Roasted Beet Greek Salad with Olive Vinaigrette Recipe

I had a roasted beet Greek salad with olive vinaigrette at a favorite LA restaurant, Jon & Vinny’s, and asked myself, “why didn’t I think of this??” The olive vinaigrette was a great twist (instead of having whole olives in the salad) and I am always trying to find ways to enjoy beets since they’re so good for you. If you hate olives, no big deal. Just omit and add a little more salt to the dressing to taste. You may try some capers instead which are also briny and salty. Since restaurant prices and extra fees are making dining out a very expensive activity, I have been posting more and more restaurant dupes on my social media channels.

Continue reading

Pasta con le Sarde Recipe

pasta con le sarde

The goal here is to, yes, teach you how to make the most popular Sicilian pasta con le sarde dish, but also to introduce you to sardines. Sardines are very overlooked because people have no idea what they are and assume they’re going to be fishy and gross. Or people confuse them with anchovies which are VERY different.  Like anything, there are options when it comes to sardines – fresh from the fish market or cooked and packed in water or olive oil, with skin or skinless, with bones or boneless, plain or smoked. They do not contain mercury, are loaded with anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fats and they are very inexpensive. I prefer the boneless, skinless ones packed in oil. If you prefer, you can swap in jarred tuna or canned salmon for the sardines in this recipe. Or vice versa – swap sardines in for canned tuna!
This is NOT a pasta dish that is typically served with cheese. But I’m not in charge of what you eat, so you do you. If you want to cut the quantity of pasta in half and swap in zucchini noodles, I approve!

Continue reading

Grilled Blooming Onions Recipe

grilled blooming onions

It’s summertime and I love having my friends over, BUT I do not have the time or the inclination to be cooking for days, especially when they’re over and I want to enjoy their company. I look for easy, delicious recipes that are not time-consuming but also make an impact.  We all know the deep fried blooming onions from certain restaurants, but have you ever made them at home and NOT fried them?  I’m here to show you how.Continue reading

Roasted Salmon with Pineapple Salsa Recipe

It is salmon season and I am ready to party!  I scored a gorgeous piece of Copper River sockeye salmon and I knew just what I wanted to do with it.  I love the combo of a flavorful spice rub and a fruit salsa.  This pineapple salsa is something I have paired with before in Kitchen Matters with chipotle shrimp tacos.  I saw Carolina Gelen score salmon in an instagram reel and I thought it was a clever way to really get the spices to adhere to more of the fish.  So good!Continue reading

Roasted Lemon-Sumac Chicken Recipe

roasted lemon sumac chicken

ingredients for roasted lemon sumac chicken

Chicken is still the most popular protein in my classes, so I am always trying to come up with new flavor profiles for this versatile meat.  The seasonings I use for this roasted lemon sumac chicken are Middle Eastern and I love the tart, herbaceousness of sumac and za’atar together.  I use these spices/dried herbs a lot.  Don’t be put off by cooking a whole bird.  It’s easier than it looks and I find it much more economical, plus I can use the bones afterwards for stock.  2 in 1!  If your family eats white meat and dark meat, a whole bird is the way to go. Continue reading

Spetses Braised Cod Recipe

Spetses is one of the Greek islands and a place I visited many years ago.  I love Greek food and I still remember this cod dish I had in Spetses which I have recreated often for weeknights with my family and dinners with friends. The recipe is written to serve 4, but you can easily increase to 6 if you can fit that number of filets in the skillet.  I am using cod here which is very commonly used in Mediterranean areas, but you can use halibut or whatever thicker white fish you have access to. I originally had the dish with zucchini, but I have swapped in fennel because it’s in season right now.  Definitely try it with zucchini in the summer!Continue reading

Mushroom Veggie Chili Recipe

If you didn’t notice that Thanksgiving is basically around the corner, I am here to remind you!  I am teaching a Thanksgiving bootcamp starting next week (!) which will get you so prepared, you will actually be EXCITED and LOOKING FORWARD to hosting and enjoying the Thanksgiving of your dreams. For my community, I always like to entice you with a good discount.  Take $100 off with code TDAY100.  You don’t have to watch live. I have payment plans available. You don’t have to use PayPal. You can watch the videos over and over and over again. You can ask me any and all questions.  I’m like your personal Thanksgiving consultant until the day of. Menu suggestions, how to deal with different types of eating styles, limited resources in the kitchen, no oven, how to deal with the worst in-laws ever.  Just kidding!  Sign up today.  We are going to have so much fun and you’ll be able to use these tips and systems forever!Continue reading

Skillet Pesto Chicken and Rice Recipe

It’s the perfect time to try a new one-pot meal!  September is like the New Year, in a way.  And I am back into a cooking routine, but I want to ease back into it.  This recipe is a twist on my favorite one-pot meal, Mediterranean Chicken with Rice.  There’s also another variation in my cookbook, Quicker Than Quick, called Weeknight Arroz con Pollo.  Delicious!Continue reading