Chocolate Dipped Lime Cardamom Cookies
When it is hot out I find lime to be most refreshing. Even in cookie form, lime flavored treats seem to taste the best when the temperature outside starts to soar. We are in the middle of a heat wave in the Dallas area, so I am all about refreshing at the moment. Since I was making cookies with lime I decided to add a little cardamom to the cookies. The floral citrus flavor of cardamom punches up both the flavor and the aroma of...
Creamy Mushroom Soup
Sometimes you just need some comfort. Yesterday was not a great day for me. In fact, it was terrible. Before I got home I decided that a nice, warm, creamy bowl of soup would fit the bill. I have been craving mushroom soup for a few weeks, ever since having some rather superb mushroom soup at a local cafe, and I had three pints of mushrooms in the fridge. It was meant to be. This mushroom soup is pretty basic. I really wanted the...
Beef Shawarma Meatballs
Not long ago I had lunch at a little Lebanese restaurant and I discovered some really wonderful new dishes. One of these was shawarma, a meat mixture that is marinated in a spice blend, placed on a spit, and slowly grilled. It is sliced thin and served with pita and other fresh garnishes. It is very similar to a gyro but with distinctly different spices. I fell in love! The restaurant owner, of course, would not share their recipe...
Coconut Mango Rice Pudding
What do you do when you have a mango approaching over-ripeness and a half a can of coconut milk? I don’t know about you, but I turn it into rice pudding! Mango and coconut are a perfect flavor match. I love, for example, chunks of ripe mango with some toasted coconut scattered over the top. For a while I considered making a coconut pudding with mango chunks in it, but that seemed sort of boring. That is when I considered a...
Zinfandel Braised Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms and Polenta
I am something of a comfort food junkie. I have discovered, over the last year, the delightful bliss that is polenta. I have also discovered that I am passionately in love with chicken thighs. So, when I was craving something rich, creamy, and comforting the other night I decided to take my two new comfort food favorites and combine them into one dish. The braise for the chicken thighs is rather short, but chicken cooks fairly...
