Topic Dinner Party Ideas
Clam Pizza with Smoked Tomato Sauce
This is one of my all-time favorite pizzas. It makes a gorgeous appetizer for an outdoor dinner party, both in flavor and presentation. Smoky tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella give
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Chanterelle Mushroom and Corn Pizza
Summer and autumn rain brings an abundance of chanterelle mushrooms — the forest floor is littered with them. It’s just another lovely thing about living in the Pacific Northwest.
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Premium Manhattan
A perfect Manhattan has both sweet and dry vermouths. Choosing your favorite “top shelf” bourbon, makes it premium. Try it with foods that have a little bitterness and/or smoky
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Galette Bretonne
A galette is not a crêpe. Crêpes are filled with sweet ingredients and made with white wheat flour; while galettes are made with buckwheat flour and have savory fillings.
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The Search for Pleasure in a Hunk of Raclette
Life is short. A cliché, I know, but a significant one. I’ve been a tad obsessed with the whole life/short/time thing for a while now; enough to where it
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Gnoccho Fritto con Affetati
My mother taught me at a very young age how to eat and still maintain the integrity of one’s lipstick. So, when Signor Morandi served me my first plate of
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Buttermilk Biscuits with Kentucky Ham, Molasses Butter & Creole Chile Jam
“Grazing is a state of being in the South. In fact, many of our community cookbooks from the twentieth century are front-heavy, with so many more hors d’oeuvre and finger-food
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Spicy Shrimp & Dirty Grits with Chateau Ste. Michelle 2007 Eroica Riesling
After hours of shrimp ‘n grits research and recipe testing, I decided, “I likes ‘em like my men – spicy, smoky and dirty.” There’s a zillion variations of this Low-Country
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Southern Boiled Peanuts
Fresh peanuts seem to occupy a space between snack food and a habit, like chewing tobacco. As any diehard boiled peanut fan can attest, the salty, wet little beans
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Southern Cuisine: A Culinary Obsession
…In the South the history of the region is all pervasive and embraces the cuisine. Southern food is not just food cooked south of the Mason-Dixon line. It is
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Slow Weekend: Antinori, Fries and Coltrane
Not much beats a slow weekend in the kitchen. Pots simmering, chocolate things baking, crispy things frying, corks popping, spices wafting. By yourself or with someone you love, slow
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Boudoir Picnic: It’s not just for Valentine’s Day
Ooooh, Valentine’s Day – sexy food, sexy wine, sexy talk, and the good lord willing, a little fun. Or a good movie. Now, if you want to go out, fight traffic,
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I Almost Forgot How Much I Like Girls
It’s easy to get caught up with the day-to-day, and put aside those situations whichmake the day-to-day actually worth living. Case in point, I was invited to dinner with
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Stripper Affogato di Gelato
An affogato di gelato, or “gelato drowned by espresso”, is a simple, entertaining finish to a meal. Ah, but an affogato presented in a stripper shot glass procured from the
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Braised Rosemary Chicken with Green Olives, Raisins and Capers
Braising is insanely easy and tastes even better the second day, which makes it an ideal dinner party dish. A good braise depends on a flavorful braising liquid and
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Convivial Dinner Party: Winter Supper for Close-knit Friends
Warm up an otherwise cold January evening by gathering a few close friends for supper. Stoke up the fireplace, turn on Paolo Conte, light a zillion candles, and feast
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Potato Latkes
I was enamored with Jewish traditions in my early twenties. Admittedly, the fascination was mostly food oriented, luring me into every Jewish cookbook I could find. But, since mine
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Hand-dipped Corn Dogs
Oh, for Pete’s sake, don’t give me that look — everyone loves a good corn dog. That said, tasters are usually divided up between two main camps: the Ketchupers and the Mustardites. (If
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Mini Popovers
These mini popovers are a fantastic appetizer idea. They can be baked ahead of time without fear of deflation, and can be topped with anything, making for a festive appetizer. This recipe
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Grandma Audrey’s Apple Cake
It’s a lovely day to bake an apple cake. It’s snowing. Don’t want to go anywhere. Might as well fill the home with the fragrance of apples and cinnamon – it’ll
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Ratatouille: Quintessential Summer Dish
Ratatouille is never as good as it is right now. It’s the epitomical late-summer dish. Each ingredient is at its peak – eggplant, peppers, basil, tomatoes, summer squash. I became addicted
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Wine Pairing: Luxe Sparkling with Cod Tempura
Squeeze every drop of enjoyment out of the last few summery days with a little something grilled, a little something fried and a little something bubbly. Cod tempura with
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Crab-Prawn Potstickers and Ginger Martinis
Mixologists are the new hotties of the food world; and when they and restaurant chefs work symbiotically, we are all rewarded with fabulous, mind-blowing cocktail pairings. Mixing cocktails is actually quite
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Late-Summer Dinner Party Menu
Taking a few days off after “the summer from hell” will make a girl giddy. Giddy enough to quickly arrange an intimate gathering, swing by the local farm for ingredients, and grab a
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Bennie and the Cru Cellar Treasures Wine Club
Have you ever been invited to an exclusive wine club dinner party featuring delectable food, rousing repartee with prestigious foodies, and rare bottles from their private collections? Cru Cellar Treasures,
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Chateau Ste. Michelle Ethos Chardonnay & Risotto alla Milanese
