Our pals Wally and Lori Crowder invited us to meet Kirstie Alley at an Organic bash she threw in Hollywood. Her new weight loss venture is an organic line of foods called, “Organic Liaisons.” There were yummy appetizers and desserts passed around and even organic wine! I loved the organic chocolate, wine and lemon cheesecake. Many celebrities were there, including Winsor Harmon, Kelly Preston, Nadia Bjorlin, Brandon Beemer, Christian LeBlanc, Michelle Stafford and singer Dilana who met Ronn years ago in Holland. Dilana was a winner on Supernova and has a wonderful voice. Kirstie gave us a wonderful giftbag filled with organic goodies and she looked fabulous. We are all rooting for her on her upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars!
- 1 (7-ounce) filet mignon (2 inches thick)
- 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Cognac
- 1/4 cup beef broth
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
- Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
- 2 large Dungeness crabs, cooked, cleaned, and cracked (about 4 1/4 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
- Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning
- 1/2 cup blood orange juice or regular orange juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated blood orange peel or regular orange peel
Preparation
Preheat oven to 500°F. Melt butter with oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in garlic, shallot, and dried crushed red pepper. Add crabs; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon chopped thyme and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley over crabs. Stir to combine. Place skillet in oven and roast crabs until heated through, stirring once, about 12 minutes.
Using tongs, transfer crabs to platter. Add orange juice and peel to same skillet; boil until sauce is reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Spoon sauce over crabs. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon thyme and 1 tablespoon parsley and serve.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb boneless sirloin steak (preferably top butt; about 1 inch thick)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
- 2/3 cup dry white wine
- Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning
Preparation
Trim excess fat, then thinly slice steak. Toss with flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté steak in 2 or 3 batches until no longer pink on the outside, about 2 minutes per batch, adding 1 1/2 tablespoons more oil as needed. Transfer to a plate.
Sauté garlic and rosemary in remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and boil, scraping up brown bits, until reduced by half. Return beef with juices to skillet and warm through.
This past weekend marked the start of our holiday party invites. We attended Heather Tom’s annual Christmas bash and toured her fabulously decorated home. It was our first time but hopefully not our last. Heather throws a first class party! Then I hosted my all girl Potluck with some of my amazing gals. Playmates Barbara Moore, Luanne Lee and Jacqueline Sheen, along with Cindy Margolis, Fiona Horne, Tina Hillstrom and Alana Curry were some of the beauties that made our Potluck so fun and festive. I have been having these Potlucks now for over 15 years and we always have a blast! This year I had to be a little naughty and a little nice, so I dressed as a sexy Santa to keep the girls in line. Trust me, it’s not easy keeping 20 plus girls in line, especially when there are gifts to steal! There was so much fun, happy punch and laughter that we wore out Ronn, who was filming and taking pics of the whole event. No men are allowed at Potlucks, but we made an exception for Ronn due to the fact that he’s such a good camera man! Until next year……
Baked Stuffed Clams Recipe
Although this recipe calls for fresh clams, you can also make this with canned minced clams (use one 6.5 ounce can, drained of all but 1 Tbsp of clam juice). Bake as directed on clam shells, or bake in a casserole dish and use as a dip with crackers.
If you’ve purchasing clams, keep them in the refrigerator covered with a damp, wet towel. If you have dug up your clams, keep them covered with cool sea water in a bucket. Throw away any cracked or broken clams.
Ingredients
- 10 large chowder or large clams, rinsed, sand and grit removed
- 3 Tbsp minced onion
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 Tbsp clam juice (or cooking liquid from steaming the clams)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning
Method
1 Fill a large pot with 1 1/2 to 2 inches of water. Bring water to a boil. Add the clams to the boiling water. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the clams steam for approximately 6-10 minutes, until the shells open. Remove clams from the pot and let cool enough to handle. Discard any clams that have not opened (if they haven’t opened it means they were dead to begin with and should not be eaten).
