appetizers recipes

*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...

"So this is what happens when you start off making a 24-hour rise sourdough-style (my fake version without a starter) pizza dough for 2 pizzas. And then your schedule changes and you’re called in to work on a last-minute 3-day assignment and you’re too busy and you finish work late and you haven’t had time to take care of...

A SERIES OF SCORCHINGLY HOT DAYS !!! . . .  and this is one of Angel’s hot weather / summer holiday / childhood  memory / favorite REFRESHING tapas dishes : extra large cooked Spanish mussels, served on the half-shell and covered with a cool ‘a la vinagreta’ mixture which is a combination of very finely diced...

This is not a summer BARBECUE recipe. It's an end of spring (waiting for the summer) recipe for a DEEP-FRYER on a BALCONY or TERRACE, with an extension cord ... (a bit like trying to pretend it was already warm & beautiful outside and we absolutely could & should cook outside) ... Well, you understand that I’m 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...

*My building caretaker or ‘concierge’ (as we say here in France) and also my dear gardening buddy (Mr. M.O.) came back from a short trip to Algeria 1 month ago with a suitcase stuffed with fruits & vegetables (it’s not the first time nor the last time, he always does that) . . . I think you’ve seen many of the...

Like eating a "ray of warm SUNSHINE", whipped up with the damp earthy cool of a mountainside village and its pastures grazed by sheep. KTIPITI means ‘whipped’ or ‘beaten’ in greek . . .  It’s a summer dip (or spread) with only 2 basic ingredients, roasted red peppers and feta cheese (let’s save...

RAIN, RAIN, and again more RAIN ! . . .  If it was sunny, I’d be sharing recipes about barbecues, planchas, grilled sausages, roasted vegetables & meats & seafood, fruity pies & desserts, condiments for hotdogs and hamburgers and all that picnic stuff … but it hasn’t stopped raining for weeks...

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...

HOME CURED MEATS in 7/8 DAYS : dry-curing & wet-curing (or brining) & “biltonging” too. Salt, sugar, water, vinegar, herbs, spices and other stuff (depending on the chosen method(s) !!! At first, the idea is quite SCARY & DAUNTING … but not because it’s difficult but only because you start...

THIS WEEKEND (my darlings), YOU ARE CLEANING OUT YOUR FRIDGE . . . otherwise, just keep on walking, nothing GLAMOROUS to see here ! Cooking a lot means a lot of leftovers tucked away in your refrigerator : half-used opened tins, bits & pieces of smaller stuff and of course larger partly-used stuff, not to mention the fresh herbs slowly...

STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT !  STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! STOP IT ! … sorry, but I needed to get that out of my system. Terrible and tragic and unforgiveable things...

"Are you a genuine APRIL DAY FOOL if you make your own sardines at home ... or just TOTALLY-BANANAS-CRAZY !?" Well, I’m not so sure. I made a small batch, starting with 1 kg of fresh sardines, cleaning them, salt-curing them for several days, then storing them in olive oil. The first time I tried this, I realized that...