Easiest Cheesiest Potatoes! Tom’s Twice-Baked Potato Casserole Side (or for Tom … Main) We love potatoes at the Casa de Mai Tai. For Thanksgiving we always make Tom’s Mom’s Sour Cream and Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes and for the holidays we enjoy Crispy English Potatoes with Pancetta.       […]

Peachy Keen RisottoPeach and Pancetta Risotto Side or Main It was nearing the end of peach season in early September, and since I had two ripe peaches calling my name, I wanted a new way to utilize one of our favorite fruits for dinner. Tom and I were in the […]

Bountiful Beans Baked Beans with Chipotle and Bacon Side Years ago we tasted the best baked beans with friends Kevin and Melissa. Kevin’s grandma’s baked bean recipe, which is a spin on Carolina Barbecue Beans using three kinds of beans: baked beans in tomato sauce, red kidney beans and green […]

Perfect Potatoes! Barefoot Contessa’s Crispy English Potatoes with Pancetta Side From Ina Garten’s FOOLPROOF, here is our absolute FAVORITE potato recipe! My notes in the cookbook say, “Holy Moly, these are perfect!”  They are so easy to make that I serve them year-round. Golden, crispy, crunchy oven-roasted baby potatoes with […]

Carrots … Let Me Count The Ways Three Carrot Recipes for Spring:  Mary’s Roasted Carrots with Thyme and Brown Sugar; Roasted Carrots and Oranges with Cumin and Toasted Walnuts; and The Barefoot Contessa’s Orange-Braised Carrots and Parsnips Side Here are three recipes for your spring table (or any time!). One […]

Going Green … Beans Green Beans Three Ways: Green Bean Bundles with Bacon & Brown Sugar; Green Beans with Pancetta, Shallots & Pecans; and Green Beans with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette & Parmesan Panko Crumbs Side I love green beans!  They always make an appearance at our house, especially for Thanksgiving […]

Taking Cornbread To The Next Level Skillet Hatch Chile Cornbread with Hatch Chile Honey Butter Side Just in time for Hatch Chile Season! From MaiTai Tracy’s Kitchen archives…. Here is an oldie but goodie, really goodie, updated recipe for skillet cornbread adapted from the delicious and decadent Iron-Skillet cornbread they […]

Shed No Tears With These Onions Jamie Purviance’s Red Wine Cipollini Onions Side Tom was fortunate to attend an event at Melissa’s Produce featuring grilling expert Jamie Purviance, author of WEBER’S ULTIMATE GRILLING: A Step-by-Step Guide to Barbecue Genius!  Tom is the grill master in our family, so I have […]

Just Like Mom Used To Make! Sour Cream and Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Cognac Gravy Side Here at the Casa de Mai TaiTom & Tracy, there is only one mashed potato recipe that we serve at every Thanksgiving meal, Tom’s Mom’s Mashed Potatoes.  I love these […]

Pineapple Paradise  Ghost Pepper Salsa & Caramelized Pineapple  Side With the last remaining Ghost Pepper from my friend Joseph’s garden, I made a variation of the Caramelized Pineapple Habanero Salsa found in the Best of Ball Home Canning & Preserving book. If you didn’t read my prior post about the […]

Hot Damn Jam! Ghost Pepper Strawberry Jam Dessert For my birthday this year, I asked Tom to get me a galvanized steel watering trough … you know, the kind horses and cows drink out of.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I have coveted one for years.  It took 17 bags […]

A Pair Of Pear Jams (Part 2) Cinnamon Pear Jam Side While the Pear Vanilla jam was cooling, I turned to use the remainder of the pears for Food in Jars’ Pear Cinnamon Jam. If these two recipes are any indication of how good they are, be sure to check […]

A Pair Of Pear Jams (Part One) Vanilla Pear Jam Side Sadly, fig season is over, but I remain smitten with jamming.   Recently I read an article featuring food blogger Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars.  Not only did I learn lots about canning but I was inspired to try […]

Ain’t It Grand! Strawberry Grand Marnier Fig Jam Side After the success of the Boozy Bourbon Vanilla Fig Jam, I was inspired to try another jam recipe also including a potent potable (Strawberry Grand Marnier Fig Jam).   It was a good thing too because as I was making the […]

We’re Jammin’ Boozy Bourbon, Vanilla and Fig Jam Side Our neighbor has a gorgeous fig tree that fortuitously hangs into our yard (as does her luscious lemon tree).  Never having been a big fig fan, each year I would pick them to take to the office where they are scooped […]

The Dish That Helped Save My Life Divine Orange Sherbet Jello Side This orange sherbert Jello is the ultimate comfort food from your grandmother’s generation.  It is also Tom’s favorite and was an integral part of his recovery from his 105-day hospitalization in 2010, as it was one of the few […]