Friday, January 16, 2015

I didn’t plan to write three posts in a row dedicated to spicy foods, really. But after two weeks of being sick I’m anxious to get back to regular life, and that means sharing recipes with you here on my blog. And I adore spicy dishes featuring global flavors so this was a great opportunity to reconnect about foods that…

Thursday, January 15, 2015

I may not be competing in tonight’s “Bring on the Heat” episode of The Taste on television, but things are definitely getting hot here in my own kitchen. I kicked things off with yesterday’s recipe for green curry paste, a favorite in Thai cooking. Today I’m traveling to another distant part of the globe and using a different variety of chile…

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

You can find a terrific green curry paste in the store, but it’s fun and easy to make it at home yourself, and it freezes beautifully. Give it a shot! (Mortar and pestle optiional.) When it comes to take-out, Thai food is right behind sushi at my house. But my ordering-in days have dwindled considerably as I turn to my…

Friday, January 9, 2015

Yesterday I promised that roasted sweet potatoes would be the beginning of many delectable dishes. True to my word, today I bring you sherried sweet potato and crab bisque, a luscious soup that combines comfort and elegance in one bowl. I first developed this recipe a few years back from leftover butternut squash soup, and the story of its origins…

Friday, January 9, 2015

Hardly the electrifying entrance to my 2015 blogging that I had planned, especially given my recent television-worthy recipes and enormous backlog of incredible dishes I have in store for you. Not to mention everyone is thinking about diet and weight, just like every other January—and I’ve got a few pieces in the works on that topic, too, since that’s my area…

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

When the “Happy Holidays” challenge was announced on The Taste, I immediately thought: Lobster! Duck! Roast beef! Turkey! Well, not really, since I don’t eat the latter three things on that list. Though I did briefly consider making lobster, which I completely adore; my lobster bisque is one of my all-time favorite dishes on the blog, hands down. (Meeting the meat not…

Monday, December 22, 2014

Poached fruit is one of my favorite desserts. Elegant and flavorful, beautiful and delicious. Easy on the waistline, too. Of course, the calories creep up once you start spooning on this dreamy topping. An intriguing alternative to whipped cream, this recipe mixes chèvre (goat’s cheese), mascarpone, and crème fraîche together to create the perfect complement to poached pears and other desserts….

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Sweet. Spicy. Salty. Down-right addictive. Candied nuts are the perfect cocktail nibble or crunchy garnish and often appear in some form on my holiday menu. I generally use pecans and have a bowl out on the bar for people to munch while mixing a cocktail. (And usually add bourbon to the recipe, if we’re being honest.) Yet pistachios are smaller…

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Normally I don’t drag one story and recipe out for three blog posts, so please forgive me. However, if I tried to cover the “why” as well as the various “whats” in one post, well, let’s just say you would have stopped reading long ago. Plus, the health and sustainability messages about tuna are relevant no matter what its preparation,…

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Radishes. I love them, root to leaf, and it is one of the vegetables I munch on all year long. My radish horizons have been greatly expanded in recent years. Beyond the traditional red (globe) radish, they also come in purple, black, white, French breakfast, and watermelon varieties, with varying heat. And lucky me! I can get most of these…