A Life in Food by real-life Chef Cheryl Bennett
Roasted fingerling potatoes with togarashi spice and charred shishito peppers are a tasty way to change up boring side dishes. This Asian-spiced potato dish will be a new family favorite.
This post is sponsored by Idaho® Potatoes. All opinions, photos and recipe are mine.
If you make a purchase through one of the affiliate links, I make a few pennies at no extra cost to you. Questions? Please see disclosure for info.…
Tropical coconut bread is just the thing to turn an ordinary breakfast into a something special. Coconut always reminds me of vacation and this bread is like a slice of paradise on a plate. This coconut loaf stays moist for days, which means you can enjoy it all week long.
This 5 ingredient corn casserole is a staple on nearly every Thanksgiving table. And with good reason – it is easy and delicious. It’s the time of the year for Thanksgiving recipes, and this one is always at the top of the list.
Creamy, sweet corn casserole is one of the things I wait all year to eat. I have been making this for over two decades, which is why I highly recommend it. It is one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever make and it is so unbelievably good. The browned, crisp top gives way to a creamy corn pudding inside, making this a staple on the holiday table.
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Do you love coffee? Yeah, me too. I don’t mean that in a casual “yeah, I love coffee” kind of way; I. Love. Coffee. We’re hot & heavy. It’s a torrid love affair that has no end in sight. I once (foolishly) thought I should give up coffee… Why, you ask? Well, I thought I should get off caffeine, or rather it should get out of me. Then, after 3 absolutely miserable weeks, I had a revelation of sorts. I don’t really drink (I’m usually a 2 drink max kind of girl), I’ve never had a cigarette in my entire life and I don’t do drugs. Pretty boring, I know… So, here’s where I decided that coffee and I are lifelong partners; I don’t do anything else! Everyone has a vice and dammit, coffee was going to be mine!
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Key Lime Pie. These three little words make me sit on the edge of my seat in anticipation. In my book, it is one of the most perfect desserts. The fact that it is ridiculously easy gives it major bonus points.
Growing up, I don’t think I’d even heard of key lime pie. We had apple, peach, strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry, pecan, pumpkin, lemon meringue, chocolate cream, but never key lime.
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Tall, flaky buttermilk biscuits with layers that can be pulled apart to be slathered in butter or honey. This is what we all crave when we imagine a good buttermilk biscuit. These biscuits would be great with a bowl of classic chicken noodle soup.
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I know it may seem a bit early to start thinking of Valentine’s Day, but it’s only a few short weeks away. If you like to make a special treat on Valentine’s Day, this is the cake.
It is a towering 4 layers high and lovingly encased in the most delicate rose-scented buttercream. It is outrageously good and worth every. single. calorie.
This is also the type of cake that could easily become adorned with say a few candles for a little celebratory birthday party? The colors could be swapped out for any, the flavor of the buttercream could be adapted to whatever you’d like it to be. Using a vanilla base for both cake and buttercream allows you the flexibility to change colors and flavors to suit the occasion or intended recipient….
The above is one of my favorite quotes from Julia Child, one of the gutsiest broads to ever hoist a meat cleaver. (and I use that term lovingly)
On August 15th of this year, Julia would have turned 100 years old and I’d like to think would still be cooking.
In the 100 days leading up to Julia’s birthday, the JC100 is celebrating this culinary powerhouse and her recipes. Each week, a new recipe is featured and this weeks offering was Coq au Vin… one of my all time favorites.
I remember watching Julia & Jacques and loved her candor and fearless approach to cooking. She made it seem fun and most importantly, possible. She had a way of walking her audience through a recipe that made complex dishes seem effortless and isn’t that all we really want? To feel like anything is possible?
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My First Love.
Look at that gorgeous kid… and the baby isn’t bad either! That woman in the pic still makes the best dutch puff pancake in the Western Hemisphere.
One of my all-time favorite memories, which my Mom & I still giggle about to this day… Ok, this is going to date me a little, but you regular readers already know I turned 40 recently, so here we go:
Do you remember that show from the ’80’s, “V”?! It was about alien-lizards disguised as humans living on Earth. We LOVED this show. It sounds ridiculous, but it was the early ’80’s…
Well, one night we were in our Chevrolet Chevette hatchback (yes, a Chevette hatchback… named “Skeeter”, btw) and there were radio and television towers with flashing red lights on the road. They looked like they were so high up in the sky to me as a little kid… like they could have been lights on an alien spacecraft!
All of a sudden, my Mom hunches down over the steering wheel and starts saying “Oh no, they’re gonna get us!” Well, you can imagine our reaction! My brother & I started screeching & laughing like crazy and she just kept egging us on…
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Picture it… Ohio, early 1980’s. A girl and her Momma, glued to the television watching movie stars walk the red carpet. We used to watch the Oscars as if it were a runway show during fashion week. I feigned interest in the actual awards part of the show, but to be perfectly honest I didn’t really care who won “Best Picture”. My Mom was letting me stay up past my bedtime and that was award enough for me.
I have friends who host elaborate Oscar parties and I must admit the thought of it has crossed my mind on more than a few occasions, but considering the size of my shoebox apartment it doesn’t seem to be an option this year.
However, just because I won’t be hosting a gathering doesn’t mean I can’t make some good party food…
I tried to keep it fairly simple, with options that could be served warm or at room temperature. These can also be transported fairly easily if you are a guest bringing a little something to the festivities.
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