Baked Scallops in Olive, Sun Dried Tomato, and Basil Butter

These Baked Scallops in Olive, Sun Dried Tomato, and Basil Butter are about the easiest and foolproof way to prepare scallops.

Baking scallops in butter just brings out the sweetness of sea scallops.

Apple and Bacon Red Cabbage Salad with Pecans

Apple and bacon red cabbage salad with pecans and an apple cider and Dijon vinaigrette - a delicious way to enjoy fresh cabbage without smothering it in mayonnaise.

This apple and bacon red cabbage salad is fresh and light. The salad is tossed with a small amount dressing, which brings together the apple, cabbage, and bacon flavors.

White Bean Dip with Herbs

This White Bean Dip with Herbs is a great appetizer to whip up when you're expecting last minute guests. It's fabulous spread on bread, pita chips, or crackers.

This dip is simple to make, and can be thrown together with ingredients you probably have in your pantry and refrigerator. While I used dill, mint, and parsley for the herbs, you could substitute any herbs you have on hand.

Butter Cookies with Mocha Frosting

These butter cookies with mocha frosting are made from a universal slice-and-bake dough.

The dough for these butter cookies can be made up to two days in advance, or frozen for even longer. When you are ready to make the cookies, just slice the dough, bake the cookies, and spread them with the frosting.

Greek-style Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

These Greek-style Lamb Burgers take the traditional American burger to a different level. The lamb is seasoned with onions, garlic, mint, and parsley, and then cooked on a hot grill or grill pan.

What I enjoyed about making these lamb burgers is that you actually get to make your own ground lamb in your food processor.

Pear Salsa

Asian pears, red onion, Serrano chiles, fresh cilantro, fresh mint leaves, and lime juice combine together to make a delicious and fragrant salsa, excellent for serving with good tortilla chips.

This pear salsa is also delicious spooned over fish fillets, such as halibut or salmon.

Carrot and Raisin Slaw with Cumin Yogurt Dressing

Carrot and Raisin Slaw with Cumin Yogurt Dressing, including garlic, coriander, and mint.

This shredded carrot and raisin salad is light and savory. It's not the sweet carrot and pineapple salad you might remember from PTA potlucks. Instead, it's a crunchy slaw flavored with ground cumin, ground coriander, and shredded mint.

Pasta with Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Sausage

This Pasta with Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Sausage is so easy and delicious. The zucchini and summer squash take on the flavors of the hot Italian sausage, as does the pasta, which is tossed in the flavorful oil from the cooked sausage.

This sautéed zucchini and pasta with sausage is wonderful hot, fresh from the pan. It's also tasty at room temperature, as a potluck side dish.

Olive Tapenade Deviled Eggs

These Olive Tapenade Deviled Eggs are one of my favorite ways to enjoy hard boiled eggs.

Deviled Eggs were probably my first official introduction to appetizers. In my family, someone always brought a tray for Christmas Eve dinner every year. The trouble with deviled eggs is that you could pretty much ruin your dinner because they are so delicious.

Roasted Asparagus with Bacon and Parmesan

Roasted Asparagus with Bacon. Roasted asparagus. Bacon. In the world of vegetables, this recipe is pretty spectacular.

Spring is the season for asparagus. While you can get asparagus year round, the best, and freshest asparagus from local sources comes in the spring.

New Mexico Style Pork and Green Chile Stew

A pork stew with roasted green chiles, onions, garlic, and tomatoes with flavors that remind me of Hatch chile season.

Every summer, usually late July or early August, my favorite Mexican market roasts Hatch chiles outdoors in the front of the store. Customers can buy large bags of the fresh chiles and the store will roast them. The aroma is intoxicating.

Beer Braised Carnitas

These carnitas are braised in a broth of beer flavored with garlic, bay leaf, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and chiles.

Carnitas, cut up pork shoulder braised with chiles and other spices, and then fried until crispy in their own fat, are a favorite Mexican dish, especially here in California.

Sautéed Shrimp with Capers and Olives

This sautéed shrimp with capers and olives is so easy to whip up with ingredients you probably have on hand. It takes about 20 minutes to make, and paired with rice and a salad, makes a fabulous weeknight or "company's coming" dinner. 

The sauce in this shrimp with capers and olives is also wonderful for dipping crusty garlic bread into too.

Braised Spare Ribs with White Wine, Garlic, and Anchovies

These braised spare ribs with white wine, garlic, and anchovies may not be pretty, but they are meaty, tender, and ready in a little over an hour.

These spare ribs are easy to make and easy to eat...  no grill or extra napkins required.

Roasted Chicken Parts with Ginger and Garlic

These Roasted Chicken Parts with Ginger and Garlic are an example of how you can take a whole chicken, cut it into pieces, and create a quick and delicious main course.

For these roasted chicken parts, I cut up a whole 4 pound chicken. While buying cut up chicken parts is a time saver (and, believe me, I do it all of the time), cutting up a whole chicken yourself is worth it because you get to use the chicken back to save for later and create amazing chicken broth.

How to Make Vegetable Broth from Scratch (and a Recipe for Rice and Pea Soup)

This Homemade Vegetable Broth, made from scratch, is so easy to make. With a big bunch of vegetables and eight cups of water, you can make this broth in 30 minutes.  

This scratch-made vegetable broth has a deep rich flavor.

Pimentón Potted Shrimp

This Pimentón Potted Shrimp reminds me of pâté or rillettes. It's very rich, and is so delicious spread on crackers or crostini.

This pimentón potted shrimp is really nice to have on hand for cocktail parties, big game days, and any other occasion where you need something to satisfy hungry guests.