From the category archives:

Comfort Food

Hawaiian SPAM Musubi

Thumbnail image for Hawaiian SPAM Musubi August 9, 2015

I am now in my 70th year and this is the first can of SPAM that I have purchased in my entire life. My Mom never fed it to me as a child growing up in Minnesota in the 1950s, even though I was born in 1945, the year World War 2 ended. It was […]

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Three Bean Salad

Thumbnail image for Three Bean Salad June 17, 2015

I think this is one of the best picnic and BBQ party salads of all time. It is one of those dishes that once you start eating it, you can’t stop, because there is something about that sweet vinegary garlicy flavor that is just addicting. It has soft beans, crunchy beans, celery and onions, plus […]

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Shrimp & Cheesy Grits with Bacon & Tomatoes

Thumbnail image for Shrimp & Cheesy Grits with Bacon & Tomatoes April 29, 2015

It was once again time to go through the pantry and check all the expiration dates, resulting in a number of Bob’s Red Mill grains that I need to use up pretty soon. White rice flour, spelt berries, semolina flour, wheat germ and corn grits. Don’t you just love Bob’s Red Mill products? I decided […]

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Gamjatang ~ Korean Pork Bone & Potato Soup

Thumbnail image for Gamjatang ~ Korean Pork Bone & Potato Soup October 29, 2014

I have really been enjoying cooking and eating Korean food lately. I am totally smitten with the red pepper powder (gochugaru) and red pepper paste (gochujang), and Dak Galbi is one of my most favorite recipes of all time. Recently I decided to make my Dak Galbi even more authentic by adding Perilla leaves; however, […]

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Chipotle Swai Fillet with Rainier Cherry Salsa

Thumbnail image for Chipotle Swai Fillet with Rainier Cherry Salsa July 22, 2014

I grew up in Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes. My father was an avid fisherman, and my brother and I were included in many fishing trips from the time we were old enough. We fished from shore on little lakes, from fishing boats on big lakes, in an ice house in the dead of […]

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Oven Roasted Fries with Garlic Butter & Parmesan

Thumbnail image for Oven Roasted Fries with Garlic Butter & Parmesan June 13, 2014

Now that grilling season is here, I will be seeing quite a number of burger patties coming off the grates. There is nothing like the flavor of beef cooked over an open fire, or in my case, glowing coals, on a toasted bun with all the fixings. And what I love with my burgers are […]

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Lamb Shepherd’s Pie & Parmesan Ricotta Potatoes

Thumbnail image for Lamb Shepherd’s Pie & Parmesan Ricotta Potatoes May 8, 2014

I’m a little late to the St. Patrick’s Day party with my Lamb Shepherd’s Pie, but it was the photos I saw during that celebration that inspired me to make my own version. So now I am suggesting Lamb Shepherd’s Pie for your Mother’s Day brunch. See how neat I worked that in? But really, […]

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Baked Chicken with Sauce Soubise

Thumbnail image for Baked Chicken with Sauce Soubise October 23, 2013

Ok, let’s get this out of the way first. Sauce Soubise (pronounced soo-beez) is a variation of béchamel sauce, one of the five mother sauces of French classical cuisine. Originally soubise was made of béchamel, onion puree and cream. It is named after Charles de Rohan, Prince de Soubise (a town in France), who was […]

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Plum Nectarine Oatmeal Crisp

Thumbnail image for Plum Nectarine Oatmeal Crisp September 15, 2013

I never make dessert for myself. Not only for the calorie component, but I’m just not into sugary stuff that much. As you may recall, I am the buttered popcorn queen. But for the last BBQ of the grilling season over Labor Day, I had to make something yummy for my guests and this was […]

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Huevos Rancheros

Thumbnail image for Huevos Rancheros August 21, 2013

Ok, let’s face it, I’m culturally deprived. Here I am, I’ve lived in Los Angeles since 1972, where there are more Mexican restaurants per capita second only to Mexico itself and I have never eaten Huevos Rancheros. Can you believe it? Everyone I know has eaten it, if not made it themselves and every blogger […]

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Homemade Sesame Seed Hamburger Buns

Thumbnail image for Homemade Sesame Seed Hamburger Buns May 13, 2013

Grilling Season 2013 is here!! Yea!! I was so happy a couple of weeks ago to clean off my grill and get it ready. I had a friend over for dinner and made my BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. Yum. There is nothing that compares to that black char on grilled food. Do we salivate because […]

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Port Wine Pudding Cake

Thumbnail image for Port Wine Pudding Cake January 18, 2013

The recipe for this cake was given to me by my father-in-law, Grandpa Cyril and it is one that I treasure. Cy passed away several years ago just before Thanksgiving and we all think about him during the holidays now. This guy loved to cook and he put on a Thanksgiving feast every year for […]

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A 26 Pound Turkey & 12 Pounds of Turkey Meat

Thumbnail image for A 26 Pound Turkey & 12 Pounds of Turkey Meat December 13, 2012

This year for Thanksgiving 2012, in anticipation of the small number of guests I was expecting, I bought a 12 pound turkey on the Monday before. I put it in the fridge to thaw so it would be ready to roast on Thursday. I stuck it in the back so it was out of the […]

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How I Make My Turkey Gravy

Thumbnail image for How I Make My Turkey Gravy November 19, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hope you have a great Turkey Day, complete with Family, Friends and your favorite Holiday Food. I am going to be making a turkey, turkey gravy, mashed parsnip potatoes, broiled parmesan broccoli, greenbeans with red grapes and persillade, and that standby: canned jellied cranberries. I have already made my Shrimp & […]

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Shrimp & Ham Cornbread Stuffing

Thumbnail image for Shrimp & Ham Cornbread Stuffing November 15, 2012

Ok, so you are immediately scratching your head, wondering what in the heck is going on with these photographs, right? I am in the middle of a nightmare over here. I got a new computer with Windows 7 and I couldn’t get my Photoshop Elements 7 to work correctly with it. Something about 64 bit […]

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