Ask Chef Phyllis No sooner had I finished my post on gluten-free pastry cream than I received a phone call about gluten-free dough…for cream puffs and eclairs. As you know, you can make both with the same dough (called pate a choux, or choux pastry). And since it has no sugar, you can make a […]
Tag Archives: healthy recipes
04
Oct
Oct
Ask Chef Phyllis I need a recipe for a good, no-fail pastry cream for the Napoleons and creampuffs that, after many attempts, I’ve finally mastered with rice flour substituted for the wheat flour. But the pastry cream also has to be gluten free and fool proof. Is this too big an order? I have a […]
03
Oct
Oct
If you’re anything like me and wait till the last minute to give meaningful, but not so very expensive, holiday gifts, this blog post is for you! Looking back at my Christmas shopping last year, I was in a real dilemma when it came to finding special but relatively inexpensive gifts for the people I […]
What’s Cooking at SRP?
Seared Scallops with Green Tomato-Mango Salsa:
Maximize End-of-Season Produce—Use Those Green Tomatoes!
02
Oct
Oct
It’s usually around the beginning of October that I finish breaking down my summer garden. It’s a purifying process for me—shelling the last of the dried beans for next season, pulling and tying corn stalks for decoration, amending the kale to keep it flourishing through the winter. It’s also when my end-of-season tomato plants are […]
27
Sep
Sep
Once upon a time in New York City (which will always be my town), there was a little place in Queens called College Point—known by residents as the first town over the Whitestone Bridge. College Point is where I owned and ran a bar and grill with a name that may be a bit cutesy […]
What’s Cooking at SRP?
Lamb Shawarma with Spicy Buttermilk Sauce:
Levant Street-Food Flavor and Home Grill Convenience
25
Sep
Sep
After graduating from high school, I spent a few years in Calgary, Alberta—a melting pot of cultural diversity with a vast population of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern families. Living there, I was exposed to authentic flavors that until then had been mostly foreign to me. Such regular access to some of the most delicious food […]
What’s Cooking at SRP?
Heirloom Tomato-Ricotta Galette:
A Rustic Grain-Free Tart with Sophisticated Flavor
18
Sep
Sep
I rarely tire of finding uses for all the beautiful, vibrant heirloom tomatoes from my garden. Whether I’m making a sauce to put away for the winter, piling slices high on crusty toasted bread with thick-cut bacon and crisp lettuce, blending them into my favorite silken gazpacho, or eating them straight from the cutting board […]
04
Sep
Sep
Take game-day snacking to whole new level. Queso. The uber popular Tex-Mex staple so ubiquitous in restaurants, bars, and game-day coffee tables across the country. Personally, I was never a big fan. In my initial queso-eating experiences, I found the stuff was always a two-ingredient concoction of melted processed cheese with canned tomatoes and green […]
29
Aug
Aug
Ask Chef Phyllis: I like Thai food and eat out at my favorite restaurant when I can. I live in Louisiana where seafood is abundant. I’m interested in a beef dish that is delicious and tender. Beef is my new favorite meat, but I’m not sure this dish will be easy to duplicate at home […]
What’s Cooking at SRP?
Quinoa Salad with Peaches, Corn, and Feta:
Celebrate Late Summer with a Picnic Friendly Side Dish
28
Aug
Aug
I don’t know about you, but I’m totally not ready for summer to be over. Here in Colorado, the kids have just started school, and though I look forward to returning to a semblance of routine and getting down to some personal and home projects once the craziness of the past season is behind us, […]
What’s Cooking at SRP?
Moroccan-Spiced Salmon Cakes with
Preserved Lemons and Harissa Yogurt:
A Simple, Protein-Packed Meal with an Exotic Flair
21
Aug
Aug
I’ve been wrapping up our annual trip back home to the Pacific Northwest of British Columbia. This year’s adventure was full of lazy days at the beach, boisterous family reunions with cousins I haven’t seen in close to twenty years, peaceful explorations through lush, moss-draped forest groves, mountain hikes with incredible vistas, refreshing lake swims… […]
What’s Cooking at SRP?
Antipasto-Stuffed Squash Blossoms:
Maximize Your Garden Harvest with a Crispy, Grain-Free Appetizer
14
Aug
Aug
I can’t let the summer go by without sharing at least one post celebrating the season’s most prolific crop: the equally loved and loathed zucchini. Mid-August may be a little later in the season than I usually publish my annual zucchini post, but now that everyone is surely becoming sick of all that darned summer […]
08
Aug
Aug
Ask Chef Phyllis: It’s come to my attention after some reader emails that most of you think the slow cooker is a strictly wintertime vessel. After all, nothing sounds better on those cold winter mornings than coming home to chili con carne or a thick, hearty split pea soup. But to say that the slow […]
07
Aug
Aug
I remember the first time I had clafoutis (KLA-foo-tee). I must have been around thirteen, and the bakery where I worked had just received a shipment of plump, deep, burgundy cherries from the Okanagan, in British Columbia. My mentor Pascal immediately exclaimed that I simply had to try clafoutis, so he got to work whipping […]
01
Aug
Aug
It is now early August, and as I awoke this morning the first thought that floated across my mind was that winter is long gone, the delicate spring flowers have been replaced by bursting vegetable gardens, and the hot, lazy days of summer are in full swing. So, what’s to eat that keeps me on […]
What’s Cooking at SRP?
Thai Style Minced Pork Salad with Spicy Mayo:
Taking Street Food to a New Level
31
Jul
Jul
I’ve often waxed poetic about my affection for Thai food. The harmonic combination of sour, salty, sweet, and spicy is like no other cuisine. I also admire the Thai love affair with street food: full of bright fresh flavors, crisp veggies, and quickly grilled or seared meats, and easy to eat with your hands. My […]
25
Jul
Jul
Ask Chef Phyllis: Summer is nearly here, and I love cold, creamy, mayonnaise-based potato and macaroni salads when we go to the beach or on a picnic. But everyone says that it’s unsafe to keep them in a cooler for too long. Is this true? Do you have ideas that will make me feel better […]
What’s Cooking at SRP?
Seed-Crust Tourtière:
A Mile-High Makeover Inspired by a French-Canadian Classic
17
Jul
Jul
I grew up in Canada, and I’ve been interested in food as far back as I can remember, so I was quite surprised that I didn’t discover tourtière—possibly the most quintessentially Canadian food outside of poutine (fries, gravy, and cheese curds…if you’ve never tried it, you must!)—until my later years. Tourtière is a hearty meat […]
What’s Cooking at SRP?
Homemade Cinnamon-Vanilla Granola with Coconut:
Taking Cereal to a Whole New Level
10
Jul
Jul
I’m not a big cereal fan, but I used to be. Back in my younger (less knowledgeable) years, I indulged in my fair share. And though it wasn’t optimal, cereal was one of the only things I had an appetite for when I was pregnant. Luckily, my mother was pretty strict about the quality of […]
03
Jul
Jul
Even though the bright beauty and flavor of citrus brightens up the bleakest months of winter, when citrus is at its peak, I’ve always felt that these lively, juicy fruits are much better-suited as a welcome respite from the heat of the summer months. Lemons are a constant in our house, with their neutral flavor […]