Appetizers

Grilled Mini-Naan Pizzas with Caramelized Onions and Gruyere Cheese

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If you google caramelized onions and gruyere, you come up with boo coo hits.  It’s a great pairing and if you lust after or think at all about French Onion Soup, you know this fact intimately.  Even on my Facebook feed in the last week, a stunning puff pastry tart with those same gorgeous ingredients kept surfacing.  I don’t know Jo-Anna Rooney, but she evidently blogs for Kendall-Jackson wines and came up with said oh-so-French tart. (Check out Jo-Anna’s tasty food when you get a chance.)
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And while I have no truck with puff pastry, I’ve been looking for a new starter made on the grill for my next cooking class…Make it All on the Grill!  Dave–husband and faithful sous–thought a flat bread pizza might be fun or maybe he just wanted pizza. The more I thought about it, the more I knew most of my students would make the dough in the class, but perhaps never again open a jar of yeast. (I’m sure this doesn’t include you!)  I loved the idea of taking Jo-Anna’s idea for a quick version of this quintessential French tart and adapting it to a grilled flatbread pizza of some sort. Continue reading →

Pizza Kebabs for The Big Game

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I looked on the blog for my work pizza kebab “recipe” the other day–thinking it would be great for Super Bowl snacks– and couldn’t find it. I had posted it on Facebook, but hadn’t blogged it. Perhaps because you might not really need a recipe for pizza kebabs. On the other hand, you might never have thought of them either.  I had to search out the photo, get the date, and save it to iPhoto as I hadn’t even kept it. A very sorry management practice!

For part of 2014 and nearly all of 2015, I worked as a Jenn-Air and Dacor chef, demonstrating and teaching cooking techniques at the local high-end appliance store.  It was mostly great fun and one of the things that most interested me was the need to invent quick attractive-to-the-masses recipes.

cropped-cropped-wp_20150429_008.jpgWhile I often teach a cooking class about pizza, I couldn’t figure out how to fit it into the time frame of my weekly demonstration. (And yes, in the class you do get to eat your work.  You also take dough home to try it out in your own kitchen. See below. I teach 1/2-sheet pan pizza-making. No special equipment needed. Feeds a bunch.) Continue reading →

Grilled Cheese Peppers — Sweet or Hot–with Brown Rice and Avocado Salad

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IMG_2864While we were in Santa Fe for the opera a couple of weeks ago, we were kindly invited for dinner with nearby family of old friends. While we love eating anywhere in Santa Fe, it’s usually a restaurant. We not only saw Santa Fe in a whole new light by breaking bread in a home, but made new friends who then next day took us for a picnic and hiking in the Santa Fe National Forest (do it, do it, do it).

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Ina Fridays — Appetizers — Marinated Herbed Feta

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It seems like just yesterday I was emailing blogging friends to join in a new group-blogging venture called Ina Fridays.  Nearly two years ago, we began to come together monthly to cook just one special dish from Barefoot Contessa recipes, and we’ve been here the first Friday of the month ever since.  Some of us have been regulars; some have been in and out or left the team a bit ago.  All of us have adored having a reason to, just once a month, not be the typical all-on-our-own blogger.  (Blogging can have its lonely moments and we food bloggers need friends!)  Today marks the end of my participation in the group, though some bloggers may continue on.  I may pop in once in a while, but am mostly moving on to other blogging, writing, and cooking opportunities.  I’m grateful for the time we’ve spent together, happy to have gotten to know these fine cook-writers — if only online — and am mostly indebted to all of them for everything I’ve learned from all of the posts.    I’ll miss our monthly gatherings and will look forward to seeing what new food pops up on the blogs.  Many thanks, friends.  Cook on and don’t forget to sing a new song!

Want the recipe for the ginger cookies at the top of the blog?  Click here.

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Ina Fridays — Appetizers — Roasted Eggplant Spread

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Ina Garten’s appetizers are, like all of her recipes, lovely and luscious, but while making this I kept remembering how often Ina speaks about simple, store-bought appetizers like

  • olives
  • nuts
  • chips
  • cheese

and so on. The show sometimes drives along with Ina into town to pick up the ready-to-go food and I have to admit I’m always jealous of the shops she has available.   Her point is often that if you have too many nibbles with your apertif or sparkler, you’re full.  Not only that, who wants to spend not only the whole day getting ready for company, but making yet another recipe?  I not only agree with her, I follow those rules for entertaining and make things easy on myself.  I’ll also admit I adore potato chips and champagne. Continue reading →