The Cook’s Kitchen

I found fresh fava beans at a local produce market and decided to make a salad with them. While the local weather (25F) does not feel like Spring, I needed something to remind me that the cold will eventually come to an end.
Fresh fava beans are a bit of work to shuck and shell, but […]

I volunteer for a non-profit organization that once a month or so hosts a dinner to ply our invitees with delicious food hoping they will pry open their wallets and fork over their hard earned cash to our worthy cause.  Normally I have a lot of say so as to the menu, however I was […]

This dish was inspired by Rick Stein’s recipe. A co-worker who lives on and operates a small family farm, offered me some fresh ground lamb. The lamb was organic and free range. It was wonderfully fresh, flavorful, and tender. Kefta is known throughout the Middle East as spiced meatballs. The meatballs, tomatoes and onion were […]

Welcome Carol Kicinski to the Cook’s Kitchen! Carol is our gluten-free living expert. I know that my family will be looking to learn a lot from Carol, a welcome addition to the team!

Macaroons exemplify my philosophy of gluten-free eating and cooking. They are naturally and simply gluten-free cookies. They require no mixing of other gluten-free […]

In the culinary realm, some people prefer to do easy things. Some prefer to do hard things. I’m on the fence there—I like to do easy things, obviously, because it generally means I get to eat sooner. I also like to do hard things, mostly just to see if I can. […]

Sometimes the best trick in the kitchen is the simplest. An egg is perhaps a wonder food, fat and protein all bundled into a neat package, that’s just the right size for a balanced part of a meal or a meal in its own right. But people get really frightened of cooking them.
I’ll let you […]

Weekends this winter have been unseasonably sociable… not that I’m complaining! Every invitation seems to bring with it a request to bring appetizers along.
I have assembled the following recipes using what I have on hand for last minute invitations; they are simple to make and are simply delicious:
Smoked Salmon Rolls
Makes 16 appetizers
1/4 cup spreadable light […]

The wind was howling and the snow was swirling sideways past the windows, but inside our family was feasting on a Sunday dinner of leftovers creatively reconfigured into new dishes.Following a Friday night casual kitchen supper for 10 friends (and… yes, I had been at work all day), I was left with an abundance of […]

We do some occasional catering, mostly BBQ. Nothing goes better with BBQ, other than beer, than Lemonade. Okay, Red Cream Soda makes a good partner with smoked foods as well. Nonetheless, we are talking about sweet, puckery lemonade!!
When catering for a few hundred people, you don’t have time to squeeze a few […]

Okay, I admit that these are pretty much the mini pizzas we all made as kids. I call them Italian Nachos is because they are bite sized and use a garlic, parmesan toast instead of tortilla chips. The crunchy little toasts are Nonni’s brand from Costco.

Take some seasoned toast thingies, add marinara, pepperoni […]