I confess. Until recently, I’d always dismissed Risotto Milanese as just a side dish — something buttery other than mashed potatoes; something to hold up a lamb shank. While leafing through the tasty pages
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Risotto alla Milanese
A few weeks ago, while thumbing through the butter issue of Saveur, a photo of Risotto alla Milanese jumped off the page. Traditionally from Italy’s northern, buttery half, Risotto alla Milanese is
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Ossobuco (Osso Buco) in Bianco alla Milanese with Gremolata
Braised dishes are my all-time favorite bunker-down, snuggle-up fare. Even with April coming next week, it’s still raining (nix that … it’s now snowing), a touch chilly, and gray outside, so I’m
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Seared Lamb Loin with Roasted Asparagus & Sunchokes
The sunshine-deprived masses have perked up all over the city, the trees are suddenly bursting with blossoms, the air smells warm and grassy, and I continue to find crumpled up, pastel
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Roasted Poussin, Wild Rice with Almonds, Strawberries & Spinach
You were forewarned. My last post revealed the Kid joking about having all the baby animals associated with Easter for our holiday meal. Since I don’t get a lot of face-time with Colt
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Andrew’s Party @La Medusa Sicilian Restaurant
Darren, Karra, Andrew & Kimberly My friend Andrew is classically debonaire – he reminds me of a 1940s movie star, especially when he calls me “doll.” In a nutshell, Andrew values quality over
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Wine Pairing: Columbia Crest H3 Merlot & Meatball Crostini
Ever had a wine that just wouldn’t give it up, but the next month, its flavors are virtually leaping out of the glass? There are a zillion reasons why, and maybe
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Wine Pairing: Champagne Henriot NV Blanc Souverain & Oysters
There should be a blog devoted entirely to food & wine pairings to woo your lover to bed, or the kitchen floor… the stairs… the backseat… You know, delicious ideas for a mutual exchange
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French Classic: Tarte Tatin
Nothing says simplistic elegance like an Apple Tarte Tatin (tahr-tah-TAN). It may look complicated, but it’s unbelievably simple. Golden delicious apples pan-seared with butter and sugar, topped with a circle of
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Steak Frites with Aioli
I knew it. I knew steak frites would make a comeback. Don’t ask me why – I get fairly good hunches with some food and fashion trends. Last year, I prepared
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New Year’s French Dinner
This year it’s all about France - I’m polishing up my accent, dusting off my passport and booking a flight. My heart has always belonged to France, I think it’s
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Tosco-Americano and Polpettini di Carne
Recipes are narratives that speak of their cooks. If you can’t meet my friends, know them through their food,” – Faith Heller Willinger in her new book, Adventures of an Italian Food Lover. It’s
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Jack-o-Lantern Soup
I think a fittingly ironic end to Halloween is to puree and eat your jack-o-lantern. Pumpkins are delicious, rich in beta-carotene and anti-oxidants, and quite versatile – pumpkin soup, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin ravioli,
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Chicken Mole
Mole is a deep, rich, divinely complex sauce. It’s a Oaxacan holiday/celebration dish, probably because it’s so time-consuming and the ingredient list is lengthy. I mean, I can’t imagine Mole
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Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those
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Cheese Soufflés: They Smell Fear
The only thing that will make a soufflé fall is if it knows you are afraid of it.” — James Beard Contrary to popular scare tactics, soufflés have more room
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Non-Alcoholic Pairings: Fad or Food Future
Really?! Who’d a thunk it? Non-alcoholic beverages specifically paired with dishes at some of the nation’s top restaurants. That seems to be the trend. It all started with Paul Roberts, wine director
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Wine Pairing: Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Noirs & Fig-Olive Toasts
This little snack is brought to you courtesy of global warming. The Pairing: When Seattle hits 90°+ in June without air conditioning, I’d rather fling myself off the deck than cook.
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Florentine Crostini Bar
We thought it might be fun to have a small gathering of foodie friends over this weekend for crostini and Italian wines. Crostini are tasty little crowd-pleasers — specialty ingredients
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A popular legend unfolds the tale of an Italian monk who tended a small garden and vineyard near his hut, producing just enough food and wine for himself. One morning
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The motto of the Slow Food Movement is to share the pleasures of the table through experiences that heighten awareness of artisans and sustainable foods of our region and the world.
Continue Reading→Wine Pairing: Alpine Cheese Soufflé & Pierre Boniface Apremont
The Pairing: My vacation last week was relaxing and virtual – yes, a bedside travel to the tiny village of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse via The Auberge of the Flowering Hearth by Roy Andries de
Continue Reading→Wine Pairing: Wild Mushroom Risotto & Heron French Merlot
The Pairing: Wild mushrooms and French Merlot is a wickedly heady example of earthy food and wine. Earthy is the taste or smell of forest floor, wet leaves, nutty-toasty bread, dust,
Continue Reading→Mouclade: Mussels w/Pineau des Charentes, Cream & Saffron
Mouclaude is a wonderful French dish of baby mussels steamed in Pineau des Charentes and laced with a creamy saffron-curry sauce. The brilliance behind this dish is not only the
Continue Reading→Wine Pairing: Grilled Crostoni & Vernaccia di San Gimignano
The Pairing: Grilling food not only boosts its own taste level, but it’s a great way to spike it toward wine-friendly territory. Vernaccia di San Gimignano is an alluring white wine
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