Nosh Cookbook

When will the McRib be back? Right now.

You can go and make one in your kitchen right at this very moment, and I'm about to tell you how. First you may be wondering exactly what is in the McRib. The comfort food sandwich is composed of a rib patty made with pork trimmings: pig tongue, heart, stomach. It was invented by a chef from Strasbourg, France (Does this make it high-culture?) and was designed to mimic Carolina BBQ. The original product development of the product was funded by a campaign of pork producers, and their donations to the National Pork Producers Council in 1981 to find a use for pork trimmings in the Fast Food industry which were previously thrown away or sold very cheaply.

Why isn't the McRib a full-time menu item? The answer is manly due to its popularity and the limited national supply of pork trimmings which aren't as common as their beef counterparts. It's also about cost. As large amounts of pork trimmings are purchased, the cost increases, and…

Love mushrooms? Love Pizza? Then you're going to love this recipe for pizza stuffed mushrooms. Maybe you're doing a ketogenic diet like Atkins and need a suitable replacement for Domino's?  (If not, they're still amazing!) Well then, look no further than this! This is hands down the best (almost) no carb pizza you can make, and its super simple. We take giant Portobello mushrooms, remove the stem, clean the insides out, and stuff it with (a small amount of) tomato sauce and (lots of) ooey, gooey, melted cheese just like take-out pizza, and then add your favorite toppings for the most delicious  no crust, personal pizzas you've ever tasted. Go protein crazy, or vegetarian, it's your choice! We finish up by brushing the whole thing in garlic and butter for that real delivery pizza taste (that's why it's sooooo good!).

Remember when you were in elementary school, and their was some students who would remove the cheese and toppings off their pizza, and not…

If you were never a fan of traditional American stuffed peppers as a kid, but love the taste of Philly cheesesteak, then this recipe is for you.

Stuffed peppers are common around the world, though technically our Western idea of what a pepper is, is completely wrong. Peppers like the bell pepper were named mistakenly by royal colonizers of the new world who mistakenly called anything spicy a pepper, based on their familiarity with India's black peppercorn. Their actual name, chile, is of Mexican origin and is actually more of a fruit than a vegetable.

In this recipe we take sliced steaks and veggies, stuff it in a par-cooked sweet pepper with white American cheese, and then bake until gooey perfection. Sound good? It's down right amazing.


Ingredients:

Green PeppersSliced steaks (Steak-Ums)Chopped OnionChopped TomatoesSliced MushroomsAmerican Cheese SlicesSalt and Pepper
Method:

Preheat oven to 450 FCut tops off peppers, gut, and de-seed. Baste peppers both inside and out with oil.…

Poutine is a Canadian comfort food invented in Quebec in 1957, and is generally made with cheese curds and gravy. If you've never had Poutine then I can clearly tell you, that you've not lived. Cheese curds aren't the easiest thing to find in the U.S., however this recipe makes it super simple with traditional mozzarella cheese.

Remember, poutine can vary greatly and can include additional toppings like bacon, green onion, sausage, various cheeses, or even turkey and stuffing. It's up to you to figure out how far to go. If things aren't complicated enough, poutine can even have different gravies.

My first experience with authentic poutine was in London, Ontario from a little carnival trailer hidden in an alleyway. Typically it's an after-pub food served at casse-croûtes (snack shacks), but it's become such an addiction in Canada that restaurant chains now serve it with a bottle of Guinness beer (La Fleur in Montreal). KFC purportedly has it on their secret…

One of the questions I'm often asked is why fast-food burgers often tastes better than home cooked versions? The answer likely is, you're not seasoning your hamburger.  Well, that and most fast-food companies have the benefit of years of refinement, product testing, and executive chefs trained with centuries of historical experience.

Then sometimes its just silliness. For example, if you were to Google what McDonald's hamburger seasoning is, you would likely find a single recipe, mindlessly copy and pasted, over and over again. This fictional "recipe" calls for MSGs among the ingredients. However a little research on McDonald's own website, shows that their actual seasoning is simply just salt and pepper. Which, to be honest, is the basic standard Cooking 101 practice for hamburgers. Why does a McDonald's burger taste so good? Salt and pepper. Yes, it's that simple.

McDonald's has evolved over the years, however. Their larger burgers utilize a r…