Stick it to me! It’s a party on a stick! For months Amanda and I have been trying to convince our friend Heidi to have a big bash for her 50th birthday. I mean, the Big 5-0 only comes around once, thank goodness, so you have to mark the milestone. Surround yourself with people you love and who love you and of course….lots of food and adult beverages! Continue reading
Hey everybody! Who wants Pig Candy? You heard me right! When pigs fly, I’ll eat this, is what I thought when I first heard about pig candy! This is not my usual kind of food but then I got to thinking about the smoky bacon and sausage and the sweetness of the brown sugar. Hmm….my mind was having a wrestling match! Smoky, sweet savoriness vs well let’s be real…..fat! The Pig Candy finally won out but I still needed a reason to make a batch of it. I surely was not going to eat them all! Continue reading
Funny how the simplest things can evoke the greatest comments! My husband and I love artichokes any way they can be served. Because we eat steamed artichokes so often, I came up with a quick and easy dipping sauce that’s now our absolute favorite.
It’s so easy I can hardly call it a recipe but I just had to share it ‘cuz I’ve noticed something interesting happens every time I serve it. We’ll all be standing around the artichoke bowl, chatting and the novice taster pauses the conversation to ask what the sauce is. I have to laugh! I spend so little time on this and so much more time on other dishes and this is what they ask about!! Continue reading
Awhile back I had Lavash chips at a local restaurant sprinkled with seeds and thought they were great. Dining out always gives me inspiration to create something at home. I was going to make a salmon appetizer and thought that BBQ Sauce on Lavash would possibly make a tasty chip. The combination of flavors from the savory, salty bite of the salmon tartare and the sweet, tangy bite when you crunch that chip is amazing! Continue reading
Sometimes an appetizer is so incredibly great you consider having everyone’s portion all to yourself for dinner! That’s this one! Words can’t fully convey what the palate experiences but here goes. When you take the first bite, you feel the snap of the asparagus, a crunchy salty bite from the prosciutto and then the herbed goat cheese oozes out and your mouth is in heaven. It’s even better than that so you’ll just have to try it for yourself! Continue reading
National Egg Salad Week is the full week right after Easter. Can you guess why…… could it be all the leftover Easter eggs just staring at you from the refrigerator? Transform them into something special this week and let the celebration continue! Continue reading
We’re off for another wonderful day with our friends at Eagles Nest Winery in Ramona to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Leave it to Julie to think of a fun twist for our wine tasting pleasure.
She has combined wine tasting with the sharing of appetizers and desserts in their newly re-decorated tasting room. Each taster is invited to bring their favorite recipe for a dessert or appetizer to share with everyone. There will even be prizes of their Viognier Port given for the top 3 in each category. Wonder who will tempt us most? Continue reading
I did get quite a few requests for the Pear and Blue Cheese Tart recipe from my post detailing the adventures in my kitchen last weekend. You can check out the whole story at: Theory of Relativity, A Cook’s Version. Then come back to try it out for yourself.
The tart is a wonderful blend of tangy blue cheese and sweetness from the pear all riding on the back of a crispy puff pastry base. The tart pairs beautifully with a Riesling or Chardonnay that isn’t too oaky. And pears are in season now! Continue reading
July 24th, 2016
June 6th, 2016
May 17th, 2016
April 27th, 2016
April 13th, 2016
March 31st, 2016
March 21st, 2016
Life of the Party Always (LOTPA) is about socializing and making every occasion with friends and family a festive one .
Follow me
Back To Top