Great for 4-6 guests, you can easily put your own spin on the dish by substituting vegetables. Cherry tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant would also be great; it’s the bold flavor exuded by a roasted vegetable that make it a great side to the pork.

Ingredients:
1 3-pound boneless pork loin
5 ounces thin prosciutto slices, about 10
1 medium lemon, sliced very thinly
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 orange bell pepper, julienned
¼ cup chopped chives
¼ cup chopped tarragon
1 cup Pinot Grigio
¼ cup olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt, divided
4 teaspoons pepper, divided
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
Kitchen twine

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450° F

Align pork with fat side down with one cut side facing you. With a knife, cut ½ inch along the side of the pork about 1 inch along the underside.

Continue cutting in ½ -nch intervals until loin unrolls like a carpet. Arrange prosciutto and lemon slices. Sprinkle
with chives and tarragon.

Turn pork so that a short side is facing you. Roll tightly, keeping prosciutto and lemon within the lion and tie seam-side down with twine at 1-inch intervals. Sprinkle with half your salt and pepper.

Place loin in a roasting pan and roast at 450° F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325° F and continue to roast about 1 hour, or until a thermometer reads 150° F when inserted into the center of the loin.

In the meantime, arrange asparagus and peppers in a baking dish. Toss with olive oil, oregano and the remaining salt and pepper.

Remove cooked pork from over and place on cutting board to rest. Replace with asparagus and peppers and roast 12-15 minutes. Top roasted vegetables with 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Place roasting pan over burners and heat wine, chicken broth, and butter to a boil, scraping up any bits from the pork. Reduce to half and add cornstarch mixed with water until sauce thickens.

Strain and served alongside ½-inch slices of pork drizzled in remaining lemon juice.

Oh, Chicken, how can I prepare thee? Let me count the ways. This is a great, quick spin on everyday chicken thighs and can easily spice up an ordinary middle-of-the-week dinner. The combination of spices is potent and aromatic but the real kick comes from the cider vinegar. I’ve played around with different combinations and quantities of spices depending on which flavor I want to highlight—that’s the fun part. Thighs are great over brown rice, on a salad, with veggies, in tacos or even on their own. Thighs also cook great on the grill in the summertime.

Ingredients:
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
6 tablespoons honey
3 teaspoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
In a small bowl, mix honey and cider vinegar and set aside.

Combine all spices in medium a bowl and mix well. Add in chicken thighs and work until well coated with spice mixture. Place thighs on a broiler pan and broil for 5-6 minutes on each side.

After chicken in fully cooked, remove from over and brush half of the honey glaze over thighs. Cook for another minute and repeat with the reverse side of the chicken. Serve with you favorite side dish. Thighs are great the next day.

Ingredients:
4 large tart baking apples, such as Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Pippin, Jonathan, Jona-Gold, or Rome Beauty
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup chopped pecans, and/or almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, etc.
¼ cup currants or chopped raisins
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 lemon, cut into four wedges
¾ cup boiling water

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Wash apples. Remove cores to ½ inch of the bottom of the apples. It helps if you have an apple corer, but if not, you can use a paring knife to first cut out the stem area, and then the core. Use a spoon to dig out the seeds. Make the holes about ¾-inch to an inch wide.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, currants/raisins, and pecans. Place apples in a 8-inch-by-8-inch square baking pan. Stuff each apple with this mixture.

As evenly as possible, drizzle vanilla in equal parts onto the stuffing mixture. Squeeze juice from one lemon wedge over the mixture, and top off with ¼ tablespoon of butter.

Add boiling water to the baking pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until tender, but firm. Do not overcook, as this will yield mushy apples. Remove from the oven and baste the apples several times with the pan juices.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Many butchers carry fresh game hens, especially at this time of year, so go out of your way to find some. If you have a choice, organic free-range hens are best. If you must use frozen, or packaged game hens, make sure that any additives use to treat them do not include gluten.

This recipe makes four hens, which can serve up to six people, but I like to make one per person whenever possible.

Ingredients:
4 Cornish game hens, fresh
1 cup melted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons basil, fresh, chopped fine
1 tablespoon thyme, fresh, chopped fine
1 teaspoon oregano, fresh chopped fine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup melted butter

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

In a medium bowl combine the ½ cup melted butter, onion, celery, mushrooms, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme and parsley.

