If you like hot and spicy foods, then you’d love harissa; an oh-my-hell-it’s-hot! North African chili paste, most commonly found in Tunisian, Algerian, and Moroccan cuisine. It’s often used as a condiment, but is also added to meat dishes, stews, couscous or sauces.
A little bit of this delicious chili paste goes a long way. Too [...]

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You can’t have tapas without having a good sausage or two, and the two that top my list are cantipalitos and morcilla.
Cantipalitos are little red sausages with smoked paprika - an essential ingredient in Spanish cooking - and garlic (among a few other things). They are smoky sweet with a nice garlic tang, and are [...]

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I’ve been painting my kitchen all weekend. And if you’ve never taken on the task of painting a room, let me tell you something, hire someone. Or at least know what you’re getting yourself into. I took a look at our kitchen and cockily exclaimed, “Psh, I can totally do this myself!” And I did [...]

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Flowers enhance food in both an alluring and fun way. They give a romantic dinner a sensual touch, or add a bit of playfulness with a surprising splash of color. Best of all, there’s that little “lift” of fragrance that’s unbeatable.
My favorite is to toss in a small amount of nasturtiums or pansies to a [...]

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Let me preface this by saying I mean no disrespect, but Barnaby has this hilarious cookbook called White Trash Cooking. While I have been known to eat Little Smokies and SPAM, I had never heard of some of the ‘delicacies’ listed in this fine publication.
Let me share one with you: Cooter Pie. I’m unclear as [...]

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Oh, wasabi…let me count the ways I love you.
In the spring when my sinuses are blocked from allergies you quickly clear them like no nasal spray can. And for that I am deeply and forever grateful.
You give us a big laugh when we switch the green tea ice cream for a big glump of you [...]

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I love oysters on the half shell, but if they’re too big and briny they can kinda make me gag. But, the big ones are good for one thing: Oysters Rockefeller.
Oysters Rockefeller were created at the famous Antoine’s, owned by Antoine Alciatore, in New Orleans and were named after the richest man at the time, [...]

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I have a bit of Irish running through my blood so genetically I love potatoes. Baked, gratin, mashed, fried, hash browned, and I will even admit it, Tater Tots.
Tonight we’re barbecuing with our friends and nothing goes better with ribs than a good potato salad (and corn bread and coleslaw, but Irish girl here is [...]

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There’s never a bad time for a roasted chicken. Especially when the weather is still a bit crisp, and you feel like tucking in for the evening and enjoying a good meal. The smell of roasting bird wafts through the house, taunting your hunger. You almost want to grasp fork and knife in hands and [...]

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Brining, the soaking of meat for many hours or days, was traditionally a method for preserving meats. It’s a curing process that binds with, or completely removes, the water in the meat in order to prevent the growth of micro-organisms. Fortunately for us we have refrigeration so we don’t have to rely on this lengthy, [...]

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