If you don’t already have your Memorial Day barbecue menu all planned out (even if you do!), I beg you to add this salad to the list. Quite simply, it is just plain delicious….and healthy, too!

Roasting corn brings out all the natural sweetness and gives it that nice smoky flavor that pairs perfectly with avocado and lime for a great Southwestern flair.

Continue reading “Add Grilled Corn Salad to Your Cookout Menu”

With Memorial Day just around the corner and the mercury rising, people all over the country are pulling tarps off their grills and preparing the backyard for a summer barbecue. Sadly, I’m not one of them.

Living in a high-rise apartment, has some advantages (like not having to shovel snow in the winter), but a ban of grills is perhaps the biggest downside. At one point, I contemplated converting a window planter into a makeshift hibachi out of desperation. But after some thought, prudence reigned in my fiery desires.

Continue reading “Relax on Memorial Day with Blueberry Lemonade”

Summer means eggplants…and lots of them! I know we’re still a little early (official eggplant season starts in July), but I’ve spotted a few of these purple beauties at my weekly farmer’s market and just couldn’t resist making my favorite spread with them — baba ghanoush.

Continue reading “Make Baba Ghanoush with Sea Salt at Home”

Spring is in full swing and shopping for produce has become fun again. The aisles of my local grocer are lined with brightly colored fruits and vegetables and every trip holds the promise of finding something completely new and unexplored.

Continue reading “Serve Stuffed Shiitake Mushrooms as Appetizers”

I love seasonal quiches, and this one is perfect for Mother’s Day brunch this weekend!

Unfortunately, I don’t get to spend this Mother’s Day with my mom—that’s what living two thousand miles apart gets you! I’ve been having fun imagining what I would serve for brunch if we were closer though, and this quiche is definitely on the list.

Continue reading “Treat Your Mom with Asparagus Quiche for Brunch”

It was getting late, I was starving, and I had some beef in the fridge that didn’t looked a bit too tough to make a great steak. Meat tenderizer in hand, I started pounding out the steaks thinking I’d be having chicken fried steak, for dinner. Sadly a block of sausage I’d been saving in the freezer for just such an occasion had disappeared and I was left without the fixins for country gravy.

Continue reading “Blend Southern Flavors with Chicken Fried Steak”

Cinco de Mayo is this weekend and I have just the recipe for you to make to celebrate!

These mouthwatering shrimp tacos topped with poblano pepper and corn salsa are my very favorite use of the barbecue. Both the shrimp and the poblano corn salsa are grilled—perfect for outdoor Cinco de Mayo entertaining!

Continue reading “Grill Up Shrimp Tacos for Cinco de Mayo”

Growing up in my home, French toast involved cheap whole-wheat bread thinly coated in egg and cinnamon, which was fried until the egg formed a tough plastic skin around dry, flavorless bread. To say I didn’t like it would be an understatement.

Continue reading “Use Creme Brûlée Techniques on Your French Toast”