In A Nutshell

This recipe is adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe ; I opted to leave out the cheese and just garnish a couple of baguette slices with melted cheddar cheese. The soup is delicious with or without the croutons. You can use heavy cream in place of milk if you want to take it over the top, but the cauliflower itself lends a very creamy taste and texture so I don't think it's necessary to add the extra calories or fat. But hey... I don't judge! 1 head cauliflower, cut into small pieces 4 cloves of garlic 4 T extra virgin olive oil 2 T parmesan cheese 1 T butter 1 T EVOO 1/2 small onion, diced pinch of thyme 4-5 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade) 1-2 T sherry 1/2 milk salt and white pepper to taste baguette slices shredded cheddar cheese 1. Preheat oven to 425º; toss the cauliflower and garlic with the 4 T EVOO, generously salt and pepper the florets and roast for 35 minutes; toss the cauliflower with 2 T parmesan and roast another 10 minutes. 2. Melt

Lemony, delicious goodness! Adapted from Food & Wine. Cake : 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups cake flour 1 T baking powder 1 t salt 2 3/4 cups sugar grated zest from 10 (yes 10!!!) lemons, about 1/3 cup of zest 1/2 cup canola oil 2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 3 eggs 3 egg yolks 3 T dark rum 2 T pure lemon extract 3/4 cup heavy cream Lemon Syrup : 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 T dark rum Glaze : 1 cup powdered sugar 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 t lemon or almond extract (which ever you prefer) sliced almonds for decoration For the cake: 1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and lightly flour a bundt pan. Sift the flours into a bowl along with the baking powder and salt. 2. With the paddle attachment, mix sugar, zest, canola oil and butter until blended. Beat in eggs, yolks, rum and extract just until incorporated. On low speed, alternate mixing in heavy cream and flour mixture in three batches, star

This is adapted from the Rachel Ray magazine; very easy, quick, delicious and good cold the next day. The recipe calls for 8 oz. of soba noodles but the package I bought had a little over 10 oz. so I just used the whole thing and it turned out great. A handful of peanuts thrown on top probably would have been a tasty addition-- next time..... 1/4 cup chunky natural peanut butter 3 T toasted sesame oil 3 T soy sauce 2 T honey 2 T lime juice 3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces and sprinkled with salt and pepper 2 garlic cloves, sliced pinch of crushed red pepper 2 T peanut oil 10 oz. soba noodles 1 red bell pepper, diced 2 green onions, chopped Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Heat the peanut oil in a large, deep skillet; add garlic, crushed red pepper and chicken pieces. Saute for about 4 minutes; move off the heat and cover with a lid. Meanwhile bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook the soba noodles according to package d

We have a pizzeria in my home town of Homewood called Aurelio's that serves the absolute best spinach calabrese ever! The dough tastes almost like a pastry it's so tender. I do not believe that it is possible to duplicate it at home however, this attempt was delicious even so. I think I had the filling right but I will continue to try different methods with the dough to see if I can get it closer to the real thing. My mom has made several really awesome spinach calzones over the years, but she never uses a recipe so it's almost as impossible to duplicate hers as it is Aurelio's. She did give me the tip to marinate the spinach rather than saute it which turned out perfect. Early in the day : 8 oz. fresh baby spinach 3 T extra-virgin olive oil pinch of crushed red pepper 1 t garlic powder (granulated garlic is what I have- is that the same thing as powder?) salt and pepper Toss all this together and let it sit on the counter. It will wilt as the day goes on.

This is also from Arabesque by Claudia Roden ; it's a nice fresh tasting side dish or lunch salad. The recipe calls for mint but I substituted cilantro because I'm not crazy about mint. 1 cup fine bulgur 2 garlic cloves, pressed or finely chopped juice of 1-2 lemons (to taste) 5 T extra-virgin olive oil 2 14-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 bunches flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped fine 1 bunch mint or cilantro, whichever you prefer, chopped fine salt and pepper Soak the bulgur with hot water (well-covered) for 20 minutes (or according to package directions). Drain well. While that is draining, whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. You can adjust, adding more or less dressing as needed.

