liv bites

My cooking course is as traditionally French as it gets, so I have to admit I feel a little thrill when we make something that’s not covered in cream and cheese. Last week’s workshop was a truly special treat: Antipasti and Stuffed Pasta, two of my favorite foods to eat with a big glass of [...]

Gazpacho has been calling my name this season. First it was the Late Summer Tomato Soup in my Frank Stitt cookbook, Frank Stitt’s Southern Table. Then it was reading other bloggers’ chilled soup experiments, like this one at EatLiveRun. The last straw was the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated, featuring their Creamy Gazpacho Andaluz, which [...]

My assistant and I just shelled out some cash to join Costco. It seems a little ridiculous since I live within a one-block walking distance of no less than three grocery stores (truly), but when I heard that I could buy a whole quart of Fage yogurt for $5, I was sold. I eat a [...]

While considering an easy, Sunday night dinner for two, I settled on lettuce wraps. My assistant and I made them a while back with success, which turned out to be just the confidence I needed to take the basic recipe to the next level — but this time, I was cooking for a girlfriend instead [...]

My assistant and I were lucky enough to spend the majority of the past week with his mom in Miami, where it’s perpetually 80 degrees, sunny and all-around beach worthy. And while the produce we get in Northern California is hard to top, Florida does a pretty good job of competing — and not just [...]

Nothing says light, springtime tapas to me like a flatbread, which have been popping up on appetizer menus for the past several years. After sharing a stand-out one with my sister, mom and aunt in Denver recently, I grew excited about trying to make one on my own.  After having done it, I’m convinced flatbreads [...]

Not surprisingly, I did find a use for the rest of that cilantro pesto I had leftover last week. My dad and stepmom were in town for a short California vacation, and I invited them over for a glass of wine + unspecified hors d’oeuvres so I could give them a tour of my little [...]

My assistant has told me time and time again that his favorite meal I’ve made for him was the Ricotta Gnocchi with Pesto and Pancetta I cooked last month, so at his urging, we stuck with the pesto/pancetta theme for yet another meal over the weekend. But then I realized that this post would mark [...]

One of my favorite restaurants in my hometown of Jackson, Mississippi is an uber-casual Greek spot called Keifer’s, located downtown. In high school, all of my friends (even the ones who lived half an hour away) would trek down for the sole purpose of indulging in their favorite Pita Mozz or Pita Feta — depending [...]

I’m trying to eat with the seasons in mind, but it just doesn’t come naturally. Unfortunately, my body doesn’t care what’s growing on the trees/vines when I get a craving for figs or strawberries. One thing that does help steer my mind in the right direction is going to the farmer’s market, which my assistant [...]