Got leftover steaks and baked potatoes from last night’s dinner? Turn them into breakfast GOLD by making an easy, delicious hash.

Here’s the how to: Chop potatoes and steak (or chicken, pork chop, meat loaf, whatev) into roughly equal size cubes (1/2 inch-ish). Chop a couple shallots or onions finely. If you’re like me, then for some odd reason your leftovers also fortuitously include a ziploc containing 5 cooked bacon slices and you should definitely chop those up as well. If you’re lucky enough to own a vegetable, like a bell pepper or broccoli or something, well then your fridge is better stocked than mine. Go ahead and pat yourself on the back, then give that the chop chop as well.

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I was bizarrely having a spaghetti and meatballs craving, which is probably, oh, the first time EVER that I have had one (and no, I am not secretly pregnant.) So without further ado, I present an extremely satisfying down-home meal that will compel your guests to ask if you learned all your secrets from a fabled Italian nonna. Although to be fair, it helps if you ply your guests with a couple bottles of wine and maybe a few shots of tequila before sitting down for dinner, which may or may not have happened before I served this meal. I’m just sayin’.

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My last couple posts have been kind of weird and gross! As individual posts, they are OK, as a gestalt, notsomuch. I’m pleased to say that things are looking up for everyone, as I have something that is decidedly NOT gross and in fact  SUPER delicious- a recipe for Pancake Ice Cream with Bacon Candy.

I put this beloved recipe up as a guest post on Thursday Night Smackdown, which is known for its witty proprietress Michelle, who swears like a stevedore. Ergo, don’t be surprised if I seem a little grittier over there. Or funnier. I think I tried harder to be funny because she’s really funny and I wanted to impress her, and you. Hopefully it worked. If not, just think about the bacon candy some more. Bacon. Plus candy. Bacon candy!

I have been really busy lately, but one of the bright spots of my recent days was making this cornbread and then eating it all.

Cornbread can be too sweet or too mealy or too dry or too boring, but this cornbread is none of those things. I’m guessing it’s largely because of the copious amounts of bacon and bacon grease that go into it, but there could be other reasons. I like it warm out of the oven or lightly toasted. With all the fat in it, even I don’t need to put butter on it… and that’s saying quite a lot since I like to put butter on EVERYTHING. But it’s not solely enhanced by the pig products- it’s rounded out with caramelized onions and a measure of parmesan cheese just for the heck of it. So swine up your cornbread- one bite and you will wonder why you have spent all these years eating stupid regular non-porked cornbread.

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My parents lived in Queretaro, Mexico for a couple of months 2 years ago- and ever since then my Dad has been OBSESSED with something he ate there ONE TIME. He does not stop talking about it! Using his descriptions, I did some detective work via my Diana Kennedy cookbook and figured out he probably ate Chiles En Nogada- a very interesting and admittedly somewhat challenging Mexican recipe. I’ve been promising him that I would make it, and when I finally did, it was really rather time-consuming and I wasn’t sure it would be worth it.

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I didn’t originally make this dish with the intention of post the recipe, since it was just something I threw together. In the end, it turned out pretty fabulously so I decided to share it. In fact, Ross said it was “one of my favorite things you’ve ever made, ever” and then stuffed his face with seconds. In fact, before bed he said “I want to eat more pasta.” In fact, when he woke up in the morning, he went straight to the fridge and finished it off. So I can’t promise that YOU will love it, but some people certainly do.

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I have no idea where this recipe came from, it’s scribbled on a scrap of paper- but I changed it a lot from the paper scrap version because it had what I perceived to be too much sugar and too many unnecessary steps. It is quick, easy, and colorful, and the figs and pork are a fantastic combination.

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In honor of July 4th, I give you… a German recipe! My paternal grandfather had a couple of specialty dishes and one was to make schnitzel. His family hailed from Germany and he had learned this from his mother. I hadn’t eaten it for years, but now that I’ve become reacquainted with it, I won’t make that mistake any longer! It’s easy to make and you can often cobble it together with things you already have in the house.

My mom said that with veal this is called wiener schnitzel but with pork my Grandpa called it jaeger schnitzel. I got to thinking that if jaeger means pork then Jaegermeister means pork master and that seems odd. So I looked it up and my Gramps was wrong. Jaeger means hunter so jaeger schnitzel is this recipe made with hunted meat, usually venison. Etymological mystery solved! Too bad, though, because it’s more fun to say jaeger schnitzel.

I was with my mom and my aunts and we were all cooking together, and we noticed that this is a lot faster and easier to make with 2 sets of hands- one person to do the breading and get their hands messy, and one to do the frying. There is no official recipe for this so I’ve explained the technique but not given specific amounts. In addition to pork, you could use chicken or veal cutlets. We used panko because it’s pre-crumbed, but my grandpa used crushed Ritz crackers, which add a buttery sweetness. You can use any kind of bread or cracker crumbs.