This recipe is adapted from Arabesque by Claudia Roden ; it's a gorgeous cookbook with Lebanese, Turkish and Moroccan recipes.  We drank a chianti with this; a pinot noir or beaujolais would go nicely as well. For the tomato sauce : 1 small onion, chopped 2 T EVOO 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 Fresno pepper, chopped 1 14-oz. can crushed tomatoes (I like Muir Glen Fire Roasted) salt and pepper 1 t sugar Heat the oil and fry the onion until soft; add the garlic and chili pepper and stir for a bit until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes. For the kebabs : 1 1/2 lb ground beef salt and pepper 1 small onion, very finely chopped or grated 1/4 cup chopped parsley 1 t sumac 1 t Turkish seasoning (I got this from Penzey's Spice; it consists of garlic powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, sumac, cayenne and dried cilantro- you could improvise with some or all of these ingredients separately) Mix the beef and all the remaining ingred

The photo looks rather garish but trust me when I say they were awesome tasting! I love these little peppers because they are sweet and just a little spicy. You could stuff them with softened goat cheese rather than cream cheese if you prefer. peppadew peppers (as many as you want to make) cream cheese, softened thin sliced bacon, cut in half Drain the peppers (I buy these at the olive bar in the grocery store; I think they also come in jars but can't vouch for their taste). Fill the peppers with cream cheese (they are already hollowed out). Wrap each pepper with 1/2 slice bacon and bake at 400º for about 30-35 minutes or until the bacon is crisp. I did turn them over about halfway through in order to crisp them better (a small amount of cream cheese may leak out of some of them). Let them sit for about 5-10 minutes before serving so that your guests don't get 3rd degree burns from the cream cheese.

I confess that I am extremely biased against iceberg lettuce, but I make this for my husband's birthday because he loves and craves iceberg lettuce. And even though it seems like something Betty Draper would make, I have to admit it's delicious. There is a terrific poem called The Iceberg Theory by Gerald Locklin which is an homage to the much maligned lettuce. Blue Cheese Dressing: 1 cup crumbled blue cheese 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 clove garlic, pressed 1 T red wine vinegar (or lemon juice) Stir everything together. Cut iceberg into wedges and put on individual plates. Spoon dressing over and top with the following: crumbled, cooked bacon pieces fried shallots (sliced and fried in canola oil- watch it carefully, it burns quickly). Serve with a martini or two or five to really live the Mad Men experience....

My grandma (from the former Yugoslavia) used to make this dish; we call it podvarak. I loved it so much but unfortunately never learned to make it before she died. I used a hybrid of what I remember her doing and a Julia Child recipe for Choucroute Braisée and was actually very pleased with the result. My grandma most definitely did not use gin or wine- that is Julia Child's delightful contribution. Don't shy away from this dish because of the sauerkraut- you'd be surprised how mild and flavorful it is once it is prepared correctly. 2 jars Bubbie's Sauerkraut (it's much less sour) 4 slices bacon 1 small carrot, fine diced 1 small onion, diced 2 T gin (or 5 juniper berries) 1/2 cup white wine 1 cup water 1 bay leaf 4 or 5 peppercorns 1 T sweet paprika 2 bone-in pork chops (thick or thin) Preheat oven to 325º Soak the sauerkraut in cold water for 20 minutes and drain well. Cut the bacon into small pieces and brown in a cast-iron pot. Leave a generous

This recipe is from Bon Appetit; the cupcakes are super yummy comfort food. I love a bit of chopped salted peanut on the top but you can leave it off if you don't like the idea. I found them to be very moist but not dense like a muffin. My poor dogs were going crazy with drool while I was making these... peanut butter, cream cheese and banana are amongst their favorite foods. Cupcakes : 1 1/4 cup flour 1 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 t baking soda 1/4 t salt 2 very ripe large bananas 1/2 cup sour cream 1 1/2 t vanilla 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp. 1 egg 1 egg yolk In a small bowl, mash bananas with a fork and add the sour cream and vanilla. In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt (there is 0% chance I would ever do this step- I'm way too lazy and don't like to dirty so many bowls...). Beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and yolk and beat until well-blended. Add fl