Champagne Louis de Sacy NV Brut Originel

Champagne Louis de Sacy NV Brut Originel

I purchased this wonderful grower Champagne at my favorite wine shop, Amanti Vino, in Morristown, NJ. The owner always has special finds and small production bottling that one cannot find at other stores. If you’re a fan of quality, small producer wines, check out her website. Creamy, refined, fresh and elegant wine with flavors of […]

[Continue reading...]
Easy Pork Schnitzel

Easy Pork Schnitzel

My husband’s Dutch and loves a good schnitzel. We often make this popular German dish using veal or chicken, but perhaps our favorite version is to use pork tenderloin. Pork tenderloin isn’t a cut of meat I purchase often, like its beef counterpart, I just find it too low on fat to produce a juicy, […]

[Continue reading...]
Lemon Mustard Cream Sauce

Lemon Mustard Cream Sauce

This lemon and mustard cream sauce is perfect on basically everything. I originally made this easy mustard sauce to put on a pork schnitzel dish, but it’s equally great on fish and chicken. It’s creamy from the béchamel, tangy from the lemon juice and mustard, and a little licoricey from the tarragon. Ingredients: 2 Tbsp. […]

[Continue reading...]
Reverse Seared Roasted Prime Rib

Reverse Seared Roasted Prime Rib

This is the ultimate prime rib technique. I’ve used it the last two Christmases and it produced superior results and I highly recommend it. I very skeptical when I saw the beef would roast at 150 degrees Fahrenheit, but, it’s simply brilliant. Reasons to love this technique: Technique: The fabulous person whose method this is, […]

[Continue reading...]
Josee’s Beef Stroganoff

Josee’s Beef Stroganoff

In our family, my sister makes the very best beef stroganoff. Hers is the recipe my grandma used and it’s rich, comforting and perfect on a cool night. Beef Stroganoff was invented and named after Count Stroganoff, a member of a Russian elite family, by his personal chef. In the original recipe, beef bouillon granules […]

[Continue reading...]
Best Dishes 2021

Best Dishes 2021

Fortunately for my annual Best Dishes recap, I was back on the road for work and leisure quite a bit in 2021. This allowed me to experience many outstanding meals along my journey. This year’s list includes a combination of fine dining and casual dishes, which were truly the ‘best’ dishes of the last 12 […]

[Continue reading...]

Gilding the French Onion Soup

At our home, we LOVE French onion soup. When we moved into our new home recently, we unpacked everything we owned, no more bins in the attic, no more boxes in the garage, we literally unpacked the equivalent of two full kitchens! In the process, I realized that we have 10 French onion soup bowls, […]

[Continue reading...]
World’s Best Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

World’s Best Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

You’re at a party and appetizers are served. Every single time, the humble spinach and artichoke dip will be king. It’s warm, comforting, gooey and so….so delicious. This version of the popular dip features fresh spinach, which makes a huge difference in taste and texture. Serve this with either toasted French bread or with scoop […]

[Continue reading...]

Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream and Creamy Lemon Sauce

My mom’s become quite the food photographer over the years. She’s a great cook and baker and often shares details of her culinary experiments with me and sometimes, I even get pics! Last week, she had many lemons on hand and fixed a lemon cake with a creamy lemon sauce that sounded so great I’ve […]

[Continue reading...]
Speakeasy at The Jailhouse Spirits and Lounge Belmont North Carolina

Speakeasy at The Jailhouse Spirits and Lounge Belmont North Carolina

When we moved to the quaint town of Belmont, North Carolina from New Jersey, one of the first things I researched were places to visit for happy hour. While we were looking for a place with craft cocktails at the level we were used to in the NYC metro area, we were doubtful a small […]

[Continue reading...]