If you've never tried an arepa before, you have been missing out. Arepas are to South America, what tortillas are to Central America and Mexico; a simple, easy to make, and yet ridiculously delicious corn-based staple and platform for creativity. These arepas are in a more Venezuelan style, a little more rounded and thick, and cooked primarily on the stove-top. This week we have been topping our arepas with Recado and Lime Braised Chicken, fresh avocado slices, and our Mexican Quick Pickled Red Onions. These arepas are also great with Paul's Yucatán Citrus Pulled Pork. 

On my way home from work yesterday, I passed a market woman, machann, with a pile of large green skinned avocados spread out in front of her. My bag of ripe avocados in hand, I mulled over dinner the rest of the way home. Later that night, Paul and I munched on a buttery and crisp Avocado Cucumber Salad with Yogurt Lime Sauce under our mango tree as we waited for cooler evening breezes to arrive. 

It's moving day for us at The Hungry Hounds. Fueled by donuts, coffee and tons of moving help from family and friends, we are on our way from Pennsylvania to Indiana for our final goodbyes with Paul's family before we leave for Haiti. Cooking and eating in our kitchen for the past few weeks has been a bit of an awkward experience with many frustrated sighs and the frequent realization, '...oh right, we packed that already, didn't we!?' One of the last dishes we made when our kitchen was still in full swing was this tasty Flammkuchen, a comfort pizza-like-classic from the Alsatian and South German regions, with many variations and names. We modeled ours after the classic version, a thin crusted flatbread pizza with a creamy, slightly tangy sauce, smoky bacon, a smattering of cheese, and the succulent sweetness of caramelized onions.

Delicious meat cookery doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, with quality ingredients, it can be down-right simple. Our Chimichurri Chicken Kabobs start with moist and flavorful chicken thighs marinated and sauced with a jar of fresh and vibrant Argentinian chimichurri. Making your own chimchurri is easy. Raising your own chickens, on the other hand, and ensuring top flavor, moist meat, and ethical animal husbandry, requires a whole different level of DIY commitment. When sourcing your chicken here are my top 3 tips:

1. Don't compromise freshness. As chicken ages under cellophane, its quality declines and the tender muscle fibers begin to lose both moisture and flavor. Similarly, each time meat is frozen and thawed, its texture and moistness is compromised. Buy the freshest meat you can find that has been stored carefully without freezing.
2. Keep processing to a minimum. Each processing step risks compromising quality and increasing cost at the register. Try to avoid buying meat that has 'stuff' added or injected. As much as you are able, do your own processing (partitioning a whole chicken, deboning thighs, skinning breasts, doing your own grinding, etc.). Not only will this give you more control over your meat, it will give you 'extras' to freeze or use for unrivaled homemade broths and soups.
3. Find a brand or farm you believe in. Animal husbandry is tricky business, and so is finding meat at your local grocery that you can feel good about. Understanding how each company balances issues of animal well-being, human health concerns, taste, texture, environmental impact, and cost, is generally not decipherable from the labels and buzzwords found on packaging. Do your research, it's easier than you think. 

With Rebecca out of town recently, I found myself on a quest to identify the best supermarket chicken.  I'm not even going to share how much chicken I single-handedly cooked and consumed, but a clear winner emerged. In a funny small world kind of way, it's a family business from my hometown: Miller Poultry. From classic roast chicken to smoked wings, from chicken schnitzel to Chimichurri Chicken Kabobs, this is can-do chicken! While Miller's can be found in many Whole Foods, I found that it is also available in our local Shop N'Save.

It’s a holiday week, and we’re eating hotdogs. To be honest, hotdogs have long been a favorite of mine, and our freezer is stockpiled, prepper-style, in case of a global shortage. We got sick of the soggy, too large buns and obvious condiments, and for this grilling season we’ve gotten creative and kicked out the bun, brought on the tortilla, and seriously ramped up the flavors for gourmet Loaded Hotdogs. We wanted to share our favorite flavor combination; where ketchup and mustard are supplanted by tart homemade quick pickled red onions, tangy guacamole, creamy queso fresco cheese, and if you are feeling decadent, crispy bacon.

