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…

Build Your Own Bowl

These “Build Your Own Bowl” restaurants have been popping up all over the place. We have an Asian-themed one near our local movie theater which we would occasionally patronize after seeing a movie… that is, until I decided it would be easy enough to re-create my favorite sauce flavors and build my own bowl at…

Kabocha Squash with Ground Pork

I love the taste of squash, but it can be hard work to cut, remove the seeds, and peel. Kabocha is one of my favorite squashes because the skin is edible. It’s so much less work when you don’t have to worry about removing the skin, and it makes a hearty and delicious stir-fry with…

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…

Veggie Bowl with Apple Carrot Dressing

In the last couple years, it seems like “Assemble Your Own Bowl” places have popped up everywhere. It got me thinking that I could buy my own favorite ingredients, whip up a tasty sauce/dressing, and for the price of one restaurant bowl have a large enough quantity to share with friends. My friends immediately declared…

Crunch and Squash Salad

I like a hearty salad that really gives you something to chew on and fills you up. This is one such salad – with crisp and crunch from the cucumber and jicama, creamy avocado, and roasted squash that adds an almost meatiness. You can of course add in other veg that you like and change…

Spicy Sweet Roasted Squash Seeds

I’m a big proponent of minimizing food waste by using as many parts of produce and animals as possible. So next time you cook with squash, don’t throw those seeds away! Roast them for a tasty snack. You can do this simply with olive oil and salt, but I like to zing it up a…

Roasted Acorn Squash with Hazelnuts, Brown Butter and Rosemary

Cookbook Club – Gjelina: Cooking from Venice, California Our April Cookbook Club book was Gjelina: Cooking from Venice, California by popular LA chef Travis Lett. You can see our whole recreation of the Gjelina experience on my Cookbook Club site. For now – my dish! The idea of brown butter, hazelnuts, and rosemary immediately conjured…

Kabocha Squash and Fennel Soup with Candied Pumpkin Seeds

Cookbook Club – Sunday Suppers at Lucques For our first cookbook of 2018, we used Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin. I made the Kabocha Squash and Fennel Soup with Candied Pumpkin Seeds. You can see our entire Sunday supper on my Cookbook Club site. For now – my dish! I am on a…

Garlic Cheese Squash

If you buy a nice chunk of pecorino and have some leftover which you don’t want to go to waste, make this garlic cheese squash. It can be a veggie side, or just a great snack. When I make these, I tend to just munch them all down like chips. Crisp, cheesy goodness! Guessipe 1…

A.O.C. Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #24 A.O.C. is one of Suzanne Goin’s restaurants to regularly make Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants list (Lucques is another, which I haven’t made it to yet, but it’s on my list to make it to their Sunday Supper!). A.O.C. has a beautiful courtyard patio with big doors into the restaurant and bar, vines creeping up the surrounding…

Sunday Supper

A group of our food-loving friends got together for a Sunday Supper potluck, and it was quite the fall feast. Warming comfort food was abundant and wine was flowing! I made jook (go here for my Guessipe), which is a hearty soup made with turkey and rice, then dressed to taste by the eater. This…