Welcome to the Taste & Savor Blog
Seasonal Delights – Eat Like There’s No Tommorrow
My friend and fellow chef, Hans Rueffert appeared on the Cooks Warehouse Stage at the Decatur Book Festival today. Hans loves fresh, seasonal food and his demo did not disappoint: beautiful fresh zipper peas and fennel. His book, Eat Like There's No Tomorrow is a...
Life’s A Beach!
Last week, Cancer Wellness at Piedmont hosted their annual "Life's a Beach! Party". What fun to see flip flops and beach wear on the folks that were dancing and rocking out. A fabulous band, "Just Friends" made waves with the music of Motown, Jimmy Buffett and Marvin...
It’s Been a Pink Week!
For those of you that see me often without a chefs coat on - you'll know that I love the color pink. And this week I had so much fun being "in the pink", with lots and lots of beautiful women. The week contained the Pink Carpet Gala, a fun evening celebrating breast...
Delicious Home Made Pita Chips for Dipping!
Easy, Flavor Filled Chips You Can Make Yourself:6 Whole Wheat Pita Pockets¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil¼ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice½ Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper1 Tsp Ground Cumin1 Tsp Curry Powder (or Garam Masala)1 Tsp Turmeric1 Tsp Kosher or Sea Salt½ Tsp Garlic...
Go To Gluten Free Cooking
Cooks Warehouse Decatur was the venue for a fun Gluten Free Cooking Class. I first became aware of Gluten Free Eating when I worked on the morning show "Everyday with Marcus and Lisa". Marcus had Celiac Disease, and so I always tried to provide something in my cooking...
White County WOW!
How great is it when you can name your organization: WOW? That’s the group I visited this week, the Winegrowers of White County. Many of you may not know where White County Georgia is located. Up north of Atlanta where hills and mountains and greenery abound – that’s...
Walking on the Dark Side
This is what the parking lot at the entrance to the Chattahoochee walking/jogging trail looked like on Friday morning. It's dark AND early. But we didn't mind as my friend Beci and I chatted, shared and laughed for a 6 mile power walk. I love getting up early and...
Lawyers Who Cook!
Cooks Warehouse at Midtown hosted The Iron Chef: CUMIN battle that took place on Friday night. What a fun bunch from a local law firm. Great team work, cooking and super food styling. Great use of banana leaves for presentation. Gives all the plates a real boost. Take...
Plan Your Escape
The women of Pink Heals had another party on Thursday night - to plan fun vacations and learn how to document their trip with pictures. What a beautiful group! “Maintain a Sense of Humor, Develop Outside Interests, and Learn to Let Go”, were some of the gems of...
Oh What Treasures You Will Find…
I don’t know about you, but there always seem to be a few bottles of wine that keep getting pushed to the back of my wine cabinet. Bottles that someone has gifted when invited to dinner, or bottles that looked interesting on sale – but never quite interesting enough...
Some Assembly Required
We needed a grill for our octopus. (That sounds really funny – but check out the blog from July 27th.) So we went to the local hardware store in Rock Hall, Maryland. No Home Depot, Lowe’s or even an Ace in this little town. But the great news is the store had a Smoky...
Octopus for Dinner
I always have to hand it to my sister – she is fearless in the kitchen. Pat picked up some octopus in DC and we invited a good friend over for an adventurous dinner, lots of wine and stories.Well, lets start with the very good news. Our briny buddy was cleaned at the...
BLT Steak
That’s not Bacon Lettuce and Tomato – it’s Bistro Laurent Tourondel, a restaurant from a charming and celebrated chef with an empire of New York restaurants. What fun to have a chance to indulge in a dinner at a much-lauded spot like this one. I’m sharing our...
Kinkeads – A Delicious DC Institution
If you’ve been to Washington DC in the past fifteen or so years, chances are you have eaten at – or at least heard of Kinkeads. Located close to the White House, State Department and the Mall, here’s where you’ll often find the movers and shakers in DC. We popped in...
Chesapeake Good Eats
In the middle of a cold, wet, damp winter in Atlanta I start craving two things from the Eastern Shore of Maryland: Rock Fish and Soft Shell Crabs. Of course this is because I think of both as a vacation treat, eaten with friends and family, and accompanied by...
Putting Up
I have found my new favorite cookbook - and it's all about "putting up". Putting up is what we call canning or preserving here in the South. The book is fascinating - all the science, fact and fiction of sweet and savory foods. I've been taking it to bed at night,...
Tenderloin For Iron Chef!
Woo Hoo! Fun Iron Chef class last night at the Cooks Warehouse. 4 Corporate Teams battling it out over the Secret Ingredient: Tenderloin. Lots of fun and lots of wine capped off a fierce and creative competition for bragging rights. Loved the "secret" team #5's entry....
Holy Guacamole, or Avocados Should Be a Kitchen Staple
I think that avocados are just about the most wonderful food in the world. Good for breakfast, (Avocado Omelet, Anyone?), Lunch (See Picture) and Dinner (Avocado Half, Red Wine Vinegar and Good Olive Oil, Yum!). I have even enjoyed avocados for dessert - just Google:...
Flowers and Friends
Here's a picture I wanted to share. I grew up with gardenias - they have always been one of my favorite flowers. (I even had a brief "fling" with Shalimar perfume, redolent of gardenias - but that's another story...) So, I was thrilled last night when friends Rebecca...
Rutledge Georgia
We've been on the bike again, touring through the backroads of Georgia. Rutledge was our destination - east of Atlanta, near the more lauded city of Madison. There were two places that drew us to the tiny town, Rutledge Hardware and Yesterday's Cafe. The wonderful old...