Individual Spinach Provolone Frittata -- Brunch yourself swanky!

This puffs up and has the look of a faux souffle with one tenth of the work. I love eggs but my husband doesn't eat them, so I've plenty motivation to experiment with single serving egg dishes that are low work for a fast and delicious morning breakfast. This Italian inspired version, studded with creamy provolone cheese and earthy spinach, is one of my very favorites. This is the perfect way to

Chamomile Kumquat Tart

I am bashfully enamored of kumquats. They are like that popular girl in high school who is small, sassy and a little bit of a rebel. You couldn't necessarily hang out with them all the time, but in small doses they knock your socks off.I was munching (skin and all of course) these tart little darlings while contemplating what to make for a nice dinner I was cooking for friends. I had some

Three Berry Chicken Salad with Thyme, Tarragon and Toasted Pinenuts

I have a deep and abiding love of chicken salad. It wasn't always this way. I grew up a solid "lunch meats" kind of girl, because that's what you eat for lunch when you are from Wisconsin. Maybe mix a little PBJ in the rotation to keep things interesting. But then I married Terry. He was an avowed omnivore, but the more we were together the more I noticed that there were a few things he didn't

Slowcooked Beef Bourguignon with Bulgur

Beef Bourguignon is a standard of French cuisine, and a wonderful example of simple, homestyle cooking that was elevated to status food. Traditionally in the northern regions of France, this dish begins by rendering bacon fat. Now I'm not embarassed to say that I actually have several tablespoons of rendered bacon fat chilling in my freezer even as we speak. I think it is handy to keep it there

Garlic Oregano Oven Fries with Pecorino Romano

I have a completely embarrassing addiction to french fries. Just the idea of warm, crisp potatoes fills me with a sense of euphoria and makes my little mouth salivate like a Pavlovian dog. And nothing calls to the fry addict quite so much as a home baked french fry, redolent in olive oil, Pecorino Romano cheese, garlic and oregano, still bearing the earthy potato peel, soft inside, crisp outside,

Tortilla Espanola

Several years ago I took a trip to Spain with a childhood friend of mine. We wound our way through small towns, being enchanted by local honey, olives and cakes of fig sold on the roadside by wizened old men. But we spent most of our urban time taking in Sevilla and Madrid, which were nothing short of foodie fantasies. We stumbled on a hole in the wall restaurant in Madrid packed with locals

Salmon Salad: A tasty way to get your Omega-3s

Suddenly it seems a nouveau bourgeoisie bohemian affect is fashionable everywhere, even on the table. The economy is hitting everyone hard. The "formerly wealthy" ethos is the hip new thing. So feel free to pepper your conversation with little gems such as "Oh is this what it looks like in economy seating, I had no idea" and "I miss my Lexus, but one just can't overlook the fuel efficiency of a

Blueberry Clementine Scones with Pistachio Dust

These scones elevate the classic blueberry flavor with the fleeting taste of seasonal clementines paired with the taste and texture of pistachio. They are unspeakably good in the morning with a warm cup of white tea. This recipe is a great addition to any baking repertoire, perfect for treating your family or taking to a brunch to impress friends. And the two-bite size makes them much more

Breakfast for Two: Tangerine Buttermilk Pancakes

Every kitchen goddess has an Achilles heel. As a still-aspiring kitchen goddess I have several. But nothing irks me so completely as my inability to make a fine pancake. I mean really...pancakes? This is like frontier American food. Toothless cowhands with iron skillets were whipping up these delights on the open range. Yet they defy me. So it is probably a good thing that my husband is

Cookie Lovers and Homesick New Yorkers Rejoice: Venetian (Rainbow) Cookies

You can spot a homesick New Yorker from a mile away. No matter where they live, when they refer to going to "the city" they mean a flight to Manhattan, not a trip to the nearest metro center. Mentioning the words "bagel" or "deli" provokes at least a 15 minute diatribe about how those things don't really exist outside of New York. But recently I was introduced to one of New York's better kept

