In A Nutshell

Cauliflower rice is all the rage and with good reason! It's a delicious low-carb substitute for rice and believe me when I say, you won't miss the real stuff (this coming from someone who has never much liked the taste or smell of cauliflower). I really think of it as a vehicle for sopping up sauce or cheese or whatever delicious stuff you have on/in it! This is a variation of a Neelys recipe from Food Network. The key to keeping this from being a watery mess is to wring it out until you can't feel your hands. There is no other way.... sorry. 3 bags of frozen riced cauliflower, thawed (these are 12oz. bags from Trader Joe's) 1 small onion, minced 2 T butter 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 1/2 to 1 cup cream (this depends upon your dedication to the wringing process) 2 eggs 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus extra for the top 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley salt and pepper pinch of cayenne Preheat the oven to 375º. In a s...

 This is adapted from Food & Wine; you can either make the hummus and pizza dough from scratch or purchase those already prepared. Simple yet delicious. 1 lb pizza dough hummus (about 1 cup) shredded parmesan or ricotta salata for the top (I forgot that...) mixed greens, baby spinach, arugula vinaigrette For the vinaigrette : 3 T Champagne vinegar 1 T Dijon mustard 1/4 cup plus 1 T EVOO Whisk all ingredients and toss the greens with some vinaigrette. Preheat oven to 450º. Divide dough into 2 pieces and stretch out into an oval; bake on parchment paper for about 10-15 minutes until puffed and lightly browned. Spread a layer of hummus on each oval and top with lettuce.

Another delicious recipe from Food & Wine magazine; I modified and simplified this slightly. 1 1/2 lbs haricots verts or regular green beans, trimmed and halved 1 1/2 lbs small fingerling or new potatoes 1 cup chickpeas 1 large garlic clove 1/4 cup pine nuts 2 oz. finely grated Grana Padano (about 3/4 cup) 1 oz. finely grated Pecorino Romano 1/2 cup plus 2 T extra-virgin olive oil 1 large bunch basil leaves 4 T lemon juice salt and pepper to taste Fill a large bowl with ice; bring a large pot of salted water to boil and blanch the basil for about 10 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the ice water- remove and pat dry. Add the green beans to the water and boil for about 4-6 minutes, depending upon how thick your green beans are. Transfer to the ice water to cool- remove and pat dry. Add the potatoes to the water and boil until tender (the recipe says 10-12 minutes but mine took about 20 plus minutes); drain and let cool completely. Meanwhile, in a food pr...

Does anyone remember those little Martha Stewart magazines called 'Everyday Food'? I loved those mini-mags! That is the origin of these most awesome delights- sort of a brownie in cookie form. And the best part is you only have to use one pan! I love that! As always... slightly adapted from the original. 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder 8 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate (Aldi and Trader Joe's both have great chocolate!) 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 2 eggs 1 cup flour 1 t baking powder 1/2 t salt 1 cup chocolate chunks or chips 1 cup chopped, toasted pecans 1 cup dried cherries maldon sea salt for sprinkling on top Preheat oven to 350º. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter, chocolate and cocoa powder. Whisk in the sugars and then the eggs until smooth. Add the flour, salt and baking powder. Gently fold in the chunks, pecans and cherries. Refrigerate the dough, covered, for 30 minutes. Using a cookie scoop...

At Caputos, our local grocery, they have these wonderful little sandwich size tomato focaccias; if you can't find these, just use some other sort of very flavorful bread (for example, a kalamata olive bread). The homemade aioli makes the sandwich! I am only able to make aioli using a mini food processor- the instructions call for a mortar and pestle so if you know how to do it "old school", more power to you! For the aioli : 2 egg yolks 1 garlic clove 2 T lemon juice 1/4 t salt 1 t Dijon mustard 2/3 cup grapeseed oil 1/2 cup blue cheese or gorgonzola crumbles 1/2 t whole grain mustard 2 T chopped, fresh parsley Put the egg yolks, garlic, lemon juice, salt and dijon mustard in a mini food processor; process until combine. Add grapeseed oil (I do this through the top of the processor- there are two very small holes) very, very slowly- process until emulsified. Transfer the aioli to a bowl and add gorgonzola or blue cheese crumbles, the whole grain mustard an...

This recipe comes from Food & Wine magazine-- beyond delicious! I served it with hummus and pickled veggies and olives from the grocery store olive bar. The magazine recommends rosé (which I didn't have on hand) but I had a Côte du Rhône and it went quite well. I want to try it in the crock pot using boneless, skinless chicken thighs and see how that turns out. You could also use the wildly flavorful marinade for chicken breasts and grill them. 2 lbs skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs 1/3 cup EVOO 6 T lemon juice 5 garlic cloves, minced 1 t kosher salt 1 T sweet paprika 2 t ground cumin 1 t ground coriander 1 t cinnamon 1/2 t crushed red pepper 1/2 t turmeric 1/2 t black pepper 2 red onions, cut into wedges Whisk all ingredients up until the red onions and marinade the chicken and red onion wedges overnight. Preheat oven to 450º and arrange the chicken and the red onions on a rimmed baking sheet- scrape any excess marinade onto the chicken and onions. Don'...

This recipe comes from a friend in my bunco group; April is an amazing cook/baker and I often badger her for recipes. I love these because they are dainty, tender and very very lemony. I picture having these at Downton Abbey with tea... 2 1/4 cup flour 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 t salt 3/4 cup sugar 3 heaping tablespoons lemon zest 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp 1 egg 1 t vanilla extract Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl (or not). Combine sugar and lemon zest; rub with your fingers to work the zest into the sugar until very fragrant. Add the butter and cream until very light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla until smooth and then flour mixture; beat only until combined. Preheat oven to 350º; using a 1 T cookie dough scoop, scoop onto parchment lined rimmed baking sheets (I was able to get 48 cookies if I didn't eat any dough). Press down gently with two fingers to flatten the dough a bit. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool and then spread glaze on top. Gla...