Grilled Chicken with Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette Recipe

Photos by Erica Hampton

Do you ever smell a food or something in nature that takes you back to a time in your life or an experience you had?  For me, certain smells sum up my childhood, e.g espresso and garlic cooking in oil.  And then certain smells are specific to my childhood summers – freshly cut grass (because in NY, you only cut grass in the summer) and fresh tomatoes with basil (again, something we only ate in the summer.)  Whenever I get a whiff of tomatoes and basil, I feel instantly relaxed because I know it’s summertime, and back then I didn’t have a care in the world.

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Grilled Summer Salad with Chicken and Spicy Cashew Dressing Recipe

Grilled Summer Salad with Chicken and Spicy Cashew Dressing | Pamela Salzman
Grilled Summer Salad with Chicken and Spicy Cashew Dressing | Pamela Salzman
Photography by Laney Schwartz

I keep doing this thing where I look at the calendar and something major is tomorrow or coming up really soon.  Oh no, Father’s Day is tomorrow and I haven’t sent cards or gifts!  I am in Seattle right now and then en route to Portland, and I just realized July 4th is on Tuesday.  Not only do I not know where we’re going or how we’re celebrating, I haven’t photographed a single striped pie or red, white, and blue fruit plate!!  Well friends, this salad will have to do.  There’s not a smidge of red, white or blue in it, but I can guarantee this recipe from my new cookbook, “Kitchen Matters,” will be the STAR of your 4th of July BBQ.

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Slow Cooker Barbacoa-Style Grass-Fed Beef Tacos Recipe

Slow Cooker Barbacoa-Style Grass Fed Beef Tacos | Pamela Salzman
Slow Cooker Barbacoa-Style Grass Fed Beef Tacos | Pamela Salzman
Photos by Erica Hampton

Happy Taco Tuesday, y’all!  Cinco de Mayo is on a Friday this year which means Mexican restaurants are going to be even more out of control than usual.  So I will definitely be planning an at-home fiesta and I think you should, too.  I’m going to invite some friends over for a DIY taco bar and margaritas.  Isn’t that the best invitation — tacos and margaritas??  This recipe has become a new favorite with my friends and family.  I actually tasted it and thought it was super delicious and I don’t care for red meat.  And because it’s a slow cooker recipe, I will have this done early and not have to worry about it — my favorite kind of recipe!

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Hashbrown and Spinach Casserole Recipe

Photography by Erica Hampton

I do not want to open a restaurant, but if I did it would be called “He Said, She Said.”  I would have a big chalkboard menu with two sides, one for dude food and one for lady food.  That way, my husband and I would always agree on a place where we could both get what we wanted.  French Dip sandwich for him and a kale salad with wild salmon or quinoa for moi.

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Greek Sheet Pan Chicken with Lemon and Potatoes Recipe

Greek Sheet Pan Chicken with Lemon and Potatoes | Pamela Salzman

 

Greek Sheet Pan Chicken with Lemon and Potatoes | Pamela Salzman
Photography by Erica Hampton

I’m that girl who makes an effort to encourage all the food on her plate to touch.  In fact, I’m so weird that I’ll set the table for my family with a plate at everyone’s place and a shallow bowl for me.  It looks odd, but I love eating out of a bowl as you know.  All my food gets nice and cozy together, which is basically Mr. Picky’s NIGHTMARE.  So what could be better in my eyes than a one pot or a one pan meal?  Not only is everything all co-mingled, but it’s so easy!

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Kibbeh Kebabs (Beef and Bulgur) Recipe

Photography By Erica Hampton

To anyone who might be offended that I am liberally calling these kebabs “kibbeh,” I apologize in advance.  I know I am taking some liberties with this recipe and there are many who might think there’s not enough of one spice or another, or that they should be fried or made with lamb, but if I called these kebabs something else, then a whole other group of people would be offended.  So let me start out by saying that I am in no way an expert in Middle Eastern cuisine,  but I am an expert in what my family likes and they could eat these kebabs several times a week if I made them. So I think you should know about this recipe, whatever you decide to call it.

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Stir-Fried Ginger Beef with Shiitake Mushrooms Recipe

Stir-Fried Ginger Beef with Shiitake Mushrooms | Pamela Salzman

Admittedly, these images aren’t the best, because I took these after the sun set and everyone was rushing me to eat.  “OMG.  Can you puh-leeease take the picture already?  I’m starving!”

“Puh-lease yourself.  You just ate 2 hours ago and 4 hours before that.  Fine, I’m almost done.  Can you just get out of my light a little?”

“Ugh!”  Sorta happens a lot around here.  😉

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Asian Turkey Lettuce Cups Recipe

Asian Turkey Lettuce Cups | Pamela Salzman

Thank you to Foster Farms for sponsoring this post.  All opinions are 100% my own.

Few things make me more excited than when Mr. Picky loves something I cook.  I mean, the kid has challenged me in the kitchen for 13 years and still going!  These Asian Turkey Lettuce Cups were such a huge hit with my son (and the rest of my family), that I changed my next cooking class menu so that I could teach this recipe pronto!  We don’t go out to eat too often, but lettuce cups are something my son loves to order.  I enjoy them as well because they are generally light and flavorful.   But it is pretty difficult to find a restaurant which uses mostly organic ingredients, so I enjoy lettuce cups much more when I can make them at home with the ingredients I prefer.

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