Get the latest recipes from Lunasea http://www.grouprecipes.com/people/lunasea I decided to host a girls-night birthday dinner party for my dear friend Barbara. I went at lunch to see what looked good on the seafood front at my grocer. I ended up with shrimp, sea scallops, littleneck clams, lump crab meat, clam juice and several bottles of good Chardonnay. I supplemented the full bottle of wine with two cups of clam juice and it came out wonderfully. Have extra clam juice on hand to add as needed, if the linguine gets too dry during cooking – and make sure you adjust for salt at the end. Mine needed extra salt. This recipe is roughly adapted from a Bon Appétit recipe. I served this with a simple salad and garlic bread made from toasted homemade baguette sliced on the diagonal. Serve with a good white wine as I did. This is one sexy, succulent and delicious plate - perfect for treating anyone you care for. The girls loved it. Enjoy! http://www.grouprecipes.com/87195/seafood-linguine-with-herbed-wine-and-clam-broth.html As much as I love cooking, I consider myself a baker at heart. I’ve been baking since I was a young girl at the side of my mother – learning how to make cookies and cakes from scratch – and following her instructions for quick breads and yeast breads as well. My mom makes killer (oh my goodness) yeast rolls and loaves and she’s taught me well. For the past 3 years, I have really gotten into artisan breads. There’s something so comforting and pleasing about crisp, hearty crusts and that dense, full-flavored interior that makes artisan breads the perfect accompaniments to lunch or dinner, or a treasure to be savored all on their own. I have been making this particular bread recipe for over a year now. It’s delicious and flavorful…plus it’s beautiful and colorful. When it comes from the oven it’s crusty and a real delightful study of textures. I like serving slices slightly warm with a lovely compound butter (which I also love toying with). Once bagged, the crust softens due to the moist density of the loaves. Given that, I really like slicing it up and toasting the slices and pairing them again with a compound butter or various toppings. I am currently perfecting other bread recipes, using the base for this one as the starting point. When I get those to the point that wins me over completely, I will share those as well. I love making a double batch of this bread to share – but if you choose to do so - *note* - make the batches separately. In baking – and in some dishes – it’s not wise to just double everything up and expect it to work to your expectations. Once you have your ingredients ready, it’s best (and not so hard) to make two batches. ALSO – this is a low-knead bread and the dough will be sticky. Refrigerate the dough lightly covered for at least seven hours or overnight before forming into loaves and it will be so much easier and you’ll get a better rise and result. The recipe is an adaptation of a recipe from Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois’s Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. Use a good bread knife and this bread will give you the slice thickness you want. Enjoy! http://www.grouprecipes.com/86730/rustic-spinach-feta-and-smoked-sun-dried-tomatoes-bread.html What do I love about cioppino? It's delicious, it's savory, it's spicy, it's a crowd pleaser - and it's totally adaptable...it fits the seafood you love and crave - and have access to. I started making this about five years ago as an Italian Christmas Eve offering and I have become a huge fan of this fish stew. You can sub in your favorite seafood and it will delight. The sauce is the thing - and it brings it all together delightfully. Try it and see. It will make you a rock star! The cook time is primarily for simmering the sauce base...the rest is a piece of seafood cake. Enjoy... http://www.grouprecipes.com/84621/my-cioppino-italian-seafood-stew.html These biscuits are wonderfully full of flavor and textures - tender, flaky with the pleasant presence of cornmeal and the crunchy bite of the pepper and sea salted biscuit tops. I've made them several times now and they never fail to please. They're sweet and savory and would pair perfectly with ham, bacon, eggs, sausage, pork, chicken, fried steak, lamb, soup, stew....anything...heh...get my drift? They are great warm or at room temperature, which in my mind, makes them great candidates for gatherings and maybe even for a sports party. Indeed. Recipe from Bon Appétit, but with a couple of adaptations that I prefer. Enjoy. http://www.grouprecipes.com/83992/buttermilk-biscuits-with-green-onions-black-pepper-and-sea-salt.html I ended up cooking two turkeys this Thanksgiving. One on Thursday (Adobo Turkey with Red Chile Gravy) and on Saturday I served a Salted Roast Turkey with Herbs and Shallot-Dijon Gravy…recipes coming. From Saturday’s turkey, I had some leftover turkey – didn’t we all? I'd had my fill of tasty turkey with sides, so I wanted to make something different and yummy to use as either a sandwich stuffer or a mound of goodness for dipping. Out of that desire came this delicious turkey salad. Let it sit in your fridge for at least an hour...it makes it even better and let's the flavors meet and infuse....always a good thing. http://www.grouprecipes.com/81110/jalapeno-chipotle-turkey-salad.html I've been making this flavorful pork tenderloin for some time. It's easy and delivers in a big way. The pork is so tender it melts in your mouth and the taste is perfect for any occasion. Last night I made it again and for sides I made a roasted poblano-potato gratin with asiago cheese and buttermilk/heavy cream. Add some fresh green beans... blanched whole for 4 minutes in salted water. Drain - then dance them in a mix of butter, olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Throw in some hot buttered homemade biscuits and you have a feast. Recipe is adapted from Marha Stewart Living. Enjoy my friends. http://www.grouprecipes.com/79841/sage-and-garlic-crusted-pork-tenderloin.html I'm planning my Turkey Day meal and going through those tried and true recipes and those that will be. I ran across this beauty and smiled. This is one of my favorite stuffing recipes ever. This is the stuffing of your dreams, in which everything is a little more rich, rustic, and intense than you remember. Adapted from Gourmet. Enjoy my friends. **NOTE: The prep time does not include chilling time. http://www.grouprecipes.com/79407/italian-sausage-and-bread-stuffing.html Luscious, full of flavor and a delight to savor - this bread pudding is a favorite of mine and my guests. It's easy and gets a glowing reviews....trust me. The original recipe came from Bon Appétit, but I have played with it and morphed it into my needs and tastes. Prep time includes prep, soaking and the fridge soaking wait time. Enjoy. http://www.grouprecipes.com/77658/luscious-cinnamon-raisin-bread-pudding-with-warm-bourbon-sauce.html I have been making these delicious cookies for years. Something about the lemon extract and rind in the cookies and the lemon rind in the frosting really lifts this cookie up to the heavens. People love these and you will too! ~ I remember writing this recipe out on a piece of paper at my mother's kitchen table over 20 years ago. I was going through her recipe box and found this beauty. I believe the original recipe came from the former Chattanooga News-Free Press. I have adapted it a bit over time and that adaptation is the version I've posted. Enjoy. http://www.grouprecipes.com/74730/harvest-pumpkin-spice-cookies-with-lemon-buttercream-frosting.html The first time I had this delicious soup was about a month ago at a Korean restaurant called Seoul Garden in Maitland - see My Places and expand the pictures - great place! This Kimchi Chigae is loaded with flavor thanks to the pork belly and kimchi and it has various levels of heat going on. Seoul Garden served it in a stone pot and it was still boiling when placed on our table. We ladled it out ourselves and added the white sticky rice that accompanied. Wow - we were blown away by the seemingly simplicity of ingredients, yet the complexity of flavors. So, of course, I set my course to try to recreate this soup and ended up pulling a darn close replication out of my culinary cap. This popular Korean soup could be made with beef, chicken or seafood. Or you could omit the meat altogether - it's your choice. This soup really has it going on - it delivers – enjoy. http://www.grouprecipes.com/64181/kimchi-chigae-or-fermented-chili-pepper-cabbage-soup.html