Indian cuisine is new to my repertoire. Indian cooking intimidated me primarily due to the vast array of exotic spices. But fortunately, I have a neighbor who happily opens up his kitchen to teach me some of his authentic dishes. Raj eats a diet filled with veggies and plant-based protein. […]
Recipes
A list of recipes.
Slow-Cooked Kale Omelettes
Sprouted Kitchen is one of my favorite blogs. Sara and Hugh won Saveur’s best blog for original recipes 2012. Their recipes are creative and healthy and I’m sure you will agree with me that Hugh’s photography is breathtaking. I knew the site would be a a great source for […]
Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Looking for a winning recipe for playoff season? How about wings without the mess!! I like the idea of combining all those yummy flavors onto a flatbread…spicy sauce, chicken, onions all cooled by melted blue cheese. My neighbor, Courtney, highlights this dish on her blog every few months under “our pizza”. Cute. […]
Gruyere and Pepper Cookies
This savory cookie is just what your red wine (or champagne) ordered. The Gruyère cheese has a nutty rich flavor and the pepper gives this appetizer a nice kick. Make the dough now (you can freeze up to 2 months) and have these ready to go for the holidays. Gruyere […]
Chicken Liver Pate with Green Peppercorns
Have you ever had a food flashback??!! Well, here’s mine. I haven’t thought of this story for years until I made liver pate over the holiday. Years ago (o.k …many) I planned a trip to visit my good friend Mark at the Culinary Institute of America. Flying to NYC with a […]
Sweet and Spicy Brussels Sprouts
Take advantage of the seasonal sprouts and dress them up in a non-traditional fashion. This recipe calls for glazing them with a spicy-sweet combination of soy, rice vinegar, sugar and Siracha. To make this a complete meal I paired the sprouts with Ahi Tuna. The glaze worked beautifully as a […]
Pumpkin Bread Pudding With Spicy Caramel Sauce And Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise
I’ve always been a fan of bread pudding…. all varieties! But this Bobby Flay version using pumpkin bread takes the gooey decadent dessert to the next level. Fancy, yes. A bit steppy, yes. Can you do it?? YES! Most of the prep work comes days in advance. I made […]
Pumpkin Cheesecake Milkshake
Tis’ the season of pumpkin….a flavorful ingredient to create a fun milkshake!!! This sweet treat will be the addition we need to round out our Thanksgiving festivities. The roaring fire is the perfect setting for our after dinner games where we will be serving up our traditional Brandy Alexander and pumpkin […]
Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
What are you serving for Thanksgiving this year? I know you can’t divert too much from the same ‘ol same ‘ol. Traditions… (when it comes to food) are imperative and everyone’s favorite needs to show up. But what about the salad???? That poor… poor salad. We (a crew of 30 plus) […]
Crispy Braised Chicken Thighs With Olives, Lemon And Fennel
A Sunday dinner ….an impromptu party….or Tuesday night!! This recipe fits the bill for all. Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc At Home Cookbook is a dream for home-cooks. Less intimidating than his French Laundry Cookbook, Ad Hoc teaches technique and is filled with approachable, beautiful recipes. Over the last few years […]
Apple Brandy And Cider Cocktail: Rhine Hall Distillery
A handful of boutique distilleries are up and running in Chicago…. none serving Apple Brandy. Enter Rhine Hall, a hard-working father daughter team, passionate about the old school distilling process. Why apple brandy? It’s a great family story, well documented in the most recent Redeye and Chicagogrid. Randy and I are particularly happy […]
Quick Rick Bayless Shrimp Taco
Do you need a quick weeknight dinner idea? This is my new go-to!!! I feel like I’m cheating by using a pre-packaged sauce however, this is Rick Bayless…why mess with perfection? I’m lucky to be in the same city where I can sample the genius of Bayless’ moles and […]
Vegetable Lasagna
My veggie lasagna is one of Randy’s favorite recipes. He started asking (begging) for this a couple of weeks ago. Typically this lasagna shows up when the air is a bit crisper and football season is a few weeks further along. It’s about 60 degrees and we have a leisurely Sunday […]
Warm Mushroom Salad
Iconic Fall Flavors: apples, squash, pears, pumpkin, and MUSHROOMS! The cool air combined with rain means we are in mushroom season. No, I’m not going foraging in my woods for these tasty morsels…..or am I?? Look what’s growing on our back forty!! Puffer mushrooms. The giant pufferball is a whitish, […]
Caramel Roasted Pears With Cheese
