Our days in Tuscany in the Chianti area have been marked with a huge meal in the middle of the day at a fabulous restaurant somewhere in one of the many medieval villages that are sprinkled only a few miles apart. When we return back to villa, we have yet another glass of wine, maybe some cheese and bread…after a couple of ... Read More »
Grilled Chicken with Sun Dried Tomatoes Balsamic and Arugula…just had to do that translation for you! I’ve created this recipe while staying in Tuscany~~Ben and I have a small villa, so we did some meager grocery shopping~~you know, just few things for snacks, breakfast and maybe a dinner in. Well, here’s what was created with just a few ingredients, ... Read More »
I spent a lot of time, money and energy on entering recipes into the first category, Doable Dinners, of the 2013 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest…now I’m not whining sour grapes, but I was really surprised that not one of the six I entered made it to the semi-finals…such is the life of a contest junkie who spins wheels hoping to hit ... Read More »
This sweet and savory crispy thin crust ‘pizza’ is refreshing! When you have the tender sweet mandarin oranges burst on your palate as you take a bite, it combines with the saltiness of the broccolini and creaminess of the whipped cream cheese to make you want to not swallow but just keep chewing basking in the flavors. It doesn’t take ... Read More »
You’ll need a fork with this ‘pizza’~~it’s gooey and oooey and fat and sassy and full of yummilicious, and only seven, ingredients! Why not speed up the process of fixing a dinner by using a pre-packaged pizza dough~~I mean you get home from work, your draggin’ and tired, there are hungry mouths opening and chirping like baby birds waiting to ... Read More »
My heart gravitates to certain cookbooks~~those that are ethnic, those that have a rustic peasant allure to them, those that incorporate non-typical ingredients including spices and herbs, those that take me out of my culinary comfort zone, those that expose me to a global table and those that have gorgeous photography of dishes in traditional cultural settings. Two of my ... Read More »
Who doesn’t like free! I got free dandelion greens, nice succulent fresh tender green ones, while walking with my girlfriend alongside the road a couple of days ago. Brought those critters home~~we both had a mess full we carried and passing cars must have thought we were strange looking with all these greens pressed against our chests as we walked~~and, ... Read More »
I ask you, ‘What do Verizon, the cell phone carrier, and a ‘Potato Leek Rosemary Galette’ have in common?’ Ideas for new dishes come from the most unusual places! So I was at the Verizon store looking to buy a new Samsung IV and change my service provider. The place is packed, there’s a waiting line, eight CSRs are consulting ... Read More »
A palate roadtrip to Tunisia. Talk about some outstanding flavors in this dish! The intoxication of the harissa, the saltiness of the olives, the lusciousness of the tomatoes, and the tender roasted flavors of the peppers~~all come together to create a skillet of earthy and rustic magic. Actually you could omit the chicken if you wanted to make it vegetarian, ... Read More »
I usually buy spiral hams for Easter. This year I decided to break away from this tradition and do a real ham meaning that I’d create my own glaze as well as I’d be able to control the slicing of it~~the thickness, size, shape~~more ‘organic’ and natural. I must say this ham was much more moist and tastier, and I ... Read More »
Ally's Kitchen
