There was a sale on fresh figs at my grocery store this weekend, and they looked so good, I bought some.  Remembering cocktail parties (and desserts) past, I thought of the wonderful combination of figs and blue cheese. Read more…

Artichokes are beautiful—and this edible member of the thistle family is thought to be one of the oldest vegetables known to man. Read more…

Retro food alert!  I was planning brunch the other day and remembered this easy recipe that I think originally came from the wrapper of Jimmy Dean sausage.  It is easy and makes a tasty addition to a brunch buffet or can be just as good as an appetizer or game snack.  Read more…

These could also be called Tomatoes à la Nano, or Tomatoes à la Anna, because I learned this recipe from a lovely French woman who cooks just like you would imagine a French woman would cook—beautifully and easily—resulting in simple, delicious food—stylishly presented. There is something deceptively offhand about that accomplished cooking style–watching Anna cook as we sat in the kitchen and chatted while she worked and I watched and took notes—I also noticed that she was careful to taste as she went, adding the ingredients a bit at a time until the flavor was just right.  Since I copied what she did, you can simply put all of this together and you will have a great tasting dish that can be a main course for lunch, or a salad or starter for dinner.  With thanks to Anna.

Tomatoes Stuffed with Tuna and Mascarpone

Makes 12

12 small ripe tomatoes (I used the small ones on the vine)
1 can tuna, packed in oil, drained
1 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese
1 shallot finely minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons chives, chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained and chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper.

Cut off the tops and scoop out the inside pulp and seeds.  Sprinkle the insides of the tomatoes with a bit of kosher salt and turn upside on paper towels to drain while you make the filling.

Mix together the tuna, mascarpone, shallot, lemon juice, chives, capers, salt and pepper.  Stir well, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Gently pat the insides of the tomatoes dry with paper towels.  Fill with the tuna mixture, garnish with chives and chill well before serving.

For other lovely ways to stuff a tomato, take a look here:

Baked Tomatoes with Mediterranean Ricotta Filling at Lucullian Delights

Julia’s Stuffed Tomatoes Provencal at FoodGal

Avocado Pesto Stuffed Tomatoes at Eat.Drink.Smile

Many moons ago when I was a young working woman who had the good fortune to travel all over the world for her job, I had a business lunch at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.  The Biltmore in those days had recently been renovated and featured the work of the artist Jim Dine—whose work is now widely known—but then he was a hot, up and coming talent with whom the owner of the Biltmore had commissioned all of the interior art for the hotel’s public spaces and rooms.   I remember the traditional, beautiful guest rooms had  high ceilings, and what appeared at first to be classic, elegant moldings.  But when you looked more closely, you saw that the tools of the artist were imbedded into the molding—so that paint rollers, paint tubes, drip trays, spacklers, screwdrivers, hammers, rolls of tape and all kinds of other things were stuck to the molding where the eye was expecting twirly cartouches—but all painted white so as not to be easily noticed–very subtle, clever and whimsical.

But back to lunch, the gentleman I was lunching with was the Director of Marketing for the hotel.  As icebreaker talk, he gave me a big pitch about how good the avocado soup was and how I must have it as an appetizer.  Being a sport, and breaking the ice right back, I bypassed the ceviche I was craving and ordered the avocado soup.  It had me at my first spoonful.

After all that, this recipe is not from the Biltmore (I never thought to ask), but is a version of one that I found in the New York Times Cookbook that is pretty darn close.  One thing that the Craig Claiborne version didn’t include was lemon juice and I thought long and hard (is that weird?) about whether or not to add lemon.  Because when you taste it without the lemon, you get the full force of the subtle flavor of avocado.  I was worried that the lemon would taste too much like guacamole.  But when I finally decided that I really needed to do it, I added just the tablespoon of lemon juice and to my taste, this brightened the dish right to where I loved it.

This is easy to make and is a really nice appetizer for a dinner party.  Serve it in chilled demitasse cups with tiny spoons—sitting in a living room or on a patio, summer soup doesn’t get much better than this.

Avocado Soup

4 to 6 servings (6 for sure if you use demitasse cups)

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados
1 teaspoon grated onion
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup sour cream
½ cup half and half
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Chives, for garnish

Preparation:

Wash, peel and cut the avocado into large pieces. Combine the avocado with all of the other ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth and well blended.  Taste and correct the seasonings.  Store the soup in a covered bowl in the refrigerator until very cold.  Taste again, correct the seasonings and serve with snipped chives on top.

In our house, the NBA finals are drop-everything-and-watch events.  Big parties aren’t the thing—because they can get noisy and distract from the action of the game.  Little parties with guests carefully selected for their commitment and ability to focus on the action are the only way to go for this family.

The food is kind of incidental, but I’ve found that I can always get the guys’ attention with a munchie that has a little kick to it.  This one is a favorite—all of the ingredients of Jalapeño Poppers mixed together into a yummy dip.  This goes well with a beer, or a cool glass of mint iced tea.  Enjoy the game!

Jalapeño Popper Dip

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese
2 slices bacon, cooked and finely chopped
1 4 oz can chopped green chilies
2 ounces pickled jalapeno peppers, drained
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Stir all together and microwave for 2 minutes or heat in the oven until bubbly.  Serve with Fritos scoopers or tortilla strips.