Cuisine: Vegetarian

Crispy Baked Parmesan Eggplant

I love eggplant, especially eggplant parmesan. This Crispy Baked Parmesan Eggplant is a healthier version, minus the marinara sauce. If it says "crispy", I'm all for it!

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Broccoli Cheese Soup

This Broccoli Cheese Soup is creamy, cheesy and comforting. It makes a great lunch. I made it in my Instant Pot, but have also included the stovetop instructions. The recipe is vegetarian, though you can use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock.

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Curried Cauliflower Gratin

I got this recipe years ago from my cousins, Tony and Lisette. This Curried Cauliflower Gratin is simple to make. It's cheesy, has a hint of curry powder, and bakes until it's golden brown and bubbly.

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Cauliflower, Pomegranate, and Pistachio Salad

This Cauliflower, Pomegranate, and Pistachio Salad is so easy to make. It's from Yotam Ottolenghi Simple. You roast grated and cut up florets of cauliflower and toss it with lemon juice, pomegranate seeds, and pistachios.

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New Potatoes with Caper Butter

Simply boiled new potatoes are tossed in a butter sauce of capers, green onions, Parmesan, parsley and white wine vinegar and make a great side dish for meat, chicken or fish. It adds a tangy flavor to your basic potato.

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Baked Tomatoes with Mozzarella, Parmesan and Basil

These Baked Tomatoes with Mozzarella, Parmesan and Basil are basically Caprese tomatoes. They are simple and easy to prepare and then are ready in 10 minutes.

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Country Garden Potatoes

This recipe for Country Garden Potatoes is from one of my favorite cookbooks called, Beyond Parsley: Beautiful Food Presented by the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri. Diced red and green bell peppers, add a colorful crunch to the dish.

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Vegetable Chili

This is one of my all-time favorite chili recipes, which happens to be vegetarian. It's the perfect thing to make for a crowd with a regular chili con carne. It will please your vegetarian guests and the carnivores as well. It's delicious!

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Passata Sauce from Pizzeria Mozza

Years ago, I took the last pizza class at Pizzeria Mozza with my good friend Chris, who happens to be one of my mentors. I want to tell you about the sauce. This sauce is so easy, it seems like you’ve forgotten something. There is no garlic, no herbs in this sauce!

For their pizzas – also called Passato. The sauce is not complex, instead showcasing the ingredients.

KEY 
The variety of tomato. Best: San Marzano. You want tomatoes that have more meat—lots of flesh – less water, fewer seeds, and sweeter. “DOP” designation is important. Homegrown tomatoes are often very watery making them less desirable since so much water would have to be cooked off.

TIPS 
Pan you use to cook sauce should be twice the size as amount of product you’re adding. A heavy pan—the heavier the better – should be used because it prevents sticking. Enameled cast iron (like Le Creuset) is perfect. Simmer the sauce gently until you get the taste you want. Taste often. It should not take that long to produce the sauce as it is simple with few ingredients.  Do not cook it to a paste.

Cool down the sauce before putting in on pizza dough.  It's a 2-ounce ladle of sauce per pizza. No more. You can also use this sauce for pasta as well.

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Clearman’s Cheese Spread

Whenever my late mother-in-law made spaghetti, she always made Clearman's cheese bread. My family can't have spaghetti without it. They sell it locally only or online. Many of our family members have moved away, so I decided to search for a recipe. My friend Pat made the first batch and they gave it their seal of approval. It's basically a whipped cheese butter made with Cheddar, Romano, dry mustard, celery salt, garlic salt, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, paprika, butter that you put on sourdough bread and broil.  Oh, and by the way, it costs about a third less to make of what they sell it for. 

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