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Shockinglydelicious Drool-worthy, scrumptious, crazy-good recipes for people who love big flavors! What's for dinner? Visit www.shockinglydelicious.com

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We look impossibly chic in this artist's sketch of us from a magical garden party in our post-fire neighborhood. It was ...
05/28/2026

We look impossibly chic in this artist's sketch of us from a magical garden party in our post-fire neighborhood. It was at the home of Realtor , who helped us rent our current half-duplex. We loved visiting with new-to-us neighbors, basking in the Santa Monica spring day, and picking the lively brain of his talented garden designer, . She's an encyclopedia of info on bees, plants, sustainable gardening and living, and being a good steward of the land. I aspire to be her one day.

05/03/2026

Looking for amusement where we can...even in the ti**le zone!

05/02/2026

Cinco de Mayo-ish kits that make celebrating easy! And we should be doing easy, eh? You could buy all these ingredients separately of course, or hit the easy button and get the kit.

Even if you're simply reheating a frozen bean burrito or making nachos in the air fryer, you still want/need salsa and guac, right?

DINNER IDEA: Going with the flow of leftovers, tonight's dinner is freezer magic! You know, the kind where you fling ope...
05/01/2026

DINNER IDEA: Going with the flow of leftovers, tonight's dinner is freezer magic! You know, the kind where you fling open the freezer and say, "What needs using?"

It's a green bean, tortellini, Italian-ish masterpiece, and it was delicious!
--frozen green beans (cook half done in a skillet with a small bit of water, lid on)
--add in frozen tortellini, lid back on
--splash in leftover jarred pasta sauce just to coat, lid on for a couple of minutes
Plate it into a wide, shallow bowl.
--use a kitchen shears to snip on some salami from the cheese drawer (Cutco Cutlery makes my fave kitchen shears)
--snip on a few chunks of fresh mozzarella (bought on super-sale at Ralphs )
--sprinkle on a few pinches of grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan
Run it into the microwave to make sure the mozz is melted.
Snip fresh basil on top, if you have it in your garden.

That's it! Call it good (truly delish!), call it done, call it dinner!

Cutco Cutlery

DINNER IDEA: Can we normalize easy dinners? Like the kind where you open the fridge and use what you have left over? Ton...
05/01/2026

DINNER IDEA: Can we normalize easy dinners? Like the kind where you open the fridge and use what you have left over? 

Tonight's dinner is my leftovers:

--a piece of cornbread, split into a shallow bowl (I used a corn muffin mix to bake it a few days ago)
--cover it with leftover chili
--sprinkle on some shredded cheddar or whatever cheese you have around (mozz? Jack? pepper Jack? fontina? havarti?)
Stick the bowl in the microwave to heat the chili and cheese on top of the chili. 

Garnish with:
--chopped onion
--chopped avocado

That's it! Call it good (it really was!), call it done, call it dinner! 

A signal of spring in my So Cal yard has been the arrival of kumquats on the tree. They’re nature’s sweet-tart candy, wi...
04/28/2026

A signal of spring in my So Cal yard has been the arrival of kumquats on the tree. They’re nature’s sweet-tart candy, with a sour inside and impossibly sweet skin. Pop the whole thing in your mouth for an incredible flavor explosion!

So when Cutco Cutlery asked me to show you a spring recipe using one of their paring knives, I was all in! I’m a paring knife fan because I can make precise cuts, have lots of control as to thickness, and do things like flick seeds away easily. This Santoku-Style 3-inch Paring Knife is truly the cat’s meow.

I have been making candied kumquats, a 2-ingredient recipe that is waaay more than the sum of its parts. Simply slice kumquats thinly, deseeding as you go. Put them in a small jar and cover with honey. Put the jar in the refrig and ignore it for a couple of days. When you come back to it, you’ll see the kumquats have given up their juice, honey has permeated the fruit, and you are left with sweet kumquats and a tangy sweet-sour syrup.

Here's what I do with them:
--lay candied kumquat slices on avocado toast.
--use them on a bowl of rice pudding, ice cream, cottage cheese or yogurt. Drizzle with some of the syrup.
--dice candied kumquats and sprinkle into a green salad, grain bowl or even a tuna salad, for a pop of sweet and tart.
--eat straight from the jar like a little candy!
--lay atop a grilled lamb chop or chicken.
--use the syrup to flavor a mocktail or cocktail. Try with gin, rum or tequila, or tonic water or plain sparkling water.
--Basically, I use them whenever I need a little spark in my dish, whether it is a sweet or savory recipe.

Swipe through the photos to see how easy this is to make, and how effortless it is to make those thin slices you need. I’m pulling this knife out for lots of other recipes, too. Stay tuned for more of them.

And as you may know, I’m a longtime Cutco fan for their superior quality, balanced feel in my hand, practicality and the fact they are American-made (in New York state) and offer free sharpening. They’re knives you can, and will, pass down through the generations, a knife-legacy if you will. Score!

