Have you ever been so obsessed with an idea that you can’t get it out of your head? I’m that nutty person who always thinks she’s on the cusp of “the next best thing”. Two wildly different business ideas have been cooking in my head for a few months but I haven’t done a […]
Pork Chile Verde
May 4, 2018 by 2 Comments
I must have stood in front of the rows of peppers at the market for a good five minutes before mustering the nerve to disturb the nice lady shopping next to me to ask her if the pepper in my hand was of the poblano variety. My Google searches revealing multiple aliases for each type […]
Beef Mechado, Filipino Beef Stew
April 25, 2018 by 3 Comments
“Tè?!” she asked, not hiding the disapproval in her voice. My husband and I were on the island of Lipari, one of the Aeolian islands above Sicily. It was the height of summer, the warm Mediterranean water was just a few steps away. In the middle of the afternoon I ordered hot tea. Even the […]
Gluten Free Lemon-Almond Olive Oil Cake
April 18, 2018 by 3 Comments
On the day that one of my friends was hosting a Sunday brunch I got up at six a.m. hoping that the early start would provide ample time to scour the web for inspiration and ideas for a recipe, bake and be out the door by 10 a.m. It had been a busy five days […]
Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Dip
March 25, 2018 by 5 Comments
When I took my first bite of the bread dipped in the warm, red sauce my first thought was that the portion served in the tiny condiment bowl would nowhere near be enough. The next thought was yay for my husband holding back on the pre-dinner bread so there would be more for me. […]
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (Torta di Nocciole)
March 20, 2018 by 3 Comments
My husband and I stole away to Scottsdale last week. We rendezvoused with our dear friends from Chicago for some much-awaited catch-up time and managed to escape the weeklong downpour here in the Bay Area as a bonus. After what has felt like an exceptionally long winter lighter attire and sandals were a welcome change […]
Gouda-Dill Gougères with Smoked Salmon
March 14, 2018 by 1 Comment
One would think that a teeny tiny patch of daffodils in a sea of towering oaks and showy succulents would be lost in my garden but this is not the case at all. Right about the time I start feeling like winter has overstayed its welcome those daffodils spring up, each year an unbroken promise […]
Filipino Pancit Canton (and How to Velvet Chicken)
March 12, 2018 by 2 Comments
Recalling a lunch room conversation with an office mate nearly twenty five years ago I’m reminded of how desperately ignorant I was about cooking then. I was in my first real job out of college, still living at home enjoying my mother’s cooking. It would be another year or two before I leave the nest […]
