Have I ever told you how much I completely and totally L–O–V–E it when someone cooks for me? Actually, they don’t even have to cook for me.

What I meant to say is “how much I love it when someone feeds me.” It can be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or an elaborate 5-course meal. Honestly, either one is a huge treat!

Just about the worst thing you can say to any cooking professional is, “I could never cook for you, I’d be so intimidated.”

What!?!?

We, of all people, know the love and work that goes into preparing food for another. Don’t leave us out – we need love too!

One of my friends who understands this is Peggy. She never hesitates to cook for me. As a matter of fact, Peggy invited her sister Terrie, Anne, and me over for dinner the weekend before last. Well, we thought it would be dinner, instead, it turned out to be tapas – even better!

As always, we had fun catching up, laughing up a storm, and just being together. And the food? Fantastic, of course!

Peggy made all four of the dishes from one cookbook: Tapas – Tantalizing Small Plates from the Mediterranean by Pamela Clark. Funny thing is, she thinks she may have gotten the book from me when I had THIS party.

I’ll share the recipe for each dish over the coming week. Today, I’m sharing my favorite of the four.

Oh yes, all the recipes are altered slightly from the original version. For instance, I doubled the relish and more flour as needed for a better consistency fritter batter. Plus, salt was added, the fritters really needed SALT! There wasn’t any in the original recipe.

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Jen made these tasty olive crostini for us when we were at the Log Mansion. Hopefully, I won’t be embarrassing her when I tell you that I had two and Dave didn’t get a single one before her two youngest sons ate the entire batch!

Yes, they are that good – 10 and 15-year-old boys may gobble them up before you know what happened.  Enjoy.

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On Wednesday night, Peggy, Anne, and I made a 6 PM date for an impromptu happy hour at my house.

I had planned to go to Trader Joe’s and pick up some nibbles and wine, but the day slipped away from me (hijacked actually) when something unexpected came up.

Sometimes, a girl’s gotta do what a girl has gotta do … with what she has on hand.

I raced through the door at 5:15; pulled a loaf of bread and a package of prosciutto from the freezer, chilled a couple of bottles of wine I had on hand, jumped in the shower, then threw together this quick appetizer… all before Anne rang the bell at 6:00.

Victory is Mine!

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The 4th of July is two weeks from today. It’s not too soon to start planning the menu for your party or the dish that you plan to bring to that party you’re invited to.

Even if the “party” is just you and the kids waving around sparklers in your backyard, you need some fun festive food.

I’ve got just the thing for you.

I am in the middle of a week-long set of private cooking classes. We made a super simple Fruit Flag for dessert. Obviously, no recipe is needed!!

Skewers + Strawberries, Blueberries & Bananas = USA Flag

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One of the things you’ll usually find in my refrigerator is caramelized onions, sometimes called onion jam.

I use them in roasted meats, savory tarts, gravy, sandwiches, quiche, soups, appetizers, on pizzas, you name it!

The process of cooking the onions is slow but crucial to achieving that soft, tender, sweet caramelized taste. On the plus side, they can be made days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or even frozen.

Considered the crown jewel of dates, Medjool are prized for their large size, extraordinary sweetness, and chewy texture. They were once reserved for Moroccan royalty and their guests.

Put the sweet onions together with the sweet dates, wrap them in bacon, and you have perfection! Serve these to your family and guests and thank me later.

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When Chef Beau MacMillan was teaching at Les Gourmettes last week, Duncan Family Farms sent over a huge box of squash blossoms.

The lucky students received the added bonus of Barbara Fenzl’s delicious Squash Blossom Quesadillas at the start of the class.

Once again, I was on the happy receiving end of a basket full of goodies! I brought them home and made Ricotta Stuffed Squash Blossoms, intending to share the recipe here.

Then I discovered that I’ve already posted the recipe, nearly to the day, two years ago. CLICK HERE to see.

Of course, with that many squash blossoms, I also had to make Barb’s fabulous and super easy quesadillas!

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These shrimp are not only perfect for Cinco de Mayo but equally so for a quick weeknight meal or a big party.

We’re looking forward to going to the James’ annual Cinco de Mayo party tonight! See you soon, Lisa! Eieieiei Ariba!

Guajillo [gwah-HEE-yoh] chiles are dried peppers with a bright tangy taste and kick of heat. Find them in the grocery store alongside the other Hispanic ingredients.

