You know that feeling you get when you're happily minding your own business and suddenly realize you are the sole focus of everyone in the room and not in a good way? Imagine you're a shy 16-year-old 'Yankee' in the south for the very first time and sitting in a rural Arkansas diner at 6:00 AM.
Margarita Pork Tenderloin
It's one of the leanest cuts of pork you can get, it can be prepared for both casual and upscale dinners and it's pretty economical (translation, it's often on sale), so what's not to love about grilled pork tenderloin? Well, if you're not careful there are plenty of reasons it can go wrong.
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Rosemary Beef and Tomato Kabobs
Skewering the beef and tomatoes on rosemary sprigs is a great way to add a pop of flavor, plus it makes a great looking skewer. If you don’t have rosemary simply thread on wood or metal skewers.
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Chocolate Sauce So Good You'll Eat It With A Spoon!
Imagine eating something so good your eyes roll back in your head and you can't help but sigh. It happens to me every time I make this sauce.
Although it's fantastic served warm over dairy-free ice cream or pound cake, the way I eat most of it is by the spoonful straight from the refrigerator.
Continue reading "Chocolate Sauce So Good You'll Eat It With A Spoon!" »
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Orange Almond Cake
Looking back at the two weeks I just spent in Spain, I remember eating way too many tapas and numerous pounds of Jamón Ibérico, but the one thing I didn't eat a lot of was dessert. Mostly because I was too full to even think about dessert but also most of the offerings were full of cream or butter.
While this cake isn't Spanish it was inspired by two of it's biggest crops; oranges and almonds. I'll admit this isn't your normal, "refined" cake. It has more of a rustic quality about it. The texture is coarse, it's not too sweet and it's slightly bitter from the orange peel, three things I find very appealing.
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Balsamic Braised Chicken Breasts
Leaving the chicken on the bone adds a surprising amount of flavor to your sauce without adding any fat or calories. If you prefer to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts reduce the cooking time to 10 to 15 minutes.
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Sweet Potato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
It's a given, potatoes will explode in a microwave if you don't poke them, right? Have you ever tried it?
A few years ago the US Potato Board came to the magazine I was working for and showed us new techniques for baking, mashing and roasting potatoes in the microwave. I'll be honest, I was surprised the techniques worked as well as they did but the one that stood out for me was the mashed version. They went against "common sense" and didn't poke holes in them before nuking them.
Continue reading "Sweet Potato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup" »
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Chianti Steak Salad
Chianti is the classic Italian table wine we associate with straw-covered bottles. Although good chianti is rarely bottled this way anymore, Chianti remains one of the best drinking and cooking wines you will find. Needless to say, I recommend serving a nice Chianti with this salad.
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Ginger Apricot Chicken Breasts
Prepared in under 30 minutes, this dish is easy to prepare, easy on the budget and very easy on your waistline. It’s also easy to customize to your particular taste. Substitute orange marmalade for the apricot preserves, balsamic or apple cider vinegar for the red wine vinegar, minced garlic for the ginger; let your creativity flow.
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Spicy Chipotle Steaks
If you haven't tried chipotle peppers this is a great dish to get you acquainted with them. Chipotles are smoked jalapeno peppers and are most commonly found canned in a spicy tomato sauce. They can be pretty spicy so start out with half of one first. To help reduce the heat a bit scrape out all the seeds.
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