By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
It is November already and this weekend, daylight savings ends (boohoo). The Halloween decorations are down (I hope) and the fall foliage has come indoors as we decorate our fire place mantels and dining room tables. We are heading to the homestretch to Thanksgiving and we have shared our easy and succulent recipes (appetizer, soup, salad, turkey). We are determined to prove that preparing a delicious Thanksgiving feast is manageable. And fun. I hope you have had a chance to try out some of the recipes, for we would love to hear from you. This [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
We have written, thus far, on our suggestions for perfect and soooooooo easy Thanksgiving Appetizer, Soup and Salad recipes. You might want try these ahead of time to test them. We’re pretty sure that once you see how incredibly easy they are, a whole wave of relief will wash over you. Yes, you can have an EASY, fail-proof and incredibly delicious Thanksgiving feast.
Now we have come to the piece de resistance, the bird itself. It is the most intimidating part of the menu but have no fear, the bird is just big,a bit unwieldy but [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
When I mentioned in an article a few months ago that I was a part of a Cooking Club, I was surprised of the interest and the questions that this generated. What exactly is a Cooking Club? I have to give all the credit to our friends, Charlotte and John, who have a love of great food and a passion for cooking. They got the idea from Bon Appetit magazine.
We choose to keep our club simple because we all have children under the age of ten. We have five couples in our Cooking Club – [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
We are already on the third article in the seven part series on easy and succulent Thanksgiving recipes (see the appetizer recipe here and the soup recipe here).  Are there really just four weeks left until Thanksgiving?
This Crab and Grapefruit Salad looks so elegant and is, yet again, sooooo easy to prepare. Grapefruit is a great palate cleanser and is just what you need to get mouths watering  before the main attraction. When crabmeat is added to the grapefruit, you have the perfect second course to your Thanksgiving spread.
CRAB and GRAPEFRUIT SALAD (for 4)

1 can [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
I just discovered that muffins are not just for breakfast or snacks anymore. I was at Trader Joe’s and saw, in their freezer section, Meatloaf Muffins. Say what! They were cute tiny rounds of meatloaf with a layer of spinach and a dollop of mashed potatoes on top. Meatloaf is one of my favorite comfort foods and I love the idea of making them into muffins. Piping the potatoes on top of the muffin gives the appearance of frosting. Talk about kid-friendly!
I thought that meatloaf muffins would be the perfect dinner on Halloween. I found [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
As mentioned in the first of seven articles on our tried-and-true Thanksgiving recipes, this article features the easiest soup recipe that you will ever make. You will be feeling guilty by how a-three-year-old-could-do-this easy it is to prepare. But if you don’t tell, everyone will think you’re a genius. This Tomato Consommé is the perfect fall soup with its tangy flavors, yet it is light enough to complement your Thanksgiving feast without stuffing your guests before the main event.
As far back as I can remember, my mother has made this soup as the perfect starter to [...]

I’m an admitted spice junkie. I look for unusual spices whenever I travel – and have a love affair with many of them (like the sumac mentioned here) until I discover new, succulent flavors and am infatuated all over again. Black Garlic has been the latest of my paramours.
After reading about Black Garlic, which has been lauded as the new savory ingredient-of-the-moment of chefs in five star restaurants, I had to, bien sûr, find out more about it.
I found Black Garlic at my favorite spice merchant, the Spice House (lucky you, they sell online). Roxanne, the lovely spice assistant told [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
It is hard to believe that is was 16 years ago next weekend that my husband’s company transferred him to the United States. It was truly an exciting move from the cold Canadian north to sunny Southern California. My mother was quite worried about my expatriate status, since I was a not-so-young mom with a two year old. Every call home, my mother would ask, “Have you met any new friends yet?” So finally, and mostly to appease her, I joined the local Newcomers Club. This is where I met my dearest friend, Anne-Marie. Not [...]

In the unlikely event that this has not already been obviously implied, please know that we, succulent wives, love, love, love food. And drink. And it would appear that we have been on a food rant lately. Perhaps it’s the approaching cocooning season that is prompting us to consider more cozy, comforting pleasures…?
In any case, I wanted to share some great recipe sites that I’ve just found. Some are new and others, new-to-me. This all started when I decided to weed out my pantry from tempting but yet unused gourmet-ish items (like the anchovy paste and dried Chanterelle mushrooms) – [...]

I was invited to review Cooking for Isaiah by its publicist. The sub-title “Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy Delicious Meals” had me immediately accept the offer.
And it’s not just because there is a gluten-free diet fad sweeping through Hollywood and the nation at the moment (though I may approve of this one). For our family, the gluten-free and dairy-free diet has been a preference ever since 1996 – but not because of Celiac disease or other related allergies. In our case, this is when a preschool teacher told us that my then four year old son was exhibiting signs [...]