It’s crab season here in Northern California and that means beautiful, rich Dungeness Crab! Crab cakes have to be one of my favorite dishes, but when you can eat them without also consuming the guilt of having them fried, it makes them all the better! The inspiration for this dish comes from Ferry Plaza Seafood … Continue reading
This is a really easy pizza dough to make that bakes into a nice crisp crust with bubbly softness in the edges. If you like to have pizza dough on hand, simply portion out the dough, roll into balls, wrap in plastic wrap or Ziploc bag and refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to use … Continue reading
Killer Fried Chicken I’m a big fan of good fried chicken and, for some time now, I’ve been researching fried chicken recipes. I love KFC’s “11 herbs and spices” flavor but like my coating somewhere between “original recipe” and “extra crispy”. I also needed a recipe that could do well prepared ahead of time for … Continue reading
A few years back I tasted the best ribs I’d ever eaten. They had the perfect blend of salt, heat and sweet and they fell right off the bone! These tasty morsels were made by our friend and one of the owners of Local Happenings Magazine, Robert Briseno. And so, as we kick off grillin’ … Continue reading
Serves: 4 Time: 30-40 minutes This is a tasty change up from your basic Spaghetti night. A splatter screen is highly recommended! Ingredients: 1/2 lb bacon, diced 1 medium onion, diced 1 carrot, finely diced 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or finely grated 2 Tbs double concentrated tomato paste 1 Tbs flour 1 cup tomato … Continue reading
Our friend Vinny came over again last week to share with me another of his mother’s heartwarming, satisfying dishes – pasta e fagioli, or, as Vinny calls it,” pasta fazool”. Any way you say it, this dish has it all – warm, hearty, healthy and delicious and it was really inexpensive to make. As Vinny … Continue reading
Happy New Year! Last week, our long time friend, Vinny (aka “Papa”), who is 100% Italian (half Sicilian on his dad’s side and half Neapolitan on his mom’s side) and born and bred in New York City, came over to show me how to make his mother’s most awesome meatballs. What a great day! Not … Continue reading
A recipe title inspired by “Lunch-lady Land”, an Adam Sandler song/comedy from back when I was a teenager. Homemade sloppy joes are easy, budget friendly – and kids love them! Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef (try pork or turkey too) browned & drained 1 medium onion, finely diced 1-2 tbs butter 1 16 oz can … Continue reading
This salad is one of my favorites. It has it all-delicious, comforting, satisfying, hearty, salty, sweet, a little tart, and a pile of color too! It is inspired by a salad I used to order at the Royal Exchange in San Francisco’s Financial District. A recent search doesn’t reveal it on the menu any longer … Continue reading
Crab and Shrimp Gumbo When the weather outside is frightful….have some nice hot gumbo! Gumbo has been a family favorite for generations. I asked mom when she first remembered having gumbo. Mom said she first remembered having gumbo at our Granny’s coffee shop in Ocean Springs, Mississippi in 1965 (she was 18 at the time). … Continue reading
Cook Plant Meditate 