Puff Pastry Pizzette
Red Wine Braised Short Rib
Gorgonzola, Roasted Tomato
Arugula Chiffonade, Malt Vinegar Vinaigrette
May I offer you an appetizer?
25 comments • Filed in: Cheese, Entertaining
Puff Pastry Pizzette
Red Wine Braised Short Rib
Gorgonzola, Roasted Tomato
Arugula Chiffonade, Malt Vinegar Vinaigrette
May I offer you an appetizer?
25 comments • Filed in: Cheese, Entertaining

Hearth Healthy Chilled Avocado Tarragon Bisque
A California Avocado Commission avocado bisque recipe was the inspiration for my heart healthy version made with non-fat milk and non-fat yogurt. Avocados contribute good fats to one’s diet and they’re low in saturated fat and cholesterol-free. Non-fat dairy ingredients in my recipe complement the rich avocado, resulting in a perfect balance that is good for the heart. The lovely fragrant tarragon, creamy colorful avocado, and tangy yogurt marry well together. The method is so simple you can make it for lunch today, yet it is also elegant enough to serve at your next summer dinner party.
27 comments • Filed in: Heart Healthy
CLASSIC BISTRO DUCK AND WILD MUSHROOMS
Sautéed Breast of Duck with Crispy Skin
Oyster, Shiitake, and Porcini Mushrooms in a Beef Stock Reduction

CONTEMPORARY BISTRO DUCK AND WILD MUSHROOMS
Sautéed Breast of Duck, Seasoned with Szechuan Pepper & Flor de Sal
Roasted Wood Ear and Shiitake Mushrooms
Crispy Polenta Cake and Wilted Mizuna Greens
Porcini Reduction Sauce and Pomegranate Balsamic Vinaigrette
I would like to thank Natasha of 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures for the motivation to makeover my living room into a French Bistro by inviting Taste With The Eyes to participate in the 5 Star Makeover Summer’10 Special! She has asked 10 bloggers to Guest Post over the summer and recreate classic dishes to share on her 5 Star Foodie blog. I am honored to be one of the 10! Thank you Natasha.
We’ve cooked Bistro Duck and Wild Mushrooms Two Ways; CLASSIC and CONTEMPORARY. It was great fun setting the table and searching the house for bistro-style props. We especially enjoyed the makeover: creating le plat du jour. Now both of these duck dishes have a place on le menu at Bistro Lori Lynn.
Bonsoir! Right this way. Your table’s waiting…
To read the entire GUEST POST including recipes on
5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures blog please visit here.
5 Star Makeover Summer’10 Special: Ten special bloggers have been invited to recreate different classic dishes of their choice and share them on the 5 Star Foodie Culinary Adventures blog. These guest posts will be featured every Monday from June 28 to August 30. This event is sponsored by MarxFoods, an online store that offers fantastic high quality gourmet products. In September, a final roundup of these makeovers will be posted and readers will be able to vote for their favorite recipe to receive a fabulous prize.
28 comments • Filed in: Entertaining, Restaurants
Evelyn Dawn’s Potato Crusted Salmon
Sautéed Vegetables, Lemon Dill Sauce
@ Gina Lee’s Bistro, Redondo Beach, California
Evelyn Dawn was my grandmother-in-law. She passed away at 93 years of age in the year 2000.
As a tribute when Evelyn passed, my dear friends Scott & Gina Lee, proprietors of Gina Lee’s Bistro, named this dish after her. They keep her memory alive in their fabulous restaurant. New patrons ask, who is Evelyn Dawn and why is the salmon named for her? They are quick to tell about Evelyn; an independent woman ahead of her time, with impeccable taste, a successful businesswoman, friend, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and educator of hundreds. A framed photograph of Evelyn sits atop the sideboard in the restaurant.
Gina said of the salmon dish, “This is a crowd favorite. Lots of people remember Miss Dawn the founder of Rolling Hills Country Day School. She came in the restaurant nearly daily and always had the salmon professing that the omega 3 fatty acids kept her going at top speed. We’ve had former students and teachers come in, they marvel that she lives on, on our menu.”
Lemon Dill Sauce:

Gina Lee’s Bistro
211 Palos Verdes Blvd.
Redondo Beach, CA
310-375-4462
Gina Lee’s Menu here.
20 comments • Filed in: Restaurants

Smoked Salmon Platter @ Café Vettro
Aria Resort and Casino
View from guest room @ the M Resort Spa Casino
I’ve been back to Las Vegas twice in the past 2 months to visit my gracious youngest sister and my accommodating and affable brother-in-law, and to explore the possibility of purchasing a little house there. I really appreciate spending time with them. I like the desert. I like the wide open feel and the view of the mountains. I also like The Strip and gaming, the spas, the shopping. And most of all, the dining!
Over the years we’ve been fortunate to have eaten dinner at so many of the top restaurants with their world-renowned chefs (recent review of Julian Serrano here). But I equally enjoy the hotel cafés. I like to sit outside overlooking the pool in the early morning with a cup of coffee, and read a magazine with a warm dry desert breeze a blowing…
Red Cup Café @ the M, 7:01 AM
25 comments • Filed in: Restaurants