Friday, March 31, 2006
Another week has come and gone and April is just hours away. I can't believe how fast March went by! Today was a simply gorgeous day weather-wise and we celebrated the start of Spring-like weather by eating dinner on the porch - love that! The Husband had a craving for steamers and mussels with buttery, white wine broth, and since I hadn't figured out what to do for dinner yet, that sounded fine by me. The kids had their date night here tonight, giving The Neighbors a chance to get some peace and quiet.
And speaking of The Neighbors, The Neighbor Husband is home, recuperating from his surgery. I thought we could do a little Sandra Lee Send-Up, since he's Sandra Lee's biggest fan, but would you believe I only received two other participants for the round-up? Yup, I'd believe it. Not a lot of food bloggers cook by way of Sandra Lee. I have nothing against her and her cooking; just not a big fan of opening up a jar of Cheez Whiz, mixing it with elbow noodles and calling it homemade, you know? Although I'll be the first to admit, I do crave Cheez Whiz every now and again, it's just not cooking. However, if she's able to get people into the kitchen and at least attempting to make dinner, eschewing zipping through the drive-thru lanes, then I'm all for that!
Emily from Biscuits and Blues took a stab at Sandra Lee's Dijon Chicken and Mushrooms and turned out a winner.
Patti from Adventures in Food and Wine got creative and one-upped Miss Sandra Lee with her take on dessert.
Now because I had a lack of entries, I decided to do a quick search and scare up a few more. Interestingly enough, you can drop in for a monthly I Loathe Sandra Lee group participation event over here from Foodie NYC. Serve Hot gives us a play-by-play of Sandra Lee's Game Night, or as she lovingly refers to her, the Culinary Antichrist. The Armchair Cook did a fun send-up on Sandra Lee here. Balmy Duck takes on Sandra Lee's famous tablescapes, complete with cake stand diagrams. 500 words has Sandra Lee on the top of the list of people who need to leave now. Screenshot has been designated the anti-Sandra Lee. Recipe Test Challenge puts Sandra Lee's infamous frosting truffles to the test. There's defnitely no shortage of friends and foes of Sandra Lee, that's for sure!
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow to see what's on tap for the weekend. Don't forget it's Weekend Dog Blogging, as well as Weekend Cat Blogging and lastly, Weekend Herb Blogging See you there! Until then... it's Easter Bunny time tomorrow. :)
A year ago today... it was a Supper Club recap.
And speaking of The Neighbors, The Neighbor Husband is home, recuperating from his surgery. I thought we could do a little Sandra Lee Send-Up, since he's Sandra Lee's biggest fan, but would you believe I only received two other participants for the round-up? Yup, I'd believe it. Not a lot of food bloggers cook by way of Sandra Lee. I have nothing against her and her cooking; just not a big fan of opening up a jar of Cheez Whiz, mixing it with elbow noodles and calling it homemade, you know? Although I'll be the first to admit, I do crave Cheez Whiz every now and again, it's just not cooking. However, if she's able to get people into the kitchen and at least attempting to make dinner, eschewing zipping through the drive-thru lanes, then I'm all for that!
Emily from Biscuits and Blues took a stab at Sandra Lee's Dijon Chicken and Mushrooms and turned out a winner.
Patti from Adventures in Food and Wine got creative and one-upped Miss Sandra Lee with her take on dessert.
Now because I had a lack of entries, I decided to do a quick search and scare up a few more. Interestingly enough, you can drop in for a monthly I Loathe Sandra Lee group participation event over here from Foodie NYC. Serve Hot gives us a play-by-play of Sandra Lee's Game Night, or as she lovingly refers to her, the Culinary Antichrist. The Armchair Cook did a fun send-up on Sandra Lee here. Balmy Duck takes on Sandra Lee's famous tablescapes, complete with cake stand diagrams. 500 words has Sandra Lee on the top of the list of people who need to leave now. Screenshot has been designated the anti-Sandra Lee. Recipe Test Challenge puts Sandra Lee's infamous frosting truffles to the test. There's defnitely no shortage of friends and foes of Sandra Lee, that's for sure!
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow to see what's on tap for the weekend. Don't forget it's Weekend Dog Blogging, as well as Weekend Cat Blogging and lastly, Weekend Herb Blogging See you there! Until then... it's Easter Bunny time tomorrow. :)
A year ago today... it was a Supper Club recap.
| link | posted at 9:50 PM
2 comments
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Is this not the cutest cookie? I know Mrs. Olsen will get a kick out of these! And well, another day brings another visit to the hospital and thankfully, not for ME! I was happily enjoying a much-needed day off when The Husband calls me and tells me he's on his way to the hospital. I'll spare you the gory details, but he's fine. Cut his hand, so three stitches and one tetanus shot later, all we need is The Neighbor Wife to make a visit, and we've come full circle! Given today's excitement, no dinner report. We were actually planning on escaping for a little bit to go look at swingsets for Nicholas, but the babysitter was sick, so we ended up getting take-out from the Olive Garden, a place I know the guys at Hungry Magazine appreciate. Everything was delicious, and I love their reusable take-out containers. I'm about to dive into their Chocolate Lasagna ... today needs to end on a sugar note.In one of the nooks and crannies on my site, I have a little tracker that tells me what keywords people punch into Google that lead them here. It never ceases to amaze me how people find me. For instance, if you search for "Giada DeLaurentiis," my site is actually 4th on Google's list. Pretty cool, eh? But I bet people that came here looking for "girls playing footsie" were pretty darn disappointed. ;)
Next up is this week's nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursday ... Milk and Honey. Whether it's her unique take on lasagna, her to-die-for potatoes or her cupcake love, go discover her website if you haven't already.
OK folks, all for tonight. I'll leave you with the recipe from The Husband's cooking last night. Until tomorrow ... go rap about Sandra Lee and let me know about it - you'll get included in the Sandra Lee Send-Up tomorrow (see last night's post for details).
A year ago today... it was a recipe recap.
Carne con Papas
Cuban Beef Stew
1/2 cup pure Spanish olive oil
2 pounds boneless chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon paprika
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup drained and chopped canned whole tomatoes
1 cup water
4 large all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
1/4 cup brine-packed Spanish capers, drained
1/4 cup green olives
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat until fragrant, then add the meat and brown on all sides. Add the onions, bell pepper and garlic, and cook, stirring, over low heat until the onion is tender, 6-8 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the potatoes and capers, and cook, covered, for 1 hour. Add the potatoes and capers and cook another hour, until the meat and potatoes are tender. If extra liquid is needed, add water as necessary. Add green olives. Transfer to a deep serving bowl and serve immediately. Makes 6-8 servings.
| link | posted at 9:04 PM
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
... and he did. He had off today, so tackled a favorite dish of his. Carne con Papas is a Cuban Beef Stew that he's had plenty of times before, but this was his first time attempting to make it. He did a fantastic job, producing a dish that had tender meat and soft buttery potatoes served over rice. He now has another one to add to his rotating repertoire (recipe to follow tomorrow).A week without a trip to the hospital seems to be too ordinary for us, but luckily today it wasn't MY turn! Instead, it was The Neighbor Husband. He had a gallbladder attack last night, and ended up having surgery today. He had his first attack in November and the doctors let him go home, but told him to schedule the surgery; you know how it is when pain goes away, you quickly forget about it. After my surgery last month, I've been nagging him to go, and, of course, he didn't listen. At least now I don't need to nag anymore. ;) He's recuperating comfortably, and tomorrow you can tune in to see what I scored from the hospital's coffee shop tonight. Leave it to me to find goodies there! In the meantime, regular readers may remember how much The Neighbor Husband likes Sandra Lee. I thought it would be fun to do a Sandra Lee Send-Up for him. They say laughter is the best medicine, so let's tickle his funny bone. Want to join in? Send me your Sandra Lee permalink by Friday to be included in the Friday night round-up. Be creative -- no rules say it has to be a post with a Sandra Lee recipe, just something about Sandra Lee. But hey, you never know ... maybe we'll find something good!
The new issue of delicious. magazine hit the stands a few weeks ago, and I was totally drooling as soon as I saw the cover. I wrote an article about it for Paper Palate, which you can read here. Go check it out, and while you're there, take a gander at the other great articles as well.
Lastly, I thought it would be fun to tackle some of the Frequently Asked Questions I've received in comments and e-mails recently (especially comments, since sometimes my replies get lost...):
Q: Where can I find ginger paste?
A: You'll find in most recipes that request fresh ginger, I sub ginger paste. I discovered it a few years ago at a Middle Eastern grocery store and have been using it ever since. I hate peeling and grating fresh ginger and often times, I don't use it up fast enough, so the ginger paste is a perfect substitution. It's sold in a small glass jar (non-refrigerated section), and can even be found in the ethnic section of your regular grocery store.
Q: What is Guacamole Cream?
A: A concoction I came up with that we love. I take 2-3 ripe avocados and peel and mash them up. To that, I add a splash or two of lemon juice, a handful of fresh, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper to taste and about a teaspoon of low-fat sour cream per avocado (i.e., 2 avocados = 2 teaspoons sour cream). It yields a unique twist on Guacamole.
Q: Yesterday The Chocolate Lady asked which parts of the orange were the most antioxidant-rich.
A: I couldn't find info on the benefits of specific parts, but did find this helpful information during my research today... It's always better to eat the fruit whole in its natural form, as some of the potency is lost when the juice is extracted. Orange juice contains an antioxidant limonin, present in orange juice at about the same levels as vitamin C, that has the unique property of remaining in the blood providing protection for 24 hours, unlike most antioxidants which are gone from the blood after 6 hours. And lastly, the fruits and vegetables that have the highest antioxidant capacity were oranges, cauliflower, and peas. Pretty interesting stuff.
All for tonight... tune in tomorrow to see who gets the next nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursday and what's cooking for my Rediscovering My Library segment this week. Until then...
A year ago today... coincidentally, The Husband cooked and we visited with celebrity chefs.
| link | posted at 11:12 AM
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
The nice folks from Florida Department of Citrus e-mailed me last week, and gave me four new recipes that they developed with Chef Michel Nischan to highlight, you guessed it, oranges! Since pure orange juice is a "naturally nutrient-rich source of essential vitamins and minerals, as well as beneficial antioxidants," it's an excellent ingredient to use in my ARF/5-A-Day round-up. You can read more info about the benefits of oranges and the other recipes Chef Nischan developed here. I corralled Stacey from Just Braise to take a whack at these recipes with me, and I think between the two of us, there was definitely some good eating!
I made Chef Nischan's Zesty Shrimp and Orange Fajitas with Whole Wheat Tortillas. I love fajitas, but I am all thumbs when it comes to wrapping them up as well as restaurants do. No matter though, the flavor's still the same. Although pineapple is certainly used in savory dishes (like Chinese food), I never would have thought to use orange sections in a fajita, and as unsure about it as I was, they definitely work. I made my Guacamole Cream and lined the fajita with that first, and then heaped the tortilla with the red and yellow peppers, the onions and the shrimp. Delish! Only change I would make next time would be to cut back on the peppers, and not add all of the marinade to the vegetables after cooking (was too much). I made the recipe as is, except I warmed the tortillas in the oven. Hey, the cleaning lady was just here - there's a limit to how many pots and pans I want to dirty! Good stuff, and The Husband rated this one a WOW, though I put it at "good."
Next up is the orange recipe that Stacey tackled ... the Orange Pinenut Buckwheat Pancakes. Pretty gorgeous looking!
The Chocolate Lady from New York is next with a tempting White Bean and Tomato Soup with Oregano and Bay Leaves:
Back to entice us, The Spice is Right shares her Whole Wheat Pasta with Spinach and Feta:
Breakfast is served with Taste Corner's Banana Muffins:
Veggies abound with Weekly Dish's zen-looking Roasted Veggie Lasagna:
Stuffed Artichokes in Olive Oil comes by way of Veggie Way from Turkey:
Cooking Within My Grasp brings a unique entry to the round-up this week with her Purple Cauliflower:
I'm always on the lookout for new stir-fry recipes, and I know we'll be making this Leftover Grilled Chicken Stir Fry with Curry from Kalyn's Kitchen in Utah:
I think if wraps were around when Elvis was, he would have been a fan of Cucina Bella's Peanut, Strawberry and Chocolate Wrap - I know I am!
Another one that's definitely going on my list are the Vegetable Patties from What's For Lunch, Honey? in Germany:
Another newcomer joins in the fun this week, it's the The Unemployed Cook from Tennessee with her Cremini, Escarole and Eggplant Saute:
Peanut Flavored Vegetable Fried Rice & Stir Fried Vegetables in Peanut-Chilli Sauce - Say THAT three times fast! It's the entry from Sailu's Food and it looks scrumptious!
Pulling a Rachael Ray, Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice's contribution this week is a 30 Minute Meal with her Egg Pulao & Fresh Sliced Tomatoes and dessert of Mango Delight:
Go see what Farmgirl Fare from Missouri is doing with this ... vampires beware!
A great way to sneak those veggies into kids' tummies, The Cookbook Junkie from Pennsylvania serves up Elbows with Sausages and Mushrooms, Carbonara Style:
Know what the picture below is? No? Don't feel bad, I didn't either. But go check out Food, In the Main's site and see what she did with SEVEN, count 'em, SEVEN other veggies.
Salt and Pepper joins us again, this time with her Kovakka Thoran:
And lastly, The Fat Free Vegan Kitchen from Mississippi squeaks in with her Zucchini Stuffed with Pinenuts and Herbed Basmati Rice:
And that, folks, is the round-up for this week. Another all-star line-up, but what? No cabbage? Until tomorrow...
A year ago today... Banana Bread!.
Zesty Shrimp and Orange Fajitas with Whole Wheat Tortillas
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 2 1/2 hours (2 for marinating)
Makes: 6 (14 1/2-ounce) servings
Marinade
1 cup 100% orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 medium yellow peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips
3 oranges peeled and cut into segments
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
24 10- to 15-count shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and de-veined
2 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil
Combine all ingredients, except shrimp and oil, in medium mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss shrimp into marinade and refrigerate two hours. To cook: Remove shrimp from marinade and let drain for 5 minutes. Drain vegetables from marinade through a large colander over a saucepot. Bring reserved marinade liquid to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes; set aside.
Heat large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the oil to pan. Add shrimp and sauté until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove shrimp from pan and keep warm. Add other half of oil to the pan, followed by drained vegetables. Cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Turn heat up to high and spread the vegetables evenly throughout the pan. Vegetables will start to brown on the bottom of the pan.
Arrange shrimp over the vegetables and add reserved marinade. Serve immediately with a side of your favorite guacamole and a plate of warmed whole wheat tortillas.
