My sister Alison is more of a fashionista than a cook, but when she does decide to join me in the kitchen, you can guarantee she’ll be cooking up something delicious. Her baked sweet potatoes are a family favorite because they’re full of flavor and incredibly tender. Alison says you can add red pepper flakes to give this simple side dish an extra kick. Tonight we enjoyed her famous sweet potatoes with Noni’s Baby Back Ribs.
I had a strong affinity for food even as a young child, so I suppose it’s not surprising that some of my earliest memories are of the delicious meals my mom cooked. I can even remember standing at our kitchen counter in my Halloween costume 10 years ago while eating this chowder before a long night of trick-or-treating. And as my memory serves as proof, this chowder is that good!
Roasting your own nuts is incredibly easy and gives you the freedom to customize them with your favorite flavors. The brown sugar in my recipe caramelizes the nuts while the cayenne pepper adds a little heat to this protein-packed appetizer. Serve the nuts during a cocktail hour or take a small bag of them with you wherever you go for a quick healthy snack.
With the holidays coming to a close you can now find good use for that leftover eggnog! This french toast recipe is prepared the night before in order to ensure that the bread is well coated in the egg and cinnamon mixture. You can easily substitute half-and-half for the eggnog and make this delicious breakfast year round.
Every Christmas Eve my family and I eat at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant, Spago, in Beaver Creek, CO. We have great memories of family and food at the restaurant, and tonight’s dinner was made extra special by a visit with Wolfgang.
Prior to visiting with Wolfgang, we enjoyed an incredible meal that included pretzel rolls, handcut taglietelle with porcini mushrooms, tuna tartare in sesame cones, pork Wienerschnitzel and a creme fraiche pancake with organic strawberries. Needless to say, the food was outstanding and complemented the inviting ambiance of this restaurant that is nestled within a ski resort.
Spago was selling Wolfgang’s new cookbook, Wolfgang Puck Makes it Easy: a Step-by-Step Recipe Collection for the Home Cook, and Wolfgang was kind enough to personalize a copy to add to my growing collection. I look forward to testing many of the recipes in the book and highlighting the best of the best here on Just a Taste.
