Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Recipe: Cheesy Chickpea Salad Toast


Bon Appetit Magazine, May 2023, p.18
4.7 stars

We'd made this before, but I'd forgotten to take a photo and blog about it. It seems like it would be an odd mix of ingredients, but it all really works together. You need EVERYTHING, though, we didn't use dill. Really good -- super flavorful. Great with chips and a salad.

Ingredients: bread, chickpeas, celery, extra sharp cheddar, cornichons, red onion, dill, butter, extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, flaky sea salt, hot sauce


Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Recipe: Mushroom and Lentil Ragu


Food & Wine Magazine, Sep 2025, p. 44
5 stars

I love this recipe so much! It was DELICIOUS!!! I can't wait to eat the leftovers. So flavorful!

One note: It was a little watery but thickens with time (next day - it was the perfect consistency).

Ingredients: cooked polenta, black lentils, crushed tomatoes, mixed mushrooms, yellow onion, carrots, tomato paste, dry red wine, vegetable broth, heavy ream, garlic, red pepper, oregano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt


Sunday, August 31, 2025

Recipe: Salmon with New Potatoes, Spinach, and Cider Cream


Food & Wine Magazine, Mar 2025, p 86
4.9 stars

Really nice dish! Restaurant-worthy, but lots of notes below.

Ingredients: salmon fillets, spinach, baby new potatoes, hard apple cider, heavy whipping cream, canola oil, unsalted butter, Kosher salt

Tips/Notes:
  • Used apple lemon ginger juice instead of hard apple cider
  • Made half of the heavy whipping cream/cider sauce since we didn't make 4 salmon fillets
  • Spinach wilts! Used 5x and would probably make even more spinach next time
  • Make sure to cook the spinach separately as the water from the spinach thins the sauce -- so cook separately and then add to the sauce
  • Didn't bake the salmon -- cooked it on the stove

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Recipe: Creamy Pistachio Pasta with Crispy Guanciale


Inside the Rustic Kitchen
5 stars

Delicious!!! A bit on the heavy side but this is definitely restaurant worthy even though it's a pretty basic pasta. We used some dry pistachio pasta that I had picked up in Hico, TX in a small cafe.

Pistachio pesto ingredients: unroasted pistachios, basil, garlic, Pecorino Romano, EVOO, salt, pepper
Ingredients: pasta, guanciale, heavy cream, Parmigiano Reggiano

Tips/Notes:
  • Had made our own pesto prior to making this dish so it wasn't pistachio pesto
  • Use bacon next time instead of guanciale as the latter is SO fatty

Sunday, August 10, 2025

Recipe: Chicken Salad with Haricots Verts


Bon Appetit Magazine, May 2014, p. 102
4.9 stars

I love salads that have potatoes and green beans in them -- this hit the spot and is definitely a restaurant-worthy $28 salad. Note that we used salmon instead of chicken. I may not need to order this in a restaurant anymore!

Ingredients based on our recipe: salmon, mixed greens, potatoes, haricots verts, radish, shallot, garlic, Sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, thyme, sugar, olive oil, black pepper


Sunday, July 27, 2025

Recipe: Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauce

Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauce
Food & Wine Magazine, Jul 2025, p. 39
5 stars

This sauce goes with the Vietnamese Spring Rolls that we made.
Delicious! Just like in the restaurant!

Ingredients: hoisin sauce, sriracha chile sauce, tahini, soy sauce, water

Tips/Notes:
  • Didn't include any water as the sauce thickness was good

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Recipe: Spicy Black Bean and Chicken Salad with Roasted Cumin Vinaigrette


A McCormick Gourmet Collection Recipe by Cat Cora
4.7 stars

We made this plant based using Impossible Chicken. Good salad, but the dressing was a bit acidic for me. Overall, we liked it and will make it again.

Vinaigrette ingredients: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lime peel, lime juice, cilantro, ground cumin, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper

Salad ingredients: lettuce, chicken, black beans, cherry tomatoes, corn, red bell pepper, red onion

Tips/Notes:
  • Used Impossible Chicken
  • Added queso fresco

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Recipe: Sweet Corn Salad with Pancetta and Mushrooms


Sweet Corn Salad with Pancetta and Mushrooms
Food & Wine Magazine, Sep 2015 p. 120
4.8 stars

Lovely salad by then Baccarat Hotel chef Shea Gallante, so definitely restaurant-worthy. Love all of the textures and flavors!!! The Gruyere cheese is a must.

Ingredients: frisee, corn, scallions, pancetta, cremini mushrooms, chives, Gruyere cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, apple cider vinegar, Kosher salt, pepper

Tips/Notes:
  • Used mixed greens instead of frisee
  • Used frozen corn
  • Used baby bella mushrooms instead of cremini mushrooms
  • Next time, need to shave the Gruyere cheese on to the salad.

Sunday, June 29, 2025

Recipe: Cheesy Sesame Phyllo Bites


Bon Appetit Magazine, Dec 2016/Jan 2017, p.60
4.9 stars

So... we had extra puff pastry left, and I pulled this recipe and didn't realize it uses phyllo pastry (not puff pastry), but it still worked and was delicious!

Ingredients: phyllo pastry, Gruyere, black and white sesame seeds, butter, egg white, smoked paprika, salt, pepper  

Tips/Notes:
  • For our modified recipe, we didn't use egg white


Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Recipe: Cashew-Chickpea Salad with Cabbage Slaw


Martha Stewart Living, Jan/Feb 2022, p. 99
4.8 stars

Really good(!) and I like the cashew chickpea mix. Interesting ingredients that work together -- this is restaurant worthy.

Cashew-Chickpea Crunch Ingredients: chickpeas, cashews, cashew butter, sesame seeds, miso, tamari, ginger, extra-virgin olive oil

Salad Dressing Ingredients: unseasoned rice vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, pepper

Other Salad Ingredients: Savoy or red cabbage, radishes, cilantro, mandarin oranges 


Tips/Notes:
  • Used almond butter instead of cashew butter
  • Used mixed greens instead of cabbage
  • Used Cuties oranges