Scenes from My Pantry
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs (One Skillet Dinner Hero)
This creamy Tuscan chicken thigh recipe was born out of standing in front of the fridge and my pantry, staring blankly, hoping divine dinner inspiration will strike. A few chicken thighs in the freezer, a handful of cherry tomatoes rolling around the produce drawer, and the jar of sun-dried tomatoes I forgot I had in
READ MORE
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
READ MORE
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,
READ MORE
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,
READ MORE
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
READ MORE
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