Season hens inside and out with salt and pepper, then stuff with buttered vegetables. Place stuffed birds in a 9x13 inch baking dish, breast side up.

Baste with ¼ cup melted butter.

Cover dish and bake 325 degrees F for 1½ hours.

Remove cover and brown birds for a minute or two under a broiler at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).

Note: These hens are also delicious when stuffed with Open Original Shared Link. Just wash the bird, season with salt and pepper, stuff each bird, baste with butter and bake as above.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoon vegetable oil or bacon grease
1 cup chopped onion
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large leek, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, halved
1 pound dried split peas
2 meaty ham hocks, rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)

Directions:
For this recipe, you may use either soaked or un-soaked peas. Just remember that un-soaked peas take about 1 to 2 hours of simmering, depending on how solid you want them, while soaked peas take about 40 minutes.

In a medium pot, saute onions in oil or bacon grease. Reduce heat to low, and add split peas, and ham hocks. Add enough water to cover ingredients, and season with salt and pepper.

Skim the foam off the top of the soup, and continue for several minutes until foam stops forming.

Cover, and simmer until the peas are soft, or until they have broken down fully, up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, so they don't stick to the pan.

Peas soak up a lot of water, so, check during the simmer to see if water has evaporated. Add more water as needed to achieve desired texture. Remember, the peas only need to be cooked until tender. Those who like a smoother, creamier texture can cook them longer until they break down.

When the peas are soft and the veggies are cooked, stir in your favorite seasonings and keep on tasting until it's just right.  Add salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and lemon juice.

Remember, when adding lemon juice, or anything acidic, do so at the very end of cooking to avoid hard, underdone peas. Once the soup has cooked just short of desired consistency, remove from heat, and let stand so it will thicken. Remove ham hocks. If desired, strip away meat, chop and add to soup.

Once the soup has thickened, it may be necessary to return it to the heat to warm briefly before serving.

Start by finding yourself some good, crisp, tart apples. I prefer Granny Smiths, Braeburns, Galas, or Pippins, as their tartness combines well with the sweetness of the sauce. But, I've had success with Golden Delicious and Jonathans, as well.  Remember, the alcohol boils off during cooking, so this desert treat is safe for kids. I recommend serving these delicious treats with a big helping of vanilla ice cream. This particular recipe makes enough apples to serve about a dozen people.

Ingredients:
1/2 stick of salted butter
12 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup bourbon, dark rum, or liqueur such as Amaretto, Frangelico, or Grand Marnier

Preparation:
Wash, core and peel apples.

Slice apples into 1/2 to 1/4-inch wedges

Soak apples in booze for 30 minutes. Pour off booze, reserving 1/2 cup.

In a medium bowl, mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, if desired.

Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat.

Add apples and cook slowly, allowing them to brown slightly.

When apples have softened and browned, add sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well.

Pour in vanilla and just enough booze to coat the apples, up to 1/2 cup.

Stir well and heat until apple mixture is juicy and the juice boils.

Reduce heat to low and simmer about 10-20 minutes until apples are tender, and most of the liquid evaporates. Stir as needed to avoid sticking and burning.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces Lima beans, small, dried
3 large onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 carrots, sliced thick
2 quarts of chicken broth
2 ham hocks, or 2 cups cooked ham, cubed
1 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped fine
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Place lima beans in a large soup pot, and add enough water to cover by 2 in.

Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans, discard liquid. Rinse pot and wipe dry.

Add olive oil to soup pot, and heat to medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic until clear. Stir in the broth, ham hocks, ham, carrots, water, parsley, pepper and lima beans.

Bring ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for about an hour until beans are soft. Let the soup cool a bit and serve.

Those looking for faster preparation can use canned Lima beans. Be sure to drain and rinse the beans before starting. Begin by sauteéing onions and garlic.

Ingredients:
1 large head garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered*
4 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon of salt
¼ cup fresh chives (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Slice off the pointed end of the garlic bulb, just enough to expose the garlic cloves. Drizzle olive oil over the clove, and wrap in aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

On the stove, add 1 teaspoon of salt to a large pot of water, and bring to a boil.

Add potatoes, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop the potatoes. Stir in butter, milk, salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the garlic from the oven, and cut in half. Squeeze the softened cloves into the potatoes. Mash potatoes to desired consistency, fold in chives and serve.

*Note: You can make this recipe with thin-skinned potatoes and leave the skins on, if desired.

