appetizers recipes

It takes TIME (not active time but waiting time) but it’s worth it. It’s what holiday preparations are all about : Something SPECIAL for a SPECIAL occasion. Imagine a beautiful choice-cut piece of BEEF (preferably filet mignon or a very mini-roast), pre-marinated with red wine vinegar for 1 hour and then cured...

And finally PART 3 which wraps up the summer tomato mini-series. Yup, it’s about time ! This time, the “freshest hand-crushed & no-cook heirloom tomato sauce and/or spread” (see the last 2 posts here & here) is strained to its maximum to utterly become a chunky "spread” that is used as a topping for...

MU-HAM-MA-RA my love, a reinterpreted recipe from the war-torn & devastated land of SYRIA, previously known as the “culinary pearl of the middle-east and the levant”. May peace & harmony & genuine support come to you soon . . . This dip or spread is usually made with a roasted red peppers paste (like a caviar...

CHICKPEAS + TAHINI + LEMON JUICE + OLIVE OIL + GARLIC + CUMIN = traditional  HUMMUS . . . right ?!  But if you add RED ROASTED BEETS + SOFT MILD GOAT CHEESE, is it still a HUMMUS ? If it has at least some chickpeas and tahini sesame paste, or equal to half of the total, then it’s still a hummus,...

Listen carefully . . .  This is not a “baba ghanoush” nor a “tapenade” nor an in-between mix of the two because there is no ‘tahini’ sesame paste included, (like in the first) nor a few anchovies and capers, (like in the second). It’s closer to a greek “melitzanosalata” or a french...

MONSTER EGGS ?! No ! POISONOUS LAVA ROCKS ?! Nooooo ! BACK TO BLACK with STRANGER THINGS (I wish but I’ll explain) for a scary, slightly frightening & weird HALLOWEEN treat ! I’m disappointed that this series I love, called “STRANGER THINGS” which I thought was launching its 3rd season...

And here’s part 2 (of 3) of the summer tomato mini-series, called “REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD” (but does that refer to picnic food and cold starters too ?!) . . . One of my dearest, darling, overseas cousins that I spoke to last night had mentioned over the phone that the no-cook & hand-crushed heirloom...

RED & RED & RED & RED . . . the predominant color of my past 4 recipes this February and each is infused with “heart” and “warmth”. But why George, why ? Because RED has become my reaction to “GRAY & BLUE”. RED is the opposite of the freezing icy weather we’ve been having here in...

*This summer's end (yeah right, it didn't feel like summer), I’m taking it easy with the introductions; we'll just play around with some vocabulary. S-C-O-N-E (the definition) : A scone is a single-serving quick bread/cake, usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent and baked on...

KEEP IT GREEN ! . . . And I’m not only talking about guacamole. Like many foods, the best food is the food you like and the way you like it and not always the way it’s supposed to be . . . I guess you can see where I’m going with this. Many years ago (about ten or fifteen), the authentic and very Mexican version...

It’s officially the END OF SUMMER & the BEGINNING OF AUTUMN. It’s the end of some things that you will miss and the beginning of other things to look forward to. It’s okay to miss things and to want them back. It’s okay to not have them and wait for their return. It’s okay to pursue new things and put...

I went to MARSEILLE. I came back from MARSEILLE . . . with a HUGE BAG OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. They were being sold in the Gare Saint-Charles train station by local organic farmers who are there every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon and it’s not expensive. I got some huge beefsteak tomatoes, a bouquet of baby...

MANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR with "FOIE GRAS" & SOME OF YOU ARE NOT … SOME OF YOU LIKE IT & SOME DON’T ... SOME LIKE IT and ACCEPT IT & SOME USED TO LIKE IT BUT NO LONGER EAT IT NOW ... it's CONTROVERSIAL ! «FOIE GRAS» which literally translates to «FAT LIVER» is a...

. . . because it’s BETTER LIKE THIS (in an organized & anticipatory kind of way) ! So, I’m off to the airport and it’s been almost 1 year since I've posted anything that requires zucchini (as promised) but as I’m flying away, they’re back ! Franky, (a buddy who lives a few streets down and who...

**** HAPPY-HEALTHY-HYSTERICAL  2017 . . .  :) * I’m sure your New Year’s Eve seafood platter was delicious, which is quite typical to eat in France on December 31st. ** I’m quite sure everyone didn’t eat everything because they were too busy drinking and merry-making. *** I’m really sure you have...