What's for Dinner?

A Taste of All We're Cooking, Buying and Eating Lately

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Entries Tagged as 'basil'

Pizza Stone and Pizza on the Grill

September 23rd, 2009 · 6 Comments · BBQ, Italian, basil, breads, cheese, food, grill, mozzarella, mushrooms, pizza, quick, sauces, sausage, value

Lookie my new toys!

I’ve been messing with this all summer. I bought a pizza peel (the big paddle), and a large rectangular pizza stone on Amazon.com. I went by the ones with a high rating. I have been buying the whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe’s, and I’ve had a lot of success with [...]

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Turkey Marinara Burger

July 4th, 2009 · 2 Comments · BBQ, Italian, basil, burgers, cheese, food, mozzarella, quick, sandwiches, turkey

What better time to post a run of burgers than the week of July 4th? Most of these are “alternative burgers,” since I thought perhaps this might be the only time of the year when we all might be a little burnt out on the regular kind. In the last week, I’ve seen a thick, [...]

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Steaks, plus Grilled Salmon with Dill Sauce

December 3rd, 2008 · 5 Comments · BBQ, basil, beef, burgers, dill, fish, food, pregnancy, quick, salmon, sauces, seafood

Ah, summer, we hardly knew ye. Between morning sickness, and later on, simple intolerance of the summer heat in my huge-anic condition, I didn’t get outside much this past summer. But we did manage to purchase a nice Weber gas grill. We spent a little extra just to get the Weber, and boy do we [...]

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Italian Quickie

November 21st, 2008 · 8 Comments · Italian, appetizers, basil, cheese, food, mozzarella, pasta, pork, pregnancy, prosciutto, quick, salads, sauces, vegetarian

…And no, I’m not talking about the night that resulted in our baby girl. Oh man, I am KILLING with these jokes lately. Hello? Is this thing on?
The last week of my pregnancy, I wanted three things: meat, cheese, and not to do any work. But I wanted to do something that might convince my [...]

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Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

August 31st, 2008 · 3 Comments · Italian, basil, breads, cheese, eggplant, food, leftovers, liver, mozzarella, quick, sandwiches, vegetables, vegetarian

Chris and I were watching “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (which we rent via Netflix) last night, and there was an episode in which Larry David gets a sandwich named after him. This prompted a discussion about what our sandwich would be. On a kosher menu, I’d have to go with chopped liver, maybe on rye, for [...]

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Marinara Sauce from Scratch

July 5th, 2008 · 7 Comments · Chicago, Dad, David, Italian, Ma, basil, cheese, food, leftovers, mozzarella, mushrooms, pasta, pizza, sauces, vegetables, vegetarian

I have some friends who, since the advent in recent years of competitive cooking shows, have flattered me by saying that I should try out for one of those shows. The truth is, I am really just someone who likes to eat, and experiment at home. I have no clue as to certain types of [...]

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Pasta Regina Margherita

December 7th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Italian, basil, cheese, florentine, food, leftovers, mozzarella, nuts, parties, pasta, pizza, quick, salads, sides, vegetables, vegetarian

A lot of you are probably familiar with the basic pizza margherita, named after Queen Margherita of Italy. The colors of the neopolitan pizza are in honor of the Italian flag: the green of the basil, the white of the mozzarella, and the red of the tomato sauce. This cold pasta salad is my version [...]

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Portobello-Eggplant Burgers

October 17th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Middle Eastern, Portland, basil, breads, burgers, cheese, cookbooks, eggplant, food, mozzarella, mushrooms, quick, sandwiches, vegetables, vegetarian

While I was in Portland, I visited Powell’s City of Books, an amazing multiple-story used and new bookseller downtown (and apparently, the largest of its kind in the world). One of the books I scooped up was “Great Burgers: 50 Mouthwatering Recipes” by Bob Sloan. The first recipe I tried was the vegetarian burger. Aren’t [...]

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Pesto and Goat Cheese Pasta and Taters

July 19th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Italian, basil, cheese, fancy, food, goat cheese, leftovers, nuts, potatoes, sauces, sides, spinach, vegetables, vegetarian, walnuts

I’m even more eager than before to sell our condo and get into a home, since our last trip to my in-laws home. As if the smallish kitchen wasn’t motive enough, my “MIL,” Wilma, had a bountiful crop of fresh herbs growin’ like crazy in her backyard. She grows a lot of them in pots, [...]

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Italian Chicken Couscous

June 20th, 2007 · No Comments · Italian, Middle Eastern, basil, cheese, chicken, couscous, food, leftovers, mozzarella, nuts, salads, sausage, sides, vegetarian

I was going to call this Italian Couscous “Where the Grease Meets the Middle East,” but I shouldn’t advocate negative stereotypes of my own ethnicity. Not when “the Sopranos” just stopped doing that for me.
I’m not trying to be cute, but Chris went crazy for this couscous! (Okay, I’m being a little cute). But really, [...]

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