______________________________
Tortillas
12 6- to 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
Non-stick cooking spray
Large cloth napkin or dish towel to keep tortillas warm.
Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly spray one side of each tortilla with non-stick cooking spray. Place tortilla, sprayed-side-down, into hot skillet. Cook until tortilla begins to expand, about one minute, then flip over and cook another minute. Place tortilla on large napkin. Repeat until all tortillas are cooked.
Stack tortillas as you cook them, then wrap with napkin and place on a serving plate.
I made Chef Nischan's Zesty Shrimp and Orange Fajitas with Whole Wheat Tortillas. I love fajitas, but I am all thumbs when it comes to wrapping them up as well as restaurants do. No matter though, the flavor's still the same. Although pineapple is certainly used in savory dishes (like Chinese food), I never would have thought to use orange sections in a fajita, and as unsure about it as I was, they definitely work. I made my Guacamole Cream and lined the fajita with that first, and then heaped the tortilla with the red and yellow peppers, the onions and the shrimp. Delish! Only change I would make next time would be to cut back on the peppers, and not add all of the marinade to the vegetables after cooking (was too much). I made the recipe as is, except I warmed the tortillas in the oven. Hey, the cleaning lady was just here - there's a limit to how many pots and pans I want to dirty! Good stuff, and The Husband rated this one a WOW, though I put it at "good."
Next up is the orange recipe that Stacey tackled ... the Orange Pinenut Buckwheat Pancakes. Pretty gorgeous looking!
The Chocolate Lady from New York is next with a tempting White Bean and Tomato Soup with Oregano and Bay Leaves:
Back to entice us, The Spice is Right shares her Whole Wheat Pasta with Spinach and Feta:
Breakfast is served with Taste Corner's Banana Muffins:
Veggies abound with Weekly Dish's zen-looking Roasted Veggie Lasagna:
Stuffed Artichokes in Olive Oil comes by way of Veggie Way from Turkey:
Cooking Within My Grasp brings a unique entry to the round-up this week with her Purple Cauliflower:
I'm always on the lookout for new stir-fry recipes, and I know we'll be making this Leftover Grilled Chicken Stir Fry with Curry from Kalyn's Kitchen in Utah:
I think if wraps were around when Elvis was, he would have been a fan of Cucina Bella's Peanut, Strawberry and Chocolate Wrap - I know I am!
Another one that's definitely going on my list are the Vegetable Patties from What's For Lunch, Honey? in Germany:
Another newcomer joins in the fun this week, it's the The Unemployed Cook from Tennessee with her Cremini, Escarole and Eggplant Saute:
Peanut Flavored Vegetable Fried Rice & Stir Fried Vegetables in Peanut-Chilli Sauce - Say THAT three times fast! It's the entry from Sailu's Food and it looks scrumptious!
Pulling a Rachael Ray, Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice's contribution this week is a 30 Minute Meal with her Egg Pulao & Fresh Sliced Tomatoes and dessert of Mango Delight:
Go see what Farmgirl Fare from Missouri is doing with this ... vampires beware!
A great way to sneak those veggies into kids' tummies, The Cookbook Junkie from Pennsylvania serves up Elbows with Sausages and Mushrooms, Carbonara Style:
Know what the picture below is? No? Don't feel bad, I didn't either. But go check out Food, In the Main's site and see what she did with SEVEN, count 'em, SEVEN other veggies.
Salt and Pepper joins us again, this time with her Kovakka Thoran:
And lastly, The Fat Free Vegan Kitchen from Mississippi squeaks in with her Zucchini Stuffed with Pinenuts and Herbed Basmati Rice:
And that, folks, is the round-up for this week. Another all-star line-up, but what? No cabbage? Until tomorrow...
A year ago today... Banana Bread!.
Zesty Shrimp and Orange Fajitas with Whole Wheat Tortillas
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 2 1/2 hours (2 for marinating)
Makes: 6 (14 1/2-ounce) servings
Marinade
1 cup 100% orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 medium yellow peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips
3 oranges peeled and cut into segments
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
24 10- to 15-count shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and de-veined
2 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil
Combine all ingredients, except shrimp and oil, in medium mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss shrimp into marinade and refrigerate two hours. To cook: Remove shrimp from marinade and let drain for 5 minutes. Drain vegetables from marinade through a large colander over a saucepot. Bring reserved marinade liquid to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes; set aside.
Heat large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the oil to pan. Add shrimp and sauté until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove shrimp from pan and keep warm. Add other half of oil to the pan, followed by drained vegetables. Cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Turn heat up to high and spread the vegetables evenly throughout the pan. Vegetables will start to brown on the bottom of the pan.
Arrange shrimp over the vegetables and add reserved marinade. Serve immediately with a side of your favorite guacamole and a plate of warmed whole wheat tortillas.
______________________________
Tortillas
12 6- to 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
Non-stick cooking spray
Large cloth napkin or dish towel to keep tortillas warm.
Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly spray one side of each tortilla with non-stick cooking spray. Place tortilla, sprayed-side-down, into hot skillet. Cook until tortilla begins to expand, about one minute, then flip over and cook another minute. Place tortilla on large napkin. Repeat until all tortillas are cooked.
Stack tortillas as you cook them, then wrap with napkin and place on a serving plate.
| link | posted at 8:12 PM
Monday, March 27, 2006
The Husband had to go out of town for work tonight, so to give me a head start on the evenings' tasks, he made dinner for me. Yay! Spaghetti with red sauce. He asked me what I wanted, and since I knew tortellini would be a long-shot, I went with my second choice. Something about spaghetti with red sauce screams comfort food to me, and it always makes a nice and easy weeknight meal.
I was craving a dip to munch on before dinner - you know how those pre-dinner munchies hit with a vengeance - and couldn't find a recipe that spoke to me. Lacing inspiration, I ended up making a new one from Paula Deen, Garlic Cheese Dip. It was fine, though didn't really fit the bill. I suppose I'd make it again, although it didn't really WOW me. It certainly is simple enough, though decidedly NOT haute cuisine, given the ingredients are cream cheese and Cheez Whiz (gasp!). Recipe is simple... mix 8 oz. cream cheese with 8 oz. Cheez Whiz, 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Done.
Since The Husband had dinner underway, I stopped at the bookstore quickly after work to scope out the imports -- SCORE!
Along with three British cooking magazines, I also spied a new special issue from Cuisine at Home, "Weeknight Menus." Lots of great recipes abound in this one, with the Chicken Bistro Cakes with Tomato Concasse jumping out at me right away. Funny, I had never heard of the word Concasse until yesterday's episode of Next Food Network Star and today, I saw it in three different places! It's like when you buy a car that you hardly see anywhere, and as soon as you decide to buy it and bring it home, they're everywhere!
Speaking of the Next Food Network Star, any of you watching it? I was surprised by who got eliminated last night (don't want to spoil it for anyone who has taped it and not yet seen it). I'm not sure she had the right "stuff" to win it all, but I wouldn't have pegged her to go yesterday. Guy definitely has the right personality, and Nathan seems to have the background ... should be an interesting one. Any guesses on who will be left standing?
OK folks, all for tonight. Don't forget, tomorrow is ARF/5-A-Day, so better get busy!
Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... road trip!
I was craving a dip to munch on before dinner - you know how those pre-dinner munchies hit with a vengeance - and couldn't find a recipe that spoke to me. Lacing inspiration, I ended up making a new one from Paula Deen, Garlic Cheese Dip. It was fine, though didn't really fit the bill. I suppose I'd make it again, although it didn't really WOW me. It certainly is simple enough, though decidedly NOT haute cuisine, given the ingredients are cream cheese and Cheez Whiz (gasp!). Recipe is simple... mix 8 oz. cream cheese with 8 oz. Cheez Whiz, 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Done.
Since The Husband had dinner underway, I stopped at the bookstore quickly after work to scope out the imports -- SCORE!
Along with three British cooking magazines, I also spied a new special issue from Cuisine at Home, "Weeknight Menus." Lots of great recipes abound in this one, with the Chicken Bistro Cakes with Tomato Concasse jumping out at me right away. Funny, I had never heard of the word Concasse until yesterday's episode of Next Food Network Star and today, I saw it in three different places! It's like when you buy a car that you hardly see anywhere, and as soon as you decide to buy it and bring it home, they're everywhere!
Speaking of the Next Food Network Star, any of you watching it? I was surprised by who got eliminated last night (don't want to spoil it for anyone who has taped it and not yet seen it). I'm not sure she had the right "stuff" to win it all, but I wouldn't have pegged her to go yesterday. Guy definitely has the right personality, and Nathan seems to have the background ... should be an interesting one. Any guesses on who will be left standing?
OK folks, all for tonight. Don't forget, tomorrow is ARF/5-A-Day, so better get busy!
Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... road trip!
| link | posted at 8:14 PM
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Hey all ... hope you guys had a good weekend. Did lots of resting this weekend and I'm feeling a bit better; baby steps, it's definitely a long, slow road. :)
Nicholas was really fighting nap time today telling me, "Mama, I'm too busy to take a nap!" Yeah, right. After about 20 minutes, he finally succumbed. Too adorable.
The Neighbor helped me make a quick dinner tonight, and it was perfect symmetry. Between the two of us, in 30 minutes, we made Macaroni Salad with Gorgonzola and Healthy Bean Tostados. For half-an-hour of her time, she got their dinner made, and I got help - can't beat that! And as a perfect submission for Toast's Something for Nothing one-off event. I managed to get dinner for 4 adults and 2 kids for $22 - not too shabby, eh? And as a bonus, it was pretty darn healthy to boot.
The Macaroni Salad with Gorgonzola recipe is from a recent issue of Cooking Light magazine. It was easy to make and flavorful, but not a wow for any of us. For me, I think it was the apples that threw me off. I think I'd make it again sans apples.
The Healthy Bean Tostados was a recipe I found in Quick and Simple magazine. It was healthy, simple and you could easily make a ton of variations using this recipe as a springboard.
Lastly, for Treats to Work Monday, I made Paula Deen's Gorilla Bread, and here we have our WOW dish for the day. I stole one piece before I packed it up for The Neighbor to take to her office, and Nicholas and I were fighting over the last bits. I promised him I'd make another batch tomorrow, especially since it's so simple to make.
If it's the weekend, it must be time to bring out the dogs, cats, and herbs. On with the Weekend Dog Blogging round-up...
We'll start off with my parents' dog, Beau. Nicholas babysat him all week, and they picked him up Friday. Nicholas was definitely sorry to see Beau go. Here's a shot of Beau's naptime, lying on the pillow Nicholas carefully propped his head up on.
Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen in California sitting pretty:
DD Gator from Ragus Pug takes a breather:
See who won the Caption Contest for this picture over at Up a Creek Without a PatL:
The moviestar from La Mia Cucina strikes a post:
A double dose of cuteness comes by way of Sweden, with Anne's Food dropping in with an adorable shot of Stumpan and Ida:
The pooch from Farmgirl Fare in Missouri takes a drink from nature's sink:
Letta from Something So Clever in Montana:
Scrappy and Snoopy sharing kisses from Cucina Bella in Connecticut:
The adorable puppy, Doolin, from Dispensing Happiness in Tennessee; make sure to check out Stephanie's site for pics of the other pups in the house:
I think this might be the shot of the week; it's the clan from The Moveable Feast Food Blog in Virginia ... timing is everything!
Gorilla Bread
Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.
Macaroni Salad with Gorgonzola
From Cooking Light
Serve this over a bed of fresh arugula or gourmet greens for an attractive presentation. If you prefer, substitute crumbled goat cheese for Gorgonzola.
8 ounces whole wheat macaroni
1 cup diced red bell pepper (about 1 medium)
1 cup diced Granny Smith apple (about 1 medium)
3 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups arugula, chopped
1/4 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Add red bell pepper, apple, and toasted pecans. Combine sour cream and next 3 ingredients (through salt). Stir until blended. Pour over macaroni mixture, tossing to coat. Stir in arugula, and sprinkle with cheese.
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)
Nicholas was really fighting nap time today telling me, "Mama, I'm too busy to take a nap!" Yeah, right. After about 20 minutes, he finally succumbed. Too adorable.
The Neighbor helped me make a quick dinner tonight, and it was perfect symmetry. Between the two of us, in 30 minutes, we made Macaroni Salad with Gorgonzola and Healthy Bean Tostados. For half-an-hour of her time, she got their dinner made, and I got help - can't beat that! And as a perfect submission for Toast's Something for Nothing one-off event. I managed to get dinner for 4 adults and 2 kids for $22 - not too shabby, eh? And as a bonus, it was pretty darn healthy to boot.
The Macaroni Salad with Gorgonzola recipe is from a recent issue of Cooking Light magazine. It was easy to make and flavorful, but not a wow for any of us. For me, I think it was the apples that threw me off. I think I'd make it again sans apples.
The Healthy Bean Tostados was a recipe I found in Quick and Simple magazine. It was healthy, simple and you could easily make a ton of variations using this recipe as a springboard.
Lastly, for Treats to Work Monday, I made Paula Deen's Gorilla Bread, and here we have our WOW dish for the day. I stole one piece before I packed it up for The Neighbor to take to her office, and Nicholas and I were fighting over the last bits. I promised him I'd make another batch tomorrow, especially since it's so simple to make.
If it's the weekend, it must be time to bring out the dogs, cats, and herbs. On with the Weekend Dog Blogging round-up...
We'll start off with my parents' dog, Beau. Nicholas babysat him all week, and they picked him up Friday. Nicholas was definitely sorry to see Beau go. Here's a shot of Beau's naptime, lying on the pillow Nicholas carefully propped his head up on.
Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen in California sitting pretty:
DD Gator from Ragus Pug takes a breather:
See who won the Caption Contest for this picture over at Up a Creek Without a PatL:
The moviestar from La Mia Cucina strikes a post:
A double dose of cuteness comes by way of Sweden, with Anne's Food dropping in with an adorable shot of Stumpan and Ida:
The pooch from Farmgirl Fare in Missouri takes a drink from nature's sink:
Letta from Something So Clever in Montana:
Scrappy and Snoopy sharing kisses from Cucina Bella in Connecticut:
The adorable puppy, Doolin, from Dispensing Happiness in Tennessee; make sure to check out Stephanie's site for pics of the other pups in the house:
I think this might be the shot of the week; it's the clan from The Moveable Feast Food Blog in Virginia ... timing is everything!
Gorilla Bread
Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.
Macaroni Salad with Gorgonzola
From Cooking Light
Serve this over a bed of fresh arugula or gourmet greens for an attractive presentation. If you prefer, substitute crumbled goat cheese for Gorgonzola.
