Chili-Grilled Eggplant and Sweet Roasted Pepper Tartlets in Poppy Seed Shells

July 22, 2010 by Monica in Appletizers & Snacks, Baking, Cookbooks, Entertaining, Savory, Tarts, Vegetable

Tom and I love to have dinner parties. Mainly because Tom knows that I like to cook up a storm and then sit back and accept all the praises that our guest will send my our way.

I’m crazy and he loves me – what can I say.

On the last dinner party, we had his best friend and his wife over. We had them numerous times before and they are the type of dinner guest that will pretty much eat anything we put in front of them.

I call it having an adventurous palate.

I love cooking for them.

And the best part? The best friend wife is a vegetarian who lately is venturing into the raw food movement. Which means that she forces me to be an adventurous cook - the best kind if you ask me.

Mango-Orange Salad

July 01, 2010 by Monica in BBQ, Entertaining, Family Cookbook, Fruit, Holiday, Salad, Sides, Vegetable

Did you know that grilling is a Patriotic Duty? According to HPBA (the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association) independence day is the number one holiday for barbecues and outdoor cooking and based on a national grilling poll, 80% of adults plan to host or attend a cookout this forth of July.

The U.S. Census Bureau - better known for telling Americans how many of them there are and how much they make on the average - surveyed 66 million people who attended barbecues last year and figured "it's probably safe to assume a large number of these events took place on the Fourth."

Roasted Tomato Soup

June 28, 2010 by Monica in Quick Meal, Savory, Soup, Vegetable

I love soup. buttttt...

...I hate making soup.

I cannot give you a particular reason why – I never been good at it. And my mother has totally spoiled me when it comes to soups.

Why?

Well, because, my mother is an excellent soup maker. She can take anything (and I mean ANYTHING) and make it into an out-of-this-world soup.

Me, I know how to open a can (yes, you can cringe now – go ahead, I give you permission) and modify the soup and make it better, but from scratch? No-can-do. And if I wanted something homemade, all I had to do was call my mom up and she would whip something up in a day. How is that for one-stop take out?

To top all of this soup insecurity is the fact that I’m also very fussy about the soups that I eat. Show me a leek and potato soup, lentil soup, lobster bisque, butternut squash bisque, broccoli- cheddar and I will choose that over a fancy entre, hands down.

But, the one that has my heart, the one that I seek is the tomato soup. I have searched high and low for the ultimate tomato soup. I have a few very good contenders thru the years. And so far the tomato soup sold by Whole Food is good choice. It has the qualities that I love about a tomato soup, chucky pieces of tomatoes with the creamy texture of everything else, and with a bit of a tart and sweet flavor filled with fresh herbs. You can usually find me buying the large take out of this and eat it throughout the week. Then there is the tomato soup from a local restaurant called The Red Elephant Pizza and Grill – this is so far one of my favorites, its filled with bits and pieces of roasted tomatoes and onions and the smoky flavor compliments the richness of the soup. This IS a TOMATO SOUP.