Bologna Inspired

George Hirsch April 16, 2026

Food is one of the most powerful gifts we can give ourselves and the people we love. When life feels overwhelming, a warm bowl of soup has a way of slowing everything down and reminding us that nourishment — real, soulful nourishment — is always within reach. This creamy tortellini soup is exactly that kind of dish. Simple, honest, and made with heart. —

I’ve spent decades championing the idea that great food doesn’t have to be complicated — it just has to be made with intention. This creamy tortellini soup brings my philosophy to life in every spoonful. Cheese-filled pasta, tender spinach, and a rich tomato-cream broth come together in under 30 minutes to create something truly comforting. Add Italian sausage, fragrant garlic, and fresh basil to make it your own. Use refrigerator-aisle tortellini for the best texture, and let the act of cooking itself be a source of joy and restoration.

Tortellini Basil Soup

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1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 cup sweet onion, chopped

8 cloves caramelized garlic

1 cup canned San Marzano Tomatoes, chopped

4 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 quarter cup fresh spinach leaves, shredded

8 cups chicken or vegetable broth

8 ounces cheese tortellini

1 cup small white beans, cooked or canned (optional, added for extra protein)

Pinch nutmeg

Grated parmesan cheese to taste

Fresh ground black pepper

Preheat a medium soup pot to medium temperature.

Add olive oil, onion, garlic, and tomatoes, and cook for 4-5 minutes. Pour in broth and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add tortellini, spinach, basil, and white beans. Simmer until tortellini are al dente and season with nutmeg and pepper. Add parmesan cheese to taste. Serve with a basil leaf on top.

NOTE: This recipe requires a good-quality tortellini if you are cooking the pasta in the broth. A lesser quality tortellini will make the soup starchy. If you are not sure of the quality, cook the tortellini separately and add pasta to the soup right before serving.

**Everyone loves a great pizza, CLICK to WATCH how to make your own Hand Tossed Pizza.**

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AS SEEN ON PUBLIC TELEVISION & CREATE TV- SEASON ONE
FEATURING CHEF GEORGE HIRSCH DEMONSTRATING HIS SAVORY COOKING, BAKING AND GRILLING RECIPES; WITH HIS EXPERT CULINARY TIPS & TECHNIQUES, ALONG WITH VISITS TO HIS INSPIRING HAMPTON LOCATIONS.

Gather 'Round the Grill Cookbook, Vintage (new)

$50.00

LIMITED OFFER, LIMITED EDITION, signed by Chef George.

From the original Grilling TV Series host, 200 Fabulous Recipe—Celebrating the joyous rituals of sharing food at year-round festivities, the star of PBS's Grilling with Chef George Hirsch provides a wealth of recipes and ideas for great party foods, plus advance preparation tips to ease the strain of last minute chores.

Hardcover: 310 pages
Publisher: Hearst Books-HarperCollins; 1St edition (June 12, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0688142257
ISBN-13: 978-0688142254
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 8.1 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

$24.95

This easy to live with lifestyle plan; with more than 165 of George's easy-to-prepare gourmet recipes, you can lose weight, maintain energy, look better, and enjoy a longer active life, by eating great food!
M.Evans and Company, Inc.

George Starts your year off right!

George Hirsch Living it UP
Recipes for a Healthy Active Life
Product Details
Hardcover: 240 pages; $24.95
Publisher: M. Evans and Company, Inc.; 2000
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0871319241
ISBN-13: 978-0871319241
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches

Creative Cooking tips
Fast Easy recipes that allow for an active lifestyle
A 30-Day Menu Plan you can adapt throughout the year
Support and motivation for staying on a healthy eating & exercise routine
Tips for easy food shopping & eating healthy on the run

Each book is personally autographed by George Hirsch.

At the Waldorf

George Hirsch March 7, 2026

This is one of the sides that brings me right back to my humble days of early chef-dom - a very classical and very good Waldorf Salad.

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel c1899

A bit behind the salad history: Oscar Tschirky, maître d’hôtel at the Waldorf Hotel in NYC, is credited with creating this recipe in the 1890s, as well as many other recipes. Veal Oscar, anyone? I'll save that for another post.

The Waldorf Salad is simply apples, celery, and mayonnaise served on a lettuce leaf. But that’s where it all begins. Walnuts became a common addition years later, as did grapes and other dried fruit such as raisins, apricots, and sultanas. My friend Tony even opted to add the aforementioned and cut the mayo with good Greek yogurt, which is very refreshing and lighter than all mayo or a combo of mayo & unsweetened whipped cream.

Things have changed since the 1890s, so go ahead and put your own spin on the Waldorf; Oscar won’t mind. Use a culinary license, prepare it with apples and toasted nuts, cut the mayo, and even substitute it with today’s olive oil mayo, which I prefer. Serve some grilled chicken or shrimp on the side, and then you are talking about a healthy main dish.

