Pancetta crisp with apple and gorgonzola!

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Start Mom off with this elegant appetizer for her brunch on  Mothers Day! Show Mom you appreciate her with breakfast in bed! While she is enjoying her first course of "Pancetta crisp" you can make her main course!

Veal Scallops in Wild Mushroom Tarragon sauce

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Veal in a mustard cream sauce is a classic. This  recipe is perfect for a quick dinner like we had a few nights ago or a dinner party for six.  If you get all your prep work done ahead of time, everything comes together in less than 10 minutes. If you are not too picky, you could even make it late in the afternoon and give it a quick reheat just before serving.  Accompany, with orzo or white rice, it is delicious!  At this time of the year, a rhubarb strawberry cobbler or a fruit crostata would be a perfect dessert. I pound the veal a bit and dry the scallops in paper towels. Use fresh tarragon, it's milder; or use half the amount if you are using dried.  Try cooking with the same wine you are serving for dinner.  And use all of the cream, it needs it, but if you are watching your waistline, you can use half and half, however the sauce will be thinner. The recipe calls for coarse grained Dijon.  I used regular and felt it tasted great!

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

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This salad also doubles as a dip, paired with some tortilla chips and in this case, I used blue organic tortilla chips. It's refreshing and filling and a perfect dish to share at your Cinco De Mayo party you may be attending or hosting this weekend. It's a great meal or side dish in the hot summer months. I will be making this often!

Southwestern Black Bean Salad
-courtesy of SkinnyTaste.com 

JJ's favorite Chocolate flan with salted caramel sauce! Cinco de Mayo!

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How do you spell romance? I spell it D-E-S-S-E-R-T! In particular I love this Ibarra flan. The first time I tried Ibarra flan I was at a restaurant in Seattle on Queen Anne called Barbacoa (which has since closed). Chef John created this fabulous recipe with Mexican Ibarra chocolate that I fell in love with and I ordered it, every time we went! I begged for the recipe and finally got a scribbled recipe for 24 people, that quite honestly was not accurate! Last year I made an Ibarra flan and blogged about it, but, I have perfected it to serving eight and added a few more touches of my own that I think you will love! This can be served in individual ramekins as well!

Cashew mango salad!

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Right now Whole Foods and my local Safeway is featuring Ataulfo mangoes, also known as champagne or yellow mangoes, in their stores. Mango is my very favorite fruit, in fact I eat one or more every day!!  The health benefits are many including preventing the deadly cancer, clears the skin, lowers cholesterol, alkalizes the body, improves sex, helps diabetes, improves digestion, boosts the immune system and one cup of sliced mangoes supplies 25 percent of the needed daily value of vitamin A, which promotes good eyesight and prevents night blindness and dry eyes. WOW!! Hard to believe these little innocent looking fruits can do all these wonderful things for us!!

Short Rib Ravioli with Mushroom sauce!

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There are a lot of foods that can be considered decadent, I think, but slow braised beef short ribs have to be near the top of the list, for me. Beefy, hearty and oh so scrumptious, these unassuming looking slabs of meat cannot be overstated. I don’t know why I don’t make them more often, but 2 or 3 times a year they find their way into my repertoire with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and a few other ingredients. About 6 hours later, I’ve got fall of the bone juicy pieces of steaming beef ready to be paired with almost anything and the residual jus from the pot is like liquid gold. As perfect as they are simply accompanied by my creamy mashed potatoes, as in my December 3rd post.  I recently was inspired to step it up!

Thumbprint Peanut Butter Doggie Treats!

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With all the running around our doggies do.......well Bandit does, Moose, not so much:-0 they need a treat now and then. I like to find healthier options for our pups, and they are easy to make at home. I choose ingredients that "I" want my pups to snack on, and ensure that they get all the right nutrients. I want to have total say over the recipe! There are some basics to follow when playing "Doggie Chef"!  Avoid- Cheese, milk, dairy products, chocolate, macadamia nuts, walnuts, onions, liver (in large quantities), raisins, grapes, salt and sugar.