In this post, I’ll offer you seven basic tips that I used to help myself be a better cook. My Nest is Nearly Empty So many of my friends are finding, as I am, that as our kids get older and begin to leave the nest, we have more time in our days than we …
Beggar’s Linguine is a delicious, vegetarian pasta, filled with ingredients that are easily kept in the pantry: dried fruits and nuts, sautéed in browned butter. It’s the most delicious “Desperation Dinner” I’ve made in a long time! I was invited to participate in in something called “My Writing Process Blog Tour”, so before I …
Grilled Ratatouille Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Fresh Mozzarella is a recipe that contains all the flavors that, to me, are quintessentially summer. Behold the brilliant colors (and flavors) of summer! Love it! Grilled Ratatouille? It’s almost officially summer, my friends, and the tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and eggplant will be rolling in before you know …
The Venison Meatballs from this recipe of homemade Italian Spaghetti and Venison Meatballs are so delicious they’re addictive. Once you’ve cooked them, and sampled one, you will wonder how there will ever be enough left for dinner. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Can I Use Beef, Rather Than Venison? DON’T be put off by …
Spicy Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Tomatoes and Basil is the perfect side dish for almost anything you’re grilling! Recipes for Grill Week Welcome back to Grill Week in the Boonies. I have another fantastic side dish, Spicy Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Tomatoes, and Basil that I’ve discovered this summer, that I think …
Spaghetti al Vino Bianco is a recipe for pasta that finishes cooking in a sauce made with reduced white wine. Add bacon, arugula, and Parmigiano- Reggiano to finish the dish. I’ve been wanting to try a recipe similar to this, written by Mario Batali. Batali had shared a recipe where he cooked pasta in red …
Let me begin this post with a little word to all you Sardine Haters out there (and you know who you are): Just keep swimming. Do you detect a little bitterness in my tone? How is it that making one batch of Sardine Pasta can flirt with turning Susan in the Boonies into something dangerously …
This recipe for Goat Cheese Mac and Cheese with Rosemary, Roasted Garlic and Chicken Skin Bacon is the best Mac and Cheese I’ve ever had! It’s savory, creamy, and tangy, with a deep herbal note from the fresh rosemary and the rich, slightly sweet complexity of roasted garlic. And let’s not forget the crispiness of …
This recipe for Ginger Roast Chicken and Elbow Macaron with Tomatoes and Pan Sauce will amaze you by its depth of flavor and by how extraordinarily delicious it is! Dry Brining a Roast Chicken Have you read my post about that WONDERFUL steak I dry aged and salted? The one that offered you steak house …
Cajun Chicken Alfredo on Fettucine A few months ago on the Food Network, I started watching a show that featured chefs making their favorite, sure thing/go-to recipes, called The Best Thing I Ever Made. (With a title like that, who could resist, right? ) Guy Fieri . host of several Food Network shows (like Diners, Drive Ins …
Perciatelli all’Amatriciana is the best pasta I have ever had in my life. BUT: I can hear you now, from clear over here, in the Boonies. A whole lot of you are saying: “What the ____ is perciatelli?” (Unless you’re Italian. Or a chef. Or, for whatever the reason, you really know your pasta.) What …
Easy Basil Pine Nut Pesto Recipe : A bit of butter gives this recipe amazing flavor! This is the best pesto I have ever had, whether served to me in an Italian restaurant, or purchased from a store, or homemade! Basil: The One Thing I Can Grow We don’t grow much here in the …
And Barbra Streisand would tell you that makes me one of the luckiest people in the world. (Don’t miss the dreamy eyed look that Robin Williams gives her at the beginning of this song!) Gosh, she has a lovely voice. Unfortunately, I don’t think that what Barbra had in mind in that song was exactly …