I love Thanksgiving! I have always been a “give me all of the sides and hold the turkey” kind of girl. My favorites being the sausage stuffing, green beans, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, anything (and everything) cranberry… I am sure you get the idea. Thanksgiving vegetables are always the best vegetables, buttery and without concern over caloric content. I am always trying new fun ways to enjoy my favorite vegetables, so this year I have decided to make green bean casserole with a homemade cream of mushroom soup.
I have always been a little hesitant by green bean casserole because of the canned soup and canned onions. I knew a lot of people who loved the Thanksgiving side dish, however, which made me want to see what it was about this combination. I decided to make this dish by using all fresh homemade components. And, it was delicious. The snap of the green beans, the nuttiness of the mushrooms, and the crunch of the onions. No wonder this is a Thanksgiving favorite!
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This year for my birthday my mom gave me one of the most thoughtful gifts – a few cooking classes of my choosing. This gift was really two presents in one. The first, was obvious, the opportunity to learn new techniques and skills. The second, and most special, was the opportunity for discussion with my mom about class choices, the lessons learned, and discussing how our eductions differed. I feel so lucky to be able to share this passion for cooking with my mom.
One of the cooking classes I signed up for was a knife class. I have experience with knives, but needed improvement in both technique and efficiency. If you have never taken a knife class before, I could not recommend it more. We cut onions, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and even a grapefruit. Learning tips and tricks along the way. After leaving the class, I went to the store and stocked up on all sorts of funky shaped vegetables to practice what I learned.
After a lot of chopping, I decided to make veggie burgers to avoid wasting any of my practice material. These veggie burgers are hearty and rich. The sweet from sweet potato and red pepper, pairs nicely with the kick from the chili powder. These burgers are perfect alone, on a salad, or as plated below on a pretzel bun with pepper jack cheese and fresh mixed greens. I would love to hear how you enjoy them!
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Fall is here and I love it. By the time we get to September and October I am so excited to see all the beautiful fall fruit. Apples, cranberries and pumpkins, that about sums it up in my household. Apples are a commitment, you need to have the time to peel, core and prepare them. These soft and chewy pumpkin cookies are quick, easy and delicious. Using canned pumpkin allows you to make the cookie dough in 15 minutes, then another 20 minutes to bake them. These cookies are so addictive you’ll be making them from now through Thanksgiving – Rick actually said they might be his new favorite.
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I am all about the pesto – I love it on pasta, on sandwiches, and as a dipping sauce. My favorite pesto dish, however, is in this white bean pesto quinoa dish. The pesto pairs deliciously with the nutty flavor of the quinoa, and the buttery taste of the white beans.
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I am sure I have said it before and I will say it again, I love entertaining. One of the biggest problems I face is making interesting appetizers that will not require me to be away from my guests for a long period of time.
These smoked salmon appetizers accomplish both of those goals. The prep work can be almost completely done ahead of time with only a few minutes of work immediately prior to your guests arriving. They will also delight your guests with the crunch of the potato, the salt from the capers and smoked salmon, and the bite of dill.
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It is officially fall in San Francisco and while sadly, we do not have the beautiful changing leaves, we do have 80 degree weather. The weather makes me want to just play outside and enjoy everything the city has to offer, including the plentiful parks.
This weekend marks one of the biggest celebrations in the parks all year, The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. I am grilling out ahead of time and coming prepared with these fun, Shrimp Taco Lettuce Wraps. You can make the ingredients up to a day ahead of time and keep them refrigerated or eat them when the shrimp is fresh off the grill. Either way they are guaranteed not to disappoint. [click to continue…]
Anything baked with rum is so delicious and anything baked with apples is a winner; combined, the two are heaven on a plate.
Generally, when I use apples in any kind of cooking, sweet or savory, I like to mix different types. The flavor becomes deeper and more complex. The exception would be in a dessert when I want the apples to retain their shape, such as in an apple tart. I would then use golden delicious.
My sister’s mother-in-law, Katherine Kaneb, was a great baker. (Can we come up with a name for an almost mother-in-law status for people we love and are close to and who have been fixtures in our lives? I am taking suggestions.) With five children and a yard full of apple trees, she did a lot of baking. This was originally one of her recipes, which I have adapted. These squares are so quick and easy to make and and their soft and chewy taste is a winner. [click to continue…]
The really ripe Georgia peaches are all over the farmers market. Their heavenly smell keeps bringing you back and begging you to buy some and create a wonderful dessert. This Peach Cobbler recipe is adapted from Canal House’s cookbook and their recipe came from Pam Anderson’s cookbook. Have I confused you yet? The cobbler topping is a butter cookie crust, and can be put over the fruit of your choice. It is amazingly delicious, possibly my new favorite dessert, perfect for company or dinner with your special someone. Make sure you cook the cobbler until the topping is golden. [click to continue…]
Summer in Florida probably shouldn’t be on anyone’s list of best places to live. This year especially is crazy hot. Grilling and easy are on the menu for us. This dessert is easy. Most of it can be done ahead, it looks beautiful and it tastes so good.
This is a take off on Chef Antoine Bouterin’s gorgeous Figues Soufflés au Coulis de Framboise. I had his version years ago and it’s so good I have never forgotten it. If you butter and sugar small ramekins you can make soufflés with the filling. Plate the figs and serve them right away or the soufflé inside will start to fall.
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I don’t know how or when, but somewhere along the line, I forgot just how good homemade yogurt tastes. I grew up on it, my Mom believed if you ate a cup every day you’d never be sick. Looking back now, I think there was some truth to it, because we never were.
Recently, my sister Gail served homemade yogurt at dinner and my taste buds exploded with all the possibilities. It is so delicious – goodbye commercial yogurt and even, as much as possible, sour cream.
It’s easy to make, I used organic whole milk and chose a small container of one of my favorite brands of plain Greek yogurt with active cultures to use as starter. It’s important to chose a brand with a taste that you love because hints of it will come through in your yogurt. Regular yogurt would have worked as well if I could have found a small container. Even better would have been borrowing a cup of starter from my sister, too bad we live 1500 miles apart.
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