Recipes
- 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 ...
- Lemon Ricotta Pancakes December 20, 2013I have a new obsession, which has led to a fantastic discovery. With just a few days left to shop, I should be obsessed with what to get Rhonda for the holidays, but instead I’m obsessed with Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook and my new favorite breakfast – lemon ricotta pancakes.
In the past, Rhonda had a subscription to Cook’s ...
- 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 ...
- Home & Homemade Tuscan Bean Soup November 22, 2013I know you’re sick of hearing me talk about unpacking boxes and sorting and organizing. But, I’ll bet you that I’m even more sick of actually unpacking the boxes and sorting and organizing. I have good news – I AM DONE! There are still a few things left to hang on the wall and a ...
- Fresh, Vitamin Rich Juice October 9, 2013I hope you aren’t going to be let down that I’m following up last weeks compelling chronicles of the past month with a boring post about juicing. I’ll try to make juicing as gripping as possible, but really, just how gripping can juicing be?
Liquids are about the only thing being produced and consumed in this ...
- 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 ...
- Summer Succotash August 12, 2013
This succotash isn’t really a succotash because technically, succotash should contain lima beans. I never called this recipe succotash until two summers ago when our cajun friend Tracy, whose from Southern Louisiana, was visiting the Dusty Dog, and I was preparing this dish for dinner. She said, “What’re you makin’ Boo?”
I said, “Corn, zucchini and tomato casserole.”
She ...
- Greek Quinoa Salad August 9, 2013
Are you cooking with quinoa? If you aren’t, you should reconsider. It’s one of those whole grain, fiber powerhouses and it’s so good for you. According to the Ancient Harvest Quinoa box, quinoa is a complete protein grain on it’s own. They also claim it contains more protein than other grains. It’s gluten free too, ...
- Dark Chocolate Zucchini & Coconut Muffins with Vanilla Bean Glaze August 1, 2013
Zucchinis are everywhere. Have you noticed? If you have a garden, you know what I’m talking about, and if you don’t have a garden you know what I’m talking about too because, chances are your neighbor has a garden and they are giving you their extra zucchinis.
We don’t have a vegetable garden here at the ...
- Curried Onion & Goat Cheese Galette July 26, 2013
On Saturday night, we hosted a dinner party for two women we didn’t know with some other women we did know. How do you host a dinner party for women you don’t know? Let me tell you how we got ourselves into this.
A couple of years ago we met a woman named Desiree’ who was ...
- Catahoulas, Hummingbirds, & Bears Oh My! July 20, 2013
I’ve been alone out here in the mountains this week while Rhonda has been in Dallas working. With our brood of eight animals someone has to stay behind and manage the clan. That someone is me. This is an every couple of week stint for us. Rhonda goes to Dallas, and I stay at the ...
- Easy Peach Cobbler July 11, 2013
Have I gone on too much about summer already (picnics, sun, fireflies, vacations)? It feels like maybe I have, but summer is such a great season – especially now that I am out of that Texas heat and in the mountains. Summer’s that time of year when produce is so plentiful that my ...
- 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 ...
- Fried Green Tomatoes June 22, 2013
It’s official, summer has arrived with its long hot days, swimsuits, and sunshine. And, along with summer comes tomato season, which is in full swing here in the south. I see all of you posting on Facebook about your abundance of tomatoes – you know who you are. Normally, I’d be right there with you ...
- 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 ...
- I Love Spinach June 7, 2013
That’s all I have to say this week.
Ok, I do have a little more to say…
I really do love spinach. I like it raw in a salad with walnuts, pears, and a nice vinaigrette. I love it sauteed in a little olive oil and minced garlic. And, I really think it’s great to add a ...
- 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 ...
- Stroopwafels in Amsterdam May 17, 2013
Have you ever been to Amsterdam?
If you haven’t, it’s a city you should seriously consider. It has it all – beautiful canals, cobblestoned streets, interesting architecture, tons of bikes, and friendly people. And of course, Amsterdam has great food. Oh, and yep, it has that other stuff too.
