Today we're going to be talking about Italian comfort foods, easy meals that you can make when you need something comforting. So, let's talk about Italian comfort food. Of course, there’s pizza and pasta. What could be more comforting? Let's talk about some deas for a quick, easy Italian dish or a comfort food on a cozy full evening, or even on a summer's day, or if you want some good snacks. 

Today we’re going to be talking about French comfort foods, which are one of my favorite kinds of easy comfort foods. I'm going to do a series with a different cuisine each time. We'll cover Italian comfort food, Mexican comfort food, et cetera, but this one is definitely my favorite because the French just have a way with food. We'll be talking about Croque Monsieur, French toast, and a few other things that you can make easily, and that'll fill that hungry gap in the winter or anytime you need some comfort food. French comfort foods are things that don’t really need the fancy chef techniques; things that you can make easily. They don't have fancy ingredients, and they don't take a lot of time. They're indulgent, homey, and yummy. The first one, of course, is croc monsieur or croc madam. There’s a slight difference between the two. Croque monsieur is a warm ham and cheese sandwich that's baked or pan fried with bechamel sauce on top. Croque Madame is the same, just with a fried egg on the top. Often these sandwiches have an authentic cheese like Gruyère or Emmentale to give them that extra edge of flavor. You can add interesting things to the bechamel as well, but the basic croc monsieur is a fabulous comfort food. 

Today we are gonna be continuing our Chef's series, talking about Matty Matheson, what we can learn from him and his cooking style, ways that he can inspire us in our own cooking. I relate well to this one because it's all about being a little bit unorthodox and going with your passion and not necessarily doing things by the book - I like that.

Today we're going to be talking about six easy dinner ideas that you can make for dinner in less than an hour when you're stuck, and you're not quite sure what to make. I'm also going to mention five three-course meal ideas that are easy, but a little fancier. These are good for those days when you want to do something special, but it's still got to be economical and easy. So, here we go. Let's start with the six ideas for when you're stuck for dinner. 

 Today we are gonna be talking about having a fun date night with a dice theme. Previously I did a black and white ball date night, and you can tell I like black and white. So dice are obviously also black and white, but we're gonna focus more on the dice shape and the number and using the dice and dice games. So if you feel like a fun date night at home with your hubby, just some inspiration. So we're talking about a dice theme..

Recently, I've realized that I don't eat enough fruit. We’re always being told that we've got to eat more protein, or eat all these other things, but we’re not often told we need enough fiber. I really believe that natural fiber - fruit - is the best way to get it. There are so many other good benefits of fruit. So, here's our first myth - fruit is too high in sugar. Some people say all sugar is equal, or the calories are the same, or whatever. However, I really believe, and I've seen in my own life, that fruit is good, and too much refined sugar is bad. Separating fruit from other forms of sugar is a good idea, and so is having fruit every day, especially having fruits with vitamin C when you're sick. Any kind of fruit that you feel like eating is excellent for your health. 

 Today we'll be continuing our chef series by talking about Nigella Lawson and some tips from her. She's an English food writer who cooks on tv. She's got bestselling cookbooks and cooking shows, but she has a very approachable, relatable style of home cooking. She’s not on another planet like a really gourmet chef, but somebody who's very good at what she does, and she teaches you in a way that helps you feel like you can cook better. So, let's talk about some things that she’s spoken of and that reflect her cooking philosophy.

Today we are gonna talk about some ideas for an elegant high tea for friends or for your family. My mom just turned 80 and she came to visit for a week. We had a party for her with some of her friends from many years ago who live close to us and we did a fun high tea for her birthday. I'm gonna tell you what we baked, and served, and some ideas for what you could do in terms of decor to make an elegant High Tea special.

The next chef we’re going to be talking about is Christina Tosi, the well-known pastry chef. I'm sure you've seen her on MasterChef or MasterChef Junior. She's amazing! She's known for starting Momofuku Milk Bar, and she’s so creative when it comes to baking. We love her compost cookies and her birthday cake recipe - it's the one we use all the time. The way she layers flavors and adds so much interest to food is inspiring. So, let's talk about what we can learn from Christina Tosi about baking and delicious food.  I won't have an episode out this Wednesday as we're hosting my Mom's 80th party, but I'll be back to two episodes again next week.

 Today we're going to be continuing our series on what we can learn from famous chefs, present or past. This time, we're going to be talking about Julia Child. She was a famous chef, a cookbook author, and a television personality. I'm sure you've seen those funny old video clips of her on the little TV screen with the round center from the sixties. She was one of the first women to host her own cooking show on television.  She gave people lots of tips, and she did lessons on how to prepare French food very simply and easily. Have you seen the movie Julie and Julia? It's about a young girl learning to cook from Julia's recipe. Julia Child left a legacy of more than just recipes. She's taught people how to approach cooking and eating with a huge amount of joy, confidence, and curiosity. She loved food, she loved to eat, and she was so enthusiastic about it. She was very good at teaching you how to make things simple, and how to just go for it with your cooking.

We’re doing a series on what we can learn from chefs about cooking. We’ll learn some tips and things they teach that will really help us to build and improve our own cooking. Today, we're going to be talking about Jamie Oliver, a British chef. He's a good one for helping a normal mom at home. He doesn’t do so much restaurant cooking; more home cooking, and he does it so well. He and his family, his kids, are all very approachable. He makes lots of comfort food. There might be some things in this episode that are similar to what Gordon Ramsey teaches or does, but that's good, right? Enforce the best habits. So, here we go. 

