Rib-Stuffed Spoon Bread

20 canned pineapple rings, drained Vegetable cooking spray
Flour
2 81/2-ounce boxes corn bread mix
1 tablespoon each finely diced red, yellow, green and orange bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon Mexican or regular dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro flakes
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 full slab Curly’s* fully cooked pork baby back ribs in barbecue sauce
3 ounces shredded Mexican cheese blend

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat grill until smoking hot.
2. Lightly coat 1 side of pineapple rings with cooking spray. Place sprayed side down on grill and cook until grill marks appear, 1 1/2-2 minutes.
Alternatively, heat a sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add pineapple and sear until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
3. Coat a 12-by-9-by-1-inch disposable aluminum baking pan with cooking spray and dust with flour. Blend corn bread mix. Stir in bell pepper, seasonings and sugar. Pour into pan.
4. Slice pork into individual ribs. Scrape off excess sauce and reserve. Insert 10 ribs into batter, spacing evenly and allowing about 1 inch to extend over pan edge.
5. Bake until corn bread is almost done. Sprinkle with cheese and finish baking. Let cool slightly.
6. Heat reserved sauce in a saucepan.
7. To serve, place 2 pineapple rings on each plate. Cut spoon bread into
10 squares and place on top of pineapple. Spoon reserved sauce around plates.
Makes 10 servings.

Pork Schnitzel with Applewood Smoked Bacon and Sage

1 1/2 pounds Smithfield* pork tenderloins, sliced and lightly pounded into eight
3-ounce cutlets
8 fresh sage leaves
8 slices well-cooked Farmer’s*
Applewood Smoked Thick Bacon
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons dry vermouth

1. Rinse pork cutlets under cold running water and pat dry.
2. Carefully rinse sage leaves and pat dry.
3. Place 1 sage leaf on each piece of meat. Top with a folded slice of bacon, fold cutlet in half and secure with a toothpick. Season to taste with salt and pepper; dust with flour.
4. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and sear the meat for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove meat from the pan and keep warm.
5. Pour chicken stock and vermouth into the pan, scraping the bottom for meat particles. Check seasoning.
6. Pour sauce over meat and serve.
Makes 4 servings.

Meat Lover’s Stew

1/4 cup olive oil
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
8 ounces beef steak, cubed
8 ounces boneless lamb, cubed
2 large potatoes, cubed
3 tablespoons curry powder
3 carrots, chopped
2 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped
3 Tarantino’s* mild Italian sausages, sliced
5 garlic cloves
6 cups water
1 cup white wine
1 cup beef stock
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
8 ounces green peas (fresh or frozen)

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken, garlic, shallots, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring, until chicken starts to brown.
2. Add steak, lamb, potatoes and curry powder; mix well. Stir in carrots, zucchini, bell pepper and onion. Add sausage, garlic cloves and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Stir in water,wine and beef stock.
3. Bring to a simmer. Add grape tomatoes and peas. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Serve with your favorite toasted bread or over white rice.
Makes 8-10 servings.

Pigs in a Square

12 Tarantino’s* breakfast sausage links
4 sheets prepared puff pastry
12 slices Cheddar cheese
MUSTARD DIPPING SAUCE
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons honey mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish sauce
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1. Cook sausages in a skillet over medium heat; remove from the pan and let cool.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Cut pastry sheets into 24 rectangles slightly larger than sausages. Place a slice of cheese in the center of each pastry rectangle and top with a sausage. Top with another piece of pastry. Fold down one corner and pinch the edges together.
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes,or until pastry is golden and puffed.
5. To prepare the dipping sauce,mix all ingredients in a bowl.
6. Serve the pigs with the dipping sauce.
Makes 6 servings.
Variation: Place each sausage link on the corner of a cheese-covered pastry square and roll up. This version requires half the amount of puff pastry.

Rigatoni Filetto TARANTINO

10 whole plum tomatoes
8 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
8 ounces pancetta or bacon, cut into thin strips
2 Tarantino’s* mild Italian sausages, casings removed
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Salt
Black pepper
1 16-ounce box rigatoni
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large pot, bring 2 quarts of water with a dash of salt to a boil.
2. Core tomatoes and place in a roasting pan with garlic cloves. Add olive oil and stir to coat. Roast tomatoes and garlic until garlic is golden brown, rotating them in the pan to cook evenly. Remove from the oven; let cool. Remove tomatoes and garlic from the pan and chop; set aside.
3. Pour the oil from the roasting pan into a large saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add pancetta and sausage to the pan and cook, stirring to break up sausage, until browned.
4. Add onion and shallots; cook until tender. Stir in tomatoes and garlic,wine and basil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. While the sauce simmers, add rigatoni to boiling water and cook according to package directions.
6. To finish the sauce, stir in butter until melted. Drain pasta and add to the sauce; mix well.
7. Top each serving with shredded Parmesan.
Makes 6 servings.

SPICY SPAM KABOBS

1/4 c Lemon juice
3 tb Minced onion
1 tb Olive oil
1 t Dried leaf thyme
1 Garlic clove, minced
1/2 t Whole oregano leaves
1/4 t Red pepper flakes
16 Pea pods
1 cn Pineapple chunks packed in light juice, drained (8 oz)
1 cn SPAM Luncheon Meat, cut into 24 cubes (12 oz)
1 Red bell pepper, cut into 1″ pieces
4 c Hot cooked rice

Combine first 7 ingredients in 9x12″ dish.
Wrap pea pods around pineapple chunks.
Alternately thread SPAM cubes, pineapple chunks, and bell pepper pieces on eight skewers.
Place in dish with marinade.
Cover and marinade 2 hours, turning occasionally.
Grill kabobs over medium-hot coals 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Or, broil 5″ from heat source 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally. Serve with hot cooked rice.