Autumn is here, the clocks have been turned back and the nights are chillin' down.  Time for a hearty homemade soup to warm things up.  I was looking for something new to try and happened to watch an episode of the Barefoot Contessa on the food network. Ina Garten is a pretty talented 'homey' chef/cook who makes things look pretty simple and stress free on her show.  She made this soup for a late afternoon dinner party for her Hampton's friends who just happened to be in the neighborhood and it looked very very tasty and pretty simple to put together. I followed her recipe but made a couple of key alterations as I was seeking a bit of heat and kick to rise above the earthy lentils.  Instead of the polish kielbasa sausage she used I used fresh Spanish Chorizo sausage and I also added half a can of sliced Jalapeno peppers and carrots.   The subtle heat of the Jalapenos and the smoked paprika in the Chroizo worked incredibly well.   Highly recommended.  Even better the next day reheated! Here's Ina Garten's original recipe: 1 pound French green lentils (recommended: du Puy) 1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for serving 4 cups diced yellow onions (3 large) 4 cups chopped ...

Spain could arguably be called the pork capital of the world as the Spanish absolutely revere the almighty pig and eat just about every bit of the animal from head to tail. Sometimes when doing the rounds in the local grocery stores I cruise through the meat/butcher section and marvel at the various cuts of pork and other body parts less glamorous parts of the pig on sale. A few weeks ago I consulted various cookbooks in the house and decided to pick up a large cut of pork to slow roast on a cloudy sunday afternoon. If you'd like to try this yourself you'll need to find a 2-4 pound cut of pork shoulder or fresh ham; I slow roasted this on medium to low heat on a gas weber grill on indirect heat for about 2 hours and it came out fantastic and moist. Make sure you use an instant read meat thermometer when cooking to check on its status as you move through the cooking time. And, you'll need to let the meat rest after it's finished for at least 15 minutes under some aluminum foil as this really helps to retain the juices and continues to internally finish the ...