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Entertaining Recipes

The easiest artichoke dip recipe…ever

July 28, 2016
Creamy Artichoke Dip

If you’ve been following me here or on Instagram , you may have figured out that I like food…a lot.  I also love easy recipes and this one couldn’t be much simpler.  It never fails to impress when I serve it at parties or bring it to someone’s potluck spread.  The only problem is that when asked for the recipe, it’s almost embarrassing to admit how little time or ingredients go into creating something so tasty!…

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Recipes

blueberry cougan

May 5, 2016

As a kid, I didn’t like blueberries.  Come to think of it, I didn’t like much of anything when it came to food!  But every summer my mom would pick fresh blueberries from our bushes and make something called a blueberry cougan.  I have no idea where that name came from, but it’s what we always called it.  Just the smell emanating from the kitchen while it was baking was enough to let me know that this would be something…

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Recipes

pasta risotto

April 14, 2016

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I made a dish called “Pasta Risotto” on an unusually cool and wet weekend here in Santa Barbara.  It was the perfect kind of weather to be in the kitchen cooking. Like so many of the recipes I make, this was one given to me by my mom.  She had cut it out of something and copied it, so I don’t know the source.  If anyone does, please chime in!  All I know for sure is…

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Recipes

Easy entertaining with Lemon-Ricotta Lasagne

March 3, 2016
table setting with succulents and ivy

Entertaining should be an enjoyable experience.  I don’t want to be in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove while my guests are enjoying conversation and cocktails. I want to be a part of the party too. This is my favorite go-to recipe for a casual dinner with friends or family.  It can be made ahead, it tastes amazing (even kids love it!) and best of all, it’s not difficult to make. You can enjoy spending time with your guests and then…

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Maine Granola

January 28, 2016

Let me start off by saying that I’ve never been a fan of granola. It was always too crunchy or dry and I just didn’t see the point of it.  That changed when I was visiting my parents in Vermont and walked into a kitchen that smelled like cinnamon and maple syrup. It was the most delicious scent!  My mom was making granola. And yes, it tasted just as heavenly as it smelled. While it is called Maine Granola, in our…

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Entertaining Recipes

Here We Come a Wassailing…

December 17, 2015

What the heck is Wassail or Wassailing you might ask.  It’s a version of hot mulled cider.  The word “wassail” comes from an Anglo-Saxon phrase which means “good health”. Wassailing was traditionally done on New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night, but some  people drank Wassail on all the twelve days of Christmas! I guess they wanted to be really healthy.  Here in my household we start right after Thanksgiving. It’s THAT good.…

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Recipes

Buttercrunch

December 11, 2015

I’m not big on sharing recipes because I usually make pretty humble fixings or follow a recipe from one of my many Ina Garten cookbooks.  But every Christmas there is one thing I am required to make by my friends and family… Buttercrunch.  My mom made it at Christmas time.  It’s a pecan covered toffee that is pretty darn addictive.  I’ve been making it for as long as I can remember and giving it as gifts or party favors.  It’s…

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