Category: Vegetarian
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Traditional Or Not, A Pissaladiere Always Hits The Spot
Over the past 2 months, I have been immersed in a crash course on French cuisine, wines, culture and the overall lay of the land in anticipation of my first business trip to France in April. Many of the menus I have been reviewing include something called a Pissaladière, which is often served for lunch…
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Sweet, Salty and Spicy Platanos Maduros
One year after my family came to the USA, I met my best friend Mireya, who happened to be Cuban. I was 13 and she was 15, and because of the similarities in our backgrounds, we became fast friends. I was quickly accepted into her family and their circle of friends. Her mother was like…
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Red, White And Blue Kettle Corn for Your July Fourth!
Kettle corn is a guilty pleasure that I was introduced to here in the USA. It was brought here by Dutche settlers in Pennsylvania in the 18th century and was a treat sold at fairs and other festive occasions. Traditionally the corn, oil, sugar and salt are cooked together in a cast iron kettle which…
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Vanilla Black Pepper Semifreddo With Pineapple Rum Compote
I love all kinds of fruit and I’m especially partial to fresh pineapple…and not just any pineapple, it has to be the sweet golden variety. On a recent trip to the Asian market in Baltimore, I found some HUGE golden pineapples for sale for $1.99 each, so I just had to pick up a few.…
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Petite Parmesan Gougeres
During the course of my culinary career, I have had the great fortune of studying and working with some of the giants in the food industry. In the 1990’s, there were only a handful of really high end hotels in Baltimore City and the Peabody Court Hotel was one of them. The swanky restaurant on…
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Dessert Sopapillas For Your Cinco de Mayo Celebration
If you visit a Mexican restaurant in North America, then more than likely you are going to find sopapillas (pronounced so-pa-pee-yas) on the dessert menu. Sopapilla means bread soaked in oil, and although we are trying to avoid a greasy result, it is basically a fried, sweet dough that is then paired with a…
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Mexican Apple Pies (Chimichangas) For Cinco De Mayo
Another Cinco de Mayo is almost here and those of us who love food are always looking for new things to make with tortillas. Whether you are partial to the corn variety or like me, prefer the flour version, there are so many delicious things that can be made with both. Since I am always…
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A Great Crispy Fried Onion Ring Snack
When I was living away at College, I used to love those crispy fried onions that came in the can. You know the ones I mean…the same ones that are always suggested as a topping for that popular green bean and canned mushroom soup casserole recipe that we are all familiar with. There was also…
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Delicious Plaintain Chips
I’m sure you’ve seen the bags of plaintain chips at the grocery store like I have, and I don’t know about you but I think that they are quite pricey! Fresh plaintains are so inexpensive and you can make a huge batch for a few dollars and add your own spice combination…so why even bother…
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How To Make Candied Citrus Peel Or Zest
Using orange, lemon or grapefruit zest is a great way to incorporate the essence of that fruit into any food or dessert that you are making. Most of the stores here carry candied versions of neon colored fruit that are usually taken out during the Holidays to be included in batches of homemade fruit cakes…but…
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A Pile of Happy Butterscotch Popcorn
A lazy day on the weekend calls for serious reinforcements, especially when there are a couple of great movies on that are simply begging for your attention. So, what better snack to munch on than good old homemade popcorn? And by that I don’t mean buying those self contained units of Jiffy popcorn or the…