Fruit soup is a delicate balancing act — you want the sweetness of the fruit but you also want to balance that sweetness with a little acid and piquant heat. I think I accomplished just that for this month’s 5 Star Makeover Challenge: chilled soup. Continue Reading
Welcome to “Le Morel“, a virtual restaurant and the result of the current 5 Star Cooking Club challenge.
[5 Star is a band of about 25 fearless food bloggers who take on monthly culinary challenges prompted by the evil twins, Natasha and Laz <just joking. No vote-pandering is involved with these challenges. We do it for ourselves. We do it for the love of our art. We do it for fun. And, we do it for the pleasure of our readers.]
So, come on in and take a seat while I introduce you to the other cooks in the Le Morel kitchen and entice you with our 3-course morel tasting dinner.
Sometimes when I get an idea, I can’t get it out of my head. I just have to do it. Like immediately! Continue Reading
In the almost 4 years I’ve been blogging, photographing and sharing food with all of you, I’ve written a thing or two about ‘finishing touches’. In fact, one of my early posts from August 2008 was my way of introducing you to the concept and my kitchen mantra: just because it’s cooked (or plated) doesn’t mean it’s ready to be served.
Not very eloquent but you get the point, right? Continue Reading
Thank you to everyone who participated in my search to find something interesting to put in my cup and saucer set. I found it fascinating that the majority of the suggestions were ‘sweet’. I don’t know why that continues to surprise me. The internet is lopsided with recipes for desserts and other sweet endings (or in-betweens).
But, that’s not me. And since I have to eat what I make, I satisfied my palate. Continue Reading
I may be the last person on the planet to know kale and lentils work well together. According to google, that combo has been done…in soups, stews, sautes, pilafs, pastas, curried, etc.
That’s a comeuppance. I thought I was creating something new. Continue Reading
I came home from a trip to Tuscany with a yen for ribollita. It was there on many menus, but I never ordered it (even I could only eat the proverbial ‘so much’)…although I did get a taste when someone at the table ordered it. But that’s just not as satisfying as having a whole bowl (or 2) all to yourself. 
So, once I got home, it didn’t take me long to make some. Heck, I wasn’t even home 2 days – truth be told, I hadn’t even finished unpacking, but I had an irresistible urge to make a pot of ribollita and that takes precedence. Right? Continue Reading
Don’t you just love when you spot something beautiful and different in the market?
That’s how I felt when I saw these purple asparagus from Peru. I had to try them. And what better accompaniment than purple potatoes? Continue Reading
It’s been decades since I’ve eaten pasta e fagioli in the classic interpretation, but the thought recently passed through my consciousness…and remained. Perhaps it was all the Italianissmo of being in Staten Island and the The Bronx last week. Continue Reading
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