Strawberry-Rhubarb Bread Pudding

To me, nothing says Spring like fresh Rhubarb and strawberries tell me summer is just around the corner!

Although many people enjoy the two in pies, and other sweet treats, this bread pudding is sure to please everyone! And don't worry about calories when enjoying this dessert; it's made up of many healthy ingredients!

4 large egg whites
4 large eggs
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
4 cups of whole-grain bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (about 6-8 slices or 8 oz.)
2 cups of roughly broken Ginger-Snap cookies
2 cups of quartered strawberries
1 cup of diced rhubarb
1/4 chopped walnuts or hazelnuts, lightly toasted.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter an 11" x 7" glass baking dish or a 2 quart casserole or you can spray lightly with a non-stick cooking spray.

To prepare the custard: Whisk together the egg whites, eggs and milk. Add sugar, vanilla & orange zest. Whisk to combine.

In another large bowl, toss together the bread, Gingersnaps, strawberries, rhubarb and nuts.

Add the custard mixture and toss to coat everything well. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and push down to compact it. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until the custard has set. About 40-45 minutes.

While that's baking, throw together this quick streusel topping: Mix together 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup oats, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of canola oil.

After the bread pudding has baked for 40-45 minutes, remove the foil and sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly across the top of the bread pudding. Return to the oven and bake an additional 20 minutes until the pudding has puffed and is golden on top.

Allow to cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before serving! This is great served warm, or at room temperature! Enjoy this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Grilled Lamb T-Bones with Fava Bean Salad

About a year ago Iron Chef and Restaurateur, Michael Symon, visited Detroit's Eastern Market for a cooking demo. I was very excited to be able to attend this event. The dish he prepared was Grilled Lamb T-Bones with a Spring Vegetable Salad. It was a recipe included in his then forthcoming book, "Michael Symon's Live To Cook: Recipes and Techniques To Rock Your Kitchen".

Now I have never eaten lamb, ever, but this dish looked so good I really wanted to try it. Unfortunately, at the time, I had to wait until the release of his book, which wasn't until November of that year, then had to wait until Spring rolled around as the recipe included fava beans and asparagus, and fresh fava's weren't available in the market until mid-April.

After waiting a year, I finally get to try this recipe. Aside from the lamb t-bones, or lamb loin chops as they may be labeled, the recipe includes a wonderfully fresh tasting salad made up of fresh fava beans, asparagus, a few chilies (for a speck of heat), fresh mint, garlic, kalamata olives and feta cheese.

Note, the chilies that are called for in the recipe are pickeled "Fresno" chilies. These were extremely hard to find in my area. Serrano Chilies are an acceptable substitute and were even found pickeled in the Mexican Food section of my supermarket!

First thing to do is season the lamb t-bones with a combination of kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, toasted coriander seeds (crushed), red pepper flakes and sugar. You season both sides, cover them and refrigerate for 24 hours.

When the lamb is ready, grill them on a hot grill pan (or a hot charcoal grill outdoors), for about 4 minutes per side for medium rare.

While the lamb is grilling mix together all the salad ingredients, and dress with extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt & pepper.

When the lamb is ready, plate 2 t-bones per person and top with the salad.

Now, this being my first time tasting lamb I was very pleased with the results and the dish was as delicious as I thought it would be! Many people told me lamb would have a "gamey" taste. Honestly, I thought it tasted like a grilled steak. Excellent Spring or Summer dinner!

Mario's Weekend Cooking Challenge: Shrimp with Cilantro Cream Sauce

Mario's Weekend Cooking Challenge is a Facebook Group for people to get together, once a month and cook the same recipe, compare notes and discuss outcomes. It is put together by Mario Bosquez host of "Living Today" on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112 & XM 157


This month's cooking challenge recipe is Shrimp with Cilantro Cream Sauce and is courtesy of chef Andrew Wild of the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. Get the complete recipe here: Shrimp with Cilantro Cream Sauce.


Aside from peeling and cleaning the shrimp and a little chopping of the vegetables, this took less than 20 minutes from start to finish!
Ingredients for this dish are fresh shrimp, avocado oil, cilantro stems & leaves, onion, a poblano chile, garlic, oregano, cumin, cream & lime juice.

In a large pan, heat the avocado oil, add the poblano, onions and garlic. Cook until lightly golden and tender.

Add the cilantro stems, oregano and cumin.

Add the cream and bring to a boil. Cook until the cream has reduced to about 2/3rds and thickened slightly.

Add the shrimp and cook for about 2 minutes until the shrimp have just turned pink. Stir occasionally to coat shrimp with the sauce.