Seven Tasty Ways to Transform Thanksgiving Leftovers: From Potato Soup to Mexican Pot Pie

This year my husband and I slow roasted a 27 pound turkey for 18 hours (take that government regulations for food safety!) and then served it up to 25 of our wonderful friends amid a spread of other succulent food choices. Which all means that the aftermath of this great feast left tons of leftovers in our fridge. While we enjoy a reheated Thanksgiving meal as much as the next guy, it doesn't

Buttercup Squash Ravioli with Parmesan Butter Sauce

Some folks hear the term "hand-made" next to pasta and started heading for the hills. I can appreciate the convenience of store-bought ravioli, particularly now that grocery stores have started carrying good quality fresh raviolis. Even still there is something magical about the experience of making ravioli at home. I suspect the magic resides not only in the enhanced taste, but also in the

Nutritious, Inexpensive, and Sustainable: Latin-Inspired Citrus Chicken with Rice and Beans

Greetings all! With apologies to my regular readers, my day job as a PhD student working on a dissertation and teaching college classes has been consuming a lot of my time lately. In an effort to bring you all more regular updates of the healthy delicious food you've come to expect, I've invited my friend Lynn to contribute to Skinny Gourmet. When we agreed to collaborate on a few foodie projects

Apricot Ginger Cream Scones

Let these memorable apricot ginger cream scones rescue you from the monotony of blueberry scones. Come take a walk on the wild side.If you are a regular reader, it probably is no big secret that in the last four months I've become an absolute scone fanatic. But this time, the scones aren't for me, I swear. I'm putting together a little food care package for a couple we are friends with who just

Pulled Pork with Apricot Bourbon BBQ Sauce

In further confession of my not-so-secret love of lists, I have to admit that I have been compiling a list of food 'forms' that every foodie (and aspiring top chef contestant) should make at least once. And that led me to the realization that I have never made my own BBQ sauce. Growing up as I did, BBQ wasn't something one made, it just appeared from on high in bottled form. And like a good

Chicken Tortilla Soup

The combination of the subtle adobo heat with the bright flavors of lemon and cilantro make this Chicken Tortilla Soup an ideal way to savor those increasingly cool late-summer evenings. This is a soup that I have been making for more than 8 years now. That fact should tell you two things: first, it has stood the test of time. This is one of a small number of soups that are so good that we make

Gourmet Italian Pasta Salad

In this dish, pasta salad, that iconic American summer food, grows up and goes gourmet. I bring in high flavor touches like sun-dried tomatoes, hot marinated artichoke hearts, and creamy Asiago cheese to create a high-taste, low fat pasta salad that is bursting with well-balanced Italian inspired flavors. This is a dish that everyone raved about, and had many of my friends eagerly asking "Where

Irish Chicken Salad Sandwich on Soda Bread

Summertime always seems like the perfect time for chicken salad. It is a medium that offers endless possibilities for creativity to bring an unusual gourmet touch to a lunch or picnic. However, after a series of more innovative chicken salads, I found myself craving something a little closer to traditional, but not so traditional as to be boring. In that spirit, the idea of importing the flavor

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Raisin Scones

In a busy world, where more and more families spend increasing amounts of their budgets on eating out and commercial food, sometimes you just want home baked goodness. It is a form of love embodied in flour, sugar and butter. It can be self-love when you deserve a treat, love for your neighbors, or love for a friend. But no matter how you slice it or slather it in butter, baked goods are always

Healthier Fruit Crisp Topping (with a hint of ginger!)

There is perhaps no dessert more perfect for summer than a seasonal fresh fruit cobbler or pie. My husband is a fresh fruit dessert fanatic. There is no quicker way to that man's heart than to surprise him with a pie or cobbler made from fresh seasonal fruit. And if you buy seasonal fruits at the peak of their ripeness, the fruit itself has almost all the succulent sweetness you need, with very