Naglee Park Garage
I recently met a few friends down in San Jose for a casual brunch on a Saturday morning. We walked from my friend Kim’s house over to one of her neighborhood cafes, Naglee Park Garage. I fell in love...
View ArticleRomano Beans
I can hardly wait each year for romano beans to come into season! Romano beans have light green, broad, smooth, flat pods with small beans inside. They are sometimes referred to as Italian beans. I buy...
View ArticleHow to Roast Peppers
Peppers are in full season right now and they are absolutely delicious! I love all kinds and colors of peppers – mild, hot, red, orange, yellow, purple, green. However, one of my favorites for roasting...
View ArticleRestaurant Le Meurice
My friend Carol and I recently dined at Restaurant Le Meurice in Paris. This three Michelin star gastronomic restaurant is inside Le Meurice Hotel. Both the restaurant and the hotel are beautifully...
View ArticleTea at Hotel de Crillon
My friend Carol and I decided that it would be fun to have proper afternoon tea at Hotel de Crillon in Paris. We arrived about 4pm on a Saturday afternoon and were seated in the beautiful Le Jardin...
View ArticlePluots
The pluots have been exceptionally sweet and flavorful this year. What the heck is a pluot?? A pluot is a relatively new fruit (introduced in 1989) that is a complex hybrid of a plum and an apricot....
View ArticleNopa Restaurant
I just had dinner with a friend of mine at Nopa Restaurant in San Francisco. My first observation about the restaurant was that the host was very friendly and made casual conversation with us while he...
View ArticleLe Grand Colbert
Le Grand Colbert has such history, character and charm – it is a “must do” on one of your trips to Paris. Le Grand Colbert is located in the 2nd arrondissement near the Palais Royal Gardens. The...
View ArticleDouble Chocolate Abbey-style Ale Cake
My husband is a beer connoisseur. He has sampled beer in all seven continents and has his favorites. However, he was thrilled to discover Brother David’s Double Abbey-style Ale from Anderson Valley...
View ArticleKiku from Goats Leap Cheeses
If you really love goat cheese and want to try something that is unique and delicious, choose Kiku from Goats Leap Cheeses (www.goatsleap.com) in St. Helena, California. This round of fresh...
View ArticlePersimmon Scones
Ingredients 2 cup self rising flour 2 T brown sugar 1 stick (4 oz.) cold European-style butter (such as Plugra), cut into 8 pieces 1/2 cup hachiya persimmon pulp 1/4 cup creme fraiche or buttermilk...
View ArticleSweet Potato Hash
Ingredients 2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” pieces 1 T bacon drippings or olive oil 2 medium sweet onions, cut into ½” pieces 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced 1-2 sprigs of marjoram,...
View ArticleRaspberry Crisp with Creme Fraiche
Ingredients 4 cups ripe raspberries, rinsed For the topping: 1/3 cup (approx. 5 Tablespoons) butter, softened 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 3/4 cups brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup...
View ArticleSouthern-Style Cornbread Dressing
I grew up eating cornbread dressing for special occasions, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. This dish, baked in the oven in a casserole-style baking dish, is made with savory homemade cornbread and...
View ArticleSouthern-style Holiday Candy – Divinity
When I was growing up in Georgia, I made a candy called Divinity every year for Chistmas. I would give plates of it away as gifts. Somewhere over the years, I stopped making it. This year, I...
View ArticleNew Year’s Day Good Luck Soup
I grew up in Southeast Georgia, and our tradition for good luck for the New Year was eating Hoppin’ John. To us, Hoppin’ John was a big pot of dried black-eyed peas cooked with hog jowl or ham shank....
View ArticleBoysenberry Cobbler
Baking a cobbler is a perfect way to showcase seasonal fruits. I found sweet, juicy boysenberries at the market this morning and could hardly wait to get home to use them. Although I chose...
View ArticleOld-fashioned Strawberry Shortcakes
I loved this dessert as a child. We made it often in the summertime to feature the wild strawberries that grew near my grandmother’s farm. We used whipped cream for the topping then, but I have...
View ArticleFresh Coconut Buttermilk Meyer Lemon Custard
Fresh coconut is always a treat, but you can use frozen or packaged unsweetened coconut instead. This very simple recipe came about when my husband bought a coconut so that he could drink the coconut...
View ArticleSalted Caramel Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate and Toasted Almonds
Growing up in the South, we had homemade ice cream often in the summertime. Our ice cream had a very simple base of cream, milk and sugar. We did not use eggs in it, and we did not cook it. We...
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