Remove from the heat and season with lime juice and a little coarse salt. Sprinkle with minced cilantro leaves and either serve as an entree or right from the pan with toothpicks for a unique party dish!

Tomato Jam - The "New" Ketchup!

Have you ever tried Tomato Jam? If you're a ketchup fan, you'll definitely love this unusual and delicious savory jam that can be used in a variety of ways. Use this in place of ketchup on sandwiches and with meatloaf.

I first tasted Tomato Jam while visiting the Amish Community in Shipshewana, Indiana. It's sweet spiciness hooked me at first taste!

Though it does have somewhat of a long simmering time, it's actually quite easy to make. You can get the recipe here: Tomato Jam

Ingredients are, tomatoes (of course), red-wine vinegar, brown sugar, honey, red onion, fresh garlic & ginger, ground ginger, ground cloves, cinnamon stick & star anise.

Have you ever seen or used "Star Anise"? These wonderful spice pods have a delicious anise or licorice taste, and look like, what else, little stars!

The jam starts out with a hot pan and a little olive oil. Saute the garlic, fresh ginger, and onion until translucent.

Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a wooden spoon. Then add the vinegar, honey, brown sugar and all the spices.

Simmer and stir for about 70 minutes until the tomatoes have dissolved, the liquid has evaporated and it's the consistency almost that of ketchup.

Discard the cinnamon sticks and star anise and cool before serving. Will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

Detroit's Legendary Maurice Salad Dressing

New York City has Macy's,
Chicago had Marshall Field's,
Here in Detroit, our Grand Dame of department stores was J.L. Hudson.


For over a century, the J.L. Hudson Department Store on Woodward Ave. was more than just a store--it was a Detroit icon and a world-class cultural treasure. At 25 stories, it was the world's tallest department store, and second largest (after Macy's in N.Y.C), and was at one time home to the most exceptional offerings in shopping, dining, services, and entertainment.



The store prided itself on stocking everything from grand pianos to spools of thread. In addition to departments offering fashionable clothing and home furnishings, the original Hudson's store featured an auditorium, a circulating library, a magnificent place called "Toytown", and the world's largest American Flag.
To read more about this magnificent department store, check out this book: Hudson's Detroit's Legendary Department Store.

Now this blog is not about shopping, it's about food. Hudson's downtown location housed many culinary retreats for hungry guests. The thirteenth floor was home to several restaurants, including The Pine Room, The Georgian Room, and The Early American Room, which later evolved into The Riverview Room. The store also offered a tearoom, snack bar, bakery, and fine wine shop, among other specialty food and dining venues.
Though Detroit's downtown gem closed in 1983, many of its culinary traditions have been passed on to its other Hudson's locations. Now under the Macy's name, and before that, Marshall Field's, Hudson's favorites continue to delight beyond Michigan.

One menu item from Hudson's, in particular, was the Maurice Salad. Who was Maurice? Some say he was a chef at Hudson's, where this salad made its debut, though no one knows for sure. While Maurice's identity may have faded into obscurity, his chef's salad with this lemony-mayo dressing remains the number-one seller in all of Macy's Michigan restaurants known as "The Lakeshore Grille". Bottles of this famous dressing can be purchased in all of Macy's Michigan locations, and now you can make this delicious dressing yourself!


Look for small bottles of onion juice in the spice section of many supermarkets. If it's not available, grate a piece of onion and squeeze the pulp through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer.


To make this wonderfully easy and tasty dressing, you'll need:

2 teas. white vinegar
1-1/2 teas. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-1/2 teas. onion juice
1-1/2 teas. sugar
1-1/2 teas. Dijon mustard
1/4 teas. dry mustard
1 cup of mayonnaise (homemade or store-bought)
2 Tbls. chopped, fresh parsley
1 hard-cooked egg, finally diced
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.


Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, onion juice, sugar, Dijon & dry mustard's in a bowl and whisk well to dissolve the sugar.

Now whisk in the mayonnaise, parsley and egg. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Use this as a salad or sandwich dressing. Keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days.

Now if you'd like to make the official Maurice Salad, as served at Hudson's, in a large bowl, combine 1 lb each of cooked ham, turkey breast, and Swiss cheese all cut into thin julienned strips and 1/2 cup minced sweet pickles. Toss lightly, add the dressing and fold together. Shred one head of iceberg lettuce and arrange a bed of shredded lettuce on 4 salad plates. Top the meat & cheese mixture onto each bed of lettuce and garnish each salad with 2 pimento stuffed green olives, and a couple hard-cooked egg slices. Serve at once!