8 ounces whole wheat macaroni
1 cup diced red bell pepper (about 1 medium)
1 cup diced Granny Smith apple (about 1 medium)
3 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups arugula, chopped
1/4 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Add red bell pepper, apple, and toasted pecans. Combine sour cream and next 3 ingredients (through salt). Stir until blended. Pour over macaroni mixture, tossing to coat. Stir in arugula, and sprinkle with cheese.
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)
| link | posted at 9:03 PM
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Wasn't feeling well last night, otherwise I wouldn't have been teasing you with just pictures ... ;) Spent the morning in the hospital, but thankfully just have a virus, so I'm back at home recuperating, but, of course, no cooking today. The Husband made pork chops and rice for him and Nicholas, and Chicken Noodle Soup for me.
Onto last night's dinner, which is a perfect entry for Kalyn's Kitchen's Weekend Herb Blogging.
Dinner was Chicken Chilaquiles, a recipe I found in Martha Stewart's recent issue of Everyday Food. Quick and easy, it was actually on the table in under 20 minutes, so it makes a perfect weeknight meal. I love the smell of fresh cilantro, and it was a perfect addition in this recipe. The only change I made was to cut back the chipotle chile (halved) and in addition to her toppings, I also made a Guacamole Cream, again using fresh cilantro and used that as well. Delicious, flavorful, easy ... I'll definitely be making this one again. Coincidentally, it makes a perfect submission for IMBB #24.
All for tonight...
Chicken Chilaquiles
Serves 4
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes in puree
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from same can) coarse salt
1 small cooked rotisserie chicken, skinned and shredded
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, plus sprigs for garnish
4 cups tortilla chips
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1.75 ounce feta cheese, crumbled
Combine oil and garlic in a large saucepan, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until fragrant and sizzling, about 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes with their puree (breaking tomatoes up), chipotles and adobo and 1 cup water. Bring to boil; season with salt. Reduce heat and simmer rapidly until lightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until hot, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in chopped cilantro. Divide chips among four shallow bowls; top with chicken mixture and sauce. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, sour cream, and feta. Serve.
A year ago today ... it was all about the Cherry Baby Cakes.
Tagged with: IMBB24 + 30Minutes
Onto last night's dinner, which is a perfect entry for Kalyn's Kitchen's Weekend Herb Blogging.
Dinner was Chicken Chilaquiles, a recipe I found in Martha Stewart's recent issue of Everyday Food. Quick and easy, it was actually on the table in under 20 minutes, so it makes a perfect weeknight meal. I love the smell of fresh cilantro, and it was a perfect addition in this recipe. The only change I made was to cut back the chipotle chile (halved) and in addition to her toppings, I also made a Guacamole Cream, again using fresh cilantro and used that as well. Delicious, flavorful, easy ... I'll definitely be making this one again. Coincidentally, it makes a perfect submission for IMBB #24.
All for tonight...
Chicken Chilaquiles
Serves 4
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes in puree
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from same can) coarse salt
1 small cooked rotisserie chicken, skinned and shredded
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, plus sprigs for garnish
4 cups tortilla chips
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1.75 ounce feta cheese, crumbled
Combine oil and garlic in a large saucepan, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until fragrant and sizzling, about 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes with their puree (breaking tomatoes up), chipotles and adobo and 1 cup water. Bring to boil; season with salt. Reduce heat and simmer rapidly until lightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until hot, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in chopped cilantro. Divide chips among four shallow bowls; top with chicken mixture and sauce. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, sour cream, and feta. Serve.
A year ago today ... it was all about the Cherry Baby Cakes.
Tagged with: IMBB24 + 30Minutes
| link | posted at 6:22 PM
Friday, March 24, 2006
| link | posted at 9:47 PM
Thursday, March 23, 2006
So, hmmm ... notice anything different around here? ;) I've been working with a wonderful (and patient) web designer over the past month to give Sweetnicks a slight facelift. My main intention was to get the site into three columns to make it a bit easier to highlight certain sections, but once that started, I decided to change some other things as well. Hope y'all like it! When setting it up, we went with what would look best across the browsers the majority of visitors use, so if something doesn't seem right on your screen, just drop me a line. I've also added a few more items to the Sweetnicks store, with more to follow, so be sure and check it out. And if any of you need a referral for a fantastic web designer, drop me a line - she's a gem.
Nicholas had a babysitter for a little bit tonight, so The Husband and I just grabbed a quick bite to eat at a diner, so I ended up not Rediscovering My Library tonight, but it will resume next week, I promise.
Next up is this week's nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursdays ... introducing The Winemakers' Wife. First of all, any time someone thinks pork fat is not only a good thing, but an aphrodisiac, we've got to pay attention, and with their recent herb garden planting, I know SOMEONE is going to be interested in this blogger. And lastly, she and The Boy get Giada and the whole experience of food. Check out her site when you get a chance.
If any of you are in the Tri-State area and up for a field trip this weekend, don't forget that Saturday is Grillin' on the Bay in Brooklyn, an honest-to-goodness BBQ competition that features some of the top BBQ champions from around the country. You can find details on White Trash BBQ's site, and he's one of the many who is going to be there (in addition to running it). I don't think I'm going to make it, but it looks like The Husband will be heading on over there to do some intrepid reporting for you guys. Anyone else going?
OK folks, all for tonight. Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... it was sad day for Sara fans.
Nicholas had a babysitter for a little bit tonight, so The Husband and I just grabbed a quick bite to eat at a diner, so I ended up not Rediscovering My Library tonight, but it will resume next week, I promise.
Next up is this week's nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursdays ... introducing The Winemakers' Wife. First of all, any time someone thinks pork fat is not only a good thing, but an aphrodisiac, we've got to pay attention, and with their recent herb garden planting, I know SOMEONE is going to be interested in this blogger. And lastly, she and The Boy get Giada and the whole experience of food. Check out her site when you get a chance.
If any of you are in the Tri-State area and up for a field trip this weekend, don't forget that Saturday is Grillin' on the Bay in Brooklyn, an honest-to-goodness BBQ competition that features some of the top BBQ champions from around the country. You can find details on White Trash BBQ's site, and he's one of the many who is going to be there (in addition to running it). I don't think I'm going to make it, but it looks like The Husband will be heading on over there to do some intrepid reporting for you guys. Anyone else going?
OK folks, all for tonight. Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... it was sad day for Sara fans.
| link | posted at 9:52 PM
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
... and he did, making his "house specialty," Roast Chicken with Rice (green olive abound) and a side plate of sliced avocados with olive oil drizzled over it. I'm feeling a bit better today, but still off, so I didn't each much. I quickly whipped up the Mushroom and Cheddar Fritatta that I had planned on making yesterday. Only minutes to make, relatively healthy and budget-friendly. It's also real simple to swap out ingredients using what you have on hand.
The winners were just announced for the Pillsbury Bake-Off competition, and I am thrilled that a fellow food blogger has earned the Grand Prize of $1 Million! You can see her winning entry here. Anyone who thinks of using Dunkables as part of stuffing DESERVES to win, what creativity! Knowing Anna from a cooking board I frequent, I know she's had quite the year, also winning California Raisins contest with this entry, as well as winning Cooking Light's dessert category with this recipe. She only started entering contests 2 years ago, but has been a finalist or winner in 15 national contests so far. Way to go, Anna!
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for this week's nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursdays and Rediscovering My Library.
Until then...
A year ago today... it was all Greek to me..
The winners were just announced for the Pillsbury Bake-Off competition, and I am thrilled that a fellow food blogger has earned the Grand Prize of $1 Million! You can see her winning entry here. Anyone who thinks of using Dunkables as part of stuffing DESERVES to win, what creativity! Knowing Anna from a cooking board I frequent, I know she's had quite the year, also winning California Raisins contest with this entry, as well as winning Cooking Light's dessert category with this recipe. She only started entering contests 2 years ago, but has been a finalist or winner in 15 national contests so far. Way to go, Anna!
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for this week's nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursdays and Rediscovering My Library.
Until then...
A year ago today... it was all Greek to me..
| link | posted at 8:33 PM
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
My parents are away for a few days and we have their greyhound, Beauregard, for safekeeping. Nicholas has taken his babysitting job very seriously, reading Beau stories before bedtime, watching Barney with him and covering him up with a blanket when he thinks he's cold. Beau has never had it so good - I thought my parents spoiled him. They've got nothing on Nicholas! When my mom said that Nicholas would earn babysitting money for his "swingset jar," he was beyond thrilled. When he lets Beau out in the backyard, I heard him telling him, "It's ok, Beau. If you don't have to go to the bathroom, it's ok, don't worry." Tonight he thought Beau was moping because he missed my parents and carefully counted down the days for him until they would be back. Too cute.
Not feeling well today, and The Husband is out of town, so I ended up not cooking tonight (luckily there were leftovers for Nicholas). Fortunately, The Neighbor has the same symptoms as me, for the same time period, so I think we've safely traced it back to food over the weekend. Now if it would just go away...
In the meantime, since I didn't cook, I'll share the recipe I was PLANNING on making for tonight's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday event. As soon as I saw Dave Lieberman make this Frittata over the weekend, I knew it would be perfect for tonight. The episode was a $10 Meal for Four - not bad, huh? Hopefully I'll be up to making it tomorrow night.
Mushroom and Cheddar Fritatta and Arugula Side Salad
Yield: 8 servings
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (10-ounce) package mushrooms, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
8 eggs
4 egg whites
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Arugula Salad, recipe follows
Preheat the broiler and set the rack about 4 to 5 inches from the heat source. Heat oil in large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms until browned, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add onion and saute until tender.
Whisk eggs, egg whites, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour over vegetables in skillet and mix gently. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover skillet, and cook until eggs are set around edges, about 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and then place skillet under broiler and cook until cheese is melted and just browned, about 2 minutes. Let frittata stand 1 minute before cutting into 8 wedges. Serve with salad on the side.
Arugula Salad:
1 large bunch arugula leaves, washed and dried
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
10 grinds black pepper
Couple pinches salt
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to coat leaves with dressing and serve with the frittata.
On with the show...
The Cookbook Junkie from Pennsylvania shared her Barbecued-Pork Burritos with Chopped Salad:
Susan from the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen in Mississippi serves up a gorgeous looking Bean Sprouts and Broccoli Slaw Salad with Coconut-Ginger Dressing:
Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen in Utah mixes up a colorful Asian Spinach Salad:
Alanna from A Veggie Venture in Missouri with a new take on cabbage with her Caraway Cabbage:
It's veggie overload at Food, In the Main from the UK with Stir-Fried Veggies in Plum Sauce:
And now with ARF-overload, Chef Michele dishes up Soul Food with her Pinto Beans and Collard Greens - Yum!
Veggies and pasta are a winning combination, and Cooking Medley does it with her Penne with Creamy Veggie Sauce:
Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice in California shares a beautifully plated Sweet Corn Yogurt/Dip:
The Chocolate Lady in New York blesses us with beautiful photographs once again, this time it's Baby Bok Choy with Mushrooms:
Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce comes by way of Weekly Dish:
Erin's Kitchen from California beckons summer with her Very Berry Smoothie - Nicholas will love this!
A new contributor, Blog from Our Kitchen from Canada jumps in feet first with two contributions that look fantastic, Sweet Potato Cornbread and Spinach Pizza. (For some reason, I can't get these pictures to load, so please make sure to check out her site.)
Karina from Recipes from a [Gluten Free] Goddess shares beautiful photography and a veggie goodness with her Purple Cabbage and Sweet Potato Soup:
Cooking Within My Grasp in New Jersey shares what she cooks up with broccoflower:
Another new contributor joins in, Sugar and Spice and Eveything Nice brings her Rajma Pilaf to the table - it looks delicious and so simple to make:
KitchenMate in Pennsylvania and her Chicken Soup with Vegetables:
Phew - we made it! Another great round-up and lots of inspiration. My "to try" pile grows every week. OK folks, all for tonight. Until tomorrow...
Hot Health Hint: This week's HHH comes by way of Farmgirl Fare. She generously sent in this link that we can all reap rewards from. Enjoy!
A year ago today... it was Irish Soda Bread.
Not feeling well today, and The Husband is out of town, so I ended up not cooking tonight (luckily there were leftovers for Nicholas). Fortunately, The Neighbor has the same symptoms as me, for the same time period, so I think we've safely traced it back to food over the weekend. Now if it would just go away...
In the meantime, since I didn't cook, I'll share the recipe I was PLANNING on making for tonight's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday event. As soon as I saw Dave Lieberman make this Frittata over the weekend, I knew it would be perfect for tonight. The episode was a $10 Meal for Four - not bad, huh? Hopefully I'll be up to making it tomorrow night.
Mushroom and Cheddar Fritatta and Arugula Side Salad
Yield: 8 servings
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (10-ounce) package mushrooms, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
8 eggs
4 egg whites
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Arugula Salad, recipe follows
Preheat the broiler and set the rack about 4 to 5 inches from the heat source. Heat oil in large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms until browned, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add onion and saute until tender.
Whisk eggs, egg whites, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour over vegetables in skillet and mix gently. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover skillet, and cook until eggs are set around edges, about 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and then place skillet under broiler and cook until cheese is melted and just browned, about 2 minutes. Let frittata stand 1 minute before cutting into 8 wedges. Serve with salad on the side.
Arugula Salad:
1 large bunch arugula leaves, washed and dried
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
10 grinds black pepper
Couple pinches salt
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to coat leaves with dressing and serve with the frittata.
On with the show...
The Cookbook Junkie from Pennsylvania shared her Barbecued-Pork Burritos with Chopped Salad:
Susan from the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen in Mississippi serves up a gorgeous looking Bean Sprouts and Broccoli Slaw Salad with Coconut-Ginger Dressing:
Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen in Utah mixes up a colorful Asian Spinach Salad:
Alanna from A Veggie Venture in Missouri with a new take on cabbage with her Caraway Cabbage:
It's veggie overload at Food, In the Main from the UK with Stir-Fried Veggies in Plum Sauce:
And now with ARF-overload, Chef Michele dishes up Soul Food with her Pinto Beans and Collard Greens - Yum!
Veggies and pasta are a winning combination, and Cooking Medley does it with her Penne with Creamy Veggie Sauce:
Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice in California shares a beautifully plated Sweet Corn Yogurt/Dip:
The Chocolate Lady in New York blesses us with beautiful photographs once again, this time it's Baby Bok Choy with Mushrooms:
Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce comes by way of Weekly Dish:
Erin's Kitchen from California beckons summer with her Very Berry Smoothie - Nicholas will love this!
A new contributor, Blog from Our Kitchen from Canada jumps in feet first with two contributions that look fantastic, Sweet Potato Cornbread and Spinach Pizza. (For some reason, I can't get these pictures to load, so please make sure to check out her site.)
