In A Nutshell

A festive, refreshing and delicious drink; I have a lot of cranberries in the fridge and thought they would be a nice addition to a cocktail that I already love. 10 cranberries, chopped (you can use a mini-food processor) 1 lime, cut into quarters 1 T superfine sugar 2-3 oz. vodka (depending upon how strong you want it- I poured just slightly over 2) In a glass, muddle the cranberries and lime with the sugar until juicy and mushy. Add the vodka and stir well; top with ice and stir again. Yum yum!

We had this drink in Washington D.C. at the recommendation of my niece Maggie-- it was the best drink EVER and I have humbly tried to duplicate it as best I can. Thank you Maggie-- my quality of life is greatly improved! 2 oz. Stoli blueberry vodka 1 1/4 oz. créme de cassis (buy a fancy French one in the liquor store) 1 oz. passion fruit pureé (you can find this in the freezer section of any worthwhile grocery store or Hispanic market) 1/2 oz. lemon juice 1/2 oz. simple syrup Shake vigorously in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and serve in the prettiest glass you have. 

These just melt in your mouth.... and because you cut them into bite-sized pieces, they really don't have any calories. So there's that..... Adapted from Food and Wine magazine. 1 3/4 cup flour 1/4 cup plus 2 T cornmeal 1/2 t salt 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp 3/4 cup powdered sugar 2 t grated orange zest 1 t vanilla (or 1/2 t vanilla plus 1/2 t orange extract) Beat the butter and powdered sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the orange zest, vanilla extract and salt. Add the flour and cornmeal and beat at low speed just until dough comes together. Pat the dough into a disk or square, wrap and refrigerate for one hour. Preheat oven to 350º.  Roll the dough into an 8" round or square that is 1/2" thick. Cut the dough into 1/2" long strips and line them up on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 1" between them (I managed to cram them all on one because I ate like half the raw dough....). Chill the strips for 30 minutes and ...

I don't think a person exists on this planet who loves pizza more than I do.... I love it in all its incarnations: deep dish, pie cut, square cut, fancy Neapolitan-style pizzas but most of all the awesome mom-and-pop pizza that you can find in any neighborhood in Chicago and the outlying area. Having said that.... if any of the following scenarios apply: attempted weight loss via low-carb diet, gluten = tummy-shame or diabetes, this pizza is truly a good alternative. It tastes really really good (please believe me because I don't even like cauliflower very much) and can scratch that itch for pizza-- maybe not as a forever substitute but on occasion. My daughter found a good crust recipe from  Detoxinista  that holds up after baking-- we've modified it a bit. As for the toppings, you can put anything you like on there. For me pizza is a way of using up leftover ingredients that are hanging around the rotter drawer of the fridge. In this case, I sautéed swiss chard from my...

There are a lot of variations of this salad; I don't have an exact recipe.... just kind of wing-it! cubed watermelon cubed cucumber (take those wretched seeds out first) diced red onion cubed feta (I like to cut this myself so that the pieces stay in discreet squares) chopped cilantro salt and pepper extra-virgin olive oil lime juice to taste (not much, maybe one or two limes juiced) In a separate small bowl, soak the onion in the lime juice while preparing the rest of the salad. In layers add the watermelon first, cucumber the red onion, chopped cilantro and feta on top. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle some EVOO over the whole thing (not a lot), pour the lime juice over and toss only when about to serve. It's a beauty of a salad.

Milo really really wanted to eat that cream..... the longing in those hound eyes is too much! I used some new-fangled apricots that I found in the store called Red Velvet Apricots; they were a bit larger than regular apricots and absolutely delicious. I also used peaches because I didn't have enough apricots. The recipe in F&W included chopped mint in the apricots; I forgot to add that but I think it would be good (or even maybe some chopped basil??). You can make these earlier in the day that you plan to serve them but you don't want them sitting around too long. 2 T brandy 2 T lemon juice 2 T superfine sugar 12 apricots, sliced Combine the brandy, lemon juice and sugar; stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the sliced apricots and let stand at room temperature while preparing the rest of the dessert. 4 oz. mascarpone 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 T powdered sugar 1/2 t vanilla Combine using a mixer until whipped fluffy- don't over mix. 1/2 cup graham cracker c...

This salad is refreshing and delicious-- adapted from Food and Wine. The taste hinges on good garden tomatoes and fresh, ripe peaches. 1 1/2 T red wine vinegar 2 T EVOO 1/4 t coriander kosher salt and pepper 2 peaches or nectarines 2 medium tomatoes 2 T chopped red onion crumbled feta chopped cilantro 1 cup broken pita chips (I prefer Trader Joe's) Combine vinegar, EVOO, coriander, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the chopped red onion and let it marinate while you are preparing the remainder of the salad. Slice the peaches and chop the tomatoes. Add to the onions along with the cilantro; right before serving, gently stir in the pita chips and top with feta crumbles.