Since beginning this (food) blog last year, my interest in the culinary arts has not been contained to cooking and eating out alone. Due to repetitive exposure to Giada de Laurentiis and Ina Garten’s entertaining strategies, I had embraced the notion of hosting my own dinner party for some time. I had purchased paper invitations [...]

As a practice run before my (fingers crossed) dinner party this month, I decided to make Giada’s Herb Stuffed Tomatoes for my Mum’s birthday potluck this weekend. Guided by many user comments that indicated that parsely was too strong, I substituted the recommended spinach instead. But who knew spinach was so hard to wash? Besides [...]

Hands down my favorite back pocket, make-in-advance dessert, Giada De Laurentiis’ Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries is a saving grace when striving for easy elegance. I started experimenting with it last summer, and have been cooking up batches ever since. Needing a red-and-white themed dish for a potluck at work in celebration of Anna’s new [...]

To befit the end of Gilmore Girls, I planned on making a diner-style dinner to precede the viewing of the finale. My original intention was to recreate Ina Garten’s Turkey Meatloaf, but after being confronted with the very uneconomical pricing of ground turkey breast, I decided on the more wallet-friendly Frittata. Dickson and I decided [...]

Although I’ve dabbled in baking here and there, my experience creating appetizers and entrées have been limited. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for fast and easy recipes, particularly from my favorite TV chefs. Yesterday, I decided to replicate a frittata recipe I saw on an episode of Giada De Laurentiis’ Everyday Italian. Below [...]