I’m currently in Mexico at the beautiful ClubMed Ixtapa resort with my good friend, Diane of WhiteOnRiceCouple and my brother. It would be silly to call this a “work trip,” since we’ve done more relaxing, napping, eating and drinking than actually working, but I guess that’s the whole point of ClubMed, right? They’re hosting us for a wonderful Food and Wine festival and I’ll be posting more when I return. In the meantime, enjoy this recipe for Grilled Fish Tacos with Roasted Corn and Pepitas.

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All my friends from “not-Florida” and are gushing about their cozy Fall dishes, how it’s time to break out the dutch oven and that finally, they can start wearing boots without looking like a summer fashion faux-pas. And I’m just here loungin’ in my swimsuit, sipping iced tea, toes dangling a $3 flip-flop and beaming from ear to ear, gently shaking my head.

Don’t get me wrong, I love long braises and warming stews, but Fall is just starting to breeze in and it’s still too damn hot to turn my kitchen into a sauna. Fall is finally grilling time. Oh, sure, we grill plenty during the summer, but pity the poor person with grilling duty outside in the middle of the sweltering, suffocating summer heat, which usually is my husband. It’s worse especially when we have a dinner party and I have to hand him his sunglasses, hat, sunscreen and a mountainous platter of foods to be grilled.

I get the glare. He heads outside. Read the full story

See shot-by-shot commentary of photos that led up to the money shot.

From my weekly food column in Tampa Tribune newspaper

Rock Star Chef Kerry Simon

A couple of weeks ago during a trip to Los Angeles, I bumped into rock star chef Kerry Simon at every kitchen fanatic’s dream bookstore, The Cook’s Library. What elevates Kerry to rock star status? Well, how about the fact that Rolling Stone tagged him with the unofficial title “Rock ‘n’ Roll Chef.” OK, that reason ALONE is enough for me to swoon all over him.

Chef Kerry Simon

My brother Jay and I met up with one of Jay’s friends, who has a Hollywood job so bizarre HE HAD TO WHISPER IT IN MY EAR, and so our hodgepodge group - a food writer, a cardiologist and a … um … let’s call him a “gay reality show researcher,” dined at Simon LA, Kerry’s signature restaurant.

I have a love-hate relationship with restaurant reviews. I love it when it’s a great restaurant and the critic’s eloquent trail of words tickles my taste buds and seduces me onto the plate. But you know what? It’s like the biggest frustrating tease when the restaurant is 2,471 miles away, and there’s no way to actually enjoy the meal in person!

I’m not going to tantalize you with play-by-play of my four-course meal, which would be cruel because it was totally rock-star phenomenal. Instead, I’m doing one better. I called Kerry up and asked for a recipe. He obliged and sent along his Lamb Chops with Curried Pears.

One thing about restaurant chefs giving you recipes is that they normally feed, like, 50 people, and some of the cooking techniques may be a bit difficult for home cooks. So, I’ve simplified his recipe and scaled it down so you’re not inviting all the families within a 2-mile radius to dinner.

I think you’ll really enjoy it. Chef Kerry is a master of taking a few simple ingredients and coaxing the flavors and textures into something so sublime, surprising and sexy. Read the full story

Wonton Noodle Soup

My Wonton Noodle Soup is a finalist at the Whole Foods Budget Recipe Challenge! Can you believe it?

Need your help, please. There are 6 finalists and the winner is decided by votes! And because I’m up against blog-friends, Karina, Rachel and Katy. They are all really pretty, super-talented and I love them dearly.

But.

I’m going to play dirty….real dirty.

I’m gonna throw out all I’ve got, baby.

The Bribe Card:

By voting (which is done by commenting) you get a chance to win $500 from Whole Foods.

The Cute Kid Card:

Here. Let me pimp out my kids again:
Andrew and Nathan helped me make the wontons.

Awwww…aren’t they cute? NOW GO VOTE FOR ME!

The Save You Money Card:

Wonton Noodle Soup only costs $2.98 per serving. Like, way cheaper than a Double Cheeseburger Meal Deal.

The Second Bribe Card:

Ok, so that first bribe really wasn’t from me. You are entered into the $500 drawing no matter who you vote for and the money comes from Whole Foods!  hehehe.

So, here’s the bribe. If I win (and I can only win IF YOU VOTE FOR ME!) I get TEN $25 Whole Foods gift certificates. I will give NINE of them away to random voters on Whole Food’s site.

Oh, what happened to the TENTH gift certificate? I’ve already promised the boys $25 worth of jelly beans if they told their teachers to vote for me.

The I’ll Do Your Ironing Card:

Um. No.

It’s a Close Race! (it really is!):

But please, purty pullleeeeeze come vote for the Wonton Noodle Soup recipe? You’ll have to register to vote and voting is simply done by commenting on the recipe at Whole Food’s site. You’ll automatically be entered to win the $500 Whole Food Prize plus my NINE $25 gift certificates.

(photo from Whole Foods when they tested my recipe)

Dude. What the hell are you still doing here? GO VOTE FOR ME ALREADY!

When Elise asked me to be a guest writer for Simply Recipes, we decided to take Chinese favorites and make them better, lighter and easier to cook at home. So, I grabbed a take-out menu from the local Chinese restaurant and I will be working my way around those recipes for you. The first dish that popped out was Sweet and Sour Chicken.

If there’s one thing that I detest, it’s greasy fried food covered in goopy Chinese take-out sauce. Okay, so sometimes I like that stuff, but it usually those cravings come at 3 o’clock a.m. during a certain time of the month.

But, I digress.

This recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken doesn’t deep fry, but instead uses a method for creating a delicate, smooth and succulent chicken that goes perfectly with a lighter sweet and sour sauce. The secret is in the chicken marinade, specifically using egg white and cornstarch, which creates a super-light coating all around the chicken. It won’t be a crunchy, deep fried coating, but I think it’s a nice alternative, both texture-wise and weight-wise! Read the full story

I’m a guest writer over at Martha Stewart Everyday Food! Have you been to their website? They’ve got thousands of recipes, all of them simple and perfect for dinner tonight.

My kids made Thai Curry Beef Skewers and Grilled Banana with Dark Chocolate for them. Come on over to Martha Stewart Everyday Food’s website and take a look. The recipe for the MUST MAKE dessert inspired by the lovely Andreaa is over there.

I love it when my two young sons — 3 years old and 5 years old — help me in the kitchen. It’s good to nurture an interest in responsible nutrition and teach them correct food pairings, like how super-thin, shatter-crisp Lay’s potato chips are much better stacked between a hamburger bun and patty than something big and smushy like a chocolate Ho-Ho. Read the full story