The Walsh Cookbook

  Whenever the sun is shining, I crave Mexican food. And whenever I get Mexican food, I need a Margarita (obviously!). And whenever I get a Margarita, I may need a second one (this is starting to sound a little "When You Get a Moose a Muffin"-y to me). But what if I want to enjoy my Mexican food and margarita(s) in the privacy of my own sunny backyard? I can get my food to-go but they tend frown upon giving anyone alcohol to-go. I am condemned to margarita mix or squeezing a thousand limes. OR I can have these delicious Pomegranate Margaritas which require very little effort (hence the two minute title) and have great flavor! This recipe comes from Kay Hartz, my friend Rachael's mom, who introduced my college roommates and our parents to fast and tasty margaritas that you make by the pitcher. I think she changes the ratio of the tequila to beer, but I usually like to do 1 to 2 cans tequila then the rest cheap beer. Adding the pomegranate juice makes it taste goo...

  There are some days when I am entirely uninspired to cook anything. I am hungry but nothing sounds good. First world problems right?. I am sick of making the stuff I usually cook and I can't seem to think of anything that makes me feel excited about making dinner.  Am I resigned to ordering pizza??? Sometimes. But usually, I like to open Erin Gleeson's cookbook, "The Forest Feast", and flip through her fresh and easy recipes and I am inspired to whip up something delicious! If you haven't seen it, this cookbook has gorgeous pictures of fresh food that doesn't require a million steps (perfect for when you're feeling lazy!). This recipe for Butternut Caprese comes from her cookbook and I highly recommend it. It's perfect as a light lunch or I served it for dinner with baked chicken thighs and Summer Zucchini Noodle Salad and it was fantastic! I recommend serving it as soon as it's ready to prevent any avocado browning.  Serves 3-4 ...

  This recipe is an old Walsh Cookbook favorite, from way back when the Walsh Cookbook was still in the .doc phase.  It is so easy to make and fantastic comfort food for any season.  Here is my mom's excerpt from the original recipe: " This is another great recipe from our kitchen builder/restaurateur friend, Andrea.   This is a favorite of Dad’s, especially because he’s become quite fond of polenta.   This is a warm, homey, comforting one-dish meal that seems especially perfect in the winter.   As with most of Andrea’s recipes that he taught us, this is deceptively simple and quick to make, but very delicious.   In the summer when I put zucchini in absolutely everything I make, I add some cubed zucchini and sauté it with the meat.   Very yummy.   Sliced fresh mushrooms would be very nice, too. " An additional note: Andrea is also the creator of "Keegan's Rigatoni Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage" , another delicio...

This is my favorite easy way to do cauliflower, something about the combination of the olives and cauliflower, and then with the crunch of the bread crumbs it's just delicious!  I got the idea from Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express book ( here ), but my love for olives goes far beyond "a handful" so I had to write my own version up.  You could easily go with a fancier olive if you wanted to, and I'm sure it would be amazing too.  I usually end up cutting the recipe in half because I love olives too much, and end up eating half the can while I'm chopping them up.  Oops. what you will need: 1 head cauliflower, core removed and chopped roughly 1 can large black pitted olives, drained and chopped roughly 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped juice of 1/2 a lemon 1/4 cup panko or other breadcrumbs freshly chopped parsley salt and pepper

   March is always very green in Portland, a little less this year than usual (due to the East coast stealing all of the West coast's precipitation!) but very green nonetheless. We went to Illinois to visit family last week which was tons of fun but it's very much still winter there - plenty of yellow grass, ice and crusty snow. It was so nice to come back to green grass, budding leaves and cherry blossoms!    Celebrate all things Green and Spring with this Irish Stew, slightly adapted from Yvette Van Boven's cookbook "Homemade Winter". It's really wonderful and different from your average stew with the addition of the parsnip, rutabaga and barley. It would be really great served with or served over Colcannon (maybe hold the potatoes in the stew if you want to do this?). Happy St. Paddy's Day!!!!  Check out the St. Patrick's Day recipe section here!   One year ago: Irish Coffees , Mini Guinness , Strawberry Club Sandwiches Two year...

So, there's a story behind the name of this amazing, addicting sauce...The recipe itself comes from a wonderful cookbook by a San Francisco Bay area restaurant of the same name, "Tacolicious", available here --and I highly recommend getting it! Among many other wonderful recipes, I was thrilled to see in there one for a sauce "modeled after what is called nothing sexier than 'The Orange Sauce' by the devoted regulars of La Victoria taqueria in San Jose, California."  Having been to that restaurant with Keegan and Jaymie before, and yes, having found the sauce--and the tacos--to be highly addicting (hence the second name, "Crack Sauce") I was so excited to try the recipe! As it says in the cookbook, it is such a surprise to find that this creamy sauce actually has no cream in it; just oil that is emulsified in the blender with the other ingredients that gives it such a wonderful texture.  Absolutely brilliant.  And so very addicting.  It...

I was poking around on Pinterest the morning of the Super Bowl, trying to find something to bring to a party, and found this recipe from Cookin' Canuck.  I changed a few things, mostly out of laziness, and it turned out absolutely delicious! What you will need: 8 oz. hummus 2 medium tomatoes, diced and drained 1/2 cup shredded cucumber (drained, but don't worry too much about it) 1/2 cup greek yogurt (I used 2%) 1/8 tsp salt 1/4 tsp smoked paprika 1 jar artichoke hearts, chopped and drained 2 orange bell peppers, diced 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese 2 Tbsp minced flat leaf parsley 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives