Despite the New England heat wave, how2heroes has been braving the sizzling weather to film mouth-watering new videos.

To start the week, our own Brooke Toubeau’s grandmother Anita Toubeau, confirms that nothing is quite as good as grandma’s home cookin’. Anita’s classic baked beans are slow-cooked with sweet molasses, spices and salt pork. She lets them go in a slow-cookerovernight – and eats them for breakfast! Stay tuned for Grammy Toubeau’s video to go live in the coming weeks. In the meantime, watch Dave Gajee’s whiskey and pork-laden BBQ Baked Beans!

how2heroes’ intern Molly Siciliano shared two recipes learned during a recent food field trip to Sicily. Chickpea Fritters (“panelle” in Italian), start simply with nutty chickpea flour, water, salt and pepper. The mixture thickens on the stove and transforms into a consistency similar to polenta. Molly spreads a thin layer atop plates. Within 10 minutes, the paste has solidified into a peel-able layer that’s sliced and fried. A delicious wheat and gluten-free treat!

Cherry pie is to America as apple cake is to Sicily. Molly’s Buttery Apple Cake combines simple, pure ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest with apples that have been softened in butter. The cake is dangerously delicious. Molly had to send it back to the office with the crew  so she would not be tempted to eat the whole cake. We, of course, were happy to help her out. Aside from the delicious recipes, Molly gave us a tour of her artistic home and fed us a lovely lunch: eggplant casserole, fennel-grapefruit salad and crusty bread. A perfect combination in the muggy, hot weather.

Pig Tails….taste…like RIBLETS?  We were all first-time pig tail eaters, but blogger Sydney Oland assured us that they were NOT scary or gamey. The tail is surprisingly meaty. Syd boils the tails in water with spices, then finishes them on the grill to render the fat and crisp the outsides. A word of caution — some of the tails are very fatty and have the tendency to want to catch on fire! Toss them in your favorite BBQ sauce and serve in bite-sized pieces. We all confessed — pig tails are extremely addictive!

To top off our week, how2heroes veteran William Kovel, Consulting Chef at 28 Degrees, made a classic sabayon to top summer fruit and mint. Sabayon (or ‘Zabaglione’ in Italy) is a light, egg yolk-based dessert whipped to a fluffy consistency over simmering water with sugar, marsala wine and lemon juice. William had beautiful, market-fresh local fruits including black raspberries, a delicate berry native to the Eastern US.  Stay tuned for William’s video on how2heroes.com.