A week ago we were invited to our friends’ home for Sunday brunch. When we are together the conversation always seems to come back to food in one way or another. On one occasion my husband and I had shared with them our love of pretzels, especially warm soft pretzels. Growing up in Pennsylvania Dutch…
Tag: appetizer
My First Dinner Party In Our New Home
Moving to a new home especially when it is far from your old home brings with it many firsts. And we recently had some new friends over for our first dinner party here. For me, setting the table for a special dinner is fun. I love to mix and match and see how I can…
Tabbouleh
Tabbouleh is a popular middle eastern salad. It is traditionally made of bulgur wheat ( a whole grain low in fat with a mild nutty flavor), tomatoes, cucumbers, finely chopped parsley, mint, onion, and garlic and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Like hummus, baba ghanouj, pita and other elements of Arab cuisine,…
Bruschetta (First of the Season)
Although the tomatoes are not at their peak as yet, I couldn’t resist serving this bruschetta as our appetizer the other evening to go along with the Tuscan Style Chicken Under a Brick. I have planted a small pot of genovese basil and some purple basil even though I will only have several more weeks…
Hearts of Palm Dip
Sometimes the simplest and fewest ingredients result in the tastiest dishes. Such is the case for this Hearts of Palm Dip which I found in a Food and Wine magazine from a year ago, and made recently. While so many of the dips and spreads that we love are filled with high fat ingredients…think sour cream,…
It’s Starting To Look A Lot Like Hanukkah!
Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, began last night with the lighting of the first of eight candles over the coarse of the next eight days. My husband and I sat down to this holiday dinner after what will be the last of many garage sales we have had over the many years in our…
Creamy Gazpacho Andaluz
Last week with our temperatures soaring into the 100’s I was trying to come up with a light, refreshing menu to serve friends who were coming for dinner. I wanted a menu for the most part which could be prepared ahead, and would require very little, if any, indoor cooking. In looking through several magazines…
Avgolemono (Greek Egg And Lemon Soup)
This classic Greek soup derives its name from the two main ingredients: egg (avgo) and lemon juice (lemoni). My husband and I were first introduced to this soup at a little Greek cafe in our Chicago neighborhood almost 25 years ago. In the years since we have never found a version we liked as much. …
Provencal Vegetable Soup (Soupe Au Pistou)
In looking for a vegetable soup to make to use up some veggies in the fridge I decided on this Provencal Vegetable Soup or Soup Au Pistou. Normally considered a summer soup because of its use of summer produce such as white beans, green beans, tomatoes, summer squash and potatoes, it also makes a great…
Caponata
Colorful food and holiday parties…they seem to go hand in hand. At this time of the year many of us are either giving or going to holiday parties, or doing both. Occasionally the participants of my aerobics dance class get together after class at each others’ homes to snack and socialize. Yesterday I had invited…