Pasta Bolognese

In the best spirit of the Guessipe, I’ve found Pasta Bolognese to have some pretty interchangeable components… red or white onion, celery or fennel, red or white wine, canned tomatoes or tomato sauce, milk or heavy cream. It’s the long slow simmer that brings it all together. Traditionalists might balk at this, but try it…

Beef Peanut Stew

My boyfriend came home with peanut butter powder and beef chuck, and said “Can you make something with this?”. Challenge accepted. His reaction after trying this Beef Peanut Stew – “I think this is my new jam!”. Challenge won. Guessipe Season beef with salt and pepper. Cook in a dutch oven over medium-high heat, turning…

Keema Matar

My friend’s mom visited her for a month and bought all the spices to cook Indian food, even though she already had all of them in her pantry. So lucky me – she gave me all the duplicates! I used them to make Keema Matar (ground meat with peas). Guessipe Sauté the onion in olive…

Asian Beef Balls

When my family goes to dim sum, we never get the steamed beef balls – they tend to be bland and a bit mushy. But I had a big package of ground beef and needed something to bring to a football party, so I decided to try making my own better beef balls. A bunch…

Beyond Bulgogi

I had some Beyond Beef and an apple, and it got me thinking that I could try making Beyond Bulgogi. I’m not going to try to tell you that Beyond Bulgogi is the same as the traditional Korean marinated beef that I adore, but it is pretty tasty in its own right. And the other…

Yam Beef Biscuit Pot Pie

I had purchased some canned biscuits on sale for really cheap, but maybe they were on sale for a reason! They weren’t at all flaky and they were a bit bland. But I hate letting food go to waste, so I thought maybe I could make them work as a pot pie topping. Judging by…

Taco Salad

With the warm weather, I was craving a salad that was hearty enough to be a meal all on its own. I had some tortilla chips and salsa I wanted to use up, and that inspired the idea to make a Taco Salad. After tasting the salad, my boyfriend – who previously swore he hated…

Peruvian-Inspired Pie

I decided to do a Peruvian theme for a recent dinner party, since I had some aji panca paste I’ve been itching to use. Arroz Tapado (ground beef layered with rice, peas, and carrots) is one of the traditional dishes that uses aji panca, but one of my dinner guests doesn’t eat rice, so I…

Taco Pasta

Cookbook Club – Guerrilla Tacos For August’s Cookbook Club we used Guerrilla Tacos, a compilation of the recipes LA local Wes Avila created for his very popular taco truck of the same name. To get a taste of all the tacos, go to my Cookbook Club site. For now – my dish! I know, I…

3.14 Pi(e) Day V

Well, COVID is still a thing, so once again we did a scaled-back gathering with fewer people in an outdoor setting. Even a global pandemic can’t get in the way of me and pie! Pie Day was a great opportunity to catch up with some of my fellow pie-loving friends, many of whom due to…

Le Comptoir Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #69 Le Comptoir is one of the most intimate experiences on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list. There are only two seatings per night, in which 10 lucky people get to sit at the counter watching Chef Gary Menes prepare and plate the 8-course set menu. He starts with an introduction describing that…

Rosaline Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #65 Rosaline is the only Peruvian restaurant on Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list at the time of this writing. Located in the prime eating area of West Hollywood, the front room has a bar and somewhat of an open kitchen where you can watch the magic happen. The back room is a…