Green salads have endless possibilities … Strawberries can be at their very best this time of year – juicy and sweet, with a luxurious texture. This romaine-based mix showcases the berries with Romaine lettuce, Feta cheese and salted nuts such as pistachios or almonds. The dressing is a simple vinaigrette spiked with honey and shallots. Fresh tarragon comes to the…
Strawberry Salad Finds Bliss with Pistachios and Feta
Cooking, Melissa's, Produce, Recipes, Uncategorized, Videos
Roasted Bok Choy – Potato-Chip-Crisp Leaves with Tender Bases – Top with Ginger Sauce
Cooking, Melissa's, Produce, Recipes, UncategorizedHigh-heating roasting caramelizes bok choy, lending it an alluring sweet edge. It starts out with a gentle mustard-like flavor, but roasting tames much of that sharpness. The process creates texture contrast, transforming the tender leaves to a potato-chip crunchiness, the broad base to a moist succulence. It’s the best way to cook it. While the bok choy is in the…
Kimchi Rice – Deliciously Addictive – Top With Fried Egg and Call It Dinner
Cooking, Melissa's, Produce, RecipesTeaming starchy white rice with the high-impact flavors of kimchi results in a dish that is temptingly delicious. On its own, kimchi can be cheekily sour, spicy, and pungent. It’s a concoction of salted and fermented vegetables that is a staple in Korean cuisine. Used in a stir-fry of sorts along with day-old cooked grains of rice, tames the flames…
For a meatless Monday meal, I often turn coarsely chopped greens (such as spinach, collard, chard or kale) into a delectable dish. How? I cook greens in just enough broth to make them tender-crisp, then toss in some cooked farro. The semi-pearled farro makes the concoction nutty and delectably chewy. It adds a subtle sweetness, turning a boring dish into…
It is hard to imagine, but I’m pretty sure that there must be a few diners who eat at Fable and Spirit restaurant in Newport Beach that don’t include the Irish Guinness Brown Bread in their order. Too bad. To my palate, it is a must-have winner. I suspect that the Michelin inspectors enjoyed a slice or two before recently…
Whimsical Vampire Faces Float in Brownies – They Are Peanut Butter Cups!
Cooking, Holidays, Recipes, UncategorizedThese delicious brownies are designed to be delicious as well as fun to prepare. Peanut butter cups are set into the rich chocolate batter and serve, after baking, as rounded vampire faces. Whimsical Vampire Peanut Butter Cup Brownies Yield: 24 to 30Nonstick cooking spray and aluminum foil2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into several pieces if cold (or use…
This ever-so-slightly ghoulish sweet is designed to prepare with the kids. The pumpkin cake goes together very quickly, requiring only 3 ingredients. While it cools, make the cream cheese frosting, a topping that is so delicious you could spread it on an old boot, and it would probably be kinda’ delicious! Put on aprons and turn on some daunting classical…
Delicious Whimsy – Halloween Chocolate Ganache Ghost Tartlets
Cooking, Holidays, Recipes, UncategorizedQuirky Halloween ghosts tickle me, especially if they are piped out with Seven-Minute Frosting and adorned with googly eyes. But when it comes to Halloween history, in early days, folks weren’t focusing on goblins made with marshmallow-like frosting. No, those ghosts where taken more seriously and were the focus of a Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival in which revelers lit…