Pork Belly with Rye Whiskey and Maple Syrup Glaze

Oh Boy! 

Pork Belly roasted low and slow, glazed with a mix of pure maple syrup and Pennsylvania rye whiskey. Served with roasted baby red potatoes and baked granny Smith apples.

Just three simple ingredients - Sea salt, Maple Syrup and Rye Whiskey

 Make a series of crisscross cuts through the fat cap and sprinkle with sea salt

Marinate overnight in maple syrup and rye whiskey

Roast on a rack low and slow in oven - 250 degrees for 4 hours

Slice into pieces, just about falls apart

Alice Waters

“When you have the best and tastiest ingredients, you can cook very simply and the food will be extraordinary because it tastes like what it is.” 

  ― Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution

Chicken Piccata

This is another one of those dishes that looks classy and sophisticated on the plate but is simple and easy to prepare. 

Chicken or veal piccata, like chicken or veal Marsala and chicken or veal Francese are staples in Italian-American restaurants. The basic preparation for all of them is the same - thinly sliced and pounded meat that is dusted in flour then sauteed in olive oil and butter with wine. The difference is the flavor ingredients. For chicken piccata the flavor ingredients are capers, parsley, lemon juice and a dry white wine. I used Pinot Gigio.

 Ingredients (for two people)

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into cutlets and pounded about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick 

• 3/4 cup homemade chicken stock or low-sodium store-bought broth
• 1 1/4 cups dry white wine 
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• About 1 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
• 3 tbsp capers
• 1/2 cup Minced fresh parsley

Directions -