Sausage & Mushroom Penne Gratin

Last Monday was a drizzly day. The overcast sky and the crisp air meant a dinner that was warm, comforting, and (given my current cravings) cheesy. I had just gotten home from lunch with Nikita when we decided to flip through old Gourmet magazines for dinner inspiration (oh Gourmet, how we will miss you when [...]

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Happy Easter! Part 4: Paskha

In our family, Easter is not Easter without this traditional Russian dessert. This version is made by heating buttermilk until it separates into curds and whey (yep, just like what Miss Muffet ate). Then the curds are combined with eggs, butter, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest to create a delicious creamy mixture that’s [...]

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Welsh Rarebit & Roasted Broccoli

Whether you say welsh rarebit or welsh rabbit, when Guinness Stout meets melted extra-sharp cheddar cheese, an irresistible open-faced sandwich is born. You might need a knife and a fork, but even if you tackle it with your hands, it’s well worth it and might even become your new favorite comfort food. I served this [...]

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Four-Cheese Mini Macs

Mmm, look at that cheese bubbling up around the edges … I can’t take the credit for this recipe, other than buttering the muffin tins and later eating the finished product, but I CAN rave about it so that’s what I’ll do! While I was working on my minted pea dip, my Mom was busy [...]

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Chili-Cheese Baked Potatoes

‘Tis the season for quick, simple, and thrifty meals. Potatoes are a great (and cheap) canvas on which to get creative with toppings–pesto; roasted garlic; blue cheese; smoked salmon; wasabi; chili. On this night we thought some chili and pepper-jack would be a satisfying combo. If you have a can of chili in the back [...]

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Taverna-Style Baked Feta Dip

Once upon a time, on our first night in Oia on the island of Santorini, we were starving and jet-lagged, walking along the cobble stone streets in search of something to eat. There were many stray dogs and cats wandering the streets, almost all of which appeared to be well fed and taken care of [...]

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Open-faced Chipotle Cheese Steak Sandwiches w/ Avocado, Tomato and Red Onion

Sometimes just a single store bought ingredient can inspire an entire meal. That was the case here. My parents sent us a jar of chipotle cheese dip in our last package, and I jumped right on it because I have a weakness for cheese — especially the kind in a jar that you [...]

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Goat Cheese Quesadillas with Caramelized Onions & Fresh Basil

Before heading off to our Christmas party/gingerbread man-decorating-extravaganza, I wanted to jazz up our usual weekend lunch, so I came up with these quesadillas using things that were hanging out in our refrigerator. I’m obviously not the first to come up with this combination, but they were so light and tasty.

Spread a thin [...]

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Fusilli with Sweet Tomatoes, Eggplant and Mozzarella

Lately I’ve noticed several Jamie recipes floating around the food blog world. Most notably, Wendy of A Wee Bit of Cooking made a delicious-looking Chorizo Roast Chicken that inspired me to include one of my favorite Jamie-recipes too — a really simple pasta dish that uses ingredients that are all very accessible to us! [...]

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Cheese Enchiladas

We purchased our $7.00 imported block of cheddar with no problem (familiar foods in a land of foreign labels are worth every penny!), but the import food store was out of enchilada sauce seasoning, so we saw this as the perfect opportunity to make it ourselves. Two and a half jars of chili [...]

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A Birthday Dinner at the Tree House

We have the best of both worlds up in the Santa Cruz Mountains: Ten minutes from the ocean, yet surrounded by communities of redwood trees. My cousin Nikita turned 21 on August 11th, so we had a family birthday dinner at my parent’s place; aptly named “The Tree House.” These were some of my [...]

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The "Last Supper": Jalapeño-Cheddar Scramble with Hashbrowns

Yatta! (Japanese for “We did it!”) We made it through a year of teaching English! California, here we come! What do you do the day before leaving for a month long vacation? You play the “How can I throw together what’s left in my fridge to make a suitable meal” – [...]

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"Angry" Gnocchi with Fried Mozzerella Salad & Zucchini

The gnocchi is angry because it’s covered with one of my favorite sauces – Arrabbiata (which means “angry”). I’m not sure why it’s angry. Personally, garlic and chiles make me happy! This is our weeknight standby pasta sauce. There’s not much to say, except that we love the spiciness from the chilies, the flavor [...]

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Nostalgic Greek Salmon

Nothing beats the simplicity of fresh salmon, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and sweet basil, tied together with the flavors of lemon, olive oil, and oregano. This was the perfect light summer dinner. We intended to make it with shrimp, but when we found that our grocery store was sold out, we had to [...]

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Just Peachy!

A fresh peach is the epitome of summer. Tonight’s menu was inspired by 1) the white peach (finally in season!) and 2) an item on our wedding reception menu, Casa Blanca Restaurant’s fried brie. Although they serve theirs with jalapeño jelly, we enjoyed ours with a peach salsa. Also, we drank the [...]

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