Light Monkey Bread ~ Larry’s Project

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Sniff, sniff. Mmmm! This is Larry’s baking project: Lightened Up Monkey Bread. Gotta love Cooking Light magazine, it doesn’t disappoint. Their column, The Enlightened Cook, publishes “recipe makeovers” that actually, factually work. Friday, the October issue arrived. Sunday, Larry was making their Lightened Up Monkey Bread  from page 160.

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Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake ~ a Southern Cake for the Groom

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This Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake was the companion cake at my sister’s Friday night pre-wedding family shindig. Groom, Mike likes chocolate. I like chocolate. I like Mike and wanted to make him a chocolatey cake from Nancie McDermott’s Southern Cakes – Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations. But OOPS — three mistakes got me THIS [...]

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Pineapple-Coconut Cake ~ a Southern Cake for a California Bride

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This bride-inspired Pineapple-Coconut Cake is from Nancie McDermott’s dreamy Southern Cakes – Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations (will post the groom’s little cake, behind, soon). My sister remarried on 9-10-11-12. September 10, 2011 at noon. No, no, this isn’t the “wedding cake.” Janie and Mike tied the knot at the house (Mike’s). But [...]

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Comfort Food ~ Chile Cheese Pie

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Today, I could write flowery “there’s a touch of autumn in the air” prose.  Noooo, this is about cheese. And sour cream. Things suited to be baked up with rice, chilies and hot sauce for a Chile Cheese Pie. 

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Fresh Beets and Farfalle

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  This has been a Big Summer o’ Beets. Not complaining; here’s another beet-infused recipe. Honesty, if I tried harder I would find a whole wheat bowtie pasta, but this is DAMN GOOD.  There, I said it – we attempt to eat whole wheat but luv the white stuff. Fresh Beets and Farfalle is a [...]

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I Have Gray Hair

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Update to this post… I am starting a 50+ Modeling career.  Absolutely true.   First, read the original post, then go to the bottom for the update. 

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Kahlua-Glazed Peaches & Vanilla-Kahlua Yogurt For Two

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  Tell me if I’m wrong, but more words aren’t necessary. Fresh summer peach. Kahlua. Dunk, roast. Stir a little more into plain yogurt. Fresh vanilla bean. Drizzle. Sweet. Savoring. Kahlua-Glazed Peaches & Vanilla-Kahlua Yogurt for Two. Only Larry and me here, today that’s all that counts.

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Have You Heard The Table Set?

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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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OMG, There’s A Spa Within Walking Distance of Our Home

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Our neighborhood is a wreck. Westwood and Brentwood area, Southern California. The 405 freeway widening project, now known the world over for “carmageddon,” is exhausting. Noise level, grit, gridlock and general construction chaos make it nearly impossible to feel peaceful anywhere outside of our own homes. Don’t bother walking with an iPod unless you crank [...]

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Careers, Connections & the Art of Reinvention

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Stick your neck out. Show up. Say yes to opportunity. Be kind to everyone on your way up. Eyes wide open. Face fear. Change when you need to. Or, change when you decide you WANT to. The Southern California IACP regional conference on “Careers, Connections and the Art of Reinvention” delivered on its promise to [...]

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Indian Spices on U.S. Store Shelves

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Hey, I can’t believe I forgot this post was in DRAFT mode!  Larry and I rang in last New Year’s in India. What American food blogger travels all the way to India and doesn’t publish the ubiquitous “spices in sacks” shot?  Well, here it is, above. And now, what to do about it…

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Fresh Beet, Feta & Pistachio Salad

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  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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I Think About Food A Lot

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Here I am at one year of age, clearly not happy with being jailed for some infraction of toddlerhood. I was a robust baby; mom says I was born “full grown” at 9+ lbs. Second of five girls. No dessert unless you finished dinner.

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Puff Pastry Straws with Truffles ~ In Erika’s Kitchen

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This past weekend was Trufflepalooza, the brainchild of blogger Erika of In Erika’s Kitchen. It’s a private party, packed with her friends, family, fellow bloggers and members of the media. The occasion? Erika’s love o’ the truffle, and her showcase of recipes featuring Les Truff, including these crispy beauties, Puff Pastry Straws with Truffles.

