Category Archives: CONDIMENTS

CARAMEL CORN, POPCORN, ELLA & OLLIE

Jane Helms’ recipe for caramel corn could be the best recipe for popcorn on the planet. But I’m jumping ahead. Before we get to the recipe, let me tell you about her son Matt Helms and his new popping hot business venture. Matt says that he loves family, farming, business, agriculture and marketing—passions that he […]

HOMEMADE for the HOLIDAYS

  Gift wrapped in sugar and spice and everything nice, Sweet Leisure brings you some sensational, truly terrific, and downright delicious recipes that you can make for happy holiday indulging. Click below for:   GOOD, GRAND AND GROOVY GOURMET GIFTS TO GIVE Peanut Butter cookies, Hot Cocoa Cake, Coffee Rub, Spiced Pecans, Sponge Candy and Pompelmocello. […]

SUNSHINE INN GARDEN OF EDEN SALAD

It’s been my favorite salad for at least 50 years. Through thick and thin; through Nouvelle, Fusion, California and New American Cuisines; through fast food, slow food, farm-to-table, ethnic and international cooking movements, I have loved the Sunshine Inn salad above all others. My sort of comfort food. My family thinks so as well. The […]

PIZZA BIANCA. PIZZA ROSSA. PIZZA PERFECTION.  

Lo and Behold—my photographer son, Mark Katzman, has started cooking. He’s not been interested before—and why should he have been, being married to a fabulous cook, Hilary Skirboll, who puts glorious meals on the table that would eclipse any effort on his part. Nevertheless he is cooking, but not just cooking ordinary stuff—he’s going for […]

TEQUILA: 10 TIPS FOR BUYING AND DRINKING

I was lost, but now I’m found. Lost in a murky, all-is-acceptable-when-it-comes-to-drinking-tequila-sort-of-a-way. But now my cup runneth over with knowledge. I credit Javier Moreno, the charming sommelier at the Grand Residences Riviera Cancun resort (located on the Caribbean coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula). Javier conducted a tequila tasting seminar for a few guests of the resort and, like the resort itself, the seminar couldn’t be better.

BEST EVER SUGAR BAKED HOLIDAY HAM RECIPE

Ta-Da! Drum roll please! And now, dear readers, I’m going to share my secret family recipe for the best ever (really really succulent and delicious) sugar baked holiday ham. BEST EVER SUGAR BAKED HOLIDAY HAM Yield: Plan on serving 1/2 to 3/4 pound per person, but buy enough to have leftovers. This ham makes fabulous […]

LUSCIOUS RECIPES FROM THE BEST OF THE BEST KITCHENS

The very best (no fooling), the most divine (really) recipes from people and places (all totally superlative) to make for gift giving. (Marvelous to the max!) COFFEE RUB SEASONING MIX A coffee and spice and everything nice recipe from Jim Leonardo, chef of Vinology, the spiffy wine-bar and restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Recipe HERE.   […]

CÁCERES, CULINARY CAPITAL OF SPAIN, 2015 & MIGAS

The food of Cáceres rocks! The restaurants are rad! The take-home edible souvenirs are wicked and wow! No wonder a jury composed of top representatives from Spain’s hotel, restaurant and publishing industries, declared the city “The Culinary Capital of Spain, 2015.” The city, in the province of the same name, sits in the sparsely populated […]

DESTINATION KOHLER AND THREE CHEESE SOUP

If you’re a golfer, a gardener and/or gourmet, Kohler is the place to be.If you’re an interior decorator, designer and/or plumber, Kohler is the place to be.If you love luxurious stays, fine restaurants, spa treatments, divine chocolates, Kohler is the place to be. Oh, let’s cut to the chase. If it’s spring, summer or fall, […]

BLUES CITY DELI & OLIVE SALAD

Doesn’t matter when you show up for lunch, even minutes after the doors open at 11 a.m. you’re apt to find long lines. Blues City Deli, located in St. Louis’s Benton Park neighborhood is a popular place. It’s also casual, comfortable, and party friendly—no doubt reflecting the casual, comfortable and party-fun personality of its food-and […]