Gourmet Food on a Budget
Recipes and tips for foods you might want to serve for a holiday celebration, special occasions, or just because you want something a little fancy.
Fresh ravioli is so wonderful to have. You can stuff it with your favorite stuffing. It can be as simple as ricotta or as high-couture as truffles and caviar. Did you know that you can make ravioli using your KitchenAid mixer and a couple of attachments? Let me explain.
We love Carnitas, and we love it, even more, when it’s quick in the Instant Pot. Using Taco Sauce gives great meat flavor, then finishing it in a Dutch oven makes it simple and tasty. We like it with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and beans.
This cake is called a Million Dollar pound cake for a reason. It is amazingly rich, moist and buttery tasting. It’s also simple to make with an electric mixer and with very few ingredients, you probably have everything you need to make it right now.
Popcorn and cheese sprinkle gifts are easy to make from ingredients you probably already have in your house. Package them up in vacuum-sealed bags and you can take them with you anywhere, or do like I did, and give them as gifts.
Tuna Casserole with Fresh Mushroom Soup has the comfort you remember as a child, but the mushroom soup is made with mushrooms sauteed with shallots and sherry, brings it forward for your adult tastebuds.
DIY Faberge eggs are so easy to make and you can keep them for years to come. The picture above is my collection for three years.
I think the best part about Easter is kids, and how much fun they can have. As some of you may know, I have been involved with a wonderful organization called Ascencia. I wanted to make them special centerpieces for their Easter breakfast, and I cooked breakfast as well.
We had a lot of fun making these little “nests”, as I got the children, including my dear Spane, to decorate plastic eggs in whatever fashion they desired. I had plenty of glitter glue, paint, sticky gems, and all we really needed to make Fabergé jealous.
I don’t know why I wait for Easter to make a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I think it just seems appropriate for the rabbits of Easter to have a carrot cake treat. This is a really rich cake, not something for every day.
These marble eggs are so easy to make and they always turn out different. You will never have the same egg twice, so be sure and take pictures of these to look back on.
Silk tie dyed eggs were the star of my Easter table a few years ago, and I thought I should share again how to make them. I still have some leftover ties, so that I will make new ones again. They are very easy to make and look stunning. It’s a great way to use up old silk ties, blouses, shirts, etc.