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!

Tim in the Kitchen

Pickles, Buns, and Burgers

Sometimes, I amaze myself. Actually, I often amaze myself. Usually it's in the form of how did I get to be 67 years of age and not know some basic bit of otherwise common knowledge. Every once in a blue moon, however,

Both of Us in the Kitchen

Chicken Pesto Pasta

Tonight, dinner was cooking some pasta and mixing it with stuff in the fridge and from the garden. Victor made a batch of sun-dried tomato pesto and a batch of traditional pesto, so I had options! We're still working on the

Tim in the Kitchen

Burgers and Tomatillo Salsa

Burgers are my friend. I have always loved hamburgers - charred on the outside and juicy on the inside - a good burger is a thing of beauty. We had things of beauty, tonight. The actual burger was merely 80/20 ground beef with

Tim in the Kitchen

Steak Tips and Roasted Vegetables

We're still working on the roasted vegetables and tonight, I mixed in a green tomato and some Hatch Valley Salsa into them to give them a bit of a bit of a Southwestern spin. Reasonably awesome, if I do say

Tim in the Kitchen

Grilled Vegetables

Our new favorite thing to have in the 'fridge is a big batch of grilled vegetables. They can be eaten cold as a salad, or warmed and used as a side dish or ingredient for something else - total versatility. And

Both of Us in the Kitchen

Gnocchi and Stuffed Artichokes

Tonight's dinner was a bit of a tag-team affair - Victor made the artichokes and gnocchi, and I made the sauce. I never had stuffed artichokes as a kid - they were always steamed and served with mayonnaise for dipping the

Tim in the Kitchen

Polenta and Sausage

Yesterday's big batch of polenta became the base for tonight's dinner - a quick fry-up of vegetables and sausage served over polenta triangles. The fry-up started with some Italian sausage and included bell pepper, onion, celery, tomato, garlic, oregano, and a

Tim in the Kitchen

The End of Week Fifty-Two

We did it. Fifty-Two Weeks of seeing a Personal Trainer three times a week. One hundred and fifty-six training sessions. The results are pretty mind-boggling. Victor has gone from a Body Fat Percentage of 38.5% to 31.4 and a BMI of 32.2 to

Victor in the Kitchen

The Last of the Eggplant

We have eggplants coming in out back - time to use up the last of last years' harvest. At the end of the season, I took the last few eggplants and sliced them into cutlets, breaded them, and froze them. They

Tim in the Kitchen

Cod Cakes and Grilled Vegetables

Summertime, and the livin' is easy... and hot and muggy and wet. The only thing loving this weather, right now, is the cucumber plant. I don't mind hot, but when going outside is like walking into a steam room... well... I

Tim in the Kitchen

Stuffed Tomatoes

We've picked the first two tomatoes from the garden! They were a bit under-ripe, but... I had to do it. I've been craving a homegrown tomato since last year. The tomatoes in question are Green Zebra tomatoes - they're supposed

Tim in the Kitchen

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Ahhh... the joys of Summer on the east coast... oppressive heat and humidity, thunderstorms, power and cable outages... Just another day in paradise. The storms have been interesting. High winds and torrential rains for two or three minutes followed by blue

Victor in the Kitchen

Chilled Cucumber Soup

The cucumbers are coming in fast and furious. I'm pretty psyched, simply because they're something I've never had an abundance of, before. The dusty, cobweb-laden area that is my mind actually has to think, a bit. Or, better yet, let Victor

Tim in the Kitchen

The End of Week Fifty-One

I think retirement has suited me well. Both of us, actually. Neither of us had the drive or ambition to claw our way up the corporate ladder or fight the roadblocks placed in our way. Early in my hotel career, at

Victor in the Kitchen

Shrimp Ravioli

I suppose there's millions of people out there barbecuing and grilling, today. Lord knows we've been there. We just didn't feel like grilling in 90°F weather with thunderstorms and ridiculous humidity. Better to stay indoors with air conditioning. July 4th is

Tim in the Kitchen

Boursin Burritos

We were watching a cooking show a while back and the folks were in France. Someone was whipping up a quick hors d'oeuvre and pulled out some Boursin from the 'fridge. She said that Boursin could be found in every

Tim in the Kitchen

More from the Garden

We've been harvesting more cucumbers. I think by this weekend we'll be making a chilled cucumber soup. call me naive, but I really didn't know one little plant would be producing so much! It's rather fun, because cucumbers are not

Tim in the Kitchen

Summertime Salads

Beans and cucumbers - and a couple of hot peppers - are the first to be harvested, this year. I'm liking the slow start - it's giving us a chance to plan a bit. We also staggered some of the

Both of Us in the Kitchen

Lamb Kebabs

My impulse buy of the week - this week - was a small boneless leg of lamb. Right now, my tummy is rather glad I bought it! The plan was to marinate it and throw it on the grill, but when

Victor in the Kitchen

The End of Week Fifty

Fifty weeks. Five-Zero. Us. At a gym. For fifty weeks. Who woulda thunk?!? Certainly not either of us. We were both way over-weight, doing mundane tasks was a chore, and we were rapidly turning into sloths. But we ate well. A

Tim in the Kitchen

Potato Salad

We've been watching The Mind of a Chef on Netflix and have been following a couple of fun folks. Having been in the business for so many years, it's easy to relate to a lot of the madness - and

Both of Us in the Kitchen

Lamb Burgers with Fennel Slaw

Ya know how sometimes you make something that is truly excellent?!? We did it, tonight. Lamb Burgers with all the trimmings! We tend to get into a rut, now and again, with beef-chicken-pork because it's almost always in the freezer and

Both of Us in the Kitchen

Cucumber and Bean Salad

The garden is starting to produce! Beans and cucumbers abound, beets are almost ready, eggplants and tomatillos are starting to poke their heads out, peppers are coming in, and in a few weeks we're going to be inundated with tomatoes.

Tim in the Kitchen

Stuffed Zucchini

I am generally not a huge fan of really large zucchini, but there were no small ones at the produce market, today. I grabbed one, thinking I would stuff it for dinner when we got home. A few weeks ago I

Tim in the Kitchen

Chicken 'n' Veggies

We're off to the produce store in the morning after the gym, so it's time to clean out the 'fridge. Sunday dinner can be a lot of fun when we're in use-up-what's-in-the-fridge mode. Fortunately, we're pretty good at it - lots

Tim in the Kitchen

Stuffed Tomatoes

I pulled some ground beef out of the freezer with no clear idea of what I was going to make. That's not unusual for me... I tend to wing it more than I do follow any sort of recipe. While we

Tim in the Kitchen

The End of Week Forty-Nine

Forty-Nine Weeks. We have survived Forty-Nine Weeks. There are three weeks more to go before we begin our Summer Hiatus. I can't wait! We're planning on returning to the trainer in September - once a week - for probably another 6

Tim in the Kitchen

Gnocchi alla Romana

I receive a daily email from La Cucina Italiana - in Italian. There are usually one or two ideas that look promising - and I do have to admit that Google Translate can really be a hoot when it comes

Tim in the Kitchen

Double Barrel Salad Dressing

When you are fortunate enough to have not one, but two liters of Double Barrel Select Canadian Whiskey, the possibilities are endless! Our friends, Ann and Julie, hand-picked it Canada and delivered it to us in person, last week. Yes, it

Tim in the Kitchen

Spicy!

A few days ago I made a hot pepper sauce from a bunch of dried peppers I've been collecting - anaheim. guajillo, chiles de árbol, ancho - and bottled it up. It's fiery-hot but with lots of flavor. I used it

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