Classic Greek Salad with Capers and Parsley

When it comes to salads, I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful than a classic Greek salad. The classic Greek contains no lettuce; this allows the beautiful jewel tones of the vegetables to shine through. There’s not much to it, really, a bit of chopping of fresh vegetables, tossed with the traditional Greek dressing, and you have an elegant side dish, or a delicious and nutritious meal.

Classic Greek Salad with Capers and Parsley

1 pt. cherry tomatoes, halved

1 large Cucumber, cubed

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

½ c. Kalamata olives

1 4-oz. container Feta crumbles

1 T. capers

1-2 T. chopped fresh parsley

Dressing:

2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ c. olive oil

½ t. kosher salt

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

½ t. dried oregano

1 clove garlic, crushed

 In a small mixing bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic until thick and creamy; chill. In a large mixing bowl combine remaining ingredients. Toss salad ingredients with dressing gently to coat. Serve immediately. 

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Pining for You Tablescape 2025

 

This is my first tablescape of 2025, and I love it! I bought the trio of glass pine trees at Michael’s this year with the idea that I was going to use them as a part of a centerpiece for my New Year’s brunch tablescape. But, there was no brunch, ergo no big flashy tablescape. Moving them into the conservatory on the table for two worked out quite well as you can see.

Also new this year are these lovely snowflake candleholders by Mikasa. They really are heavyweight and gorgeous, and the price is amazingly low. They come beautifully boxed in sets of two, so keep this in mind for the future if you need a holiday hostess gift, Secret Santa gift, etc.

 

As if that isn’t enough, I also found I could not resist the pine tree shaped mugs from West Elm, so bought this pair and they look perfect here; I absolutely love them.

 

The amber stemware that I seem to use a lot I inherited from my mother, the water glasses are Libbey Glass Arby's Promotion Snowy Pine Trees Scene Tumblers. Don’t they just look wonderful here?

  

The flatware I bought years ago from, of all places, Cabela’s. The runner is from Pottery Barn as are the plaid napkins. 

The chargers I bought from Target a number of years ago. They are simple slabs of wood. They are topped with beautiful plates with a pine branch and pine cone design around the edge that I got from Pottery Barn years ago. They are topped with pine cone salad plates that are from Creative Co-op. The pine cone salt and pepper shakers (that I LOVE) I bought years ago from a local shop. 

With nearly a foot of snow on the ground here, I am certainly spending a lot of time at this table with steaming cups of cocoa.

Stay warm!

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This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

Baked Cod with Lemon Dill Sauce

Today’s fish recipe is another simple, but flavorful one using cod as the base, fresh dill (it most certainly has to be fresh), and freshly squeezed lemon juice (ditto). While I used it on cod, my guess is that it would be equally delicious on salmon, and, next month I’m going to give that a try. The sauce can be made ahead of time, refrigerated, and then warmed just ahead of pouring it over the fish. I really enjoyed this. I particularly liked embedding the smashed garlic into the top. That was a new experience for me, and it was wonderful!

Baked Cod with Lemon Dill Sauce

Adapted from threeteaskitchen.com

 1 cod fillet

1 T. salted butter

1 T. olive oil

2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ t. fresh lemon zest

2 T. chopped Melissa’s Baby Dill

½ T. flour

¼ t. garlic powder

¼ t. kosher salt

1-2 garlic cloves, smashed, broken into a few segments

Salt and Pepper to taste

  Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Place cod in an ovenproof baking dish or on a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet. I used one of these. Lightly season both sides of the cod with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Leave the cod on the countertop while preparing your sauce.

 In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, melt butter. When it starts to melt add olive oil.

 Once the butter has fully melted, whisk in flour and cook until it starts to bubble.

 Add lemon juice, zest, salt, dill, and garlic powder to the butter/flour mixture, whisking briefly until incorporated.

Disperse smashed garlic segments evenly on cod, pressing it into the fish to slightly embed.

 Pour sauce over cod until evenly coated.

 Bake about 12-15 minutes, depending upon the thickness, until the fish easily flakes with slight pressure from a fork.

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Murder by Cheesecake, a Golden Girls mystery, reviewed

I started off the new year by reading what is allegedly book one in a series featuring that delightful quartet of women of a certain age from the 80s sitcom, namely, the Golden Girls. The book is called Murder By Cheesecake and was written by Rachel  Ekstrom Courage. To be honest, when I requested this book from NetGalley, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. While The Golden Girls television show still holds up even today, I wasn’t quite so sure that would translate into book form. Surprisingly and happily, it does, and quite well.

The author has perfectly captured each one of the delightful ladies in fine fashion. In the doing, she also provides us with a solid mystery, making this book enjoyable reading from beginning to end. 

The story surrounds Rose’s niece, Nettie, and her upcoming nuptials to her outsider husband, Jason, who is far more interested in keeping to the St. Olaf traditions than is Nettie, all of which need to be done in proper St. Olaf fashion in order for her and her future husband to inherit the trust they deserve. They journey to Miami for the nuptials and Rose’s help in making sure that everything goes smoothly. Anyone who has watched this series can imagine that much comedy ensues in the process, while trying to rustle up herring, a donkey, a clown for the bridal shower…I’ll let your imagination run wild from there.

Meanwhile, Dorothy, who has found her ideal match online ends up becoming a suspect in his murder when he is found in the freezer face down in the cheesecake. It takes all of the girls much time and effort to make sure that not only the wedding comes off smoothly, and Nettie becomes hitched to her beloved Jason, but also to ensure that Dorothy is no longer a suspect in the murder of her one time date. 

In addition to a fun story and solid mystery, there’s even a recipe for cheesecake at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A bit of lighthearted mystery and revisit to Miami was just what I needed. Plan ahead! This is scheduled for publication on April 15. What an excellent Mother’s Day gift this would make.

