RADIO KITCHEN

Two things about the month of January:  we're all more or less broke after the holidays, and it's just a tad nippy outside.   So it's natural to turn our attention to big satisfyingly hot dishes that are easy on the wallet.   And few items fit the bill like a good old fashioned pot roast.

The big night is coming, and whether 2011 was good to you or if it was a year you're happy to see in the rearview mirror, you'll have a chance to bid it farewell in style.   Champagne, or some other sparkling wine is the beverage of choice, and  nothing goes better with the bubbly than caviar.

With the holidays upon us, a lot of us are looking for inspiration for the big dinners that are coming up.   If you're like me, an ordinary meat and potatoes meal just won't cut it.   You need to do something a little fun and a little festive.   So the holidays are a great time to trot out a few of those expensive, labor intensive recipes that provide such great rewards when presented to the table.  Here are three ideas:

Classic Chicken Kiev

Ingredients

If you recall the details of Charles Dickens' immortal story "A Christmas Carol," the featured gift was a goose, to be sent to Bob Cratchet and his family.   I don't know how the tradition of a goose for Christmas started...or ended, but we don't often try to cook this savory bird, and that's a shame.   But where do you get a goose these days?

Just before Thanksgiving, Al and his girlfriend Vickie had a chance to go to Rome...for both, the first time.   If you haven't been, Rome is a totally delightful city.   Along with the art and the history comes the food and wine, which are first rate.   And as Jerry already knows, it's a great place to eat.

Artichoke is real big in Rome:  stewed usually, but often cut up and used as a featured ingredient.   At Zeppelin Ristorante in Orvietto, Chef Lorenzo Polegri taught us how to make pasta, and serve it with an artichoke sauce.

The Holiday Season is now officially upon us, and we might as well brace ourselves for the low humor of fruitcake jokes.   Everybody seemingly hates fruit cake, they don’t want it as a gift, and would never think about giving it.   But...offer somebody a Plum Pudding, and all bets are off.   But as it happens, both Al and Jerry love a good fruit cake, provided it is fresh and not deadly stale.

We have two days until the best meal of the year, Thanksgiving dinner.   Every year we try to come up with some helpful ideas for you, and this year we will focus on creative side dishes that take advantage of local produce.   And this year for us, it’s the season of the squash.   Of course we wouldn’t overlook a few other favorites as well.   So here are four easy recipes for the big day.

Butternut Squash Covered with Almonds and Cranberries

Ingredients:

We usually don’t think too much about making sandwiches, which is a shame, because with a little imagination we can come up with some amazingly good food.   We have a friend who owns a restaurant in Southern Maryland who is an ace at dreaming up awesome sandwiches, and that would be Chef Rob Plant of the Blue Wind Gourmet, down in Lexington Park.

When we stop to think about food, we have to admit that some things are inherently more exciting than others.   Wild mushrooms vs. white rice, roast pheasant vs. cold cuts, and just about anything vs.