Savory Custard with Bacon and Cheese

With the holidays approaching, maybe you’re looking for a simple but elegant brunch offering for your guests, or maybe just something a tad bit special for yourself. This savory custard should please about anyone – – I even like it and eggs are not my favorite! It must be the garlic-infused cream, or the nutty… Continue reading Savory Custard with Bacon and Cheese

Banana Date Walnut Bread (grain-free)

Faced with rapidly blackening bananas in the fruit bowl, I turned to the ever-popular means of using them up…banana bread.  My old recipe for banana bread used wheat flour, but thankfully these non-yeast breads adapt well to using almond flour. The other big change in this recipe is the lack of processed sugar.  After 3… Continue reading Banana Date Walnut Bread (grain-free)

Cheddar Bacon Biscuits (grain-free)

These savory little shortbread cookies will taunt you until you have eaten every last one – I’ll warn you now!  I had to make batch after batch of these because I “forgot” to take a photo, and next thing I knew, they were all gone. I first set out on the path to make plain… Continue reading Cheddar Bacon Biscuits (grain-free)

Crispy, Baked Sweet Potato Fries (gluten-free)

Over the weekend I went on an internet mission to find the secret to sweet potato fries that are crispy, baked (vs fried), well-seasoned, and gluten free.  I wrote down what I thought were the best ideas from a multitude of recipes, added seasonings I like, and put it all together in a Hail Mary,… Continue reading Crispy, Baked Sweet Potato Fries (gluten-free)

Lemon Bars (gluten and grain-free, dairy-free)

Lemon bars seem to be a nice, light dessert, with their innocent-looking sweet tartness and summery color.  However if you spend anytime browsing recipes, you know that they are evil – usually full of sugar and flour (up to 3 cups of sugar in a small pan)!  I had written them off, until I came… Continue reading Lemon Bars (gluten and grain-free, dairy-free)

Oven-Roasted Tomatoes and Vodka Sauce

Tomatoes are starting to roll in, and not even I can keep up with eating that many BLTs.  One of the easiest and most versatile ways to take advantage of this is to oven-roast the tomatoes.  I love the super-concentrated, sweet taste of roasted tomatoes – and you can use them in a sauce, eat… Continue reading Oven-Roasted Tomatoes and Vodka Sauce

Chicken Piccata with Rainbow Chard

We were out of town last week, although not really vacationing.  I had envisioned cooking up a storm and having lots of things to post, but soon after arriving at our non-airconditioned home (in a desert) those plans fell to the wayside.  I forget how much turning on a stove or oven heats the entire… Continue reading Chicken Piccata with Rainbow Chard

Garlic Scape and Cilantro Pesto

This was a new one for me – garlic scapes.  I imagine many people have pulled the tangle of whip-like green stalks from their CSA boxes and wondered ‘what the heck is this’?  Turns out that garlic scapes are the green shoots/flower stems that grow out of the garlic bulbs in the spring or early… Continue reading Garlic Scape and Cilantro Pesto

Acorn Squash with Kale and Pecans

We’re starting a new venture with community-supported agriculture this year, and we’re signed up with Rise ‘n Shine Organic Farm.  Two weeks into it now, we’ve racked up plenty of good things  – lettuce, kale, radishes, swiss chard, carrots  –  and also supplements of local honey, pecans, and grits since the growing season here is… Continue reading Acorn Squash with Kale and Pecans

Pan-Seared, Blackened Flounder

The secrets to a really tasty piece of blackened fish are 1) a really tasty Creole seasoning, and 2) not overcooking the fish.  I use a slightly modified version of  Emeril’s recipe for Creole Seasoning – because he should know, right?  The seasoning is easy to make fresh with your own spices, and it’s really… Continue reading Pan-Seared, Blackened Flounder

Smashed Red Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

Inspired by Love That Food It’s vacation time, and you gotta indulge.  Since white potatoes are not normally in our diet, when we have them we want them to be extra-special.  This recipe for “smashed” potatoes is like the bridge between roasted and mashed – they are boiled until tender, then flattened and crushed so… Continue reading Smashed Red Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast

Outside of winter holidays, we rarely have turkey.  For some reason, I never think about turkey – and for the two of us, even a small whole turkey is too much.  A 2-3 pound turkey breast, however, is just right for a meal or two, plus a couple of sandwiches.  I ordered this boneless, skinless… Continue reading Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast

Zucchini Noodles with Beurre Blanc Sauce

Who’s a fool for sauce?  I don’t know about you, but if there’s a sauce or condiment I can drench my food with, I will do it.  My husband, not so much.  Not too long ago, I made some salmon patties and asparagus – and on a whim, whipped up a quick lemon-butter sauce to… Continue reading Zucchini Noodles with Beurre Blanc Sauce

Crème Brûlée

Modified from Bon Appétit After my last episode of playing with fire in the kitchen, you might be surprised to see me back in there with a blowtorch.  Rest assured, nothing was engulfed in flames! This is my go-to recipe for crème brûlée that I found on Epicurious years ago.  I’ve since modified it to… Continue reading Crème Brûlée