Project "You Buy, I Cook" ~ Gluten Free, Dairy Free Baked Italian Beef Meatballs with Rice Pasta and Tomato Sauce

I love my friends, but let's be honest - they are a bunch of picky eaters!  Alright, some of them are picky.  Others are perfectly happy to eat whatever, whenever, wherever.  Project "You Buy, I Cook" is my way to share cooking and dining experiences with friends - picky and otherwise.  For the most part, I think the project challenges my friends to eat something new, try an exotic ingredient or discover an unusual flavor combination.

For the latest "You Buy, I Cook" I was the one challenged!  The challenge, posed by my friend Nadiya, was to develop a recipe for Gluten Free and Dairy Free meatballs.  Extra challenge points: no onions, minimum use of spices, and obviously no cheese, milk or bread.

Nadiya showed up with a pound of beef, some instant oatmeal, a few eggs, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce.  We rolled up our sleeves (and later meatballs) and went to work.

Apricot and Raspberry Flavored Iced Tea ~ Make Your Own at Home

One of my favorite summer beverages is a glass of iced tea (there is an ongoing debate as to whether it is "iced tea" or "ice tea").  Regardless of what you call it, it's delicious, cooling, and refreshing.  These days, grocery and specialty stores carry a wide array of flavored iced teas, but did you know that it's very easy to make at home?

Over the weekend, I was flipping (over exaggerated) crepes for a Sunday breakfast.  I rolled the crepes with sour cream and raspberry and apricot jam.  While cleaning up after breakfast, I noticed that each jar of jam had barely anything left inside.  Rather than discarding the minimal leftovers, I decided to make Apricot and Raspberry Flavored Iced Tea.

Project "You Buy, I Cook" ~ Peach, Nectarine and Blueberry Clafouti

Last week, I worked as a personal chef for a family, creating daily dinners.  The challenge was to create family-friendly, healthy, and flavorful meals that were also kosher.  A protein, a starch, a vegetable, a salad...oh, and also a dessert!  On the last evening of my assignment, I made a Pear and Blueberry Clafouti following a recipe from Ina Garten (I added blueberries and skipped pear brandy.  Also, I used large eggs instead of extra large).

The family loved the dessert and so did my friend Alla (aka THE pho buddy).  In fact, Alla loved it so much that we met up in her kitchen the very next day to make yet another version of this recipe: Peach, Nectarine and Blueberry Clafouti.  Don't you just love saying "clafouti"?

Girl Scout Samoas Chicken Tenders and Noodle Salad Recipe Contest

Update:  This recipe has been selected as Top Five! Please, if you like it, vote for the recipe to make it a winner by clicking on this link.  Thank you!


I am not a Girl Scout, but I have eaten plenty of Girl Scout cookies.  When I got a chance to participate in the Girl Scouts of Western Washington Cookie Recipe Contest, I jumped right in.  I picked up 5 boxes of cookies, a combination of Samoas, Thin Mints, and Trefoils and headed back to my kitchen.  I won't lie, I opened up a box of Thin Mints and ate a few right away, just to get the creative juices flowing.  Creating a recipe with the cookies was going to be a challenge.  I wanted the cookie to stand out and be an integral part of the recipe.  At the end, I chose Samoas - "Tender vanilla cookies, covered with caramel, rolled in toasted coconut, and striped with a rich, chocolatey coating."

Instead of creating a dessert recipe, I chose to go in a savory direction.  I crushed the cookies in a food processor and used them in combination with Panko crumbs, almonds, and Szechuan and Cayenne peppers as a coating for chicken tenders.  And because you can never have enough cookies, I added extra Samoas to the rice noodle salad.  

My Big Fat Greek Mac and Cheese

Do people eat mac and cheese in Greece?  I'm not sure, but if they do, I am pretty sure it tastes something like this recipe.

I created this cheesy (obviously) and zesty Mediterranean version of mac and cheese for the Third Annual Macaroni and Cheese Blog Launched by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.  The blog celebrates the National Cheese Lover's Day and features a brand new mac and cheese recipe every day for 30 days.  Be sure to check out all 30 delicious recipes!

Before I continue, let me get some "thank yous" out of the way.  I would like to thank my sister Olga of Mango Tomato for putting me in touch with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board  and making this project possible.  I would also like to thank Carly for coming up with this fantastic name for the recipe!  Originally, I was going to call the recipe "Greek Salad" mac and cheese, but "My Big Fat Greek Mac and Cheese" won me over.  After all, like Carly said, if you eat too much of this, you might get fat!  No worries though, the recipe is made in individual ramekins, making it easier for you to control this cheesy intake.