Pork Schnitzel

Ingredients:

• pork cutlets or tenderloin sliced thinly
• bread crumbs, panko, or cracker crumbs
• flour
• eggs
• salt and pepper
• butter-flavored crisco and butter (or oil and butter) for frying
• lemon wedges for serving

Method:

• Using a mallet, pound pork until very thin.
• Prepare three dishes, one with flour and salt and pepper, one with a couple beaten eggs mixed with a splash of water, and one with the crumbs.
• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with about 2 teaspoons each of butter and crisco (or oil.)
• Dip pork in flour, then eggs, then crumbs and place in hot pan. Cook each side until golden brown and remove to platter. Serve with lemon wedges.
• Note: You will need to add more fat with each round or every other round. If you make a lot, at some point if there are too many burnt crumbs in the pan you should clean the pan out with a paper towel and start with fresh grease.

Adobo is one of my favorite easy recipes and one of the tastiest ways to enjoy pork. In this case, Adobo refers to a common Filipino dish that combines just 4 ingredients: soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper, and garlic, to create a spicy, tangy sauce. A lot of Adobo recipes are saucy to the point of being more like a stew, but I like this one because it produces a rich, reduced, almost caramelized coating over the pork.

What’s surprising about this combination is that once everything is cooked together it doesn’t taste how you would expect it to taste. To wit: the pepper is spicier than you expect, the garlic is mellower, the soy sauce isn’t as salty, and the vinegar isn’t as pungent. It all marries together in a sauce that is greater, and more complex, than the sum of its parts.

There are probably thousands of Adobo recipes out there, and as you may have guessed I’m totally not Filipino so I make no claims to authenticity. I will, however, make claims to deliciousness! I like to serve it over rice to neutralize the spice of the sauce.

Pork Adobo
serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. boneless pork roast
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 cups white wine vinegar
• 2-3 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tblsp vegetable oil
• 12-15 cloves garlic, sliced as thinly as possible

Method:

• Trim the major fat off the pork roast and cut into 1/2 inch chunks.
• Put pork, soy sauce, vinegar, and pepper in a saucepan and bring to a boil, ensuring all pork is submerged in liquid. Lower heat to medium and boil 30-45 minutes.
• Heat oil in saute pan over medium high heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pork pieces to oil. Saute 10 minutes, stirring or flipping often, to brown on all sides.
• Add garlic to pan and cook 30 seconds, stirring. Add adobo sauce and cook about 10 more minutes, until sauce thickens.
• Serve over rice.

My friend Robert (of oatmeal cookie fame) also makes amazing homemade chilaquiles for a hearty weekend breakfast. He makes everything without measurements, which he refers to as doing it “Mexican style”, so it was a little tricky to pin down the measurements. After a few years of prodding and cajoling, he finally allowed me to shadow him in the kitchen and try to furiously transcribe his methods.

If you’ve never had chilaquiles before, it’s a traditional Mexican breakfast dish that consists of fried tortilla chips coated in a green or red sauce, layered with scrambled eggs and chorizo, and baked with cheese on top. While it makes it something of a royal pain in the butt, the key to this recipe’s tastiness lies in frying up the tortilla chips yourself. If you have an avid and patient kitchen helper (even one who lacks culinary skillz), this chip-frying task would be a good time to call on them.

Chilaquiles are also commonly lauded as a hangover cure. To that end, Robert always makes this on the Sunday of our yearly Spring wine-tasting weekend. To protect his precious family recipes, I have made some key changes in this version! Robert: you can sleep easy knowing that while now everyone can enjoy some delicious chilaquiles, they will never be exactly the same as the ones you make.

Robert’s Chilaquiles
serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh corn tortillas
• 2 – 29 oz cans tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 Tblsp chili powder
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 3 chicken bouillion cubes
• 1 Tblsp flour, shaken in a jar with 2 Tblsp water
• 1 pound fresh Mexican chorizo
• 12 eggs, beaten well
• 1/2 pound grated cheese (Monterey Jack, mild cheddar, or shredded Mexican blend)
• 1 cup queso fresco, crumbled
• salt and pepper to taste
• vegetable oil for frying

Method:

• Cut tortillas into chip-sized wedges. Heat about 1 inch of oil in a large saute pan. Fry chips in batches until golden on both sides, removing to drain on paper towels.
• Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, garlic, and bouillion. Heat over medium heat until bubbling. Lower heat and leave to simmer. Stir in flour/water mixture and salt and pepper. Taste and add more seasonings if you wish.
• Continue simmering over low heat for about 30 more minutes, stirring to make sure sauce doesn’t stick to pot.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Combine half of chips and half of sauce, tossing to coat well. Lay in 9×13 pan. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until chips have dried out a bit.
• While chips are baking, cook chorizo, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned. Add eggs, salt and pepper to taste, and cook until scrambled.
• Spread egg and chorizo mixture over chips. Mix remaining chips with remaining sauce and spread on top of eggs.
• Sprinkle grated cheese on top, then crumble queso fresco over the top.
• Bake for about 20 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve with refried beans, Spanish rice, avocadoes, and sour cream.