White Bean Dip with Herbs

This White Bean Dip with Herbs is creamy and a nice change from hummus. Cannellini beans are White Kidney Beans, which are a little meatier than Navy or Great Northern beans, they have a nutty, earthy flavor. You can use any white bean for this recipe. Chickpeas, also known as Garbanzo Beans, which are used in hummus, are a bit grainier in texture. The fresh herbs and garlic shine through. You can serve it with vegetables or pita chips.

By Leslie Blythe

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato & Cheese in the Microwave

My brother David called me and said he couldn't find his recipe for Scrambled Eggs with Tomato & Cheese in the Microwave. To be honest, I had never heard of it but, with one eyebrow raised, I managed to find the recipe he likes. It's from Martha Stewart. Who knew she would ever stoop to so low to use a microwave! Here is the beauty of this, you make it, cook it and eat it all in the same little bowl or cup. I think this would be a great way for all the frazzled parents to make breakfast for their kids in the morning before online school. I realize you might have to replace the tomatoes for some cooked bacon or sausage! 

By Leslie Blythe

Chicken & Stuffing Casserole

I made this Chicken & Stuffing Casserole for my Dad. It's a bit of a jump start on Thanksgiving. You can use chicken or turkey. I used chicken thighs. It's covered in stuffing and baked until it's golden brown and crunchy on top. There are no cans of condensed soup involved in this recipe. You can make it ahead and put it in the oven later in the day. Usually, you would make something like this to use up leftovers, but I threw caution to the wind and made it now. Oh, and I also made him a pumpkin pie. If only i could wear a sweater and go out for a walk through some piles of fallen leaves!  This is the one thing I truly hate about living in Los Angeles in the autumn, I feel like I've been robbed! That will change in February!

By Leslie Blythe

Sausage, Apple, and Squash Sheet-Pan Supper with Fragrant Herb Oil

There is nothing easier than dinner on a sheet-pan. I love cooking with minimal effort. This Sausage, Apple, and Squash Sheet-Pan Supper with Fragrant Herb Oil is a perfect meal this time of year. You can buy butternut squash already cut up to make it even easier and you can use any combination of herbs. Also, you can use sweet Italian sausage or the spicy version. You can probably guess which one I used! I think the spicy sausage and the sweet butternut squash and apple is a winning combination of flavors.

By Leslie Blythe

Baked Ziti

My daughter Grace made this classic Baked Ziti recipe. Unfortunately, I got the photo and recipe, but not the dinner invitation! Her version is vegetarian, but you could add ground beef or sausage if you want. It's kind of a freeform lasagna. It's inexpensive to make, family-friendly and doesn't require all the layering that lasagna does. I can also be made ahead to be ready to pop in the oven later in the day. It looks SO good, maybe she'll bring me some leftovers!

By Leslie Blythe

Tomato, Zucchini, Corn Tart in a Cornmeal Crust

This Tomato, Zucchini, Corn Tart in a Cornmeal Crust is the perfect thing to make if you still have a few tomatoes and zucchini left in your garden. You can actually put any herbs or vegetables you like and make it your own.

By Leslie Blythe

Creamed Corn-Stuffed Peppers with Pickled Jalapeño

This Creamed Corn-Stuffed Peppers with Pickled Jalapeño recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi that was published in The Guardian. The creamy corn polenta stuffing is wonderfully satisfying and works really well in peppers. You can use any type of pepper that you like. Serve it with a mixed green salad for dinner tonight!

By Leslie Blythe

Crêpes Suzette

The other night I told my husband that I wanted something sweet. We didn't have anything, so he said he would make me Crêpes Suzette. I told him that was too much work, but he insisted.

Crêpes Suzette is something you have at a fancy restaurant tableside where it's theatrically flambéed. This recipe is from Jacques Pépin who prepares it mostly in advance when entertaining. He flambés the liquor in front of his dinner guests and pours it over the platter of crêpes while still flaming.

By Leslie Blythe

Melting Sweet Potatoes

These Melting Sweet Potatoes are incredibly soft and on the inside and crispy on the outside. You roast them in a very hot oven using a metal pan, a glass pan will shatter in the oven at a high temperature, and then towards the end of roasting, you add either chicken or vegetable stock. This is the key to making melting potatoes. You can do this with Yukon gold potatoes as well. You first toss the potatoes in a mixture of melted butter with fresh sage and thyme.

By Leslie Blythe

Chicken Saltimbocca

Saltimbocca (alla Romana or Roman-Style) is an Italian dish made of veal lined or wrapped with prosciutto and sage; marinated in wine, oil. This dish is also popular in southern Switzerland. My friend Melanie made this Chicken Saltimbocca, which is the American version that uses chicken instead of veal, spinach instead of sage and is rolled up and cooked in stock or you could use white wine. Saltimbocca in Italian means 'jump in your mouth’.

By Leslie Blythe