Chilled Asparagus with Wasabi Dipping Sauce

If you are looking for an easy, healthy, and elegant holiday appetizer, look no further. This recipe for chilled asparagus with Wasabi dipping sauce has to be one of the simplest and most elegant appetizers I know. Since I first learned the recipe from my mother-in-law, this has become a family favorite. We served it last year at our New Year's party to rave reviews. People simply could not

Heart of Palm Amuse Bouche with grapefruit, thyme, and champagne vinegar

The holidays are, among other things, about glitz and glamour. About feasting with your eyes. One of my favorite tricks for holiday entertaining is to serve a tray of amuse bouche in flat-bottomed Asian soup spoons. This allows you to gather together interesting combinations of tastes that don't conform to traditional "finger food" forms. But this dish can be served equally well plated for a

Papaya Faux-Custard with Pistachio, Honey and Pomegranate

Papaya isn't your typical holiday dish, but then again, who wants to be typical? A flurry of parties and entertaining usually accompany the coming of the holiday season. And whether a dinner party at home or an office party, these occasions usually demand some menu creativity. I say this as one who has a deep emotional attachment to classic shrimp cocktail, but one can have too much of the same

Have your Thanksgiving indulgences, just don't drink them too!

Thanksgiving is a day replete with the makings of memory. Each family has its own hallowed practices and dishes. And each year as the big day approaches media outlets everywhere spin into overdrive reminding us of the evils of gluttony and inundating us with advice to survive the upcoming 'fat season.' This year I offer a less common bit of advice for Thanksgiving: Indulge intelligently. Select

The First Thanksgiving

There is something magical and terrifying about the first Thanksgiving. And no, I don't mean pilgrims in funny hats. I mean the first time you decide to take on the behemoth task of coordinating a full-on Thanksgiving dinner. It is madness and mistakes and laughing and memories. At least mine was. But it was also the birth of a beloved tradition that still continues. This post is for all my

Chicken Cobb Salad

In my world a salad is, almost by definition, an invitation to experiment. Some of the best salads come by combining what is on hand. Some of my favorites have a few predictable elements I always like to include, with enough room for variation to keep things interesting. And so it is with a Chicken and Cobb salad. Some form of Cobb salad can be found on many restaurant menus, but beyond the

Why you should love cold churned honey

Sometimes on your quest for interesting food you have to seize the moment of introduction, wherever it is presented to you. My husband and I were driving along the highway en route to Niagara Falls. We had been together for five years and a little celebration seemed in order, complete with natural splendor and all the gawdy tourist traps. On the drive from Chicago, just after crossing into Canada