Tag Archives: Chefs

International Chicken Salads

I love the Cheesecake Factory’s Luau Salad (and not just because I was born and raised in Hawaii). The culinary creation is piled high with grilled chicken, mixed greens, cucumbers, red and yellow peppers, green beans, carrots, mouthwatering mango and crisp wontons. It’s topped with macadamia nuts and sesame seeds, and dressed with a to die for vinaigrette. The problem is, it’s not cheap. Sure, the portion size is generous, but I always get a tinge of guilt ordering it because it’s something that I could easily make at home (save for the wontons). I’m the type of person who … Continue reading →

Chef Gordon Ramsay

If you have ever seen the reality show “Hell’s Kitchen,” you may be wondering “Just who is this Gordon Ramsay guy and what gives him the right to yell at these young chefs?” Well, let’s take a look at how Gordon Ramsay got where he is. After a potential soccer career was derailed by injuries, Ramsay turned to another interest – cooking. He studied Hotel Management at a local college then worked as a commis chef at the Wroxton House Hotel in the late ‘80s. He moved to London, then after working at Harveys for almost three years, decided to … Continue reading →

Festive Holiday Salads

Growing up you get used to seeing the same dishes served on special occasions. In our family every December 25th my grandma would set out her famous Christmas Salad. It wasn’t topped with holly or filled with candy; rather she relied on fresh cranberries to kick up what eventually became known as Grandma’s Christmas Salad. Interestingly, I know a few other people who have their own versions of Christmas salads and none of those include Christmas-themed ingredients either. Not even so much as a pine nut. But, that’s the beauty of holiday cooking: free interpretation. If you are looking to … Continue reading →

Ask a Food Blogger: Less Processed Cheese?

Question: My kids love american cheese. They enjoy in between flour tortillas and heated in the manner of a grilled cheese sandwich. Is there an alternative cheese you could suggest that isn’t quite so processed? It is always disconcerting to me to feed my family processed ‘anything’ food. Processed cheese food, processed meat food, processed. . .well you get the idea. The fact that they can’t call it real cheese (because in fact it’s not) has always been problematic for me. When I first read this question, my initial reaction was to just used shredded cheddar. Then I got to … Continue reading →

Making the Most Out of Your Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey

How much leftover turkey do you have in your refrig right now? In a previous blog I wondered out loud if my sister-in-law was the only non-vegetarian in the nation who refused to eat turkey on Thanksgiving. Unlikely. As I mentioned earlier, it’s not that she is despises turkey–she’ll eat turkey if it is a part of other dishes–she just won’t eat it “plain.” In any event, if you have a picky turkey eater in your family and are looking for easy and affordable recipes to bring new life to your day old bird consider the following dishes: HOT TURKEY … Continue reading →

Super Simple Salads

Are you hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year? In our family even if my mom is the one preparing the main meal we all chip in by bringing a dish to pass. For some reason I’m always told to bring the salad. (Likely because one year I brought burnt pie to Thanksgiving.) I’ve since redeemed myself with the following salads. Both are super simple to make and have proven to be major crowd-pleasers—–even those who say they hate salad end up having seconds and thirds. And what’s nice about these recipes is that you can prepare them the night before, leaving … Continue reading →

Ming Tsai – Combining East and West Into Something Great

About ten years ago, I was not in a good place. My then-boyfriend/now-husband was living in another city seven hours away. My stepmother had just died in a car wreck, leaving my 12-year-old sister and my father, already widowed once when my mother died. To add to all that, I had been living with my 80-year-old grandmother and right after my stepmother died, my grandmother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had to have surgery. I was pretty much the only one left to try to hold the family together. All this and also trying to work forty hours a … Continue reading →

Frugal Sandwiches

There is no doubt that making and bringing your own lunch is much more frugal then going out for lunch. Even a simple cafeteria-bought lunch can cost you more than $25 a week or $100 a month! And if you like to go out to a nice sit-down place, you can easily double or triple that number. It all adds up. I tried to remind myself of that today when I was tempted to take myself and my two youngest out for lunch today (well, the baby isn’t eating lunch just, yet). We have another house showing (actually, we have … Continue reading →

Holiday Salads

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, but if your family is like mine, any recipes you serve for Thanksgiving will also work for Christmas. So I titled this blog “Holiday Salads.” I think we concentrate so much on the turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole that we may forget that salads are a nice change on the dinner table. Holiday Salad For this recipe, you will need three lemons, sea salt, black pepper, extra virgin olive oil, five medium heads of Belgian endive, a quarter pound of Gruyere cheese, one avocado, dried cranberries, one green apple, and frozen corn. To … Continue reading →

A New Twist on an Old Favorite

I don’t think there is anyone in the world that does not love a grilled cheese sandwich. Most of us begin eating them as a child and still love them as adults. But, you have to admit, there is not much there. Bread, butter, cheese…that is all there is to it. Or is it? Did you ever think about modifying the traditional grilled cheese sandwich? If you looked around, there are plenty of recipes that do just that! Instead of just cheddar, consider adding other types of cheese. If you combine cheddar, muenster, and provolone, you have great grilled cheese … Continue reading →