#Sidedish

Dec 28, 2018
2 min

Charred Carrots with Pomegranate, Mint and Rosemary

Often with the new year comes a change in your eating habits. Whether it is part of your resolution for the next year or you are just trying to cleanse your body of all the sugar you enjoyed over the holidays, a healthier menu finds its way into most homes. The best way to make this healthier eating habit stick is by finding recipes that are healthy, delicious and easy. You need foods around the house that are easy to make and store so when your tummy grumbles you can make th

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Chili Lime Watermelon, Cucumber, and Feta Skewers

Chef Lettie

Jul 23, 2018
2 min

Chili Lime Watermelon, Cucumber, and Feta Skewers

I have to admit that I am not a big fan of watermelon myself, but it is a summer staple so I have been playing around with it a bit this summer. The more recipes I create, the more that I am enjoying it. So now I'm actually eating watermelon sometimes. I never thought that would happen. I've always loved the synthetic watermelon flavor in gum or candy, but not the fruit itself for some reason. One of the things that I like about watermelon is that it has a subtle flavor so it

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Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon and Red Onion

Chef Lettie

Jun 14, 2018
2 min

Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon and Red Onion

This is a flavor packed sweet potato recipe that I make every summer. I often make it for the 4th of July and it gets gobbled up. Not only is it easy and filled with flavor, it can also be enjoyed both cold or warmed, so really this is a great year round dish. It is based on a Bobby Flay recipe that I found years and years ago. If you don't like vinegar, cut back, because this is a vinegar forward dish. Feel free to sub in red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar as well if yo

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Chef Lettie

Jun 8, 2018
2 min

Easy Foil Roasted Greek Potatoes

With a 20 month old and a growing business I love easy dinner ideas as much as the next person. I recently put this one together for a client. Nothing groundbreaking here, but delicious and great for any time of the year. You could do these in the oven or on the grill since they are wrapped in foil. Feel free to play with the ingredients too. These would be great with some fresh rosemary and balsamic vinegar topped with a little goat cheese. Yum, I have to try that now. My mo

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Chef Lettie

Jan 26, 2018
1 min

Buffalo Blue Cheese Slaw

This was a recipe that I created many years back. Well before becoming a personal chef. Since then, my family takes it upon themselves to throw this together for every family occasion throughout the summer. It is a recipe that fits many dietary restrictions, which makes it perfect for a summer or football potluck. Many people do not like coleslaw or at least the flavor of the sauce. I am one of those people that is very particular about my coleslaw. Since I love cabbage and

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Chef Lettie

Aug 2, 2017
2 min

Brown Butter Garlic Zucchini

When you have a garden, you often end up with an abundance of one vegetable. For some reason our zucchini plants like to produce all of their zucchini in a two week period and then die. So we have a ton of zucchini for a little while every summer. I try to find creative ways to enjoy it, so that we don't grow sick of zucchini. I stuff it, grill it, saute it, you name it, I've probably tried it. This recipe is adapted from one that my friend Nicole showed me many years ago. In

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Chef Lettie

Jun 2, 2017
3 min

7 Fun Summer Recipes

There are so many wonderful things about summer foods. First, we get to enjoy so many fresh ingredients with all of the fruits and veggies that go straight from the farm to our homes. Or better yet, straight from the garden. Farmers markets are filled with delicious food that you just can't get the rest of the year. Those strong, fresh flavors mean that cooking can be simple. Just let the ingredients do the talking. Second, food helps to define a lot of the fun activities we

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Summer Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pasta Salad

Chef Lettie

May 23, 2017
2 min

Summer Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pasta Salad

I started making this pasta salad more than 10 years ago and I still enjoy it today. I have made it recently for wedding showers since a makes a great addition to spring and summer buffets. It is also great for a tea party affair if you want something a little more substantial for your friends to enjoy. Want to add even more flavor to this salad? This is a meatless dish, but you can add 2 -3 cups of shredded cooked chicken and it can be more of a main dish. If you have the ti

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Broccoli Rabe Salad with Lemon, Basil, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

Chef Lettie

Apr 27, 2017
2 min

Broccoli Rabe Salad with Lemon, Basil, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

The first time I created this recipe I used shaved asparagus in it. While shaving the asparagus can be time consuming, you don't need to even blanch it because the shavings are so tender. You just shave it, mix together the rest of the ingredients and you are done. I recently had a client ask if I could use a different vegetable in the salad instead so I tried the broccoli rabe. I have to admit, I generally don't like broccoli rabe. It is too bitter for me. But I loved it in

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Chef Lettie

Mar 24, 2017
2 min

Orange Roasted Cauliflower

I love roasting vegetables both at home and for my clients throughout the year, although I do it a little less in the summer. During the warm months I prefer the grill if I can get it. Roasting helps to bring out all the delicious flavors in the vegetables while with ruining the texture and making them mushy. Roasted vegetables also keep well, which is important when I am cooking for clients. I suggest you roast up a big batch of this cauliflower when you have time and then y

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Chef Lettie

Mar 13, 2016
2 min

St. Patrick's Day Favorites

St Patrick's day has always been one of my favorite holidays. Not just because corned beef is one of my favorite foods, it is also because of the way my family would celebrate it every year. My grandmother was always decked out head to toe in green. I don't just mean the way people normally do, she would have on a bright green wig, green stockings, green shoes with curly toes and a green top. Every year she would change it up a little and maybe add some green eyelashes, but n

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Chef Lettie

Feb 18, 2016
2 min

Brown Sugar Butter Acorn Squash

This simple side dish is perfect for both fall and winter. My only problem this year has been finding fresh squash in the store. Has anyone had that issue this year? One time I couldn't find acorn squash so I cut butternut squash into rounds and used that instead. It wasn't as sweet but it was still delicious. If you want to make this simple recipe even simpler, you could do it in the microwave. It wouldn't get as brown and caramelized but it would be quicker. If you are like

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Chef Lettie

Nov 14, 2015
3 min

My Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and while every family has their traditional recipes that they love to cook every year, it can be fun to find one or two new ones to switch in every once in a while. This definitely makes it more exciting for the cook and hopefully more exciting for the guests as well. The key is to make sure the new dish is so delicious that they don't miss their boring old side that they have had a million times. There aren't that many traditional d

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Chef Lettie

Sep 9, 2015
2 min

Hoisin Glazed Baby Bok Choy

There is something about baby bok choy that excites both my husband and I, every time I cook it. At first I thought it was just because baby bok choy is hard to find so we didn't have it very much. However, now that I live closer to a Wegmans (the grocery store above all other grocery stores), I can get it whenever I want and we still get excited about it. It is easier to find the regular sized bok choy, but I'm not as big of a fan. There is something about the crunchy stalks

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Lettie@LeaveDinnertoLettie.com

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Arnold, MD

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