In the fall of 2015, my husband and I took a three-week trip of a lifetime to beautiful Italy. We started our adventure in Rome, then flew south to Sicily and north to the Piedmont region; we then journeyed east to Venice, west to the Tuscany region and concluded our extraordinary voyage in the Umbria [...]
This is the time of year when the prevailing image is a cornucopia overflowing with the bounty of the harvest. In keeping with the concept of abundance and plenitude, stuffed meats, poultry, fruits, and vegetables are ubiquitous. A colorful medley of bell peppers, filled to the brim with brown and wild rice pilaf is the [...]
Velvety smooth, rich and creamy, this cheesecake is divine. Its decadent taste and texture belie the fact that it is relatively easy to make. Cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and sour cream are beaten together and then poured into a cake pan lined with a traditional graham cracker crumb crust. The cake is then baked in [...]
A braised brisket of beef is just what the doctor ordered for a cold and dreary late winter’s eve. This recipe demonstrates a braising technique, which yields a toothsome and tender piece of meat that melts in your mouth. A special cut of brisket is first seared and then slow-simmered in a tomato/wine broth seasoned [...]
Ratatouille is a classic French vegetable stew with origins in the city of Nice located in the Provencal region of southern France. It almost always contains a savory mélange of garlic, onions, eggplant, peppers and zucchini, which are first sautéed in olive oil and then simmered together with tomatoes and an aromatic blend of Provencal [...]
I recently brought this cookie platter to a dinner party. From left to right, the cookies are vanilla chocolate chip biscotti, chocolate macadamia nut biscotti, pumpkin pecan cookies with powdered sugar, checkerboards and chocolate drizzled pumpkin pecan cookies. The cookie platter was a big hit, but hands down, the favorite cookie was the chocolate macadamia [...]
I must confess—I am not a big fan of the roasted whole turkey. At a time when I need as much oven space as possible for the multitude of dishes that I serve on Thanksgiving, the huge whole turkey monopolizes most of my oven space. I also find it impossible to get the whole turkey [...]
Here are two creative, fun and tasty ideas for a July 4th dessert grand finale. Family and friends will want to participate in creating the red, white and blue balloon cups. They will enjoy rocking the blown up balloons in the candy melts and then, after placing the balloons for a brief stint in the [...]
Here’s a real meat and potatoes treat for the holidays. Braised short ribs in barbecue sauce are tender and succulent and full of flavor. For the ultimate comfort food, I like to serve the ribs on a bed of roasted garlic mashed potatoes.
What could be better than making your valentine a delicious bowl of hot soup on a cold winter’s day? Why that would be making your sweetheart two soups in one bowl garnished with a heart crouton. Here are recipes for two heartwarming soups— cauliflower apple soup and a roasted red pepper soup. To get the [...]