Connor and I went to the Scottsdale Old Town Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning. I got him all excited to go, telling him that we could split one of Eugenia’s heavenly croissants from the Essence Bakery Cafe booth at the market and then we’d go Barrio Queen for breakfast afterwards. Who could resist once they’ve seen this breakfast menu?

Con got up early on a weekend day and we left the house at 7:20. Only two problems – the Essence booth wasn’t there on this particular Saturday and Barrio Queen doesn’t open until 11:00. What an utter letdown!! We ended up eating a very nice meal at The Breakfast Club, but it certainly wasn’t the same as Chile Verde Con Huevos or Chilaquiles from Barrio Queen!

Oh well, at least we bought cute round zucchini at the market and I did my best to make it up to him by creating this meal for him on Sunday.

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A few weeks ago I filmed a TV segment with Scott Light of NBC Channel 12 EVB Live. The segment is called “Wednesday’s Child.” Scott now fills the shoes of longtime, now retired, Channel 12 anchor Kent Dana, who started the monthly segments more than 20 years ago. “Wednesday’s Child” is a profile of special-needs children available for adoption thru AASK, Aid to Adoption of Special Kids. In a 2009 interview, just before Kent Dana was to be inducted into the Arizona Broadcasters Hall of Fame, he said, “I’ve profiled over 1,000 kids over the years, and close to 80 percent were adopted. That show really changed lives, and it was a fun thing to do.”

It was fun for me to do too. You may recall that I am good friends with Tram Mai, Scott’s co-host on EVB Live. Tram had mentioned to Scott that I was adopted, so he asked if it would be all right to ask me a few questions about that during my interview portion of the segment. I, of course, said it would be absolutely fine…. but then I met Robby…

The first people to show up at my house that morning were three women from AASK, including the two videographers. Next came Robby and his foster dad. I fell for Robby the second I saw him.  My heart just melted as we talked and then even more so as we cooked and hung out afterward.

Scott and a couple more people from AASK came and we got busy with the filming. The shoot was of Robby and me cooking together in the kitchen. He was so sweet and interested and curious and polite and sweet, oh I already said sweet. He had wonderful manners and insisted on helping me clean up. Then, as the adults all gathered to figure out how and where to shoot the interview portions of the segment, Robby and I played a little Foosball outside on the back patio. I’m pretty good – but he beat me.  Next, Scott came out and Robby beat him too. He has so much joy and confidence for a child who has not had it easy and who has been shuffled around.

You might think that AASK is only for kids with physical, mental, or emotional special needs. There is any number of needs that make a kid “special” and in Robby’s case all I could see that made him “special” was that he is 12 years old, not an infant, who is up for adoption. You can check out Robby’s AASK profile HERE to see what I mean, this little boy stole my heart! Oh, and we made the Lasagna Soup recipe you will find below – just take a look at the list of foods he likes. I didn’t know a thing about it until about an hour ago when I pulled up his profile to write this! That just makes me smile.

The segment will run sometime tomorrow on EVB Live between 4:00 – 5:30 PM.  I am dreading it a little bit tough, because after Robby and his foster dad had gone, while Scott was interviewing me alone, I broke down. I don’t know how much, if any, of that they will show, but I’ve never cried on camera before. What if it’s the “ugly cry” as Oprah calls it? I have no idea how they will edit the interview. Channel 12 doesn’t do any of that portion, they just provide Scott and the airtime, AASK does the rest.

Oh well, it is what it is, that sweet boy and the position he, and so many other children like him are in, just breaks my heart. So if the segment has any impact and helps him get adopted by a loving family, any old ugly cry is worth it!

I love everything about this meal. There is very little prep, only minutes of hands-on time, and only 1 knife, 1 Microplane, and 1 pan to clean. You pop it in the oven, set the timer, and go about your business.

I wish I would have created this fabulous recipe, but alas it was the lovely Nigella Lawson. I have a few minor revisions. For instance – the addition of one of my favorite ingredients – smoked paprika.  Enjoy!

