Yearly Archives: 2012
Citrus and Cucumber Salad
December 27, 2012 | 
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We are in the throes of citrus season (I’ll throw in persimmon season too) and, depending on where you live, this season is brief. Growing up in Florida we had orange, tangerine, persimmon, and fig trees in our yard. What we didn’t pick from our own trees we were able to find at the roadside […]
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Shrimp Scampi – New Direction
December 26, 2012 | Print
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For years I cooked shrimp scampi from a 1999 Cooks Illustrated recipe. This year however, I was cooking for more than two, so I went searching for a recipe that could be baked. I googled “Baked Shrimp Scampi” and landed on one created by Ina Garten. Her recipe is quite simple but my adaption is […]
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Gnocchi Parisienne
December 22, 2012 | Print
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I was introduced to these light as air dumplings, not in a French restaurant but in one that specializes in the cuisine of the Mediterranean and Middle East. I was hooked on the first bite and had to come home and start researching and testing various recipes to make them. This recipe is an adaption […]
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Chocolate Crinkles
December 16, 2012 | Print
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This is a variation on a recipe I found in a 2008 issue of Bon Appétit. They are made without flour or butter, so folks who are sensitive to gluten might enjoy these. Since there are so few ingredients, use the best chocolate that you can get your hands on. I used a 64% Valrhona, […]
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Lentils and Lamb
December 16, 2012 | Print
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Lentilles du Puy are not your ordinary run-of-the-mill green lentils even by French standards. This particular variety grows in the rich volcanic soil of the Haute-Loire which give them a nutty flavor with a hit of minerality. Recipes for preparing these little gems are numerous both in print as well as in cyberspace. Having read […]
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Spicy Pepita and Dark Chocolate Shortbread
December 9, 2012 | Print
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I had the great pleasure for a couple of years to be a guest contributor for an on-line magazine called Spezzatino . It was produced by a small group of dedicated foodies who wanted to make a difference by giving all the profits from the sale of the magazine to the Healthy Food Bank. Unfortunately, […]
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Granola Bars
December 6, 2012 | Print
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Recently I was lucky to be gifted with a couple of little packages of saffron from a good friend of mine. With such a treasure in hand, I invited some friends for an all-Indian dinner. We gathered at Bret’s Table and prepared the meal cooking from Suvir Saran’s book, Indian Home Cooking while sipping Saffron-Cardamom […]
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Birdhouse on Hennepin, they’ve flown the coop –