Fruit explosion!    Who doesn’t love chips and salsa at a party? I think it is kind of un-American to turn up your nose at probably one of our first appetizers we ever learned to make whether it is guacamole, onion dip (even the packaged type) or anything you throw together with a sour cream [...]

Bok, Bok, Bok, doesn’t that sounds like some kind of strange bird? Ok, so it isn’t a bird. I don’t think I have ever eaten this vegetable until back in February when we had our annual dinner of golf husbands and their wives. Our golfers have come to call this “wife appreciation dinner” because we let [...]

Cornbread meets a plate of veal sweetbreads.   And you thought you knew cornbread. Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal, flour and some leavening and there are so many types of cornbread that come from soul food country in the south to a sweet cornbread from Texas. Two things I was disappointed in [...]

Asparagus Straws for your next party. I know Spring has been here and gone and we are looking at a hot dry summer ahead of us. But you can always get fresh asparagus, just not always at the low springtime prices. (On our way to Chicago to see grandson #4; #3 arrived 2 months ago.) [...]

Campari — The tomato lover’s tomato.     Campari tomatoes are one of my favorite types of tomatoes. They are known for their juiciness and extraordinarily sweet taste and low acidity. They are deep red, bigger than a cherry tomato and so cute to boot. As baby bear said, Not too big, not to little, [...]