Spring is here, time for health and beauty to begin again. This soup is creamy, yet no dairy products are involved. Basic Pantry ingredients create this healthy every-day soup.
Now that asparagus is in season I love to grab bunches at the farmer’s market. This easy soup is on my healthy-bowls list, quick and nourishing. The soup comes together quickly with some basic kitchen items.
No. 634 Fresh Asparagus soup from the Membership Collection.
Happy Easter everyone.
This is no blarney, this classic Irish Soda Bread Pudding is filled with currants, caraway seeds and topped with a buttery Irish Whiskey Sauce is one is the best-No.632 in the Membership Collection.
I think this soda bread recipe is the best I have ever had and shared with me by a dear friend. This is his Irish Mom’s recipe, very true to her roots. After baking two loaves of this simple bread I use most of one loaf for this pudding.
Enjoy this pudding for a sweet breakfast or dessert. Best warm from the oven and topped with a rich butter-Whiskey sauce. An extremely simple recipe using only Irish Soda bread cubes, butter, half & half, eggs and vanilla.
After whisking together the cream sauce pour it over the bread cubes and bake. When it is puffed and brown remove from the oven and sprinkle with crunchy Demerara sugar.
Serve warm with the Whiskey sauce-this Little Jewel No. 632 from the Membership Collection.
Crispy toasted leaves of kale with melted Parmesan are all tossed in my classic French House Vinaigrette, this is NOT your Mother’s kale salad-find out why.
The first part of the salad is the roasted kale & parmesan cheese combo. The kale chips are doused with Parmesan cheese and roasted until both are brown and and the cheese is crispy. The salad is off to a great start.
I brought you this dressing way back when during my days as a private chef. It was a favorite then and still reigns supreme today. For this salad I added some garlic for the tarragon, more punch to the dressing.
After you have roasted the kale, make the vinaigrette. Then come the salad completion parts: Some remaining kale leaves and torn into pieces and serve as the bas of the salad. Toasted with the walnuts and some extra Parmesan cheese to embellish the salad serving.
I know, yes you are reading this correctly, cinnamon in the sauce? Yes, this recipe is based on a dear friend’s fabulous sauce; very few people guess this secret spice. The spicy seasoning mix and Italian sausage contribute the sauce’s richness and complexity.
Our dear friend Tommy shared this recipe with our family many years ago. I can’t tell you how many pounds of sauce have been created. Everyone from kids to adults love this sauce. It is a unique take on spaghetti sauce. I shared it here . Unique just like the man, this sauce was created with families in mind.
Many sausage ragùs are sweet, however making the sauce with Hot Italian Sausage really kicks things up. The time spent cooking this sauce on the stove is so worth it. Put on your favorite show to binge and relax. Watch the sauce, stirring often as the sauce begins to thicken. During the last hour keep your eye on the pan, do not let the sauce stick to the bottom of the pan. Add more water if the sauce gets too thick during cooking.
Time is on your side for flavor, so don’t rush the cooking time. This sauce is even better made the day before. Cool, refrigerate and gently reheat to serve. I like using a short pasta like rigatoni or penne with this rich meat sauce.
Ah, the French bistros of France offer the most lovely salads. Always served with fresh local ingredients. The basic Bistro Salad is my favorite with delicate lettuce and a Dijon vinaigrette, vegetables and often chicken is an option. French Bistro Salad is recipe No. 629 in the Recipe Membership Collection.
The dressing recipe originally came from my cooking teachers way back in my Pasadena young-girl days. I learned so much from those teachers and classes.
Here’s how I make it. Place a small clove of chopped garlic into wooden bow, add a pinch of coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and use the back of a wooden salad spoon to mash garlic and salt. Add about 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar stir and then whisk in about 4 tablespoons of good olive oil. Top with the greens and take it to the table to be tossed and served toward the end of the meal, so French.
I have been making versions of this salad since I got my large Maple Salad bowl from a trip to Boston what seems like a hundred years ago. The bowl is cracked from many tumbles off top shelves to the floor, character I guess. I did find a solid maple bowl here, on my wish list, but I will always cherish this salad bowl.
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