the original island hotel’s tropical salad + dressing

“The Island Hotel Restaurant is where this dish originated. Created by Bessie Gibbs who owned the hotel from 1946 to 1973, this fresh salad is garnished with seasonal fruits, and served with the original dressing, fresh hearts of palm, and sugared dates.” ~ from the Island Hotel’s website There’s a beautiful, historical hotel in Cedar…

easy pumpkin cake

~ easy pumpkin cake ~ 1 (15 oz.) can pure pumpkin puree 3 large eggs 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup light olive oil or vegetable oil 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 box yellow cake mix (I used French vanilla) 1 heaping Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice Combine all and mix with an electric or…

gracie’s oreo cookie & cream cupcakes

My daughter Grace made up a batch of these in her Intro to Culinary Arts class. They’re delicious and so easy to prepare! The cream cheese frosting is perfect on these little confections. for the cupcakes: ~ preheat oven to 350 degrees F. ~ 1 boxed white cake mix 3 large eggs 1/2 cup real…

creamy lemon poppy seed chicken

Mmmmmm! Oh, yeah! This is my idea of comfort food. This chicken is super creamy and rich. It’s perfect with a cold, crisp tossed salad and a little baguette. So many of the creamy chicken casseroles out there call for condensed, canned cream soups. Honestly, they’re so bad for you! Most of them contain tons…

the original frontier inn salad

There use to be a restaurant in Wickenburg, AZ called The Frontier Inn owned by a man named Vic Comer. He was famous for his smoked meats… and this amazing salad. We just love it with grilled steak or chicken! yield: 8 servings 6 slices thick cut bacon 1 large clove garlic, minced 2 cups…