Butter lettuce is one of my weaknesses. I’m not much of a greens girl most days, but when I see the big heads of butter lettuce show up in the store as spring is springing (or, when it begins to fill out in my garden), I get the urge to make lettuce wraps of all types. Since I’ve been trying to focus on working more vegetables into my diet, I decided to try a recipe for red lentil köfte that looked delicious in A Chef’s Travels through Turkey. The recipe called for serving in bits of romaine lettuce leaf, but I think the butter lettuce is far superior.

What are köfte you might ask? (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Lunch, Mid Eastern, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

La Cucina Italiana has become one of my favorite magazines to be inspired by. While paging through one of their issues, I stumbled upon this recipe for a fondue laced with grappa, and I knew I must make it. I love fondue – the cheese, the dipping – it’s all so fun. Convincing my husband to eat a large bowl of cheese for dinner is a bit complicated, so this recipe was perfect! He’s a grappa fiend, and the suggested side of walnut bread would reel him in too. I was right, when I said the words “grappa fondue with walnut bread”, it was met with an, “ooooh!!”. (more…)

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Appetizers, Bread, Dinner, Italian, Vegetarian by Courtney

Last year I struggled and struggled with what type of stuffing (or dressing, as I don’t generally stuff my turkey) to fix. After digging through many recipes, I decided the winter fruit and nut stuffing would be a perfect addition to the table. Filled with dried fruits and sweetened with a bit of Sauternes, it lacked an overly-sweet flavor that I had feared other fruit stuffings would bring to the overall menu.

One word to the wise: always read through a few of the comments on websites that have them. While reading through the comments on this particular recipe, I realized there was a misprint on the website, and the recipe should contain some chicken stock as well. So I made the necessary changes, and this recipe turned out perfectly. (more…)

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Gourmet, Side Dish, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian by Courtney

You may remember this post that talks about why I now make sure I have appetizers on hand at Thanksgiving dinner. Long story short, if you don’t get the turkey to the table at the appointed time, people can still have something to nosh on instead of having grumbling tummies.

Crudite is one of the easiest things to toss out as a pre-dinner nibble. All you need to do is stop by any grocery store, and you’re bound to find a tray with hard-as-rock baby carrots, chunks of celery, and yummy broccoli, all well-organized around a dish of ranch. There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s easy, everyone has their favorite veg (mine was always potato chips dipped in the ranch, though these days obviously I like the broccoli). Last year I stumbled upon a wonderful idea that I decided to try – roasting crudite. (more…)

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Appetizers, Dairy free, Gluten free, Italian, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

When it comes to making something I’ve never made before, I’m pretty fearless. I figure the worst case scenario is it’s inedible, and I have to serve something else. However, this week I’ve been toying around with the idea of adding truffle salt to the mashed potatoes. I love using it on buttered popcorn, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around whether or not it would be tasty in my potatoes. Since mashed potatoes are pretty easy to whip up, I made a quick batch Friday night to see how they tasted. (more…)

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Comfort food, Dinner, Gluten free, Side Dish, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian by Courtney