African Peanut Soup

Growing up in Lebanon I had an aunt whose family frequently traveled to, and for a while lived, in Ghana. She brought this dish back with her and we all knew it as FuFu. She and her sister (my mom Jamal) made it ever since, and continued to make it until my sweet Tante Nohad passed away in the early 90s. But every time my mom made it, we thought fondly of our Tante Nohad. 

Potluck time!

Whether you are the host or the guest, potlucks are becoming increasingly popular as more people find themselves too busy, or frankly, more interested in relaxed entertaining than cooking an entire meal, from appetizers to dessert.

I read this a long while ago on one of my favorite sites, Cookstr, and as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve bear down on us, I couldn't wait to share it with you. Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan Roll-Ups

If it has the word "parmesan" -- or for the purists, "parmigiana" -- then I am all for it. There is something so comforting about marinara sauce, cheese and some sort of pasta and protein all baked together into a gooey delicious heaven... but really, how often do we indulge?

This reicpe skips the pasta and makes the dish a bit less sinful but if I've said once, I've said it a hundred times: it's so much better to eat real food, not low-fat or non-fat food that even a dish like this, with a tiny bit of carbohydrates sacrificed, will still really satisfy and scratch that parmigiana itch. Make this; it's truly wonderful. See??

Mustard-Onion Pork Cutlets

[I found this "draft" blog when I was transitioning from a PC to a Mac. I was so confused it looks like I abandoned ship! Here's the original, from, like, December 2009!]

I am finally up and running on this new Mac and feeling a little more like I know what I'm doing. The transition from PC wasn't so bad but it does takes a little while to get comfortable doing the same thing in a completely different way. I have been cooking and baking and taking lots of pictures; now I just have to put everything up! I'm hoping in my absence Blogger has made some progress in making things easier for users. Here we go...

[Yes, Hiba, they've made Blogger a LOT easier. Wow. This is great!]

Tonight [remember, this was some night in December 2009] we bring you dinner from a few nights ago. This recipe was in a recent issue of Cook's Country and it caught my eye because it fits in my lifestyle these days: fast, reasonably healthy, and no "deal breakers"...you know, those pesky steps or pieces of equipment that just make you say, "no way"...

Chicken Tikka Masala

You know that neon-glow chicken that is passed as Tikka Masala and that you see at pretty much every mall food court? Yeah... this is not it. This is as close to authentic as you can get. This recipe is courtesy of Cook's Illustrated. You need to be a member to access any recipe on the site but I figure as long as I give them credit for the recipe and link to the paid Web site, I am safe... That is a form of payment, right, like...free advertising, right??

This recipe seems long but don't let the list of ingredients scare you. It's quite easy albeit may take a while to finish. And not all of your time spent is on labor. Quite a few minutes (maybe even an hour) are unattended time. 

I hope you enjoy this as much as my husband and our guests do. For a spicier dish, do not remove the seeds or the pith of the Serrano chile; and contrary to popular belief, the heat is mostly in the pith and not so much in the seeds. 

अपने भोजन का आनंद लें

(Bon Appétit! Thank you Google Translate!)

Lemon Zest

Another tip that my mother, the Original Diva, taught me was to always pity the lemon about to be squeezed for Tabbouleh, Lemon Bars, or Lemon-Lentil Soup and then unceremoniously discarded. She suggests I take a few moments to quickly rasp the lemon(s) I will be using on a MicroPlane and stash the bounty in a Ziploc in the freezer. And so that's what I do.

The four lemons above were about to be squeezed for Tabbouleh. How could I let them go to waste??Of course if you do it every time, you risk a glut of lemons. So only replenish your supply as your stash gets low. There is nothing better than reading a recipe that requires lemon zest and knowing all you have to do is reach into your freezer and snap a bit off the frozen pile.

Chipotle Chicken Skewers with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce

The older I get, the leaner and leaner I find I have to make my meals. I've got my advancing age and my parents to thank for my abysmal metabolic rate (the ONLY bad thing they passed on to me, those amazing, loving people!). The other day I had an epiphany of sorts. If I eat appetizers at restaurants as my main meal, then why not do so at home?

Filet Mignon with Balsamic Red Wine Reduction and Blue Cheese Butter.

