There will not be a recipe posted today, I am far too busy to cook! I’ve been scouring every store I can think of for items for this year’s Easter buffet. I’ve been to Cost Plus World Market, Pier One, Holland Boone, a couple of consignment stores, and I just returned home from Crown Imports. Maybe tomorrow I’ll hit Micheal’s and JoAnn’s … but I’ve done all I can do today.

[Read more →]

Finally, this is the last of the Easter brunch recipes. Hopefully this past week of posts has given you a nice repertoire of brunch, breakfast, and spring recipes ideas.

I’ve mentioned of my love for Nutella before, so how about a little “history of Nuttela” this time?  This comes straight from the Nuttela website, “Nutella® spread, in its earliest form, was created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, as pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. At the time, there was very little chocolate because cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing. So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy, to extend the chocolate supply.” There you go, a little history with your breakfast!

I served this at the Saturday office brunch last weekend and have some “do-head” tips for you. The brioche can be sliced, spread, and sandwiched together a day ahead. Place in an airtight bag or container and refrigerate until ready to cook. And the cereal-brown sugar mixture may also ground together ahead and stored in an airtight container. Unsliced loaves of brioche can be found at Trader Joe’s.

Lastly, a shout-out to my girlfriend, Lorie, in Los Angeles…. I couldn’t decide which old picture to choose, so I put up both of them.  Happy Birthday, Lorie! xoxo

[Read more →]

I was inspired to make chilaquiles for Easter brunch after learning about them at FnB, a fabulous new restaurant in downtown Scottsdale, (click here for link) where Chef Charleen Badman traditionally makes them on weekends for the late-night crowd.

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican dish. Typically, corn tortillas cut in quarters and lightly fried are the basis of the dish. Red or green sauce is poured over the tortilla triangles, called “totopos.” Scrambled eggs and/or shredded chicken are sometimes added. The dish is topped with queso fresco and crèma.  Usually, chilaquiles are eaten at breakfast or brunch. This makes them a popular recipe to use leftover or stale tortillas.

I’ll be using two of my favorite “convenience” items – 3 garlic cubes (purchased at Trader Joe’s) and 4 chipotle cubes(homemade using empty garlic cube trays – see this previous post on how to do so).  You can too, or just follow the recipe for the “traditional” method of peeling and mincing.

[Read more →]

On Saturday, I’ll be serving a pre-Easter brunch to the hardworking people in my husband, Dave’s, office.  It’s a CPA firm and Easter usually falls during the crunch time of tax season, so these people need a break! This recipe is on the menu. I confess, I totally ripped it off out of the Williams-Sonoma catalog. They sell these cute little “breakfast pigs in a blanket”.  The Williams-Sonoma version uses Aidell’s chicken-apple sausages. While I did fine Aidells sausages at Costco and was planning to use them, I spotted some mango-chicken sausages and decided to go that route… happy I did because – Yum!

So here are your choices… purchase from the catalog and pay $48.50 (that’s with shipping) for 24 “pigs”…  or… make mine, and pay less than $25 for the pastry and sausages and you will wind up with 60 – as in “six- zero”  little pigs!!!

I know what you’re saying to yourself right now…. “I do not need Sixty Pigs, even if they do cost $1.58 less per piece.”  Oh yes – You do!!!  These are delicious, easy, and so great to have on hand in your freezer.  That’s right, you can bake and serve some now and freeze the rest for later. Of course, you can always cut the recipe in half, and use just one package of puff pastry and find another and smaller (meaning a smaller quantity then sold at Costco) package of sausages. But once you get into the roll of putting these together, it takes no time at all and you’ll feel rich and wise with the knowledge that you have these little gems stocked away. They can go directly from the freezer to the oven -at the ready for a quick cocktail appetizer or as a fun breakfast, any day of the week. Finally, I call for whole-grain mustard, because I like it, but if you only have regular Dijon, that works too.

[Read more →]

For Easter 1996, when Marissa and Connor were 8 and 5 years old, we gave them four baby chicks.

We raised the chickens as pets and for their eggs.

One chicken laid white eggs, another produced brown eggs, and the other two were araucana chickens.

They gave us beautiful blue and green tinted eggs.

It was such a joy to go out each day and find those fresh eggs in their various hues. We had to give the chickens up when we moved to our current home, over a dozen years ago. Not only do I miss the daily fresh eggs, but also those lovely colors. Last year I found a way to create my own amazingly gorgeous eggs, maybe not on a daily basis, but at least for Easter. The secret? 100% silk!  If you’re in need of purging your closet, this is a good time, at least for 100% silk items, such as ties and scarves.  If not, head out to the closest Goodwill or thrift store to find such items. I went to the Goodwill at 40th Street and Thunderbird over the weekend and bought all 32 of the silk ties they had, so be sure and go to another location!

[Read more →]

Easter is quickly approaching which means Lent is nearly over… and I have only posted one fish recipe… sorry! I’m not actually into frying fish at home… we’ll leave that to the church social halls.  But with two Friday’s left – including Good Friday, it’s not too late to get a fish recipe posted, so how about a little mahi-mahi and shrimp?

Contrary to popular belief the mahi-mahi is not related to the dolphin family of mammals. They are one of the fastest-growing fish and are carnivorous- feeding on crabs, squid, and mackerel. Mahi-mahi’s sweet taste and firm flesh makes it perfect for poaching; along with halibut, swordfish, and salmon- just in case you are looking for a good substitute.

If you eat a lot of fish, a fish poacher is a great pan to have in your kitchen. Often thought of for cooking whole fish, it works wonderfully with fillets as well. If you are in the market for a poacher, you can check out this link or visit your local kitchen store. If you don’t have and are not interested in a poacher, no problem, a larger skillet with a tight fitting lid will work just fine. And please don’t be intimidated or turned off by the long list of ingredients… the majority are either spices or items just dropped into the poaching liquid.

As a vegetable side, I made sautéed fennel and red peppers with capers and olives. I then used the fennel stalks in the poaching liquid and the fronds as garnish. I’ll be posting that recipe tomorrow, but in case you want to do your grocery shopping today here is the ingredient list: 1 fennel bulb, 1 small onion, 1 red bell pepper, capers, and Kalamata olives. And if you decide against this side dish, leave the fennel out of the poaching liquid – it is listed as optional.

[Read more →]

As stated in yesterday’s post, this bacon is a Christmas and Easter breakfast tradition in our house. It’s basically “Bacon Candy”.  So sweet, crispy, and decadent! And it couldn’t be easier to make. It is pictured above with our other Christmas breakfast tradition – Cinnamon-Pecan Rolls. That recipe is on yesterday’s post. Also pictured here today, is Connor and the five mini-oil paintings he made as gifts for the family. Nothing better than beautiful and heart-felt homemade gifts from a talented person. Thanks, Con!
[Read more →]