Most of the cooking is done on the stove-top. When the eggs are close to being set, you sprinkle everything with grated Gruyere cheese and pop it under the broiler. Don’t have Gruyere? You can use any Swiss cheese or even an Italian blend. My father got bit by the frittata bug this week and made these for us for lunch a few days ago. This is a quick and easy, no-nonsense recipe that makes a terrific frittata in hardly any time at all....
Bacon, Egg and Mushroom Tart Hi, I’m Nagi and I’m a Puff Pastry-aholic. Actually, that’s pretty poor form to joke about my addiction to puff pastry. But I couldn’t help it. Because if there was a 12 step program to wean me off my addiction, I’d be there in a heartbeat. It actually takes me a lot of will power to not post a puff pastry recipe every couple of weeks....
If ever there was a mashed potato fiend, I am that person. I don’t make it all that often, because, to be honest, I could probably go through half a kilo of spuds all by myself. When I was a student, I used to make a big bowl of mash, then top it with crispy bacon, finely diced raw onion and leftover gravy from the freezer (NEVER throw away a decent gravy!...
Easy Chocolate Brownies from Scratch I got this chocolate brownie recipe years ago from my dear friend Suzanne, who had adapted it from an Alice Medrich recipe from the book Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate she found on Epicurious. Suzanne uses the same method and proportions, but instead of using vanilla, she flavors the brownies strongly with almond extract. So good! The almond extract gives these brownies a wonderful flavor, a perfect blend with the cocoa and pecans....
One of my greatest sources of inspiration are food blogs. I am continually amazed by the creativity, wealth of knowledge and talent that is “out there” in the food blogging community. And one of my personal favorites is Kathleen from Hapa Nom Nom. Ever since the very first day that I stumbled across her blog by chance, I was hooked. Having tried quite a few of her recipes (scroll down to see my favorites!...
So whenever I’m in New England in the summer (according to my local friends, summer is the best time for lobsters, they’re more plentiful and therefore less expensive) I make a point to have some. Now, there are many ways to cook lobster, and probably just as many ways to eat them. Boiling is the most straightforward way to cook lobster, though you can easily steam them too. I like my lobster dipped in hot melted butter, so that’s what is presented here....
For this recipe, toasted pieces of bread are soaked in a sage and garlic egg-milk mixture and layered between cubes of roasted butternut squash, kale, and cheese. The resulting dish is rich and filling. Using turmeric brightens up the whole affair, but you can leave it out if you don’t have any on hand. There is a lot of beta carotene in there, so it will be gorgeous either way....
Bacon Fried Bread Croutons. I wasn’t sure whether to include that in the title, thinking it would probably send any health conscious readers running for the hills (sorry guys! It still tastes fab without the croutons!!). But then I thought about my other readers. Yes - you guys. The ones who can’t resist the lure of bread, fried in bacon fat. I always have this internal argument when I make fried bread....
For an even healthier option, try this Broccoli Salad with a mayo-free Creamy Lemon Dressing or Ranch Dressing, or this Broccoli Salad with Sour Cream dressing! The mere mention of Broccoli Salad conjures up visions of giant bowls of broccoli swimming in oily mayo dressing that’s often too sweet. Just the thought makes my thighs start expanding. Yet I cannot deny that I’m a sucker for a good Broccoli Salad with a creamy dressing....
I made stew last week, and I’m posting porridge this week. Sometimes you’ve just got to forget the weather and eat what you fancy! I’ve been seeing brown rice porridge recipes flying around for a while. To be honest, I’m still weening myself onto brown rice as a savoury food, never mind trying to eat it as something sweet. So the fact I really enjoyed this surprised me. In usual Nicky style, I love white rice, as well as anything else in life that doctors and health ‘specialists’ tell you is bad for you (except fried haggis....
Today, we’re combining two of our favorite foods, buffalo chicken wings and cheesy lasagna, to make the ultimate crowd-pleasing casserole. This buffalo chicken lasagna has just the right amount of spice to balance the creaminess of the blue cheese sauce. In flavor, it perfectly mimics eating hot wings with a side of blue cheese dressing, but with the added toothsomeness of pasta. As impressive as this dish sounds and tastes, it’s actually quite simple to prepare....
The Inspiration for Buffalo Chicken Meatballs While the inspiration here is 100% Buffalo chicken wings, the ingredients are much like your typical Italian-style meatball: ground meat, breadcrumbs, seasonings, and an egg. The main difference is that instead of Italian herbs and Parmesan for flavor, this recipe leans on bottled Buffalo sauce, both in the meatball mixture and on the baked meatballs. Also, because these are based on traditional hot wings, the meatballs are made with ground chicken instead of beef or pork....
Caesar salad Wonton Cups Because I had leftover ingredients from the Chicken Caesar Salad I shared earlier this week, I decided to use them up by making little bite size versions. Caesar Salad overload? Never! Especially not when you transform them into these cute little cups. I love bite size food not only because they’re cute, but also because you don’t need crockery or utensils (very attractive for someone who doesn’t have a (working) dishwasher)....
Regardless of who came up with it, the roll dates back to the 1960s to 1970s. It became popular when Gourmet magazine featured it in 1980 as a gateway sushi for folks who have never had sushi. With no raw fish and rolled inside-out—the rice is on the outside of the roll—it’s often the first sushi that Americans try and eat most often. Key Ingredients in California Rolls Though it looks difficult to make, the California roll is easy to assemble....
Terrific grazing dessert for gatherings. And because it stays fresh for weeks, it makes for a sensational food gift!! Caramel Popcorn I make caramel popcorn a LOT all throughout the year. I make it for: gifting – just a pure act of kindness without any ulterior motives; bribing – when I’m trying to sway decisions / get in or stay in someone’s good graces. (This happens more than I care to admit 😂); and dessert for gatherings – it’s a brilliant grazing option for dessert so your family and friends don’t need to commit to a huge slice of chocolate cake because they’re stuffed full from dinner!...
The one thing that makes this ceviche recipe stand out from the rest is that it’s not too sour. Limes in South America aren’t as sour as ours! Ceviche Originating from the west coast of South America, today ceviche can be found in various forms from Mexico down to Peru and beyond. It’s also a dish that has been embraced by fine dining establishments around the world. It plates up elegantly and is an ideal light seafood starter to precede a richer main....
Cherry Tomato Salad This is my “go-to” salad that I make whenever I have ripe cherry tomatoes. One that I’ve been making for as long as I can remember. There’s nothing groundbreaking in it, it’s just a really classic combination of ingredients and flavours. But the one essential is to use juicy, ripe tomatoes. If you don’t, it kind of defeats the purpose! What goes in this cherry tomato salad Fresh basil with tomato is a match made in heaven, plus thin slices of red onion for freshness then a simple vinaigrette made with cider vinegar, olive oil and mustard for thickening....
Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry If you descended upon your local Asian Market armed with my Asian Market Shopping List and stocked up on the Level 1 essential sauces, you have the 3 sauces you need to make this. How good is that!!? And if your weekly grocery shopping is as predictable as mine, then chicken and broccoli made it into your trolley on the weekend. Which means you’re armed and dangerous, ready to cook up this big batch Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry....
Wonderfully rich and flavorful, and surprisingly easy to make, it’s a great way to add liver to your diet. If you’re curious about offal and would like to give it a try, chicken livers are a good place to start because their texture is pleasant and their flavor is fairly mild. Turning them into pâté makes them even more palatable, and is surprisingly easy to do. It’s one of those restaurant-style dishes that you can totally replicate at home....
