Semiserious Chefs

*It doesn’t have to be Moose. Any red meat and especially pot roast works great.* I knew my mom was coming for a night, and we always enjoy cooking new things together. When I found lamb shank on sale I made plans to cook ossobuco, as she has talked so fondly of it over the […]

This rice cake recipe was inspired by Chef Kirsten Dixon of Tutka Bay Lodge near Homer. She created a recipe that used kippered salmon and a spicy mayo. I decided to adapt it using my mom’s personally smoked salmon, and a recent addition to my cooking repertoire, garlic sesame soy dressing. I was a little […]

While shopping for Christmas gifts last year we took our annual trip to the 5th Avenue Mall. Yup, you heard right, annual. As much as I would love to go on a mini rant about the fact that the shopping ‘situation’ in America is completely blown out of proportion, and don’t get me started on […]

I’m pretty sure that everyone knows by now how precious the little red stigmas from a saffron crocus are. The common rumor is that they are more expensive than gold, and at around $5,000 per pound wholesale it is no joke, but let’s compare that to the price of gold today; around $1200 per ounce. Immediately […]

It was a pretty typical Saturday. I wake-up a little before everyone else, fold laundry and watched some tube. We later have breakfast, and straighten up the house. We go to the store. We visit with family that stops in. We take care of breathing treatments and play some video games, cook a giant piece […]

Mustard and I have had a love hate relationship. For a long time it was something that I truly just hated. Now it’s different than my disdain for mayonnaise which has always been more about the unnecessary addition of sour smelling fat to one’s sandwich, (or any dish for that matter.) No, my issue with […]

One day I happened upon some pita bread in the discount bin. Yup! That is very often where my inspiration comes from: discounted produce, discounted bread, discounted meat… This evening it was a double whammy when I also found prepackaged ultra thin sliced beef on discount. As it is a pretty safe assumption that I […]

I originally created this sauce for a green papaya salad, but soon discovered that it was great for a variety of uses. It’s particularly easy to toss on rice noodles, and it’s perfect to serve with mixed berries, but you can also use it to dress a cabbage slaw, or simply use it as a […]

I know I say it in practically every post, but I LOVE to peruse the isles and produce sections of any market I can find. This week I scored a green (unripe) papaya! Of course I have never had one and, without a smart phone like most people, I had to actually ask a living […]

There is nothing greater than stepping into that perfectly clean room, throwing your bags on the floor and plopping into the couch. You’ve had a long flight only to be followed by a busy shuffling of other modes of transportation. You’re ready for a glass of wine and soft bed where you can finally finish […]