Memorial Day is next week and grills across the nation are getting the rub down, being prepared to cook yummy yummy barbecue goodness all day long. If you’re looking for a good cut of meat to prepare for all your friends and family that will taste fantastic, feed a passel and not break the bank, then you’re in luck. Slow roasted pork shoulder is your new best friend. Here I share the recipe we love for pulled pork sandwiches topped with my husband’s favorite barbecue sauce.
Grilled Watermelon Salad with Yellow Heirloom Tomatoes
I don’t know if there’s anything so wonderful as watermelon in the summer (unless it’s a nice drippy ice cream cone:). I start picking out juicy melons as soon as they show up in the markets, and by June our fridge is permanently stocked. What I really love is figuring out new ways to serve that delight and surprise. Grilled watermelon is one of my favorites and I’ve made it into a salad here.
Thai Crab Salad with Avocado and Mango
It’s Stupendous Salad Week Day 3! Last December my entire (9 of us at the time) family were all together for the first time in over a year. To celebrate I made a six course meal highlighting some of the locations we had each been over the past year. One of my sisters spent a month in Thailand (thai flavors), and Joe and I had spent some time in California (avocado). Voila, Thai Crab Salad with Avocado and Mango.
Asparagus Salad with Poached Egg and Homemade Citrus Vinaigrette
Day two of Stupendous Summer Salad Week. In the summer my parents don’t turn on the AC until June. Because of that I think I got accustomed to eating salads all summer long – it was too hot to eat anything else. And you can only make so many green lettuce tomato salads, so we’re doing one of my favorite vegetables today — asparagus.
Introducing Stupendous Summer Salad Week: Grapefruit and Fennel Salad with Ginger-Wasabi Dressing
One of my favorite discoveries in Paris was fennel. It’s not a common ingredient in the kitchens in the States (at least in the south), but every French fridge is stocked with it (or more likely their cupboard since refrigerator space is reserved for only the most important items, like milk). I loved learning to cook with it. And since its coming into season here, I wanted my family to experience the glory that is fennel as soon as possible. Here is a recipe for serving it as a salad.
May Stitch Fix Review
I’ve always been pretty low maintenance when it comes to my appearance – pony tail, a little mascara, jeans and a t-shirt and I’m good to go. When Joe and I got married he looked in my closet one day and said, “Wow, you own a lot of beige and cotton.” Apparently this was code for, “Maybe we work on your wardrobe a bit.”
So I’ve been trying to kick it up a notch. With Stitch Fix, they help me pick out clothes to update my wardrobe and it also saves me time going to the store on Saturdays when I’d rather be drinking coffee and going to the Farmers Market.
Refreshing Tom Kha Gai for the Summer
My mom loves soup. And I’m pretty sure she made it once a week when we were growing up, even in the summer. I’m not so crazy about hot soups in the summer, but this refreshing take on Tom Kha Gai (Chicken Coconut Soup) makes you feel like you’re back on the streets of Bangkok (it’s always summer there). And you also don’t feel like you just left a sauna when you’re finished.
Mint Chocolate Ice Cream for Warm Summer Days
In the past two weeks I’ve eaten my weight in gelato. I’m not joking. What else am I supposed to do when there are heaping mounds of creamy goodness on every street corner in Italy? They’re practically begging me to eat the stuff! I’m just doing my best not to insult them.
In light of the extreme gelato eating I’ve been doing (and because Georgia greeted us with sunny 86 degree weather this week) I’m sharing one of my favorite (pseudo-healthy) ice cream recipes.
A New Take on the Traditional Champagne Toast with St. Germain’s Liqueur
We leave in an hour to go pick up my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my grandmother-in-law and her fiancee(-in-law). When we get home we’ll toast their arrival and to the next two weeks of fun tromping through Europe. Here’s a recipe for our French champagne toast.
Planning Easter Brunch? Try this Kale and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Easter is this Sunday. We’ll be celebrating in Florence with Joe’s family and I cannot wait. His parents arrive tomorrow, and chocolate tasting with my mother-in-law will probably be the highlight of my trip. One of my favorite Easter activities is a Sunrise service at home with my family followed by brunch. In honor of them, here’s my go-to breakfast casserole for any brunch.
You don't need a culinary degree to make sophisticated food. I want to improve your food education. Sometimes I travel and wear new clothes, and I'll tell you about that, too.
