Sizzling Culinary Blogs ...

Blondee loves so many things in life! Here are just a few ....

August 2010: Elephant Bar Restaurant + my darling lunch date Lola + tempura shrimp roll and sweet potato fries = the best lunch you could have!

Elephant Bar Restaurant, 1500 Arden Way, Sacramento California 916-564-2526

July 2010: Blondee Cooking Comedy: Episode 2 + The Perfect Meatball Recipe + Blondee Moments = Cooking, Laughter, and Fun!

June 2010: Best Friends + Best Drinks + Best View, The Ocean = Pure Joy!

Being surrounded by strong women has colored my life. The women I have joyfully walked alongside have added richness and meaning to my days, especially my grandmother, Emma Jean, who died in 2004 at age 94. Her generous spirit resides in the women she left behind. I dedicated my first book to Emma Jean, my mother Laurie, and my daughter, Briana.

Emma Jean and Laurie gave me a legacy I have gratefully handed down to Briana. They taught me to cook. That may sound simple, but their gift encompasses tradition, richness, and love. From them I learned how to bring glamour into the kitchen, how to live, and how to be happy. We were four generations of strong women. Now we are three. But we continue to walk in the sand with Emma Jean, throwing her mink over our shoulders, looking glamorous and living richly.

Everyone can live richly by discovering what makes life worth living and embracing it. I invite you to take a journey with me, sharing in this exciting and fun ride with me and my fabulous friends. We'll be eating, drinking, and laughing along the way.

May 2010: Best shops + Best Food + Best Friends = Max's Grille

Enjoy Max's Grille in Boca Raton, Florida 561-368-0080
We enjoyed their fish tacos and Reuben.....yummy!!!!

April 2010: Rich + Yummy = Once in a blue moon treat!

This month's recipe is a sinfully rich seafood dish, inspired by my brother Don ... as featured in my first cookbook!

Sinfully Rich Seafood

Serves 4

This delightfully decadent rich seafood medley compliments any culinary adventure. Serve with the balance of your wine as an appetizer, an entree, or a midnight snack with a little bubbly to toast the stars.

You'll need:

One pound small scallops
One pound fresh small bay shrimp (or defrosted)
One pound crabmeat
Two tablespoons olive oil
Quarter cup sliced green onions
Quarter cup white wine
One half cup cream
One tablespoon chopped parsley
Quarter cup fresh graded Parmesan cheese
Quarter cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Saute green onions in two tablespoons olive oil.
Add scallops and cook for three minutes.
Add white wine and parsley.
Add cream (use as much as needed for desired consistency).
Add shrimp and crab.
Put into an 8x8 inch square glass pan.
Sprinkle cheeses over top and bake at 400F for 15 min.

If you can't get fresh seafood, use frozen! Defrost in the fridge at least four hours prior to preparation time. Slice the green onions at least a half inch in length to capture the flavors.

March 2010: Simple + Quick + Healthy = Fabulous!

This month's Blondee and Andrew Video features their yummy Chicken Salad Wraps recipe, along with tips, Simple, Quick and Healthy for a Fabulous creation! See their first video: Wrap it up With Blondee, Episode 1: Chicken Salad Wrap

Chicken Salad Wraps...

Serves 4

This easy cool recipe is great for those warming spring days and early hot summery days for that first picnic of the year or a lunch on the go. The key to this recipe is dicing up your ingredients as coarsely or as finely as you like for a yummy mingling of all these sweet flavors.

You'll need:

Two cooked chicken breasts
Two tablespoons of your favorite light mayonnaise to blend everything together
Half a cup (or one medium) tomato
Half a cup (or one small) red onion
Three tablespoons sliced almonds
One half a Granny Smith apple
Quarter cup red grapes
Half an English cucumber (imparts a sweet balance)
One petite sweet yellow pepper
And a dash of black pepper and salt to taste

Mix ingredients thoroughly, and spoon into your favorite wrap - this month we used an Italian Flatbread. Enjoy right away or chilled another day!

February 2010: Simple + Healthy + Nutritious = Delicious Meals!

One hundred and fifteen degrees. Sounds hot, doesn't it? If you're snowed in this chilly February, it sounds impossibly hot. And it is ... impossibly hot if you're a vegetable, because your nutrition is boiled, steamed, or fried clean away. Don't over cook your vegetables, no matter how cold it is out there!

Boiling? Steaming? Gone, gone, gone! Use your teeth to crunch into vegetables with a little "bite" left in them! Just prep your veggies of choice, then start a shallow or saute pan on heat with a drip of olive oil (yum!) and a slpash of water. Once it's hot, stir in your veggies for a few minutes (not long enough to reach that critical point of 115d!) and turn them out, crispy, flavorful, and still full of vitamins and nutrients on your plate! Better a little undercook than a little overcook ... leave in the yummy crunch!

Recipe of the Month: Garden beans with Garlic and Chilies ...

Serves 4

Healthy eating doesn't mean serving up bland, nearly inedible portions of unidentifiable ... stuff. With a few simple cooking methods combined with the large number of fresh healthy ingredients more widely available, I tuned up my grandmother's classic recipe to fit just about any green vegetable you'd like to try ... string beans, spinach, broccoli and broccoli rabe, zucchini and more!

When shopping for string beans, I prefer the loose beans - I can hand select the perfect beans for eating. The beans should be half the thickness of your pinky finger (or smaller), firm to the touch, are vibrantly green, and free of spots, markings, or blemishes. Don't be afraid to get your hands down in the pile, and feel around for the best beans - cooking with lovely beans for the guests, family, and friends you love!

To prep the beans for cooking, wash and snip the stem side of about a half pound of your beans (string, wax, long, French - mix it up!).

Heat your shallow or 10" saute pan on the stove - medium high (yes, you can use non-stick to make it easier!). Add the tablespoon of olive oil; when it's heated through, stir in a half tablespoon of chopped or sliced fresh garlic.

Once the garlic is slightly golden brown, add a pinch of chili flakes (or more if you can handle the "heat"!) and stir for half a minute, toasting the chili to perfection.

Add your prepared beans and a splash of water, stirring to prevent the garlic and beans from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Season with kosher or sea salt to taste.

Test the beans occasionally for donenesss, transferring to plates or a serving platter when they are still crisp, but coated well with garlic and spice.

This spicy green delight goes wonderfully with fish, beef, pork, and chicken, or as it's own side dish!

Enjoy from us,

Chef Andrew and Blondee!

_{Blondee Glamour in the Kitchen photography by Kim Fuller. Additional photography by Heather Braaten. Available through}