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  • Menus
    • Dinner
    • Lunch
  • Recipes
    • starters/first course
    • main courses
    • sides and salads
    • desserts
    • breakfast/brunch
    • drinks
  • Inspiration
    • The art of the table, and knowing which rules to break
    • how many and how much? how to estimate the right quantities for any meal
    • seating…or who sits where?
    • mindfulness…practice it everyday at the table
    • The challenge of timing or how to flawlessly get everything on the table
    • thoughts about manners, table and otherwise
  • About
  • Contact
  • Menus
    • Dinner
    • Lunch
  • Recipes
    • starters/first course
    • main courses
    • sides and salads
    • desserts
    • breakfast/brunch
    • drinks
  • Inspiration
    • The art of the table, and knowing which rules to break
    • how many and how much? how to estimate the right quantities for any meal
    • seating…or who sits where?
    • mindfulness…practice it everyday at the table
    • The challenge of timing or how to flawlessly get everything on the table
    • thoughts about manners, table and otherwise
  • About
  • Contact
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  • main courses

Main Courses

The main course recipes offer a variety of different cuisines that can serve as a starting point for you to create a perfect meal.

If you do not use one of my menus, and want to create your own, start with the main course and determine a first course and dessert that will complement it.

Lamb with cilantro, mint and honey

This is my go-to, and I never liked lamb until I had a version of this recipe at a dinner party. Wow!

swordfish with tomatoes & olives

The key is to check the fish while in the oven, grill or pan, and remove just before you think it is done – looking for the fish to be...

Orecchiette pasta with broccoli rabe & romanesco

Orecchiette pasta translates to pasta with “little ears” due to its round, squidgy shape.  The pasta is one of my favorites and not often seen on restaurant menus – not...

Spaghetti with creamy lemon sauce

Ahhh lemons, how I love them in almost anything. This is a very simple sauce that truly is all about the lemon flavor. 

Easy Cacio & Pepe Pasta

I have been making this pasta forever and am never disappointed.  With just a few ingredients – pasta, cheese, butter, olive oil, salt and ground pepper – you have a...

Chinese Hot Pot (Da Bin Low)

After looking through a few Asian cookbooks, I created my own version of the “Da Bin Low” or the Chinese hot pot tradition of cooking meat and vegetables in a...

bright and striking centerpieces with lemons

Love, love lemons!  And in California when the Meyer lemons come out in markets, I cannot resist buying lots of them.  The bright, yellow and...

one pan chicken with chorizo and potatoes

Anything I am able to put in the oven for a few hours and have a delicious meal without fuss is a winner.  This recipe in one of my favorites...

thinly sliced beef with arugula, tomatoes and pine nuts

I have a friend, Alexandra, from the Tyrolean area of Italy – a wonderful part of the world that blends the best of Italy and Austria.   She claims not to...

flavorful and fabulous brisket with lentils

Brisket is a cut of beef that requires long and slow cooking for its true wonders to be revealed.  You can make this a day...

heart-y grilled cheese

A combination of hot creamy tomato soup and heart-shaped grilled cheese is not only good for Valentine’s Day but anytime you want to have some whimsical fun. When we moved...

simple is beautiful, rose centerpiece

Creating a striking centerpiece does not have to be time-consuming or expensive.  Every once in a while, I love the beauty and simplicity (and tradition) of red roses. In a...

veal with prosciutto and sage (saltimbocca alla romana)

Literally the name of this Roman recipe means “jump in the mouth” referring to how delicious the meal tastes. Some people feel uncomfortable serving veal,...

my favorite rigatoni pasta with eggplant & ricotta sauce

In a perfect world, I would eat pasta at every meal…along with a crunchy, crispy salad…just pure happiness.  And rigatoni pasta is one of the best shapes of pasta! Rigatoni...

vietnamese chicken salad

Now this is a really good salad with its crunchy, salty, sweet and tart melange of flavors. The first time I made it was in a class with a cookbook...

