Summer farm-fresh okra soaked in buttermilk, dredged in seasoned cornmeal then fried, with homemade rémoulade sauce for dipping. Meathead and I went to a real dive last week for dinner. We heard they had good food so we checked it out. First, we had to eat outside because of the smoke. I reeked after just …
Insalata Caprese, the quintessential Italian summer salad of fresh mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes, over mixed greens with a fresh basil vinaigrette. I just came off a weekend marathon of tomatoes, gorgeous heirlooms that I picked at a farm down the road. I made a Caprese salad Saturday night for dinner. While a traditional Caprese has a …
Have you heard of Texas Caviar or Cowboy Caviar? I decided to try it over the long, rainy holiday weekend. It’s a dip, made with black-eyed peas, lots of other good stuff, and tossed in a garlic balsamic vinaigrette. At least that’s the version I made. Some Texas Caviar recipes call for corn, some for …
Years ago, many years ago, when we still lived in Chicago, one of our favorite restaurants was Vinci on Halsted. We went many times with friends or just for a date night. They had an appetizer on the menu, Polenta con Funghi. We always started with this polenta and mushroom appetizer. The waiter would bring it out …
My really good friends, Beth and Steve, live in Minnesota just west of Minneapolis. They have a gorgeous house and property on several acres. Their gardens are beautiful and they have worked hard on them over the years. I visited them earlier this summer and their gardens were so pretty and inviting. And they …
