I know most people who read blogs like FOODalogue or create boards on pinterest are really into entertaining and generally on the troll for new tips to make the effort stress-free so I thought I’d tell you about 2 dinner parties I hosted recently.
Last week I hosted a dinner party to celebrate 2 family members’ birthdays. It was joyous, over-the-top loud and a wee bit chaotic. That’s what happens when four generations of family (18 people) get together. Continue Reading
“Choose one of your favorite rich, heavy, fatty animal-protein-based meals and give it a healthy VEGAN spin.” That was the challenge. Continue Reading
The message announcing the new challenge said “take your favorite Junk Food … something you are addicted to, for example chips or fries … and use it in a gourmet dish!”
I panicked and replied “Yikes, I’ll have to find a bad habit in a hurry.” Continue Reading
I’ve been missing the challenge. Oh, sure, I challenge myself with most every meal I prepare, but it’s not the same as being given a category and told to run with it. That’s stoking the fire, revving the engine, jumping off a cliff. That’s exhilarating! Especially when it works. 
I have more than 10 pages of food challenges on this blog. Most notably, Our Family Food Fights and 3-years running of A Culinary Tour Around the World. Then there were also a few Royal Food Jousts, Marx Foods contests and the 3 rounds I lasted in Project Food Blogger … loved the challenge, hated the vote-pandering!
I gave up. Continue Reading
Apparently every Spanish-speaking country has their version of this classic dish. Being half-Spanish, I grew up eating a traditional arroz con pollo from Spain. When I started cooking myself, I took a somewhat Spanish-American approach. That meant I used no-fail Uncle Ben’s rice and strictly adhered to the directions…2-1 liquid, bring to a boil, lower and cover for 20 minutes. Even when I did it in a paellera in the oven, I covered it with foil.
Interestingly, I realized as I wrote this post that the literal translation of this dish is ‘rice with chicken’; yet, it is popularly translated and referred to as ‘chicken and rice’ (and that’s the way I used to make it.) Do you see the distinction?
If one picture is worth a 1000 words, this may be my ‘wordiest’ post ever!
Tuna Tartare on Crispy Rice with Chipotle Mayo
Vacationing in a tropical place like Puerto Rico offers distinct and varied dining opportunities. I’ve written before about eating and mixing it up with the locals on their beautiful beaches or in the mountainous countryside and quaint towns…so I thought it was time to showcase the high-end resort side of dining in Puerto Rico, compliments of Chef Wilo Benet who has not one, but two, restaurants in the Conrad Condado Plaza Resort. I had the pleasure of enjoying tasting menus at each.
There are many things that set this Chef apart. He’s genuinely nice, almost renaissance-like in all his artistic endeavors, and he’s a top-notch chef who presents creative contemporary dishes with native roots. You’ll see what I mean. Continue Reading
First, I’m going to tell you what this dish is not…it is not difficult to make, it’s not time-consuming, it doesn’t require any special expertise or technique and, except for the fish, it’s not expensive.
But, it is multi-layered in bold flavors, it’s colorful on the plate — and 2/3 of it can be repurposed the next day for an equally delicious dish.
I’ve moved more than a half-dozen times in my adult life. Like many people, with each move I lessened the load. This meant as my life became more (or shall we say totally) digitalized, “lessening the load” meant getting rid of cookbooks.
Yes, I loved them but the fact was I no longer looked at them. Didn’t have the time or inclination because truth is I had already begun to develop my own style in the kitchen. And, if I had a question, there’s always my friend Mr. Google. Continue Reading
Floribbean is synonymous with ‘new world cuisine’. It’s fusion fare…melding fresh and local ingredients with flavors of the melting pot that has become South Florida. This includes many Latin and South American countries, Caribbean Islands and a bit of Asia thrown in the mix. Continue Reading
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