deliciously good flank steak with cocoa-coffee rub

An easy seasoning made of cocoa, coffee and a bit of cayenne pepper for flank steak or any type of beef. Delicious!

minted lamb meatballs with fresh peas & asparagus

These lamb meatballs are light and delicious because of the blend of fresh mint and parsley.  It is best made in spring when fresh peas and asparagus are in full...

spiced up lamb Koofteh

I have made a lot of meatballs with beef, turkey, pork, and veal but Persian cuisine introduced me to the lamb meatball.  Each region has a different name for its...

turkey meatballs with pesto

I usually but spinach in meatballs but one day, I had no spinach and thought that pesto would be a good flavor to add to...

herby chicken & spinach meatballs

Meatball, meatball, what's not to like about these mouthfuls of chicken, spinach and a few spices.  The recipe has been taken from many different sources, and my original version is...

super moist and juicy turkey meatballs

Turkey is not meat that is often thought about outside of a holiday or on the occasional sandwich.  And when not cooked properly, it tends to be dry and tasteless....

slow cooked lamb with garlic and rosemary

Slow roasting lamb allows all the garlic and rosemary to work magic, plus the acidity of the malt vinegar and the sweetness of the brown...

the classic grilled filet steak

Grilling steak may take a few tries to master but the key is not to overcook, if anything, undercook because you can always cook it more. A good meat thermometer...

roasted chicken with herbs, potatoes and fennel

Roast chicken always perplexes me because I find the cooking temperature of a juicy, well done interior compared to the crispy, golden skin on the exterior a bit difficult to...

fabulous fish cakes

Fish cakes are delicious for a light and flavorful lunch or a starter course.  Slightly unexpected and always appreciated, it is hard to go wrong...

perfect balance of flavors

making it slowly – cooked carnitas

Mexican food is ideal meal for casual, fun get-togethers, especially if any kids are involved.   Fresh Mexican food is a crowd pleaser and carnitas are delicious and super easy.  The...

It’s pesto

Fresh basil has such a strong, wonderful fragrance.  It fills a room with its aroma and just begs to be put into some amazing dish....

rich and warm french onion soup

Having returned from a cooking class called ‘French Cooking at Home” at Sur La Table in San Francisco, I was reminded how delicious a hot, steamy dripping-with-cheese French onion soup...

crispy pork in lettuce cups with lime chili dressing

A recipe with lots of flavor and one that can be made well in advance- the flavors of the pork actually get better if made the day before. Served as...

An easy Lasagne

Why is this lasagne easier?  Because Bechamel sauce is eliminated and only a meat sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese is layered.  I prefer no Bechamel...

Marcella Hazan’s classic Bolognese sauce

Marcella Hazan is the author of the most popular Italian cookbook in the US, called Essentials of Italian cooking.  Her bolognes sauce, or ragù, is from northern Italy and contains...

the perfect meat sauce (for filling)

There are hundreds of different Bolognese sauces, also known as ragù.   This one is my own recipe that has been adapted over the years.  The use of two different type...

Pasta Bolognese sauce (Ragù)

There are hundreds of different Bolognese sauces, also known as ragù.   This one is my own recipe that has been adapted over the years.  The...

fresh and easy tomato sauce

This sauce is quite simple and is made with fresh cherry or baby tomatoes. I like to mini San Marzano Plum tomatoes but buy what is the freshest or easiest.

honey soy roasted salmon

I don’t remember when I first started making this dish and it has been changed and adapted over the years. Salmon is such a hearty, flavorful fish making it ideal...
Previous Entries

Barbara

Barbara

table&spoon is all about entertaining and bringing your friends and family around the table.

Born out of years in the hotel and restaurant industry, and love for entertaining, table&spoon brings you tricks, tips and the ‘art of the table’ to create more confident hosts.

And if you need advice with a party, from deciding a theme, to table settings and arrangements to menu selection, please contact me.

Buon appetito!
Barbara

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Next Cutlivate Trip 27th April 2023. DM. Email for more information @cultivate.food.friendship
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Oh the colors, which one do you love? Oh the colors, which one do you love?
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