Key Lime Pie Parfait

I got an impromptu invite to dinner at a friend’s place and needed to throw together a dessert quickly and with whatever I had in the house. This came out tasting just like key lime pie in a cup. This was such a hit and so fast to make that Key Lime Pie Parfait has…

Caesar Salad

“Best Caesar Salad I’ve ever had in my life” – according to my friend who thinks Caesar Salad is the epitome of all salads. He also thinks he hates mustard, so I waited until after he was done eating his second bowl before I told him the dressing definitely contains mustard. Despite that, he keeps…

Crispy Harissa Chickpea Caesar Salad

Cookbook Club – Casablanca: My Moroccan Food To kick off Cookbook Club in 2020, we used Nargisse Benkabbou’s Casablanca: My Moroccan Food. The book was a bit hard to find, but luckily Benkabbou also has a website where she posts recipes http://www.mymoroccanfood.com/ which we also used. To experience our whole Moroccan meal, go to my…

Pina Colada Pie

March 14 is upon us, and that means my favorite holiday… Pi(e) Day! I throw an annual Pi(e) Day Party, with cost of entry being a homemade pie. I tell people they get bonus points if they invent a pie. Not that points count for anything haha, but since I’m asking my guests to do…

Honey Lime Yogurt Dressing

A friend of mine recommended a restaurant to me, raving in particular about a salad she had with an incredible yogurt dressing. I was skeptical that said salad could really have been the star of the show, but the rest of the food she described also sounded quite good, so I decided to give the…

Pineapple Trifle

Traditionally a trifle is made up of a fancy cream custard, sponge cake or lady fingers, and fruit compote. This is my poor man’s version of a trifle – much easier to whip up with no cooking involved and using ingredients you could easily have around. But the result is a fancy-looking dessert that you…

Elote

Elote, a.k.a. Mexican corn on the cob, is a magical treat that always induces warm fuzzy feelings for me. Perhaps because it’s the kind of food you usually get from a street cart or at a fair, and then eat while walking around. I like to make an Elote bar at BBQs, where people can…

Mango Lassi Pie

What would be in the running for my favorite holiday? Well, Pi(e) Day, of course. March 14, aka 3.14, get it? I had convinced a bunch of friends to help me celebrate this mathe-magical day. Even though it fell on a Tuesday, they had all agreed to make homemade pies (go here to feast your…

Corn Muffin Pudding

Corn Muffin Pudding is one of my mom’s go-tos if she needs to whip up something quick to bring to a party. Everyone loves it and is surprised to hear that it’s another one of those fantastically easy recipes that involves nothing more than mixing together 5 ingredients and throwing in the oven. The 5…

Breakfast Toasts

I am torn about the fact that “Toasts” have become a thing in LA restaurants. On the one hand, I quite enjoy them. On the other hand, I think it’s absurd to pay $12-$15 for what really amounts to a dressed-up bit of something on a slice of bread, especially when that something is often…

Pineapple Cream Pie

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I love pie. Not only is it one of my favorite desserts to eat (ok yes, one of my favorite breakfasts as well), but pie also tends to be one of the baked goods most forgiving of improvisation. That fits well with my Guessipe style of cooking. One…

Creamy Pea Salad

When I was a kid, there was a restaurant my family would go to for occasions like birthday celebrations. The rest of the food was good, but we really went there for the pea salad. Normally a salad would not be the big draw in our restaurant choices, but there was something about this pea…