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Introduction to “The Stone Soup Cook”

Hello! Thank you for visiting my blog! My name is Keri. I am an avid home cook who has some pretty cool equipment and about 30 years of experience cooking for everything from Thanksgiving dinners for 25, parties for 50 and simple meals on a daily basis. I live in a pretty small house in the Northern California that has a pretty big kitchen. I love to cook and I’m kinda fearless in the kitchen. …

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Kumquat Vinaigrette–So Good, I Made It Twice!

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! This week, I’m continuing my series on the “mother” sauces of California Cuisine. Since California Cuisine does not have an official list of foundational sauces, and I thought it should, I came up with the following sauces: mayonnaise, vinaigrette, salsa, Bernaise (or Hollandaise), pesto, soy sauce and basic tomato. Having covered mayonnaise in posts a couple of weeks ago, last week, I took …

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Balsamic Vinegar, the Rise and Fall of an Overused Condiment, and How to Find Peace With It

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! Today, I’m continuing my series on the foundational sauces of California Cuisine. In the last few weeks, I’ve shared recipes involving my first choice for a foundational sauce: mayonnaise. This week, I have started sharing thoughts and recipes on my second choice for a foundational sauce: vinaigrette. At its most basic, a vinaigrette is oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Olive oil and nut …

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Vinaigrettes: To Emulsify or Not to Emulsify–That Is the Question, and a Meditation on Oils and Vinegars, and an Admonishment about Balsamic Vinegar

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here! This week, I’m continuing my series on the “mother” sauces of California Cuisine. Since California Cuisine does not have an official list of foundational sauces, and I thought it should, I came up with the following sauces: mayonnaise, vinaigrette, salsa, Bernaise (or Hollandaise), pesto, chimichurri, soy sauce and basic tomato. In my posts for the last couple of weeks, I have featured …

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Vinaigrette: Introducing the Second Mother Sauce of California Cuisine, the Addition of Soy Sauce and Re-Thinking Chimichurri

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! A couple of weeks ago, I started my series on the “mother” sauces of California Cuisine. French Cuisine has five mother sauces: Veloute, Hollandaise, Espanole, Bechemel and Sauce Tomat. Since California Cuisine does not have an official list of foundational sauces, and I thought it should, I came up with the following seven sauces: mayonnaise, vinaigrette, salsa, Bernaise (or Hollandaise), pesto, chimichurri and …

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Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli or “Fry Sauce” for California Cuisine

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook! I’m really glad you’re here! Today, I’m continuing my series on the “mother” sauces of California Cuisine. This is my final recipe featuring my first choice for a mother sauce: mayonnaise. Please check out the last six or so posts to see other fun recipes using mayonnaise such as pesto aioli, honey-pecan prawns, tartar sauce and even a terrific chocolate-mayonnaise cake! While writing my series on …

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Chocolate-Mayonnaise Cake, Spring Weather and a Blazing Rainbow Display

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here! Here in Northern California, our early spring weather has been unsettled–rainy, cool, breezy one minute and bright sunshine the next. It’s been so dry that I’m certainly grateful for whatever rain we get. But hands-down, the best part of unsettled weather are the vibrant skies–almost like the sky is putting on a show! This picture really doesn’t do this gorgeous blaze of …

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Honey Pecan Prawns, the Seven Sauces of California Cuisine and More Fun With Mayonnaise

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m glad you’re here! Today, I’m continuing my series on the seven fundamental sauces of California Cuisine. While there is not a definitive list of foundational or “mother” sauces of California Cuisine, I am positing that they are the following: mayonnaise, vinaigrette, pesto, salsa, basic tomato sauce, Bernaise (or Hollandaise) and chimichurri sauce. This week, I started the series by sharing my recipe for a basic mayonnaise, …

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Tartar Sauce and the Seven “Mother” Sauces of California Cuisine Continued

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m glad you’re here! Today, I’m continuing my series on the seven fundamental sauces of California Cuisine. While there is not a definitive list of foundational or “mother” sauces of California Cuisine, I am positing that they are the following: mayonnaise, vinaigrette, pesto, salsa, basic tomato sauce, Bernaise (or Hollandaise) and chimichurri sauce. I started the series by sharing my recipe for a basic mayonnaise, followed by …

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Roasted Red Bell Pepper Aioli and Crab Cakes

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here! Today, I’m continuing my series on the seven foundational sauces of California Cuisine. While there is not a definitive list of foundational or “mother” sauces of California Cuisine, I am positing that they are the following: mayonnaise, vinaigrette, pesto, salsa, basic tomato sauce, Bernaise (or Hollandaise) and chimichurri sauce. I started the series by sharing my recipe for a basic mayonnaise, followed …

Weekly Menus

Pesto Aioli and a Super Veggie Sandwich Good Enough To Leave Your Loved One Speechless!

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here! Today, I’m continuing my series on the seven foundational sauces of California Cuisine. While there is not a definitive list of foundational or “mother” sauces of California Cuisine, I am positing that they are the following: mayonnaise, vinaigrette, pesto, salsa, basic tomato sauce, Bernaise (or Hollandaise) and chimichurri sauce. Last week, I started by sharing my recipe for a basic mayonnaise. It’s …