Squid Rice with Shrimp and Aioli

I have been particularly interested in squid ink. I love the idea of it and have wanted to use it for a very long time, I figured this would be my opportunity. Here, we combine squid ink and calamari to create a wonderful tinny, “oceany” flavor. The black rice is enlivened with coral shrimp or prawns (I didn’t have prawns on hand but believe it would be a more delicious flavor/presentation) and a garlicky aioli. Find my Aioli recipe here.

Crudité Platter

In comes Crudités! The harvest season seems a bit longer this year, due to the strange weather, so the farmer’s market is still awash with beautiful fall vegetables. I wanted to showcase their beauty and color. You can use any variety of veggies that you can get your hands on. Our platter had 2 varieties of radishes, green beans, Persian cucumbers, carrots, radicchio, baby bell peppers, asparagus, and some pistachios for crunch. We served our veggies with two sauces, a homemade aioli and homemade Caesar dressing.

Seared Scallops and Fingerling Potatoes with Cilantro Chili Aioli

Fingerling Potatoes are at the market!  I love the sweetness of these delicate little potatoes, and their size makes it more reasonable to serve an entire potato than those giant fellows you get at the grocery store. Secretly (not so secretly), I hate peeling vegetables. I almost never peel carrots when a recipe calls for […]

Seared Fingerling Potatoes with Cilantro Chili Aioli

Fingerling Potatoes are at the market!  I love the sweetness of these delicate little potatoes, and their size makes it more reasonable to serve an entire potato than those giant fellows you get at the grocery store. Secretly (not so secretly), I hate peeling vegetables. I almost never peel carrots when a recipe calls for…

Trio of Sauces – Peach Confiture, Aioli, and Cilantro Chutney

I think its evident that I don’t like to plan average cookouts! With very few exceptions, boxed foods are not even allowed in my home. I try to make my own everything, and if I don’t, I generally reach out to a reputable seller that makes products in house. Our lovely guests brought all of…

New Orleans – The Dinner

Nico and I finally made it to New Orleans, and we loved the city! The weekend we spent there, I think we saw at least 7 random parades, and at least three of those seemed to be private wedding parades. Music permeated the streets day and night and locals gathered around street corners with foldout…

Fried Okra with Homemade Aioli

I felt like at least one thing had to be deep fried this evening, so I gave this a try. I read a lot of recipes about vegetables being deep fried and served with spiced mayonnaise. I figured this would be an opportunity to make my own aioli instead! I have been looking forward to…