Celebrating
- Red Peas for Good Luck in the New Year January 3, 2014Did you eat your New Year’s Day peas? When I was growing up, my mother made peas every New Year’s day – green, from a can. In fact, all vegetables during my growing up years came from a can – I’m pretty sure that’s all that was available back then (insert sarcastic winking smiley face ...
- Christmas December 23, 2013When I say Christmas you probably think of sweets, sparkles, Santa, baking, gathering, sharing, and probably even yard blow-up decorations, (especially if you live in Dallas, those blow up things are EVERYWHERE). But, if you live in New Mexico, Christmas has an entirely different meaning. Here, where chile rules and comes on top of just ...
- Gram’s Pumpkin Pie November 26, 2013Every year in November, I do two weird things. First, I get out this wicker cornucopia I’ve had since Rhonda and I got together. She always laughs about it because it is kind of funny that we actually have a wicker cornucopia. I have no idea where it came from – probably some Michael’s or ...
- Hatch Green Chile & Cheddar Quiche August 26, 2013
This is the time of year when I go to the grocery store, step out of my car, and the air is infused with the scent of roasting chiles. It’s a heady, peppery smell that let’s me know it’s Hatch green chile season in New Mexico. The local grocery stores set up chile roasters attached ...
- Vegetarian Baked Beans for July Fourth July 4, 2013
Fireworks, sparklers, hot summer sun, cookouts, and baked beans. When I was growing up, summertime was my favorite time, and to me, the Fourth of July was the best holiday of the summer season. I lived in a tiny town of 2400 people in rural, central Pennsylvania where I left the house in the morning ...
- Crab & Cheese Turnovers June 13, 2013
I love hosting parties. I get into all the little details – from the menu planning, to making hors d’oeuvres, dips, and desserts, to putting out the trays of food on my favorite platters and dishes. I like thinking about a theme and bringing the idea to life with decorations and even costumes.
My partner and ...
- Salmon Salad for a Memorial Day Picnic May 24, 2013
On my recent trip to Europe, I’m pretty sure I ate 12 baguettes in 12 days. Not to mention all the other deliciousness I ate like crepes, pastries, stroopwafels, and cheese. After that whirlwind of eating, I’m back in the USA, and just in time for Memorial Day. And, I’ve resumed my old eating habits – lots of ...
- Mint Juleps for Derby Day May 4, 2013
Mint julep – doesn’t the word julep make you want one? I’m not sure I’d ever heard of a mint julep until I went to my first Kentucky Derby party after moving to Dallas. We wore big hats, bought a good quality bourbon, and took fresh mint from our garden to make the juleps. ...
- A Birthday Party & A Hawaiian Wedding Cake April 7, 2013
I got the recipe for this cake 27 years ago at a wedding shower — a 24 hour sleep over kind of wedding shower in the rural Pennsylvania lake community I lived in at the time. I hardly knew the bride to be, but she was best friends with my best friend, and I got ...
- Nut Rolls — It Must be Spring April 1, 2013
Growing up, I loved when my grandmother came to stay with us for Easter. The trees were turning green, and the bright yellow forsythia in our front yard was in full bloom. Spring had finally arrived and with it came my Gram’s old world cooking.
She’d make her way to the kitchen, and soon the flour, ...
