was a line cook at a small restaurant in Richmond, Virginia, although my station was savory, I was often called upon to come up with desserts. At the time, my fellow chefs grumbled about having to dip into the pastry side of the kitchen, but I didn’t mind. Despite my culinary school background, I didn’t have much of a repertoire when it came to sweets, but I loved thumbing through cookbooks for inspiration, and one of the first desserts I memorized was Michel Richard’s “Le KitKat” from his 2006 cookbook “Happy in the Kitchen.”

Our love of smoked salmon knows no boundaries: We pile it onto toast for breakfast, flake it into mayonnaise for a sandwich and enjoy it for dinner with a side of asparagus and potatoes.

The muffuletta is a beast of a sandwich that’s layered with an array of Italian cold cuts and cheeses. The sandwich, which is aptly pronounced “muff-foo-LOTTA,” is brimming at its bread seams and feeds multiple people. Central Grocery & Deli in New Orleans, where the muffuletta was originally created, has been attracting sandwich-lovers for over a century. If you can’t get to New Orleans, muffulettas are simple to assemble at home with the right assortment of Italian meats and cheeses!

There's a lot more to Irish cuisine than stout and spuds, although both should be high on your must-try list when visiting Ireland.