I love a traditional cassoulet but am rarely prepared to devote several days to prepping and sourcing all the ingredients. Just reading through those long recipes and trying to decide which region of France has the best version can be enough to turn me away.

Then it dawned on me: what I love most about cassoulet is breaking through that crispy bread crumb crust into the hearty, umami-laden mix of beans, meat, and aromatics. Creating that experience does not have to be complicated.

I'm not going for a 30-Minute Meal here, but for a cassoulet, this recipe is pretty speedy.

Instead of the more classic ingredients like duck confit or goose leg, sauccison, mutton, and pork belly, I have substituted chicken drumsticks and small sausage links. Of course, you can use whatever meats you'd like, the point is to use what is available to you. After all, isn't that what the original cassoulet was all about?

I created this recipe for pork tenderloin, but I've also made it with chicken, and the results were excellent. Either way, I like to “wash it down” with a good Rosé.

I left a little “wiggle room” in the sauce ingredient measures. Some people like a lot of sauce (4 cups), some people like a little (2 cups), and some are in between (3 cups). Adjust the Cajun seasoning accordingly. Also, use whole milk or half-and-half. Reduced fat milks do not work for this recipe.

This quick and easy one-dish meal with a taste of Asia might become a standard in your home.

For the best texture, don't overwork the meat mixture and use Parmesan that's ground to a fine powder ( use the processor or the rasp side of a box grater). For more heat, add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper to the sauce.

I honestly picked this dish from Gourmet because it reminded me ever so slightly of Mapo Doufu, even though it barely contains any of the same ingredients, and is way more Thai than anything resembling Chinese.
But hear me out.
Both dishes start with a base of ground pork tossed in a hot wok, then add aromatics and bold flavors on top. In this case, the curry powder and fish sauce create the funky base.
The result is a mild and aromatic dish, more of a pleasant meal than the brash and daring Mapo Doufu. But sometimes that's a good thing. Not everything can be full throttle, though I will admit that some sriracha helps wake things up here. And depending on your curry powder and fish sauce, there may not be enough salt here. So taste as you go, and add more salt if needed.

Porchetta, or roast suckling pig seasoned with garlic and herbs, is a traditional Italian dish. Here, the flavors of porchetta are used on a roasted pork shoulder. You'll need to start this dish one day ahead, as the pork has to marinate overnight.

If Craig had his way, this post wouldn't have this title. I just asked him, "Would you call the chili I made the other day the best of your life?" And he answered: "I don't even think of it as chili because there weren't any beans; just lots of meat and stuff. But it was certainly delicious."

Mao Pao Tofu (Adapted from CL)

Adapted from Cooking Light.

I spent about an hour on Sunday making and cooking up a big batch of a basic burger mixture. The mix is very versatile, so I made four different things from it. Now I have enough mini-burgers, meatballs and more in my freezer for at least 20 or more bento portions. It was an hour well spent! I love just knowing that my freezer has a nice stock of ready-to-go bento items - it takes the pressure off considerably on busy mornings.

I haven’t posted a complete bento in quite a while. I like to show something new when I write about a complete bento, and for the past few weeks I haven’t done much beyond making simple onigiri or assembling sandwiches. But since I turned some delicious locally-raised pork into miso marinated pork the other day, I made a spring-like bento to go with it. It was delicious, and looks nice too I think! I also decided to decorate it a bit, which gives me a chance to show a couple of ways of dealing with “charaben leftovers” if you will.

To prepare dipping sauce

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sugar and sesame oil.

To prepare the Pot Stickers

In a medium bowl, stir together pork, chives, soy sauce, sherry, ginger, sesame oil, cornstarch, and water. Place a heaping teaspoon of pork mixture in center of one wonton wrapper (keeping the rest covered to prevent drying). Lightly wet edge of wrapper, fold over and press tightly to seal. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In two batches, cook dumplings in the boiling water until cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon, keeping them in one single layer.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil over medium-high. Add half of the boiled wrappers and cook until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining oil and wrappers. Serve with dipping sauce.

Vietnamese hybrid sandwiches called banh mi are great for lunch or a casual dinner.

Green chile pork stew with potatoes