I rarely indulge in red meat but when I do I always opt for the filet mignon. It's the lowest in fat among beef cuts (a 6-oz serving of broiled beef tenderloin has 370 calories if all fat is cut off), yet supremely tender. The flavor is a little muted making it a perfect accompaniment to bolder toppings and side dishes but it still presents so beautifully: the thicker the cut (2 1/2 inches or more), the more impressive and tasty.

Swiss Chard, Lentil and Lemon Soup

I made this soup a while ago and when I posted it on Facebook I got so many requests for the recipe. I had to make it again just so I could figure out...uh...how I made it?! This is mom's recipe for lentils cooked with potatoes and swiss chard in a lemony broth. The problem is mom passed the recipe from her brain to mine, Star Trek-style. No recipe, no nothing.

So while it looks like I blew you guys off when you requested the details, I was secretly panicking that now I would have to reverse-engineer this process... So today I had a craving for this soup and decided, what the heck, I have some time to re-create it.

Oven-Baked Salmon and Brussels Sprouts with Black Bean Garlic Sauce

Combined with potassium-rich Brussels sprouts, oven-baked salmon is a nutrition-packed meal that makes an unbelievably quick and wholesome dinner when you are pressed for time and short on ideas. I make it a point to serve salmon at least once a week. Any leftovers are served on a bed of greens the next day, and drizzled with a balsamic vinegar dressing. 

Oat Soda Bread

Hey guys you've heard me talking about this bread for about a week now.  I fell in love with this simple loaf when I spied it on Heidi Swanson's gorgeous blog, 101cookbooks.com.  The great thing about it is the few ingredients needed and the minimal time required to put it together, pop it in the oven and then enjoy with warm, salted--yes I said salted--butter. I hope you love the taste as much as I did. And go to Heidi's blog. She's truly talented and an amazing food photographer. 

Mustard Onion Pork Cutlets

I am finally up and running on this new Mac and feeling a little more like I know what I'm doing. The transition from PC wasn't so bad but it does takes a little while to get comfortable doing the same thing in a completely different way. I have been cooking and baking and taking lots of pictures; now I just have to put everything up! I'm hoping in my absence Blogger has made some progress in making things easier for users. Here we go...

This recipe was in the January 2011 issue of Cook's Country and it caught my eye because it fits in my lifestyle these days: fast, reasonably healthy, and no "deal breakers"...you know, those pesky steps or pieces of equipment that just make you say, no freaking way...

Basil, Basil Everywhere...Except When You Need It.

Few of us always have fresh basil on hand unless we cook every single day and go through our little supermarket basil plant or clamshell before the dreaded gray starts spreading on the leaves.

But even those of us who cook often run into the basil supply flow chart: need basil --> run out and acquire basil --> use a bit of the basil --> throw out what used to be lovely basil because it wasn't used up in time --> need basil again.

Where in the Hell is Diva?

Well, dear friends and Loyal Ten Followers...what can I say, it's been a busy, busy summer for this stay-at-home Diva but One Diva Dishing has been on my mind. Guilt for the stuff I know I am blowing off has a way of worming itself to the very front of my frontal lobes until I scream UNCLE, cave in, and address the situation. (You will get used to the disappearing acts I pull. Just ask the many bulletin boards of which I am a member. They hate it!)

Linguine with Clam Sauce - Pantry Version

I credit my brother-in-law Michael for this dish. For the longest time I found clams that weren't battered and deep fried New England-style to be completely repulsive. Yet often when we'd get together for an impromptu meal, he'd make Linguine Con Vongole--or Con Von as he, and soon we all, affectionately called it. 

My husband loved this dish and I hated it. But you know what they say about acquired tastes and after a few tries my persistence paid off. Now I curse myself that I didn't enjoy this saucy, garlicky, comfort-y meal more often when I was younger and my metabolism was a little less sloth-like than it is today.

Meatloaf with Brown Sugar-Ketchup Glaze - Cook's Illustrated

After a long absence during which my heart was broken by my Boston Celtics and stomped upon by the hateful Los Angeles Flakers, I am back to blogging. What better theme than comfort food, I say.

Maybe it's the fact that San Diego went through an unusually cool spring following an unusually cold winter, and things are still not looking up 2 days into summer...but lately all I've wanted was simple, unpretentious, healthy and FAST meals for me and my family.

Quick hit: Sloppy Joes!

