Yesterday, I shared Barb’s Baked Eggs with you – today I’m giving you another of her fabulous recipes! Many thanks to Barbara Fenzl for allowing me to share her Les Gourmettes cooking class recipes with the masses.

Barb made shrimp sliders in class, I made shrimp burgers, with the same recipe and bigger buns, at home. My family went crazy for them!

One super-smart thing Barb does with her sliders – is she cuts out the center section of the King’s Hawaiian rolls, making them a more manageable size. When you eat it, you get less bun in each bite and more shrimp.

She saved all the center portions of the buns from all six of her classes and used them in her Thanksgiving stuffing. See, I told you she was super-smart!

King’s makes hamburger buns too, so I used the buns in place of the rolls, changing the sliders to burgers. Either way … Delish!

Note: I was feeding a crowd, so I doubled the recipe and made 12 burgers out of 2 pounds of shrimp. The recipe, as written, would have made 6 burgers and makes 12 sliders. Don’t let the photos vs. the recipe quantities confuse you.

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Barbara Fenzl made the most delicious egg dish for her classes at Les Gourmettes this semester. One of my favorite egg dishes ever – and I love eggs, so that’s saying something!

I made it on Thanksgiving morning. We usually don’t have a big breakfast on turkey day because we generally eat the big feast in the early afternoon. Dave and the kids have the tradition of taking a long hike in the morning to leave me doing what I do best – in peace and quiet. Since we weren’t planning to eat dinner until 6:00, I figured that a nice breakfast would be perfect when they returned from their hike.

Before I say that it was perfect, I will admit that I severely undercooked the eggs, so it wasn’t all that it should have been. I used a different type of dish to bake the eggs than Barb used, and it made a world of difference. My casserole was too deep and the eggs didn’t cook as well as they did in Barb’s shallow flat au gratin dish.

Barb found her individual porcelain au gratin/casserole dishes at Standard Restaurant Supply at 2922 E McDowell Road in Phoenix, they cost $2.50 each. And I found my Le Creuset mini cocottes, which are not great for this egg dish but are adorable and amazing for French onion soup – at Sur La Table. They cost considerably more but did not do the job this time!

One change I made in Barb’s recipe was to replace the 1/2 cup green chilies plus 1 cup water she used with 1 cup of the Trader Joe’s Hatch Valley Salsa (that I love so much) plus 1/2 water.

Since I’ve had it both ways, I can honestly say the difference in taste is minimal, so if you have the salsa on hand, use it!

An unplanned and unexpected side benefit for me was that I was only making 5 servings of this for breakfast but the sauce makes enough for 8 servings. I used the leftover green chile sauce in my Turkey Enchiladas with my leftover Thanksgiving bird!

So Good!!! This is going to be my go-to enchilada sauce from here on out. [Read more →]

Twenty-seven years ago today was one of the best days of my life. I was 27 years old and on that beautiful day, I gave birth to one of the loves of my life.

Today that beautiful baby girl turns 27 years old herself. The photo above was taken in Tucson this past Friday at the UA vs ASU Territorial Cup game. For obvious reasons, Marissa and her finance, Jeff, both UA alumni, were all smiles!

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Since I failed to get this post up yesterday, I present it today as a rare Saturday post.

It was a glorious Thanksgiving at the Hopkins’ home. Dave’s mom is in from Illinois, my dad was here and we also invited Marissa’s finance, Jeff, and his parents, Dean and Amy. Dad and Jeff came over around 1:00 and we played cards…

… beer pong for Dave and the kids…

… plus bags/corn-hole…

… an ongoing jigsaw puzzle that the grandparents were working on.

… and, of course, cooking.

There was a brined turkey on the outdoor grill…

… and a traditional stuffed and roasted turkey – fresh from the oven.

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Wish you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving filled with good food, family and fun.

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The tart recipe I’m sharing with you today is Barb Fenzl’s recipe and it was the delectable dessert she brought to our Fall Picnic. 

Before I get to the recipe, which I will be making for Thanksgiving, I’ll share with you a few photos of my Thanksgiving table, which I set yesterday.

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Are you still looking for an outstanding Thanksgiving side dish? Maybe something to bring to a dinner you’ve been invited to?

Are you looking for something that everyone will proclaim was the best side dish of the big meal?

I have it for you!

Not only does this make a great green bean side dish  – but the fresh horseradish sauce is also fabulous served over blanched broccoli or asparagus …. and it makes an excellent light dip for crudites too!

Versatile!  That’s what it is… oh, so versatile and delicious.

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The recipe for this second Fall Picnic sandwich is written differently than how I actually made it.

I’m giving you the recipe for the sandwich at its best. I changed it for the picnic by using chipotle mayonnaise and a cilantro dressing instead of plain mayonnaise and balsamic vinaigrette because I was already using balsamic vinegar on the first sandwich.

It is far better with the balsamic than it was with the cilantro.

For extra flair and fun, I wrapped and tied the center of the sandwiches with parchment and twine.

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The main course for the Fall Picnic was two types of sandwiches, the first, a pressed sandwich, the recipe is here today. The second, a chicken sandwich … I’ll post tomorrow.

Pressed Italian Sandwiches

• 4 ciabatta rolls, cut in half horizontally
• 1/2 cup black or green olive tapenade
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 thin slices Genoa salami
• 4 thin slices prosciutto
• 8 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
• 2 roasted red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, sliced
• 8 large fresh basil leaves

Then spread the bottom half of each ciabatta roll with tapenade.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil and mustard and season with salt and pepper Drizzle the cut side of top half of each roll with the dressing.

Arrange salami on top of the tapenade, followed by the prosciutto.

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The weather has finally cooled down – to the lovely point of chilly! Since our Fall Picnic was held outside, as the best picnics are, I needed my signature cocktails to be hot.

I made hot toddies and mulled wine. The wine is spicy and tasty, but the hot toddy – the hot toddy is the BOMB!

You’ll need tea bags for the toddy. I use my favorite Ginger Twist tea from Mighty Leaf Tea because apple and ginger are the absolute loveliest combination. Any tea you like will work just fine, from Breakfast to Earl Grey and beyond.

Along with the drink recipes, allow me to show you the way I set up the buffet table.

Plaid was a big part of the theme, so this vintage Thermos brand oval cooler fit right in. I filled it with ice and placed bottles of “Butter” white wine inside and a couple of bottles of “Jam” red wine next to it. How perfect are Butter and Jam for a picnic?!?  By the way, the wines are made by Jam Cellars and I found them at Costco.

In front of the cooler, sits a cute 3-step metal server filled with French radishes and salt, seedless grapes, and cute mini white pumpkins.

• Next to the cooler is a cloth-lined wicker picnic basket filled with herb plants.
• The cork-filled urn, with the candle in the middle, is my everyday centerpiece of this outdoor table, I left it since it fits right in.
• A plaid tin filled with fresh flowers sits on an overturned vintage Pepsi crate along with my prized vintage plaid thermos. Mason jars were used to serve the drinks because my plaid mugs are packed away with the Christmas stuff.
• Wicker domes cover the main course sandwiches.

The tall plaid thermos was just a prop and not used for the cocktails, instead, I had the wine in the smaller red thermos and the hot toddy in the green thermos.

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