Ingredients:
1 gallon vegetable broth
1 cup sea salt
6-7 fresh Juniper berries
1 small bunch fresh rosemary, or 1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
1 small bunch of fresh sage or 1 tablespoon dried sage
1 small bunch of fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 small bunch fresh savory or 1 tablespoon dried savory
1 gallon ice water

Preparation:
In a large stock pot, combine the vegetable broth, sea salt, juniper berries, rosemary, sage, thyme, and savory. Bring to a boil, and stir well to dissolve salt. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature.

When the broth mixture is cool, pour it into a clean 5 gallon bucket. Stir in the ice water.

Wash and dry the turkey, and remove the innards. Place the turkey, breast down, into the brine. Make sure to fill the bird's cavity. Place the bucket in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove the turkey carefully draining off the excess brine and pat dry. Discard excess brine.
Cook the turkey as desired reserving the drippings for gravy.

Keep in mind that brined turkeys cook 20 to 30 minutes faster so watch the temperature gauge.

The Huffington Post offers an excellent Open Original Shared Link with handy turkey Dos and Dont's to help you roast the best possible turkey.

The paler-skinned sweet potato has a thin, light yellow skin with pale yellow flesh which is not sweet and has a dry, crumbly texture similar to a white baking potato. The sweet potato that is most often confused with a yam is the thicker, darker-skinned variety, with its orange to reddish skin, its vivid orange, sweet flesh, and its moist texture.

Current popular sweet potato varieties include Goldrush, Georgia Red, Centennial, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, and Velvet. Any of them will work well for this recipe.

Ingredients:
4-5 sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup orange juice

Preparation:
Boil cut-up sweet potatoes until tender, but firm.

In a frying pan, melt the butter and brown sugar together until bubbly.

Add the orange juice and whisk until smooth. Add the cut-up sweet potatoes and cook on low heat for about 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally until the sweet potatoes fully caramelize.

To thicken syrup, stir in some more brown sugar as needed.

Ingredients:
1 pound turkey giblets and neck
1½ quarts gluten-free chicken stock (low sodium is fine)
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cups water
1½ cups pan drippings from roasted turkey
4 tablespoons of corn starch (approximate)
Note: One tablespoon corn starch (1/4 ounce) thickens one cup of liquid
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:
While the turkey is roasting, place the turkey giblets and neck into a large saucepan with the carrots, celery, water, and chicken stock.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, skim off any foam that rises to the top, reduce heat to low, and simmer the stock for 3 hours.

Skim off the fat, strain the stock, and set aside. There should be about 4 cups of stock.

Take carrots and celery and press through a strainer. Spoon strained carrots and celery into the stock and stir.

Skim off and discard all but ¼ cup of the fat from the drippings in the roasting pan, and place the roasting pan over medium heat.

Whisk in the corn starch, then heat and stir the corn starch mixture until it becomes pale golden brown, about 5 minutes. To avoid lumps, mix the starch with an equal amount of cold liquid until it forms a paste, then whisk it into the liquid you're trying to thicken.  Once the thickener is added, cook it briefly to remove any starchy flavor.  Don't overcook.

Whisk in the stock and tomato paste; bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, then whisk in the cranberry sauce. Simmer for 10 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Ingredients:
½ pound bacon, thick-cut, diced
2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 pounds carrots, diced
1 ½ pounds potatoes, diced
1 large yellow onion
3 large leeks, white part only, halved, washed and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 cup beef broth
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon thyme
2 Bay leaves
¼ cup white wine
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large skillet. over medium high heat until evenly brown. Do not burn bacon. Drain on paper towels, crumble, and set aside.

Brown lamb in skillet with bacon fat. When lamb is evenly browned, transfer meat into large soup pot - leave 1/4 cup of fat in skillet.

Add the garlic and yellow onion and saute till onion begins to become golden.

Once onions are golden, add 1/2 cup water to deglaze skillet. 

Add the garlic-onion-water mixture to the soup pot. Also add bacon pieces, beef stock and sugar. Simmer 1 hour on low heat.

Add carrots, leeks, onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and wine to pot. Reduce heat, and simmer covered until vegetables are tender. About 20-30 minutes.

May be served alone or with cooked green cabbage or sprouts. I'm also fond of serving it over rice for an extra hearty meal, or to stretch the last of the stew.