Sunday, October 14, 2012
Simple & good: roasted corn salad and gazpacho soup.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Carol Frey
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Sunday, October 14, 2012
Not long ago Johns Creek resident Leslie Guria was looking for a new career. After running a home-based marketing company she was ready for something that would get her out of the house and off the phone. Since cooking is a primary love of Guria’s it was no stretch for her to consider that for a career. To achieve her goal she obtained a certificate from the American Association of Private Chefs. She is now running a successful business as a personal chef which she enjoys very much as do her clients. She says that for most of her clients she cooks twice per week, making portions large enough for them to have leftovers. The jobs allows her to practice her creative cooking skills while giving her the flexibility to be at home for her 13 and…
Sunday, October 7, 2012
When Joan Doyle’s children were growing up, their favorite dish for her to make was her macaroni and cheese.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Carol Frey
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Sunday, October 7, 2012
Joan Doyle grew up in Buckhead and moved to Johns Creek in 1992 as one of the first residents of her neighborhood. She raised five children here, two step children and three of her own. Now she’s the proud grandmother of 10. Needless to say, she has done a lot of cooking over the years and she’s very good at it. When she was growing up she didn’t do much cooking because, as she explained, her mom liked to have the kitchen to herself. But some years later, when her parents had a son 17 years Doyle’s junior, her mom decided she’d like some help in the kitchen after all. That’s when Doyle first learned of her own love of cooking. After being married for six years, Doyle’s began taking a gourmet cooking class taught by a friend of hers. She …
Sunday, September 9, 2012
In part two of the Kimballs in the kitchen, Drew Kimball shares his flair for cooking for family and friends.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Carol Frey
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Sunday, September 9, 2012
A week ago we highlighted Christy Kimball as she shared how she plans meals and gets them on the table for her family of four. Some of the meals that she plans are prepared by husband Drew who loves to get into the kitchen and bring his creativity to many recipes. Just the opposite of Christy, who enjoys the security of following a good recipe, Drew prefers to come up with his own combination of spices and sauces to add a tasty flair to what he cooks. Everyone who eats what he prepares is happy with the results. Kimball commented that, “For me cooking is a way to show people that I care. It's like so often in the bible when people use food as a method of showing care. Jesus himself used food to show God's love (you know bread, fishes, …
Sunday, September 2, 2012
This is the first of a two-part column about Drew and Christy Kimball who divide and conquer cooking tasks to provide tasty meals for their family. This week features Christy in the kitchen.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Carol Frey
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Sunday, September 2, 2012
Christy Kimball began cooking in earnest during her years at college when she and her roommates decided to each take a turn cooking one night per week. With a binder of her mom’s favorite recipes she set out into the world of meal preparation. Kimball, who lives with her husband Drew and two children just outside of Johns Creek, explains that she likes the structure of having a good recipe to follow when she cooks. Kimball says that, “I enjoy following a recipe and seeing it turn out well. As long as I have a good recipe I’m good to go.” With two young children to care for, Kimball prefers to keep cooking as simple as possible. “I like to use primarily ingredients that I normally have in my pantry.” She also likes to make meatloaf and …
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Keep it simple, keep it good; complement your meal by bringing rice to the table.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Carol Frey
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Sunday, August 19, 2012
Choosing a main dish to serve at a meal is the primary goal of most of us as we plan our menus. But there’s more to a meal than a chicken breast or a slab of meatloaf. You might want something to go along with your protein, and rice is a great accompaniment. Rice is low in cost and if you choose brown rice then it is a whole grain. Rice is good along side any protein and makes a delicious base for vegetable entrees as well. The rice casserole recipe below is one that I have been serving for over 30 years, often getting requests for the recipe...so here it is. I like this recipe because it’s simple and cooks in the oven (if you remember to put it in the oven) while you are preparing the rest of the meal. Choose the broth that you use for …
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Avery Baxter gained many good cooking skills from her mom and grandmother. Now that she’s married she’s enjoying putting all that she’s learned into practice, and with delicious results.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Carol Frey
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Sunday, August 5, 2012
Avery Baxter has been watching her mom and grandmother cook since she was a girl. Not only did she watch them, she enjoyed working in the kitchen with them during the holidays and for special events. Last October Baxter married her husband Cody and is loving her new role as wife. She’s happy to be preparing meals for the two of them. Baxter mentioned that, “I love cooking for someone else to enjoy the food and Cody likes my cooking.” Sounds like a good set-up. As a Johns Creek teacher, Baxter is a busy lady most of the year. She says she has really had fun cooking this summer while school has been out. She’s made a lot of new dishes lately. She especially likes preparing the main dishes for her meals and side dish casseroles like rice and …
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Help yourself to some cool and creamy summertime desserts. The thing that both of these recipes have in common is whipped topping.
