Orange Muffins

These Orange Muffins a super simple, but really lovely and easy to make. There is a subtle sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top.

By Leslie Blythe

Tuna Salad with Yogurt, Capers, and Za’atar

My husband loves tuna salad, and I gave him this recipe for Tuna Salad with Yogurt, Capers, and Za'atar to try. He loved it! You can serve it on a bed of lettuce or with pita bread. Za'atar is a spice mixture from the Middle East. You can buy it or make it yourself. I have provided a recipe.

By Leslie Blythe

Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken

I subscribe to a YouTube chef called Sam the Cooking Guy, and saw him make this Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken. It looked so good that I made it. This chicken is spatchcocked, which is butterflied or flattened by removing the backbone. This method is a great way to roast a chicken because it cooks a lot more evenly. He slathers this bird with a paste made of butter, lemon zest, herbs (I used fresh, he used dried), and a dash of soy sauce. The chicken sits on a bed of thickly sliced lemons with a splash of vermouth (you can use white wine) and roasted for about an hour in the oven. Man, this is the juiciest, most delicious chicken ever!

You can find many videos of how to spatchcock a chicken on YouTube.

By Leslie Blythe

Crabbies

Last month we spent the weekend in La Quinta, California and had a lovely time seeing our friends at their home in Palm Desert. Judie made wonderful hors d’oeuvres, which included these Crabbies. She was kind enough to send me the recipe. The recipe has been around for years, though no one seems to know where it originated. It calls for a jar of Kraft Old English Cheese, which is a key ingredient. If you can’t find it at your local market, you can buy it online. The beauty of this recipe is that it makes a large amount that you can keep in your freezer and pull as many out as needed and bake until golden.

I make a similar hors d’oeuvres called Curried Shrimp Croustades.

By Leslie Blythe

Spicy Baby Corn Satay

I've always like canned baby corn, but I mainly use it in stir fries. This Spicy Baby Corn Satay is a new and different idea. This makes a great appetizer. Next time I will try it with a yogurt dipping sauce.

By Leslie Blythe

Indian Spiced Zucchini and Tomatoes

I made Indian-Spiced Salmon and served it with this Indian Spiced Zucchini and Tomatoes. Low in calories and high in flavor, this zucchini and tomatoes dish which uses turmeric, is a powerful antioxidant has anti-inflammatory properties.

By Leslie Blythe

Nonna’s Farfalle alla Frank Sinatra

In the March issue of LA CUCCINA ITALIANA there was a feature of recipes that were inspired by the grandmother's of the staff. This recipe for Farfalle alla Frank Sinatra belongs to the mother-in-law of one of the food stylists. There is no explanation about why Frank Sinatra is involved! Anyway, I was intrigued by the technique of stewing green onions, which is a revelation. I will definitely be doing that again.

By Leslie Blythe

Indian-Spiced Salmon

This Indian-Spiced Salmon roasts in the oven on a bed of onions. The aromatic spice mixture pairs perfectly with the richness of the salmon.

By Leslie Blythe

White Beans and Sausage with Sage

This recipe for White Beans and Sausage with Sage is adapted from The Silver Spoon, which is a cookbook that was first published in 1950 and revised over time, Italy's bestselling culinary "bible", and has been translated into English. The book has over 2,000 recipes and I consider it the "Joy of Cooking" for Italian cooking.

By Leslie Blythe

Crullers

A post from my daughter Zoe -

I work at a quaint bakery in coastal Maine. Some days, my alarm goes off at 3:50am for a 4:30am start and by 7:00am, I have typically fried and glazed three to four hundred crullers before our doors open.  You’d think after being elbow deep in glaze (not really!) that I would grow tired of pairing my cortado with a cruller bite still steaming from the fryer, but alas, I have not... Somewhere between a light-as-feather popover and a glossy glazed donut lives the oft overlooked cruller. Made from choux pastry, a cruller is basically a fried eclair or cream puff (minus the cream, of course). While this recipe is definitely an involved process, I promise you that there is nothing better than a cruller straight from the fryer (not to mention the satisfaction of saying you make your own)! A classic vanilla glaze pairs well with the eggy, airy dough and is an easy crowed pleaser, however I prefer taking it in a churro direction by rolling it in cinnamon sugar. The crunch alone is something to behold—but to each their own.  A word of advice before I sign off, if you are interested in trying this recipe out there are plenty of YouTube tutorials on what to look for when making choux because it relies heavily on feel and intuition. Happy frying!

By Leslie Blythe