Karina from Recipes from a [Gluten Free] Goddess shares beautiful photography and a veggie goodness with her Purple Cabbage and Sweet Potato Soup:
Cooking Within My Grasp in New Jersey shares what she cooks up with broccoflower:
Another new contributor joins in, Sugar and Spice and Eveything Nice brings her Rajma Pilaf to the table - it looks delicious and so simple to make:
KitchenMate in Pennsylvania and her Chicken Soup with Vegetables:
Phew - we made it! Another great round-up and lots of inspiration. My "to try" pile grows every week. OK folks, all for tonight. Until tomorrow...
Hot Health Hint: This week's HHH comes by way of Farmgirl Fare. She generously sent in this link that we can all reap rewards from. Enjoy!
A year ago today... it was Irish Soda Bread.
| link | posted at 9:39 PM
Monday, March 20, 2006
Blogger seems to be having some issues tonight, so I'm going to call that fate and take the night off ... and go spend some time with this little one. :)
Don't forget, tomorrow is ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday ... I know what I'M making ... do you?
Tune in tomorrow for the round-up and other goodies. Until then...
Don't forget, tomorrow is ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday ... I know what I'M making ... do you?
Tune in tomorrow for the round-up and other goodies. Until then...
| link | posted at 10:09 PM
Sunday, March 19, 2006
First up, my exciting news... earlier this month, I wrote a review on the book Being Martha
for the Very Good Things site, which you can read here. So last night, when I was working on my post, I got an email from the author, Lloyd Allen, thanking me for the positive review. How cool is that? For those that didn't get a chance to read my review (whatcha waiting for?), he's not just any author writing a book about Martha. He's a longtime friend and former neighbor. I was truly honored to hear from him and we chatted back and forth for a little while. Turns out he's going to be doing a book signing soon in South Jersey, and I'm planning on stopping by. Totally made my night, and it was all I could do to stop myself from waking up The Husband!
Onto today's party. I had never heard of Tastefully Simple until The Neighbor mentioned that she booked us to have a party. You know the stuff has to be easy to make when The Neighbor did most of the prep work for today ... it was right up her alley, and if there's something more basic than Sandra Lee (gasp!), this would be it. In no time flat, she had put together 5 dips and a cheese ball. They sell quite a variety of items, and they're pretty versatile. For example, the seasoning used to make the dips can also be used for things like grilled chicken, fish, etc. The powder in the Chai Tea was used today, mixed with Cool Whip, to top a cake. It won't refine my kitchen (I'm not really their target audience), but I definitely got hooked on the Sea Salt and Pepper Crisps and a bag is winging its way to me.
Next ... my entries for Weekend Cat Blogging #40, hosted by the lovely Clare at Eat Stuff. First up, Sugar. She loves to sit on the windowsill and look outside. Every time I lean over the curtain rod to get her picture, she takes a swing at me, so I have to be quick!
Next is the beautiful Callie, with an expression that says, "Yup, I know I'm pretty:"
And lastly, the very handsome Lord Nelson, The Sister and Brother-in-Law's cat:
I have another article up at Paper Palate, Window Cooking, which you can check out here. And also check out The Unemployed Cook's site for a Sweetnicks Shout-Out and a recap of one of our favorite recipes.
On to Weekend Dog Blogging, the handsome Stiva rejoins us once again from The ReMARKable Palate in New York:
The trio from RobWonton in California sit for a spell on a totally cool, modern bench:
The adorably happy Peanut from Speculative Musing in Texas:
The young Willie from Eating for One in Kansas:
Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen in California shows the bone who's boss:
Let sleeping dogs lie ... another trio checks in, this time it's the bunch from Dispensing Happiness in Tennessee:
A happy pair stops by from Why Travel to France:
Princess Zoe kindly bestows a picture upon us from her Is It EDible? castle in California. A fun fairytale accompanies her post:
Ed from The Moveable Feast Food Blog in Virginia ... heeeeeeelp!!
Our THIRD trio stops by. This time it's the group from Forest Walks in the UK. Check out their site for even more adorableness:
Welcome newcomer Tsuki from Tomato! in Melbourne. Given she's been caught in the act of eating fresh basil, I think she's going to need our support. ;)
Kavi, from Sugar Mountain Farm in Vermont, settles in for a snooze:
Another pair of newcomers, it's the duo from La Mia Cucina:
Check out the youngster, Piggy, from Something So Clever in Montana:
Simba from Up a Creek Without a PatL enjoys the wintery weather in New England:
And in a great two 'fer one deal, newcomers Roxie and Smokie join in the fun from See. Sip. Taste. Hear. joins us from Tennessee:
Taking the phrase "a roll in the hay" to new meaning, it's Lucky Buddy Bear from
Farmgirl Fare in Missouri:
And last, but certainly not least, our very own Eli. I have yet to catch him actually getting ON the bed, but I've been trying to because it's hard to picture his 105 lb pound wriggling through the little bit of space at the end of the bed rail, but he sure manages:
Whew! I think that's everyone... OK folks, until tomorrow, have a fantastic evening.
P.S. OK, just one word ... ewwww!
A year ago today ... it was love at first bite.
for the Very Good Things site, which you can read here. So last night, when I was working on my post, I got an email from the author, Lloyd Allen, thanking me for the positive review. How cool is that? For those that didn't get a chance to read my review (whatcha waiting for?), he's not just any author writing a book about Martha. He's a longtime friend and former neighbor. I was truly honored to hear from him and we chatted back and forth for a little while. Turns out he's going to be doing a book signing soon in South Jersey, and I'm planning on stopping by. Totally made my night, and it was all I could do to stop myself from waking up The Husband!Onto today's party. I had never heard of Tastefully Simple until The Neighbor mentioned that she booked us to have a party. You know the stuff has to be easy to make when The Neighbor did most of the prep work for today ... it was right up her alley, and if there's something more basic than Sandra Lee (gasp!), this would be it. In no time flat, she had put together 5 dips and a cheese ball. They sell quite a variety of items, and they're pretty versatile. For example, the seasoning used to make the dips can also be used for things like grilled chicken, fish, etc. The powder in the Chai Tea was used today, mixed with Cool Whip, to top a cake. It won't refine my kitchen (I'm not really their target audience), but I definitely got hooked on the Sea Salt and Pepper Crisps and a bag is winging its way to me.
Next ... my entries for Weekend Cat Blogging #40, hosted by the lovely Clare at Eat Stuff. First up, Sugar. She loves to sit on the windowsill and look outside. Every time I lean over the curtain rod to get her picture, she takes a swing at me, so I have to be quick!
Next is the beautiful Callie, with an expression that says, "Yup, I know I'm pretty:"
And lastly, the very handsome Lord Nelson, The Sister and Brother-in-Law's cat:
I have another article up at Paper Palate, Window Cooking, which you can check out here. And also check out The Unemployed Cook's site for a Sweetnicks Shout-Out and a recap of one of our favorite recipes.
On to Weekend Dog Blogging, the handsome Stiva rejoins us once again from The ReMARKable Palate in New York:
The trio from RobWonton in California sit for a spell on a totally cool, modern bench:
The adorably happy Peanut from Speculative Musing in Texas:
The young Willie from Eating for One in Kansas:
Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen in California shows the bone who's boss:
Let sleeping dogs lie ... another trio checks in, this time it's the bunch from Dispensing Happiness in Tennessee:
A happy pair stops by from Why Travel to France:
Princess Zoe kindly bestows a picture upon us from her Is It EDible? castle in California. A fun fairytale accompanies her post:
Ed from The Moveable Feast Food Blog in Virginia ... heeeeeeelp!!
Our THIRD trio stops by. This time it's the group from Forest Walks in the UK. Check out their site for even more adorableness:
Welcome newcomer Tsuki from Tomato! in Melbourne. Given she's been caught in the act of eating fresh basil, I think she's going to need our support. ;)
Kavi, from Sugar Mountain Farm in Vermont, settles in for a snooze:
Another pair of newcomers, it's the duo from La Mia Cucina:
Check out the youngster, Piggy, from Something So Clever in Montana:
Simba from Up a Creek Without a PatL enjoys the wintery weather in New England:
And in a great two 'fer one deal, newcomers Roxie and Smokie join in the fun from See. Sip. Taste. Hear. joins us from Tennessee:
Taking the phrase "a roll in the hay" to new meaning, it's Lucky Buddy Bear from
Farmgirl Fare in Missouri:
And last, but certainly not least, our very own Eli. I have yet to catch him actually getting ON the bed, but I've been trying to because it's hard to picture his 105 lb pound wriggling through the little bit of space at the end of the bed rail, but he sure manages:
Whew! I think that's everyone... OK folks, until tomorrow, have a fantastic evening.
P.S. OK, just one word ... ewwww!
A year ago today ... it was love at first bite.
| link | posted at 8:50 PM
Saturday, March 18, 2006
... but we'll get to that in a second. First, the dinner report. In my continuing effort to use ingredients I had on hand (and quickly before they turn into mush before my eyes), I was searching for a recipe to use up my fresh asparagus and goat cheese. In catching up on my magazine reading, a recent issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food provided just the answer with her Creamy Fettuccine with Asparagus. Martha gave Rachael Ray a run for her money, since this recipe was on the table in less than thirty minutes. The verdict? It was good, but not a WOW for us. Just no real flavor impact. S'ok, they can't all be winners. But with the fresh dill, it's a perfect addition for Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging. I think I might give it another try with the addition of grilled chicken.
OK, onto the field trip I took tonight. I thought it was time to do some intrepid reporting for you, so I went to go visit an international grocery store I have heard about, but just hadn't gotten around to checking out yet. International Food Warehouse has quite the cross-section of cultures happening amongst its aisles. Located in Lodi (370 Essex Street for those near enough), it's an interesting place. You can see Chowhound's piece on it here.
As soon as you walk in, the smell of cooked Indian food drifts right over ... mmm ... I love that smell. There's a little restaurant inside the grocery store offering up freshly cooked Indian food with a place to sit and eat. Everything from Dosas and Samosas to Onion Kulcha and Naan bread. I snagged a few Chicken Samosas on the way out, couldn't resist.
The spice selection was fantastic, as were the prices. The below picture is about a quarter of the full spice area. Pure extracts were a bargain at 88 cents (perfect since I was out of orange extract).
Being the olive-freaks they are, it's a good thing The Husband and Nicholas weren't with me as I wouldn't have been able to pull them away from these olive carts. Check out the selection! I did, of course, bring them home some.
My mom will be happy with this next find. I first discovered this brand of jam in a small Turkish/Israeli market that has since gone out of business. She said it's so good, she can eat it just plain with a spoon. For those that might be able to decipher the characters on the lid -- can anyone tell me the origin of it? (You can click on the picture to enlarge it)
They did have a small "American" section with things like pasta, cookies, crackers, etc. I also discovered just how many flavors of Stacy's Chips there actually are (five!). Our Costco carries Stacy's Chips, but I've only seen the "naked" flavor. I grabbed Cinnamon Sugar and the Parmesan, Garlic and Herb.
I was surprised that their "Spanish" section was so small and didn't include things that are commonplace elsewhere (Goya chips and Sazon seasoning, for example). The same goes for their Indian section. No ginger paste? The warehouse also doesn't have any meat, fish, deli or other similar departments. It's more geared towards packaged and bottled products. That said, I'll definitely go back every now and then, but no burning need to make regular trips. Now, Corrado's is another story.
OK folks, that's a wrap for tonight. Tune in tomorrow to get all the details on our afternoon party ... you know it's going to be something different when The Neighbor is doing the cooking for it, and I'm not allowed to. Also tomorrow, I'll tell you about the exciting email I got tonight. It's all I can do to not wake up The Husband... everybody's sleeping and I've got to tell someone!
P.S. Saturday Night Sound Bites will return next week.
A year ago today ... Preachers Gone Astray.
Creamy Fettuccine with Asparagus
Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart
Serves 4
In a small skillet over medium heat, toast 1/4 cup pine nuts, stirring often, until golden, 2-3 minutes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook 3/4 pound fettuccine or other thick-strand pasta until al dente, according to package directions, adding 2 bunches of asparagus (trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut into thirds) during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Reserve one cup of pasta water, drain. Return pasta, asparagus and reserved pasta water to the pot. Toss with 4 ounces creamy goat cheese (broken into pieces), 2 tablepoons grainy mustard, 2 tablespoons fresh dill leaves and toasted pine nuts. Season with coarse salt and black pepper.
Sweetnicks' Notes: This would taste fantastic with some grilled chicken tossed in.
OK, onto the field trip I took tonight. I thought it was time to do some intrepid reporting for you, so I went to go visit an international grocery store I have heard about, but just hadn't gotten around to checking out yet. International Food Warehouse has quite the cross-section of cultures happening amongst its aisles. Located in Lodi (370 Essex Street for those near enough), it's an interesting place. You can see Chowhound's piece on it here.
As soon as you walk in, the smell of cooked Indian food drifts right over ... mmm ... I love that smell. There's a little restaurant inside the grocery store offering up freshly cooked Indian food with a place to sit and eat. Everything from Dosas and Samosas to Onion Kulcha and Naan bread. I snagged a few Chicken Samosas on the way out, couldn't resist.
The spice selection was fantastic, as were the prices. The below picture is about a quarter of the full spice area. Pure extracts were a bargain at 88 cents (perfect since I was out of orange extract).
Being the olive-freaks they are, it's a good thing The Husband and Nicholas weren't with me as I wouldn't have been able to pull them away from these olive carts. Check out the selection! I did, of course, bring them home some.
My mom will be happy with this next find. I first discovered this brand of jam in a small Turkish/Israeli market that has since gone out of business. She said it's so good, she can eat it just plain with a spoon. For those that might be able to decipher the characters on the lid -- can anyone tell me the origin of it? (You can click on the picture to enlarge it)
They did have a small "American" section with things like pasta, cookies, crackers, etc. I also discovered just how many flavors of Stacy's Chips there actually are (five!). Our Costco carries Stacy's Chips, but I've only seen the "naked" flavor. I grabbed Cinnamon Sugar and the Parmesan, Garlic and Herb.
I was surprised that their "Spanish" section was so small and didn't include things that are commonplace elsewhere (Goya chips and Sazon seasoning, for example). The same goes for their Indian section. No ginger paste? The warehouse also doesn't have any meat, fish, deli or other similar departments. It's more geared towards packaged and bottled products. That said, I'll definitely go back every now and then, but no burning need to make regular trips. Now, Corrado's is another story.
