The Ricco Kitchen

Hummus is a traditional middle eastern spread made with chick peas and tahini paste, which is ground sesame seeds. This recipe is from my uncle’s mother and is especially excellent because of spice added by the jalapenos. It is also a nice treat when it is served warm. My uncle Jack insists that you “don’t have enough hummus” on your piece of bread, even if it is caving under the weight of a giant mound.

Mom loves vegetables. She is also really good at making them delicious. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of veggies, but Mom makes them like candy. This recipe is perfect if you don’t have a lot of time to spend on dinner, and want to make everyone think you did!

This recipe also uses some white wine. Another favorite of Mom’s. You know that saying “I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food”…Yeah that’s about my Mom. Great dinner anytime and great as leftovers, too.

This is by far one of my favorite soups. The savory roasted garlic coupled with the ham and leaks is incredible. It’s a thick, heart warming comfort food – great for cold weather! Also, if you happen to have leftovers, you can also make a chicken and vegetable stew!

Roasting garlic is simple and yields one of the most savory and delicious ingredients for other recipes, such as potato leak soup, roast garlic mayonnaise, garlic bread, etc. Roasted garlic has a much mellower flavor as most of the pungency is roasted away. It is also transformed into a butter-like paste. You just squirt it out of the paper!
This takes about an hour, and it’s well worth the wait! I’m an addict.

If you’re in a hurry and want some simple, tasty meat as an addition to dinner, check out these pork chops.