If you bring home the bacon, you’ve got to pay tax on it—very soon.

Even if you’ve already filed, Tax Day (on April 18th this year*) is a painful reminder of those hard earned dollars that never make it to the bank.

*Why not April 15th? The District of Columbia celebrates Emancipation Day on April 16, the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s signature of the Compensated Emancipation Act. But this year, April 16 falls on a Saturday, so Emancipation Day will be celebrated on Friday, April 15th.

So, you deserve a drink. Mix up a “Bringing Home the Bacon” shot, courtesy of Hornitos Tequila. Sweet and smoky, it’s easy to make.

The 16th Amendment, ratified by Congress on February 3, 1913, is generally cited as the beginning of personal income taxes. However, to pay for expenses during the Civil War, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861, which included a tax on personal income. Learn more.

We love asparagus, and eat it almost daily during the season (April, May and June).

Simply steamed fresh asparagus is so delicious, we find it needs no embellishment—no salt, no butter, no lemon juice or other seasoning. It requires just a quick visit to the vegetable steamer (or microwave) and is ready to eat. (Note: While some people love it, we think that a vertical asparagus steamer is a waste of space.)

For a more complex dish, try this easy recipe for oven-roasted asparagus with feta cheese, garlic and a balsamic drizzle. It’s a combination of sweet, earthy, salty and garlicky flavors. If you don’t like feta, you can substitute fresh goat cheese.

The recipe uses balsamic cream (crema di balsamico), a reduction of balsamic vinegar that has sweet and tangy notes. It’s pricey, but you only use a drizzle at a time. If you don’t want to purchase a bottle, you can substitute balsamic glaze or even plain balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy the recipe with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc; or check out these wines and beers that pair with feta.

1. Look for firm stalks of a uniform width and a minimum amount of woodiness at the end. It doesn’t matter if they’re thick or slender: both are equally tender. But you need uniformity of size to cook them evenly.

2. The tips should be tightly closed. Once they begin to separate, it means that the asparagus is older and won’t have the best fresh flavor.

3. While most sources advise you to trim the asparagus at its natural breaking point (just bend the stem end down and you’ll see it), we find that we can trim as far as the green portion goes—often an extra inch or two—without having the end being woody in texture.

Even though our pears ended up baked to
a brown color, we didn’t want them to
oxidize before baking. Photo by Louis
Hiemstra | IST.

Our first project was pear tarts. As we fanned the pears, the phone rang; we ended up chatting for awhile and the pears began to oxidize (turn brown).

Most of us have been taught to squeeze lemon juice over the exposed flesh of a cut fruit or vegetable to slow the browning process. You can also sprinkle fruits and veggies with ascorbic acid (vitamin C powder).

But we took another route: acidulated water, which is water mixed with an acidic liquid. It works much better than trying to toss a fanned pear with lemon juice while keeping the slices intact.

Instead of squeezing lemon juice onto the fruit, add two tablespoons of lemon juice, wine (red or white), or vinegar (red, white or cider) to one quart of water.

We whipped up a batch and dipped the pears into it—while still on the phone. It’s a great technique if you have a good amount of fruit to protect.

Alas, The Cheesecake Factory has no locations in New York City, where we live. So we did the next best thing: We made our own Luau Salad. Here are the ingredients:

1. WONTONS. We used fried wonton strips that we had on hand from Chinese takeout. Next time, we’ll buy wonton wrappers and fry and season them.

2. HEAT oil to 375 F°, slide in the wrappers and deep-fry until golden brown, turning to brown evenly. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds while warm.

3. PRESS the seeds into the wrappers. Store-bought wonton wrappers are round, not square like the custom-made wrapper in the photo. But if you want a platform on which to layer the salad, you can substitute lavasch flatbread with sesame seeds.

4. LAYER the salad as shown in the photo. Enjoy!

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*We used 2.5 parts olive oil, .5 part sesame oil and 1 part apple cider vinegar.

Beyond spaghetti and meatballs: Teriyaki
Meatballs With Grilled Pineapple. Recipe
below. Photo and recipe courtesy Al Fresco.

Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, co-owners of New York City’s The Meatball Shop, actually beat Joey to the punch. But they already have a restaurant, so they’re not in the competition to get their concept funded by Chipotle founder Steve Ells, Bobby Flay and two other chef-investors.

If meatballs are calling your name, just head to your supermarket and pick up the first two flavors of the new Al Fresco chicken meatball line:

 
Here’s the store locator. Look for the meatballs in the refrigerator section.

Al Fresco is known for its all-natural chicken sausages, fully cooked and ready to heat and eat. The all-natural chicken meatballs are similarly delicious and easy to prepare.

Made with lean chicken meat, the chicken meatballs contain 60% less fat and 40% less sodium than beef and pork meatballs. They’re a healthy option: all natural (no preservatives, nitrates or MSG) and gluten free. Enjoy them with pasta or rice, in a meatball hero or as an appetizer.
 
 
APPETIZER RECIPE: GRILLED PINEAPPLE WITH TERIYAKI CHICKEN MEATBALLS

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SPRAY the pineapple slices with cooking spray and grill or pan brown.

2. LIGHTLY BRUSH both sides with hoisin sauce. Cut rings into bite size pieces about 1 inch wide (just big enough for the meatballs to sit on).

3. SPRAY a separate medium skillet with cooking spray. Brown meatballs over medium high heat on both sides.

4. ADD water, cover and fully heat the meatballs.

5. SKEWER The meatballs on top of pineapple and lightly brush with the hoisin sauce to give a glaze.

6. SET on a platter or individual serving plates. Garnish with fresh mint. Place remaining hoisin sauce in a small dipping bowl. Serve immediately.