Grilled Potato Salad with Jalapeno, Bacon, and Blue Cheese is inspired by my father-in-law’s love of bacon, blue cheese, and caramelized onions. This 'salad' is decadent and packed with rich flavors. The grilled new potatoes are tossed in a garlic jalapeno vinaigrette and layered with smoky slices of thick-cut grilled bacon, sweet charred red onions, and pungent blue cheese. Move over mayo, there's a new potato salad in town! 

Grilling is our cooking method of choice for these early summer days, but it's not all about the meat.  Actually, our summer diet has tilted vegetarian since we started making this Grilled Greek Salad. I dreamt up this colorful dish in the colder months, with longings of summer. This salad knocked our socks off and had my meat loving husband requesting more. We made Grilled Greek Salad through bitter March sleet, April winds, and May rains. And now finally, with seasonal vegetables and balmy temperatures, we can grill in the sunshine. Unlike some grilled salads, this isn't grilling for cuteness. Grilled Greek Salad is a hefty, hearty entree salad, that relies on the grill to give the peppers, onions, and tomatoes their luscious char, and to add caramel sweetness to tangy halloumi cheese. Topped with kalamata olives and a tart lemon-zest vinaigrette for contrast, this salad is dynamic. Halloumi, for those not familiar, is a hard salty sheep-milk cheese from Cyrpus, a great cooking cheese that keeps its shape and texture at high heats.

On a holiday weekend famous for feasting and barbecues, we wanted to share one of our favorite burgers. These healthy Turkey Feta Burgers with Yogurt Curry Sauce are quick to make, light on fat, and big on flavor. If you are feeling adventurous, you can also substitute the turkey in this recipe for another lean meat like lamb, buffalo, or venison. To top these burgers, we ditch the usual lettuce, and opt instead for the crips fresh accompaniments of cucumber, tomato, and homemade pickled red onions. 

In honor of festive eats and Mexican flavors on this Cinco De Mayo, we wanted to share one of our latest favorites: Smokey Ancho Cheddar Burgers. Despite the ample use of homemade Garlic Ancho Chile Paste, these burgers are not spicy, but bursting with sweet roasted garlic and smokey, earthy, dried anchos. Tangy melted cheddar, addictive ancho mayonnaise, and bright bursts of Yucatán Quick Pickled Red Onions garnish this delicious burger to mouthwatering perfection.

It’s grilling season, and these cumin and oregano scented quick pickled red onions are the wonderfully vibrant Mexican condiment that recently took our household by storm, summarily ousting ketchup and mustard from first-shelf-fridge-status.  Since the weather is warming up, we like to keep a jar of these delicious Yucatán Quick Pickled Red Onions on hand to top burgers, hot dogs, tacos, even salads get piled with a handful of these fuchsia gems. Whip up a quick batch, and try these pickled red onions out with our Turkey Feta Burgers With Yogurt Curry Sauce, Smokey Ancho Cheddar Burgers,  Citrus Pulled Pork, Portobello Burger, or with Baked Tofu Rice Bowl.

Crunchy zatar seasoned pita chips, sweet caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes, and crisp, lemon laced vegetables; our Roasted Vegetable Fattoush Salad is a perfect light dinner that hints towards the warmer months ahead.

Rebecca's all-time favorite sandwich is the Vietnamese Bánh Mì. Our take on this Vietnamese-French fusion classic uses unctuous grilled chicken, tangy pickled vegetables, heaps of cilantro and jalapeno, and a robust mayo sauce. Despite the long ingredient list and exotic heritage, Grilled Chicken Bánh Mì Sandwiches are straightforward to make and can win over even the pickiest of eaters.  

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What is your favorite sandwich? Where did you eat your favorite Bánh Mì sandwich? 

It’s labor day, and we are devouring corn and tomatoes in these beautiful late summer days like they're going out of style. Truthfully, I have a bit of an obsession with sweet corn, and have been known to personally eat 6 cobs in a meal. It’s officially September now, and as the season changes, so too does our cooking. Instead of boiling or grilling our corn, we are firing up my Grandmother's trusty skillet for our delicious and simple Summer Corn Sauté with Herbs, a dish that will have you coming back for seconds. The sweetness of fresh corn is highlighted by the rich and nutty background of butter, onions, cumin, and garlic, garnished with heaps of herbs and tomatoes. I have learned my lesson making this dish over the years, just go ahead and double it the first time, it’s the best way to avoid complaints! 

