Here is the final appetizer that I’ll be making this Friday on the “Oscars” edition on Valley Dish. Hope you’ll tune in at 3:30 on channel 12.

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Here is a second “gourmet” popcorn recipe I’m making on the Oscars edition of Valley Dish at the end of the month.

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This is one of the fancy-pantry popcorn recipes I plan to make on the “Oscars” edition of Valley Dish later this month. My website server will be down for a little while this weekend, It’ll be up and running again in the next day or two, so hopefully, this will tide you over.

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A couple of weeks ago I posted a delicious and rather decadent recipe for a Crêpe Gâteau. That recipe came from the need to use up a big stack of crêpes leftover from making Lobster Crêpes for an appearance on Valley Dish. Well… this is the 3rd reincarnation using those same crêpes! I think it would be perfect for Valentine’s Day; it’s rich, a little bit sweet, and lovely soft pink. When I say rich, I mean really rich, so a thin wedge would be perfect as an appetizer or alongside a salad with a light vinaigrette. Just a thought…

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Marissa hasn’t been feeling quite right lately, so she is self-diagnosing and trying to go gluten-free for a week. Oh well, what can a mother do? The one thing this mom can do is help with food prep. Along those lines, we made this calamari recipe with rice flour instead of all-purpose flour. It tasted fine, but the rice flour doesn’t stick quite as well as wheat flour, which left the calamari a bit less crispy than we like, but still plenty tasty.

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I’m making these quick and easy appetizers for our neighborhood Bunco tonight. I know I’ve said it before, but I have the best neighbors and the most fun neighborhood! We are very blessed!

The Ahi tuna marinates for only 20 minutes in a mixture of sherry, sesame oil, sugar, and mushroom soy sauce. (Do not marinate longer or the marinate will totally mask the wonderful tuna flavor, and you paid good money for that!) Mushroom soy sauce is a Chinese dark soy sauce that adds straw mushroom essence to the sauce’s brew. It has a deep, rich flavor and more body and complexity than regular soy sauce and can be used in place of other types of soy sauce in most recipes. The brand to look for in Asian markets is Pearl River Bridge. [Read more →]

Once you taste these unique candied pecans, you’ll be making them over and over again. And although you will be tempted to make a double or triple batch, it is best to make 1 cup at a time. Immediately as they are coming out of the oven, you need to get them onto a sheet of foil and separate them carefully and quickly, or you’ll have one big ball of pecans that will have to be chopped to get apart. Yes, they would still taste delish, but they don’t look so nice when they aren’t individual pecan halves. So avoid that temptation, because unless you’re a Tanzanian Devil, you just can’t move that fast!

Once again you are getting two recipes for the price of one! When you remove the pecans from the oven, there will be small pools of caramel left on the foil. They will harden and dry quickly. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel them off the foil and save. You can use them to make a fabulous vinaigrette, which you can use for a wonderful salad, with or without the pecans.

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So, you know how I’m smack-dab in the center of celebrating my self-proclaimed holiday, citruspalooza? Well, the Chicago Tribune has completely ripped off my idea and ran a whole article about citrus on the cover of their food section today! What the heck is up with that!? Granted, their story is all about weird and exotic citrus, some of which I’ve never heard of before. Buddha’s Hand, Finger Limes, Cara Cara Oranges, and more. You can check out portions of the article at THIS LINK.

And speaking of Chicago, I want to share one of the many fabulous salad recipes from my BFF, Jen, who lives in Illinois. The girl is a wiz at cranking out quick, easy, and delicious salads in a snap. This is one of my favorites she has made for our family. Jen uses a bottled dressing she can find locally that is put out by Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant. We do have a Maggiano’s Restaurant on the corner of Scottsdale Road and 71st Street, but I am not certain if they sell the bottled dressing in the restaurant or not, or even if you can find it locally at your grocery store. So just in case, I’ve included a homemade version at the bottom of the recipe.

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