November Royal Foodie Joust

Acorn squash, orange and sage. At first glance, the ingredients seem easy enough–three fall flavors that should effortlessly complement each other. But when I started to tackle this month’s Royal Foodie Joust, my first, I realized the task at hand was a little harder than I had imagined. My first instinct was to make a souffle. Then I thought of a creamy soup. But as visions of Thanksgiving fare danced through my head, I ultimately settled on these acorn squash rings brushed with an orange-sage butter and filled with an apple and sausage stuffing. It’s

Shepherd’s Pie … with a Twist

Comfort food is, without a doubt, a necessity during fall and winter. There’s nothing more satisfying than a warm stew, a hearty soup or a savory pie. As we turned on the heat in our home the other day, I finally settled into cold weather mode and got to thinking about which comfort foods need to make their way to our dinner table from here on out. Pastitsio, moussaka, hmmm … then my thoughts turned to a post I read a couple of weeks ago on Giff and Lisl’s The Constables’ Larder in which the duo featured their favorite comfort food,

Cupcakes … and an Award

Ever since becoming a mother I naturally have a thing for cupcakes. Every birthday, every holiday, every occasion, (you get the picture) I try to whip up a batch and decorate them to the best of my ability. I always get ahead of myself of course, so the decorating doesn’t always come out as I’ve imagined in my over-achieving mind, but somehow I get the job done. This past weekend, a very good friend of ours celebrated her daughter’s 4th birthday and I put together these sweet treats for her party. This “cake” recipe is extremely moist and the

Latin Cravings

I’ve had a craving for Latin food lately. It set in when I began reading the blog Bren’s FlaNboyant Eats after Brenda so kindly visited my own blog and left a few kind words. So the other night, I decided chicken was on the menu and what better way to make it than with some Latin flair. I browsed through Bren’s blog and came across her post on Pollo Asado and decided that was the recipe. It was a last minute decision so I was missing the mojo criollo and the packet of Sazon Bren’s recipe called for but managed to improvise making a mixture of lemon,

Kounoupidokeftedes (Cauliflower Fritters) with a Caper Cream Sauce

Oddly enough the inspiration for this recipe came from a cookbook which is actually a compilation of Greek monastic recipes from the Iera Moni Tatarni in Evrytania, a prefecture of Central Greece. Two summers ago while visiting my husband’s family in Agrinio, his aunt–an avid cook–knowing that I love the kitchen as much as she does, gave me this book, among a number of others, as a gift. Now, to be completely honest, I returned from my trip and kind of set the book aside thinking there wouldn’t be much to interest me in it. I stumbled upon it the

Lovely Lentils

Lentils in my household are usually used in a common lentil soup made by Greeks that varies slightly from family to family. I usually combine the lentils with plenty of finely chopped onion, garlic, celery, carrot, bay leaf, olive oil, tomato paste, water or vegetable broth and a splash of vinegar once done to make a hearty soup my children thankfully gulp down. During the cooler months of fall, winter and early spring this soup is a weekly staple which I turn into a meal alongside plenty of bread, some Feta, lots of olives and maybe a little melitzanosalata (eggplant