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13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

$19.95

Gather 'Round the Grill Cookbook, Vintage (new)

$50.00

LIMITED OFFER, LIMITED EDITION, signed by Chef George.

Hardcover: 310 pages
Publisher: Hearst Books-HarperCollins; 1St edition (June 12, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0688142257
ISBN-13: 978-0688142254
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 8.1 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds

George Hirsch Living it UP! cooking & lifestyle book

$24.95

Hot Out of The Oven Biscuits

George Hirsch November 19, 2021

Forget the version from the tube, who doesn't like fresh homemade hot biscuits straight out of the oven? Great for breakfast, lunch, tea, or with a hot dinner soup and my Oven Fried Garlic Chicken.

Tips for the best biscuits:

Make sure the butter and the milk are very cold and be sure not to over mix the dough. It's important to use a sharp cutter; the sharper the cutter, the cleaner the cut, the higher the biscuits will rise.

George Hirsch's Biscuits

Makes one dozen

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2 cups sifted all purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup milk

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees

Sift dry ingredients, blend butter with dry ingredients using a pastry blender or a knife & fork. Add milk & mix well. Knead dough 2 minutes. Roll out dough and cut out biscuits. At this point you can store the cut out biscuit dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake them.

Bake on a ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on the thickness of the biscuits.

Serve immediately warm from the oven with butter or honey or both.

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Recipe for Health, Wealth & Good Fortune

George Hirsch December 29, 2019

For many Americans, New Year's means parties, football, and watching the ball drop in Times Square. But for others here and around the world the celebration wouldn't be complete without certain delicious traditional foods.

In Italy, the people welcome the New Year by tossing old things out of their windows to make room for the new and luck to enter their lives in the upcoming year. In food traditions, the Italian people cook up a dish called Cotechino Con Lenticchie: pork sausage served over lentils. This dish is eaten because of the presence of fatty rich pork sausage and lentils in the dish. Cotechino sausage is a symbol of abundance because they are rich in fat; while the coin-shaped lentils symbolize money. It is delicious.

This hearty and satisfying dish is traditionally eaten on New Year's Day to bring abundance and fortune. Cotechino is an Italian fresh pork sausage. It is creamy and delicate in flavor. It is sometimes sold precooked or boiled but the best ones are fresh. If you can't find cotechino a high quality fresh pork sausage flavored with nutmeg, cloves and pepper will suffice.

Cotechino Con Lenticchie: Pork Sausage Served over Lentils

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1 pound cotechino, pork sausage
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 large carrot, chopped
1 bay leaf
8 whole black peppercorns
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 pound dry green lentils
4 cups chicken broth
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped

Pierce the cotechino with a fork in several places.

Pre heat a large pot and add olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, carrot, 1 bay leaf, peppercorns and thyme. Simmer vegetables for two minutes and add cotechino, cook two minutes and add lentils, cover with 4 cups broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 45 to 50 minutes or until lentils are soft. Add additional water if necessary.

Remove the bay leaf and discard. Spoon the lentils into a serving dish, drizzle with olive oil and slice rounds of the cotechino over the top. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve.

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KYFF, Dry Rub

George Hirsch June 21, 2019

Tune-in / dvr GHL Create TV Sat 6/22 6AM/6PM, Sun 6/23 12PM est

The most important ingredient in cooking champion ribs is time. Ribs cooked slowly with a dry rub = Q heaven! But, don't forget to add a little moisture; by misting or brushing with water, or better yet secret, with apple juice. Over the years, I’ve offered several ways to cook ribs in my books. Caution - speedy versions that cook at temperatures hotter than 225 degrees just boils the juice out of the ribs, basically dry bones. The bottom line, great ribs cannot be prepared in a hurry. Good practice of patience. Enjoy!

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Pork Rib Rub

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

Makes 1/2 cup

1/4 cup paprika

2 Tablespoons each dry thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, brown sugar, cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

In a small bowl combine all ingredients.

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Ribs with Pork Dry Rub

recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes four servings

1 slab of St. Louis Style meaty pork ribs, with 14 ribs, about 3 1/2 pounds

1 recipe pork rib rub

2 cups apple juice

3 cups pork ribs wet sticky sauce, see sauce recipe.

Coat the entire rack of ribs with pork rib rub, wrap ribs tightly and refrigerate overnight.

Pre heat a grill to low temperature (approximately 225-250 degrees F). Place ribs meat side up on grill and cook for 2-3 hours. The lower temperature keeps the meat from drying out and becoming tough. After 2 hours begin to baste or spray the ribs with apple juice. The juice keeps the meat moist and from becoming dry during the long cooking.

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