Succulent ribs and light salad perfect for outdoor summer dining
Baby back ribs simply say summer. What's better than dining on a batch of succulent ribs with your favorite barbecue sauce and a nice summer salad out on the patio? Ribs are really pretty easy to prepare, too, since they can be cooked ahead of time in the oven and then ...By Susie Iventosch
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Flaky, fluffy buttermilk biscuits a perfect jam accompaniment
It's fresh fruit season, which also means it's going to be canning season soon. I have never buckled down to make a production of homemade fresh fruit jams, instead relying on my friend who always sends us a care package of her homemade jams. But I am definitely going ...By Susie Iventosch
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A perfect color combination for your Fourth of July celebration
Cousin gatherings are so much fun in our family, because we are 18 first cousins in all. Once you add spouses and kids, and even grandkids, we can be a rather sizable group. This kind of gathering lends itself well to potlucks, where everyone can bring their favorite ...By Susie Iventosch
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A wonderful weekend recipe: Chilaquiles with Tomatillo Salsa
We just spent a week in Mexico, and I discovered a breakfast dish that is absolutely delicious!
I am not sure why I've never seen or tried it before, because it's practically on every ...By Susie Iventosch
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Scrumptious salad offers perfect combination of sweet and savory
This is a really fun salad to serve because people love the surprise combination of fresh and dried fruits along with avocado, spiced nuts and blue cheese. Butter lettuce is a great foil for these ingredients, because it's very light and tender, while the rest of the ...By Susie Iventosch
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A refreshing twist to a summertime staple
My daughter and I love this particular takeout restaurant in New York City called Ilili Box. It's located in the City Kitchen, an upstairs eatery with about eight food stalls, situated right near Times Square. Ilili Box serves the most amazing caramelized Brussels ...By Susie Iventosch
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A perfect stack of sumptuous strawberries and cream
I found some hydroponic strawberries at the market the other day, which not only piqued my curiosity, but also totally reminded me that we're getting close to strawberry shortcake season! Soon we will have beautiful, local strawberries adorning the produce shelves, ...By Susie Iventosch
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Chili Corn Hash hot off the grill
Grilled peppers and barbecued corn are two family favorites in our household. One day last week when my parents were in town, we had half the amount of each of these veggies we needed to serve as a side dish with tacos. In order to make our supply stretch for the ...By Susie Iventosch
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Cilantro-based sauce a perfect pairing for seafood this spring
Mojo verde, literally meaning "green sauce" in Spanish, is a condiment that packs a punch from the first taste of cilantro and garlic to the tartness of lime juice and sherry vinegar. Originating in the Canary Islands, mojo verde is primarily used to accompany fish or ...
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Say goodbye to winter with this white bean chicken chili
My mom has always been an amazing cook, and she instilled in me a love of cooking from a very early age. Even at 86 years old, she still loves cooking and stays very busy in the kitchen testing new recipes and altering old favorites to better suit today's healthy ...By Susie Iventosch
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Turn plain rice to perfection: Dried Fruit and Nut Rice Pilaf
Multigrain rice medleys are really nice, if cooked well. The problem for me is that they often end up mushy, with some of the grains perfectly cooked, while others in the mixture are either over- or undercooked. This is why I choose basmati rice almost exclusively ...By Susie Iventosch
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Duck confit
(Serves 4)
For duck:
4 Pekin or Long Island duck hindquarters (legs and thighs attached)
![]() By Susie Iventosch
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Duck confit with caramelized shallot sauce a superb winter dish
During college, I spent a summer session at the Sorbonne in Paris and fell in love with France, the French and especially French cuisine. On the rare occasion that my best friend and I could afford such a meal on our slender student budgets, (we normally grabbed a ...By Susie Iventosch
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Sweet puffy, and pink melt-in-your-mouth Valentine's Day treats
When I was a young girl, I used to love to cook with my grandmother in her vintage '60s Orinda kitchen. One day when I was visiting her from my home state of Michigan, we made these amazing meringue cookies with mint chocolate chips. She called them "forgotten" ...By Susie Iventosch
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Stuffed poblano peppers pack a flavorful punch
A few years ago, while I was conducting the arduous task of roasting and peeling poblano peppers to stuff and bake, I had an epiphany. Despite placing the roasted peppers in a paper bag to loosen the skins, it is always so difficult to remove all of the skin without ...By Susie Iventosch
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA