In A Nutshell

This is a free-form version of the heavier, more traditional eggplant parmesan; it is adapted from Food and Wine magazine. The tomatoes and eggplant are lightly brushed with olive oil and grilled; then the meal is assembled on a rimmed baking sheet. I realize my photo leaves a lot to be desired, but the meal was fabulous. 1 large eggplant, sliced in 1/4" slices 3 medium tomatoes, sliced in 1/4" slices EVOO for brushing the veg coarse salt and pepper 3 Calabrian chilies packed in oil , chopped into little pieces 1/4 cup sliced black olives 1- 4oz. ball fresh mozzarella 1/3 cup shredded parmesan optional: a smidge of leftover fontina found in your deli drawer, sliced or cubed Brush the eggplant slices lightly with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill over high heat on a grill pan for about 5-7 minutes per side (until nicely browned but not falling apart). I had to do this in two batches. Arrange half the eggplant in a square shape, slightly overlappin...

This is a wonderfully hearty vegetarian soup; excuse the messy picture please!  The recipe is adapted from Food and Wine magazine. The original recipe had zucchini in it which I put in the soup, but I didn't like how it got mushy and watery tasting. Maybe green beans would be a good substitute or perhaps spinach?? Surprisingly delicous and simple... 1/8 cup EVOO 1 onion, chopped 1 1/2 lbs mushrooms, baby bellas and white button (or your favorite blend) 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1/8 cup sweet Hungarian paprika 1/2 T hot Hungarian paprika 1 14 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes 1 Yukon Gold potato, diced 4 cups vegetable broth 1 bay leaf Cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and a hearty pinch of salt and cook over high heat until the mushrooms are nicely browned and the juices released have thickened somewhat (so that it's not watery in the pot but rather gravy-like). Add the paprikas and stir for a minute ...

Another hit from Julie; pure deliciousness... pitted dates softened cream cheese bacon Put a small amount of softened cream cheese in each date. Cut the bacon slices in half and wrap each date in the bacon, placing it seam side down on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 375º for about 40 minutes or until bacon is crisp. I bet an almond jammed in there along with the cream cheese would be good too.

I will be the first to admit that our go-to birthday cake is lovingly known in our house as "puddin' cake" which consists of a box cake along with a box of vanilla instant pudding. It goes against everything I believe in to use a "box" anything but damn! that cake is good-- moist and unnaturally yellow in color. However, I draw the line at canned frosting... it's just wrong and not good and wrong. Please try this recipe- it is so easy and only uses one pan!  You'll never return to the canned stuff, I promise!! 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate 3 T cocoa powder (nothing fancy- just regular cocoa) 3 1/2 to 4 cups powdered sugar (depending on how sweet and soft you want the frosting) 3/4 cup sour cream In a large enough saucepan over low heat, melt the butter along with the chocolate and cocoa powder, stirring with a heatproof rubber scraper. When it is smooth, remove from heat and whisk in most of the powdered sugar; I onl...

I LOVE pumpkin in just about any form; this chili is the perfect fall food and is actually very healthy. I like to serve this with Zucchini Cornbread and a nice cold beer. You can add cheese on top if you want but it doesn't even need it. This recipe was given to my friend Julie (as in Power Muffin Julie) and she modified it a bit; the only change I made was to use chicken broth rather than water. It is ridiculously easy to make;  I usually double the recipe-- the leftovers (if there are any) freeze well. 1 lb Italian chicken or turkey sausage (I like spicy from Whole Foods), casing removed 1 T olive oil 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree 1 cup chunky style salsa (see note at the end about salsa) 1 cup chicken broth In a saucepan, heat the oil and add the sausage; fry over high heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 or 15 minutes to let the flavors m...

This recipe comes from my sister-in-law Caroline who makes the best salads ever! This is a great way to use up leftover stale French or Italian bread and a delicious way to enjoy summer tomatoes. Though I've given precise measurements, they should be used as guide- a little more or less of anything is fine. You can also improvise and add cucumber, black olives, green onion, fresh mozzarella... whatever sounds good. 2 cups bread cubes 2 garlic cloves, chopped 3 T extra-virgin olive oil 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes minced basil 1/2 T balsamic or red wine vinegar salt and pepper to taste Put 1 T EVOO in a bowl along with the vinegar and whisk. Add the chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil and let sit while you prepare the bread. You want the tomatoes to release their juices. In a frying pan, heat the remaining 2 T oil and cook the garlic until softened (just a few minutes); remove with a slotted spoon and add to the tomatoes. To the heated oil, add the bread cubes and...

And the crowd goes wild..... For the dressing : 3 oz. extra-virgin olive oil 2 T white wine vinegar 1 T drained capers 1/2 cup Italian parsley, washed and dried 1/2 t salt freshly ground pepper Puree all the ingredients in a small food processor or mini-blender except the EVOO until coarsely chopped. Add the EVOO in a steady stream.  I don't know why you have to do it this way- next time I make this I'll probably just blend it all at the same time-- what's the worst that could happen?? For the salad : 3 cans white beans (I used Goya small white but you can use Cannellini), drained and rinsed 7 or 8 radishes, sliced very thinly 2 green onions, sliced 1 small can sliced black olives Mix all the ingredients along with the dressing; you could always add a can of tuna to this or some leftover sliced chicken to turn it into a more substantial meal. Adapted from Bon Appetit.