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Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this delightful book.

Ding Dong Cake

 

For whatever reason, I was thinking about the boxed lunches that I used to take to school when I was a little girl. Looking back, those were pretty good. This was in the day of lunchboxes and those half size thermoses that always contained a cup full of nice, hot, homemade soup. Sometimes the soup was accompanied by a roll, half a sandwich, or a fruit cup. Many times I would have dessert in the form of something that my mother had baked, or, when she was busy, a Hostess cupcake, or a Ding Dong.

 I was thinking about those Ding Dongs, with their waxy chocolate coating, and wondered if they could be homemade, only better. There are so many recipes online that you’re sure to find one to your liking. This is my version that has a deeper, darker, richer chocolate flavor, with a hint of espresso powder that takes it over the top. Try it and you’ll see what I mean. 

 

Ding Dong Cake

 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 13.25-oz. box Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix

Water, oil, and eggs needed for the cake mix (see pkg. directions)

1 1/3 c. dark chocolate chips

1 c. heavy cream

½ t. espresso powder

2 c. powdered sugar

¼ t. kosher salt

1 16-oz. jar Marshmallow Fluff

2 t. vanilla

 Preheat to 350° F. Spray a straight-sided 9” x 13” pan with Pam, and then line it with parchment paper allowing a 2” overhang on either side to facilitate easy removal from the pan.

 Prepare chocolate cake mix by mixing in the water, oil, and eggs as listed on the package directions. Pour the batter into the baking pan.

 Bake until it tests done, about 25 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

 When the cake is almost cool, place chocolate chips and heavy cream into a medium microwave-safe bowl. (I use Duralex) Microwave on HIGH in 15-second increments, whisking after each increment, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is completely smooth, about 1 minute total. Stir in espresso powder.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the mixer. Add powdered sugar and kosher salt, and beat on low until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in marshmallow fluff and vanilla until combined, about 2 minutes.

Turn out onto the cake and spread into an even layer. Refrigerate until the filling is set and no longer tacky when touched, about 30 minutes.

Give the chocolate ganache a good stir and spread evenly over the filling, smoothing it out with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until the chocolate is set, about 1 hour. Cut into 18 pieces.

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French Onion Potatoes

I had big plans to start the New Year, the least of which was to host a brunch for a dozen people. As it turned out, due to one thing or other, not to mention my aching knees, it didn’t happen. What did happen was my buying all of the food well in advance, so I had quite a feast for one come New Year’s Day. Because I was just cooking for myself, I decided to do a little experimentation, and that’s how I came up with this casserole. I won’t mention that it was partly due to the fact that I failed to buy corn flakes for the topping, or the correct kind of cheese for what I had planned originally. I will say, that this ended up being absolutely delicious. Yes, of course, I shared.

French Onion Potatoes

1 10.5-ounce can cream of mushroom soup

1 8-oz. container sour cream

6 T. butter, melted

1 T. dried minced onion

1 8-oz. pkg. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

½ c. heavy cream

¼ t. kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Few gratings fresh nutmeg

1 32-oz. pkg. frozen shredded hash-brown potatoes, thawed

½ - 1 c. French fried onions

2 T. heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together soup, sour cream, butter, onion, cheese, heavy cream, and black pepper (to taste). Fold in thawed hash browns, and turn into a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Drizzle 2 T. heavy cream over the top and sprinkle French fried onions over potato mixture to cover.  Bake for 45 minutes or until hot.

 Garnish with freshly chopped parsley. You don’t have to, but I find it festive.

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Open-Faced Ham Sandwich

 

I don't know where this recipe came from, but it goes way back, probably before some of you were born, as I first remember my mother making these for me in the seventies during my early high school days. We had split sessions, which meant I went to school from 6:00 in the morning until noon. This also meant that I'd be walking to the bus stop, in the dark, at around 5:30AM.  When I got home, exhausted and hungry, I could always look forward to mom having lunch ready for me. If she happened to be gone, that was no problem as she'd make up a bunch of these yummy sandwiches, wrap half of them in foil, place them into a large Ziploc freezer bag (yep, we had freezer bags back then), and pop them into the freezer.  If I wanted a hot sandwich all I had to do was unwrap one, remove the foil, place it into the toaster oven at 350ºF for about 15 minutes, and I'd have a tasty hot sandwich with no effort. I loved them then, and I still love them now.

 There's really nothing to putting them together.  You may just have everything you need on hand right now.  These make for a great winter lunch, a light supper with a cup of soup or small salad, or a welcome addition to your Super Bowl buffet.

 The filling keeps for up to a week in the fridge, so if you only want to make up a couple at a time as I did today, that's no problem either.

Separate two halves of an English muffin and place on a foil-lined tray.

 

Slide into the broiler and bake until cheese melts and tops are brown.

Spread a generous amount of cream cheese filling (recipe below) on each.  DO NOT SKIMP.  The filling is where most of the flavor comes from.

 

Top each with cooked, baked, or deli ham. (This is Virginia Baked Ham from the deli).

 

 

Top the ham with a thick tomato slice, and another dollop of the cream cheese filling.  Sprinkle with dried parsley, if desired.

 

 

 

ENJOY!

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Open-Face Ham Sandwiches

 1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

½ c. butter, softened

½ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 t. paprika

½ t. dried oregano

½ t. garlic powder

4 English muffins (I use Bay’s)

8 slices (¾ lb.) deli ham

8 slices tomato

 In a medium metal mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Stir in cheese, paprika, oregano, and garlic powder.  Spread two thirds of the mixture evenly over the eight muffin halves.  Top each with ham slice and tomato slice.  Spoon remaining cheese mixture onto the center of each tomato slice.  Place on baking sheet and broil until golden brown.

 Serves 8

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