Welcome to the Taste & Savor Blog

The NFL and Quinoa!
There's nothing like a room of retired NFL football players to make you feel small and a little nervous. But I shouldn't have worried. The group participating in the NFL career transition workshop this weekend was easy to talk to AND interested in healthy eating. You...

“Leaning” into the New Year Lunch
What a fun lunch today at Cancer Wellness at Piedmont West. More than a dozen of us gathered to talk about “Leaning” into the New Year. Leaning into accepting change, eating better, and taking good care of ourselves, our families and friends. Wonderful Angela Buttimer...

Perfectly Easy Last Minute Gift from the Kitchen.
WOO HOO! The kitchen at Cancer Wellness was the site of a chocolate festival this afternoon, led by yours truly. Carolyn, Director of Cancer Wellness, and I decided that our favorite docs needed a little pick -me-up before the holidays. Far from the usual boxes of...

Famous Fig Cake
This was my mother's recipe. Well, at least the name. Her recipe was full of fig jam, lots of sugar, eggs and butter. Of course it was good - but all that jam and sugar made it so sweet - my teeth hurt! As a Healthy Chef Partyologist my goal is always to make food...

Afternoon in the Country with NO Wines
If you read the Friday Four, or the Facebook page you are familiar with NO Wines. Not only are they delicious, the NO stands for NO oak, NO cork and NO malactic fermentation. All those "NO"s add up to a crisp clean Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc that are incredibly...

Ten Ways to Take Care of YOURSELF During the Holidays!
Check out the easy and light granola recipe at the end of this blog! We recently hosted a class with wonderful teacher Angela Buttimer about taking care of OURSELVES during the holiday season. If you weren't able to come - here is my heartfelt handout. I'm thinking...

All Chocolate is Not Created Equal, a post by Taste and Savor’s Culinary Intern, Stacy Maple
Chocolate is a Superfood Have you heard the news? Chocolate is a “Superfood”. Yes, that’s right. Go ahead…pinch yourself…this is not a dream. In fact, ounce for ounce, dark chocolate and cocoa have more antioxidants than blueberries, red wine and...
Happy “Dia De Noquis” from Taste and Savor’s Culinary Intern, Stacy Maple
Gnocchi... A Curious Little Dumpling I love gnocchi... little pillowy dumplings of goodness, each hand made with an incredible attention to detail and tossed in a rich gorgonzola cream sauce....ahhh, yum. Pair the dish with a glass...

Sweet Potato Gratins – Perfect for Fall and Friends
Last week, Intern Stacy and I traveled to Lawerenceville to present our quarterely wine tasting with the fun folks at Nikos. Leslie always has creative wines to match my menus - and participants learn so much by tasting and comparing the wines with each course. One of...

Preserving the Harvest – A Guest Post by Taste and Savor’s Culinary Intern, Stacy Maple
It’s harvest time! As another growing season comes to an end, many of us are looking for ways to preserve the year’s harvest. Preserving your own foods allows you to enjoy the taste of summer all throughout the year. But, before you run off to buy a...

Hot and Steamy Race – Cool and Refreshing Salsa
What fun I had at the race to benefit Cancer Wellness in Fayette today! Over 250 walkers came out to brave the humidity and support a great cause. The picture you see above is the Cancer Wellness Chef and Wellness Team! Chef Nancy, Chef Beci, Dietician Taryn and I...

My Cheesy Excuse: A Guest Post by Healthy Sous-Chef Partyologist, Lea Bowen
Despite all of my intentions to write a new and interesting blog each week, there are instances when my hectic schedule leaves me with little time to sit quietly at my keyboard and write. Typically, I have a valid excuse such as, I worked three...

Cooking with Herbs and Spices
The article published by Health Watch MD last week about herbs and spices was so much fun to do. I did give some ideas about what herbs and spices paired with which foods - but I thought I would share some of my favorite herbs and spices recipes, so you could take...

Stacy and Julia…. A Guest Post by Taste and Savor’s Culinary Intern, Stacy Maple
I am Chef Nancy's new culinary intern. In twelve short weeks I will be graduating from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. I will be joining an elite group of chefs who have completed this degree, including the beloved, Julia...

Savoring Summer: A Guest Post, by Healthy Sous-Chef Partyologist, Lea Bowen
Though the official end of summer is still a few weeks off, summer as I know it has come to an end. Vacations are now cherished memories, my workload has picked up and the kids are back in school. As many of you know, I had the opportunity to travel to...

How to Grill Octopus!
While visiting New York earlier this year, I saw an "octopus" trend. Every menu seemed to include an iteration of octopus. Grilled, sautéed - even blackened. After returning to Atlanta, I watched to see how long it would take before the many-armed cephalopod made...

Eat Like a Greek – Salad That IS!
What's not to like about a crispy, crunchy green salad filled with fresh summer tomatoes, herbs, olives and feta? Plus, you'll feel great about serving a salad full of the potent anti-inflammatory quercetin from the capers and red onions. You can even ramp up the...

Sangria for Real Sangria Lovers!
What to drink at a hot summer party? Well, a big pitcher of cold, refreshing sangria of course! Thanks Elizabeth for reminding me that it's sangria time. Here's my easy, foolproof sangria recipe that will "stand up" not only to the heat, but any kind of appetizer as...

Cherries, Cherries and More Cherries!
Don’t you love my cherry pitter – its one of my kitchen “power tools”! It makes pitting cherries SO quick and easy. So, I guess you can tell that I adore cherries. During the season, I eat them any way I can – but most often right out of hand. Wash the bag, dump in a...

Southern Made Better at the Brookhaven Farmers Market
Saturday morning dawned clear and hot! Not too warm for the shoppers at the Brookhaven Farmer's Market, tho. A group gathered with me at 10 to share some ideas and samples about good cooking using local produce! Thanks to Manager Yusef from the Cooks Warehouse for...