Dinner Party – Here’s a plan to get out of the kitchen and enjoy your guests!
Dinner parties can sometimes be a bit intimidating for the host, especially if the host is the cook for the evening. You can always call a caterer, but it can be fun to show off you creative cooking finesse when you have the opportunity. And it can be fairly easy when you create a menu […]
Chicken Saltimbocca
A classic Italian-inspired dish featuring thin chicken cutlets topped with fresh sage leaves and layered with prosciutto, pan-seared and finished with a velvety white wine and butter pan sauce. One of my favorite dishes to serve at my dinner parties.
Taziki’s – Fabulous Mediterranean Food in Roanoke, Virginia
Today, I had the pleasure of enjoying a tasting menu at one of Roanoke’s best and newest Mediterranean restaurants – a fast-casual restaurant, located in the Ivy Market, Taziki’s Mediterranean Café. Taziki’s is locally owned (pictured below, left) by Jona Ford (and that’s me on the right). Fast-casual is a dining concept bridging the gap […]
Crispy Prosciutto Carbonara
One of the reasons that I love carbonara is the pasta! Bucatini is long, thick pasta with a hole running through the center. The hole allows the pasta to soak up the sauce. Carbonara is traditionally made with guanciale (cured pork) but I like to make it with crispy prosciutto which is easier to find […]
Champagne Saffron Risotto
A fabulous dish – equally comfortable sitting at a fancy dinner or casual supper. Delicious and filling on its own, or paired with grilled shrimp or lobster and a green salad. The saffron and champagne are delicate flavors, so seafood would be my choice to pair this risotto (so the flavor of the fish/meat does […]
Mediterranean Hummus Tray with Homemade Pita Chips
Making your own homemade pita bread is easy, fun and it tastes so much better than pita you buy in the grocery store. I like to make pita chips with my homemade pita bread. My secret? Olivelle Sweet Cream Butter Infused Olive Oil and Feta & Herb Dipper & Seasoning. My Mediterranean hummus tray with […]
Creamy Parmesan Tuscan Chicken
Sheet Pan Nachos
Looking for a quick weekday dinner or a casual weekend supper? Sheet Pan Nachos are the answer to a busy cook’s dream. Ready in less than 30 minutes and your family will love them!
White Chicken Chili- secret ingredient – Boursin herb and garlic cheese
I love to use Boursin Herb and Garlic cheese in my soup and white chicken chili recipes. It adds just the right amount of herby flavor and creaminess. I like to think of it as my secret ingredient. My white chicken chili recipe is so easy (done in less than 30 minutes) and so flavorful. […]
Italian Cheese Stuffed Shells
My cheese stuffed jumbo pasta shells have a secret ingredient – Olivelle Pizzaolio Infused Olive Oil. Tastes like pizza in a bottle! Tuscan olive oil with garlic, basil, rosemary, oregano and spicy chilies (for just a hint of spiciness). You know how sometimes pasta with meat sauce can be dry? I solved that problem by […]
