Onion rings are one of my most favorite bar foods ever! We don’t often splurge on them though since they are definitely not the healthiest choice on a menu. But once I decided to set out on my “maiden voyage” to initiate my brand new deep fryer I knew onion rings would be a perfect […]
Shop Til I Drop – Right Here At Home In Our Garage!
Under normal circumstances I LOVE to shop at thrift stores. But we are definitely not operating under normal circumstances these days. You might be shocked at the number of brand new cooking gadgets I’ve scored in those beloved thrift stores. I think many folks get cooking items as wedding gifts and they have absolutely no […]
Copper Pots Need Polishing? – Just Grab Your Hot Sauce!
After our crazy trip home to the Heartland I began to deep clean our house from top to bottom. I just knew I would never be able to sleep if we didn’t deep clean absolutely everything in our home. And thank God for that huge can of Lysol I brought with us from Florida! I […]
Home To The HEARTland – Our Epic Journey
Home. That word conjures up different emotions for everyone. And in this time of illness and uncertainty that word took on a feeling of desperation for me last month. Our snowbird home is located within walking distance to the beach. And we watched with growing horror as the number of spring break students continued to […]
Try My Smoked Salmon “Martini” – A Beautiful Presentation
I am willing to bet you’ve never eaten a martini. But I’m here to tell you it’s time for you to give this show-stopping appetizer a try. While growing up I couldn’t begin to count the number of times Mom said “Patty Ann, we eat with our eyes first!” Mom’s lesson is one I’ve never […]
The Appetite Comes While You Are Eating – Ten Courses!
“Lappetito Vien Mangiando…” The Appetite Comes While You Are Eating Bring your appetite! The long awaited day for sharing details of our ten course rustic Italian dinner is finally here! I apologize in advance for the HUGE number of photos I’ll be sharing…but I believe these pictures ARE worth a thousand words. Especially on a […]
Ten Courses? No Sweat! Cooking in Jim’s Kitchen
Does the thought of cooking a ten course dinner party make you sweat? Not me! Not as long as my favorite foodie friend Jim is by MY side! Our long awaited dinner party was scheduled for a Sunday evening. So Thursday was our major league shopping day, and Friday was venue decorating day. “Plan Ahead” […]
Decorating For A Ten Course Dinner – Planning Is Key
Decorating for any event has always been important to me, and I learned many years ago to start that process early. It ALWAYS takes much longer to complete that labor of love than you might imagine. My decorating bug started by watching Mom prepare for company. She would pull out all the stops when setting […]
Dal Contadino Trattoria – Inspiration For A Ten Course Meal
It turns out one amazing dish from an authentic Italian trattoria was my inspiration for a ten course Italian meal! Peepaw and I love to visit some of our Snowbird neighborhood restaurants on what we call “Wine Wednesdays.” I tasted a fantastic dish at Dal Contadino Trattoria, one of our favorite eateries located only a […]
Our Perfect Dinner Venue – Kalona Makers Market
What an amazing venue. My foodie friend Jim and I are a perfect match in the kitchen, and his kitchen is a chef’s dream. But when we hatched a plan to cook a ten course rustic Italian dinner…Jim had an idea. And it turned out to be a GREAT one. Touring The Venue Jim asked […]