Chez Nous

French Onion Soup

It has been raining and cold all week! What happened to the beginning of summer? Whenever the weather gets wonky like this, I like to make soup, but which soup to make? I feel like you can turn anything and everything into a soup, but I tend to use those veggies that are a bit too…

Lemon Custard with Lemon Curd Topping

I love lemon curd, but for some reason didn’t think of making it myself until a year ago when I found myself with a dozen egg yolks left over from a big merengue I was making. So many of my recipes are created out of the leftover ingredients of other cooking endeavors, but I am…

Fresh Pea Soup

Spring time brings a plethora of lovely vegetables! Asparagus has been rolling in at the farmers market over the past month, and so have the glorious morels that we made into a Soufflé last week, and finally, the farmer with a cooler full of fresh peas arrived last weekend! I couldn’t help buying a pound…

Homegrown Chard, Sausage and Ricotta Pizza

I have been growing a beautiful little patch of chard in my garden this year, and with my first harvest coming in, have been looking forward to turning it into a delicious dish. I wanted something flavorful and beautiful, but a little different than what I have been cooking recently. This weekend, I went to…

Dal Makhani

Lentils and beans end up on my menus a lot. Such an inexpensive ingredient but creates a rich and powerful flavor. In the winters, I put them in stews, and in the summers they make wonderful salads. Dal seems to be a name that refers to a wide range of lentils, beans, and peas and…

Gulab Jamun

For over a decade, I have loved “Indian syrup balls,” those amazing little balls found at the end of every Indian buffet. It took me going to an Indian market with Gonzo last year to figure out what they were called. This was a challenging recipe, but I am glad I made it. There are…

Goat or Lamb Biryani

This dish is always a crowd pleaser in the best Indian joints I frequent. Only once did I see it presented traditionally with the chapati crust. Reading many recipes, I decided this was an amazing challenge to make authentically with the crust and the goat meat that it would traditionally be served with. I have…

Introducing Chez Nous – The Cookbook!

WHY CHEZ NOUS: COMMUNAL DINNERS? I have long dreamed of publishing a cookbook. In fact, over the past decade, I have made dozens of editions of cookbooks. They have made their way into Christmas presents and personal archives, finally, after years of work and research, I am thrilled to announce the first public edition of…