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I love doing a brunch for Mother’s Day. I enjoy seeing my family sitting around my table with all their beautiful faces enjoying a meal. Food definitely ties us all together and makes for such enduring memories. My mom and dad will be there, as well as my sister, and my kids and grandkids, and my son-in-law’s mother. Joel’s mom is in Florida so we won’t be able to see her on Sunday, but our love and gratitude go out to her on this special day, as always. Mother’s Day is a day to think about your Mom , Grandmom, ,Stepmom,  all moms. I know it’s a Hallmark holiday but it’s really a great way to stop and smell the roses, don’t you think? So here’s a shout out to all the moms out there who do so very much every single day of the year! Happy Happy Mother’s Day from my…

Prep for Kale Salad

INGREDIENTS:

3 bunches of organic kale

small container crumbled feta or goat cheese

pignolli nuts ( roast in oven for app. 4 minutes at 350) they burn quickly so watch them. Once you smell them they’re usually burnt, depends on oven so be careful

dried fruit ( I love dried cherries in this) but raisins will do

When I make the kale, I take out the rib in the center and just use leaves. You can wash it first before taking the rib out–it’s easier that way. 

Dry the kale and chop in large food processor. After it’s all chopped, put in large bowl.

Mix all ingredients in with the kale, add my mustard vinaigrette. Do this little by little and keep mixing. The beauty of kale is that you can put it in the fridge and let it soak in for hours. I usually make…

Most perfect summer salad and it is a vegetarian delight. totally vegan. I am not a vegan so I was grilling steaks for dinner and wanted to do a cold salad on the side. I had 2 beautiful ripe avocados on hand and all the ingredients for this yummy salad.  I had some fresh corn so I just brought the water to a boil threw it in and when it turned yellow took it out and threw it in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.   Of course I love  jalapenos , use your own discretion and this would be amazing without as well but it was kick ass with them.  You can make the salad ahead and let juices meld but don’t add the avocados till you’re ready to serve.  You can give them a little squeeze of fresh lime juice so they won’t turn brown so fast.  I like to serve salad at room temperature, you just…

I posted this originally back in October 2011 for Yom Kippur break fast. It is truly one of the best French toast recipes I’ve ever made.  I include it every year since my friend Ilene Stern gave it to me. I never have a single piece left. Delicious and decadent, perfect brunch and breakfast food. I almost always include it in my Mother’s Day Brunch as well. The only downside is that you must prepare and refrigerate the night before without cooking it, you cannot cook this dish till you’re ready to eat it, the bottom will get hard like a caramel candy would. So cook right before you’re going to serve. Enjoy!

*recipe as is should serve 6- 8 if you have more people make 2 trays!

Ingredients:

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

2 tbsp. corn syrup ( I use Karo Original light corn syrup)

5 eggs…

 May is here and it brings warm weather and beautiful flowers and springtime has finally arrived. Right around the corner is Cinco de Mayo and this recipe can help make the day just a little more memorable and it’s a great recipe for any time really.

Any excuse to celebrate a holiday with a new recipe! Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone and here is a new salad and salad dressing to help celebrate with. While I am not a vegan and don’t always cook that way,  I tried this salad dressing which I found in Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook, “It’s All Good”, and I have to say it is all good! All good ingredients. I am not talking diet food–just good, healthy food, that when eaten in moderation, yields very good results. I used * Vegenaise in making this and highly recommend it in the place of mayonnaise. You can also use yogurt in its place. This is…

Forget engagement chicken. This is the dish to make if you’re really interested in getting engaged!  I know there is a whole lotta hoopla out there about making a roast chicken and getting an engagment ring out of the meal but I will tell you that this should really be called “The Engagement Bolognese Sauce” because it is that good; and everyone who eats it falls in love with it. Well…almost. You just have to be a meat lover and a pasta lover. Then, surely, this will work. Try it and let me know. What have you got to lose? This is my perfect Sunday night dinner. It’s pure comfort food. So, even if you’re not looking to get engaged, are already married, or just want a wonderful meat sauce to make…Serve with a green salad with my vinaigrette dressing, a nice crusty bread and you’re set. You can always make my chocolate…

A while back my Mom (G’ma Millie) gave me a bunch of recipes, and since then I’ve had some time to sift through them. I came across this one on type-written paper, which in and of itself was sort of amazing from my Great Aunt Selma. Selma was my grandfather’s sister and known to be a  very good cook, Hungarian Czech background. I scanned in recipe so you can see what the original looks like, I have been trying to scan all of my old recipes in so that I don’t lose them.  So I figured I’d try out the recipe, because it was different from mine and contained sour cream. How bad can it be? And since there is always the matter of rotting bananas in the house, this is a perfect use for them.  I guess what to do with those rotten bananas isn’t exactly a new problem!

*a few little notes on this recipe…

Karen Lee in her kitchen with Goan Shrimp

I love taking cooking classes and while I’m back in New York I always try to get over to Karen Lee’s cooking class. Karen is so knowledgable, warm and friendly. Her kitchen on the Upper West Side of Manhattan is her home and all you can do is try and absorb as much as possible. At our last class we cooked many things and this was one of my favorites of the day. It’s hard to choose a favorite but this one definitely hit a chord with me. I couldn’t wait to make it for Joel because I knew he would love it. This shrimp dish is Goan cuisine , which consists of regional foods popular from Goa, located along the SW coast in India on the Arabian Sea.  You can control the spice, but just the way the recipe is written was perfect for us. Take a look at Karen’s blog and she…

I am still cooking my way through Gwyneth Paltrow’s new cookbook, It’s All Good. I have made a few recipes and this is the latest one. I love cauliflower, Dijon mustard and chickpeas, so how bad can this possibly be?

So so good, that’s how good.

I couldn’t get Joel to even touch it except to eat one chickpea and he refused to touch the cauliflower. Oh well, once again, he doesn’t know what he’s missing. This is a perfect side dish and very healthy, to boot. Completely vegan, protein packed and very filling. I’m certain it would be delicious with broccoli as well. Give this a try!

Thanks again to Gwyneth Paltrow for an amazing new cookbook with lots of new recipes. It is all good!

Ingredients:

1 14 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained and then dried in a kitchen towel.

1 head of cauliflower, outer leaves removed and…