Private Cooking Class with Linda Johnson

Soup, salad, and dessert. One way to justify the rich dessert is to have a lighter meal, so today we made Italian Wedding Soup, Salad with red leaf lettuce, goat cheese, spiced pecans, cranberries, and balsamic vinaigrette, and Meyer Lemon Tart with Pecan Cookie Crust.I adapted a recipe from Rebecca Rather who makes her famous Big Hair Lemon-lime Tarts, but instead of using meringue I prefer whipped cream. Linda bought Meyer lemons so our curd was made with all Meyer lemons, rather than a combination of lemons and limes. It was much sweeter and less acid than the lemon-lime curd, so it's all a matter of preference. The tart dough reminds me more...

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Rob's Birthday Lunch

Debbie and Rob, so sweet! Banana Muffins, Peppery Bacon Cheddar Biscuits, Jalapeno Jelly Corn Muffins Grilled Tenderloin Steak with Tamari Ginger Sauce, Brown Rice and Vegetable Saute, Acorn Squash Lemon Lime Tart with a Pecan Cookie CrustDebbie Mears called me last week and asked if I would be available to come to her house and cook a surprise birthday lunch for her boyfriend's 51st birthday. She is one of those rare people who always has something nice to say, smiles all the time, and appreciates life's little pleasures. I remember being so tickled that she posted a photo of my garden vegetables on her Facebook page. We had a lot of fun times...

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Turkey Meatloaf

Turkey MeatloafTurkey meatloaf doesn't sound all that interesting but it's actually delicious, lower in fat that typical meatloaf, and tastes good in lunches. Just try it and see what you think. My husband, who is not overly fond of turkey, liked it just fine, however I had to make him a little glaze made of ketchup, brown sugar, and soy sauce. (I got that recipe from my client, Linda Johnson) 3 lbs ground turkey (white)2 eggs2 slices multigrain bread, crumbled (Artisan Baking Company)1 small zucchini, shredded1 carrot, shredded1/2 large onion, diced2 stalks celery, diced1 clove garlic, minced1 tsp Ana's herbs (organic herb mixture with rosemary,...

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Cooking Lesson with Linda Johnson

Blueberry muffin, Banana bread Top: Tomato Frittata, bottom: Beef and Spinach FrittataLinda wanted one more breakfast/brunch class so for our first class in 2011 our menu was:Master Frittata Recipe (Tomato Frittata for today, oven version)Beef and Spinach Frittata (stove top version)Healthy Banana BreadWhole Wheat Blueberry MuffinsI like the idea of showing someone how to make a "master recipe" so they can choose variations of their own. In this case, a basic frittata, made both on the stove and in the oven is one of those recipes with an endless variety of ingredients, easy to make, and can be healthy as well.I'll share the recipes for the...

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