This is the time of year when people tend to socialize more, attend parties etc.  The art of entertaining takes organization, planning and execution skills.  The event or party could be a formal dinner party, a casual backyard barbecue, a birthday party or a wedding reception.  Entertaining is about having a good time and should…

Hosting a dinner party but don’t have enough dining space?  One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to set up mini food stations around your home.  This way your guests can mingle and get a chance to sample the goodies at each station.  This recipe says ‘two-bite‘ but I think that depends on…

Frittatas (Italian omelette) have to be one of the easiest dish to make. A meal that incorporates meat, cheeses and vegetables all in one dish. What’s the difference between an omelette and a frittata? I thought they were one in the same but omelettes traditionally have the egg mixture cooked and folded around a filling,…

These little hors d’oeuvres taste great and are the perfect size for finger food.  Mushrooms have been used for thousands of years both as food and for medicinal purposes. They are often classified as a vegetable or a herb, but they are actually fungi. While there are over 14,000 mushrooms, only about 3,000 are edible,…

Chicory has many names of which I only knew this as Belgium endive.  Common names for varieties include endive, raddicchio, Belgian endive, French endive, red endive, sugarloaf or witlof.  In case you weren’t already confused enough, Belgian endive is also known as French endive witloof in Dutch, witloof in the United States, chicory in the…

I’m sure we all have childhood memories of a favorite pudding our mothers made and this is one I used to enjoy especially when the cake was still warm.  Of course, as a little girl, it helped that this dessert was very sweet and thus a pleasure to consume.  There are some conflicting stories as…

Wow!  This is what I call ceviche party style!  Not only does the lime juice marinate the scallops, the alcohol also adds another delicious flavor.  Digby, Nova Scotia is famous for its scallops and bills itself as the scallop capital of the world.  Scallops are Nova Scotia’s most valuable seafood catch and Digby is the…

What a beautiful, sunny looking antipasto to make when the day looks so dull and dreary!  Traditional fresh mozzarella is usually sold in containers of brine, shaped into delicate balls. Fresh mozzarella can be purchased in Italian specialty shops, cheese markets, and some natural foods and grocery stores. Originally made from the milk of water…

Homemade egg pasta rocks!  Two simple ingredients that make boring into amazing.  Making homemade pasta isn’t as daunting as one might think and it’s actually therapeutic.  Don’t worry if you don’t have a pasta machine as you can use a rolling pin.  Once you get the hang of making your own pasta, why not experiment…

It’s been a while since I last did a posting on a Jamie Oliver recipe and this one seemed to jump off the page.  This dish is from Jamie’s Italy and is a great book to have.  As in all of Jamie’s cookbooks, this one is full of delicious recipes and with over 120 of…

I enjoy roasting vegetables as this method tends to bring out the sweetness in the vegetable and is another easy alternative to steaming.  Halloumi, the squeaky cheese, does not melt when heated. Instead it develops a delicious crust that surrounds a slightly springy, mild interior that squeaks between your teeth! Halloumi is the traditional white…