My favorite things to eat after an afternoon ...
- Paris: A feast for the Imagination & the Taste Buds May 14, 2013
Hello from Paris. No, not Paris, Texas…the real deal, Paris, France, where food rules. Remember a couple of weeks ago when I blogged about Caramelized Onions, Pasta, and Parmesian and how I haven’t been eating any white foods (bread, rice, pasta etc.)? Well, you can scratch that from the records. After six days in the City ...
- 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. ...
- Egg & Pepper Sandwich – Jersey Style April 28, 2013
I grew up around a lot of Italians but never ate an egg and pepper sandwich until about five years ago when my birthmother, who is half Italian and who has a history of marrying Italians, made them for dinner one night when she was visiting me at The Dusty Dog.
Wait, what’s a birthmother? She’s the ...
- Caramelized Onions, Pasta & Parmesan April 21, 2013
Caramelized onions, pasta, and a generous topping of fresh parmesan — this is simple goodness. Comfort food if you ask me. The first time I ate this, we were visiting our friend Carol in South Texas. She lives in the tiny town of Ganado, where she’s a farmer and a cattle rancher. Her mom Jerry ...
- Artichoke Mediterranean Wraps & Hors d’oeuvres April 15, 2013
I’ve been on a Mediterranean eating craze lately, which translates to: I’ve been eating healthy. Well, aside from the nut roll and cake I’ve made over the last couple of weeks. But overall, on a daily basis, I’m giving it a good effort, by eating way more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans than ever before.
Along with my ...
- 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, ...
- Cooking in the Great Outdoors: Salmon & Jasmine Rice with Mixed Vegetables March 17, 2013
I didn’t discover my love for camping until my early twenties. My first trip was a weeklong extravaganza at Ludington State Park on the shores of Lake Michigan. I was transformed and have been camping ever since.
My biggest trip so far was just before I moved to Dallas — I spent a month tent camping across ...
- Heirloom Yellow Eye Beans March 4, 2013
This past holiday season, I got a lot of cooking related gifts — things like ravioli presses, a comal for making tortillas, and an attachment for my mixer to make homemade pasta. But one of my favorite presents was a gift set of heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo. The set included three types of different ...
- My Grandmother Mary Gentile’s Tomato Sauce February 25, 2013
I never knew my maternal birth grandmother Mary Gentile who, so I was told, pronounced the t-i-l-e at the end of her name like you’d pronounce ceramic tile instead of like you’d pronounce lily, which is how it would be in Italy. I guess she was embarrased about being Italian — she was first generation ...
- Onion, Barley, & Cannellini Bean Soup February 18, 2013
A couple of years ago, I received an orange Staub soup pot with an acorn handle as a gift from my partner. I don’t remember if it was a present for a special occasion or just a gift because I was going to make soup and didn’t have a good soup pot. Regardless, I loved it from ...
- Brisa’s Cheese Enchiladas with Homemade Red Chile February 6, 2013
When Brisa was a little girl, her family didn’t eat meat on Friday’s during Lent. During those five to six weeks of Lenten sacrifice, Brisa would ask her mother to make cheese enchiladas for their Friday night meal. Her mother would say, “Only if you promise to help.”
Brisa was around nine years old the first ...
- Not My Mother’s Potato Pancakes January 5, 2013
My mother was a horrible cook, and on top of that, she hated cooking. She made the blandest, most colorless meatloaf you can imagine, and it was usually accompanied by mashed potatoes and canned lima beans. To this day, I hate lima beans and definitely don’t eat any vegetables from a can.
The day after having ...
- Gnocchi 101 January 2, 2013
Although I discovered these wonderful potato and flour dumplings at a party 20 years ago, I still feel like I’m new to gnocchi. It was love at first sight when I spotted those small pillows of potato tucked in a pot of rich tomato sauce at my friend’s house. I loaded up a plateful and ...
