• Recipes,  Something Savory

    Summer Tomato Cucumber Salad

    For a great side or light lunch, try my healthy and refreshing Summer Tomato Cucumber Salad. This fresh and cool salad is made with sweet cherry tomatoes, crunchy cucumber and thinly sliced red onions and topped with crumbled feta, basil and a light red wine vinaigrette. Serve alone with crusty bread or alongside your favorite meal. Enjoy! 

  • Recipes,  Something Savory

    Zucchini Chive Fritters

    In the summer, there is always plenty of zucchini around, so what better way to make the most of it then cook up some Zucchini Chive Fritters. These sautéed veggie cakes are made with freshly grated zucchini, herbs, Greek yogurt, Parmesan cheese, and flour, and then finished with lemon slices, chopped fresh chives and more Greek yogurt for a tangy topping.  The fritters make for a wonderful side dish or a light dinner accompanied by a Greek salad (recipe coming soon…). A perfect excuse to head on over to your farmer’s market this weekend…

  • Recipes,  Something Sweet

    Orange Date Oat Bran Muffins

    I had some extra dried dates around (see Pan-Latin Picadillo), so I decided to put them to good use by creating a healthy oat bran muffin recipe that features this delicious dried fruit. I love dates for a special reason. They remind me of my unforgettable trip to Istanbul last summer, where bazaars overflowed with hundreds of plump dried figs, apricots and dates around every corner of the city. For this recipe, I used oat bran and whole wheat flour as a base and Greek yogurt and applesauce as a substitute for oil. The finishing touch is the addition of freshly grated orange rind and, of course, chopped dried dates for a Middle Eastern-inspired health muffin. 

  • Recipes,  Something Savory

    Pan-Latin Picadillo

    It’s time to spice up your dinner routine and I’ve got the perfect recipe to turn up the heat. It’s a traditional Latin American dish called, “Picadillo.” Although there are many variations of Picadillo depending on the country the recipe is coming from, in general it is comprised of ground meat and a mix of local vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and onions. To accompany the Picadillo, I wanted to prepare tostones – fried plantains – but in order to make them a little more healthy, I decided to bake them instead of fry. Once baked, they came out crispy and full of flavor. I highly recommended this method. Once everything was prepared and smells of fresh and fiery Latin American flavors filled the kitchen, I served the delicious blend of ground pork and veal over crispy baked plantains, or tostones, and a homemade smooth salsa, bursting with fragrant cilantro, tomatoes, onions and jalapeño.

  • Recipes,  Something Savory

    Mediterranean Bow-Tie Pasta Salad

    For a great summer side to accompany anything from a cookout to a gourmet meal, try my Mediterranean Bow-Tie Pasta Salad. Made with only oil and vinegar and no mayonaise, this salad has a lightness to it that tastes fresh and really allows the flavors to come through. It is prepared Mediterranean style with feta and kalamata olives, along with red bell pepper, chickpeas and green peas for extra texture and flavor. Enjoy! 

  • Recipes,  Something Sweet

    Perfect Key Lime Pie

    Tart and creamy, my recipe for Perfect Key Lime Pie is the perfect finish to a summer meal. Key limes are native to the Florida Keys and luckily there are delicious bottled key lime juices out there that are just as good as squeezing fresh key limes by hand. My favorite is Nellie’s, one of the “originals” bottled right in sunny Key West, Florida. This pie has a crunchy homemade graham cracker crust, custardy key lime filling and fluffy whipped cream topping. Perfection! 

  • Most Popular,  Recipes,  Something Savory

    Baked Stuffed Lobster

    Looking for the perfect summer cookout feast this weekend? My recipe for succulent Baked Stuffed Lobster with homemade crabmeat stuffing is sure to impress. The recipe for the stuffing is from a very popular shoreline restaurant called, Lenny & Joe’s Fishtale in Connecticut. Known for its delicious, fresh seafood and fun, casual atmosphere, I was lucky enough to find the exact recipe chefs use at the restaurant to make their famous crabmeat stuffing and then used this stuffing to create Baked Stuffed Lobster. Preparing this dish is truly half the fun.

  • Recipes,  Something Sweet

    Drizzled Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake

    I am thrilled to share one of my favorite recipes for a decadent easy dark chocolate sheet cake. This recipe uses a dark chocolate fudge cake mix and fluffy vanilla buttercream frosting, topped with melted unsweetened chocolate drizzle to complement the sweetness of the cake. Best served chilled, the cake is great for a party because it can be cut into small or medium-sized squares and served as finger food. Best of all, with it’s geometric drizzled chocolate pattern, the Drizzled Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake is a beautiful work of art… 🙂   Check out the recipe here…

  • Recipes,  Something Sweet

    Walnut Rooibos Tea Loaf

    Cooking with tea is one of the latest trends in the culinary world, so I couldn’t wait to try out a fantastic and healthy recipe for Walnut Rooibos Tea Loaf. I used a premium brand of loose tea from the luxe tea production company, Le Palais des thés. Based in Paris, Le Palais des thés sells teas harvested from the finest crops around the world and is renowned for their all-natural tea blends called, “Les Créations.” Trust me, when you taste these teas you will immediately recognize the difference between Le Palais des thés and everything else…

  • Recipes,  Something Sweet

    Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake

    My fiancé and I invited our families over for dinner last weekend, so I decided to bake one of my favorite desserts, a Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake. Many die-hard chocolate-lovers out there are familiar with this fudgy type of cake baked with only chocolate, eggs, sugar, and butter, and not a trace of flour. The combination results in a souffle-like cake, with a moist inside and flaky cracked top. As with many desserts, the quality of ingredients you choose to put into this recipe is crucial to getting the result you want. In this case, the most important ingredient is the chocolate, so I used none other than Callebaut chocolate – a favorite of professional bakers around the world. It’s imported from Switzerland and of the finest quality. You can find this special type of chocolate at Whole Foods or search for other stores near you on their website