Hearts of Palm & Avocado Salad with Lime & Strawberry

I guess you can tell by now that I love hearts of palm! I love this Hearts of Palm & Avocado Salad with Lime & Strawberry. It's a very simple combination of ingredients that is full of flavor.

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Japanese Potato Salad

Japanese Potato Salad is unique in that it is half mashed and half chunky, which gives it a creamier texture. It has grated carrots, cucumbers, scallions and diced ham. To emulate Kewpie mayonnaise, you add a little bit of sugar. The Yukon Gold potatoes I used where particularly gold in color!

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Chicken Lombardy

This Chicken Lombardy is juice, cheesy and delicious. I think the only difference between Chicken Lombardy and Chicken Marsala is that this dish has cheese. It does call for Marsala wine, though you can use dry sherry.

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The Bellini Cocktail

Nearly 30 years ago we spent our honeymoon in Venice—late fall so there were brilliant blue skies and daily flooding in the Piazza San Marco which meant that our first purchase as a married couple was matching Wellington boots.  We made it our business to visit every bacari we could find—those small tucked away tapas bars unique to Venice—but we also made Harry’s Bar a regular stop. We had the good sense to buy these Bellini glasses from Harry’s to bring home—our second purchase as a married couple.  Harry’s has a long list of house cocktails, including the Doge’s Cup (which is like an Italian Pimm’s Cup but made with red wine) but the real star of the show in the Bellini which is simply Prosecco and white peach purée. You can use yellow peaches or even frozen peaches but white peaches are what you get in a Harry’s Bar Bellini. You can add a drop or two of peach liqueur (we like Rinquinquin) but really it is the simplicity of the two ingredients and the seasonality of the fresh peaches that makes this drink so unique. If you order one Bellini at Harry's Bar in Venice, it will set you back about $25.

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Orzo with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

I made this Orzo with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe and opened a jar of hot Peppadew peppers that were way past the sell-by date, so I used pepperoncini instead. The peppers add a little heat to this dish, though you can leave them out if you prefer.

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Caramelized Onion Jam

My daughter Zoe sent us a jar of onion jam from the east coast and it turns out it's not readily available on the west coast. We liked it so much, that I decided to make it myself. Here is my version of Caramelized Onion Jam. It's really good on grilled cheese, quesadillas, or just cheese.

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Ramen Noodle Frittata

One of my favorite lunches is Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles, which is a recipe my husband invented. Here is another way to use ramen noodles and the first thing you do is throw the flavor dust packet in the trash! Your family will love this Ramen Noodle Frittata. It's very versatile. You can use different vegetables or ground meat in it. The funny thing is that it calls for Oyster sauce and I grabbed hoisin sauce instead, which worked just fine. Then I looked up the difference between the two -

Hoisin sauce is made primarily with soybeans with other ingredients like garlic, sugar and various spices. Oyster sauce does contain the seafood after which it is named. ... Hoisin sauce contains various spices and is sweeter. While oyster sauce contains sugar as well, it is not as sweet as hoisin sauce.

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Lobster Salad with Bibb Lettuce, Apple, and Tarragon Dressing

I wanted to make something "fancy" for dinner. The rich lobster, tart Granny Smith apples and creamy tarragon salad dressing on a bed of butter lettuce definitely added an air of elegance to my table. I will definitely make this again and probably use shrimp, due to my diminishing budget these days!

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Sumac Spice-Crusted Chicken and Green Bean Salad with Spiced Yogurt Dressing

This Sumac Spice-Crusted Chicken and Green Bean Salad with Spiced Yogurt Dressing is a great salad that you can make in the morning. 

Sumac is a red spice is harvested from shrubs in the Middle East and traditionally sun-dried. It is tart, acidic and tastes of lemons. This dark red powdered berry had a nutty texture with a tart, sour lemon with a slightly fermented taste. Sumac can be used as you would lemon and salt for chicken, fish, vegetables or hummus.

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White Bean, Hearts of Palm & Artichoke Salad

This White Bean, Hearts of Palm & Artichoke Salad is something I threw together using some of my pantry items. It turned out to be a great combination of things. Use this dressing recipe and with different kinds of beans, cheeses and nuts from your pantry to make your own version. This lasted a few days in the fridge and was great for lunch.

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