Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese

Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese

I decided last month that our family should make a better effort to eat more seafood and less crap like deep fried nuggets of chicken fat. Not that I wasn’t trying to be healthy or anything, because that would be called a D-I-E-T, which is against my religion,...

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Grilled Prawns with Sichuan Peppercorn Salt

Grilled Prawns with Sichuan Peppercorn Salt

shhhhhh....... i did a naughty thing. last week my husband tromped off to Vegas for a 5-day vacation with this poker buddies. i had an affair. i heard the garage door close as he left for the airport. i waited 15 minutes to make sure he didn't return, in case he...

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Grilled Corn with Lime Cilantro Wasabi Butter

Grilled Corn with Lime Cilantro Wasabi Butter

I have so much to tell you that I don't even know where to begin!!!  But of course, it's always about the food, so I'll start with the food.  But the food part is going to be really, really short because I want to share with you my first television shooting...

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Chino-Latino Wings

Chino-Latino Wings

I wrestled for quite a while on what to name this dish. Here were the options: Chinatina Chin-amigo Asia-tino Chinka-tino Mexinese Guapalicious Ding Dong Wing Wongs In the end, Chino-Latino won. However, Guapalicious Ding Dong Wing Wongs came in a close second. Ok. So...

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Matcha White Chocolate Ice Cream

Matcha White Chocolate Ice Cream

If you have an ice cream maker hiding in your pantry....or if you can safely steal borrow your neighbor's ice cream maker that has been neglected without getting caught, please....just PLEASE bring it out and give it some love! Matcha White Chocolate Ice Cream is so...

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Pan-Fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi

Pan-Fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi

If there ever was a time when I wondered why I never dated an Italian, it would be now. You see, I slept my way through a culinary education. Yes, my friends, I whored myself out to learn the secrets of authentic Mexican steak tacos, Vietnamese pho ga, Cantonese...

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Garlic Truffle Fries

Garlic Truffle Fries

After a title like that, does this dish need any other introduction at all?!? Just trust me. These will be the best fries you'll ever have. Look how light and crisp these are! Garlic, parsley and hints of truffles adorn these fries. No shaved truffles...I'm not that...

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Orange-Chilli-Ricotta Frozen Yogurt

Orange-Chilli-Ricotta Frozen Yogurt

I am certainly not as talented as Gattina, who created a perfect Orange & Chilli Ricotta Cheesecake . Even her description of the cheesecake is so poetic...."a little shy girl who needs a little nudging to shine in the spotlight."So, you know where I'm going with...

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Chinese Pastries with Hoisin Chicken

Chinese Pastries with Hoisin Chicken

I don't know if you have the upscale Chinese chain called P.F. Changs near you, but in 90's Los Angeles, it was the chi-chi place to eat...a place to see and be seen, where the skinny, tall and deeluscious hung out waiting to be discovered by producers and sugar...

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Seared Scallops with Mango-Melon Salsa

Seared Scallops with Mango-Melon Salsa

Its summertime! And let me tell you, there is no better way to celebrate the summer season than being seduced by the intoxicating tropical fragrance of mangoes and buttery sweetness of cantaloupe. Seared Sea Scallops with Mango-Melon Salsa is incredibly healthy,...

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Coconut Frozen Yogurt

Coconut Frozen Yogurt

Just about everyone I knew in California lushed about Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt and it just drove me totally insane that I live 1,600 miles from the closest Pinkberry. How could the entire state of California be so incredibly obsessed with frozen yogurt of all things??...

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Faux Gras with Shitake and Cognac

Faux Gras with Shitake and Cognac

Update: I was in the Wall Street Journal for this Faux Gras recipe I bought Michel Richard's Happy in the Kitchen book a few months back, and while I can gleefully tell you that its my favorite eye-candy boyfriend cookbook, I have only attempted to make one thing from...

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How to make sushi temaki handrolls

How to make sushi temaki handrolls

My Sushi for One dinner Last week I taught a hand-on sushi class with 20 students in the studio kitchen. We had such a fun time making Temaki hand rolls, large inside out rolls and small Maki "cigar" rolls. Of course we had leftover ingredients, so the next evening I...

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Bounty and Bagna Cauda

Bounty and Bagna Cauda

My weekly trip to the organic farm stand. The mango above is one of the best I've ever had. Where is it from? Haiti! Who knew? Organic mangoes from Haiti. I had no idea that there are 10 million mango trees in Haiti. I usually am an advocate of eating locally. But I...

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Xiao Long Bao – Shanghai Steamed Soup Dumplings

Xiao Long Bao – Shanghai Steamed Soup Dumplings

  Xiao Long Bao is one of the most famous Chinese steamed dumplings, but one of the most time-consuming to make from scratch. Inside the dumpling are little pockets of gelatinized broth made from chicken, pork and cured ham. When you steam the dumpling, the broth...

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Peking Chicken with Steamed Buns

Peking Chicken with Steamed Buns

Oh how I so wish that the title of this post was Peking Duck, not Peking Chicken....sigh....while I'll go to any lengths to satisfy my cravings, this one was just a little too involved. I mean, I'd have to go buy a frozen duck, defrost it, air-dry in front of a mighty...

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Roasted Baby Eggplant with Caponata Sauce

Roasted Baby Eggplant with Caponata Sauce

Look what I found at the market yesterday! These were so darn cute, about 4 inches in length - I just had to take some of these bright, shiny baby aubergines home with me. Eggplant season generally starts in June, but one of the perks of living in Florida is that we...

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Killer Cajun Shrimp & Crawfish

Killer Cajun Shrimp & Crawfish

Ok, I've finally written down my recipe for Killer Cajun Shrimp - which is now the ONLY reason I would ever move back to California. (My other reason is no longer valid!) Los Angeles is home to the famous, Killer Shrimp, a restaurant that only serves 1 dish...Killer...

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