Welcome to Tim and Victor’s Totally Joyous Recipes

We have recipes from family reunions, heart-healthy from the ’90s, artery-clogging from the ’60’s, rustic breads, gooey desserts, hundreds of recipes from friends and family, quick and easy ideas, and whatever we decided to pull together for dinner.

Eclectic, to say the least.

And eclectic really does sum up what it’s all about – fun food for fun people with something for any occasion.

Peruse the site and have some fun! There are several thousand recipes just waiting for you!

Victor in the Kitchen

The 47th Anniversary of My 21st Birthday

I guess most people have at least a vague recollection of their 21st birthday. It is a right of passage, after all... I spent my 21st birthday floating a few miles off the coast of California. I was still in

Victor in the Kitchen

Frozen Fish

I think the biggest issue with buying frozen fish is the inconsistency in size. It is sooooo convenient to open the freezer and pull out perfectly vacuum-packed packages of seafood - but there are, inevitably, portion issues that aren't always

Victor in the Kitchen

Porchetta

Victor has been wanting to make a porchetta for the longest time... For the uninitiated, a porchetta is a stuffed and rolled pork roast of Italian origin. There are as many regional variations in Italy as there are ways to

Tim in the Kitchen

Pizza

It's no secret that I made hand-spun pizzas in my youth. I worked at Pirro's for six years, one month, twelve days, and an hour. I started off in high school as a delivery boy, became the dishwasher, prep cook,

Tim in the Kitchen

Flour Power

Flour has not been easy to find in our local grocers. Pre-pandemic, we baked a lot - and we've been baking even more since the onset. Seems everyone else is, too. Early on, we were able to score a 25 pound

Both of Us in the Kitchen

The Evolution of a Roast

An eye of the round roast is not, necessarily, the most tender of cuts - they're too lean. On the other hand, they're relatively inexpensive and you can do a lot with them. Day One I took a 2 1/2 pound roast

Both of Us in the Kitchen

A Strange Few Months...

Calling this a strange few months is the ultimate understatement. The pandemic has hit us harder than most people with the death of Victor's mother, but we've been spared the fear that far too many have of how to pay their

Victor in the Kitchen

Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi

Pandemics definitely have a way of bringing out creativity in the kitchen... The days of 'what would you like for dinner?' have been replaced with 'what do we have that we can make for dinner?' A nuanced difference, but a difference

Desserts

Coconut Cookies

I made gelato the other day... I hadn't used the ice cream maker in 2 years, so I thought it time. It's amazing what being in the house 24/7 will do for your creative juices - and waistline. The gelato recipe

Victor in the Kitchen

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

Well... I must say, Victor has done it, again! An absolutely delicious dinner using a few simple ingredients from the cupboard. I'm not sure who named a pasta dish after a bunch of working women, but it's a delicious meal, regardless

Desserts

Coconut Custard Pie

It's Victor's Birthday, and what better way to celebrate than with a pie?!? Birthday Pie has a long tradition in my family. I don't quite remember when, but at some point, Birthday Pies replaced Birthday Cakes with my siblings. My birthday

Tim in the Kitchen

Korean Meatballs

Right now, the two main proteins in the freezer are chicken and ground beef. In my quest to find something new and different to make with the ingredients on hand, I headed off to the NY Times cooking site for

Both of Us in the Kitchen

Caramelized Onion Crostata

We tend to use a lot of onions in our house. Along with garlic, carrots, and celery, they seem to go into everything. Victor kept looking at the onion stash, visualizing an onion tart. As soon as he mentioned it, our

Tim in the Kitchen

Founding Farmers

It's a well-known fact that Victor and I don't go out to eat very often. We love to eat, but we also both like to cook and we enjoy the comfort of eating at home. That being said, I think we

Victor in the Kitchen

Broiled Cod and Tomato Salad

Victor came into the office, this morning and said I needed a break form cooking - he was going to do dinner, tonight. I am never one to argue, so I readily agreed. I don't mind cooking - in fact,

Tim in the Kitchen

Corona Cooking

We're definitely not going hungry at our house. Last time I was grocery shopping in the real world was 2 weeks ago when I was at my favorite Trader Joe's. I did an online order from Wegmans through InstaCart and

Both of Us in the Kitchen

Pasta and Bread

Around 2:30 yesterday afternoon, Victor asked what I was planning for dinner... I had taken a pork tenderloin out of the freezer and was going to braise it with some cherry tomatoes. He said how about some pasta? and I

Victor in the Kitchen

Sunday Breakfast

A couple of pantry staples and 20 minutes of your time can make sheltering in place downright pleasant - especially when someone else is doing the cooking! Victor has wanted to make Dutch Baby's for a while, now - and this

Tim in the Kitchen

Isolation Cooking

Grocery shopping has certainly changed... Gone are those leisurely treks to the store, meandering up and down the aisles without a care in the world... Nowadays, it's closer to a Mad Max movie - trying to get in and out as

Tim in the Kitchen

Rigatoni with Chickpea, Almonds, Ricotta, and Speck

I've been going through the cupboard to find fun and new things for dinner... I'm not grocery shopping as often as I used to and crazy times call for creative thinking. One thing we have in abundance, right now, are garbanzo

Victor in the Kitchen

Linguine and Sausage

I picked up a family-sized package of Hot Italian Sausage at the grocery store the other day. The store-brand sausage is not my personal favorite, but... with slim pickin's in the store, one cannot be too particular about some things... On

