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* Mini pasta timballos with smoked mozzarella cheese
Buttermilk cheddar biscuits with pork tenderloin, peach jam and caramelized onions
Spicy turkey mini meatballs with yogurt dipping sauce
White peaches macerated in peach liqueur
Fresh berries
Homemade cookies (sugar cookies, pignoli cookies, almond meringue bites)
* Vegetarian
The idea for this soiree came to me at the Summer Solstice Party. While we were sitting in the garden, having drinks and appetizers, someone said, “These appetizers are so good, we could just make a dinner of appetizers”. I thought, what a great idea, a dinner of all appetizers, drinks and of course […]
What guarantees a great party? It’s not the fanciest food, most expensive wines or exotic flowers. Your party is guaranteed to be a success if you are relaxed and having a good time. Your guests take their lead from you. If you are uptight, flustered and nervous, they will feel it and be the same. […]
For this party, we started outside in the garden, in a beautiful but completely casual setting. As the sun went down and we finished our cocktail hour, we moved into the dining room for an elegant sit-down dinner. The table setting reflected the fact that the meal was more formal, with everything plated in the […]
The yellow peaches and white nectarines I found at the market were so delicious, I wanted to use them in a white sangria. I decided on a white sangria with tequila and white wine. Usually, sangria is very sweet with added sugar. This has no added sugar. In fact, I kept it fairly simple, if […]
For my friend Krista, if it doesn’t include chocolate — it’s not dessert! I was playing with chocolate cookie recipes for ice cream sandwiches. I loved these Double Chocolate Cookies. But when frozen with ice-cream, they seemed a bit too hard to bite into. My dentist would not approve! They were so good, I decided […]
Growing up, we rarely ate fish. On the few occasions my mom made fish for dinner, the entire house took on a fishy smell. Not very appetizing. I don’t know what kind of fish she cooked because it was always served with a huge glop of heavy mayonnaisey tartar sauce. I figured that the tartar […]
My friend Dano, who volunteers to play bartender, is now a vegetarian. Over the years, during his pre-vegetarian days, we shared many meals. Dano and I worked our way through racks of lamb, short ribs and homemade tequila-cured gravlax. He hated vegetables and little by little I snuck a few on his plate. Surprise! He liked […]
If you’ve never worked with puff pastry, try these immediately! Don’t be afraid, it’s super easy. No matter how many you make, they will all be gone. This recipe makes use of readymade puff pastry. You will find it in the frozen food department of any supermarket. The most readily available brand which I use […]