Small Plates
A quick change from Thai to Italian
Back from my nephew’s wedding on the shores of Lake Washington, and I thought i was going to make Thai shrimp with basil and pineapple for dinner. I had everything, but when I checked the fresh pineapple, I decided it had been in the fridge too long. I had everything else: shrimp, basil, red […]
Chicken salad for the summer
In my last post, I said it is full-on salad season. As Northwesterners like to say, summer begins after the Fourth of July. But maybe we need to throw that adage out the window. Our Junes have been warmer and drier over the past four or five years, it seems to me. I was reminded of […]
Lemony tabouleh is a refreshing, filling meal
Hi there, Small Plates friends: I’m thinking of making tabouleh for one of the Frassati Suppers offered Thursdays to the poor and homeless. Your advice is welcome. The suppers at the Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater in downtown Vancouver are part of the Pier Giorgio Agape Ministry, an outreach effort named in honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio […]
A toast to roasted asparagus
A couple of months ago, I asked Facebook friends, “What’s for dinner?” As one friend said near the end of the posts, “There’s a whole lot of good eating going on out there.” It was true, and in my last Small Plates entry, I recounted some of the meals my pals were putting together. Two people […]
Remember me? It has been awhile
Dear Small Plates readers — It has been a long time since I posted. I don’t know whether you’ve wondered where I’ve been, but I do know I haven’t forgotten you. Not for a day. I guess I was just uninspired about making new dishes, so I neglected this blog. I’m writing today, however, because a […]
My Boeuf à la Bourguignonne needs help
I haven’t had much luck making beef stew. My mother used to make it, and I never cared for it. So I tried again, this time following “Boeuf à la Bourguignonne” in a well-respected cookbook. It was good. Not fantastic, in my opinion, but pretty good — too much wine, I’m convinced, for starters. However, it was […]
Thai shrimp my new favorite for Lenten Fridays
I’ve been busy in the kitchen. I’ve made Julia Child’s Boeuf à la Bourguignonne that is in Saveur’s “New Classics Cookbook” and a red curry shrimp with pineapple dish in Nancie McDermott’s “Quick & Easy Thai.” I was happy with both, but way more pleased with the Thai dish. It’s a perfect Lenten recipe for a […]
I’ve warmed to stuffed peppers
I’ve started to write about stuffed peppers four times now. Nothing worked out. The peppers just didn’t inspire me, even though they made a fine dinner in a hurry. I can’t blame our current snow and ice on being uninspired. I first made these back in early December. One note of caution: I wish I had made two peppers instead […]
Cioppino linked to Christmas Eve tradition
This column first appeared in Northwest Catholic, the magazine for the Catholic Church in Western Washington. I don’t remember the first time I had cioppino, the hearty Italian-American fish stew that Genoese immigrants created as they made their living as fishermen off the coastal waters of California. I do, however, remember the first time I […]
Pork with spicy green beans on election night
OK, let’s try this again. On Election Day, I was sure that Hillary Rodham Clinton would become 45th president of the United States. With confidence, I blogged about a post that popped up on my Facebook feed and made plans to deal with the pork chop in the fridge: “I will be so glad when this election […]