Jake, Patrick, Peter, Summer I love it when Jake comes home and the house is filled with the sound of his guitar and his friends. Best yet, I love it when I can cook for them. So when he was coming home for a too-quick trip over Memorial Day Weekend and getting together with his college friends from New Orleans who all now live in L.A., I wanted to treat […]
Working in my garden gives me great pleasure, but picking the first spring vegetables and biting into the first tomato of the season is pure joy. I’ve had an abundance of peas this year and the green beans have been great, but finally the first tomatoes were ripe and ready to eat. Here are the shallots, potatoes, small garlic, zucchini and cabbage I harvested. I didn’t have much luck with my cabbage crop. […]
I’m always looking for new appetizer recipes. My favorites are ones you can make ahead so when your friends show up you can spend time with them. It’s even better when they’re really simple to make like this baked goat cheese dip. I found this in Food Network magazine last fall and it’s been a go-to new favorite of mine. You can make it in the morning (or even the night […]
The Super Bowl starts in less than 24 hours. Do you have a houseful of people coming or do you need to bring a dish to share? Don’t worry! Here’s a super easy and very tasty solution! You can add as much heat as you like or keep it mild. It’s all in the seasoning! Â Don’t tell anyone, but it’s very low cal and has two healthy secret ingredients–I’ll […]
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then here it is. And it’s just in time for Super Bowl Sunday. In case any of your party guests want to have at least one healthy bite to eat, they will love this. When I tested it on my friends they didn’t even realize it was healthy. It really is that good. After you cook the beets, you can make this in […]
Need a simple, yet elegant appetizer to take to a New Year’s Eve party? I have just the recipe for you! ENDIVE “CHIPS” WITH BLUE CHEESE DIP AND BACON DUST 1/2 cup Greek yogurt 1/2 cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled 10 strips of bacon, chopped fine and cooked until crumbly 1 tsp chopped rosemary 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper 6-10 endive–depending on the size Cut the ends off the endive and arrange the […]
Carne en su jugo is Spanish for “beef with it’s juices”–but one spoonful and you’ll say it means, “This is so delicious I can’t stop eating it!” I got a wonderful sampler of Rancho Gordo beans for Christmas and couldn’t wait to start cooking. I went to the Rancho Gordo website and saw so many great recipes it was hard to decide which to make first, but I decided to start with carne […]
It doesn’t get any easier than this. With just a few store-bought ingredients, you can make a delicious and beautiful appetizer in way less time than it takes to assemble a Barbie Dream House. And let’s face it–who has time to make anything complicated this time of year. INGREDIENTS FOR CAPRESE SKEWERS Grape tomatoes Small mozzarella balls Buitoni pesto–or you can make your own Fresh basil leaves Festive toothpicks It really is […]
One of my favorite appetizers at Cucina Enoteca is their Burrata and Roasted Garlic Crostini. The presentation alone is beautiful with the burrata sitting in a cool, lidded jar* and the roasted garlic just waiting to be spread on the crostini. This is an easy appetizer to make when you need to bring a dish to a holiday party. And I promise, you’ll get rave reviews! INGREDIENTS FOR BURRATA AND ROASTED GARLIC CROSTINI […]
I love French onion soup! But I don’t make it very often because it’s so time consuming. It takes FOREVER to get the onions to caramelize. BUT NOT ANY MORE! I just discovered that the crock pot does all the caramelizing for you–overnight…while you sleep. Really. I wasn’t sure it would work, but I had to give it a try. Its amazing. You wake up in the morning and the […]