My husband and I love duck confit but have only made it once and said “we’ll never make that again.” When we saw ready-made Grimaud Farms duck confit legs at Costco we were excited. All you have to do is cook them in the oven for 15 minutes and voila!
On a recent Sunday afternoon we [...]
Duck Confit Salad
Shrimp and Mushroom Shu Mai
Shu mai (also spelled shui mei, siu mai, etc.) is a traditional Chinese dumpling and with Chinese New Year around the corner we decided it was the perfect time to experiment. I recently bought Cooking Light’s Way to Cook and so far, everything I’ve made from this cookbook has been great. Plus it has really [...]
Adult Trick or Treat
For weeks we had been gearing up for it. We watched our diets and talked about how our palates would experience a symphony of flavors in a matter of days. We eagerly entered Moscone and immediately were giddy with anticipation, our mouths drooling like Homer Simpson eating jelly doughnuts. As we went down the escalator [...]
Walnut Bread with Strawberry Mint Jam
You have to have a ton of patience to make bread and preserve jam. It’s very time consuming but worth the investment (and the clean up!).
I’ve been making the same walnut bread for the last few months as I got frustrated making challah, a traditional braided egg bread served on the sabbath. There is an [...]
Cod en Papillote with Tomatoes and Olives
Cod is a mild, flaky and delicate fish. My husband and I love cod but sometimes it’s hard to find true cod. True cod is Atlantic, not ling cod, black cod (sablefish) or rock cod. These types are totally unrelated to the cod family. Black cod is sometimes sold as butterfish because it has a [...]
Freegin’ Awesome Freekeh
I was in our local Middle Eastern supermarket and came across a box of freekeh. Freekeh is called a green wheat because it’s harvested in early stages, dried, roasted and smoked giving it a green color. Similar to rice, it’s cooked with chicken stock or water but is much healthier. The freekeh I bought says [...]
Cranberry Bulgar with Figs
I’m always looking for good, healthy alternatives to rice and couscous. Bulgar has more fiber, vitamins and minerals – plus it’s low in fat. More importantly it requires very little cooking and is served at room temperature! Commonly used in Mediterranean, Turkish and Middle Eastern dishes, bulgar has a nutty flavor and is produced in [...]
Bean and Kale Soup
Kale is one of those ingredients that I didn’t know about growing up and now it’s the trendy “green” to cook and serve. I’ve experimented with many different kale recipes, both cooked and raw — with roasted delicata squash or in an Asian peanut dressing, respectively. It’s a form of cabbage so it has a [...]
Scallops with Chanterelles in a Red Port Wine Sauce
Typically chanterelles cost as much as gold so we never buy them…however we couldn’t resist when our local Costco had them for about $10. We were so excited to find beautiful wild chanterelles and thought this would be perfect with fresh plump scallops from our local fish market. We couldn’t wait to figure out a [...]
Noodles – Two Recipes in One
Shrimp Puttanesca & Mushroom Fettucini
There is nothing like enjoying a hearty pasta with seafood and a full-bodied red wine. While we don’t make pasta dishes that often, I recalled our many delicious meals in Italy a year ago and was craving a delicious Italian dinner. My husband makes a fantastic shrimp puttanesca, but I thought [...]