Category: Tasty Recipes

let’s share our meatloaf secrets


Moist is a key word when it comes to delicious meatloaf.


Isn’t this a cute little meatloaf? Baked in my Le Creuset Chestnut Oval Baker.


Really good meatloaf recipes are a dime a dozen… No, actually, they are cheaper than that, they’re free! You can ask your mom, my mom, your cousin, your best friend, your co-worker, Molly, my butcher, Google, Foodbuzz (click here)…or me.

But this post is about my secrets to a scrumptious meatloaf:  Cook at 325 until the meat registers 155 degrees as opposed to a specific cooking time. Use a remote thermometer. Remove from oven and let rest before serving. This results in a moist juicy meatloaf.

And have a gooey zippy sauce. This one is 4 parts barbecue sauce to one part each honey and Worcestershire plus several hearty dashes of hot sauce. Whisk together and pour over the meat prior to cooking.

Peas are optional.

Do you have a meatloaf secret to share?

Corned Beef & Cabbage Brunch


I prepare a traditional corned beef and cabbage – simmering the corned brisket in liquid with pickling spices, bay, peppercorns and carrot, onion, and celery for about four hours. Then I remove the beef, add quartered cabbage and potatoes, and cook until tender.

For this brunch dish, eggs are poached in the corned beef cooking liquid.  This gives the eggs an extraordinary flavor.

I mix mayonnaise and creme fraiche with whole grain mustard and horseradish and spread this on toasted rye bread. Top the rye with sliced corned beef, then the poached egg, along side a helping of potatoes and cabbage.


This photo is my submission to CLICK, a theme-based monthly food photography event. The theme this month is “metal.” This food photograph features my French SABATIER knife with fork.

Pistachio Crusted Lamb, Pomegranate Glaze

Costata d’agnello incrostato con pistacchio
Con una glassa de melagrana


Pistachios and panko bread crumbs are ground in the food processor with salt, pepper, and olive oil to get the right consistency for encrusting the meat.


The lamb rack is seasoned then encrusted and baked at 350 for about 25 – 30 minutes. This lamb is cooked to medium, adjust cooking time to your temperature preference, then let the lamb rest.


The chops are sliced and served here with mashed potatoes. Drizzle the tangy warm pomegranate glaze over the meat.


On Lamb, Pistachio, and Pomegranate in Italy:

Easter Nears, And That Means…
Lamb in Italy: It’s the one thing you can be almost certain to find on the table come Easter Sunday.

Emperor Vitellius brought the pistachio to Rome in A.D. 50. He would finish off his meal by stuffing his mouth full of pistachios. Pistachios are currently cultivated as a commercial crop Italy.

The pomegranate made its way to Italy via Carthage (Punic), and therein lies the root of its Latin name, Punicum malum (apple). Its current botanical name is Punicum granatum with Punicum recognizing Carthage as a focal point for pomegranate cultivation and granatum referring to the many seeds or grains in the fruit. Many Italian Renaissance fabrics boasted the pattern of cut pomegranates. Ancient Romans not only enjoyed the succulent flesh of this fruit, they also tanned and used the rinds as a form of leather.

Lore and legends source: http://homecooking.about.com

Festa Italiana:

As much as I love to cook Italian food, I am, alas, not of Italian decent. And I was wondering what to bring to a virtual Italian festival?
I have no lovely memories of Italian childhood dishes. Mom, I remember your Creamette’s Brand Elbow Macaroni with Margarine and torn slices of melting American Cheese was actually pretty good…but, not quite the same as, say, Simona’s Pasta al Burro e Parmigiano.

So…I decided to make my own recipe, with ingredients that are possibly used in the Italian kitchen. Here it is: This is my contribution to the table at the upcoming FESTA ITALIANA hosted by Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita and Marie of Proud Italian Cook.

Grazie Molto! Thanks for inviting me 🙂

Happy to help clean up!

Happy Pi Day


First of all – Happy Pi Day!
If you are a math nerd, this is a fun day!
March 14 or 3.14…and I did not just admit to being a nerd?!?

What is Pi?
It is the ratio of the circle’s circumference to its diameter.

So here, my lovely Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron Tarte Tatin pan (hey, Maryann, here it is again) has a diameter of  9 1/2 inches. What is the circumference you ask?

That is where my handy little mysterious irrational number comes in! The circumference is the diameter (as measured by my whimsical tape measure, ha!) multiplied by pi.
I have memorized the value of pi to 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884.

Memorizing pi has a fascination of its own for some (but not many).
I remember it like this:
3.14 March 14 we all know that
159 At 1:59 in the afternoon is when to eat our pie, like dessert after lunch
265 Prefix from my old business phone number
358-9793 Somebody’s phone number, just think of how many phone numbers you have memorized and this is easy
238-4626 Aw, c’mon, I can remember another phone number, can’t I?
4 I was born April 4th, 4 is my number!
338 Prefix for phone number growing up.
3 Remember another 3 after 338.
27 Just remembering being 27 years old.
95028 A zip code?
8 One more 8…Ok, stopping here.
4 Oh, might was well add one more 4.
Please don’t quiz me after a glass of wine 🙂

Eventually you can find your own phone number in pi, that’s cool. Eventually…

If you desire to memorize pi, you have to make up your own method, because none of the pi number sequences ever repeat!

Back to the circumference of my Le Creuset:
pi d = C
3.141592653589793238462643383279502884 X 9.5= 29.845130209+
In other words about 30″ around.

Did you (or your kids) celebrate pi today? 

By the way, I’m listening to Don McLean right now: American Pie 

bye, bye…