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Along with the “stars” of the night… the actual lobsters, the clambake was the main course of the lobster bake evening.  The lobsters can be cooked right along with the whole “bake” but I, for one, don’t have a pot big enough to hold everything. As a result, the lobsters were boiled separately.

Since I wasn’t sure of any of the guests’ dietary restrictions, instead of the kielbasa I would generally use, I found a fabulous spicy chicken and spinach sausage at Costco and used that.  I also separated out the corn and served it next to some potatoes on the buffet, just because this time it fit better that way. But for that added pop of color, I would usually leave the corn in the “bake” as I have pictured above.

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This fourth brunch recipe makes two casserole dishes of sausage and egg goodness. And it’s another overnight casserole… breakfast for dinner two nights in a row… just saying! Once again, I thank the photographer, Laura, for providing the photo of her dish. (down a little farther, not the photo directly below)

Before Laura’s dish, here is a final description of the last recipe not yet included in the “four days of le brunch”.  It’s all about Tram’s Banana Crunch Muffins.  You see, long story short, Tram got crunched for time and her hubby, Steve, couldn’t make it, so she brought her friend (and my friend too!) Matt. Matt is not only our friend, but also the producer of Tram’s afternoon show EVB Live, and the former producer of the old Valley Dish. Matt made the muffins, but since he doesn’t really like full-on banana flavor in his muffins, he made banana-pineapple muffins… yes that’s the short version! Matt’s muffins were a huge hit. But since I don’t have Matt’s recipe to share, I will share my “Crunch” recipe tomorrow.

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Here is the first of four brunch dishes that I’d like to share with you from our New Year’s Eve Brunch. Since I wasn’t the one cooking any of these, there will only be one picture… no preparation photos. And in some cases, as with this one, I even forgot to take the picture myself and had to ask the creator of the dish to email me the photo taken from the leftovers they brought back home – thanks for this one, Mary!  Oh, one more thing – This is my 800th Post! Wow 800!

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bouquets garnis

A cassoulet, which originated in the south of France, is a hearty cold-weather meal filled with meats and baked in a thick stew of beans and vegetables.  So why am I making a cassoulet when it is 109 degrees outside?  Answer – because I’m crazy, that’s why! Actually, along with the craziness, there is a practical reason.  I had just less than a pound of leftover lamb cut from a shank that I used for THIS RECIPE.  And I know, without a doubt, that if I tucked it into the freezer and waited till fall to make the cassoulet, it would be lost forever in the depths of my freezer and eventually thrown away.

Cassoulets generally take between 6  – 8 hours to prepare… plus the overnight soaking of the beans.  I’ve pared this down to about 3 hours and with only 1 hour of bean soaking time.  For that reason I am calling this a quick cassoulet, although 3 + 1 hours isn’t exactly quick, I know!  Bookmark this for winter and you’ll enjoy having the kitchen all warm and aromatic for that length of time, I promise. This recipe can be easily doubled or even tripled to serve a crowd.

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I’ve taken four of my favorite Spanish ingredients and stuffed them into a pork loin, creating a perfect Sunday supper. I believe you could take Spanish dry-cured chorizo, piquillo pepper, Marcona almonds, and smoked paprika and make just about anything more wonderful than it was before!

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Sometimes the best recipe is no recipe at all. Our tradition on New Year’s Eve is to stay home, watch movies, and cook something fancy together. Sometimes the kids are involved in this, sometimes not.  This year, it was just Dave and me. We made an elegant lobster pasta dish and this antipasto platter. Honestly, I enjoyed the platter more than the pasta.  Don’t get me wrong, the pasta was delicious and decadent, but the platter was more fun and much less work. I marinated sliced bell peppers and radish halves in olive oil seasoned with salt and pepper and served it along with the usual assorted meats, olives, cheeses, and crackers. One of our favorite go-to dishes is the marinated blue cheese mushrooms. This time, I added substituted feta for the blue and added cherry tomatoes, still outstanding!

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