Sharing my favorite recipes with you
Every Asian culture has it’s own version of dumplings or something made with a wonton wrapper. The Korean version is very similar to Japanese gyoza and it’s what I grew up making and eating my entire life. I remember sitting at the kitchen table before family […]
Who doesn’t like dumplings? Our obsession with Din Tai Fung, created my aspiration to make my own Chinese dumplings. I’ve been making Korean dumplings (mandoo) my entire life, but never Chinese dumplings. Same basic idea, just a few ingredient tweaks. They are really not that hard […]
Here’s what you do when you realize that the sweet spicy green beans you love having in your bloody marys is $10 a jar! You pickle your own for about a couple of bucks! Ingredients: 1 cup white vinegar 1 cup of water 2 tablespoon […]
I’ve been a huge fan of pupusas ever since I attended school at USC and discovered them through a woman I worked with in my work study job on campus. Pupusas are an El Salvadorian dish and I never thought of making them on my […]
This is caprese 2.0. I mean seriously so good. It’s a recipe from the cookbook Plenty that my girlfriend gave me so we could try out recipes together. So easy! You can just serve it as is or toast some yummy crostini and serve alongside. Ingredients: […]
Looking for an app to take to a party that everyone will love? These sticky wings will do the trick. A little messy but so, so good. This past summer was full of picnics at the beach and the park for us and this dish […]
Here’s a super simple yet totally impressive appetizer that I’ve been making for years. And just in case you were wondering, the proper way to pronounce this dish is with a hard “k”, so phonetically, it is (broo-sket-uh). It drives my Italian husband crazy that […]
I’ve been trying to come up with a new dip recipe to post because I have folks who make the rosemary white bean dip and the lemony chick pea dip over and over again. So here’s a new one that I hope you like just […]
We went to a James Taylor concert at the Hollywood Bowl and I made these to take along for our picnic dinner. Meatballs make a great picnic dish because they’re bite-sized so they’re very easy to eat. It’s got a little kick but they’re not […]
My dear friend Sandra Marine brought over some beautiful home grown cucumbers which inspired this dish. It’s a fantastic appetizer to serve for a small gathering unless of course your guests don’t like kalamata olives, which is what happened to me. But that was fine […]
I have this pear balsamic vinegar that is so delicious, I just want to find new dishes to use it on. I tried this spin on a traditional caprese using peaches instead of tomatoes and burrata cheese. Burrata is a mozzarella cheese that is filled […]
This is the one way I can get my kids to eat asparagus and not complain. It’s an easy dish to make for those of my friends who really don’t like to cook, but like to “assemble”. Serve it as an appetizer or a side […]
I LOVE gazpacho when the weather turns warm. I know that not everyone shares that same love. Perhaps that’s because they think of it as cold tomato soup and cold soup doesn’t sound appetizing to them. Maybe we should come up with another way to […]
So maybe these are not technically “tots” because we’re not shredding the cauliflower and reforming them into cute cylindrical shapes, but we are deep frying them. I like to strike a balance between healthy and really not healthy at all. So we take this very […]
My daughter and I had these at a sushi restaurant and they were fantastic so I recreated it at home. They are packed with garlicky, spicy, sesame goodness. I think my daughter sat and mowed through about a pound of them in 10 minutes. My […]
Here’s just another reason and way to love bacon. We serve this as an appetizer and people go crazy for it. Kids, grown-ups, grandparents, everyone. Its really very easy but it can be a bit time consuming because you will need to make multiple batches […]
You may be wondering why you need a recipe for shrimp cocktail. All you do is boil some shrimp or defrost cooked frozen shrimp and put out some store bought cocktail sauce right? Well, you could go that route, but you can create something more […]
This version of deviled eggs has a nice hint of spice to them with the curry. Ingredients 3 hard boiled eggs 2 tablespoon mayonnaise 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 1/3 teaspoon sea salt Preparation The best way I have found to make hard boiled eggs is […]
This recipe is for the traditional version of deviled eggs I do. I’ve tried adding vinegar as many recipes specify but I just don’t like them as much as the simple mayo and dijon mustard combination. I’ve made these deviled egg recipes for just 6 […]
Truffles go so well with eggs, so why not truffled deviled eggs? To pair with the truffle flavor, I removed the traditional mayonnaise and used just creme fraiche instead. Ingredients 3 hard boiled eggs 1/3 teaspoon truffle oil 2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream […]
My dear sister Mia Lee brought this over to my house one Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit. We do love our pork products in our house. I’ve made it a couple more times for parties and it always disappears in a matter of […]
I love the flavours in Tuscan Bean Soup, so I thought, hmm, maybe that would work as a dip. And it does! Great spread on crostini or for the carb conscious, just as great with veggies too. When I entertain, I like to make 3 […]
This is a great, brighter alternative to hummus. The lemon and mint make this a great summertime dip. You can also omit the cheese if you would like. Its great either way. Ingredients 1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed 1 garlic clove minced 1 […]
We sometimes spin the globe with our kids to determine what we’re making for dinner. It makes them very excited to try out new, foreign foods. The latest spin of the globe landed in Benin. Where in the world is Benin? Turns out that its […]
So this is an appetizer that I put together using some traditional Korean foods that aren’t usually served as one bite. I came up with it when I was trying to find a tasty appetizer that was low carb, but still could be a […]
Whenever we go to eat at my mother’s house, this dish is a must have. I have found that it’s a great appetizer. I cut each pancake into quarters and they turn into finger food. There are variations on this recipe that use thin slices […]
This is a really great alternative snack to nuts or crackers. Lots of flavour and good for you to boot! I will say that if I’m making these for more than just my family, I need to triple the recipe. They go fast! Ingredients […]
We love this spicy grilled shrimp. Packed with flavour with a great smokiness created by chipotle peppers and smoked paprika. Ingredients 1/4 cup smoked sweet paprika 2 minced chipotle peppers (chipotle in adobo) plus 1 tablespoon of the sauce 2 tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons ground cumin 3 […]
This is a basic recipe for hummus. You can add different ingredients to this base to change up the flavors. We like to add chipotle peppers for a great spicy version. Or roasted garlic. Roasted red peppers is also a great addition. Ingredients 2 […]
This is my famous salsa recipe…well famous in my circle of friends. The chipotle peppers add a great taste and the addition of the concentrated chicken stock gives this salsa a depth of flavour. If you have time, you can also roast the tomatoes in […]
We won the Fess Parker Winery Recipe contest with this dish. The pork belly is so tender because of the long braising time. Make note, that you will need to braise this dish for 3 1/2 hours. This recipe brings Korean flavors to an […]