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Spices
My husband built me a spice rack in about 2 hours! He is VERY handy to have around! I know I have WAY too many spices, but considering what I do for a living…. Anyway, I had spices in 3 different locations in my kitchen, so I would end up spending a lot of time searching […]
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The Old Fashioned
Fall the Old Fashioned Way 🍂 🍁 Fall is a great time for classic cocktails—summer coolers are a thing of the past, winter warmers are around the corner and autumnal cocktails, like Rusty Nails and Rob Roys, are just right for the season. A great way to transition from tall summery drinks like a Gin […]
Continue ReadingHoney Lime & Sriracha Shrimp
And my tour of the Sriracha Factory! I made an appointment and brought my husband with me. It turns out we were the only 2 people on the tour. After watching some videos in the reception room, we were whisked away on a red tram to tour the facility, which by the way is 650,000 square […]
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The Jermyn Street Irregular Cocktail
There is a classic construct for the perfect cocktail—some citrus for acidity and sourness, a liqueur for sweetness and flavor and a spirit for the body of the drink. This works perfectly for drinks like the Margarita (lime juice, triple sec and tequila) and the Sidecar (lemon juice, Cointreau and brandy). You can ramp […]
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Poutine
Poutine is the ultimate French-Canadian junk food. It originally came from Quebec. Jean-Paul Roy claims to be the inventor of Poutine in 1964; and so does Restaurateur Ferdinand Lachance in 1955 – kind of like the French Dip dilemma. It is a dish consisting of French fries topped with fresh “Cheese curds”, covered with brown […]
Continue ReadingTamales
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Every Christmas eve my mother-in-law served tamales and albondigas soup. She got her tamales from a local source in Los Angeles. This year, my friend asked if I wanted to make tamales with her. Absolutely! We corralled another friend, who actually knows what she’s doing and my daughter. We each brought our own filling. […]
Continue ReadingPumpkin Flavored Everything
It’s a bit of a rant! Pumpkin season is getting earlier each year. And I don’t mean the crop. At major chains, nearly 20% of all pumpkin food items now are introduced in August, when temperatures in many parts of the country still are sweltering. Pumpkin-flavored items went from reaching 6% to 14.5% of U.S. […]
Continue ReadingPeachy Old Fashioned
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]The Old Fashioned cocktail is one of the oldest cocktails around—hence the name—and has had many iterations over the years but basically must have spirits, sugar, bitters and water. The Old Fashioned we know today, that most manly of drinks beloved of Don Draper, uses American whiskey (usually rye) and comes complete with a […]
Continue ReadingTweaking Prepared Meals
How to fool your guests! When my husband and I lived in London, the big thing was to have “posh” dinner parties and disguise Marks & Spencer’s prepared food and make it your own. The key was making sure there was no packaging left in the kitchen for any of the guests to see. Last […]
Continue Reading6 Year Blogiversary
As of today, I have been blogging for 6 years. Given that I have the attention span of a gnat, I am impressed with myself! I have posted 5 days a week, without missing a single day. That’s 1,560 days. This blog is really a daily diary of what I’m doing in the kitchen. I have covered […]
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