Is it pizza… is it flatbread…does it matter? Lots of names abound for thin bread either baked on a stone or a grill. It all started when I ran across the name “torta salata” for a dish for my upcoming Italian cooking class. I guess I fell in love with the name. When I actually started investigating, it seemed like more of a quiche,
The best tip ever! A couple had organized their gourmet group to come to the Cookery for a Spanish Paella Party. As they arrived, Heather asked if I would like a dozen eggs from their own chickens. She pulled out the most beautiful eggs in blues and greens from Ameraucana chickens. Oh my gosh! Such a wonderful gift.
It’s still January and I’m still in southern California. Sure, it’s rainy today and a bit cooler, but….I can hardly believe it’s winter. I’ll be finding out soon enough when I return to the deep freeze of the Midwest. So, going to a farmers’ market ….an open air market…is pure bliss for me. And guess what I found. At the Anaheim market there was a farmer selling baby vegetables. They have the “cute factor”
I’ve escaped the frigid Midwest for sunny and warm Southern California to visit with my fellow blogger, Priscilla, and the rest of my family. With my granddaughter’s birthday coming up next week it was the perfect time to visit. I got out just in time, it seems, as Sheila is calling about concerns of holding class this week at the Cookery because of the frigid temperature and 8-inches of snow that
Don’t you just love the way that sounds? Today I’m cooking for a holiday party. Well, a wedding actually. A casual, buffet style wedding for 35 people. How to feed a crowd economically and yet have amazing flavors? This is one of the bread spreads I’ve been making for quite some time. It was developed for a cookbook I wrote a few years ago, and has evolved since then.
Spanish tapas is a favorite of mine. I love the strong flavors in small bites. I am constantly struggling with my weight and have decided that small servings of highly flavored foods is the way to go. That doesn’t always happen, obviously, but….it’s a plan! These will certainly fit the bill, and pastry is always good. Pie, pie, pie…all the time!!! (I often think a soup and pie restaurant would be what I ‘d do…if that ever happens.)
With too much garlic in my pantry, and after planting some and roasting some to freeze, I still needed a good hit of garlic, so punctuate the season. I roasted a few heads to start. I separated them, put in a glass pie pan, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.
It’s been a cool and damp summer here in Galena. Someone said to me, “it’s not even been warm enough to enjoy a good salad!” I don’t know about you, but I always enjoy a good salad, be it a breezy 70 degrees or 110 in the shade. When asked by a customer to make some Asian dishes for her family party, I was reminded of how good these were, and especially on a hot summer day.
Harissa Sauce is a spicy rendition of our ketchup or salsa. Made from various chilies and sometimes tomatoes with additions of garlic and spices, it becomes a very complex condiment. It’s available in jars, but not in my corner of the world, so we made out own. In the Moroccan Feast class last night we started by toasting the spices in a little iron skillet. That set the kitchen up for some wonderful aromas. In fact, when I walked into work this morning, I fell in love with my space all over again.
While May Day for me is a fun celebration of hanging a basket of goodies and flowers on a neighbor’s doorknob, in Russia it’s a national holiday recognized with political and military marches. At The Great Galena Cookery it’s a combination of both…gathering the spring flowers from the backyard for the table setting and making some delicious Russian recipes. I have a group of Galena women, “The International Lunch Ladies”, that come for lunch every couple months. They choose a country and I choose the menu. They are never disappointed…or at least don’t tell me if they are. May was Russian and the menu included:
