Roasted Butternut Squash
The aroma of fresh cut raw butternut squash in season is so bright, refreshing, and inviting. And the color is so autumn! When vegetables are at their peak like this, in my opinion they are best left raw or simply roasted. The simpler the presentation, the better. I will jazz up the leftovers. 🙂 Roasted […]
Beer Braised Brats, Onions, and Apples
A wink and a nod to Oktoberfest, this German dish will stick to your ribs on a cold October night. Bratswurst is very fatty… clearly one reason for its appeal. There are variations on the sausage recipe itself. Any of them will work in this recipe. Highly recommended though – find the best quality you […]
German Red Cabbage and Apples
Even though this dish is delicious anytime, it shines gloriously on a fall/winter dinner table. Cooler temperatures outside beg for fatty dishes with complementary sour sides … or the other way around. Red cabbage and apples are very good friends. Add to the freshness of fall apples with cabbage, some pungent onion, bright vinegar, and […]
Pan Seared Duck Breast with Apricot Sauce
This is one of those fake-out meals. Super simple. Yet fabulous! Indulgent, savory, intense, sweet, salty… it’s got everything. Also, if you choose unprocessed ingredients, this can easily fit into a healthy meal plan… depending on your diet. The secret to delicious duck The technique for pan searing a delicious juicy duck breast is pretty […]
How to Render Duck Fat
Arguably, duck fat is the fat of fats. It is treasured for its dense savory flavor and ability to tolerate high heat. It is used to preserve meats for months, and is considered by some to be a healthier option to other animal fats. This is, in part, because it contains higher levels of unsaturated fats […]
Butternut Squash Stuffed Baby Bells
We are at that crossroad where adorable colorful flavorful baby bell peppers are still plentiful and bright sunshiny butternut squash is coming into season. What better time could there be than now for a fall spiced butternut squash stuffed baby bell pepper? And if you think you might want them later, make extra and freeze […]
Sweet Bell Peppers 101
We are celebrating colorful sweet bell peppers today. The season is coming to a close, soon they will be more expensive. 🙁 Grab them while you can for salads, stir-fries, fajitas, or mixed into rice or pasta. Sweet Bell Peppers come in green, yellow, orange, red, purple, pink, blue, rainbow, aqua, violet, maroon, white, black, and […]
Gumbo Shrimp
Creole and Cajun foods of Louisiana are, to my mind, at the same time dirty (in a good way) and sophisticated, deeply flavored, spicy, and completely unapologetic… just as it should be. My first introduction to these flavors came from a beautiful New Orleans woman, Loraine, and her gracious husband John. This couple mastered a […]
Easy Roasted Okra
I am celebrating okra today – just cuz its there. Fresh in season, piles and piles of it! 🙂 But if you need a better reason for celebrating okra, how about these: Okra is a great source of dietary fiber, Vitamin A, anti-oxidants, folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, iron, calcium, magnesium, and manganese. Okra is […]
Raw Fresh Corn Salsa
When corn is in season, it is so sweet, juicy, and delicious, that I could eat it right from the cob… no cooking, no salt, no butter… just like crunching on a fresh crisp apple. In this raw corn salsa, we are pretty much doing just that. Any fresh corn will do nicely. This organic red […]