crushed red pepper flakes | Ingredients

Eggs Poached in Puttanesca

January 26, 2023 by pamflo

Shakshuka, soft poached eggs in a steaming, flavorful tomato broth, is a favorite dish of mine. Puttanesca is an Italian sauce invented in Naples and typically made with tomatoes, garlic, olives, anchovies, chili peppers and capers. I thought it might be fun to combine these two dishes and poach some eggs in a puttanesca-style tomato sauce, and it turned out to be a delicious dish! You can serve your puttanesca poached eggs with a crusty loaf of bread, a crisp green […]

Categories: Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Easy Recipes, Eggs, Gluten Free, Healthish, Lunch Ideas, One-Pot Meals, Sauces • Tags: Poach, Simmer

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Cioppino (Seafood Stew)

November 3, 2022 by pamflo

Cioppino or Brodetto di Pesce, is a delicious rustic Italian stew brimming with fresh seafood cooked in a tomato broth with wine, garlic and herbs. This hearty stew is traditionally served with grilled bread rubbed with garlic. Although there are many ingredients in this seafood stew, the dish comes together quite quickly. This dish can be a simple soup with just the fresh seafood cooked in broth and tomatoes, or you can use the ingredients to build a rich flavorful stew. […]

Categories: Dairy Free, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Holiday Ideas, Lunch Ideas, One-Pot Meals, Seafood, Soups/Stews • Tags: Sauté, Simmer

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Blistered Green Beans

September 29, 2022 by pamflo

Although green beans are available almost all year round, they’re at their peak in the northeast. When purchasing green beans look for beans that are tender, long and firm. They should “snap” when broken. I prefer a two step process when cooking green beans. The first step is blanching, which is a quick dip of about 3-4 minutes in rapidly boiling salted water. Step two is placing the green beans into an icy water bath to halt the cooking process. Blanching […]

Categories: Beans, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Holiday Ideas, Side Dish, Vegetables • Tags: Blister

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Steamed Clams in White Wine and Butter

August 11, 2022 by pamflo

Making steamers at home is easy, and just requires cleaning and prepping the clams. First, rinse and scrub the clams under cold running water, discarding any cracked or damaged clam shells. If your clams are gritty, dissolve 1/4 cup of kosher salt in 4 cups of cold water in a large bowl and soak the clams for about 20 minutes. Soaking in salt water helps to draw out the sand and grit. You’ll then steam the clams in white wine, garlic […]

Categories: Appetizer, Crowd Pleaser, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Lunch Ideas, Seafood, Side Dish • Tags: Steam

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Quick Dill Pickles

July 14, 2022 by pamflo

Quick pickles or refrigerator pickles are simply vegetables that are pickled in a brine made from vinegar, water, salt, and sometimes sugar. The cucumbers and carrots sit in the pickling brine in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then are ready to enjoy. The pickled vegetables are good for about a week in the refrigerator. The beauty of this quick pickle recipe is that it uses less salt, and has no sugar added. Kirby cucumbers are crunchy, have a firm […]

Categories: Brine, Dairy Free, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Snack, Vegetables • Tags: Boil

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Chilled Avocado Soup

May 12, 2022 by pamflo

This is a beautiful, simple avocado soup that is gluten and dairy free. The avocados are blended with sparkling water, lime juice and extra-virgin olive oil. The soup is then chilled. Although avocados are calorically dense they are a great source of healthy fats, fiber and potassium. Hass avocados have a higher percentage of oil than other varieties, making the texture more creamy. If you want to jazz up your soup, you can add toasted pumpkin seeds, additional red pepper […]

Categories: Appetizer, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthish, Holiday Ideas, Lunch Ideas, Soup, Vegetarian • Tags: No Cooking, Whiz

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Spicy Chicken Chili

January 13, 2022 by pamflo

Spices are the secret to making a super flavorful chili! Using dried spices can add so much flavor, texture and heat to a dish. Dried ground spices usually have a shelf life of 6 months and whole spices will last up to a year, so ensure that your spices are fresh. If they don’t smell strong, it’s time for a new bottle. Store your dried spices in a cool dry place. This chili recipe has a variety of dried spices to […]

Categories: Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Easy Recipes, Game Day, Gluten Free, Healthish, One-Pot Meals, Soups/Stews, Vegetables • Tags: Roast, Simmer

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Eggs Baked in Winter Squash

February 18, 2021 by pamflo

Naturally low in fat and nutrient dense, winter squash is a healthy substitute for the toast in the classic breakfast dish of egg-in-the-hole. There’s a beautiful assortment of squash available and you can use any variety of winter squash, although acorn is the best with its sweet and tender flesh. These squash are small and heavy when ripe, with a tough outer skin that’s eatable after cooking. I used the small sweet dumpling squash as I was drawn to its […]

Categories: Appetizer, Breakfast Ideas, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Eggs, Gluten Free, Healthish, Lunch Ideas, Vegetables • Tags: Bake

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Linguini with White Clam Sauce

July 9, 2020 by pamflo

I fondly remember digging for clams at low tide around the Cape Cod jetties with my family. It was a highlight of our summer vacation and a vivid memory of mine. We’d steam the clams and eat them as soon as they opened, dipping them in melted butter. Linguini with white clam sauce is one of my favorite shellfish dishes. I add bottled clam broth with the white wine, along with the traditional minced garlic, red pepper flakes and fresh […]

Categories: Appetizer, Crowd Pleaser, Lunch Ideas, Pasta/Pizza, Seafood • Tags: Simmer

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Hearty Minestrone Soup

April 30, 2020 by pamflo

There are many ways to make a delicious soup. The success of a soup is in the depth of flavors. The first layer of flavor is the pancetta, cured and salted pork belly. Olive oil is a good substitute if you don’t have or want to use pancetta. Another layer of flavor are the aromatics, vegetables used as a base flavor including, but not limited to, celery, carrots, onions and fresh herbs. Adding a piece of the rind from a […]

Categories: Appetizer, Beans, Crowd Pleaser, Gluten Free, Greens, Healthish, Lunch Ideas, One-Pot Meals, Soups/Stews, Vegetables • Tags: Simmer

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Spicy Tomato Soup

February 27, 2020 by pamflo

A food stylist is a culinary professional who prepares food for photography, video or film. It’s actually a hard job making food photogenic! The top food stylists come to a photoshoot with a variety of techniques, even if it requires using non-edible materials to achieve the best results. This tomato soup photo is from an intensive food styling class I took in NYC. It was really fun to learn the techniques involved in producing a beautiful food photo. That being said, […]

Categories: Appetizer, Crowd Pleaser, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Healthish, Lunch Ideas, Soups/Stews, Vegetarian • Tags: Simmer, Whiz

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Zest For Cooking

I love to cook and share my love of food!

Archives

Eggs Poached in Puttanesca

Cioppino (Seafood Stew)

Blistered Green Beans

Steamed Clams in White Wine and Butter

Quick Dill Pickles

Chilled Avocado Soup

Spicy Chicken Chili

Eggs Baked in Winter Squash

Linguini with White Clam Sauce

Hearty Minestrone Soup

Spicy Tomato Soup