
yellow onion
Trifle Salad
It’s one of the prettiest ideas for dessert. English Trifle is always a show stopper, with its layers of fresh fruit, pudding and whipped cream. Trifles go back to the 16th century. In fact, they were also called Fruit Fools, believed to have originated from the French word “fouler” which means to mash or press. That’s the fun thing about the trifle. The presentation is gorgeous, and then you just dive in and scoop up soupy, fruity spoonfuls of goodness! Well, I decided to give salad the same eye-popping treatment!
I mean, we pretty much all love a salad of some sort, but they can get a little boring after a while, especially if you eat them a lot.
With this Trifle Salad, you can combine and layer any of your favorite salad fixings in a trifle bowl (or any large clear glass bowl), drizzle with your best Italian dressing and serve it up as a main dish! The sky’s the limit on what you can add to your Trifle Salad. If you’re looking to make it ahead for a special occasion or picnic, you’ll want to choose ingredients that will hold up and not wilt. Color, texture and flavor are also considerations. You can find a trifle bowl at stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond or any kitchen supply store. If you can find the mini trifle bowls, they make perfect individual single serving salad. If you don’t have a trifle bow, a large, clear bowl makes a great substitute, especially if you place it on top of a cake stand for the ultimate presentation.
Here’s how I built my Trifle Salad. (For a large trifle bowl)
Watch my How To video for Trifle Salad Here!
Caramelized Ham and Swiss Baked Buns
The Story
The Big Game comes with big appetites. Rooting for your favorite team, yelling at the officials, fist bumping after great play – it all makes a football fan downright hungry. So let me help by sharing a recipe that has always been a crowd pleaser, especially for a day as big as Super Bowl Sunday. Caramelized Ham and Swiss Baked Buns tends to resurface every few years, with new, updated variations on the theme. Basically what you have here is a casserole of hot sandwiches filled with ham and cheese and a sauce poured over the top. No, no. That’s not quite accurate. What you really have here is a slightly sweet billowy bun with a little slather of horseradish sauce, onto which black forest ham and swiss cheese is layered, and then a sweet and savory butter sauce does its magic in the oven. The tops of the sandwiches get caramelized and glazed, the cheese inside melts and melds with the horseradish sauce, and you find yourself in a situation where you just can’t pass one up. Yep, that’s a much better description. Now, as I’ve said, there are many versions of this recipe including potato or dinner rolls, but the classic version is the Hawaiian sweet rolls. The original recipe also calls for ham and swiss cheese for the filling, but substitutions have included turkey or pastrami. Also, horseradish sauce is often substituted for butter or mayonnaise. But I say, why mess with a good thing? Folks love this dish, and when you make it for this weekend’s big game, you’ll see why.
Steven Raichlen’s Meat Marinade
The Story
Best-selling cookbook author and host of PBS’s Primal Grill, Steven Raichlen shares a truly revered Rescued Recipe in his brand new cookbook, “Man Made Meals: The Essential Cookbook For Guys.” The recipe is for a sensational meat marinade, sure to be your go-to favorite for skirt steak, flank steak, or London Broil.
As the story goes, a Filipino-born immigrant named Sammy Ariola was at the end of his life. Rodolfo Lagua, a thirty-year California barbecue veteran had been his caretaker.
“I have no money for you to inherit,” said Ariola, as he lay on his deathbed, “but I’ll give you the recipe for my marinade.” Raichlen, researching the art of grilling tri-tips for his cookbook, met Lagua, and now the marinade is in safe-keeping in Raichlen’s cookbook. “Man Made Meals” is loaded with simple and speedy recipes and is packed full of practical tips, techniques, and secrets any cook would love.
Raichlen is the founder of Barbecue University, which offers three-day intensive courses on live fire cooking in Colorado Springs.
Some of his best-selling cookbooks include “The Barbecue Bible,” “BBQ USA,” and “Planet Barbecue.” He battled and defeated the Iron Chef in Japan in “Battle of the BBQ Gods” and has been named Cooking Teacher of the Year by Bon Appétit Magazine.
Raichlen can now add Recipe Rescuer to his long list of accomplishments.
Raichlen’s website is www.barbecuebible.com.