Here’s another recipe from the archives while I’m on vacation. Enjoy! ~Elise Spring here means strawberries and rhubarb, sweet peas and asparagus, and dreams of the summer bounty to come. Asparagus are everywhere, big, fat, and fresh. And yes, although we can get them all year round, I’m especially happy to eat them in Spring....

I’m on vacation for a couple of weeks and away from our kitchen. So I will be posting a few recipes from the archives, like this lemon poppyseed muffin recipe, originally posted in 2007. Hope everyone is having a fabulous Easter! ~Elise I love lemon poppy seed muffins. This recipe is based on the same...

Another hearty stew from Hank Shaw. Enjoy! ~Elise Green gumbo, or gumbo z’herbes, is a Lenten tradition in Louisiana. Ironically, it is not always vegetarian, as this hearty stew is often served on Holy Thursday to fortify the faithful for the Good Friday fast. Our version includes a ham hock and smoked andouille sausages, but...

My father recently celebrated his 82nd birthday. In our family, we aren’t big on presents or cards, instead we honor the occasion with a dinner and family gathering. For dad’s birthday, we prepared a wonderful Provencal fish soup (recipe to come later) and this spinach gratin with hard boiled eggs dotting the surface. Certain foods...

Please welcome Hank Shaw as he shares a Passover treat with us. Hank made the savory version of matzo brei for my parents and me the other day, we loved it! ~Elise I grew up in a New Jersey town with lots of Jewish people, so I received an early education in things like the...

My friend Guy (that’s pronounced “Gee” with a hard “g”) grew up in Southern France, in Provence, near the sea. And like so many people from Provence, Guy has a passion for all things seafood, especially mussels, or as the French call them, “moules”. Mussels steamed in white wine and served in a sauce made...

Even though the weather has been rather dreary and cold the last week or so, spring is officially here, which means it’s time for asparagus. This is a quick and easy salad, made with fresh asparagus spears that have been blanched for a few minutes, thinly sliced on the diagonal, and tossed with shrimp in...

One of the things I love about cooking is how some ingredients, tossed together on a whim, can turn out unexpectedly well. Like two people meeting for the first time, instantly recognizing they will be friends forever (has that ever happened to you?) Dear broccoli, meet toasted almond, and her friends grilled chicken, sesame oil,...

Over the years, many of you have written to me asking for the ability to save your favorite recipes on this site to a personal recipe box. Frankly, I wanted to be able to do that too. In fact, I wanted a place where I could easily store recipes from all of my favorite websites....

Have you ever made colcannon? It’s a traditional Irish mashed potato dish with lots of greens. If there’s a heaven for kale, it’s this, mixed in with mashed potatoes and butter. Colcannon cakes, sort of an Irish version of potato latkes, are what you make with leftover colcannon. The only thing is, colcannon is so...

One of my earliest memories as a kid was my father taking the family out on excursions to Antelope Valley, about an hour and a half outside of Los Angeles where we lived. We used to go out there to pick pears, look at the jack rabbits, and just wander around the rugged terrain. There...

One of the best, and easiest ways to prepare swordfish, or any dense, meaty fish is this method by Simply Recipes contributor Hank Shaw. Enjoy! ~Elise Swordfish is a cornerstone food throughout the Mediterranean, and this Spanish recipe may be one of the finest ways to cook sword anywhere. The meaty fish, smoked paprika, pine...