OK folks, that's a wrap for tonight. Tune in tomorrow to get all the details on our afternoon party ... you know it's going to be something different when The Neighbor is doing the cooking for it, and I'm not allowed to. Also tomorrow, I'll tell you about the exciting email I got tonight. It's all I can do to not wake up The Husband... everybody's sleeping and I've got to tell someone!
P.S. Saturday Night Sound Bites will return next week.
A year ago today ... Preachers Gone Astray.
Creamy Fettuccine with Asparagus
Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart
Serves 4
In a small skillet over medium heat, toast 1/4 cup pine nuts, stirring often, until golden, 2-3 minutes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook 3/4 pound fettuccine or other thick-strand pasta until al dente, according to package directions, adding 2 bunches of asparagus (trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut into thirds) during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Reserve one cup of pasta water, drain. Return pasta, asparagus and reserved pasta water to the pot. Toss with 4 ounces creamy goat cheese (broken into pieces), 2 tablepoons grainy mustard, 2 tablespoons fresh dill leaves and toasted pine nuts. Season with coarse salt and black pepper.
Sweetnicks' Notes: This would taste fantastic with some grilled chicken tossed in.
| link | posted at 11:06 PM
Friday, March 17, 2006
Welcome new Akron, Ohio readers!
First and foremost, if you're following a link from the Akron, Ohio Beacon Journal - thanks for visiting. Grab something cold to drink, get comfortable in your chair, and enjoy the food porn, recipes, camaraderie and more. Glad you checked out my site!
To those that didn't catch the news, Sweetnicks got a nice little shout-out from the Beacon Journal's Debby Stock Kiefer -- too cool! Go check it out when you can. You'll also find recipes there for three different kinds of delicious-sounding Asian dressings and two toffees. Dig in!
I hope everyone had a fantastic St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately new visitors are joining us on a day when I didn't cook ... Murphy's Law and all that. ;) For lunch today, a few of us pored over the St. Patrick's Day specials from a local restaurant, and I had a fantastically tender Corned Beef Sandwich. One of the others ordered the Irish Whiskey Steak, and once I saw that, and the accompanying whipped potatoes, I knew what I wanted for dinner, which worked out well since I forgot my groceries at the office.
Friday Night Date Night was at our house tonight, so Nicholas and The Girlfriend had a quick bite to eat before scampering upstairs for lots of playtime.
Dinner was perfect. The filet was very soft and you can't go wrong with whipped potatoes. I am officially stuffed.
Just a short post tonight folks, I'm beat. Because it's Friday, it's time once again for Weekend Dog Blogging, so round up your pups and snap your best shot to be included in the round-up Sunday night. In the meantime, stay tuned to see what hits the table tomorrow and find out all about Sunday's party, a type Sandra Lee will definitely be proud of. ;)
Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... I didn't post (gasp!), so I have no idea what I was doing.
First and foremost, if you're following a link from the Akron, Ohio Beacon Journal - thanks for visiting. Grab something cold to drink, get comfortable in your chair, and enjoy the food porn, recipes, camaraderie and more. Glad you checked out my site!
To those that didn't catch the news, Sweetnicks got a nice little shout-out from the Beacon Journal's Debby Stock Kiefer -- too cool! Go check it out when you can. You'll also find recipes there for three different kinds of delicious-sounding Asian dressings and two toffees. Dig in!
I hope everyone had a fantastic St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately new visitors are joining us on a day when I didn't cook ... Murphy's Law and all that. ;) For lunch today, a few of us pored over the St. Patrick's Day specials from a local restaurant, and I had a fantastically tender Corned Beef Sandwich. One of the others ordered the Irish Whiskey Steak, and once I saw that, and the accompanying whipped potatoes, I knew what I wanted for dinner, which worked out well since I forgot my groceries at the office.
Friday Night Date Night was at our house tonight, so Nicholas and The Girlfriend had a quick bite to eat before scampering upstairs for lots of playtime.
Dinner was perfect. The filet was very soft and you can't go wrong with whipped potatoes. I am officially stuffed.
Just a short post tonight folks, I'm beat. Because it's Friday, it's time once again for Weekend Dog Blogging, so round up your pups and snap your best shot to be included in the round-up Sunday night. In the meantime, stay tuned to see what hits the table tomorrow and find out all about Sunday's party, a type Sandra Lee will definitely be proud of. ;)
Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... I didn't post (gasp!), so I have no idea what I was doing.
| link | posted at 10:55 PM
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Hey all. One more day and we've made it through another week, and with tomorrow being St. Patrick's Day, we can eat ourselves silly with green bagels, green beer and corned beef and it will be over in no time.
Tonight's dinner was a simple one, but brought together new and old favorites. Making use of items I had on hand already, I made Rachael Ray's Manly Manny's Chili. We've been making this one for a few years now. It's easy to pull together and has a nice, subtle smoky taste.
For this week's edition of Rediscovering My Library segment, I turned to Tyler Florence's Eat This Book and made a new recipe, his Panzanella Salad. Full of simple, fresh flavors, I've never seen a Panzanella Salad recipe with either capers or anchovies in it, but I'll definitely be repeating this one.
This week's edition introduces of New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursdays introduces us to The Unemployed Cook, who hails from Tennessee. Whether it's her Deconstructed Fish Tacos (l.o.v.e. fish tacos!), her Slow Cooked Baked Beans or her Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce, I know you'll find something that speaks to your tastebuds - go check it out.
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow to see what's on tap for the weekend, including details on a food party I bet you never thought I'd have! Until then...
A year ago today ... the kitchen went to the dogs.
Panzanella
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
1 French boule, or loaf of round Tuscan bread, torn into bite-size pieces
Extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
3 anchovy fillets
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 a lemon, or as needed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon capers, drained
2 roasted red bell peppers, shredded by hand
1/2 pint red cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 pint yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 seedless cucumber, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
1/2 bunch of basil, torn into largish pieces
1/4 cup celery leaves, torn into largish pieces
Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the bread chunks with 1/4 cup oil until the bread is wet with the oil. Spread the bread on a baking sheet and back until the bread begins to brown, about 10 minutes. While the bread is going, make the dressing. Use a large knife to chop and mash the garlic, anchovies, and salt to a paste on a cutting board. Scrape it into a large mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, and stir together. Add all of the rest of the ingredients and gently stir. Taste for seasoning. Finally, add the toasted bread and toss it all together. Taste it and season one last time with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Manly Manny's Chili
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
Makes 2 quarts, up to 6 bowlfuls
2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lbs ground sirloin
Montreal Steak Seasoning or coarse salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 bottle beer (6 oz)
1 can (14 oz) beef broth
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1-1/2 tablespoons dark chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 oz smoky BBQ sauce
2 oz Frank's Red Hot or other cayenne pepper sauce (about 3 tablespoons)
6 oz shredded smoked cheddar cheese for topping (optional)
chopped raw onions, for garnish (optional)
Corn tortilla chips, for dipping
Heat oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, till onions are soft. Add ground beef and brown, another 3-5 minutes. Season meat and onions lightly with Montreal seasoning or salt and pepper. Add beer and let it reduce by half. Stir in broth, paste, chili powder, cumin, smoky BBQ sauce and cayenne pepper sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Servie with shredded smoked cheddar cheese and chopped raw onions and corn chips.
Tonight's dinner was a simple one, but brought together new and old favorites. Making use of items I had on hand already, I made Rachael Ray's Manly Manny's Chili. We've been making this one for a few years now. It's easy to pull together and has a nice, subtle smoky taste.
For this week's edition of Rediscovering My Library segment, I turned to Tyler Florence's Eat This Book
and made a new recipe, his Panzanella Salad. Full of simple, fresh flavors, I've never seen a Panzanella Salad recipe with either capers or anchovies in it, but I'll definitely be repeating this one.This week's edition introduces of New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursdays introduces us to The Unemployed Cook, who hails from Tennessee. Whether it's her Deconstructed Fish Tacos (l.o.v.e. fish tacos!), her Slow Cooked Baked Beans or her Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce, I know you'll find something that speaks to your tastebuds - go check it out.
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow to see what's on tap for the weekend, including details on a food party I bet you never thought I'd have! Until then...
A year ago today ... the kitchen went to the dogs.
Panzanella
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
1 French boule, or loaf of round Tuscan bread, torn into bite-size pieces
Extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
3 anchovy fillets
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 a lemon, or as needed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon capers, drained
2 roasted red bell peppers, shredded by hand
1/2 pint red cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 pint yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 seedless cucumber, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
1/2 bunch of basil, torn into largish pieces
1/4 cup celery leaves, torn into largish pieces
Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the bread chunks with 1/4 cup oil until the bread is wet with the oil. Spread the bread on a baking sheet and back until the bread begins to brown, about 10 minutes. While the bread is going, make the dressing. Use a large knife to chop and mash the garlic, anchovies, and salt to a paste on a cutting board. Scrape it into a large mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, and stir together. Add all of the rest of the ingredients and gently stir. Taste for seasoning. Finally, add the toasted bread and toss it all together. Taste it and season one last time with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Manly Manny's Chili
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
Makes 2 quarts, up to 6 bowlfuls
2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lbs ground sirloin
Montreal Steak Seasoning or coarse salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 bottle beer (6 oz)
1 can (14 oz) beef broth
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1-1/2 tablespoons dark chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 oz smoky BBQ sauce
2 oz Frank's Red Hot or other cayenne pepper sauce (about 3 tablespoons)
6 oz shredded smoked cheddar cheese for topping (optional)
chopped raw onions, for garnish (optional)
Corn tortilla chips, for dipping
Heat oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, till onions are soft. Add ground beef and brown, another 3-5 minutes. Season meat and onions lightly with Montreal seasoning or salt and pepper. Add beer and let it reduce by half. Stir in broth, paste, chili powder, cumin, smoky BBQ sauce and cayenne pepper sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Servie with shredded smoked cheddar cheese and chopped raw onions and corn chips.
| link | posted at 8:41 PM
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
... cue the deep voice ... We interrupt this food post to bring you a Public Service Accouncement. Nothing says Spring like a pair of cute pink shoes. Aren't they the cutest? Made a stop at DSW yesterday at lunchtime and brought these puppies home. They're made by Sketchers and have a nice grooved sneaker-type bottom and are so comfy - can't wait to break them in!
OK, onto why you came here ... the food!
The Husband did his thing tonight, serving up a steak with homemade french fries. He's been working on perfecting the french fries and he's pretty much there, crispy on the outside and mooshy on the inside, lightly salted, mmmmm.
The meal was completed with a plate of sliced fresh avocado with a sprinkling of salt. I love avocado just plain like this, smooth, creamy and buttery, yum. And then lastly, I came home to this... not bad, eh? The Husband is thinking pink too. ;)
The mailman delivered an awesome package today. Check out the goodies:
How did BzzAgent get into my head like that? I heart Nutella and am all too happy to spread its bzz! If you haven't heard of BzzAgent before, you might want to go take a gander. I first had Nutella when we lived in Italy for a few years while I was growing up. A creamy, chocolatey, hazelnut spread, you can eat it a variety of ways. My personal favorite happens to be ... Take spoon, dip in jar, eat, repeat. Along with the full size jar and cute little sample sizes, there were also coupons which I will surely put to use and a booklet filled with fun ways to eat Nutella and little facts about it. Did you know that there are over 50 hazelnuts blended with cocoa and skim milk in every jar? In European households, moms have been serving it as a breakfast or snack with croissants since it came out in the early 60s. It didn't appear in the US until 1983, but caught on like wildfire and is still growing strong with a legion of devotees. If you haven't tried it, time's awastin'.
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow to see what hits the table with this week's segment of Rediscovering My Library and see who gets the nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursday. Until then...
A year ago today... it was all about the New York Times and Indian snack food.
OK, onto why you came here ... the food!
The Husband did his thing tonight, serving up a steak with homemade french fries. He's been working on perfecting the french fries and he's pretty much there, crispy on the outside and mooshy on the inside, lightly salted, mmmmm.
The meal was completed with a plate of sliced fresh avocado with a sprinkling of salt. I love avocado just plain like this, smooth, creamy and buttery, yum. And then lastly, I came home to this... not bad, eh? The Husband is thinking pink too. ;)
The mailman delivered an awesome package today. Check out the goodies:
How did BzzAgent get into my head like that? I heart Nutella and am all too happy to spread its bzz! If you haven't heard of BzzAgent before, you might want to go take a gander. I first had Nutella when we lived in Italy for a few years while I was growing up. A creamy, chocolatey, hazelnut spread, you can eat it a variety of ways. My personal favorite happens to be ... Take spoon, dip in jar, eat, repeat. Along with the full size jar and cute little sample sizes, there were also coupons which I will surely put to use and a booklet filled with fun ways to eat Nutella and little facts about it. Did you know that there are over 50 hazelnuts blended with cocoa and skim milk in every jar? In European households, moms have been serving it as a breakfast or snack with croissants since it came out in the early 60s. It didn't appear in the US until 1983, but caught on like wildfire and is still growing strong with a legion of devotees. If you haven't tried it, time's awastin'.
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow to see what hits the table with this week's segment of Rediscovering My Library and see who gets the nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursday. Until then...
A year ago today... it was all about the New York Times and Indian snack food.
| link | posted at 7:59 PM
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Ahhh, dinner tonight. Good stuff. Simple and satisfying. For my ARF/5-A-Day contributions, I made two dishes, one a tried-and-true and one new one. The tried-and-true was the always excellent, absurdly easy Melty Portobello Sandwiches - divine! Then, I also made Spicy Baked Chickpeas, a recipe I found from Spoon and Stem, They were tasty and very simple to make; only problem is I'm the only one that's going to be eating them in this house. ;)
Spicy Baked Chickpeas
From Spoon & Stem
non-stick cooking spray
1 (16 ounce) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Preheat oven to 425F. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place chickpeas evenly on the baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Pour into a large bowl and add salt, cayenne, garlic powder and oregano, Gently combine to coat evenly.
One quick shot of my Kitchen Monkey, and then we're off for the round-up:
A meatloaf with a roux? Yup, Pat from Up a Creek without a PatL in New England is doing it, and you can too. Just check out her recipe for Mondo Gumbo Meatloaf, with veggies hidden inside.
Kristin from The Pearl Onion in New York joins us for the first time, sharing her Pancetta, Bean and Spinach Soup - looks divine!
Another ARF/5-A-Day newcomer, Emily from Biscuits and Blues joins in with her Buffalo Chicken Wraps:
The Chocolate Lady from New York brings us another gorgeous vegetable, the wonderful Arugula, and shares her recipe for Spaghetti with Arugula and Tomato Sauce:
Taste Corner in North Carolina serves up a completely new thing, Drumstick Sambhar with Karela Crispies:
Another newcomer, Bake My Day from The Netherlands delivers her take on Tuna:
This must be "Newcomer Week," because I'm lucky enough to get another new visitor to ARF/5-A-Day. To the Tooth from Maryland cooks up butternut squash in my most favorite way:
Paula from The Cookbook Junkie in Pennsylvania with her veggie-laden Bayou-Style Pot Pie
Chef Michele made some delicious-sounding Ravioli Casserole that I know Nicholas will love.
