4 eggs
1 cup Ricotta cheese
zest of half a lemon
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
pinch salt
pinch pepper
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 – 1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons butter

Not many people have heard of Spaetzle. In fact, I’ve never heard of it before I went to school and we made it there. I LOVED it! Its so delicate, delicious, and the flavor combinations are endless. I’m a huge fan of browned butter… it has this amazing nutty rich flavor that really compliments the lightness of the lemon thyme Spaetzle. First thing you want to do is heat up a pot of water over high heat until its boiling. In a bowl make the batter. Mix together the eggs, Ricotta cheese, lemon zest, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper until smooth. To the wet ingredients add the flour and stir until combined. Add 1/3 cup water and mix. You want the batter to be thin like pancake batter. If it doesn’t look thin enough add the rest of the water and combine. If you have a spaetzle maker use that but if not use a colander! Every kitchen has one so you have no excuse to not make this. Put the colander over the boiling water.. making sure not to let the bottom of the colander touch the water. Ladle a scoop of the batter and put in the bottom of the colander. With a spatula work it through the holes. Once most of the batter has been pushed through take away the colander to expose the beautiful little spaetzles! If they’re floating.. that means they’re cooked and ready to go. They will take about 1 minute to cook which makes this an amazing side dish. Take a slotted ladle and transfer them to a bowl. Continue doing this until all the batter is cooked. While they are cooking put the 3 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium high heat. Let the butter cook and start to get brown. You want to make sure that you don’t burn the butter! This will happen very fast and as soon as you see the butter start to brown turn off the heat. Once the butter is ready add the spaetzle and toss everything together to make sure that they are all coated with that buttery, nutty deliciousness. Add a little salt and pepper and you’re ready to go! How easy is that??

1 pound Brussel Sprouts , ends cut off and outer layer peeled, cut in half
Olive Oil
salt
pepper
3 slabs Maple bacon, sliced
1 shallot, chopped fine
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Ok, I know that in many households saying the word “brussel sprout” is equivalent to saying a curse word. Many people when they were younger were force-fed over cooked, mushy, no-flavored brussel sprouts as some sort of cruel and unusual punishment. Well, not anymore people!!!! This is such an amazing recipe that even the people that hate brussel sprouts will love this. Caramelizing them in the oven gives them the most delicious flavor, then mixing them with maple bacon and shallots, are you kidding me?! Preheat your oven to 400*F. Ok so the first thing you want to do is clean up these brussel sprouts a bit. Cut off the end and peel the top layer of the leaves off. Cut the brussel sprouts in half and put in a bowl. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle in some salt and pepper and toss to coat. Put the sprouts on a lined baking sheet and pop into the oven and let cook for 20 minutes, or until you see them getting caramelized and golden brown. You might think they look burnt but I promise they’re not! While those are cooking slice up 3 slaps of bacon (I like to put in the freezer 30 minutes before I cut to make for easier cutting!) and 1 shallot. In a pan over medium high heat put in the bacon and let render down and get nice and golden brown. A lot of fat will come out of the bacon so what I like to do is take a clean paper towl and sop up half of the fat. To the bacon with half the fat add the shallots and let cook for another minute or so. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and the cooked brussel sprouts. Toss all together and you have the most delicious brussel sprouts you’ve ever put in your mouth… I promise. Enjoy!

5 ears of sweet yellow or bi-color corn, in husk
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 jalapeno, seeds out of half, finely diced
2 scallions, sliced thin
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
1 cup good quality grated Parmesan
salt
pepper

Tired of boring old corn on the cob? Craving something new and delicious? This is the best corn recipe…ever. A must try! This is so easy and just packed with flavor. The first thing you want to do is preheat your oven to 450*F. Put the unhusked corn on a baking sheet and put in the oven to let roast for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool. Shuck the corn and cut the kernels from the cob. ( For a great tip on how to cut the kernels watch the video!) Heat the oil and butter up on high heat. Add the kernels with salt and red pepper flakes and saute until heated through. Put the corn into a serving bowl and sprinkle the top with the jalapeno, scallions, lime zest, lime juice, and parmesan cheese. Toss right before serving! Everyone will go crazy over this! Enjoy

1/4 pound pancetta, diced

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, half with seeds, half without seeds, diced

8 cups black eyed peas (not dried)

1- 14 oz can petit diced tomatoes

4 cups beef broth

1 bay leaf

salt

pepper

Down here in the South, there’s nothing better than some good luck black eyed peas on New Year’s Day! So this is my tasty version. The first thing you’re gonna want to do is preheat your pan to medium high heat. Add your diced pancetta and let cook until a pale golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Once the pancetta is ready add your onions and let cook until they start to get translucent, another 5 minutes. You want to make sure to really scrape the bottom of the pan and get all those goodies up at the bottom! After that add the minced garlic and the diced jalapeno. Let cook for another minute and add the black eyed peas. You want to make sure that they aren’t the dried ones and if they are, just make sure you soak them overnight! To the black eyed peas add the can of diced tomato, beef broth, and bay leaf. Turn the heat to a medium low and let simmer for 30 minutes. Check it every once in a while and if you see the liquid is low add some more. Don’t worry… it can be water! After 30 minutes make sure you season it with salt and pepper and you’re ready to go! Goodluck food for the New Year!! Hope you like it

5 slabs bacon, diced

1 large onion, diced

7 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 stick butter

3- 16 oz bags collard greens ( or 3 heads collard greens chopped)

4 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup white vinegar

Seasoned salt

salt

pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Collard greens are a New Year’s Day must! They’re good luck and this is my version. In a very large pot on medium high add the chopped bacon. Let cook until the fat starts to come out and the bacon starts to get cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic to the bacon fat and let cook, stirring for another 5 minutes. Once that is cooked, add the collard greens, 1 bag at a time with some of the chicken stock. When the collard greens start to wilt, about 5 minutes, add another bag with some more liquid and let wilt. After adding the last bag of the collard greens and the last bit of liquid add the vinegar, salt, pepper, season salt, and red pepper flakes.  Let simmer on low for about 25 minutes. Once cooked you’re ready to serve! I like to add a little more vinegar and some hot sauce… yum!

1 Acorn Squash, seeded and cut in quarters

1 sprig rosemary, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

salt

pepper

This is such a great dish for the holidays… or just whenever! Preheat your oven to 375*F and line a broiler pan or cookie sheet with foil, for easy cleaning of course. The hardest part of this recipe is cutting the acorn squash, but if you watch my video I show you cutting made easy… kind of! What you want to do is cut off the top where the stem is and the bottom to make it stable. Then with a sharp knife cut right down the middle. With a spoon or ice cream scoop take out the seeds. Once the seeds are removed cut the halves in half so you end up with four pieces. Once you have the pieces cut and the seeds taken out, put on the lined pan. To the slices add salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, and drizzle with honey. Pop them into your preheated oven and let cook for about 40-45 minutes.  Put on a plate and dig in! I know you’ll like this one!