Bread, Tim in the Kitchen

Irish Country Bread

The great white flour shortage of 2020 is about to come to an end at our house - I have an order in to Adluh in Columbia, South Carolina for a delivery on Saturday. We have a reasonably well-stocked pantry,

Tim in the Kitchen

Making Substitutions

The other day, Sam Sifton, the NY Times Food Editor, wrote a great article on cooking with confidence. We’re all looking for the delicious, and recipes are a good way to find it. But the idea that you have to follow

Tim in the Kitchen

Grocery Shopping in an Apocalyptic World

I wasn't ready to hit the local Giant at 6 ayem for the Senior Shopping, this morning, so I thought I'd hit Wegmans when they opened at 7. I got there a few minutes before and the line had already

Tim in the Kitchen

Meals in the Time of Cholera

... with apologies to Gabriel García Márquez ... Who knew that going grocery shopping would become such an ordeal? Having retired after almost 17 years in groceries, I thought I had seen it all - the frenzy of the days before Thanksgiving,

Bread, Victor in the Kitchen

Shrimp Ravioli and Sourdough Bread

We're still cooking and eating - it's just that there hasn't been a lot that has been truly remarkable, lately. Looking back over the archives, how many times can I write about a particular dish? So... when Victor said he wanted to

Desserts, Victor in the Kitchen

Sicilian Almond Lemon Cake

I guess it's no longer much of a secret that we're putting the house on the market and moving west. It's been a fun run, but 19 years on the east coast is enough. Vancouver, Washington, here we come! Vancouver is

Both of Us in the Kitchen

Cauliflower Bolognese

I received my latest Bon Appetit magazine the other day and found a recipe that intrigued me - Cauliflower Bolognese. It was especially timely as I had just bought a head of cauliflower with no particular idea in mind -

Victor in the Kitchen

Happy New Year

The meal is different but this is a reprint of last year's New Year's Eve post... I can only wax poetically about new years so much... If my mom ever cooked anything special for the new year, I really don’t remember

Bread

Breadsticks

Victor's making homemade pasta, so I decided to make some breadsticks. My first thought was a loaf of crusty bread, but we'll be having one of those on Tuesday with our Crab Cioppino. Yes, our Christmas Eve tradition continues... I already

The Cookbook Collection

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

FAMILY

AND

FRIENDS

This is a collection of recipes from family and friends, TV personalities, and stuff just found along the way.

There are handwritten recipes from long-gone relatives and things we’ve recently found. There’s no real rhyme or reason to anything other than they’re things we like.

Because that’s really what it’s all about.

THE RECIPES

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

TIM’S

MOM’S

COOKBOOKS

Here it is! Tim’s Mom’s collection of recipes from the 1960s and 1970s. Days when cooking was definitely more fun and adventurous!

The two original loose leaf binders contain recipes culled from magazines and newspapers, as well as handwritten recipes by her, her mother, and other friends and relatives.

THE RECIPES

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

RECIPES

FROM

VILLA MODICA

Villa Modica is located in Modica, province of Ragusa, in Sicily – in the southeastern corner of the island. Close to Syracusa, Catania, and easy driving to Mount Etna, it’s the perfect location.

Our hosts, George and his lovely wife, Antonella, were the epitome of Sicilian hospitality.

George has a collection of recipes on his Villa Modica website that I have copied here for convenience.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Sicily, there is only one place to stay.

THE RECIPES

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

FLOUR

POWER

A collection of sweet and savory baked goods made with various types of flour.

There are pies, cakes, cookies, yeast breads, quick breads, and handmade pastas – something for everyone.

THE RECIPES

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

RECIPES FROM FORT ROBINSON

FAMILY

REUNION

1

Family recipes from our first Family Reunion at Fort Robinson, Nebraska in 1986.

They run the gamut from savory to sweet – with something for everyone.

THE RECIPES

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

RECIPES FROM FORT ROBINSON

FAMILY

REUNION

2

Family recipes from our second Family Reunion at Fort Robinson, Nebraska in 1996. Even more fun foods!

THE RECIPES

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

RECIPES

FROM THE

HEART

These recipes were created for the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center by menu and recipe coordinator Christine Leishman, who has extensive experience in some of San Francisco’s finest restaurants. They are for anyone who is serious about cooking and eating delicious and healthful foods.

THE RECIPES

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

QUICK MEALS

IN

MINUTES

The majority of these recipes were created when Tim was doing Demo work and created by Tim, Ruth, and Elizabeth.

Use your imagination and have fun with them. That’s why we made them up in the first place!

THE RECIPES

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

LITTLE GRAM’S

COOKBOOKS

“Little Gram” was Mary Ferante, nee Taomina. She was our sister-in-law Marie’s Grandmother, and, while not exactly a blood relation to us, was nevertheless “Little Grandma” to us as well. She was spry, active, and ready to talk politics or cooking right up to her passing in July 2008 at 105. Yes, one hundred and five.

The recipes as written are taken from Grandma’s own notes.

THE RECIPES

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

HOLIDAY

COOKING

These are all recipes submitted from all our wonderful family and friends. Recipes that have been handed down over the years as well as fun foods newly created. A one-stop-shop for all your Holiday Cooking!

THE RECIPES

THE COOKBOOK COLLECTION

OTHER

STUFF

This is a collection of recipes I have had on my computer for years. And years. I am not sure where most of them ever came from. I think a lot of them were collected as ideas for work back in the days when we created recipes. Some of them worked their way into the house under a different guise and a lot of them have never been made in their posted form.

THE RECIPES