Cinco de Mayo is coming up, and I have a new fresh salsa that's going to be the hit of your get-together. It's called Tr...
04/27/2026

Cinco de Mayo is coming up, and I have a new fresh salsa that's going to be the hit of your get-together. It's called Tropical Fruit Salsa, and I tasted it at a Cinco de Mayo-themed lunch at Melissa's Produce last week. We couldn't get enough! The easy recipe is below. Use a sharp knife to chop everything, or if you have one of those veggie dicer gizmos, use that.

It makes a great dip with tortilla chips, but would also be good as a condiment on tacos, wrapped inside a burrito, or atop a nice piece of grilled fish or chicken.

Tropical Fruit Salsa

1/4 of a white or yellow onion, diced small
1 Serrano chile, seeded and finely minced
4 ripe Roma tomatoes, diced small
1 cup pineapple, diced small
1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded, diced small
3/4 cup jicama, peeled, diced small
5 ounces pomegranate arils
1 lime
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Pinch kosher salt, to your taste
Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, add the onion, chile and tomatoes.
2. Add the pineapple, mango, jicama and pomegranate arils.
3. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into the bowl.
4. Add the cilantro and salt and mix well.
Recipe Note
--A sharp knife will yield prettier cuts and slow the juices from running, maintaining freshness and appearance. Or use your veggie dicer if you have that gadget.
--The ingredients can be cut earlier the same day and stored in separate containers or zipper bags, then combined and seasoned just prior to serving.
Makes about 4 cups salsa.

As usual, Melissa's Produce distributes all the produce, which you can find at grocery stores.

04/02/2026

Scamper over to Neighborly, the new restaurant in Brentwood (SoCal), for the cutest Swedish Easter candies!

They're sweet and sour, sweet and tangy, chewy, soft, puffy and wonderful! They're from Sockerbit, and as candy goes, they're pretty darn clean. No artificial colors or flavors, no trans fats or high fructose corn syrup, and GMO-free. (You won't miss any of that stuff.)

While you're at Neighborly, a brand new fast-casual place on San Vicente Blvd. that officially opens tomorrow (Fri. April 3), you can also grab some lunch or dinner, but this Easter weekend, I'm lasered in on that candy!

My faves so far are the red striped, and those little puffy flower heads. But give me a minute and I might have some new faves as I work my way through. The Easter bunny is going to have to fight me for this plate.

Sweeeeet!

Cookie of the week! These easy Coconut Cereal Cookies will use pantry staples, and they're sort of half bar cookie, half...
03/30/2026

Cookie of the week! These easy Coconut Cereal Cookies will use pantry staples, and they're sort of half bar cookie, half candy. 100% !

Coconut Cereal Cookies 
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded or grated coconut (aka desiccated coconut)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup cornflakes
1/2 cup puffed rice cereal (like Rice Krispies)
3 tablespoons mild olive oil (or 4 tablespoons butter)
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
Pinch salt

Heat oven to 350F.  Line a 7x5-inch baking dish with parchment, leaving the 2 long sides overhanging for easy removal later. You could use a loaf pan if you like.

In a mixing bowl, combine coconut, oats, cornflakes and rice cereal.

In a small pot, add oil, honey and sugar and heat on medium until everything is melted. Allow it to come to a boil and boil for a minute or so, stirring often. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt; stir well.

Pour liquid into dry ingredients and quickly mix well to combine. Scrape it into the prepared pan and use a cup to press it firmly down in the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until it’s browned on top, then remove it from oven and allow it to cool completely. If you try to cut it before it cools, it will break into granola-size clumps. (Honestly, you may prefer it in clumps, who knows!)

Recipe source: I slightly adapted from Laura Bentley on Facebook, who says she got it from her sister, who got it from vj_cooks. Like almost all recipes, the good ones get handed down again and again, eh?

03/18/2026

A new cookbook by Chef George Geary, called “Citrus, Illustrated” has given me my favorite new versatile meal. Caribbean Black Bean Mandarin Salad is good for dinner and then you want to win the arm-wrestle for leftovers for lunch the next day. It’s fresh and bright, with a spark of cilantro, cumin and mustard. It starts out vegan, but can be chickened-up if you need a more substantial meal.

Don’t miss your chance to use Ojai Pixie tangerines in here. They’re from Ojai, So Calif. and the best, sweetest little nuggets of joy, in season right now.

Caribbean Black Bean Mandarin Salad

DRESSING:
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 tangerine or mandarin
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, finely minced

SALAD:
3 tangerines or small mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped

OPTIONAL: Cooked rice or shredded lettuce, for serving

Put dressing ingredients into a big salad bowl and whisk. Add tangerine segments, black beans, cilantro and onion and stir to combine. Serve over rice, or shredded lettuce, or eat it as-is or as a side dish to something else (fish?). Serves 2-3.

NEW IDEAS: serve with sliced grilled chicken to protein-it-up. Add sliced radish or avocado chunks on top. You cannot go wrong!

Recipe from “Citrus, Illustrated” by George Geary Ccp; Ojai Pixies from Melissa's Produce

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