Starter

I use this recipe (more like a method, really) as a standard party offering, and it’s one of my all-time favorite snackers. I eat mine with flatbread, but it’s good to spread these combinations on sliced seedless cucumbers, too.

This is my latest version of what has become one of my classic 30-Minute-Meals, Beefy Brutus Salad, a Caesar-style salad with Italian thin-cut steak! Why should chicken have all the fun?

I really love grilled chicken salad as a go-to, no-brainer supper solution, but the Chicken Caesar is so over for me—I need a few years off! So here’s another fresh chicken salad idea; eat your heart out, Caesar!

The French are notorious for their stuffy and particular attitudes . . . especially when it comes to food, but they’ve got nothing on the Sicilians. It takes a Sicilian ’tude to think one could improve on a French classic, especially in 30 minutes. Well, this Sicilian says “Bring it on.”

Rich, but not heavy, this dish is delish.

My mom created the pancetta-wrapped shrimp years ago. I love her SOOOOO much!

John, my sweetie, loves my wild mushroom risotto, which I used to make with a little brandy in it. John loves Johnny Walker like a brother, so I make his risotto with Scotch—more than a little, too. (Sadly for him, the alcohol cooks off. However, the smoky flavor left behind is great with the earthy mushrooms. To the wise: The better the Scotch, the deeper the effect.)

A stoup is thicker than soup and thinner than stew.

This one is fun for kids, like me. Serve as is, or accompany with black beans or refried beans and plain or flavored rice, prepared according to the package directions.