I don’t need a sweet ending….so this works for me!!! Cheese course and dessert all in one. Warm pears and ginger snap crumbles drizzled with caramel sauce play well against the creamy, earthy cheese. A hint of thyme is added to the finishing sauce for a woodsy accent. This dessert […]
Cumin Lime Roasted Carrots
Yep, I know another side! Hey, very often this course is the star…or can set the tone. These roasted carrots are a nice Fall accompaniment to your roasted chicken or a flavorful marinated flank steak. Use similar flavor profiles to marry the entrée and side together. Serve with roasted potatoes. […]
Grilled Pear, Brie And Prosciutto Sandwich
When the air turns crisp and the leaves start to change, I think comfort food. On a chilly Saturday afternoon, I whipped up a flavorful soup pairing it with a dressed up grilled cheese. Take the combination of sweet, creamy brie and pear, savory prosciutto, a bit of honey mustard, […]
Grilled Sweet Onions With Blue Cheese And Balsamic Glaze
One of our favorite sides this summer has been grilled sweet onions and blue cheese, drizzled with balsamic glaze. The lightly charred sweet onions balance the salty richness of the cheese….making it the perfect combination. I used skewers to keep the rings together to make flipping easier. This is […]
Thai-Style Grilled Corn Soup/ Spring Rolls And Dipping Sauce
This meal came from cleaning out the vegetable drawer after a busy weekend. Leftover grilled corn, miscellaneous farmstand vegetables and fresh herbs from the garden were all on hand. A quick run to Whole Foods to pick up the wraps and coconut milk……and a fresh, healthy dinner done. This meal […]
Mango Peach Salsa
August is national peach month. This is evident by the abundance of peaches at your local farmers market. Peach salsa is a great way to utilize all the fresh produce available and is incredibly versatile. A perfect summer condiment! It’s a sweet and spicy companion for any grilled meat, fish, […]
Rustic Heirloom Tomato Tart
Tomatoes are abundant right now…..so make the most of these summertime jewels. This recipe is a twist on the Southern tradition of tomato pie. Layer your tart with heirloom tomatoes and dollop with an herbed cheese mayo and you have a savory and robust side to a summer meal […]
Tomato, Stone Fruit And Mozzarella Salad
It was Monday morning and I needed to jump-start the week. I love our weekends and I love my weekend Wall Street Journal; my favorite section is Off Duty. I usually find interesting ideas from chefs around the country. Saturday highlighted Chicago chef, Stephanie Izard and her take on a […]
Poppyseed Coleslaw
Coleslaw…. most people can take it or leave it. Memories of soggy, over-mayonnaised salad may come to mind. Being the ultimate traditional side to a summer BBQ, coleslaw needs a shot in the arm. Give this recipe a try. …. it’s a crowd pleaser that I promise you will […]
One Pot Pasta
The trending recipe of the summer. I have come across this recipe a number of times the last few months. It’s such a simple idea but being a bit of a skeptic… I had to try it. I love the idea of one pot dinners, easy to make and […]
Deconstructed Street Corn Salad
What memories are stirred when you sink your teeth into that first bite of summer’s corn on the cobb? I go back to my childhood where Mom would send one of us across the street to the farm stand with pocket change to pick up our daily sweet side to […]
Spicy Coconut Mussels with Lemon Grass
Thank you Pam for introducing me to this light and tasty mussel dish at Girlyfest 2013!! Just one of the highlights of the never-ending happy hour(s)! This was quite the leap for me to rediscover the very shell that hospitalized me in Italy years ago. Now… I’m back in […]
Field Trip
Here’s just a “tasting” of what’s been cooking with me this past week or so. (Kitchen closed.) We traveled to Santa Barbara for a very special wedding, which happily included seeing our daughter. After much frivolity and fun, Randy and I headed north to wine country…. Paso Robles. This lovely and approachable Central […]
Rustic Cherry Tart
I needed a dessert and I needed one fast! We had family in for 5 days and I really didn’t plan a lot of sweet endings. While this may have been an oversight, a quick review of my pantry came up a winner. All ingredients were in the house, so […]
Momofuku Ginger Scallion Noodles
This is not just another noodle dish. It’s special…with only six ingredients! Quoting David Chang himself, “Ginger Scallion Sauce is one of the greatest sauces or condiments ever. Ever. It’s definitely a mother sauce at Momofuku, something that we use over and over and over again.” I’m sold and you […]
Sweet Potato Chips
File this under….needed to be documented. The kids have called for this simple, healthy snack recipe so often that I felt it just needs to be on the record (blog)!! A couple things differ with this method than others…..first, the length of the slice and second, the slow cooking process. Many […]