ffwd – beef cheek daube

Here's what I liked about this week's pick: I have never had beef cheeks I had to look up what beef cheeks even look like so that I could find them (though had to ask despite being about 1' away from the packages - not impressive) Finding them at my favorite local Hispanic supermarket - … Continue reading ffwd – beef cheek daube

ffwd – top-secret chocolate mousse

I've been waiting to make this recipe since getting the book Around My French Table. I've even been a bit surprised that we haven't tackled it before. But it was a good choice for a busy week, particularly when I was going to have people over for dinner. I have to say, this wasn't my … Continue reading ffwd – top-secret chocolate mousse

Thanksgiving 2012

Each year I come up with a menu for Thanksgiving, and include a lot of the recipes, so that we can share, anticipate and get excited about our upcoming holiday together. (there are 2 files of recipes linked). And it's a way to share with our people who can't make it to be with us. This year, … Continue reading Thanksgiving 2012

ffwd – mushroom and shallot quiche

This week's recipe uses one of my favorite vegetables - mushrooms! And I love quiche, so I've been waiting to make this recipe. I had a whole bunch of crimini mushrooms on hand, so it worked out perfectly (well, almost). I also remembered to pick up a nice bunch of thyme from the house up … Continue reading ffwd – mushroom and shallot quiche

ffwd – chicken tagine with sweet potatoes and prunes

This week's recipe is an interesting one - something I've never made before. It includes many flavors I really like though in a bit of a different combination. I decided to make a half-recipe because I wasn't really intending on sharing - busy week ahead. I actually made this on Sunday (so, yes, I'm late … Continue reading ffwd – chicken tagine with sweet potatoes and prunes

ffwd – hummus

The good news is that I needed to have another appetizer for a party I planned for a weeknight. So, the fact that this amounted to buy, open, whirl, serve - was probably a good thing. With about four ingredients (canned chickpeas, garlic, lemon and tahini), it was pretty easy to put together. I had … Continue reading ffwd – hummus

ffwd – chicken basquaise

This chicken basquaise is really a piperade to which chicken is added. When I did a little added research, I found that this recipe is really quite traditional. "A basquaise is a type of dish prepared in the style of Basque cuisine that often includes tomatoes and sweet or hot red peppers." "Piperade (Gascon) or Piperrada (Basque), from piper (pepper in Gascon and Basque) is a typical Basque dish prepared with onion, green … Continue reading ffwd – chicken basquaise

ffwd – spice-poached apples or pears

I decided to make this with both pears and apples, since I didn't really know which kind of fruit I'd prefer. This is another easy recipe, with a flavorful simple syrup used for poaching the fruit (similar to the peach melba of a few weeks ago), this time sweetened largely with honey. Here, the syrup … Continue reading ffwd – spice-poached apples or pears

tortilla wreaths

I host a wreath-making party every year. Sometime around Thanksgiving, either before or after, depending on the calendar. One of the favorites, (3 times?), both in Arizona and Texas, is a tortilla wreath. These are simple, fun and always a huge hit. For each wreath, you'll need: A wire coat hanger that is neither too … Continue reading tortilla wreaths

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I had seen a KAF blog post about these cupcakes, and decided that they were a perfect idea for an upcoming birthday party. After all, for this crew, lemon meringue pie was a favorite flavor, but somehow, didn't seem exactly right for the event. Essentially, they are white cupcakes, filled with lemon curd and topped … Continue reading Lemon Meringue Cupcakes