This is an elegant first course dish for a special occasion, or you could serve for 2 as a meal if you like. The combination of the lobster with the creamy avocado and the sweetness of the mangoes is to die for! Continue reading Lobster Avocado Salad
This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Simple Italian Food by Mario Batali. He says it’s one of his favorite things to make on a Sunday for Family dinner and I agree. There is something so festive about making a whole chicken, it’s just comforting. By the way, the leftover onions, pan juices and carcass make a kick ass chicken stock like no other. The pan juices create their own sauce, all you do is strain the fat out of it. That’s due to the 2 secret weapons, a parmesan rind and bacon. His recipe has you use a proscuitto rind but I am pretty sure you don’t have one of those sitting in your fridge right now, so the bacon fits the bill. 🙂 Someone once said to me that “Bacon is the duck tape of food”, how perfect is that? Continue reading Balsamic Roasted Chicken
I went to a cooking class at Rialto on Sunday. It was great. Jody Adams is the chef and she is a very interesting woman, besides being an amazing chef. The topic was braising and she prepared 3 dishes, then you sit down and enjoy all the dishes with a wine pairing. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday!
So, she made a braised pork belly on a citrus salad that was so amazing, I have been dreaming about it. No sheeps for me falling asleep this week, pork belly ….pork belly….It will be on the menu for my Fall Dinner party next year.
Yesterday I had a 3 pound pork loin roast (Under $6) and I decided I would braise it. Braising is such a great way to add flavor to any cut of meat or some veggies (think leeks). It is a moist cooking method that creates a luscious sauce (ok, now you know why I love braising!).
This the basic method: Sear the braising subject. Remove and carmelize braising veg in same pot. Add liquid (beer, wine, stock, combo), return braising subject to pot. Add water if needed so liquid comes a third of the way up, cover and finish in oven for hours. Take out and enjoy the luscious sauce with braising liquid. You can also finish braise in a crock pot but you must sear the subject and veg first, that is the main flavoring. Continue reading Braised Pork Roast
Classic homemade chicken soup can cure your ailments people! It is best made with homemade broth but store bought is ok. Continue reading Homemade Chicken Soup
This is it. This the recipe that started my cooking journey. I had just started dating Bill and I was going to make him dinner. I can remember it now, I was at the Star Market on Mt. Auburn in Watertown, and In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs caught my eye. I picked it up, saw the Gordon Hamersley recipe for the Roasted Chicken, bought the ingredients and went to town.
The cook book is great for a beginner, the way it lays out the recipes and there are a lot of pictures, which I love. I was able to follow the directions and I could not believe the end result. Not only did it look just like the picture but it tasted like a restaurant quality dish. Bill was impressed. I was giddy inside. He assumed that was no big deal and that is the way I cooked normally (I let him keep thinking that), I got addicted to cooking magazines, cook books and cooking shows. Fast forward 18 years and I am the author of my own food blog. All thanks to falling in love! xo
ps…..Hamersley’s Bistro is a 20-year-old Boston Institution and this recipe is still on the menu. Yes, it’s that good! Continue reading Hamersly’s Roasted Chicken with Garlic & Lemon
Who doesn’t love comforting, delicious mashed potatoes? The problem is that too many recipes have you drown them in butter and cream to make them rich. This recipe replaces the butter with low-fat cream cheese for richness and chicken broth replaces the cream. End result are delicious healthy mashed potatoes that you can eat anytime.
The family will love it! Believe me, Will and Brian are crazy about them and every time my Mom makes mashed, they ask her to put the cream cheese in it! Mom, here’s the recipe 😉 Continue reading Healthy Mashed Potatoes
I know I have been posting all these yummy, can’t believe it’s healthy and good for you recipes! Yeah! It’s so fun to be healthy. Yeah, it’s so fun to do everything in moderation and hell, when it’s the Divisional round and your team is playing at home and your QB is Brady, I am not going to eat a salad. I am going to work my ass off extra that day and I am going to eat some FOOTBALL food Dammit!
These nachos fit the bill. If you don’t feel like playing with the spices I have on the recipe, skip them and just use a taco mix packet (no one is going to judge you!) I just might make my famous Honey Hot wings too, last time I made wings and nachos for the game we won……….it’s only crazy if it doesn’t work, right? Continue reading Loaded Nachos
I love just about anything braised in my dutch oven. Especially on a cold winter night, it’s just so comforting. I’ve always loved Chicken Cacciatore. Braising the chicken makes it super moist, fall off the bone. Most recipes call for peppers but I don’t use that in this one, I prefer chicken cacciatore without the peppers. This recipe is very forgiving. For the chicken you can use a cut up whole chicken, or just split breast, or just thighs, whatever you have on hand or whatever your favorite. You could make this with boneless chicken but the bones add a richness to the sauce that will be missing.
If I am serving this on pasta, I like to shred the chicken (I have spoiled my family!) but you can serve the chicken by itself with pasta on the side (or just skip the pasta if it’s January and you are trying to lose a few pounds! boo) Continue reading Chicken Cacciatore
I love roasted sweet potatoes! This recipe was adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Bobby Flay’s Boy Meets Grill. An interesting twist on “potato salad” that is healthy and delicious. The original version has you grilling the potatoes and scallions but I prefer to roast them in the oven. Continue reading Sweet Potato Salad
Day 3 of back on track eating, I made this new recipe last night from a Blog called Just a Taste. It was delicious. Quick and Healthy! The only change I made was to use 1/2 cup brown sugar, the sauce was still great. The recipe says it serves 2 but with a pound of steak, it really is 4 servings. I had mine with sautéed Baby Bok Choy. You can find the recipe here. Mongolian Beef Recipe