Category — Recipes

As promised, here is the fantastic recipe for a traditional Irish Soda Bread, given to me from Sharon Cereska. The recipe writer in me couldn’t help but rewrite it a little bit, but I only changed one actual ingredient from the original recipe, and that was using unsalted butter instead of margarine. I don’t use or buy margarine, sorry, can’t help being a foodie snob about that one!

My reworded recipe is first and Sharon’s original family recipe is below. But first, here is what Sharon wrote to me when she sent the recipe, accompanied by a lovely treasured family photo of hers.  Thank you Sharon for sharing with me and everyone out there in the blog-a-sphere.

[Read more →]

What are you looking for; Gluten-free? Easy-breezy? Meatless Monday? Kid-friendly? Convenient? Meat-free Friday Lenten meal? Then this recipe is for you! But before we get to it, I want to provide you with a head’s up about tomorrow’s recipe. Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day – the most amazing Irish Soda Bread recipe. It comes directly from the source, a true Irishwoman who also happens to be a great friend of this blog. None other than, Sharon Cereska; loyal follower, mother to long-time students of Les Petites Gourmettes, and one of the two winners of our latest contest. Sharon generously brought me a loaf of the delicious bread as a thank you when she came to my cooking class at Les Gourmettes (the prize of the said contest). Marissa and I devoured the entire loaf before Dave even knew it was in the house! Besides the usual flour and such, you’ll need 1 egg and 1 3/4 cups buttermilk. Get to the store and pick those up so you can make the bread. Trust me, you’ll be thanking me, and especially, Sharon, later!

[Read more →]

This lovely spring or summertime tart is perfect as an appetizer, placed atop lightly dressed greens for a salad, or as a side dish for fish, poultry, pork, or beef. Basically, it’s good anytime and anywhere! I created it while trying to use up things I had in my fridge (what’s new?) including the zucchini, caramelized onions, and blue cheese.  I always have Parmesan and puff pastry on hand, so this was a no-brainer. Feel free to add in whatever you have on hand as well; such as sun-dried tomatoes, capers, olives, or tapenade… the possibilities are endless. If you’re not the huge fan of blue cheese, that I am, substitute in another good melting cheese… say Fontina, or just use more Parmesan. Just get in that kitchen and create!

[Read more →]

I’ve posted the recipes for regular chicken stock and for rich duck stock here before, but I just realized that I’ve not put up recipes for beef stock or brown chicken stock yet.  This recipe is for brown chicken stock, but the recipe for the beef stock is exactly the same, just sub in beef bones for the chicken pieces. Having these two stocks in your freezer, ready when you need them, will make you feel very rich indeed, as there is nothing better than homemade stock!  I’m including nearly a dozen pictures to make it as easy as possible to follow along.

[Read more →]

I’ve been either on the go or sick for weeks now without a break!  But today – today there is not a single thing written on my calendar – a FREE day!  A lazy day – a perfect Friday! So keeping with the feel of the day, this will be a lazy and easy post.

Marissa is home this morning, not having to go to work until 5:00 tonight.  I’ve been up since 7:00 AM, she got up at 9:00 when I woke her up (accidentally) to look at something online.  An hour later she said, “I want pancakes.”  Oooh, pancakes, that sounds good. So we made “Pancakes ala Marissa”, which means the mix was from a box, but there are always awesome mix-ins.  This time, the embellishments are toasted pecans and slices of ripe banana… yummers!  Then I added a little special touch of my own, cooking them in a mixture of butter AND Queen Creek Olive Mill Vanilla Bean Olive Oil – so good!

Another great thing about this particular Friday; Connor comes home for the week of Spring Break! He’ll be jealous about these pancakes, but luckily for him, there is some batter waiting for him in the fridge…

[Read more →]

There are few desserts more elegant and beautiful than a perfect poached pear. I remember, way back when, I was intimidated at the thought of making poached pears at home. But after that first attempt (honestly, some 20+ years ago), I couldn’t believe how easy and simple it was.  If you are still in awe and a bit afraid yourself, give this recipe a try, you too will be amazed at the ease and beauty of this lovely fruit presentation.

[Read more →]

Today we come to the end of our “Cook Once – Eat All Week” use of the Prime Rib.  I call this salad “bicicleta” because the way you arrange it on a platter is made to resemble the spokes of a bicycle wheel.  It’s a pretty salad when it’s laid out that way and even after it’s tossed, so bright and colorful.

[Read more →]

Here is meal #3 from our original prime rib of three days ago. You may not know this, but I am a French Dip aficionado, I know my French Dips, and this is a keeper, trust me!

Use a very sharp knife to slice the beef as thinly as possible.  Since the meat is cold from being refrigerated for the last couple of days, it’s not as hard as you may think.

The little “dips” pictured here are a bit smaller than usual because I made them appetizer size for a little happy hour birthday celebration for my BFF, Peggy.   Make these and thank me later!

[Read more →]

This is meal #2, using the idea of “Cook Once – Eat All Week”. Yesterday we cooked a prime rib and used two of the ribs for dinner, refrigerated the rest for more meals. Today that meal is a hearty and filling soup.

In other news…. the summer cooking classes for kids are now posted here on the site. Check out the “Classes” page to the left and use the “Registration” page to sign up for classes, if you are so inclined.

[Read more →]

This is the second installment of my “Cook Once – Eat All Week” segments. Last time we used a whole roasted chicken, this time… a prime rib beef roast, also known as, beef rib-eye.  These recipes were used last night in the first week of my 3-week series of classes at Les Gourmettes Cooking School.  Today’s recipe begins with a bone-in prime rib beef roast. This and the recipes to follow are designed for “cooking for two” – but every recipe can be easily doubled to feed a family of four.

In fact, Costco sells gorgeous whole boneless beef rib-eye roasts that weigh about 12 pounds.  Although this recipe calls for a bone-in roast (you will need those bones for the soup that will be coming up tomorrow), you can use other beef bones for the soup if you choose to use a boneless roast.  Many grocery stores will sell you beef bones if you just ask.

So, to recap; Prime Rib today, which you use only two servings of. Prime Rib Soup to follow tomorrow, French Dip Sandwiches the next day, and a beautifully composed Mexican Beef Salad the day after. Which will give you 4 meals from one cut of beef.

[Read more →]