This Sparkling Wine & Rum Punch Blast combines combines dry, crisp Italian Prosecco (sparkling wine) with white rum and the summery citrus flavors of lemon, lime, and orange for a great tasting, easy to make twist on the traditional New Year’s Eve bottle of champagne. Read more »
December 30th, 2014 
Bar Drinks, Blog, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes 
Comments Off on New Year’s Eve Sparkling Wine & Rum Punch Blast New Year’s Eve Sparkling Wine & Rum Punch Blast
December 22nd, 2014 Bar Drinks, Blog, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes Comments Off on Fresh Mai Tai: Full-On Tropical Holiday Flavor – All in Pictures Fresh Mai Tai: Full-On Tropical Holiday Flavor – All in Pictures
All right, the winter holidays – every one of ‘em – is right here and now, and I sure wish you Happy Holidays!
The other day while I was in downtown Boston, a good friend of mine, Andrea, mentioned that she and her family were going to have a luau Christmas this year. Terrific! It turns out Andrea will be in charge of the drinks and was thinking about making mai tais. Great! “Only, I’m quite sure I know how to make them,” she said. No problem, I told her. I have a recipe – all in pictures – at my site. I drilled up the site on my phone to show her right then and there and realized that what I’d had available wasn’t quite as clear as wanted it to be. Again, no problem. That’s one of the beauties of working digitally.
I got home, reshot and rewrote the recipe, and now have it here good to go.
TV Celebrity Chef Help for Can’t Cook Daughter-in-Laws
Got a call yesterday from Alyson Difranco with The Meredith Vieira Show asking for help finding women, specifically daughter-in-laws who can’t cook, possibly to appear on an upcoming show with Meredith Vieira (pictured above).
Before passing on the casting call details, I checked out Meredith Vieira at her site online and found out that, aside from having fun,…
Turkey (Leftover) Nachos – In Pictures
Turkey nachos are great for a quick lunch or dinner or as a flavorful companion with your favorite drink when you’re watching sports or whatever you want to watch comfortably warm from the cold outside. All you need is your favorite corn (or any) chips, leftover turkey – or any other meat you might’ve had for Thanksgiving, canned beans (optional) and melted cheese topped with your choice or a combination of sliced avocado, chopped tomato, chopped onion, sour cream or plain yogurt and/or salsa. Read more »
November 28th, 2014 Blog, Chicken & Turkey, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner Comments Off on How to Remove and Store Meat From a Turkey – All in Pictures How to Remove and Store Meat From a Turkey – All in Pictures
Now that Thanksgiving’s over – great holiday! – it’s time to think about leftovers that are limited only by your tasteful imagination…after first removing the meat from the turkey body and then storing that meat properly.
Yeah, I know: I used to dislike removing meat from a turkey, but now that I know how to do it about as efficiently as possible, I don’t mind the job at all. Read more »
November 27th, 2014 Blog, Chicken & Turkey, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Thanksgiving Dinner Comments Off on Stress-Free Turkey Roast and Easy Thanksgiving Help – All in Pictures Stress-Free Turkey Roast and Easy Thanksgiving Help – All in Pictures
Happy Thanksgiving!
I love Thanksgiving because all that’s expected is good company and a great tasting meal. At the same time, I sure understand that putting together that fantastically flavorful meal can mean a good deal of stress for those in the kitchen. To help relieve that stress, here’s the easiest, most stress-free way I know to roast a moist and tender turkey, especially one that, like the majority of turkeys available, weighs less than 15 pounds. Read more »
November 18th, 2014 Blog, Grains Comments Off on Kamut: Nutritious Great Tasting Ancient Wheat – Picture Book Cooking Directions Kamut: Nutritious Great Tasting Ancient Wheat – Picture Book Cooking Directions
Ever since learning about flavorful, nutritious, and versatile quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”) a few years ago, I’ve been looking for and experimenting with grains I’d never tried before. Recently, I found Kamut, which is a brandname derived from the ancient Egyptian word for “wheat”. Kamut, also known as khorasan wheat, is native to Afghanistan and Iran but is now grown in the US and Canada. Read more »
October 26th, 2014 Blog, Breakfast, French Toast Comments Off on Microwave Oven Cooked French Toast – All in Pictures Microwave Oven Cooked French Toast – All in Pictures
The only downside to making French toast in the microwave oven is that you can’t get the slightly crisp crust on the surface of the bread the way you can when your cook French toast in the frying pan. But the positives way outnumber that one slight negative. For me, the coolest thing about making French toast in the microwave oven – aside from it’s fantastic flavor – is using the same plate to soak, cook, and eat the French toast from, which greatly cuts down on cleanup afterwards.
October 4th, 2014 Blog, Snacks, Special Recipes, Videos Comments Off on New Short Guacamole and White Bean Recipe Video & Updated Picture Book Recipe New Short Guacamole and White Bean Recipe Video & Updated Picture Book Recipe
Just posted a new short video that shows how to make guacamole with white beans, which both tastes great and provides a beneficial blast of dietary fiber.
Thanks and a Toast to My Dear Ol’ Mom
My 92 year old mom died two weeks ago. Like I mentioned at her celebration of life last Saturday, which really was a celebration of her fiercely independent nature, compassion for others, and gutsy expression of free will right to the very end, Mom was strong and positive role model, mentor, and darn good friend. As I’ve written here before, she was a pioneer both in medicine and as a well-rounded, frontier-loving world traveler.
Mom had some terrific lines she used to lay on us as kids – and even as adults. “Better safe than sorry.” That one usually prodded me to do something other than what was prescribed. “Always bring a sweater.” Mom knitted us some gorgeous sweaters as kids, and if one of them, like the one shown below, was on me when I walked out the door, great. Otherwise, I’d be ok. “Put a nickel in it!” I never knew where that came from or where the nickel was supposed to go, but my brothers and I sure got the intent whenever we “lallygagged” behind her brisk and purposeful forward stride.
But the one line that stands out most now is, “Wake up and die right!” I found that line a bit odd in my younger years, but I sure get it now. It’s all about living life full-on moment to moment and doing whatever you can to make a positive contributing difference wherever you are.
Well, Mom, that’s the deal. I get it, greatly appreciate every moment I got to share with you, and will keep your spirit alive in everything I do!
Lots of love, Mom! Thanks and cheers!
