Scenes from My Pantry
Spaghetti all’ Amatriciana
During a trip to Chicago my son and his friends discovered Ceres’ Table, a restaurant featuring Italian inspired seasonal plates. This is where he first experienced the dish Spaghetti all’amatriciana a simple pasta dish of tomatoes, garlic, guanciale (pork jowl), olive oil, grated Pecorino Romano, salt and fresh ground black pepper. He was inspired by
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Food + Drink
Keeping It Simple: Cucumber Ricotta Sandwiches
We Americans complicate our food. We are busy and stressed. We stare into our pantries endlessly. We overwhelm ourselves in the kitchen with good intentions, and then throw in the towel, and head to a restaurant or worse, we make our way through a drive thru to pick up a tasteless bag of sodium, fat,
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Food + Drink
Weeknight Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Gumbo is perhaps the dish that most represents Louisiana and its Creole-Cajun heritage. A fine gift to American cooking. An authentic gumbo takes time. A lot of time to prepare. Depending on the cook’s preference a pot of gumbo can include a variety of ingredients from crawfish, sausage (especially andouille), oysters, duck, pork shoulder, poultry,
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Food + Drink
Scenes from my pantry: Italian Bean Ramen
My youngest son departed for the college this year. His exodus left us with an empty nest and ramen noodles. A case of ramen noodles tucked into the trunk of his car now seems like overkill, and we are left with at least half of case of chicken flavored ramen noodles. This may be
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Food + Drink
Weeknight Wonders: Szechuan Green Beans and Tofu Stir Fry
We have embraced our empty nest status and continue to focus on creating a less hurried lifestyle (still a struggle) and rising to the challenges of cooking for two. Until recently, I was not sure what I felt about tofu. Tofu is essentially mashed soybean curd. Does that sound appetizing to me? No, it does
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Food + Drink
Fast Weeknight Wonder: Oregano Lemon Chicken
A fast delicious meal does not get any easier than baked chicken with lemon and oregano. Served up with fresh greens with a light vinaigrette and basmati rice to soak up all the pan juices. Oregano Lemon Chicken Serves 6 Recipe from Taste of Home Ingredients: 6 bone-in chicken thighs 3 tablespoons lemon juice