Four for Dinner

After the deluge of last week, I have been in a comfort food mode. We finished last week with a very relaxing dinner with old friends and I made braised lamb shanks (pictures and recipe to follow in my next post). While I was at the market buying the lamb shanks, I picked up a [...]

This is a belated menu for the week. How does time fly by so quickly? Monday: Chicken breasts picatta, risotto with artichokes, green beans Tuesday: Fritatta with potatoes, tomatoes, onion and cheddar; salad Wednesday: Papardelle with bolognese sauce, salad Thursday: Pork tenderloin, rice, broccoli, salad Friday: (guests for dinner) Martini olives in blankets (hors d’oeuvre), [...]

Out here in the great state of California, we have a phenominal selection of ethnic foods. When I cook, I usually stay pretty close to what I ate as a kid, maybe a bit more adventuresome – but I don’t have 4 children. Still, I like to try new cuisines. Sometimes I make a flop [...]

For the second Monday in a row, I made a meal that was, well, not my best. L and S were fine with it (especially the tomatoes), but J just wouldn’t touch it. “Too many herbs,” said she. She was right, but she could have eaten it anyway. It wouldn’t have killed her. The lesson [...]

Luckily, I was in pretty good shape by the end of December so that S & I could host our annual New Year’s Eve dinner. While this year’s menu was not as elaborate as last year’s feast based on luck (hmmm, can’t decide if that one worked or didn’t), longevity and prosperity, we did have [...]

Week 2 of the new year, new decade. Ready for both old and new recipes. Still keeping it easy. Healthy, relatively. Monday: Broiled petrale sole with lemon and butter, Israeli couscous, broccoli, roasted tomatoes Tuesday: Black bean soup (pureed so that it is “broth” for J), European Peasant Bread Wednesday: Carnitas Burritos, salad Thursday: Orrechiette [...]

Last Monday’s dinner – Orange Beef Str Fry – was, in a word, blah. The picture is way better than the taste of the dish. I’d had such hope for a recipe that was dog-eared long ago. L and S were generous and actually ate theirs. J was not so compliant and ate rice, then [...]

Happy 2010! One of my resolutions (among the usuals of eat healthier and lose weight…) is to get back to the blog and record our meals again. It isn’t that I haven’t been cooking. I have. It isn’t that I haven’t been trying new recipes. I have. What is my problem? Inertia. Over the winter [...]

[This is a post that I wrote months ago and never put on the blog. No picture, just a fantastic recipe.] During this health “event”, I have been so lucky to have the support of friends and family. My oldest (not in age) friend in CA, ABM, arranged a schedule for people to come over [...]