Last weekend, the temperature dipped into the 20s overnight and this weekend hovered near the 70s. North Carolina weather is never predictable. But Chicken Cacciatore is. And this deep-flavored, comforting dish is always welcome on our table. It hadn’t even occurred to me that it’s called Hunters’ Chicken, yet how appropriate. Jim returned last week from a …
Give cauliflower crust pizza a try– a great way to replace bread with vegetables, a no-guilt pizza recipe. ~~ I’m fully on board with the cauliflower craze. Cauliflower Faux Fried Rice is now a standard in our house when I’m making something Chinese for dinner. And whoever invented cauliflower cream sauce deserves some kind of …
I’ve been receiving Cook’s Illustrated magazine for more than a decade thanks to a yearly Christmas subscription from my parents. I don’t throw away the old issues because I keep going back to them. The recipes never fail. In fact, they are usually sensational. Last month, I cooked several recipes from the September/October issues. They …
Tuna is the star in this quick dinner recipe that riffs off Sicilian flavors — fennel, red bell pepper, capers, lemon and herbs. ~~~ Last week I found a decent looking, big piece of tuna on sale at my local supermarket (Lowes Foods). Jim’s not into the usual ahi preparation – seared on the outside, …
These Italian fig cookies (aka cucidati) have become a favorite Christmas recipe at our house. Make a big batch and freeze some for a special treat later. ~~~ I love Italian cookies. My grandmother’s neighborhood in East Cambridge, Massachusetts had a fantastic Italian bakery, Royal Pastry Shop. Whenever we went to my grandparents, she would send …
We’ve all been there. You have absolutely no idea what to make for dinner and time is running out. There’s no way you have the energy to cook a decent meal. Take-out, anyone? But you really want a proper dinner. Take heart, I have a solution: Pork (or Chicken) Milanese. It’s quick, delicious, and doesn’t …
Geppetto’s Pizza Bianca is the best white pizza recipe you’ll ever come across — fontina cheese, garlic, shallots and herbs on a fabulous thin crust. ~~~ Back in the ’80s and ’90s I was the general manager of Geppetto Restaurant in Bethesda MD. I was young at the time, in my 20s when I took …
A hearty minestrone (or minestra) soup recipe that you can throw together quickly featuring greens, beans, zucchini, tomatoes and red bell pepper. ~~~ Rachael Ray’s Minestra has been the backbone of my go-to minestrone soup recipe for many years. Yet, the first time I made it, I felt it was lacking some critical ingredients. I …
Here’s a dish I made during the holidays. Usually I serve scampi with pasta, but since we were already busting out of our clothes, we skipped the pasta and served it plain with some vegetables on the side. You can find recipes for scampi in just about every Italian cookbook and all over the web …
I used to be pretty handy with yeast. I would go through phases where I played around with baking breads, breakfast pastries and pizza. There’s nothing like the smell of bread or croissants baking in the oven. In Arlington I lived across the street from a really good pastry shop (the one I eventually worked …
Grabbing the Gusto 