From the category archives:

Feed a Crowd

Creamy Pumpkin Dressing for a Romaine & Green Apple Salad

Potluck with fellow food bloggers, there’s a little self-imposed pressure to come up with a yummy dish that’s not a common recipe and also looks good in a photo. This Food Bloggers LA (FBLA) lunch meet-up had a PUMPKIN theme for the food. Think breads, cakes, cookies? Not me… I STILL think a buffet needs [...]

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Host a Block Party and Reap Warm Fuzzies

First question you’re asking: “Why would I want to host a block party?” Easy: to meet your neighbors. Longer answer: so neighbors meet each other, start sharing ideas, compare safety info, exchange resources like babysitters and handymen, indulge in a little kvetching (405 Fwy. widening project a hot topic here) and my favorite bennie, see [...]

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Big Green Salad Moroccan-Inspired, Sort Of

I’m not claiming this to be a “Moroccan Salad.” It is a good example of how to contribute to a dinner party. Friends Chris and Patricia (she’s the chef blogger at Fresh Food in a Flash – and photographer that night) hosted. Patricia was marinating meat in “Moroccan seasonings,” so I said we’d bring salad. [...]

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Have You Heard The Table Set?

Maybe you live up the road from us in LA? My guess is, no. You’re in New York, or Iowa, or Auckland, or Delhi. This “recipe for fun” is for you. This stunning Rainbow Jell-o Mold was just one ooooh – aaaah moment at a pool party, thank you homeowner and party host Greg, the [...]

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Fresh Beet, Feta & Pistachio Salad

NEVER open a can of beets again, if you can help it. Fresh. Roasted. Sweet. Dense. Beet, Feta & Pistachio Salad – not what I first planned to make for my sister, Janie’s wedding shower. But two days prior to the party, Larry and I were treated to a media tasting at hip Ray’s [...]

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Jalapeno Lime Coleslaw for a Crowd

OOPS, forgot to take a “hero shot” photo of my Jalapeno Lime Coleslaw before we dug in at Laura and Jeff’s July 4th gig. No worries, it looks like any other coleslaw, but but but… has a tang and a punch, really worth checking out yourself.

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My Dad’s Beer Basted Bratwurst for Octoberfest

Maybe 15 years or so ago, Larry and I helped my folks with one of their wild parties. On the menu: Beer Basted Bratwurst. My parents have a “gang;” their decades-long connection is St. John Fisher grammar school, all the gang’s assorted kids started there. We lived on The Peninsula (they still do), a horsey, [...]

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Roasted Sea Bass with Ratatouille

Ratatouille. This is something I’ve avoided all my life due to the dreaded ingredient – eggplant! I never ate that veggie in my youth. Larry’s mom cooked hers to smithereens, so it is yuck to him, too. We never order anything eggplant in restaurants. Only thing aubergine in our lives is Larry’s extensive wardrobe of [...]

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Hawaiian Coconut Shrimp Appetizer

Four couples who like to cook. And drink. And travel. Every few months, we gather at someone’s home for our Gourmet Club dinner cook-a-thon. The hosts select the theme and divvy up potluck assignments. We schlep bags of ingredients, piles of utensils, then make ourselves at home for platters, serving pieces. Every surface is used, [...]

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Milk Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

It’s a long story getting to these macaroons, starting with the chocolate. On the way home from niece Nicole’s wedding in San Diego, we stopped at John and Gail’s. Gail had “too much” chocolate from an Erie, PA store called Stefanelli’s Candies. I took some off her hands.

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Darn Good Guacamole

The Perfect Guacamole recipe title prompted me to quietly tear it from the dentist office magazine. Yes, I do that sometimes, but only an emergency like this one.

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Cheese Blintzes

There’s a growing community of food bloggers here in LA. We’re getting to know each other by stepping away from our computers each month for face-time, networking and good eats together. And, recipe sharing! Last month, Erika of In Erika’s Kitchen hosted a brunch where Small Pleasures Catering blogger/caterer Giselle arrived with pretty pillows of [...]

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How to Make Perfect, Best-Ever, Excellent Mashed Potatoes

What you’re looking at are riced russet potatoes (not actually rice). It’s a step before whuupin’ em with butter and milk to make mmmm mashed potatoes. While volunteering this week at Project Angel Food, we prepped 250 lbs. of potatoes for Chef Adrian. Then, they were cooked in a humongous brazier, mashed in a monstrous [...]