Sarah's Steak Fajita Pockets with Avocado Salsa will make great use out of the two avocados sitting on my kitchen counter:
Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen in Utah has a dish after The Husband and Nicholas' hearts - anything with Feta and Kalamata, and they are so there. Check out her Many Peppers Greek Salad:
Food for Thought in Illinois serves up breakfast for dinner:
Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice in California with delicious-looking Chicken and Peppers:
Our resident Veggie Evangelist from Missouri gives us a two-fer this week with her Kitchen Stir-Fry and Oven-Baked Brown Rice:
Another take on rice, with pomegranates from Cooking within my Grasp:
Food, In the Main from the UK bakes up a tasty Banana-Orange Bread with Nuts:
Alysha from The Savory Notebook manages an event double-header with her Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry-Balsamic Sauce:
Stacey from Just Braise in New York abandons desserts this week and turns out a smashing looking breakfast with her Berry Oatmeal:
Next newcomer for tonight is Ana from Kitchen Space in North Carolina brings us a lovely Salmon with Tomatoes and Asparagus (one of my favorite vegetables!):
Lastly, Cooking Medley's Kiwi Jam looks gorgeous; let's welcome another ARF/5-A-Day newcomer!
Whew! That is finally the round-up. You guys totally rocked ARF/5-A-Day today, and I think this is the most diverse round-up we've had since I started this. Awesome, awesome job!
Hot Health Hint for Today: Did you know that Broccoli helps fight Ovarian Cancer? No? I didn't either. It contains isothiocyanates, a plant chemical known for fighting carcinogens. Just add one cup of raw or steamed broccoli to your diet every day to get the cancer-fighting powers started. Considering Ovarian Cancer is difficult to diagnose and treat, this is very good news.
OK folks, all for tonight. Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... Indian food review and a stop for homemade ravioli.
Spicy Baked Chickpeas
From Spoon & Stem
non-stick cooking spray
1 (16 ounce) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Preheat oven to 425F. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place chickpeas evenly on the baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Pour into a large bowl and add salt, cayenne, garlic powder and oregano, Gently combine to coat evenly.
One quick shot of my Kitchen Monkey, and then we're off for the round-up:
A meatloaf with a roux? Yup, Pat from Up a Creek without a PatL in New England is doing it, and you can too. Just check out her recipe for Mondo Gumbo Meatloaf, with veggies hidden inside.
Kristin from The Pearl Onion in New York joins us for the first time, sharing her Pancetta, Bean and Spinach Soup - looks divine!
.jpg)
Another ARF/5-A-Day newcomer, Emily from Biscuits and Blues joins in with her Buffalo Chicken Wraps:
The Chocolate Lady from New York brings us another gorgeous vegetable, the wonderful Arugula, and shares her recipe for Spaghetti with Arugula and Tomato Sauce:
Taste Corner in North Carolina serves up a completely new thing, Drumstick Sambhar with Karela Crispies:
Another newcomer, Bake My Day from The Netherlands delivers her take on Tuna:
This must be "Newcomer Week," because I'm lucky enough to get another new visitor to ARF/5-A-Day. To the Tooth from Maryland cooks up butternut squash in my most favorite way:
Paula from The Cookbook Junkie in Pennsylvania with her veggie-laden Bayou-Style Pot Pie
Chef Michele made some delicious-sounding Ravioli Casserole that I know Nicholas will love.
Sarah's Steak Fajita Pockets with Avocado Salsa will make great use out of the two avocados sitting on my kitchen counter:
Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen in Utah has a dish after The Husband and Nicholas' hearts - anything with Feta and Kalamata, and they are so there. Check out her Many Peppers Greek Salad:
Food for Thought in Illinois serves up breakfast for dinner:
Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice in California with delicious-looking Chicken and Peppers:
Our resident Veggie Evangelist from Missouri gives us a two-fer this week with her Kitchen Stir-Fry and Oven-Baked Brown Rice:
Another take on rice, with pomegranates from Cooking within my Grasp:
Food, In the Main from the UK bakes up a tasty Banana-Orange Bread with Nuts:
Alysha from The Savory Notebook manages an event double-header with her Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry-Balsamic Sauce:
Stacey from Just Braise in New York abandons desserts this week and turns out a smashing looking breakfast with her Berry Oatmeal:
Next newcomer for tonight is Ana from Kitchen Space in North Carolina brings us a lovely Salmon with Tomatoes and Asparagus (one of my favorite vegetables!):
.4.jpg)
Lastly, Cooking Medley's Kiwi Jam looks gorgeous; let's welcome another ARF/5-A-Day newcomer!
Whew! That is finally the round-up. You guys totally rocked ARF/5-A-Day today, and I think this is the most diverse round-up we've had since I started this. Awesome, awesome job!
Hot Health Hint for Today: Did you know that Broccoli helps fight Ovarian Cancer? No? I didn't either. It contains isothiocyanates, a plant chemical known for fighting carcinogens. Just add one cup of raw or steamed broccoli to your diet every day to get the cancer-fighting powers started. Considering Ovarian Cancer is difficult to diagnose and treat, this is very good news.
OK folks, all for tonight. Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... Indian food review and a stop for homemade ravioli.
| link | posted at 9:54 PM
Monday, March 13, 2006
When Alysha from The Savory Notebook asked me to host a Virtual Recipe Club, I knew exactly what theme I would choose: Cinnamon. Back in November, my old Supper Club had a Something with Cinnamon theme, and I remember all the great dishes that came out of that night ... tons of savory things that I never would have thought to make myself. I instantly knew what I was making for tonight, Cinnamon-Pancetta Carbonara. Now stop wrinkling your nose like that; I can even hear you saying, "ewwww...;" my mom did the same thing when I mentioned the dish to her today. I promise you it's THAT good, definitely ranked as an OMG for us, and a perfect dish for company. You can taste a hint of cinnamon in the pasta, but it's very subtle. The only thing I changed in the recipe was that I didn't use fresh pasta. I just couldn't bring myself to spend $10 for fresh pasta. If we were having company, maybe, but it was fine with the regular boxed stuff, never fear. As a side, I made Stuffed Garlic Bread. So not exactly a low-cal night here at the Sweetnicks' house, but it's not how we eat every day, of course. For Nicholas, I made Homemade Crispy Chicken Strips.
How gorgeously divine does this look?
I put all the recipes from yesterday onto my sidebar, Sweetnicks' Fruit Salad, the No Peek Casserole, Grandma's Secret Salad and lastly, Caramel Pound Cake.
OK, on with the round-up of Cinnamon Contributors...
Chef Michele kickstarts the round-up with something I know The Husband will love, her Cinnamon Rolls. We can't go past a Cinnabon without him leaving with a few to take home. Can't wait to try this one!
Our resident Veggie Evangelist, Alanna from A Veggie Venture shares Hearty Heart-Loving Muffins - they look great!
Next up is the VRC creator herself, Alysha from The Savory Notebook with her Cinnamon Rice She challenged herself to make a savory dish with cinnamon, and it looks like she picked a winner.
La Mia Cucina a brand spankin', days-old blogger leaps into the food blogging event world with both feet, sharing her take on Martha Stewart's Cinnamon Cookies, and then finishes us off with a batch of homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream. I keep debating about whether or not I need an ice cream machine; perhaps it's time to put one on my birthday list. ;)
And that, folks, is it for tonight. If I accidentally overlooked someone, drop me a line and I'll get you added. Don't forget to send in your ARF/5-A-Day contribution to be included in tomorrow's round-up. Until then...
A year ago today... it was Indian cooking.
How gorgeously divine does this look?
I put all the recipes from yesterday onto my sidebar, Sweetnicks' Fruit Salad, the No Peek Casserole, Grandma's Secret Salad and lastly, Caramel Pound Cake.
OK, on with the round-up of Cinnamon Contributors...
Chef Michele kickstarts the round-up with something I know The Husband will love, her Cinnamon Rolls. We can't go past a Cinnabon without him leaving with a few to take home. Can't wait to try this one!
Our resident Veggie Evangelist, Alanna from A Veggie Venture shares Hearty Heart-Loving Muffins - they look great!
Next up is the VRC creator herself, Alysha from The Savory Notebook with her Cinnamon Rice She challenged herself to make a savory dish with cinnamon, and it looks like she picked a winner.
La Mia Cucina a brand spankin', days-old blogger leaps into the food blogging event world with both feet, sharing her take on Martha Stewart's Cinnamon Cookies, and then finishes us off with a batch of homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream. I keep debating about whether or not I need an ice cream machine; perhaps it's time to put one on my birthday list. ;)
And that, folks, is it for tonight. If I accidentally overlooked someone, drop me a line and I'll get you added. Don't forget to send in your ARF/5-A-Day contribution to be included in tomorrow's round-up. Until then...
A year ago today... it was Indian cooking.
| link | posted at 9:54 PM
Sunday, March 12, 2006
A perfectly lazy Sunday today ... lots of relaxing with a little bit of productivity and cooking thrown in for good measure. Let's start with breakfast.
When Stephanie announced that the theme for her Blog Party 8 was Brunch, I promised to join in, especially since I've missed, ahem, a few of her other Blog Parties.
I made something very simple, but perfect for Brunch, Fruit Salad. I first served this in November 2004 (yup, I'm a geek like that and make notes) for a Brunch with my family. Healthy, fresh and very easy to make, you can definitely play with the fruit ingredients, depending on your likes, what's in season, etc. It's a Sweetnicks Original - hope you like it.
For dinner tonight, we stuck to Tried-and-Trues, but these are all new to you, since I haven't written about them before. Pre-dinner munchies came by way of a Clam Dip with Fritos. Yes, Fritos. This recipe originally appeared in Gourmet Magazine in 2002. The light creaminess of the dip goes really well with the Fritos (THEIR serving suggestion, I promise).
Salad tonight was Grandma's Secret Salad, and, no, not my Grandma. We've been making this for a few years now; the first time, I was intrigued by a unique ingredient in the dressing (A1 Steak Sauce) and the cute recipe notes (see below) which I follow explicitly. This was the first time Nicholas has had this one, and he kept coming back for more, even requesting it for lunch tomorrow.
Next up, the main course. A ridiculously simple hearty dish to make, this one comes from a caterer. It takes literally minutes to throw together, and then bakes in the oven for 2-1/2 hours. It's called No Peek Casserole for good reason - stay out of the oven. ;) Serve over noodles or rice, and you're all set. I can almost guarantee you'll like this one ... creamy and rich, without being too much so. And if you don't tell them, they'll never know they ate mushrooms. Shhhh...
The Neighbor took the reins for dessert, and made one of The Husband's favorites, Mini Cherry Cheesecakes. Yum. I'm so stuffed I couldn't manage even one, but that didn't stop The Husband. But then again, he's got that crazy, not-fair metabolism that he can devour three without nary a second thought.
And lastly, for Treats to Work Monday, I made a brand spankin' new recipe, Caramel Poundcake, originally from Southern Living. Usually I'm not a big poundcake fan, but I would definitely make this one again ... dense, but very moist. The only change would be to halve the glaze ingredients next time.
Before we move on to Weekend Dog Blogging, just a reminder that tomorrow is the deadline for this week's edition of Virtual Recipe Club, the brainchild of Alysha atThe Savory Notebook. The theme is Cinnamon - hope to see your contribution! :)
A year ago today ... we had two deliciously divine types of quesadillas. Intrigued? The recipes are there waiting for you.
P.S. All recipes from tonight will be up tomorrow.
This weekend's edition of Weekend Dog Blogging starts off with a newcomer, Miss Ethel Mae from Mumbo Jumbo. Adorable!
Sadie from The Moveable Feasts Food Blog in Virginia begs for a belly rub:
Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen in California is having a ball ... ;)
Another pup looking for a belly rub, it's Sophie from You Gonna Eat All That? in Virginia:
Simba from Up a Creek without a PatL in New England watches and waits:
It's playtime over at Dispensing Happiness' place in Tennessee. Check out her site for even more puppy playfulness:
Scrappy enjoys a homemade treat from Cucina Bella in Connecticut:
Meeso from Blue Tape enjoys a romp:
Gotta like a dog who loves his veggies! It's Willie from Eating for One in Kansas:
Why Travel to France shares a picture of a sleeping dog at a street sale:
Buddy from RobWonton in sunny California is having a grand 'ol time:
Looking quite serene and content, it's Lucky Buddy Bear from Farmgirl Fare in Missouri:
Great shot of Thor and Trouble (love the name!) from KitchenMage:
Napoleon tending to the pigs over at Sugar Mountain Farm in Vermont:
And last, but not least, our very own Eli, getting a big hug from his permanent sidekick:
When Stephanie announced that the theme for her Blog Party 8 was Brunch, I promised to join in, especially since I've missed, ahem, a few of her other Blog Parties.
I made something very simple, but perfect for Brunch, Fruit Salad. I first served this in November 2004 (yup, I'm a geek like that and make notes) for a Brunch with my family. Healthy, fresh and very easy to make, you can definitely play with the fruit ingredients, depending on your likes, what's in season, etc. It's a Sweetnicks Original - hope you like it.
For dinner tonight, we stuck to Tried-and-Trues, but these are all new to you, since I haven't written about them before. Pre-dinner munchies came by way of a Clam Dip with Fritos. Yes, Fritos. This recipe originally appeared in Gourmet Magazine in 2002. The light creaminess of the dip goes really well with the Fritos (THEIR serving suggestion, I promise).Salad tonight was Grandma's Secret Salad, and, no, not my Grandma. We've been making this for a few years now; the first time, I was intrigued by a unique ingredient in the dressing (A1 Steak Sauce) and the cute recipe notes (see below) which I follow explicitly. This was the first time Nicholas has had this one, and he kept coming back for more, even requesting it for lunch tomorrow.
Next up, the main course. A ridiculously simple hearty dish to make, this one comes from a caterer. It takes literally minutes to throw together, and then bakes in the oven for 2-1/2 hours. It's called No Peek Casserole for good reason - stay out of the oven. ;) Serve over noodles or rice, and you're all set. I can almost guarantee you'll like this one ... creamy and rich, without being too much so. And if you don't tell them, they'll never know they ate mushrooms. Shhhh...
