I just came across two great new books that I am sure will remain in my kitchen library for a long time to come. My mouth was watering constantly while reading this book. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some of the cheese he talks about. The photos are excellent throughout. The first [...]
I love this salad year-round. The zing from the citrus pairs well with the hearty spinach. This salad can pair with nearly any dish and is a breeze to throw together. Spinach and Grapefruit Salad (serves 4): 1/3 pound fresh spinach, about 6 cups, trimmed and washed 2 pink grapefruit 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced [...]
Limoncello is a great way to finish a meal, especially on a hot summer’s day. This is an easy dessert and is best made a day in advance so it has time to set up properly. This may be more French as they have been making creme desserts for ever. However, the Limoncello makes it [...]
This is a classic Italian dish. Easy, flavorful, and classic. It is one of the dishes served on Christmas Eve during the Feast of the Seven Fishes. You can use prepackaged linguine; however, it is nearly as easy to make your own and it tastes so much better. I have a previous post on homemade [...]
Stuffed tomatoes are great year-round and the options are endless. Here is one very French recipe for stuffed and baked tomatoes. These are also great to bring to a friend’s place as you can stuff them hours in advance and just pop them in the oven when you arrive. Stuffed Tomatoes (serves 6): 6 tomatoes [...]
I love roasting meats. From chicken to pork to lamb. They are so easy to do and very hands-off. I decided it was time to roast a leg of lamb. I went very traditional and stuffed it with rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves. I picked up a bone-in leg of lamb that weighed a bit [...]
Everybody loves fresh baked bread. You simply cannot go wrong with making bread. The smell alone more than justifies the few minutes it takes to throw it together. The options for types of flour and ingredients you can put in your bread are endless; however, here is a basic French baguette that I often make. [...]
With the warmer weather here, I am making more salads. Seeing as though I am not a rabbit, however, I like my salads to have sustenance and real flavor to them. This salad is a takeoff from Thomas Keller’s Salad of black mission figs with roasted sweet peppers and shaved fennel. It too is a [...]
Your friends and family will be absolutely impressed when you make oysters Rockefeller for them. This is an old dish from Antoine’s in New Orleans. The dish gets its name from the sauce which is so wonderfully rich. They say it is as rich as John D. Rockefeller was in his day. I serve this [...]
After making the lime and cilantro roasted chicken I knew I wanted to make enchiladas. Enchiladas are quite easy to make; however, I wanted to make the sauce from scratch. After quite a bit of research I have developed an amazing enchilada sauce. It seems a lot of people use tomato as the base for [...]