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Gorgeous Green Greek-ish Salad

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Some lovely things, I’ll just never be in real life — Southern is one. Another is Greek. I love Greeks. My high school/college posse included two Greek brothers, John and George, who provided a peek into an ethos far removed from mine. They may have been native Californians, but they were GREEK. Loud. Multi-generational home. [...]

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5 Kitchen Remodel Ideas I’d Recommend; 2 I’d Skip

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Julia Child had a kooky kitchen feature: a pegboard with the outline of her pots to precisely hang them in their proper places. Functionality, love it. Three times in my married life, we’ve torn a kitchen to the studs. One was our commercial building (renovated a 50-year-old Hungarian restaurant into offices and professional test kitchen). [...]

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Carmageddon Report ~ When You Live In “The Zone”

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Hello from Los Angeles! I shot this from the top of the Angelino Hotel. Larry and I live just East of the 405 freeway, and south of Sunset Boulevard. It’s now officially Carmageddon; the freeway is closed for 53 hours in order to knock down half of the Mulholland Bridge, and clean up in time [...]

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Jalapeno Lime Coleslaw for a Crowd

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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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Best Paint Advice I Can Give

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You’re looking at my well-traveled paint palette. When we remodeled this house a decade ago, we had the daunting task of deciding colors for every room. Sounded fun… wasn’t. One step forward and three steps back until I landed on the right approach, thanks to a kind stranger.

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What to Pack for Africa

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No… I don’t have another trip to Africa planned. Yet… I WISH! My friend, Marlene is going on her first safari and asked a simple question, “What is your number-one recommended item to pack?” One?? When only allowed 26 lbs. of luggage total, EVERY ITEM is vital. After I emailed her with this collection of [...]

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Kahlua Ice Cream Layered Cake ~ A Tutorial

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Step-by-step, make this killer Kahlua Ice Cream Layered Cake by following my photos. The idea has been in my recipe binder since 2004, a Family Circle cover recipe made with kid-friendly flavors. No way, this had Kahlua potential, requiring a dinner party at home for obvious melting challenges.

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Tee Pon Chicken (aka Sherry-Soy Chicken)

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Advice, please?  I was cooking a simple Tee Pon Chicken recipe, but fretting about photographing “ugly” brown on brown — dark shredded chicken over brown rice. Forget garnishes, I was HUNGRY and it smelled divine. Taking pictures of meat is a crap-shoot (sorry, kinda graphic when talking about food) but I really wanted to share [...]

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Red Lentils, Tomatoes & Mushrooms ~ A Hearty Bowl ‘o Vegan Eats

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Following on the heels of a flubber-inducing two week holiday (read my going Vegan for a day on cruise), it was time to detox from all the great grub. Mushrooms convinced me I needed to cook them pronto; they were growing frantically. What, YOU don’t grow your own mushrooms?

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Publish Your Own Magazine ~ Photozini Product Review

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A few months back, Larry and I hit the LA Travel Show.  It’s a kind of convention for John Q. Public to spend the day scouring hundreds of booths for places to visit and things to buy. Larry and I travel; always good to see what’s out there. If you have a dollar to spend [...]

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Cruise Eating ~ What Most Passengers Will Probably Never Do

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Say hi to two cool Texans we met on our cruise: Kevin and Teri. OK, enough about them… Let’s talk cruise food: on cruises, you eat often and well. Anything. Any time. From modest all-American hot dogs to heady caviar-lobster-prime rib blowouts. So here I was, Day 3 of a Regent Seven Seas Voyager journey [...]

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A Dorie Greenspan Lovefest and One Of Her Secret Ingredients

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Neither of these two in the photo are Dorie Greenspan. Now, I have to assume YOU are a person who loves food. And if you love food, you cannot be unaware of Dorie Greenspan. She is ubiquitous; in Austin, Texas this past week, she was EVERYWHERE. More about that in a sec… this handsome guy [...]

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Take My Mother, Please!

