Yum yum yum yum. Looking at these pictures again makes me want to run back to the kitchen and make this soup all over again. I know soup in summer sounds like madness but I swear it works here. Rich but not heavy, creamy but fiery, this is the perfect meal for when you’re exhausted…
Gluten-Free Baked Coconut Shrimp with Orange Mustard Dipping Sauce
I can’t believe April is almost over. The last few months have flown by in a blur – a trip to Italy, two snowboard trips, a new job for me, enormous progress finishing our home remodel… it’s been crazy but incredibly fun and productive. Now that the days are getting longer we’re ready to nest…
Salmon-Crab Sliders with Zesty Creole Mustard Sauce
One of our all time favorite recipes for Salmon Crab Burgers needed and update and we decided to mix it up a little bit by cooking them up slider size. These mini-burgers are just as delicious as the classic version but I think they’re even easier to prepare since we bake them in the oven…
Trader Joe’s Copycat Curried Chicken Deli Salad Healthified: aka Really Awesome Curry Chicken Salad
So, those of you fortunate enough to have a Trader Joe’s in the area have probably seen their “Curried White Chicken Deli Salad.” Those of you who have tasted it know it’s the greatest curried chicken salad in the history of our planet. Just the right amount of creamy, spicy, and sweet, a supposedly three-serving…
Rustic Italian Sausage with Grapes and Balsamic Vinegar
Looking for something fast, hearty, and thrillingly delicious but still easy on the calorie and bank budget? Not anymore! This dish, adapted from the eternally reliable Cook’s Illustrated, is everything you could want in a weeknight dish (few ingredients, one pot, minimal prep) but fancy enough for entertaining (exotic flavors, elegant presentation, impressive yumminess). If…
Sichuan Shirataki & Cucumber Sesame Noodle Salad
Happy 2016! I hope you had an awesome New Year. This year I surprised Brad with a trip to Catalina for their annual Gala in the Avalon Casino. If you’ve never been, the casino is a large, beautiful art deco building with a massive ballroom and movie theater that was built in 1927. It’s never…
Braised Red Cabbage with Apple Cider Vinegar
OK, I have to admit that it’s been two months since I made this cabbage but looking at these pictures makes me realize I have to make it again immediately. I feel like it’s always that way with cabbage – I totally forget about it as a meal option until something like St. Patrick’s Day…
Rustic Pan-Bagnat Niçoise Sandwich
Classic Niçoise flavors of tuna, eggs, tomatoes and olives combine with refreshing cucumber and tangy-rich artichoke in a rustic but elegant sandwich. I’m only a little embarrassed to say that this sandwich was inspired by a similar-looking roll in a magazine ad for bottled water: Tasty-looking, yes? This is a variation on a pan-bagnat, a…
Seared Ahi with Reduced Balsamic and Rapini over Polenta
Perfectly seared sashimi-grade ahi and tender-crisp rapini drizzled with a sweet-tangy reduced balsamic vinegar over creamy polenta is simultaneously light and decadent. This was my very first original recipe developed about 15 years ago after being inspired by something similar at an Italian restaurant in Santa Monica. A decade and a half later it’s still…
Moroccan Carrot Salad with Spicy Lemon Dressing
Every year we make a point to see every Shakespeare in the Park performance in Griffith Park. Our local Independent Shakespeare Company does some of the most creative and entertaining stagings of classics I’ve ever seen. We’ve been going for about 5 years now and their shows are always among the highlights of our summer….