Guest Post by Favorite Daughter Leksa I was looking for the perfect granola bar recipe: I wanted something healthy, that I could take on the road, and easy to make. I found a great recipe on The Minimalist Baker . I basically stuck to her original recipe, which can be found here . I didn't have dates, so I used dried cranberries and cherries instead. I also added some chocolate chips. The end result is a tasty and very healthy bar that makes a satisfying snack or light breakfast. Ingredients 1 cup dried fruit (I used 1/2 cranberries and 1/2 cherries) 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup salted peanut butter 1 cup roasted almonds, loosely chopped 1 1/2 cups rolled oats 1/4 cup chocolate chips any other optional add-ins Heat oven to 350 degrees and toast the oats spread out on a cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes, shaking the pan a bit once or twice. Food process the dried fruit until it's in really small pieces- it forms a sort of paste. Put the honey and peanut butter in a smal...

I consider this to be the king of salads- totally old school, definitely not diet food.  I could have probably hunted down a large game animal, field dressed it, smoked it and made sausage out of it in less time than it takes to make this salad, but heck- it's worth every second of prep work! This is adapted from Food and Wine magazine. You could always save time by buying the dressing of your choice rather than making it. You can do this on one large platter or on individual plates- I won't give you specific amounts for the salad ingredients- just use what you need to fill the rows. For the dressing : 1 Vidalia onion, peeled, cut into quarters and lightly brushed with EVOO 4 garlic cloves (I used already peeled ones and wrapped them in foil) 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil 1/4 cup cider vinegar 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 t kosher salt freshly ground pepper Preheat oven to 425º and roast the onion and garlic together; take out the garlic after 30 minute...

This is adapted from Rachel Ray's magazine. They make a nice appetizer or you can serve them over rice or an Asian noodle dish. 1/2 cup lime juice 1/4 cup light brown sugar 2 shallots, finely chopped 4 scallions, sliced 2 minced jalapenos or serranos 1 T fish sauce 1 T soy sauce 2 cloves of garlic, pressed 1 t sesame oil 4 t canola oil salt and pepper to taste 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined Whisk together all the ingredients except the shrimp. Put 1/2 cup of the marinade over the shrimp and reserve the rest separately. Let this marinade for at least 30 minutes (mine sat in the fridge for about 3 hours). Grill the shrimp over high heat about 2 minutes per side. Drizzle with the reserved marinade (the stuff you set aside- untainted by the raw shrimp).

Finely chopped parsley is a challenge for me-- my knife skills are non-existent; I'm afraid of sharp knives so I basically use the equivalent of kitchen putty knives. I tried using the food processor but it turned the parsley into green mush so I used the IKEA version of the  herb chopper thingy . In any event, this salad, adapted from  Jerusalem , is delicious, fresh and lemony; it is worth the annoying chopping process.  The original recipe also calls for chopped fresh mint which I'm not crazy about but if you like it, by all means add it to the salad. 1/2 cup fine bulgur wheat 2 large tomatoes or one basket of cherry tomatoes, chopped 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and small diced 2 green onions, sliced 1 shallot, chopped fine 2 large bunches parsley, chopped fine (the recipe calls for 4 but I ran out of steam after chopping 2) 4 T freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 T EVOO 1 t  Baharat spice mix 1/4 t ground allspice salt and pepper to taste 3 oz. feta...

Since there are really only two key ingredients to this salad, I recommend using the sweetest sweet corn you can find (definitely not frozen) and homegrown tomatoes if possible (or the nearest thing approximating homegrown such as farmer's market tomatoes). 3 ears sweetest sweet corn, husked and grilled for about 10-12 minutes (turning frequently) and cooled 3 tomatoes, preferably three different colors (I used a green zebra, an orange colored-tomato and a red brandywine) 4 fresh basil leaves (or to taste- I think too much basil can overpower other flavors so I like to use just a little), cut into a chiffonade (love an excuse to use that word) 2 green onions, white and green parts sliced thin 1 T sherry vinegar 2 T EVOO about 1/2 t Dijon mustard salt and freshly ground pepper to taste In a medium bowl, whisk the vinegar, Dijon and EVOO along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cut the corn off the cob (I did this directly into the bowl with the dressing so as to avoid ma...

The toppings you can choose for the "Mexican Burgers" (what an embarrassingly unimaginative title!) are limitless- basically anything you might like on a taco. You could do any number of salsas as a topping, chopped lettuce, tomatoes etc. They go well with margaritas or beer. 1/2 lb Mexican chorizo, casing removed and cooked 2 lbs ground beef chihuahua cheese Mix the cooked chorizo with the raw ground beef very gently and form into patties (I did 5 but you can make smaller or bigger burgers to your liking).  Grill over high heat and top with chihuahua cheese. For the toppings : sliced red onion, cooked in a small amount of canola oil over very low heat until carmalized pickled jalapenos (I like Mrs. Renfro's in a jar) sliced radishes sliced avocado chipotle ketchup