2 Remove the clam meat from the clams (not the clam foot which is attached to the shell) and mince finely. Break apart the clam shells from their hinges. Rinse. Pick 10-12 of the cleanest, nicest looking clam shells and set aside.
3 Preheat oven to 350°F. In a sauté pan, melt the butter on medium heat and add the minced onion. Once the onions have softened (2-3 minutes), add the garlic. Cook the garlic for 1 minute, then add the parsley, bread crumbs, minced clams, lemon juice, and clam juice. Stir until the stuffing mixture is completely moistened. (If too dry, add a bit more butter or clam juice; if too wet, add a bit more bread crumbs.)
4 Lay clam shells on a baking dish. Scoop a little stuffing mixture onto each clam shell. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, until Parmesan is lightly browned on top.
Makes 10-12 stuffed clams. Serves 3-6.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner I wanted to give you guys some quick, easy and healthy side dishes you can add to that turkey. This potato dish is so yummy and of course when it’s used with Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning adds alot of flavor to any meat dish. Go to DevRonn’s news and click on our latest news section for the recipe.
Grilled bacon wrapped filet on top of steamed spinach and sliced potatoes with a mushroom and pepper sauce was a favorite dinner we had last week. Ronn even grilled them in the pouring rain, which made it all that more special. You can find this along with other recipes in my “Cooking Cajun ” cookbook. Use “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” on all your dishes to add an extra zesty flavor to your dishes. With the holidays around the corner, why not try giving a can as a gift and help the city of New Orleans rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina? I promise you won’t be disappointed with our amazing Cajun spice, so spread the word and the love with “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” today! www.devronn.com
Here are a couple of yummy, healthy and simple appetizers that’s great to have as a snack or at your next dinner party. It great with Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning which adds alot of flavor to everything! Simply take a few Roma tomatoes and cut the tops off, scoop out the interior and add fresh crabmeat mixed with Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning and parsley flakes for bite size stuffed tomatos! Cut an avacado in half and take out the seed, put in the crabmeat mixture and serve with a nice Chardonnay. Ronn and I had both of these yummy appetizers yesterday and I just had to share it with you! For more recipes visit our website www.devronn.com
Ronn and I now have our own collection of a great California wine, Windsor Vineyards. We have a Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot and Pinot Noir to choose from. My collection will be part of the exclusive Centerfold collection that will launch next week on it’s website. In the meantime, you may start collecting your wines here 683 and I must say they taste great! We also have a wedding collection of Champagne coming soon! Enjoy these awesome wines as much as we do. They are a great addition to any meal, dinner party or holiday gathering.
I thought you’d guys would like something Cajun, just had that feeling. So here is a great Jambalaya dish. Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning makes it extra zesty!
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 pounds chicken pieces (drumsticks, thighs, and breast halves with skin and bones)
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pounds andouille* or other spicy smoked pork sausage, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 3 medium onions, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 (14- to 16-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained and chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
- 2 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained well
- 1 cup thinly sliced scallion greens
- Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning
Pat chicken dry and season with salt. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in batches, without crowding, turning once, 6 to 8 minutes total (add remaining 2 tablespoons oil as needed between batches). Transfer to a bowl as browned.
Reduce heat to moderate and brown sausage in 4 batches in fat remaining in skillet, turning, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined bowl as browned.
Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook onions, celery, and bell pepper in skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden brown and softened, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 cup stock and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a wide 8-quart heavy pot and add chicken, water, tomatoes, cayenne (if using), and remaining cup stock. Simmer, partially covered, until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Transfer chicken with tongs to a clean bowl and measure cooking liquid with vegetables, adding additional water as necessary to measure 7 cups. If over 7 cups, boil to reduce.
Stir rice into cooking liquid (in pot). Arrange chicken over rice (do not stir), then bring to a boil over high heat, uncovered, without stirring. Bake, covered, in middle of oven until rice is tender and most of liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let jambalaya stand, covered, 10 minutes. Gently stir in scallion greens, sausage, and salt to taste.
