By Luci If I have a favorite holiday dinner, it is Thanksgiving. We break bread with those closest to us, whether family or friends. With toasts and in our hearts we celebrate those relationships and all that is dear to us. So very warming. And ever so warming is the food. I love roasted game birds of all sorts and all the rich tasting, side dishes that traditionally accompany them. Preceding are interesting appetizers followed by luscious desserts. Could there be a better re

By Billa Avocados used to be known as alligator pears. I thought it’d be fun to have a dinner where each course included the ingredients of pear and avocado, hence “a pair of pears”. This is what the menu looked like: A Pair of Pears Drinks Pear Juice * Prickly Pear Agua Fresca Appetizers Michele’s Bosc Pear and Gruyere ** Alligator Pear and Goat Cheese Mash on Cucumber Salad Luci’ Asian and Alligator Pears in Salad and Vinaigrette Entree Chicken and Secke

By Michele The color red reminds us to STOP ! But I’m encouraging you to   GO   –  eat red foods.   In conversation with a dear friend,...

By Billa This year, winter felt particularly gloomy, gray, and overlong. And after being cooped up inside for many days these past couple...

By Billa This past New Year’s Eve, we were hosting a dinner for eight. As we were only responsible for a main course, we knew we wanted...

By Billa This year (2022), I hosted a New Year’s Eve dinner for 8. Nothing unusual about that. But, on the day of the dinner, I relaxed,...

By Luci Isn’t Halloween wonderful? Funky-scary decorations; costumes that release inhibitions, the spirits and spirituality that...

By Luci As Autumn approaches, the ever-so-tasty fresh fruits and vegetables of summer begin to disappear from markets to be replaced by...

By Billa It was my turn to host a dazzling dinner. So, on a rainy day in April I invited the gang over for a May date. Aptly, the theme...

By Michele For me, Thanksgiving launches the festivities for the remainder of the year. It’s a time when I look forward to gathering with...

By Luci This Fall has been a beauty with splendid color - deep reds, glowing golds and incandescent oranges. A special dinner needed to...

By Luci The sizzling summer is subsiding, farm markets are bulging and you are SO into relaxing. So invite your friends over for a...

By Luci You are on a road trip traveling on the Pan American Highway from Alaska to Argentina. Where will you eat? Diners, diners and...

By Luci The back story: Last December one guest gifted me with a set of African spice mixtures and another guest left a set of napkin...

By Billa A short while ago, I received a bunch of Middle Eastern spices and spice blends. After experimenting with some of these exotic...

Calling all music lovers, this is a fun melodic undertaking. I asked my friends to provide me with their favorite song. Once I received...

By Billa This year, I hosted a New Year’s Eve dinner for 8. Nothing unusual about that. But, on the day of the dinner, I relaxed, took a...

By Luci My friend Janice, a wonderful human being, for some years has been inviting me to her family’s Christmas Eve dinner. Janice’s...

All dishes 3 - 5 ingredients, exclusive of salt and pepper By Luci Appetizers Prince La Fontaine Triple Cream and Grand Noir Cheeses...

By Michele When you think of Thanksgiving, what images come to mind? Roast turkey? Pumpkin pie? Watching football? Perhaps the Macy’s...