The Neighbor took the reins for dessert, and made one of The Husband's favorites, Mini Cherry Cheesecakes. Yum. I'm so stuffed I couldn't manage even one, but that didn't stop The Husband. But then again, he's got that crazy, not-fair metabolism that he can devour three without nary a second thought.
And lastly, for Treats to Work Monday, I made a brand spankin' new recipe, Caramel Poundcake, originally from Southern Living. Usually I'm not a big poundcake fan, but I would definitely make this one again ... dense, but very moist. The only change would be to halve the glaze ingredients next time.
Before we move on to Weekend Dog Blogging, just a reminder that tomorrow is the deadline for this week's edition of Virtual Recipe Club, the brainchild of Alysha atThe Savory Notebook. The theme is Cinnamon - hope to see your contribution! :)
A year ago today ... we had two deliciously divine types of quesadillas. Intrigued? The recipes are there waiting for you.
P.S. All recipes from tonight will be up tomorrow.
This weekend's edition of Weekend Dog Blogging starts off with a newcomer, Miss Ethel Mae from Mumbo Jumbo. Adorable!
Sadie from The Moveable Feasts Food Blog in Virginia begs for a belly rub:
Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen in California is having a ball ... ;)
Another pup looking for a belly rub, it's Sophie from You Gonna Eat All That? in Virginia:
Simba from Up a Creek without a PatL in New England watches and waits:
It's playtime over at Dispensing Happiness' place in Tennessee. Check out her site for even more puppy playfulness:
Scrappy enjoys a homemade treat from Cucina Bella in Connecticut:
Meeso from Blue Tape enjoys a romp:
Gotta like a dog who loves his veggies! It's Willie from Eating for One in Kansas:
Why Travel to France shares a picture of a sleeping dog at a street sale:
Buddy from RobWonton in sunny California is having a grand 'ol time:
Looking quite serene and content, it's Lucky Buddy Bear from Farmgirl Fare in Missouri:
Great shot of Thor and Trouble (love the name!) from KitchenMage:
Napoleon tending to the pigs over at Sugar Mountain Farm in Vermont:
And last, but not least, our very own Eli, getting a big hug from his permanent sidekick:
| link | posted at 8:42 PM
Saturday, March 11, 2006
My Dad is out of town on a business trip, so we stopped by my Mom's house for dinner tonight. Nicholas was excited to go there, especially after he found out his Aunt Amanda and Uncle Tim were going to be there too; but first we had to clear up one thing:
"Mama, I don't want Uncle Tim to turn me upside down."
"OK, Nicholas, he won't turn you upside down."
Repeat 20 times on the way there.
'Course by the time we leave, Nicholas turned into a giggly, wriggly little munchkin and Uncle Tim is tired from trying to keep up with him. And yup, he got turned upside down once, twice, probably three times, and loved almost every minute of it.
To keep it easy for dinner, my Mom ended up getting take-out from a local restaurant. Everything was delicious, but I think my favorite was the penne with pink sauce and mushrooms. Three hours later, I'm still stuffed.
Usually a trip to my parents' house includes either a stop at Trader Joes or Whole Foods, since there are none near us; today it was Trader Joes. Here's my haul. They have superb prices on cheese, so I grabbed a few hunks with some other goodies. I've introduced Nicholas to Italian orange soda, so bought a few of those, some smoked salmon, Portobellos, Morello cherries for ice cream and a few other goodies. Yes, there's bologna in there. Avert your eyes.
Cinnamon is the theme for the upcoming Virtual Recipe Club, an event brainchild of The Savory Notebook. I'm hosting it this week, and entries are due Monday, if you'd like to be included in the round-up. You can get more details here. C'mon folks, be creative and get your inspiration flowing. Cinnamon can be found in tons of sweet and savory dishes, Indian cuisine and much more. I know what I'm making - do you? Hope to see you there. No excuses.
I've been working feverishly on loading recipes I've made and talked about in the drop-down menus on the right sidebar. Today, I got all the recipes from July/August '05 up, as well as added a few new categories. Lots of great stuff there, so check it out when you need some inspiration for your next meal. September recipes should be up tomorrow.
Like Nutella? You might want to check out this short piece I just did for Daily Eats. Hard to find a better bargain.
Lest I forget ... Saturday Night Sound Bites. Let's take a peek and see what my fellow food bloggers are talking about:
McAuliflower over at Brownie Points has just made a delectable cocktail that I KNOW we're making soon ... Hot Apple Pie Shots. Yum!
Check out what great tasty snack Spoon and Stem cooked up this week. I know these are going on MY list for tomorrow.
And lastly, Weekly Dish finishes off her week of Oscar-themed cooking with some deliciously savory-looking Brokeback Ribs.
OK folks, all for tonight. Enough reading, right? Don't forget to send in your pictures for Weekend Dog Blogging #25.
Tune in tomorrow to see what's cookin'. Until then...
"Mama, I don't want Uncle Tim to turn me upside down."
"OK, Nicholas, he won't turn you upside down."
Repeat 20 times on the way there.
'Course by the time we leave, Nicholas turned into a giggly, wriggly little munchkin and Uncle Tim is tired from trying to keep up with him. And yup, he got turned upside down once, twice, probably three times, and loved almost every minute of it.To keep it easy for dinner, my Mom ended up getting take-out from a local restaurant. Everything was delicious, but I think my favorite was the penne with pink sauce and mushrooms. Three hours later, I'm still stuffed.
Usually a trip to my parents' house includes either a stop at Trader Joes or Whole Foods, since there are none near us; today it was Trader Joes. Here's my haul. They have superb prices on cheese, so I grabbed a few hunks with some other goodies. I've introduced Nicholas to Italian orange soda, so bought a few of those, some smoked salmon, Portobellos, Morello cherries for ice cream and a few other goodies. Yes, there's bologna in there. Avert your eyes.
Cinnamon is the theme for the upcoming Virtual Recipe Club, an event brainchild of The Savory Notebook. I'm hosting it this week, and entries are due Monday, if you'd like to be included in the round-up. You can get more details here. C'mon folks, be creative and get your inspiration flowing. Cinnamon can be found in tons of sweet and savory dishes, Indian cuisine and much more. I know what I'm making - do you? Hope to see you there. No excuses.
I've been working feverishly on loading recipes I've made and talked about in the drop-down menus on the right sidebar. Today, I got all the recipes from July/August '05 up, as well as added a few new categories. Lots of great stuff there, so check it out when you need some inspiration for your next meal. September recipes should be up tomorrow.
Like Nutella? You might want to check out this short piece I just did for Daily Eats. Hard to find a better bargain.
Lest I forget ... Saturday Night Sound Bites. Let's take a peek and see what my fellow food bloggers are talking about:
McAuliflower over at Brownie Points has just made a delectable cocktail that I KNOW we're making soon ... Hot Apple Pie Shots. Yum!
Check out what great tasty snack Spoon and Stem cooked up this week. I know these are going on MY list for tomorrow.
And lastly, Weekly Dish finishes off her week of Oscar-themed cooking with some deliciously savory-looking Brokeback Ribs.
OK folks, all for tonight. Enough reading, right? Don't forget to send in your pictures for Weekend Dog Blogging #25.
Tune in tomorrow to see what's cookin'. Until then...
| link | posted at 11:22 PM
Friday, March 10, 2006
Never were truer words spoken, and certainly not this week. A hellish week at work, we were all glad to see it end. Going to be a short post tonight, 'cause I'm exhausted.
The times they are a-changing. You may notice a name has been added to the right of this post, in the sidebar ... Cate. I figured since I was starting to do writing for some other sites using this name, I should make it a little more consistent. It lends a little more credibility when a piece is written "by Cate O'Malley," as opposed to "Sweetnicks," you know? Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be invited to be a contributing writer to another online food magazine (details to follow once my first piece goes up), and I'm really excited about that, so it stands to reason that since the name is going to get used more and more, it might as well be here too. ;) But, no worries, I'm not revealing all my secrets! I'm also in the process of doing a redesign on the website, so stay tuned, because changes are coming. Not big ones, but nice ones.
So the week is over and here's what I spent on groceries all week: $0. Not bad, eh? I cooked several new meals this week, all using ingredients I had on hand. Just another way to challenge myself creatively, and keeping my toes from getting bruised when things fall out of the freezer because it's a little, uh, overstuffed.
Tonight, Nicholas had Friday Night Date Night at The Girlfriend's house, so The Husband and I escaped for a little while to run errands, including a quick dash into the bookstore, since I was still anxiously awaiting the newest Donna Hay issue. SCORE! Got the new Donna Hay and Waitrose. I'll be writing a review on the Donna Hay issue this weekend for Paper Palate, so be sure to stay tuned for that
If it's the weekend, it must be time for Weekend Dog Blogging, so get your cutest pup pic in to me to be in the Sunday night round-up. Weekend Cat Blogging is on as usual at Eat Stuff and my contribution of the beautiful Callie is below. Lastly, stop by Kalyn's Kitchen to be included in her Weekend Herb Blogging event. Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... I was baking banana bread. Haven't made this recipe since then actually ... Nigella's recipe (in my sidebar under Breads) is the one to beat these days.
P.S. For my East Coast readers, you can help with an article I'm writing. What says "East Coast" to you in terms of food, restaurant trends, cooking, etc.? Talk back to me in the Comment section and let me know. Thanks much.
The times they are a-changing. You may notice a name has been added to the right of this post, in the sidebar ... Cate. I figured since I was starting to do writing for some other sites using this name, I should make it a little more consistent. It lends a little more credibility when a piece is written "by Cate O'Malley," as opposed to "Sweetnicks," you know? Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be invited to be a contributing writer to another online food magazine (details to follow once my first piece goes up), and I'm really excited about that, so it stands to reason that since the name is going to get used more and more, it might as well be here too. ;) But, no worries, I'm not revealing all my secrets! I'm also in the process of doing a redesign on the website, so stay tuned, because changes are coming. Not big ones, but nice ones.
So the week is over and here's what I spent on groceries all week: $0. Not bad, eh? I cooked several new meals this week, all using ingredients I had on hand. Just another way to challenge myself creatively, and keeping my toes from getting bruised when things fall out of the freezer because it's a little, uh, overstuffed.
Tonight, Nicholas had Friday Night Date Night at The Girlfriend's house, so The Husband and I escaped for a little while to run errands, including a quick dash into the bookstore, since I was still anxiously awaiting the newest Donna Hay issue. SCORE! Got the new Donna Hay and Waitrose. I'll be writing a review on the Donna Hay issue this weekend for Paper Palate, so be sure to stay tuned for that
If it's the weekend, it must be time for Weekend Dog Blogging, so get your cutest pup pic in to me to be in the Sunday night round-up. Weekend Cat Blogging is on as usual at Eat Stuff and my contribution of the beautiful Callie is below. Lastly, stop by Kalyn's Kitchen to be included in her Weekend Herb Blogging event. Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... I was baking banana bread. Haven't made this recipe since then actually ... Nigella's recipe (in my sidebar under Breads) is the one to beat these days.
P.S. For my East Coast readers, you can help with an article I'm writing. What says "East Coast" to you in terms of food, restaurant trends, cooking, etc.? Talk back to me in the Comment section and let me know. Thanks much.
| link | posted at 10:16 PM
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Bravo TV's new show, Top Chef, premiered yesterday, and I happened to catch the first episode and am already hooked. Hosted by Katie Lee Joel, it's a new cook vs. cook reality show that's a cross between Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen and FoodTV Network's Next FoodTV Star. It's a great behind-the-scenes look at the kitchen and restaurant industry, along with the fierce competition among the contestants. Can't say I'm too disappointed with the choice of which contestant got eliminated first. Buh-bye! Lots of good links on the website, including recipes of some of the contestants dishes, which I like.Besides being Mrs. Billy Joel (sorry, as a devout Billy Joel fan, I can't help but mention that!), Katie Lee has quite the diverse culinary background for someone so young. Everything from the prerequisite waiting tables to being a fishmonger, her and a friend also run the website, Olive and Peach. Check it out when you can - many fantastic recipes are there, and I'll be starting with the scrumptious sounding Rosemary Biscotti that Katie gave out at her wedding.
For this week's edition of Rediscovering My Library, I turned to Southern Living 1991 Annual Recipes. Although it's 15 years old, I actually just got this cookbook a few months ago. A freecycler was getting rid of 10 years worth of Southern Living and Cooking Light annuals and I was all too happy to take them off her hands. If you want your very own copy, there's actually a bunch of them available on Amazon now, starting at 23 cents - go grab a bargain!I was looking for an easy pasta dish for tonight, and one that would use ingredients I had on hand to keep with my "cooking out of my pantry" challenge. I found just what I needed in the Spinach Pesto Pasta. It came together very quickly, and if you call it Pesto Pasta, no one will know they're eating spinach. Sneaky Mom strikes again - Nicholas ate almost a whole plateful and was none the wiser.
I had some butternut squash on hand, and also tried a recipe for Caramelized Butternut Squash, another new one that was unfortunately a dud. They can't all be winners. ;) And lastly, cooling on the kitchen counter is a batch of Creamy Key Lime Bars, a recipe I got from Culinary in the Desert. Since I brought back some authentic Key Lime Juice from our recent vacation to Key West, this was the perfect inaugural recipe for it. It's been an ultra-rough week at the office, and I think this is just the ticket to end the week on a high note. No review yet, since they won't be tested until tomorrow.
Since it's Thursday, it's time for my next nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursday. This week, it's time for you to discover Cream Puffs in Venice, if you haven't already had the pleasure. From the Black Bean Soup she made on Tuesday (which would have been a perfect entry for our weekly ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday), or the orange yogurt from the Barefoot Contessa, it was definitely the Apple and Bread Crumb Pie that got me hooked. I know you'll find just the thing for your tastebuds too.
OK folks, all for tonight. I'm exhausted and calling it a night. Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... I made Sweetnicks Shrimp Scampi Braised in Olive Oil. It's great by itself with hot, crusty bread for sauce mopping, or served over pasta.
Spinach Pesto Pasta
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon anise seed, ground (I omitted)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup olive oil
1 (12 ounce) package egg noodles
Drain spinach on paper towels. Combine spinach and next 9 ingredients in food processor bowl fitted with knife blade. Process 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the processor bowl once. Cook noodles according to package directions; drain well. Add pesto to hot noodles, tossing gently. Serve immediately. Yield 8-10 servings.
| link | posted at 8:52 PM
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
First things first. If you checked out the ARF/5-A-Day round-up from yesterday, go back and check it out again. I inadvertently missed two valuable contributors and have gone back and added them in ... wanted to make sure you didn't miss them. ;) And an honorable mention goes to Stephanie's take on ARF/5-A-Day. You can check out her creativity here.
