July 13, 2017

Chilled Carrot Soup with Cumin & Lime

Some Like It Cold! Chilled Carrot Soup with Cumin & Lime Soup & Salad It’s been blistering hot here in Southern California lately, so scorching in fact, that it’s too hot to barbecue or even turn on the oven.  So, what to make for dinner?  Soup…chilled soup that is.  I […]
July 3, 2017

Salsa Baked Goat Cheese and Chorizo Dip

Olé! Salsa Baked Goat Cheese and Chorizo Dip Starter This recipe is adapted from a Rick Bayless recipe that I found in a Williams-Sonoma booklet in 2002.  It has been a consistent winner over the years, but I got bored with it and decided it needed something …. something to […]
June 22, 2017

Barefoot Contessa’s Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits  

Bone Appétit! Barefoot Contessa’s Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits Dog Treats As some of you may know, we have two Pembroke Welsh corgis named Frankie and Remi.  They are brother and sister from the same litter.  We adopted them when they were two years old. They are joyful and […]
June 14, 2017

Borough Market Cheese Toastie

Say “Cheese!” Borough Market Cheese Toastie Main Having returned from our 2017 London/Scotland holiday (trip report here), we were in the mood for the delicious Cheese Toastie we devoured at the Kappacasein Stall at the Borough Market in London on a previous trip.  We tried this sandwich on our first […]
March 16, 2017

Mom’s Grasshopper Pie

Patience Grasshopper Mom’s Grasshopper Pie Dessert Grasshopper Pie is one of Tom’s childhood favorite desserts.  I make it for him every year on his birthday.  Today, we roll it out early in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, not because it’s Irish, but because it’s green! The easiest way to make […]
February 13, 2017

Limoncello Orange Sugar Cookies

When Life Hands You Lemons and Oranges… Limoncello Orange Sugar Cookies Dessert Our next door neighbor, she of the fabulous fig tree, also has an incredible Meyer lemon tree (a very pretty one) that fortuitously hangs into our yard and provides us with lemons nearly year round.  After reading the […]
February 1, 2017

Steakhouse Spinach Artichoke Dip

Tracy’s “Secret” Recipe Dip Steakhouse Spinach Artichoke Dip Starter There are lots of really good spinach artichoke dip recipes out there.  This one was given to me years ago and allegedly is the “secret” recipe of a famous steakhouse (although the restaurant was never divulged).  This recipe never fails and […]
January 24, 2017

Dorie’s Classic Jammer Cookies

A Hunky “Dorie” Classic Cookie Dorie’s Classic Jammer Cookies Dessert In late 2016 you could not pick up a holiday magazine without seeing a cookie recipe by Dorie Greenspan or reading about her new compendium of cookies, “Dorie’s Cookies.”  I had no sooner read a review in the LA Times […]
January 13, 2017

Italian Wedding Soup With Orzo & Spicy Chicken Meatballs

A Marriage of Pasta and Chicken Italian Wedding Soup With Orzo & Spicy Chicken Meatballs Soup & Salad Our New Year’s Eve plans changed at the last minute, and as it was an unusually cold and wintry day in Southern California (even rain!), I turned to my favorite cookbook author, […]