Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Have you ever made a cheesy potato dish that you love, only to have it curdle or end up topped with an unappetizing pool of grease? There’s a lot of variables at play – the amount of starch in the potato, the proteins in the cream and cheese, how well… Continue reading Potatoes Au Gratin
If it isn’t completely evident by now, I could eat about anything cooked in, smeared with, or floating in butter and garlic. You put that together with shrimp and a simple risotto – that’s a quick and relatively easy meal that will please most anyone. There are people out there, I know, that don’t like… Continue reading Shrimp Scampi with Risotto
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)
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
Modified from Daniel Boulud’s Chicken Lasagna I have to warn you straight up about this recipe – it is incredibly rich. Not rich as in “I always fly first class.” Not rich as in “We fly our own plane and have a time-share ski cabin in Aspen.” It’s rich like “Please have the pilot ready… Continue reading Chicken Lasagna with Mushrooms and Fontina Cheese
Scallops are simply wonderful for a quick meal – they only take a few minutes to cook and there are many simple ways to serve them. I love them seared and served on a bed of creamy risotto and roasted asparagus, with a trickle of balsamic glaze over the top. This is the essence of… Continue reading Seared Sea Scallops with Fig-Balsamic Glaze
Our good-gardener, neighbor Mike brought us some beautiful pattypan squash from his garden, and also a package of heirloom tomatoes that he had sun-dried and put up from another year’s bounty. I’m so glad I live near a generous person with a green thumb! Mike suggested cooking the squash in a tomato sauce with some… Continue reading Summer Squash Casserole with Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Recently at the Saturday morning farmers’ market in Decatur, we picked up some fresh eggs from a local farm. You might ask, “now what does that have to do with salmon?” Thanks for asking, because I’m having a heck of a time getting this post started! Well, I’m not a big egg-eater so I needed… Continue reading Oven Roasted Salmon with Parmesan-Mayo Crust
If you’re following along, earlier this week I ventured out to the Dekalb Farmer’s Market and brought home a few bags of inspiration for the blog. Our second meal resulting from that haul was grilled veal rib chops with this savory mushroom and goat cheese gratin. Although the veal chops were delicious, the mushroom gratin… Continue reading Mushroom and Goat Cheese Gratin
It has been cool and a bit blustery in New Mexico this week – and what better to warm up with than a big pot of soup. This soup has an Italian twist to it, so I wanted to add just a bit of pasta. Here’s my big confession (followed of course by my justification)… Continue reading Beef and Vegetable Soup
Modified from Whole Foods Recipes, via iphone app Wow, we were blown away by how wonderful these peppers and portobello mushrooms were! Roasted mushrooms and peppers are one of our favorite side dishes, but the vinaigrette from this recipe with capers, garlic, and raisins added a sweet and sour dimension that turned this dish from… Continue reading Spanish-Style Portobello Mushrooms and Peppers
This recipe is a low-carb adaptation of Shrimp and Grits, and I have to say it worked pretty well! There are a lot of flavors here – first, in lieu of grits, a base of roasted cauliflower pureed with roasted garlic and Parmesan cheese. Then we top it off with wild-caught shrimp in a spicy… Continue reading Lemon Garlic Shrimp over Cauliflower Mash
Who doesn’t love snacking on cheesy crackers? It’s hard to stop eating these! I used a combination of cheddar, jack, and Parmesan cheeses, but I think you could substitute other cheeses as well for a different taste. Adding a little cayenne pepper gives them a little kick, and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt on… Continue reading 3-Cheese Crackers (grain-free)
Modified from crackers at Elanaspantry.com and Cheeseslave.com Crispy crackers are great to satisfy that need for a crunchy snack, or to carry a piece of cheese or dollop of creamy dip to one’s mouth. (It’s unbecoming to simply spoon in the dip in the presence of company…otherwise I’m okay with it. :-)) I’ve tried to… Continue reading Crispy Nutty Crackers (gluten-free)
she cooks...he cleans 