Pasta el’Moundo Salad: A Story

Let’s face it. When you’re invited to one of my dinner parties, you are sure to be greeted with more food than you can imagine. Unless your jaw was wired shut and you drank meals through a straw, there is no way you would leave my dinner table hungry. Even then, I would pull out [...]

Slow Cooker Marinara

An Italian friend of mine once told me the secrets to a great marinara sauce are good ingredients and patience. Good ingredients? Yep, I’ve got that one down. It’s the patience part that always has me stumped. I suspect the only time you will see me standing over a stock pot of sauce for hours [...]

Grilled Vegetable Kabobs

This was the side dish for my Impromptu Dinner Party. Having grown up with an acre sized garden in northern Michigan, I am no stranger to garden fresh vegetables with every meal.  There were many fond childhood memories with that garden.  I still shutter at the thought of biting into a freshly plucked jalapeno pepper [...]

Tomato Feta Salad with Basil Parsley Vinaigrette

This was the salad served at my Impromptu Dinner Party. Life has thrown several twists and turns this week, which has kept me fairly distracted.  Admittedly, I’m just now catching up on writing the rest of the posts for my Impromptu Dinner Party.  I know, I know.  I should have written these in advance, and [...]

Thai Vegetable Salad

I am a vegetarian enthusiast.  Vegetarian cuisine should never be limited to those who opt for a meatless lifestyle.  It’s more about capturing the true essence of natural flavors grown from the earth and appreciating all they have to offer.  Besides, why should the vegetarians have all the fun? About a year ago, I decided [...]