Life of the Party Always!

Summer Vegetable Tian

I love the movie “Ratatouille,” the animated film about a rat who wants to be a chef. Every time I watch it, it reinforces my belief that anyone with a passion for food and cooking can pull off a great meal. When I found out Thomas Keller, world renowned chef/owner of The French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley was the consultant for the movie, it all made sense why I got that feeling. Amazingly Keller has no formal culinary school training but like Remy, the rat with the incredible sense of smell and a fabulous palate to go with it, they both have a strong passion for food and an “all things are possible” attitude. It really comes across in the movie.

“Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.” – Chef Auguste Gusteau Continue reading →

Espresso Martini – Friday’s 5 o’clock Wet Your Whistle Call!

This pistol packing martini goes way back for us! One evening, 10+ years ago, David and I were wandering around downtown and The Bitter End caught our attention. Fun name and a beautiful building so we decided to pop in. The Bitter End was located in the oldest building in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter and had lots of personality and charm. I say was because it is no longer open. We bellied up to the bar and ordered a “Black Martini” I think it was called and we loved it! Weeks later, craving more of this powerful potion, we went to our laboratory and began to mix up versions of the martini from our fuzzy memory. Continue reading →

Fool Proof Brown Rice with Pistachios and Chives

Making brown rice used to give me the fits! It was either too watery or sticky and mushy. When I backed off on the amount of water, it was a crusty brown mess at the bottom of the pot! Yikes! Was I destined to buy frozen brown rice to get the perfect rice? I just couldn’t fathom the idea of being hooked on frozen, store bought rice! Then I came across this fool proof way to make brown, even white rice, perfectly every time thanks to Saveur! Continue reading →

Cashews, the Crazy Nut!

Cashews are my favorite nut….outside of my family that is! When the “top nut”, my Dad, sent me an article on cashews I about fell over. Did you know they aren’t really a nut? I sure didn’t! They are the kidney shaped nub that grows at the end of the “cashew apple” so they are a member of the fruit family. My love of what will always be a nut to me began a long time ago. Continue reading →

Chocolate Chip Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Our godchild Julie just graduated from high school! Where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday we would wrestle about and giggle for an hour as we put the sheets and blankets on…and off…and on…our guest bed. Luckily we always visited on a weekend or mom would have whacked me for winding up the child right before bed! Or the times she would drape herself over me in a big chair and we would discuss “our needs” and dreams. And yes, all those “turtle snap kisses” she loved to give us! This funny little girl with the quirky sense of humor has grown into a beautiful young lady and we are so proud of her! Continue reading →

Grilled Orange Shrimp Salad

Whenever we travel, our neighbor Susan watches Kato, our cat, and sends us texts and pictures to show us how much he is not missing us at all….or not as much as we miss him! That’s a great relief for us but no big surprise since Susan loves animals. She does foster care for animals that are not ready to go to a new loving home for a variety of reasons. Some are for health reasons and some are because they are too young and need to get a bit older to be spayed or neutered. We have watched her compassion in caring for these animals turn them around and prepared them for their new family. The bonus is we get to play with all kinds of animals and never do the dirty work! Continue reading →

Gluten Free Nectarine Raspberry Crumble

Happy Father’s Day with ice cream on top! This is the perfect time of year for desserts made with fresh fruit. Mommy Liz is gluten intolerant and this crumble lends perfectly to a really tasty gluten free treat! I used oat flour but you can always use regular flour if you don’t have any gluten issues. Our whole family loves fruit, especially our granddaughter Caitlin! She gobbled up the fruit and was very proud of herself! Continue reading →

The Jerk – Friday’s 5 o’clock Wet Your Whistle Call!

It’s almost time to howl! There’s definitely a weird vibe that runs through the crowd on a full moon. I remember years ago when I was in the restaurant business serving cocktails. A full moon would evoke all kinds of strange behavior in people…and then you add alcohol to the mix and it would get down right unbelievable at times!

Today we are adding Friday the 13th to the full moon phenomenon so hang on, it could be a wild night! Just in case you want to guarantee it, The Jerk Cocktail will add the finally ingredient to your evening or will be exactly what you need to wash away your wacky day! Continue reading →

Steamed Artichokes with Lemon Aioli

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 →

Sriracha Asian Slaw

We just got back from a trip up north for my Dad’s birthday and I got to hang out with my nephew Ian. He is the true foodie in our family and whenever we get together the recipes and ideas start to fly. It is our favorite topic of conversation and we “feed” on each others enthusiasm for great food! If there is one ingredient that pops up more than any others, it is Sriracha. We love it!

Awhile back there was talk about a Sriracha famine of sorts and we considered buying a case, just to be safe…. Ian whipped out his bottle of Sriracha and we got into who’s bottle is bigger than who’s. Guess it should have been who has hardly any left in their bottle and needs to buy some more! Continue reading →