Party Recipes

Cucumber and Zucchini Carpaccio Salad – Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love

May 1, 2011
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We love our job. Of course there are always challenges that come with each project we photograph or film, but at the end of the day we are always thankful for the wonderful people that we work with and Cristina Ferrare is one of those wonderous souls that help us love our job to no end.

Last year she selected us to photograph her new cookbook, Big Bowl of Love, which is also the title of her cooking show on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

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Fried Minted Artichokes – A new addition to the Spring garden

April 10, 2011
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Every spring, Diane and I go through the annual “What veggies are we going to plant?” ritual.

First the weather starts to warm and we begin to crave more than leafy greens, sugar snap peas, radishes, and carrots.  We’ll hit Home Depot and nearly buy a bunch of boring varieties which we don’t really want but that is all they have because is it too early in the season. We’ll barely hold off on purchasing, then two days later the weather will drop winter cold again and we congratulate ourselves on not buying too early.

Repeat two more times.»

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Stuffed Tomatoes w/ Quinoa, Soft Tofu inspired by 101 Cookbooks “Super Natural Every Day”

April 3, 2011
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The sun has been very kind to us over the last week. We had two fabulously warm days to dry out all the dampness that late Winter left behind. Indeed, we’re very lucky to be living in warm Southern California weather where our garden basil is looking fantastic and we are getting some early season tomatoes at the market.  And somehow, we got our hands on Heidi Swanson’s new Super Natural Everyday cookbook.

Honestly, today’s post isn’t meant to make anyone envious. We just kinda won the weather, produce & cookbook lottery!

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Spring Sweet Pea/Asparagus Pickles from “Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen”

March 27, 2011
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Mark my words, I am a pickle addict.  But my love of pickles wasn’t a loving  culinary journey in the beginning.

Vietnamese cuisine is a collage of  fresh vegetables, layered flavors and diversity of textures. So pickles in all forms were always a key staple at our meals. As long as I could remember Mom and Dad would grow small white eggplants, mustard greens and other vegetables and pickle them till we ran out of glass jars. Pickling was an integral part of Mom’s kitchen life and if she did it, then so did we.

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Buddhas Hand Dressing & Arugula-Prosciutto Salad

March 20, 2011
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Naked. Cocktails. Desserts. And Salads.

As friends and guests get guided around our garden for the first time, this is the shotgun answer to the inevitable question, “What do you with all of your citrus?!”

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Homemade Kumquat Marmalade with Brie Cheese and Blue Chair Jam Cookbook Giveaway

March 13, 2011
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I don’t like brie cheese. It’s boring.

There. I said it, I meant it, and I’m ok with you despising me for it. But before you send off that nasty email, I must clarify, I’m not talking about the real deal, raw milk, wheels of wonder that are true Brie cheeses.  Cheeses from milk so pure you can taste what moseying bovines feasted upon.

If only most “Brie” cheeses were so divine… But they’re not. Most are a bunch of bloomy rinded discs of boring. However there is salvation.  Salvation in a little orange jar and a cast iron »

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Red Rice Salad w/ Mint and Shallot Vinaigrette – A favorite whole grain

March 6, 2011
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We’ve been up to our elbows lately with some new projects and late at the end of the day, nothing makes us happier than a big bowl of comfort food and a cocktail. Or two. Comfort food, regardless of how many devilish calories lurk in all the starch, always manages to calm our nerves and satisfy our appetites.

A bowl of red rice is certainly one of our favorite comfort foods and this recipe is updated from our January 2008 archives, with a few new additions. A chewy and nutty grain variety, red rice is not only satisfying to eat, »

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Baked Sweet Pea Pot Stickers w/ Ginger Soy Dip

February 27, 2011
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Truth be told, we have killed many garden plants, none of which were intentional. Since the Sunset Magazine articles about us and our garden were published, everyone thinks we’re master gardeners. Folks! There’s a long list of garden failures that we’ve yet to publish. Maybe we’ll share some of our garden disaster stories so you can see how much of our initial gardening career was (and still is) by trial and error. But what we love so much about gardening is that it’s a continuous learning experience.

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Soba Noodles w/ Parsley Pesto & Giveaway : and I shall have some peace there

February 20, 2011
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The giveaway has ended and congrats to Rebecca, comment #46 for winning the book!

 

Margaret Roach, the former Editorial Director of Martha Stewart and now author of the memoir “And I Shall Have Some Peace There”, has a story that we can all relate to at some point in our lives.

She asks in her author video, “Did you ever just want to get up from your desk one day and just walk away? and I don’t mean to just walk away and get a latte… “. Many of us probably have wanted to walk away »

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Crispy Shrimp Tacos in Tomato Broth from Rick Bayless

February 13, 2011
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It’s safe to say that regardless of how many tacos we eat, we can always find room in our stomachs to fit more.  Layers of fresh salsa, pickled vegetables and warm chile heat make tacos so exciting to eat. Each is unique, customized and no two tacos are alike.

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