Recipes – In Good Taste

Fall-Themed Brunch Party & Sparkling Apple Cider Sangria

Maris Callahan — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 19:23:35 +0000

If you love to entertain, but want to do it within a conservative budget, a festive brunch party is a great way to play hostess without breaking the bank. With the holiday season approaching, a fall-themed brunch party is the best way to start a weekend day. I don’t consider brunch to be a B-list meal. In fact, if you do it right, weekend brunch can be the only meal you need to eat all day. You can eat sweet and savory foods together and you can drink cocktails before noon. What could be better? As we look ahead toward the holiday weekend, I’m going to hazard a guess at some point between now and the end of the year, you’ll spend a least one weekend morning skipping your usual “stay-in-bed-til-noon” routine in favor of preparing or attending a meal that is equal parts social and juuuust substantial enough to make you want to follow said meal with an immediate nap. The staples of any brunch party menu, whether you’re throwing the party or bringing a dish to a potluck, are pretty consistent: Something fresh, like a bright green salad with all of the seasonal fixings. In the fall, I like to toss mixed greens with walnuts, blue or […]

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Minestrone Soup from Healthier Traditions: Italian Cookbook

Maris Callahan — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 22:22:21 +0000

When people think of Italian food, nutrition is not often the first thing that comes to mind. When I think of Italian food, I think of Romeo’s, a pizzeria and restaurant in my hometown that serves everything from pizza by the slice and fresh subs to baked ziti and rigatoni ala vodka. I think of Giada De Laurentiis’ classic Italian lasagna made with homemade tomato sauce, homemade bechamel sauce, beef, spinach and three different kinds of cheese. I also think of Italian friends whose Sunday dinners and holiday meals can best be described as “carbs on carbs on carbs.” That’s why it’s truly a gift to all of us that there is a new Italian cookbook to help us satisfy our Italian food cravings with more nutrition and just the right amount of carbs. The Transamerica Center for Health Studies is a nonprofit dedicated to helping employers and consumers achieve the best value and protection from their health coverage. Healthier Traditions: Italian Cookbook is the fourth edition of the Healthier Traditions Cookbook series with 18 recipes created and reviewed by registered dietitians. I love that each book in the series focuses on a different type of cuisine: Italian, Mexican, American […]

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Easy Baba Ghanoush Recipe

Maris Callahan — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 06:00:15 +0000

Besides the fact that it’s fun to say, Baba ghanoush is actually quite fun to make, too. Baba ghanoush sounds like it would be overly complicated to make, but in reality, this easy baba ghanoush recipe is simply eggplant blended up with lemon juice, tahini, garlic and sea salt. While most recipes ask you to char the eggplant on a grill or over the flame of a gas stove, you can also use your broiler to achieve smoky flavor while saving time and energy. This tip proves to be especially useful, too, if you have neither a grill nor a gas stove, which is not uncommon for those of you cooking from your first or “starter” kitchen. Baba ghanoush, which resembled traditional hummus, is a Levantine dish of cooked eggplant mixed with onions, tomatoes, olive oil and various seasonings. You’ll find it in Middle Eastern cuisine but you’ll also find it in the supermarket next to the packaged prepared dips and spreads. What’s it taste like? It’s creamy, tastes way more decadent than it actually is and has a balance between slightly sweet notes and savory undertones from the lemon and tahini. It’s naturally vegan and gluten-free so you can serve it to pretty […]

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Sheet Pan Salmon Teriyaki with Sweet Peppers

Maris Callahan — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 06:00:47 +0000

Dear All of the Salmon Everywhere, I apologize to you. I apologize to you because I have a terrible habit of overcooking you. As Brad likes to tell me, “if there’s a flaw in your cooking, it’s a refusal to adhere to a timer.” And you know what? He’s right. I overcook things. But I’m trying to quit. Even though this salmon was just a tad well-done, the marinade, which I initially saw on Skinnytaste, tasted amazing and the roasted peppers were the perfect sweet complement to a savory dish with a little bit of kick. About halfway through last month, I saw a photo of myself that truly horrified me and even though we all take horrible photos sometimes, in this particular photo I was wearing a blouse that I thought was one of my more flattering choices. I signed up for Weight Watchers Online the next Monday (so cliché) and even though the Weight Watchers dialogue can be a little cult-like (“you’re not on a diet, this is a LIFESTYLE”) I like the structure that the program provides and it has inspired me to make healthier food choices. The thing with Weight Watchers is that yes, it’s always about counting points assigned to different […]

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Chocolate Chip Candy Cane Cookies

Maris Callahan — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 22:39:15 +0000

I love chocolate and I love candy canes, so I knew when I saw a recipe for Chocolate Chip Candy Cane Cookies on the Food Network, that I would need to make them. I made these cookies on Wednesday night, and since Brad was working late I invited my neighbor over to hang out and have a glass of wine while I baked. As most bloggers can probably relate around the holiday season, I was so excited to pull these out of the oven and see that some of them had even turned out round, and even more excited when they tasted perfectly chocolatey and perfectly pepperminty. My excitement waned when I realized that in order to share them here on my blog I would have to take photos of them. I love to cook and bake, learn about food and wine, mix festive cocktails and explore new cuisines and cooking styles when dining out. I adore writing and since I was in fifth grade and used to try to write “novels” on my dad’s enormous Compaq desktop computer, have enjoyed the creative outlet. What I don’t enjoy is photography because I’m just not good at it. I have a Canon […]

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