 I noticed that the most popular posts on this blog have been about old fashioned, no-frills, quick-to-the-table food. While I love to cook fancier stuff, I still love the comfort of the simple, hearty meals we all grew up on. I will be posting more "evolved" recipes, certainly, but humor me one more time as I take you back a few decades.

You like Sloppy Joes, right? Let me rephrase...who doesn't love a killer Sloppy Joe? The kind made with fresh, balanced ingredients and that makes you wonder why you don't make this hearty, delicious, wholesome meal-on-a-bun more often? I love this recipe. It's so F-A-S-T you will, again, bow to me! Trust me, once you make this, it will be part of your regular weeknight, meal-in-a-pinch rotation.

And please let me know what you think, if you do make it? I just love to share the love! Oh and this comes to you courtesy of Cooks Illustrated. I am indeed their biggest fan. If I weren't so full of myself I'd rename this blog after them....Allons-y, alors...

Quick hit: Sesame-Soy-Glazed Baby Bok Choy

Here's a superfast side dish that is tasty and infinitely more interesting than the usual cluster fuck of boring vegetable sides like asparagus, green beans, broccoli, carrots...Zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

You can serve this with fish, chicken, steak, it all works. Next time you're in the supermarket buy yourself 2 or 3 Baby Bok Choys (BBC). They are sliced in half during cooking so three is more than enough for two folks especially if, like me, you forswear the starchy sides.

For a company of four, buy 4 BBCs which will be plenty; two halves on each plate will look very elegant.

Time to take the diamond rings off, tie back your hair, and let's go, Divas.

Quick hit: Southwestern-Style Salmon Cakes

I have a crazy love affair with salmon. It's irrational, deep, and intensely loyal. I defend salmon to all naysayers and I'm determined to convert even the most fervent haters.

Like me, some people are pathologically addicted to it. Others hate what my friend Alysa calls the "pink, stinky fish" with passion. Still others like my dear friend Mary Beth will only tolerate it because it's good for them.

(Let me use my infamous parentheses to add this PSA: I don't care how good Omega 3-fatty acids are for you; fat is fat and any fat in excess is NO GOOD so I fear my love of salmon has definitely crossed the boundaries of good health but...whatever...swim in it at your own risk.)

Anyway, regardless of where you fall on the salmon love/hate sliding scale, please know that I never intended for this (GASP!) "leftovers" dish to be part of The Diva blog but as it was coming together I knew I was onto something special.

So you losers better appreciate the fact that I took time out to photograph only the highlights and share them with you.

And Mary Beth, I will someday make this for you and hopefully you will bow to me!

Soy-Ginger-Lime Shrimp with Tomato Scallion Couscous

Well, let me tell you...today was a craaaazy day. They are all crazy days but man, sometimes I over-extend myself and it's 5 pm and dinner is not even started yet. Which reminds me, I've been meaning to talk to you guys about cooking in a pinch.

Here's where keeping a well-stocked pantry and an equally properly stocked fridge is a great idea and a good investment. I mean really, do you want to run out at 5 to the grocery store? Or hold up dinner while Your Dude swings by the supermarket? Or do you throw in the towel and go for take-out? What's that you said? Throw in the towel?!? Wrong answer...SAY NO TO TAKE-OUT! Look what you can do with minimum ingredients. See this? You can do it too.



Actually, you don't have to say no to take-out every night. Some take-out nights are necessary for mama's mental health and the family's fun factor, but if you're eating out 3-4 nights per week, you know you can do better! In return for your promise to be a good little guy or girl, I promise to post on here a good list for fridge and pantry essentials. These are fresh and dried/packaged items things that you should never be without.

Also, when you're food shopping, plan a bit ahead... Get fish for tonight, chicken for tomorrow night, and steak for the night after. It's such a no-brainer and you'll rarely be caught with your pants down...well, unless you want them down...which reminds me of this time when the UPS man was due and The Dude thought it was funny to...never mind...

Anyway, on with tonight's dinner...The shrimp is a Bobby Flay recipe and let me just hop on my soap box for a moment to tell you how annoyed I often find myself at organizations (Food Network!) and chefs (and repeat offender Signor Flay!) who do not employ good editors and proofreaders to go through the recipes they slap on the web. If you are a novice, then you will find yourself a bit perplexed at this recipe. Fear not, my Iron Chef wanna-bes, I have fixed the myriad typos and it's ready to go...