- PATCH'S HOUSE & HOME
- Carol Frey
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Sunday, July 29, 2012
Okay, okay I know what you might be thinking, “Why are you touting whipped topping? A real cook would whip her own cream. How lazy can you get?” Um, pretty lazy. Look at it this way; you’re in a hurry (imagine that), you want a good dessert and you want it fast. Enter, stage left, whipped topping. Please know that if you prefer to whip your own cream for these recipes you can definitely do that. I’ve been making the refrigerator fruit pie below for over 30 years and nobody’s complained, except when it’s gone. For that recipe, if I wanted to invest extra time it would be with a homemade crust instead of a store bought one. Enjoy your summer, whip out the topping and make a quick, easy and delicious dessert. The Oreo Ice Cream dessert is …
Sunday, July 15, 2012
These recipes will get you to eat your broccoli.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Carol Frey
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Sunday, July 15, 2012
Broccoli, broccoli, broccoli; how do you get folks to eat it? You can cook it and smother it with butter and/or cheese, but that still may not make it winsome enough for some of your more picky eaters. Summer is a great time to take this fresh vegetable and turn it into a tasty salad featuring broccoli and a lot of its closest friends playing important parts, such as the extra and exciting flavor parts. Serving broccoli like this makes it a winner to many previous broccoli detractors. Below are two broccoli salad recipes that I think will be a hit with your family and friends. The first recipe is courtesy of Monique Vinski of Johns Creek. The second is from me and can be found, with a bunch of other good recipes, in my cookbook Have You …
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Alec Brown is one busy guy. He not only loves to cook but he’s working on a cookbook and why not? At 9 years old, the world is your oyster; or in his case, your oyster stew.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Carol Frey
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Sunday, July 8, 2012
When he was young-er, around 2 years old, Alec Brown of Johns Creek liked nothing better than playing with his large box filled with toy food. At that age he pretended to cook and serve the food and now, sometimes with an assist from dad, he cooks and serves the real thing. Not only did Alec enjoy playing with food as a toddler, he loved to eat it as well. You name it, he’d try it. As a first grader when other kids wanted to go to McDonald's for chicken nuggets he would request to go to his favorite Thai restaurant for some pad thai. Alec has been inspired by his parents, especially his dad who enjoys some gourmet cooking. Also, he loves spending time in the kitchen with the family’s good friend Gail Clarke, a caterer who was featured in …
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Fire up the grill for a 4th of July cookout.
- PATCH'S HOUSE & HOME
- Carol Frey
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Sunday, July 1, 2012
There is nothing better than a good, juicy hamburger hot off the grill. With this in mind, the most important ingredient for that burger is your ground meat. Oh wait, it’s the only ingredient. Beef come with it’s own “flavor packets.” Those packets are the droplets of fat marbled through the meat. For those of you cringing right now, the good news is that much of that fat drips away as it cooks, leaving the great flavor in your burger. That is why you will get more flavor by using ground chuck instead of ground round or sirloin for your hamburgers. You can combine a mixture of those cuts for a leaner burger, but don’t leave the chuck out altogether. Another desirable attribute of a good burger is having it end up flat instead of in a ball…
Laura Wilson
10:23 am on Sunday, October 7, 2012
Yum this was my favorite dish my mom Joan Doyle made it for every birthday growing up with green peas and rolls! I now mother of two hungry boys have carried on the delicious tradition' go mom ! I learned all my gourmet cooking with mom she and I love to cook! more ›