Food has the power to connect us to people and places around the world. In 2007, Rebecca and I spent three months traveling through South East Asia together. Leaving Cambodia on the back of moto-bikes, we arrived for the night, hot and dusty, in a small village in rural Vietnam. After dropping off our packs, we sat down on the rickety plastic stools of the town's only food stand, famished. Without asking what we wanted, two pungent bowls of Phở Gà, Vietnam's famous chicken noodle soup, were plunked down in front of us. We were hooked! As we made our way north over the next several weeks, we enjoyed many local variations of Phở: from the dark, rich, and beefy to bright and spicy with shrimp. Our favorite Phở, on which our recipe is based, was eaten from steaming bowls one early morning overlooking Hạ Long Bay. This version used chicken that had been marinated and grilled, rather than boiled in the soup, giving it a crispy texture and sweet charred flavor. 

Each sip of flavorful broth reminds us also of the people and culture that created it. Phở is an aromatic and visual dish, one that we like to serve in our  Vietnamese blue petal bowls made in the Kinh family workshop in the famous pottery village of Bat Trang, Vietnam. By partnering with a local non-profit and Ten Thousand Villages, women potters are able to make a living for their families, continue a rich cultural tradition, and gain access to tools, education, training, interest-free loans, and literacy classes. We buy many of our dishes and gifts from Ten Thousand Villages each year, and appreciate their commitment to ethical partnerships with local artisans around the world. 

I hate leftovers. To me, there is nothing worse than a soggy day-old salad or a mealy reheated potato. Ok, fine, maybe not ALL leftovers are terrible. In fact, Paul and I eat them almost everyday as frozen workday lunches. Out of necessity, I've created a number of go-to dishes that are not only delicious the first time around, but real leftover wins. Soba noodles, a buckwheat pasta (often gluten free), have a number of things going for them in the leftover department: they cook in 4 minutes, have a great nutty taste, are good for you, and they freeze like champions.  

Zucchini Soba Noodles with Grilled Vegetables is one of our summer staples. This lightning-fast vegetarian main helpfully works through some of our zucchini back-log, by incorporating zucchini ribbons with unusual vinaigrette of mustard, soy sauce and lemon juice.  Add some grilled summer squash and red onions  and this dish is done in 10 minutes. 

Yesterday was our 6th Wedding Anniversary: a day of serious highs, and gastronomical lows. After a wonderful weekend spent at a family reunion in gorgeous Colorado, our luck ran out on our return journey home. Mechanical failure on our plane resulted in a "temporary" hold on the tarmac, which turned into an overnight wait in the Denver airport. In the wee hours of the morning, huddled by the gate and desperate for good news, hunger pangs finally overtook us. Some scrounging in our bags resulted in a disappointing assortment of stale lifesavers, minty gum, complimentary water and unsatisfying little packets of peanuts.  By the time we made it back to Pittsburgh, we were hallucinating food, specifically steak.   We satiated our droopy and famished selves with a belated (and large) anniversary grilled steak with chimichurri sauce. What a revival!  

Chimichurri sauce, if you are not familiar with it, is a powerhouse parsley and garlic studded condiment of Argentine origins typically served as an accompaniment to steak.  We were originally introduced to Chimichurri sauce by my sisters' fiance, who makes a mean Chimichurri. Whenever he serves it to us we generally douse everything in sight with the flavorful sauce.  We are pretty sure our version is not authentic (garlic scapes, really?), but we do assure you it is addictive.  The sauce is both versatile and forgiving.  Our recipe is adapted from Serious Eats. 

