I made Ina Garten’s Smoked Salmon Pizza as a starter to a fun ladies lunch several months ago. As usual I made the dough the night before and assembled a few of them for a taste test. What I discovered was that serving them the same day as you make and bake the dough is […]
These chocolate crinkle cookies are a childhood favorite of my husband’s. His mother was an excellent baker. Somehow I lost her original recipe, but found loads of them as I searched the internet. Nearly all of the recipes were identical. Go with a classic like this and you don’t need to modify too much. I […]
Apple Pie Bars With every attempt at a new recipe for baked goods I find my confidence building. These scrumptious Apple Pie Bars turned out just like the ones featured in Ina Garten’s Cooking for Jeffrey book. How can you go wrong with a crust that calls for one pound of butter?! The only modification […]
Cooking for Alan Dinner #4 continued… Menu French 75 Champagne Cocktails Spicy Sweet Potato Empandas Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir Apple Pecan Feta Spinach Salad Cider Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Plum Chutney Sauteed Shredded Brussels Sprouts Apple Pie Bars with French Vanilla Ice Cream Roasted Plum Chutney Ina recommends serving the pork […]
At last count I believe I’ve prepared around 20 recipes from Ina Garten’s book, Cooking for Jeffrey. I’m glad I’ve taken on this project of attempting to cook through all of the recipes in her latest cookbook. Doing so has motivated me to cook things that aren’t a part of my everyday repertoire. I’m using […]
Growing up in the 60s and 70s I ate plenty of canned soup. Chicken noodle soup was a staple in my childhood home. It was quick, convenient and affordable. Back in the day the majority of my friends and I carried our lunch to school, often in a metal lunch box. There was nothing like […]
My sweetheart and I prefer staying home for Valentine’s Day. We avoid the hassle of big crowds, waiting for a table and also save money by preparing a special meal at home. In planning this year’s menu I vacillated back and forth between Cajun and French. Since it’s Mardi Gras this week I came up […]
On a recent work trip to the Windy City I arrived on the final day of restaurant week. I happen to be fond of French food, but find myself living in a small city without such a place. Whenever I travel to a city so full of outstanding restaurant options, I always choose places that […]
Whenever I’m about to head out-of-town on a trip, I try to clear out the refrigerator of all fresh produce. Nobody likes to come back home to a fridge full of slimy vegetables. Since I always have eggs and cheese on hand I decided to whip up a frittata. This tasty egg dish is a […]
Just like Ina Garten, I’m a huge fan of lemons. It’s also safe to say that I am a huge fan of cheese. All kinds of cheese. Ina’s Limoncello Ricotta Cheesecake is the perfect blend of the two. I chose this dessert to end our Cooking for Alan dinner because it’s light, bright and kept […]
I’m not sure why I’ve avoided cooking brisket over the years, but I have. My husband does a nice smoked brisket. So we’ve never tried making it any other way. However, since my goal is to prepare all of Ina’s recipes from Cooking for Jeffrey it was time to give it a go. The recipe […]
As regular readers know, one of my food blog projects is to attempt to cook every recipe in Ina Garten’s latest cookbook, Cooking for Jeffrey. Like Ina, for the past 32 years I have shared my life with an amazingly supportive husband. I would never have been able to realize so many personal and professional […]