The Perfect Summer Recipe and You Too Will Feel Like Julie & Julia!

There’s just nothing like a little confidence in the kitchen! Too uncoordinated to dance or play an instrument, I began cooking at the age of 13---just for the fun of it. In those days Gourmet Magazine recipes averaged two hours for prep time. These days everything has to be do-able in under 30 minutes or it doesn’t stand a chance!
In order to qualify to ever be made again, a recipe has to be almost easy enough to remember. It has to be ready to eat within the hour. It has to so totally wow your taste buds you will want to expend the effort to make it again. And if you can make it for less than half of what it would cost you at a restaurant, all the better.

As far as being healthy, let’s face it, if it comes in a package, no matter what the label says, it just isn’t all that good for you! Even most labels that sell “organic” on the front label have all kinds of other ingredients on the back label. Anything that promotes low-fat means you won’t really be satisfied and will make up for those fat calories somewhere else, later on.

Better off to please your taste buds right up front. You’ll actually eat less in the long run when you get what you came to the table for in the first place!

My all-time favorite summer recipe is tomato bread or pizza bread. Better than any pizza I’ve ever eaten, this recipe was given to my mom from a chef who worked in a famous pizza restaurant in Chicago. We practically had to measure the slices to be sure ever one of us got our fair share! Cooking professionally, I’ve never met a kid who wouldn’t eat it, even kids who would never eat a tomato would eat tomato bread. With a baguette for its foundation, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and a few more key ingredients this crowd pleaser goes great with a Caesar salad and costs far less using the highest quality ingredients!

Now is the time to do it yourself. Get inspired. Cook like a pro in no time at all! You don’t need to go to the Cordon Bleu to cook like Julia Child. A crunchy French baguette, some "fromage", fresh tomatoes from your farmers market and you too will feel as satisfied as Julie & Julia.