Eilene’s friends are coming over again and Jan suggested that I make a quiche. Several years ago Jan taught in Paris and brought me back a French cookbook. I have attempted several recipes from it, but I have never been able to follow their directions.
Karl’s Quiche Lorraine
Filed under Breakfast, Main Dishes, Vegetarian
I had some French onion soup left over from the other night. It had turned into an onion jam and—although the flavor was not bad—was a bit too “oniony” for most of Eilene’s friends. I was getting few takers for the leftovers. I decided that one way to buffer the flavors—and use up the leftovers— was to turn some of it into savory crackers. I will freeze the rest, in portions, to use as “soup starters.”
Karl’s French Onion Soup Crackers
Filed under bread, California Fusion, Side Dishes
Adapted from Simply Recipes
I went to Panera Bread and had their French onion soup the other day. It reminded me of my mother’s soup, but it is not one of the recipes I copied down when I left home. I thought I could do better than Panera, so I decided to gave it a try.
Karl’s French Onion Soup
Filed under Main Dishes, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Miriam has requested a Spanish style seafood stew for this Sunday’s dinner. What she meant was something like a cioppino with Spanish chorizo. A problem here is that she and her husband, Chris, are on the low-carb Adkin’s Diet.
Karl’s Zarzuela Mixta
Filed under Main Dishes, Seafood, Stews
Jan made the dessert for our Fourth of July weekend dinner. It of course had to be patriotically themed, but the recipes in the newspaper were all full of sugar. The kids are on the Atkins diet so sugar. The berries themselves are suspect, but she did not have to add extra sugar the whipped cream.
Jan’s Red, White, and Blueberries
Filed under Desserts & Treats, Holidays, Treats, Vegetarian
Miriam bought me some really good balsamic vinegar and I decided that I would use it for my Fourth of July dinner. Actually, she bought me two bottles, some Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia (the really good stuff—“do not use this in a salad dressing!”) and some BalsaMela, a Balsamic apple vinegar. I decided to use the second vinegar to dress my bean medley.
Karl’s Green and Wax Bean Medley
Filed under Sauces and Spices, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
I decided to experiment with pickled green pepper (Piper nigrum ). This is a new spice for my family, so I plan to go cautiously. When I did my surf and turf for Miriam’s birthday I discovered just how good a tri-tip could be with simply salt and pepper.
Karl’s Salt and Pepper Tri-tip
with Green Pepper Sauce
Filed under Barbeque, Beef, California Fusion, Holidays, Main Dishes, Sauces and Spices
Jan and I were watching a BBC documentary series called The Spice Trail, detailing the sources, history and uses of six common spices. One of the spices detailed was black pepper. It turns out that the ornamental pepper trees of my youth have nothing to do with the spice on the table.
Karl’s Green Pepper Sauce
Filed under California Fusion, Sauces and Spices, Vegetarian
I had bought some Ciliegine Fresh Mozzarella—one inch balls of cheese—for my Italian Salad Bar. In the rush to get out the door to deliver it, I forgot to take them out of the refrigerator. Trying to think what to use them for, I remembered that caprese salad is one of Jan’s favorites.
Karl’s Caprese Salad 3
Filed under Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetarian, Weeknight
These salads are based on my mother’s potato salad, but the kids are coming over and this is a dilemma. They are on the Atkins diet, which means no potatoes. I decided that I would make two almost identical salads: One with potatoes for those of us eating starchy foods and a second with the potatoes replaced with cauliflower.
Karl’s Potato Salad Karl’s “Potato” Salad (Cauliflower)
Filed under California Fusion, Salads, Vegetables, Vegetarian
karllueck
Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 