The flavors of May always inspire me—from Cinco de Mayo I see the bright red colors of tomatoes tossed with deep green fresh cilantro and the orange hue of grilled papaya wedges, all married together with sliced marinated hanger steak (and that is just the first part of May!). Mother’s Day is a time for Sunday brunch and cheese blintzes with almond and pecan- peach sauce or in my case, a grilled porterhouse steak with a spicy arugula and roasted red pepper salad with a dot of creamy goat cheese followed by fresh strawberry shortcake. As it continues to warm, I search for lighter sauces and...

The other day, in true Carrie Bradshaw (foodie) style, I had a thought: I couldn’t help but wonder–why are doughnuts the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee? And what makes the perfect doughnut? As I waited for my coffee to percolate, I started pondering the options. Now, I consider myself a coffee elitist. I am very picky about my coffee (see more on that subject in previous blog) And as far as pairing pastries with my coffee goes, I’m discovering that there’s a sort of doughnut loyalty. Some people swear by Dunkin’ Donuts, others by Krispy Kreme, still others by Publix Bakery. ...

Full disclosure: My thumb is not green. In fact, it’s more pink than anything else. I don’t grow my own food. But that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the downtown Sarasota farmer’s market every Saturday morning, and if you’re like me–more pink thumb than green thumb–it shouldn’t stop you, either. The market is held on Lemon Avenue every Saturday morning from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and not only is it a place to see and be seen–for dogs as well as humans–it’s a great place to buy all the fresh, locally grown produce you’ll need for a week of cooking. I’m a big fan of...

Call it spring cleaning or merely the fact that the doors barely closed from over crowding. Either way our freezers were in desperate need of reorganization. It started with the loss of 12 mini cups of Haigen Daz strawberry ice cream . Who says you can’t make something special from the freezer? Had I really eaten all those little cups or had I just buried them behind the Golden Blintzes and boneless chicken breasts? So… needing to take control, Sunday afternoon I had my husband empty the freezer in the garage and the large freezer in our kitchen. We lined everything up on the kitchen counters...

Welcome Spring! Dear fellow foodies- decorate that table with colorful tulips and citrus spiked iced tea. Asparagus and Florida Strawberries are at their peak and fresh herbs make the perfect salad blend with grilled pesto lamb chops and barbecue salmon. Spring has sprung and the favors this time of year make cooking a gourmet’s version of March Madness. Like in winter when I braise the first veal shank, spring inspires me to clean out the grill, marinate chicken in lemon and garlic and make the first batch of red bliss potato salad.