Nothing warms you up on a cold winter’s night like hot apple cider with a kick of whiskey. I first created this recipe after trying McMenamin’s Aval Pota Whiskey, a malt whiskey distilled with freshly-pressed apples from Hood River and a touch of cinnamon, at the Edgefield Distillery in Troutdale, Oregon. If you happen to live in Oregon or Washington you can purchase this whiskey at most McMenamin’s locations. Call in advance to make sure they have it in stock. Otherwise, your favorite rye whiskey will also be delicious. This recipe easily doubles for a large crowd and can be kept warm in a slow cooker for hours, making it an ideal winter party cocktail. Continue reading
Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding
My local coffee shop makes an absolutely fantastic bread pudding. So fantastic in fact, that one day I asked the owner if he’d be willing to share the recipe. After receiving an extremely surly, “no” in reply I decided I could make it better myself. This recipe is the result. To me it tastes like the holidays; like warm cinnamon rolls with a little bit of sweet, tart apple pie freshness. Not only is it the perfect festive dessert, it also makes for a wonderfully indulgent holiday breakfast. I love it because I can make it the day before and just re-heat it when I’m ready to serve, leaving me free to celebrate the season with my guests. Continue reading
Ruby Port Cranberry Sauce
My friend Rachel’s Ruby Port Cranberry Sauce is an absolute favorite of mine! Not only is the perfect traditional accompaniment to turkey, but it makes a fantastic appetizer too. I absolutely love this with a bit of triple cream brie or goat cheese on some crusty French bread or water crackers. And when it comes to leftovers, try adding this to a grilled brie sandwich. Yum! Continue reading
Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar Pecan Streusel
Everything great about pecan pie and sweet potato casserole comes together in this recipe. This is the one Thanksgiving side I’m never “allowed” to skip. Interestingly, it is the former sweet potato-haters in my life who are now the most insistent that I make it every year. Probably because I, like them, can’t stand the sickly-sweet marshmallows on top of a traditional sweet potato casserole. But the nutty streusel in this recipe is just the right balance. It still tastes like dessert sneaking it’s way into the savory course of the meal, but it isn’t going to give you a cavity! Continue reading
Peas & Pancetta
Peas & Pancetta is one of my favorite Thanksgiving sides. Be sure to use petite peas as they are sweeter than full size peas and make a better balance for the salty pancetta. I like to use the pre-diced pancetta from Trader Joe’s. It just makes life easier and around Thanksgiving I’ll take very ounce of easier I can get! Continue reading
Creamy Chicken Verde
Creamy Chicken Verde
This dish is a fusion of two my mother used to make. The first is Chicken & Green Chilies, which was infamous in my house because on one of her first dates with my father, my mother accidentally made it with chilies so HOT they made my poor dad’s eyes water. Lucky for me, to impress the pretty girl, he soldiered through! Continue reading
Tasting at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream
A few months ago a friend of mine was kind enough to share a few pints of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream that had been shipped to her. It was hands down some of the best American-style ice cream I’ve ever had. The flavors were intense and unique, the texture was smooth and creamy, and my favorite, the Brown Butter Almond Brittle, tasted exactly like my mother’s shortbread cookies. So I was incredibly excited to visit one of their scoop shops. Live vicariously through me as I taste pretty much every flavor under the sun in this previously recorded Facebook Live session! Continue reading
Pineapple Panna Cotta
My friend Jon challenged me to create a dessert with no flour, sugar, or artificial sweeteners and a maximum of only a teaspoon of honey per serving! Well Jon, challenge accepted!!! I’ve adored tropical fruit ever since I first tasted pineapple and papaya on a lanai with my parents in Oahu and its natural sweetness was perfect for this challenge.
Raspberry Almond Pancakes
Normally, I’m not a fan of sweet breakfasts. Give me some fresh fruit and cheese or some oatmeal (with salt! not sugar). But for Raspberry Almond Pancakes I’ll make an exception. This recipe combines two of my favorite sweet breakfast foods – fruit pancakes and almond croissants.
Almond croissants take me back to childhood Sunday brunches with my mom at a long-since closed Seattle café, the Surrogate Hostess. And fruit pancakes make me think of another old Seattle restaurant, where I used to get blueberry pancakes as big as my head! In this recipe I’ve replaced the blueberries with raspberries. Their ever so slightly tart flavor is the perfect balance for the sweetness of the almond paste I borrowed from those croissants.
Recipe:
1c Flour Continue reading
Pineapple Basil Rice with Passionfruit Vinegar
This morning I planned to kick off my day with one of my favorite breakfasts, Steel Cut Oatmeal with Orange Supremes and Thyme, however, discovering that every saucepan in the house was in the dishwasher due the previous evenings cooking frenzy put a crimp in that plan. So what to do?
Instead of oatmeal, I cooked up a package of instant brown rice I keep in the house for just such emergencies, tossed in some finely diced fresh pineapple, a few leaves of sliced fresh Basil and my secret weapon, passionfruit vinegar.
Pineapple Basil Rice with Passionfruit Vinegar
You won’t find passionfruit vinegar at most grocery stores, but it’s fairly easy to come by at specialty oil and vinegar stores. Not only did it give the rice that bit of acidity it needed, but it perfumed the whole dish with the scent of the tropics. I find speciality vinegars to be a really handy way to add acidity, flavor and even a hint of sweetness to dishes without adding fat or sugar, so I keep an arsenal on hand. Passionfruit, Elderflower, Strawberry and Lavender are a few of my favorites.
Recipe:
2c Instant brown rice
1c Finely diced pineapple
10 Fresh basil leaves
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp Passionfruit vinegar
Prepare instant brown rice according to package instructions. Combine rice, salt and passionfruit vinegar in a medium-size bowl. Chiffonade basil by stacking 5-10 leaves, depending on size, on top of each other, rolling up like a cigar, and slicing crosswise into 1/8 inch ribbons. Add basil and pineapple to bowl, toss gently and serve.