Author Archives: jentarantino

About jentarantino

i went to culinary school back in the mid 90's where i soon discovered that most of my favorite things to eat begin with celery, carrots and onions; or at the very least, one of the three. i cooked professionally for a very short time, but never stopped being a "home cook". i used the skills i acquired in school to teach myself to bake and kept up on food trends by becoming addicted to cooking shows and food magazines. i will eventually open my own soup shop, but until that happens, this blog will be my culinary outlet. i hope it inspires you to... stand lovingly over a simmering pot, wait anxiously for rising bread dough, frost cupcakes with care, marinate, brine, and most importantly... make it yourself!

sprinkle cookies

Posted on April 22, 2011 by jentarantino

if you grew up in or near a big city with access to “old school” bakeries like i did, maybe you share my obsession with the addictive sugary, buttery sprinkle cookies that all those bakeries seem to sell. i’ve never … Continue reading →

lemon layer cake

Posted on April 6, 2011 by jentarantino

For Friend’s birthdays I almost always offer to make the cake. For my friend trish’s latest milestone I was more than pleased to have the baking task because I have been working on a yellow cake recipe forever and was … Continue reading →

Posted in desserts, recipes | Tagged baking, cake, desserts, frosting, layer cake, lemon, lemon layer cake, recipes, yellow cake | 2 Comments

skinny creamed spinach

Posted on March 25, 2011 by jentarantino

I have it bad! The sun is finally shining, the birds are singing, and my patio is screaming out for a BBQ. SPRING FEVER! My usual cravings for soup and roast chicken have moved aside for everything green. I’ve been … Continue reading →

Posted in recipes, side dishes, vegetables | Tagged creamed spinach, greens, recipe, side dish, spinach, spring, vegetables | 5 Comments

arroz con pollo

Posted on February 22, 2011 by jentarantino

The inspiration experiment really worked for me! My culinary artist has emerged as well as the sun here in our gloomy city! Coincidence? Maybe, but I’m going to pretend my new attitude has something to do with it. Here is … Continue reading →

Posted in poultry, recipes | Tagged arroz con pollo, chicken, cooking, easy, fast, recipe, rice, weeknight meal | 1 Comment

kitchen inspiration

Posted on February 15, 2011 by jentarantino

Inspiration is sometimes hard to come by in this gray and drizzly place. After staring at all the ingredients in my fridge and eating takeout twice this week (horror of horrors!) I decided to jump start my culinary creativity in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged chopping, cooking, culinary, herbs, onions, vegetables, winter | 1 Comment

angel food for the devil in you

Posted on February 7, 2011 by jentarantino

it’s official… i’m in a funk. it might just be a case of the winter blahs or the fact that me and the husband are in desperate need of a little vacation, but i’m blue. i’m not much for wallowing … Continue reading →

Posted in desserts, recipes | Tagged angel food cake, cake, chocolate, dessert, food, orange, recipe, winter | Leave a comment

winter pear salad

Posted on January 26, 2011 by jentarantino

I’m pretty sure we all think of summer as the season for awesome salads, but in the heart of winter, there are just as many “in-season” fruits and vegetables to toss together and chase those cold weather blues away. This … Continue reading →

Posted in recipes, salads, vegetables | Tagged food, parmesan, recipe, salads, vegetables, winter | Leave a comment

carbonara classico

Posted on January 24, 2011 by jentarantino

Out for dinner with my sister last week, to get away from the husbands and the three year olds, our conversation, after talking about the husbands and three year olds of course, drifted to food and recipes. Big shocker there! … Continue reading →

Posted in pasta, pork, recipes | Tagged food, quick, recipe, spaghetti carbonara, winter pasta | Leave a comment

orzo in the style of risotto

Posted on January 18, 2011 by jentarantino

when it comes to cooking, all of us have that dish that we shy away from making because of its reputation as difficult. but just like most of the catholic school girls i know, that reputation is usually more myth … Continue reading →

Posted in pasta, recipes, side dishes | Tagged food, orzo, pasta, recipe, risotto | 2 Comments

simple salmon

Posted on January 15, 2011 by jentarantino

here in the great northwest, we eat a lot of salmon! so much so that it is really easy to grow tired of the tasty pink fish and yearn for a nice medium rare juicy ribeye slathered in bbq sauce! … Continue reading →

Posted in recipes, seafood | Tagged fish, food, recipe, salmon | Leave a comment