I want to tell you a little bit about my inspiration for the recipe.  I fell in love with Greece through watching Mamma Mia! and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  I have yet to travel to Greece, but every time I enjoy Greek cuisine, I can almost imagine myself on one of the islands, surrounded by the breeze of the blue waters, the white stucco of the buildings and the loud chatter of the Greek grandmas.  For the recipe, I picked some of my favorite ingredients of the Greek Salad and combined it with a traditional mac and cheese.  The sweet red bell peppers, Kalamata olives, peperoncini, and parsley add not only color to the mac and cheese, but also cut through the richness of the creamy cheese sauce.  The crumbled pita chips top the mac and cheese just like they would a large plate of Greek Salad and add the much needed texture contrast.

What about the cheese?  I knew that I was going to use Feta, and was happy to find the Black Peppercorn variety.  For the base cheese I was thrilled to find Bellatini Formaggio - "similar to a cross between Feta and Parmesan cheese, this one of a kind, high moisture crumble is extremely creamy.  Great for salads or melting on Greek flatbreads."  How perfect is this?

And now I think you have waited long enough.  Below is the recipe with the step-by-step photos.  Go get in your kitchen!  Opa!

Just in Time for Valentine's Day: Orange and Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes with Strawberries

Chocolate loves strawberries.  Chocolate also loves orange.  Why keep these three lovers apart?  In honor of Valentine's Day, I bring the three together in the recipe for Orange and Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes with Strawberries.  


Last time I tried to make buttermilk pancakes (Apple and Bacon Pancakes) the store was out of  buttermilk. Luckily, this time around, the stars were aligned.  I picked up a carton of buttermilk, along with a pint of strawberries ~ everything else for this recipe was already awaiting in my refrigerator and pantry.

Share this for breakfast or breakfast-for-dinner with the one you love.

Southwestern Confetti Double Baked Potatoes

Last week there was this very important game on TV.  Lots of guys running around a field, protected with padding, helmets, and jock straps.  Something about the New York Giants winning?  Oh right!  It was the Super Bowl.  Well, not being a fan of football, I was still very excited when my friend Carly (aka Apple Girl) invited me over for a potluck football viewing party.

Carly was going to bake ginger soy chicken, which turned out amazing!  Other potluck contributions included an apple crisp, French macaroons, chips, and fantastic fried Mac and Cheese balls (made by another Apple Girl, Rachel).  Instead of beer, we sipped on Mango Peach White Sangria that Carly put together (if you are lucky, she'll write a guest blog post and share her recipe with the rest of us!).

When thinking about my contribution to the potluck, I was reminded of an episode of The Pioneer Woman on Food Network where Ree Drummond makes double baked potatoes.  I love potatoes, and when cut in half and baked, they resemble footballs!  This was going to be perfect, I thought.  I decided to make these double baked potatoes vegetarian, colorful and relatively healthy by adding some vegetables.  The Southwestern Confetti Double Baked Potatoes were born, cooked, and devoured.

Pastel de Nata: Portuguese Egg Tarts aka Chinese Dessert

It was time for another foodcentric book club meeting.  The assigned book was Sharks Fin and Sichuan Pepper by Fuchsia Dunlop.  For some reason, I could not get into the book.  I tried to read it on the plane; I tried to read it in bed, on the couch, and even outside.  I got uncontrollable cravings for delicious, spicy, flavorful Sichuan cuisine, but couldn't be forced to turn the page.

The thought of skipping the book club never did enter my mind.  After all, one of the components of the club is the potluck where each attendee cooks or brings a dish inspired by the book.

What to bring?  I knew the hostess-with-the-mostest, Naomi of Gastrognome, would be making the Dan Dan Noodles, and there was some talk of grilled lamb skewers with cumin and stir-fried eggplant.  I thought something sweet would round up the meal nicely.  Unfortunately, the book itself did not have a dessert recipe, so I turned to the world of on-line research.  Googling "Sichuan dessert recipes" led me to the Rasa Malaysia site and a simple recipe for Portuguese Egg Tarts.  

Secret Life of a Recipe Tester: Vegetarian Mexican Posole Soup

Have you ever thought about becoming a Recipe Tester?  Would you like to learn more about it?  Well, today is your lucky day.  In the last five years, I have tested recipes for cookbooks, magazines, and other culinary publications.  While recipe testing, I developed a stomach of steel and the patience of a saint (or at least I would like to believe so).  Recipe testing requires culinary knowledge, patience, attention to detail and perseverance.  

This week, I am testing a few recipes for an upcoming cookbook - if you would like more information, please leave a message and I will follow up once the book is published.  In general, when testing recipes, the tester is reimbursed the cost of groceries.  In some rare, but highly appreciated instances, a recipe tester also gets a copy of the cookbook and perhaps a small token of appreciation in a form of a gift card.