Spaghetti with Fresh Clams, Parsley, and Lemon
Ingredients
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
* 3 pounds fresh Manila clams or small littleneck clams, scrubbed
* 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning
* 1 pound spaghetti
Preparation
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add sliced garlic and sauté until light brown, about 1 minute. Add clams and 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley; stir 2 minutes. Add wine; simmer 2 minutes. Add fresh lemon juice. Cover and simmer until clams open, about 6 minutes (discard any clams that do not open).
Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Add pasta to clam mixture and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and serve.
Here is a quick and easy salad that is great with Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning and so healthy!
Here is a dish that you can serve over rice, pasta or your favorite veggie. I cooked it today and served it over green beans. You can also add capers or arugula instead of spinach. Of course, Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning makes it extra zesty!
Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
- 1 5-ounce package baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
- (more)
Because so many of you have been asking for this recipe that I made up yesterday, I’ve decided to blog and post it. Really did come out delicious! I don’t use measuring utensils so you must use your own taste buds to estimate.
1 large Spaghetti Squash
1 large onion
3-4 cloves fresh garlic
3-6 small cans of chicken broth
fresh rosemary
real bacon bits
olive oil
milk
Take a spaghetti squash and put it in the oven or microwave for a few minutes to soften it. Chop an onion and a few cloves of fresh garlic and get a few cans of chicken broth. Poke the squash with a fork to see if it’s tender and then take it out and let it cool for a few minutes. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Season to your liking, I of course use my spice and put face down on a cookie sheet back into the oven for 1/2 hour. Then simmer the chopped onion and garlic in a couple of Tablespoons of olive oil til tender and add the chicken broth. Take the Spaghetti squash out of the over and with a fork take out the inside so it comes out like spaghetti.
Add the squash to the broth and the fresh rosemary and bacon bits. I estimate how much depending on my taste buds. Add a dash of milk to thicken and simmer for 20 minutes stirring frequently. Then puree’ in a blender a little at a time and put back to simmer for another 15 minutes. Add a little fresh rosemary and bacon bits for garnish and serve with garlic bread. So yummy!
Love Dev
Since Easter, we have had the most amazing food and wine ever in Italy. We have visited a couple of the premier vineyards, including Sara Di Vaira’s vineyard. Here is Ronn in a photo with Sara’s father. We picked our own vegetables to cook and experienced the Tuscan way of life. The girls have loved it so much that we have opted to stay and extra day and not go to Venice. We will go back in a couple of days by train to spend our last day in the beautiful castle of Laura Biagiotti before returning home. The Tuscan part of our vacation has felt very homey. I cooked fresh picked artichokes the other day and the girls found the biggest head of cabbage we have ever seen! Last night we had a beautiful seafood dinner on the beach. Ronn has enjoyed tasting the wines and it seems that there are a lot of tourist visiting right now for the food and wine obviously, we can understand why. Today, I will go to a spa and relax with a massage and soak in the hot springs. The weather is amazing today, so the girls are excited to pick more vegetables, including wild asparagus and will make homemade pizza. Looking forward to good weather for our last days here in Italy.
