I knew I had to have an accompaniment with my beef tenderloin and with all the different varieties of heirloom tomatoes around, why not cook them my favorite way? A few of these heirloom tomatoes are from my garden and some from my sous chef Chuck Taylor.   Pick out some small or medium heirloom tomatoes. Prepare topping: 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs 1/4 cup chopped fresh Thai Basil 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese freshly cracked black pepper Kosher Salt Cut tomatoes in half and place them in a baking dish Toss the Panko crumbs with the Thai basil, olive oil and Parmesan...

Every once in a while I get a great craving for a simple, lean, oven roasted pork loin and while walking through the market the other day I saw these fabulous pork loins  from Thompson Farms and decided to take one home for dinner. Thompson Ranch is located in Dixie, Ga. and provides fresh, naturally grown, environmentally  friendly, pasture-raised pork with no hormones or antibiotics. As I was waking around the market I kept asking myself:  how should I cook the pork loin  and how would I  take a picture for a upcoming blog post? For pork — and meat in general — it is very hard...

Sweet and Sour Balsamic BBQ Ribs Grilled Georgia Corn with Pesto Butter & Lemon Thyme Grilled Yukon Gold Potatoes I really love to barbecue and over the years I have come up with this cooking method for ribs. Some people do not simmer their ribs first but I think it is necessary to use some kind of moist heat to breakdown the membranes and insure the tenderness of the ribs. This method of cooking ribs takes time but well worth the effort! Lets go ahead and marinate the ribs! Marinate and Simmer the ribs. 1 piece baby back ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds) 1 48 ounce can pineapple juice 2...

I love this time of year when morels and ramps are in season and I am waiting for the fiddlehead ferns become  available. Wild ramps have a very distinct and strong garlic/leek flavor and that is why I choose them for this dish. Wild ramps and morels grow well in the upper northwest in the early spring and make a nice paring for sauted rainbow trout. I purchased the ramps and morels from Foods in Season which is known for fresh, wild, foraged, and sustainable harvested foods.             The morel stems must be trimmed and then soak the morels  in running water...

During the summer months my Mothers basil would grow like weeds. We always had tons of fresh  basil  and my mother would make jars and jars of fresh pesto. She would take the time to teach me how to pinch the scented little buds off the top of the plants in order to make the basil grow larger and branch out creating a very large bush. We would pick the large leaves in the early morning and she would have me wash and tear them into the blender. One of  my favorite and simple dishes that she would prepare is pasta with pesto, grated cheese and extra virgin olive oil. Bucatini is a thick...