Jalapeño Parmesan-Crusted Grilled Cheese

This Jalapeño Parmesan-Crusted Grilled Cheese has ooey-gooey cheddar cheese on the inside and crispy Parmesan cheese and sliced Jalapeños on the outside. It is a phenomenal combination, as long as you like spicy!

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Curried Chicken Waldorf Salad

This Curried Chicken Waldorf Salad is an update on the classic salad. The dressing combines mayonnaise, curry powder, turmeric and a bit of mango chutney, which adds the perfect amount of sweetness to compliment the tart Granny Smith apples. I love the crunchiness of this salad.

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Pesto Salmon Puff Pastry

I found this recipe for Pesto Salmon Puff Pastry and loved the idea. It's a recipe from Frank Tiu, Tasty Team. It's actually a video, which shows how to make it. In full disclosure, my husband Eric made it while I watched. He's more adept at dough... It's actually fairly simple using store-bought pesto and some frozen puff pastry. 

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Vesper Martini

Shaken, not Stirred…..

That phrase instantly brings to mind that most iconic of Martini drinkers, Ian Fleming’s Bond-- James Bond, that is. What do we know about this fictional character beyond the fact that he was a hard-drinking, chain-smoking womanizer?  He was well dressed, a bit of a foodie and not afraid of bucking convention. Nowhere is this more evident than in his choice of drinks. While he is famous for ordering Martinis and dictating that they be “shaken, not stirred,” he does not stop there. Fleming provided his readers with the actual recipe for their hero’s favorite cocktail and it certainly bucks the conventional notion of a Martini.

In the 1952 novel Casino Royale, Bond orders a special Martini, to be named after that book’s lead female character, Vesper Lynd:

"A dry martini," Bond said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."

"Oui, monsieur."

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"

"Certainly, monsieur." The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

"Gosh, that's certainly a drink," said Leiter.

Bond laughed. "When I'm...er...concentrating," he explained, "I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I can think of a good name."

What strikes me the most about this drink—in addition to the unusual mixture of gin and vodka—is the use of Lillet instead of vermouth. Now, I am not much of a Martini drinker these days, but I have always loved Lillet, that wonderful French aperitif that is usually served over ice with a twist of orange.  Lillet is a fortified wine made with Bordeaux wine and citrus liqueur and comes in red and white versions. Made since the 1880s, this originally contained quinine—hence the name Kina Lillet, but was reformulated in the 1980s without the bitterness of quinine. What you can buy today is a wonderful light citrus aperitif that should be stored in the refrigerator and served very cold.

Vesper, of course, means the evening star—or the religious services held during the sixth of the seven canonical hours, in the late afternoon or evening. The perfect time to enjoy a Martini…..  So, strap on your Walther PPK, don your dinner jacket and treat yourself to a Vesper—me, I’ll stick to a Lillet on the rocks.

By the way, while Bond claims only to have one drink before dinner, I call any drink with four and a half shots of booze a double at the very least….

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Bacon-Wrapped Grissini

These Bacon-Wrapped Grissini are crispy, sweet and salty. The breadsticks get wrapped in bacon and rolled in a brown sugar chili powder mixture and baked. They are so good that they don't last long!

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Corn & Hearts of Palm Salad with Dill Mayo

This Corn & Hearts of Palm Salad with Dill Mayo is a combination of ingredients I had on hand. I happen to love hearts of palm. The dill mayo uses some dill pickle brine, which made my husband the pickle fanatic very happy. I just checked and I have eight other corn salads on my blog. I guess this should be my theme song - "She's a corn-fed Indiana girl".

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Deviled Eggs with Cornichon Tapenade

My friend Nick made these outstanding Deviled Eggs with Cornichon Tapenade from David Lebovitz's Drinking French. The tapenade, which is a Provençal name for a dish consisting of puréed or finely chopped olives, capers, and anchovies, gives these eggs incredible flavor. If you close your eyes, maybe you could envision yourself on the French riviera! It's worth a try anyway!

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Italian Sausage & White Bean Braise

This Italian Sausage & White Bean Braise is simple and comforting. Braising is a combination-cooking method that uses both wet and dry heats: typically, the food is first sautéed or seared at a high temperature, then finished in a covered pot at a lower temperature while sitting in liquid. This technique imparts deep layers of flavor. Serve it with your favorite bottle of wine and some crusty bread to sop up all that lovely juice.

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Venetian-Style Sweet-and-Sour Ragù

My husband and I spent the day making meat sauces for the freezer. We made this Venetian-Style Sweet-and-Sour Ragù, which I have to say is about the best meat sauce EVER! I made it in the Instant Pot, but have also included the stovetop instructions. You can put it on pasta, but we put it on a sliced ciabatta, fresh mozzarella, golden raisins, and crispy fried sage leaves. You put it under the broiler and OMG!!! The flavor is absolutely incredible.

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Hot Honey

This Hot Honey ticks all the boxes for me - sweet and spicy. There are many ways to use it. One of my favorite ways is to use it on pepperoni pizza, really, it is fantastic. You can drizzle it on roasted vegetables, cheese, fried chicken, mix it in salad dressing, desserts, fruit... I, of course, used the hottest chiles, but you can make it to taste.

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