Tuscan Potato Salad is not your average picnic side. The punchy combination of rosemary, roasted red pepper, and Parmesan makes Tuscan Potato Salad a robust and lively dish.  This is one of our most requested recipes, particularly for those looking for a healthy and flavorful alternative to mayonnaise-based potato salads. Honestly, we like this potato salad so much that it often serves as a summer dinner all on its own.  One thing we have learned in Rebecca's relentless potato obsession, is that a a great potato salad is nothing without outstanding spuds. This salad is built on a foundation of creamy new potatoes and fragrant basil, both of which came in our weekly CSA (farm box) from Penn's Corner Farm Alliance.  

Quick Mexican Tomato Salsa is a perfect summer food: fresh, spicy, and casual. While it is easy to be seduced by the beautifully packaged jars of salsa lining the grocery shelves, nothing beats the flavor of homemade. Quick Mexican Tomato Salsa is a breeze to make, and this simple salsa lets the quality of the ingredients come through without the need for gimmicky "new" flavor combinations. It is tomato season, and this is our favorite summer salsa. Quick Mexican Tomato Salsa is adapted from one of Paul's favorite cookbooks: Food of the Americas by Fernando and Marlene Divina.

Andean Corn and Cheese Salad is one of our quickest, easiest, and most delicious vegetable salads. In the tradition of Andean cuisine, this dish relies on the simple flavors of local fresh vegetables to create a balanced and vibrant dish. I love the way the bright fresh flavors in this salad are contrasted with soft salty chunks of creamy queso blanco. This recipe is adapted from one of our favorite cookbooks of the year: Gran Cocina Latina by Maricel Presilla. This beautifully compiled and thoroughly researched tome is an incredible resource for people interested in exploring the diverse and vibrant food of Latin America. 

Louisiana is the home of many excellent things; delicious foods, our good friend Jeff, and the inventor of these exquisite Cajun Crab Cakes with Jalapeno Remoulade.  Whenever we travel to a coastal area, Paul starts researching regional takes on crab cakes, a particular favorite of his.   Our time in New Orleans last year was a definite button busting success of a food vacation, with one exception, Paul did not find the one perfect crab cake.  We returned home and proceeded to immerse ourselves (read: obsess) with Cajun and Creole cooking,  It was through a Louisiana native chef and cookbook author, Donald Link, that we found this dynamic crab cake recipe.  Cajun Crab Cakes with Jalapeno Remoulade feature some of the classic Cajun flavors with an incredible punchy hit of flavor.  These crab cakes are unique in their minimal use of filler and binding ingredients, making for a very loose cake and which allows the sweetness of the crab to shine.  These crab cakes do rely heavily on the quality of your crab meat, so make sure to get the best quality you can find.   

Portobello Burgers With Green Olive Tapenade are funky and slightly off the beaten veggie burger path with a briny sauce that will send your taste buds into cartwheels of happiness.  All modesty aside, we are were feeling pretty chuffed with ourselves when we first bit into these burgers, creamy mozarella melts into smokey portobellos with a full meaty texture.  Green olive tapenade brings a mysterious licorice and sea salty flavor, respectfully sandwiched between rolls liberally smeared by basil mayonnaise. High-fives and groans of delight were followed by a respectful 5 minutes of silent appreciation (read: scarfing) of these Portobello Burgers With Green Olive Tapenade.

With all our spring work efforts we thought some guacamole and chips were in order to keep up our energy, especially after the 38 wheelbarrows of mulch down our steep yard.  This Charred Onion Guacamole is creamy, smoky and garlicky, you really don't even need chips to eat it. This Guacamole is the reward you deserve after a long spring day of work.  If you are like us, and don't always plan ahead to buy your avocados in time to ripen, Paul has a neat technique that works well to ensure you have access to this addictive dip.  1-2 days prior to use (the longer the better) Paul puts unripe avocados in a brown paper bag with a very ripe apple.  The apple releases ethylene gas, which gets trapped in the paper bag to fast forward the avocado ripening process. It's cool science.

Masala Rubbed Halibut with Mango Salsa is perfect for fish-lovers and fish-skeptics alike. It has a balanced mix of warming spices adding depth to the clean buttery firmness of the halibut. The mango salsa contrasts with a strong acid brightness and fruity sweetness. Masala Rubbed Halibut with Mango Salsa is the culmination of my 10 year quest to make a fish main course that Rebecca loves. Success! This is Rebecca's gateway fish!