Today, I thought it'd be fun to talk about some tips from Gordon Ramsey about cooking. These are things that he advises, some of which I've tried, and others not yet. I find it really interesting to look at professional chefs, or at chefs like Jamie Oliver who aim to help ordinary people like you and I to be able to cook better, to make things easier and healthier, and et cetera. I'm going to do a brief series, and talk about tips from some other chefs as well, but for today it'll be Gordon Ramsey. We’ll talk about the important things that he says or that he teaches online in various places, whether it be on Masterchef, in his home cooking videos, et cetera. 

Today we're gonna be talking about food on vacation - if you go away on a holiday. We recently went to the beach for a few days and it was amazing. I'm gonna talk a little bit about what meals we did and general ideas of what to cook and eat on a vacation!

(There won't be an episode on Wednesday this week, but I'll be back next Monday!!) I'm soo excited about the Downton Abbey movie coming up on the 12th of September!! ..so I thought this would be a good time to make this episode. We're going to talk about what we can learn from Downton Abbey again - from the show itself, and things that are significant when it comes to food, dining, and even cooking. There are so many things that inspire me when I look at the way they ate and what they ate, although it required having a full-time cook or two. We can't really replicate that part, but there are a lot of principles that are inspiring, and that we can apply to our daily lives and our families.   

 Today we’re going to talk about some fun ideas for a food-themed evening with family or friends. Food-related fun that you can have with your kids. We'll chat about evenings involving food in a fun way for your younger kids, for your older teens; or for your family to do together. So, let's dive right in. 

Today we're going to talk about more simple meals for if you're learning to cook, just starting to cook, or if you just need something quick for dinner. Last time, we talked about using potatoes and pasta as the base of meals.  In this episode, we’re going to talk about rice and a few other ways to start your cooking with some easy meals!

Today I’m going to talk about two easy meal options that have variety for when you're just starting out cooking, or for when life is crazy and you want something very easy to do. I’ll talk about a way to plan things around potatoes and pasta so that you've got a good variety, and different ways to enhance the toppings, to add sauces, et cetera, to go with those. Start off with easy meals when you're learning to cook. If your son or daughter is going to leave home soon, this is a good way for them to learn to cook. So, let's get started. 

Let's talk about pesto. Is your favorite green pesto or red pesto, and what do you like to have it on? Pizza, caprese salad - what are your favorite ways to use it? I'm going to talk about the origins of pesto, and then about some of the ways you can use it, and how to make it. I often buy pesto from the grocery store, and sometimes I make it. Both ways can be delicious, and there's so many different ways you can use it.  Pesto is traditionally Italian, and its roots are in ancient Rome. It’s best known today in the form pesto alla Genovese, which is made from basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and olive oil. The concept of pesto can be traced back to ancient Roman times. Back then, there was a sauce called moretum, which was made by crushing herbs with garlic, some kind of cheese, salt, olive oil, and vinegar. In a similar way to modern pesto, it was prepared with a pestle and mortar. The word pesto comes from the Italian verb pestare, meaning “to pound” or “to crush” with the pestle and mortar. The classic form of pesto, Genovese, comes from Genoa in Northwestern Italy. It’s from around the 19th century. The key ingredient, of course, is the Genovese basil that grows abundantly in that region. It loves the Mediterranean climate. The traditional recipe includes fresh basil leaves with garlic, traditionally pine nuts, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and lots of olive oil.

Today we're going to talk about eggs, or rather about if you don't like eggs, and what's a good thing to have for breakfast in that case - what's a good way to use eggs, so that they don't taste too “eggy”? Here are creative ways of using them so that you still get the protein and the benefits like choline from eggs, but you don't have to just have scrambled or fried eggs. Maybe those are things that you don't enjoy. I seem to go through phases. Sometimes I don't mind eggs for breakfast, and other times I really can't stomach them, though I still enjoy the sides like grilled tomato, mushrooms, zucchini, and avocado. All those things are great, but it's hard for me to have eggs with them. So, let's talk about some ways to use eggs in your breakfast even if you don't like them. We want to try to incorporate them into dishes where their flavor is a little masked, or complimented by other ingredients.

Today we’re going to talk more about what we can learn from previous generations about cooking, nutritious eating, and how to make healthy meals for our families. In the past, we've talked about things like cooking from scratch, cooking at home with fresh ingredients, and using local foods and seasonal produce.  We've talked about eating all the parts, nose to tail, and about some traditional cooking methods like slow cooking, et cetera. We've talked about eating as a family, and how that connection is so good and so healthy. We've talked about being balanced, and not going along with all the trends or diets. We've talked about recipes that have been passed down from our grandparents, and their simpler, healthier way of life in general. Today, I want to talk about some of the less obvious things that we can learn from previous generations about cooking and nutrition. This is not just what they ate, but how they thought about food, and how they made it healthier. We’ll talk about their habits; things that were second nature to them, and how they would be really helpful to us. It's been a while since I've done a ten point episode. Some of you like that. I don't easily stick to points - I tend to have a brain that goes in all directions, but I thought for this one we'll do ten points to hopefully make it easier to remember.