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Are you hosting or attending a Cinco de Mayo party this weekend?

If so, I have the perfect thing for you to serve or bring.

Serve this flag-inspired crudités with your favorite dip or salsa.

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For those of you who are over, let’s say 35, do you remember way back in the 80’s when one of the most popular appetizers in just about every hip eatery was Deep-Fried Mushrooms and Zucchini?

Those were the days, weren’t they?

Magical Days.

Wonderfully magical, I tell you!

Every weekend at happy hour, we’d waltz into Lunt Avenue Marble Club and eat a huge platter of those crunchy delights. Dipping them into a creamy white dipping sauce …  and not gain a pound!

And at that heavenly happy hour, you could order 2 for 1 cocktail for three bucks and the waitress would deliver both drinks to your table at the same time. Sometimes you’d order your second round before you finished your first, and you’d have four drinks sitting in front of you. At the same time!

Honestly, kids, that is not a dream! It used to happen.

The part about not gaining a pound is true too. It may have had a little tiny bit to do with my 20-something metabolism … I miss those days.

I miss Deep-Fried Mushrooms and Zucchini.

I really miss my metabolism!

I miss it all so much that I tried to bring it back for a remix.

These days, just looking at a platter of Deep-Fried Mushrooms and Zucchini would cause me to instantly gain 10, maybe 20 pounds. So, I gave the zucchini a “makeover” – just to see if I could recapture at least a little slice of the glory days.

As far as makeovers go – this was a major fail! As far as your basic low-cal, low-fat, low-cholesterol makeover – it was fine.

These zucchini rounds are NOTHING like the glory days of zucchini, but they are an OK side dish. With that ringing endorsement, I’m sure you’re going to want to run into the kitchen and whip up a batch or two.

I miss the Magical Days!

I used diet cheese puffs for the yellow zucchini and diet honey mustard pretzels for the green zucchini. The cheese puff zucchini was disgusting! I’m only mentioning it because it is shown in the photos. Otherwise, I would prefer to forget it completely!

The pretzel variety was tasty … as tasty as diet-baked zucchini can be when you are really wishing you were at Lunt Avenue with four cocktails in front of you.

For those of you who still own a 20-something metabolism or are willing to throw caution to the wind… the original recipe for LAMC Deep-Fried Mushrooms and Zucchini is at the end of the post. If you make it, do not let me know. It will only serve to make me feel sad.

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For some strange reason – while making 13 different recipes in two days (eight appetizers,  four recipes for the sit-down dinner, and one recipe for the dessert table) I didn’t manage to take even one cooking photo. Imagine, too busy to stop and take pictures of the process!

Oh well, I did manage to get pretty decent photos of the food on the table itself, at least for the appetizers, which is what I present to you today. Some of these are new recipes which I’ll provide here and others are recipes I’ve previously posted. For those, click on the link to take you the original post.

Here we go…

Brie with Pears and Brandy

12 to 16-ounce wheel Brie cheese, cold
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large Bosc or Red Anjou pears, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons brandy
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus rosemary sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
8 walnut halves

Slice cheese wheel in half crosswise; set aside.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add diced pears, and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in brandy, and cook 1 minute more. Add rosemary, and stir to combine. Remove from heat, and spread pear mixture over the bottom half of the cheese wheel, reserving 2 tablespoons of mixture for garnish. Transfer cheese to a serving plate.

Return skillet to stove, and heat balsamic vinegar and honey until simmering. Simmer mixture until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool, about 5 minutes.

Pour half the glaze over the bottom half of the cheese with the pear mixture; top with the remaining half of the cheese wheel and top with the 2 tablespoons of reserved pears. Drizzle with remaining glaze, and garnish with walnut halves and rosemary. Serve immediately.

Blue Cheese-Apricot Bites

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon butter
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 cup crumbled Roquefort, room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
32 dried apricots
Snipped fresh rosemary

In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add walnuts and sugar; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until walnuts are lightly toasted. Stir in rosemary; cook and stir for 30 seconds more. Transfer nuts to a foil-lined baking sheet; cool.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine Roquefort cheese and cream cheese. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.

Spoon about 3/4 teaspoon of the cheese mixture on top of each dried apricot. Sprinkle with nuts. If desired, garnish with additional fresh rosemary.

Makes 32

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