Love DevRonn
We left Roma for the quiet of the countryside a couple of days ago and went to spend some time in the ancient 1000 year old castle of designer Laura Biagiotti. It sits on 444 acres that includes it’s own amazing golf course. After having lunch with Lavinia Biaigotti, we play a game of 9 holes on the green. Lavinia got a hole in one on the first hole and thus a competition started with Ronn to see who would win. Lavinia got a hole in one on the 9th hole and thus won! I’ll post some funny video of it later. The girls got a private golf lesson and drove the golf carts around, while I went back to the castle to study some more Italian. Then we were introduced to the Italian Easter tradition of breaking giant chocolate eggs for a surprise inside. Unlike easter baskets filled with jelly beans and colored eggs, everyone gives their friends and family a giant chocolate egg with just about anything you can imagine inside. We had fun with this process and the girls got little necklaces. Ronn got a little box that he put some beautiful gold earrings in, a gift from Laura. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone at the castle and journey on by train to Florence. Ronn wanted to introduce Michelangelo’s “David” to the girls. Even though I had seen it before, the 17 foot tall statue never ceases to impress. I think Ronn looks alot like the David now that he’s in such great shape from dancing. We then met Sara Di Vaira and her husband who took us to a little town called,” Buti” near Pisa. We had the most amazing Tuscan dinner on Good Friday. Fresh mussels, clams and squid, pasta ravioli with truffle sauce, spaghetti with rabbit and penne pasta. Then Ronn and I had a bottle of champagne waiting for us in our hotel room, so we had to celebrate going to see the leaning tower of Pisa today. We will continue on through the beautiful Tuscan countryside and visit some vineyards, including the Di Vaira winery and spend Easter with Sara’s family. Hope you all are having a wonderful Easter weekend. Will post more pics and video later.
Love Dev
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Our vacation so far has been very relaxing and the weather has been fabulous! Just what the doctor ordered for Ronn, weather that is in primavera and not too hot or cold. A trip to the Spanish Steps, The Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain was the start of our first day. Walking around Rome was grand and it was funny for the girls to see how many teenagers wanted photos and autographs with their daddy. . Our dear friends Laura and Lavinia Biagiotti hosted us in their apartment near the spanish steps, which was in the center of everything. Our wonderful guide Isabella toured us around the city as we walked all day long. We had the most fabulous homemade pasta, steamed artichokes and of course vino rosso. Our second day has been another private tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, compliments of our friend Loreto. Our neighbors Steve and Sue and their kids were in Rome for a short while during a cruise and joined us on the tour and then we had a fabulous lunch. The girls then opted to walk around some more with Ronn, while I came back to blog and rest up for dinner. We decided to take the girls today to the Villa Borghese and had a private tour of Caravaggio’s amazing work and the President’s Palace before having dinner with Actress Nancy Brilli and her husband Roy. Plans changed and we decided to rest in the castle of Laura Biagiotti tomorrow before heading by train to Florence to see the “David.” There are so many people that we have decided to go to Venice after Easter. We will complete our Roman Holiday with one last day in Roma before heading home next week.
Susan Flannery organized a beautiful wedding supper to celebrate our recent nuptials at the gorgeous Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills. It was held in the private dining room off of the elaborate kitchen and guests included, John McCook and his lovely wife Laurette, Ian Buchanan, Katherine Kelly Lang and her husband Alex, Maria and Billy Bell and our gracious host Brad Bell and his wife Colleen. The menu was absolutely amazing and the private chef told us about each course before their presentation. We ended the evening wedding cake and more champagne. We have certainly had our share of that in the past few weeks, hahaha. Since this is Ronn’s second family, we were, needless to say, thrilled and grateful for this amazing opportunity to share our joy with them. Here is a clip of the evening.
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Love DevRonn
It’s been over a decade since I last visited my home state of Louisiana and I can’t wait to have a great bowl of gumbo and some crawfish. We will also introduce “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” to some of the locals and video tape the progress of the reconstruction down there . Ronn will be busy doing an appearance with other soap stars Winsor Harmon and Christian LeBlanc who are also native Cajuns. So I will be in good company. We promise to take lots of pics and video to share on our website Love DevRonn
Okay we started this blog to express ourselves more often about a variety of things. We are excited to announce the opening of our new DevRonn store with an amazing variety of merchandise. There are T-shirts, hats, stickers, coffee mugs, wall clocks, doggy bowls, journals, aprons, jogging outfits and even infant clothing available at our store Ronn and I are so excited to visit New Orleans in April. It will be my first visit back there in over a decade. I’m so looking forward to some great Cajun gumbo and crawfish. So if you haven’t checked out our site or tried “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” now is the time. We promise you won’t be disappointed and know that every purchase of our products is helping the great city of New Orleans rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Love DevRonn