There’s a term in Italian cooking called “cucina povera” meaning poor kitchen or cooking of the poor. I grew up with this cooking…not that we were poor but that we believed in a philosophy of using humble ingredients and what was on hand to make something good to eat. I still believe in this philosophy […]
Making pickled vegetables is a great way to use up and preserve extra vegetables. They’re delicious served with salads, sandwiched and burgers. And pickling is so easy…literally anyone can do it. Equal parts water and vinegar + salt and spices. The biggest decision to make is whether or not to first boil the liquid brine […]
Every once in a while I stumble upon a recipe so delicious, yet so simple (only 3 major ingredients) that it blows my chefy mind! And as usual, this happened by accident. I had a bag of chopped kale I had to use. And since I don’t care for raw kale, I sautéed it […]
It started as a potato salad made with baby fingerling potatoes…and then I added the blackened shrimp…and then anything in my fridge that I thought would be tasty; avocado, pickles, a hard boiled egg, red and jalapeño pepper, red cabbage, picked jalapeño and served it over romaine…and what I got was a masterpiece of a […]
It’s spicy. It’s creamy. It’s cheesy. It’s my comfort food any time I want something easy to make that the whole family will love! Spicy tomato soup with ravioli is an outgrowth of my basic tomato soup with is nothing more than my tomato sauce plus chicken broth. How I spice it up and what […]
This French County Stew took me by surprise. Not that I didn’t expect it to be good…but that it was sooooo good I couldn’t get enough of it! Neither did all the people I served it to. I made it for the first time at a demo at Williams Sonoma in Danbury CT and I […]
This potato cheddar soup with a hint of spicy jalapeño is so easy to make, it really doesn’t even require a recipe. Boil potatoes just like you would when making mashed potatoes. Puree them. Add broth, Add cheese. Add sautéed jalapeño. But knowing that many people still want a recipe…I’ll gladly provide one. I finished […]
Recently I found the cutest baby eggplant at the supermarket. I couldn’t bear to simply cut them up and sauté them like I usually do…so I decided to stuff them. Now if you google recipes for stuffed eggplant you’ll notice that many have you carve up the pulp of the eggplant, cook it. Mix it […]
This is my new favorite way to eat potatoes…which I could eat every day. They’re cut, drizzled with olive oil, seasoned and baked. Then while they’re still slightly undercooked they’re removed from the oven, topped with cheese and your choice of toppings. In this one I used pickled jalapeños and snippets of sun-dried tomatoes. Below, […]
When I made this I hadn’t had a plate of pasta since I ate linguine with clam sauce on Christmas Eve. I had such an urge for my favorite sauce which is made with simple ingredients I usually always have in the house: canned tomatoes, anchovies, kalamata olives, capers and pasta! However, since I also […]
