Category — Recipes

I wouldn’t actually call this true “fusion” cooking, but the idea is mixing two cuisines, in this case, Italian and Mexican.  According to Wikipedia, Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions while not fitting specifically into any. The term generally refers to the innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s. So, true fusion cooking would do a bit more than just add pepper jack cheese and corn to risotto!  No matter, it’s delicious anyway.

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I found out today that I am older than the fajita. This makes me seriously depressed! I can deal with being older than say; cell phones, laptops, GPS, and a wide assortment of technological gizmos or even the Microplane zester!  But older than fajitas… that’s just not right!

According to Wikipedia, ” Sonny Falcon is believed to have operated the first commercial fajita taco stand at a weeklong outdoor event in Kyle, Texas,  in 1969 (let’s just say I was already in elementary school by then). He also went to rodeos, fairs, and outdoor festivals selling his fajita taco. An Austin reporter christened him ‘The Fajita King’ and Falcon was able to trademark the name.” And according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word fajita is not known to have appeared in print until 1971 (at least I was still in grade school at the time).

Originally only skirt steak was used for this Tex-Mex icon, but today, popular meats include chicken, pork, shrimp, and just about all cuts of beef.  As an example; my sister Sloane had boneless bottom round on hand, so she marinated it overnight and we grilled that up for a quick and delicious fajita dinner.

Thank you, Sloane, and I have to say that the Dos Equis Cerveza in addition to the fact that I was the victor in our 7-person – 3-hour marathon of Mexican Train Dominoes, did relieve a bit of my new-found realization about just how old I am!

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Although this recipe has quite a long list of ingredients, with the assistance of the food processor and a well-stocked pantry, it couldn’t be easier. Of course, it doesn’t have to be Tuesday to serve this as a quick dinner or as a side to grilled meat. And you can always add shredded chicken or cooked shrimp if you don’t want to go the vegetarian route. It’s a guaranteed family pleaser!

Oh, and if you’re local, you may want to watch Valley Dish on NBC Channel 12 tomorrow (Wednesday, June 2) at 4:30. I’ll be on with Tram Mai making Penne Pasta with Maple Mustard Chicken.

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Way back in March when I started the limoncello process, I knew I wanted to make this pie. It will be the end of our Memorial Day dinner. Apple pie may be America’s pie, but this can’t be beaten in the summer. It’s pretty, cool, delicious, and refreshing… all-American for sure!

I learned an awesome technique for “applying” the meringue to the top of the pie from one of my favorite and most inspirational blogs, Zoe Bakes. Click here to see Zoe’s original step-by-step instructions with amazing photos. It actually made my mouth drop open when I first saw this gorgeous cake back in January.

I’ve found another fantastic recipe using the sweet Italian liqueur – a cheesecake square recipe from the ever-beautiful and talented Giada De Laurentiis.  Feel free to go to www.foodnetwork.com and make it yourself, or wait until I post the recipe here, which will be soon because I am already craving another limoncello masterpiece.

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Tomorrow, the long-promised limoncello dessert recipe will appear! In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy a couple of limoncello cocktail recipes to tide you over and enhance the long holiday weekend.

As for me – I am still trying to catch up from the exceedingly relaxing and lazy vacation. After spending a week at an all-inclusive beach resort, where we had our own butler to fulfill our every wish, it’s been an adjustment getting back into the swing of things!

On top of that, summer kid’s class begins on Tuesday, so I’ve turned over the kitchen and been grocery shopping like crazy for the last couple of days. I really could use a few cocktails myself! Above is a picture from our magical week – dinner at the Teppanyaki-style Japanese restaurant.  Aw, good times!

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Upon returning from our luxurious week in Turks & Caicos, I was welcomed home by a sweet golden bounty of yellow teardrop cherry tomatoes.

Pictured above is the garden bounty and a few souvenirs from the island, including a bottle of Jamaican rum our butler, Minto, gave to Connor on his 19th birthday (the legal drinking age on Turks is 18), so we’ll save it for a couple of years… when he turns 21…

I generally go out each morning and pick the ripe little gems, so I have never had the opportunity to see how many the one plant could produce in a week. Turns out the answer is about 1 pound! Just enough to make a wonderful tart. I sometimes like to use a 9-inch square tart pan in the place of a round, especially when using the tart as hor d’oeuvres or appetizer.  

The slices also act as a delicious and beautiful addition to a salad served with a mustard-shallot vinaigrette.

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The long wait is finally over! It’s been 80 days! Today is THE day that we can finally finish making our limoncello and reap the rewards of our patience! Once again, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you have missed a post or two.  This first appeared on March 8th when we began the process of making homemade limoncello. The second occurred on April 17th when we completed the second step, so if you haven’t been following along, sorry! But really it’s not too late, you can just go back to those two posts and begin anew, then you too will have your own limoncello ready to use on August 14th!

CLICK HERE for Step 1

CLICK HERE for Step 2

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It’s the second day of “operation refrigerator clean-out”. Today I found a bag of parsnips I purchased at the Scottsdale Farmer’s Market from the McClendon’s Select booth 2 weeks ago. I bought them with the thought that my boys might like to use them for their Mother’s Day dinner, but the boys had other plans for the vegetable course. It actually didn’t surprise me, in my opinion, parsnips are one of the most underrated root vegetables. For example; if you search for potato recipes on epicurious.com, over 2100 entries come up. The search for carrots brings forward nearly 1600 recipes. And for parsnips – a mere 209 entries. That’s not right! Like potatoes and carrots, parsnips are a root vegetable. And a delicious one at that, they are related to carrots, and they resemble carrots but have a paler, light tan peel. Until the potato arrived from the New World, parsnips were the root vegetables of choice in Europe and elsewhere around the world. Parsnips are naturally sweet and can be boiled, roasted, pureed, or used in stews, casseroles, and soups.  Additionally, they are rich in potassium and are a good source of dietary fiber. So, I give you this recipe as I give out props to parsnips!

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Les Petites Gourmettes summer kids classes are exactly two weeks away. Aside from being a bit behind on typing up approximately 85 recipes needed for the five sessions, I also have got to get my refrigerators and freezers cleaned out so there is room for the impending flood of food needed. If you were to drop by and take a peek at my kitchen, you might think I’m prepared for the next big pandemic. My goal is to not purchase anything besides fresh produce and milk between now and May 28, which is the day I will do the first “big shop” for summer classes. Although my bank account and husband will be happy to hear this, Costco and Trader Joe’s stock may take a bit of a hit!

The first things I noticed in the freeze that needed to go were two big New York strip steaks and a lone flank steak (originally purchased in a Costco 3-pack). Additionally, there was a chunk of Pepper Jack cheese,  some almost wilting cilantro, and a partial container of frozen roasted chili peppers in the fridge. Hey, this is going to be easy after all! Obviously, this application will work on just about any protein, from beef to pork or chicken to a firm fish or shrimp.

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