Guinness Braised Lamb Stew with Herbs de Provence and Roasted Parsnip Crust

Thumbnail image for Guinness Braised Lamb Stew with Herbs de Provence and Roasted Parsnip Crust October 17, 2012

Artizone Chicago and My Daily Find Chicago is having a Flavors of Fall Cooking Contest. I created this Guinness Braised Lamb Stew  with Herb De Provence and Roasted Parsnip Crust using my surprise contest box. I picked the Slow Cooked Category and received the most beautiful large parsnips and a bag of aromatic herb de [...]

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Slow Roasted Red Cabbage and Apples with Balsamic Glaze

Thumbnail image for Slow Roasted Red Cabbage and Apples with Balsamic Glaze October 2, 2012

Being a November baby, my inner Scorpion awakens when presented with Falls bounty.Red Cabbage and apples are abundant. The ritual of prepping, turning on the oven , and awaiting the aromas wafting through the house just centers me. I’ve been working on a very Euro centric project these days that has me testing and creating [...]

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Leberknödel (Liver Dumplings) with Chicken and Forest Mushroom Soup

Thumbnail image for Leberknödel (Liver Dumplings) with Chicken and Forest Mushroom Soup September 24, 2012

In Chicago right now, you can feel the crispness in the air as fall arrives. It teases with some sharp rays of sun, but it’s undeniable Autumn is here.With the turn of season, energy may lag, and colds are common. Soups are craved more to cure what ails us. One of favorite soups in the [...]

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Verizon Jet Pack Giveaway….Always Staying Connected as We Roam The Globe

Thumbnail image for Verizon Jet Pack Giveaway….Always Staying Connected as We Roam The Globe September 13, 2012

I think is one of the best giveaways ever on Coco Cooks. If you are anything like Certain Someone and I , you know the importance of staying connected while traveling. I can’t tell you how many vacations we have been on , when Certain Someone is taking conference calls in airports, cars, or golf [...]

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Eros Nests with Green & Black’s Chocolate

Thumbnail image for Eros Nests with Green & Black’s Chocolate September 9, 2012

Last year , after my lay off, I interviewed for what sounded as my dream job, as a brand ambassador for a food  marketing project. I didn’t get the gig, but was happy when the agency reached out to me to see if I was willing to sample some Green & Blacks and enter their [...]

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Taste of Summer…Homemade Root Beer and Floats

Thumbnail image for Taste of Summer…Homemade Root Beer and Floats September 3, 2012

It’s hard to believe summer has come and gone. I sit here on Labor Day grilling a turkey breast and anticipating Fall, yet cherishing the memory of a brief fleeting summer vacation, I enjoyed. All the while driving through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I spied Birch Trees and couldn’t wait to start a home [...]

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Arcadian Splendor in the Northwoods and a Fish Boil

Thumbnail image for Arcadian Splendor in the Northwoods and a Fish Boil August 24, 2012

 For the past year I have worked my poor feet to the  calloused bone selling  cosmetics by day and catering for Coco Cooks on rare day offs, to recover from the layoff  of last year.  Oh, to have the three weeks, and twelve personal days a year. Those days are over… All that hard worked [...]

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Leberkäse with Green Peppercorns… A German Meatloaf of Neither Liver Or Cheese

Thumbnail image for Leberkäse with Green Peppercorns… A German Meatloaf of Neither Liver Or Cheese July 14, 2012

Yumm Leberkäse. The first time I ever had some was after a  German class at the Goethe Institute . A bunch of us walked over to the Christkindlmarket  after our final class. Thick slabs of Leberkäse shared space on the  hot grill with bratwurst.In the dead of winter, I bit into my hearty sandwich with [...]

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Honey Lemon Balm and Rum Ice Cream and How I Develop My Recipes.

Thumbnail image for Honey Lemon Balm and Rum Ice Cream and How I Develop My Recipes. July 4, 2012

They say its National Ice Cream Month. My friend Louise of Month of Edible Celebrations always has the low down on all the  food holidays. This ice cream was inspired for no special reason other than I got 6 lbs of fabulous  raw organic honey from a friends father who is a beekeeper up in [...]

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Some New Technology and a Farewell to the Culinary Mecca Charlie Trotters

Thumbnail image for Some New Technology and a Farewell to the Culinary Mecca Charlie Trotters July 1, 2012

The past few weeks have been insanely crazy. I have catered three successful events, held down the day job, cleared and cleaned out my old condo for visitors. In addition to all of this I signed on the become Midwest Savvy Gourmets for Verizon and culminated the week with a long-awaited reservation to Charlie Trotters. [...]

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