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Lunch

Dinner, Lunch

Chicken Mushroom and Wild Rice Stew

It’s getting colder and autumn is settling in here in New England. I even heard that there were some snow flakes in the air north of here. Thankfully we’re not at that level here in greater Boston, but it is time for more cold-weather-food. Here is a little cheater recipe to get a nice hearty stew on the table in about an hour. It’s homey, rich and delicious and easy peasy thanks to …. a rotisserie chicken from the market (in my case, from Whole Foods because I think that they taste the best and have the least amount of fat). Saute up a few veggies, cook some wild rice and make a roux-based sauce and off you go. On the table in a hour and it makes great leftovers the next day too.
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25. October 2016
Dinner, Lunch

Pesto di Noce (Walnut Pesto)

I have a glut of basil this ear. Seriously, I am overrun. The plants come up to my waist and they are thick with delicious basil leaves. There are a number of different sorts, but mostly it is your standard Italian sweet basil. And lots of it.

So what does one do with a glut of basil? Make pesto of course. I have made lots and lots of Pesto alla Genovese (the standard green stuff that one thinks of first when one hears ‘pesto’). It freezes very well so my I am well stocked for a while. So I thought that I would make this Pesto di Noce (Walnut Pesto). It’s not as pretty as it’s Genovese cousin (for starters, it’s brownish, despite 2 cups of basil leaves in it), but it of so amazingly yummy. Pair it with giant ravioli and a few more walnuts and you have an amazing dinner (or lunch, in my case).
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30. August 2016
Dinner, Lunch, Pasta, Salads, Sides

French-style Herb Potato and Egg Salad

So, I’m pretty famous for my potato salad, but normally I make my Southern German (Bavarian or Swabian variety). Today, I thought I’d try a new and different kind for the BBQ that I am going to: French-style Herb Potato and Egg Salad. A little sweet, a little dill, very herby and turned out really really well, for a recipe that I made up on the fly. The eggs are semi-soft boiled (“7 minute eggs”) so their yolks actually mix well into the dressing, making it very creamy.
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19. August 2016
Appetizers/Starters, Desserts, Lunch, Salads, Sides

Caesar Salad Dressing

October 19, 1999 is a date that will forever remain in my memory. Why, you say? What is so important about that very day? It is the day that I ate the most perfect Caesar Salad salad ever made in the history of Caesar salads.

Yes, I remember the date. I remember the place (it was a restaurant attached to a Holiday Inn between Sausalito and Mill Valley, CA) and I remember the salad as if I ate it yesterday and yet it is almost 17 years later. That is how good this salad was. Think that I am crazy now? Yes, I remember the date of a salad. 🙂 Ever since then, I have tried Caesar Salads often, in the hope that maybe, just maybe I could find one just as good. Either the dressing doesn’t taste quite right, or there is too much of it (nothing like dressing with a side of romaine [shudder]) or (more often than not) it is just bad.

This salad doesn’t come close to the 1999 Salad, but I have found this dressing to be pretty awesome. As you know, the base of Caesar salad is egg yolks, but dealing with raw egg yolks can be a little problematic at times, so I thought of what else I could use as a base and came up with mayonnaise, which is in essence … eggs! This dressing should stay fridge-stable for a couple of days, if you don’t end up using it all at once.
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16. August 2016
Appetizers/Starters, Dinner, Lunch

Roasted Tomato Caprese Pie

I seem to have a crazy overabundance of cherry tomatoes and basil this year. My god, the basil! More on that some other time, today I was focused with doing something with the 2 pints of cherry tomatoes that I picked in the last few days. Seemed like an excuse to make this tomato pie. No, it isn’t a pizza, though I guess it might as well be. Sort of like a caprese salad, only warm and in a pie. Lunch was awesome! 🙂
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11. August 2016