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Whoa hooo, heeee heeee, got a laugh envisioning my mom seeing this headline and getting her ire up before reading the post. Hyuk hyuk. Take My Mother, Please is a custom tour company here in Los Angeles. If you want a highly personalized adventure, seeing exactly the LA you think you want to see, Anne [...]

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Marty’s Spicy Almonds ~ Block Party!

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Every early summer for the past nine years, Larry has hosted a neighborhood block party. I say “Larry has,” because two chiefs don’t work so well for this event. He checks a date with a collection of immediate neighbors, who then help with distributing flyers, bringing beverages and ice, tent setup (always a comedy of [...]

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Happy Birthday Lemon Bars for my Dad

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The weekend of my dad’s 87th birthday is also the weekend of Camp Blogaway with 90 passionate foodies in the local mountains. The conflict, of course, is how to not be a jerk of a kid. WHEW, Cousin Wendy hosted Easter at her house, which gave me a visit with my pop. ACK a gift!!  [...]

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My Treasured Travel Souvenirs

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This morning, while emptying the dishwasher, I took an appreciative look at one of my treasures – my Iowa State Fair 2006 pancake syrup pitcher (#7 in the photo). Love that little thing. It works well, and started me thinking… to me, there are only two kinds of travel souvenirs worth buying. Stuff to wear, [...]

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Hollywood Bowl Picnic for Speed Demons

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Sunday morning, I awoke thinking about Sunday dinner. We had tickets to Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks at the Hollywood Bowl.  Larry is Mr. Ticket; if a concert is coming to LA, he’s all over it. I’m not such a die-hard concert-goer; I love to picnic, however. He loves concerts but loathes the parking. Our [...]

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Road Trip ~ Take A Long Weekend in Temecula

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Travel posts are harder to write than you might think. They can easily come off with the air of a braggy Christmas letter cuz of the FUN. But my intention is to deliver useful info to you… here’s today’s recommend. If you like the idea of an affordable yet busy So. Cal. getaway, a Long [...]

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Fresh Herb and Mushroom Risotto for Meatless Monday

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My Monday breakfast was leftover Fresh Herb and Mushroom Risotto. And if I hadn’t pigged out this weekend (Temecula… upcoming post), I would have topped this with a poached egg. Leftover risotto makes me as happy as just-prepared. I luv makin’ it and I luv eatin’ it. Today, my challenge to you is to throw [...]

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Mary Sue and Susan’s Chipotle Black Bean Turkey Chili

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Question: can a household have too many chili recipes? Not in our book, as Larry and I seem to be working on collecting a library of them. Our standard Green Turkey Chili, is darn yummy. But, let’s try more! Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, the Two Hot Tamales have restaurants, cookbooks and some online [...]

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The Best Baked Corn Recipe I’ve Tried

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Interesting what a smidge of sugar does for a savory corn recipe. This was published last Christmas in Parade magazine. I appreciated the short list of staple ingredients. When someone refers to a recipe as “Best,” that doesn’t mean much anymore. But when Larry goes back for a second portion, whoa… yes, I’d say this really [...]

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What Women Over 40 Should Pack For Paris

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A better title for this post is probably, “What one woman over 50 researched, purchased and packed for a winter’s week in Paris with a longtime food pro friend, a stay at the posh Hotel de Crillon, attendance at a Cookbook Fair and Gourmand Awards Ceremony all during Fashion Week.” (The 40-age-mention in the title [...]

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Itinerary Ideas For A Foodie’s Trip to Paris

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Going to Paris? Have a great passion for Good-Things-Foodie? While some people come to Paris with a list of restaurants to hit, I tend to bring lists of places and things to see. I’m a window shopper, a person who likes to see food-related things in different ways. Oh sure, I also like to eat. [...]

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Product Review: Très Chic Trench Coat for Road Warriors

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I’m “posing,” my face had just been done by a Lancôme makeup artist (he was in-between model appointments) at a Vogue-sponsored studio at our lovely Hotel de Crillon, Paris. I felt pretty! Note the trench coat – if you are a road warrior, read on.

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Pierre & Paulette, A Parisian Love Story

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The story of Pierre and Paulette may need a little explaining, unless you are a Facebook friend of mine or Denise Vivaldo’s. We recently traveled to Paris, many thanks to Denise (links below tell you more). For comic relief, Denise often travels with little plush toys from the Idaho Potato Commission called Spuddy Buddy. She [...]

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Eating in Paris

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  A dreamy week in Paris; how I got there sans Larry should be noted. My longtime food pro friend, Denise Vivaldo had two books nominated for prestigious Gourmand Best in the World Cookbook Awards, and she invited ME to join her. She also was a featured presenter at the Paris Cookbook Fair, teaching food [...]

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Gone to Paris

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  Right now, I’m in Paris, shadowing my longtime food pro friend Denise Vivaldo as she travels to the Gourmand Awards, Paris cookbook fair and other French adventures.  Denise’s books are nominated for awards, and she has a food styling demo at the cookbook fair (plus treating herself quite nicely for her birthday).  I am [...]

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How to Make a DIY Bloody Mary Bar

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Blogger Michael of South Bay Foodies rolled a serious-sized ice chest into our potluck meeting of the Food Bloggers LA (FBLA) today. And in a flash, he set up an impressive Bloody Mary Bar. Which, obviously, made the meeting a whole lot more lively (Saturday, 10 AM – yeah baby)!

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Patti’s Mojo Spice Blend

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Last autumn, we took a cooking class at the South Bay School of Cooking. The instructor’s spinach-stuffed chicken breast recipe featured a secret ingredient: her Mojo – a homemade blend of kosher salt, lemon zest and dried Italian herbs. Which made me think of the jumble of herbs in our spice pantry. Once home, I [...]

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Chestnut Cakes

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Do you remember THIS THROWDOWN (to myself)?  My jar of Roland chestnuts was befuddling. What the heck does a California girl make with chestnuts? Plenty of folks tweeted suggestions; most were savory (as in, toss with brussel sprouts. Seriously?). A few readers told me to eat them from the jar. Tempting, but I envisioned something [...]

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Everyone Should Take A Cruise One Day

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Cup o’ tea in the Todd English restaurant aboard the Cunard Queen Victoria Ocean Liner. It’s been some time since we cruised, and this wasn’t one of them. We were docked.

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Universal Studio’s Haven for Foodies

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First the good news: fine dining exists inside the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. Now the Patti & Larry backstory: From the very beginning of our relationship, Universal has been part of our lives. Larry was an A-Top member of the Universal {outdoor} Amphitheater when we met; he had early access to tickets.  We moved [...]

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Tangerine Pudding with Citrus Yogurt

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You know I write from Southern California, right? Here, practically every yard has a heavily laden citrus tree. Ours are lemon and lime. Which was the problem; when I was making Tangerine Pudding one recent evening, I was a smidge short on fresh-squeezed tangerine juice. Lemon or lime wouldn’t fix my problem, I needed tangerine. [...]

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White Pepper Chicken Barley Soup Made By A Sometimes Princess

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Lucky timing, rain hit the morning after the Valley Performing Arts Center black tie opening. My little satin pumps woulda been ruined! There I was, in line for the potty with Calista Flockhart; Harrison Ford was waiting out in the hall. I people-watched next to Doris Roberts. Moved my tootsies so Beau Bridges could scoot [...]

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My Panda Express “Top Chef” Experience

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Walk out our front door, head East on foot, the closest restaurant is a half mile straight into the UCLA campus… Panda Express. I like their food. I also run errands then – buy stamps (US post office in Ackerman Union) and greeting cards (Bruin Bookstore).  So what is this photo of a non-existent Dancing [...]

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Your Advice, Please ~ What Do You Do With Chestnuts?

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Help!  My longtime food pro friend Lisa Ekus sent me a generous box of Roland specialty food products, lotsa fun stuff. But this California-born and still-lives-in-LA foodie (the Land of Every Kind of Eats, in other words) has a confession – Chestnuts are foreign food to me. I’m asking for your help here… what recipe [...]

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