Our little munchkin had a babysitter tonight, so The Husband and I ran out for a quick bite to eat, ending up at Fatburger. I had a major craving for grilled chicken tonight, and got my fix there. I haven't had their Grilled Chicken Sandwich before, but did tonight, and it was delicious. Slightly charred, terrifically juicy and gone within minutes. ;) Not haute cuisine by far, but it fit the bill for what we were looking for tonight.
Before heading home, The Husband dropped me off at the front of the bookstore so I could make a quick dash to check out the magazines. No Donna Hay yet (!), but there were more imports - whoo-hoo! Also picked up the new issue of Paula Deen's magazine, and Better Homes and Garden's "special interest publication," Simply Perfect Italian. There are few things I splurge on, but magazines are definitely one of them; but to the opposite extreme, I've actually begun whittling down my cookbook collection (I know! gasp!) a bit and have been selling some on Amazon. Although I'm still collecting cookbooks, I decided to do a little purging to spend more time concentrating on my truly favorite ones.
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for the next nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursday and Rediscovering My Library. Until then... have a good one.
A year ago today ... my Ode to Quiznos and House Fried Rice.
Our little munchkin had a babysitter tonight, so The Husband and I ran out for a quick bite to eat, ending up at Fatburger. I had a major craving for grilled chicken tonight, and got my fix there. I haven't had their Grilled Chicken Sandwich before, but did tonight, and it was delicious. Slightly charred, terrifically juicy and gone within minutes. ;) Not haute cuisine by far, but it fit the bill for what we were looking for tonight.
Before heading home, The Husband dropped me off at the front of the bookstore so I could make a quick dash to check out the magazines. No Donna Hay yet (!), but there were more imports - whoo-hoo! Also picked up the new issue of Paula Deen's magazine, and Better Homes and Garden's "special interest publication," Simply Perfect Italian. There are few things I splurge on, but magazines are definitely one of them; but to the opposite extreme, I've actually begun whittling down my cookbook collection (I know! gasp!) a bit and have been selling some on Amazon. Although I'm still collecting cookbooks, I decided to do a little purging to spend more time concentrating on my truly favorite ones.
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for the next nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursday and Rediscovering My Library. Until then... have a good one.
A year ago today ... my Ode to Quiznos and House Fried Rice.
| link | posted at 10:06 PM
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
As I mentioned yesterday, I was ahead of the game in planning tonight's dinner. It's always nice when the planets align and afford you the luxury to be able to plan ahead - I'll take it when I can!
To use up some chicken we had, I made Indonesian Chicken as our main course. As a starter, I made another favorite tried-and-true, Sweetnicks Beer Cheddar Soup. It's a recipe I've been tweaking over the years; I finally got it right to where I want it. It's quick and simple to put together, and produces a wonderful, hearty tummy-warming soup. As a side, The Husband had leftover Good Rice from Thursday. And for my side, I used up the rest of the carrots I had on hand and roasted them. I love roasted vegetables, and carrots are no exception. They could not be simpler to make ... just take a cookie sheet and put a single layer of carrots (baby carrots whole or full-size carrots cut into thirds or so), drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Throw it in the oven at about 400 for roughly 30 minutes. Done. I put them in when I started the soup, so by the time I'm done, so are they. The roasting brings out a wonderful sweetness - delish.
And tonight's dinner was perfect in keeping with my ongoing personal pantry challenge, using ingredients I already had on hand; no trip to the grocery store needed, wonderful! It's kind of interesting to see how far your kitchen can take you without having to run to the store.
Sweetnicks' Cheddar Beer Soup
Indonesian Chicken and Roasted Carrots
Another ARF/5-A-Day round-up is here, and we have a lot of entries this week, including a few newcomers, so load up your printer - I am sure you'll find something you like.
A year ago today ... I missed a day of blogging (gasp!), and have no idea what I did. ;)
First up is a newcomer from my home state of New Jersey. Cooking Within My Grasp starts us off with a nice bowl of Borscht:
Susan from Fat Free Vegan in the Deep South shares her African Pineapple Peanut Stew (say THAT three times fast!):
Next we have The Cookbook Junkie from Pennsylvania, with her Broccoli Slaw:
Salt and Pepper shares Cabbage Thoran. Never heard of this before, but can't wait to try it.
Heather from Eating for One in Kansas serves up her recipe for Chicken and Potato Taco - a great new take on a traditional favorite.
Cucina Bella in Connecticut cooks up a savory, yet sweet, Tropical Fried Rice:
The new celebrity-in-our midst ;), Kalyn brings us Bok Choy with Soy Sauce and Butter:
With a new twist on carrots, Alanna from A Veggie Venture in Missouri and her Carrot Juice Carrots:
My Dad and Nicholas love hot dogs, so I know they're going to love this Southern Franks Dinner from Cyndi Cooks in California:
Food for Thought in Illinois returns to ARF/5-A-Day with an uber-healthy Sprouts Pilaf:
Pat from Up a Creek without a PatL in New England shares a divine looking Gingered Carrot Soup:
I'm sensing a cabbage theme tonight, with Food, In the Main in the UK picking up the baton with her Green Cabbage and Peas:
Jennifer from Weekly Dish and her Pimp'd Out Sweet Potatoes:
In an effort to stave off more dish-kidnapping from me, Alysha from The Savory Notebook quickly sent in her Zucchini Pecan Saute:
Chef Michele from Arizona and Susan from Fat Free Vegan must have been channeling the same cooking gods. Here's Michele's African Chicken Stew:
The Kitchen Mate from Pennsylvania with her Vegetables Cooked in Coconut Masala:
Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice brings a new chutney for us, Bengali Plum Chutney. I've made tomato ones, but never one with plum - sounds great!
Check out the gorgeous salad from Smorgasbord in Japan:
A brand new blogger, Cooking Medley, has a delicious Mexican feast waiting for us:
Stacey from Just Braise in New York goes coconut crazy, serving it up several ways, Chicken Masala, Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze:
Another newcomer ... Saffron Hut has been doing some Tomato Pickles canning. Never heard of them before, but will definitely be trying the recipe:
Check out The Chocolate Lady's site to see what she's doing with carrots.
And lastly, The Spice is Right cooks up some Grape Nuts Date Bread:
Whew! You guys did great! Last week, we were down to a first-time low of 15 and I had to resort to kidnapping a few more participants. This week, you pulled out all the stops and 24 of you joined in. Lots of cabbage and stews and terrific inspiration. Until tomorrow...
P.S. If I missed anyone (and I have the sneaking suspicion I missed 1), just shoot me an e-mail and I'll get you added. :)
Hot Health Hint... Fruit has valuable fiber and numerous nutrients, but it leaves you short on magnesium, a nutrient that can ease the symptoms of depression ‑- which include having a super-short fuse. To get the most bang for your bite, add almonds, soy milk or cereals such as Whole Grain Total, all rich in magnesium.
To use up some chicken we had, I made Indonesian Chicken as our main course. As a starter, I made another favorite tried-and-true, Sweetnicks Beer Cheddar Soup. It's a recipe I've been tweaking over the years; I finally got it right to where I want it. It's quick and simple to put together, and produces a wonderful, hearty tummy-warming soup. As a side, The Husband had leftover Good Rice from Thursday. And for my side, I used up the rest of the carrots I had on hand and roasted them. I love roasted vegetables, and carrots are no exception. They could not be simpler to make ... just take a cookie sheet and put a single layer of carrots (baby carrots whole or full-size carrots cut into thirds or so), drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Throw it in the oven at about 400 for roughly 30 minutes. Done. I put them in when I started the soup, so by the time I'm done, so are they. The roasting brings out a wonderful sweetness - delish.
And tonight's dinner was perfect in keeping with my ongoing personal pantry challenge, using ingredients I already had on hand; no trip to the grocery store needed, wonderful! It's kind of interesting to see how far your kitchen can take you without having to run to the store.
Sweetnicks' Cheddar Beer Soup
Indonesian Chicken and Roasted Carrots
Another ARF/5-A-Day round-up is here, and we have a lot of entries this week, including a few newcomers, so load up your printer - I am sure you'll find something you like.
A year ago today ... I missed a day of blogging (gasp!), and have no idea what I did. ;)
First up is a newcomer from my home state of New Jersey. Cooking Within My Grasp starts us off with a nice bowl of Borscht:
Susan from Fat Free Vegan in the Deep South shares her African Pineapple Peanut Stew (say THAT three times fast!):
Next we have The Cookbook Junkie from Pennsylvania, with her Broccoli Slaw:
Salt and Pepper shares Cabbage Thoran. Never heard of this before, but can't wait to try it.
Heather from Eating for One in Kansas serves up her recipe for Chicken and Potato Taco - a great new take on a traditional favorite.
Cucina Bella in Connecticut cooks up a savory, yet sweet, Tropical Fried Rice:
The new celebrity-in-our midst ;), Kalyn brings us Bok Choy with Soy Sauce and Butter:
With a new twist on carrots, Alanna from A Veggie Venture in Missouri and her Carrot Juice Carrots:
My Dad and Nicholas love hot dogs, so I know they're going to love this Southern Franks Dinner from Cyndi Cooks in California:
Food for Thought in Illinois returns to ARF/5-A-Day with an uber-healthy Sprouts Pilaf:
Pat from Up a Creek without a PatL in New England shares a divine looking Gingered Carrot Soup:
I'm sensing a cabbage theme tonight, with Food, In the Main in the UK picking up the baton with her Green Cabbage and Peas:
Jennifer from Weekly Dish and her Pimp'd Out Sweet Potatoes:
In an effort to stave off more dish-kidnapping from me, Alysha from The Savory Notebook quickly sent in her Zucchini Pecan Saute:
Chef Michele from Arizona and Susan from Fat Free Vegan must have been channeling the same cooking gods. Here's Michele's African Chicken Stew:
The Kitchen Mate from Pennsylvania with her Vegetables Cooked in Coconut Masala:
Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice brings a new chutney for us, Bengali Plum Chutney. I've made tomato ones, but never one with plum - sounds great!
Check out the gorgeous salad from Smorgasbord in Japan:
A brand new blogger, Cooking Medley, has a delicious Mexican feast waiting for us:
Stacey from Just Braise in New York goes coconut crazy, serving it up several ways, Chicken Masala, Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze:
Another newcomer ... Saffron Hut has been doing some Tomato Pickles canning. Never heard of them before, but will definitely be trying the recipe:
Check out The Chocolate Lady's site to see what she's doing with carrots.
And lastly, The Spice is Right cooks up some Grape Nuts Date Bread:
Whew! You guys did great! Last week, we were down to a first-time low of 15 and I had to resort to kidnapping a few more participants. This week, you pulled out all the stops and 24 of you joined in. Lots of cabbage and stews and terrific inspiration. Until tomorrow...
P.S. If I missed anyone (and I have the sneaking suspicion I missed 1), just shoot me an e-mail and I'll get you added. :)
Hot Health Hint... Fruit has valuable fiber and numerous nutrients, but it leaves you short on magnesium, a nutrient that can ease the symptoms of depression ‑- which include having a super-short fuse. To get the most bang for your bite, add almonds, soy milk or cereals such as Whole Grain Total, all rich in magnesium.
| link | posted at 9:17 PM
Monday, March 06, 2006
So I call the surgeon's office today and although they didn't have office hours and I have to wait until tomorrow for my appointment, they told me what I'm feeling now is normal. This was the first surgery I've ever had, so I guess even though I theoretically "feel" fine that doesn't always mean I'm fine. They said that working half-days last week is probably what made me feel so tired this weekend, and it's going to be awhile before I really feel 100%. I guess in a roundabout way that's good news, right? ;)
I worked until 1 today and spent the afternoon resting. When The Husband came home, he helped out in the kitchen, and in half-an-hour, we got tonight's dinner made, as well as tomorrow's, and also a batch of Orange Brownies. And best yet, all three recipes used ingredients I already had on hand, so I'm doing good on my pantry challenge so far.
First up, tonight's dinner. I made another one of our favorite tried-and-trues, Giada's Lemon Spaghetti. It's a great go-to dish and versatile enough that it's a perfect weeknight meal and still different enough to serve to company.
Lemon Spaghetti
While that was coming together, we took some leftover chicken and baked Ina's Indonesian Ginger Chicken. Another favorite go-to dish of ours, it's so quick to throw together, you can't help but make it again and again. So that's dinner for tomorrow night, but you'll just have to tune in tomorrow to see what I make to go with it, and to make it more ARF/5-A-Day-friendly.
And lastly, to coincide with the upcoming Weekend Cookbook Challenge #3, I made Paula Deen's Orange Brownies. It's a recipe I have made before, but it was time to dig it out, dust it off and give it another go-around.
Orange Brownies
Not bad for a half-hour's worth of work, eh? Sometimes it's good to have a plan. It really does make all the difference. Nicholas has a new thing now when you ask him to smile for the camera... instead of smiling, he opens his mouth in a huge grin instead. Quite the little munchkin.
Now since tonight's cooking made the rounds of a few celebrity chefs, it's the perfect lead-in to our next topic ... a new show on Food TV Network, Chefology. Four upcoming episodes highlight the careers and humble beginnings of Paula Deen, Giada DeLaurentiis, Ina Garten and Emeril Lagasse. Check your local programming for scheduling info.
One last thing before I go. I missed one pup in the Weekend Dog Blogging round-up last night, and since she's a newcomer, I don't want you to miss out on Stumpan's cute, banana-eating face (from Anne's Food in Sweden). Isn't she adorable? That face!
OK folks, all for tonight. Get your ARF/5-A-Day entries in to me via e-mail if you'd like to be included in tomorrow's round-up. Remember, it can be any ARF, fruit and/or veggie. Happy cooking!
A year ago today... in a stroke of pure coincedence, I actually pulled this recipe to make tomorrow. Too funny.
P.S. Hey C! You'll have to delurk long enough to tell me how the Jugged Chicken turned out. Comment away. ;)
Indonesian Ginger Chicken
1 cup honey
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic (8-12 cloves)
1/2 cup peeled and grated fresh ginger root (I use a few tablespoons of ginger paste instead)
7 lbs of chicken pieces
Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey is melted. Arrange the chicken in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan, skin side down, and pour on the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan, turn the chicken over and raise the temperature to 375. Continue baking for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when you cut into it. Sauce will be a rich, dark brown.
Yields: 4-6 servings
Glazed Shrimp wth Bourbon Barbecue Dunk
Dunk:
1-1/2 cups chili sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoon minced garlic
24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, about 1 lb
Makes 24 skewers (we served it piled on a plate with toothpicks to make it easier)
To make the dunk: Whisk together the chili sauce, green onions, olive oil, molasses, bourbon, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Tabasco and garlic in small bowl. Reserve 1 cup for a dipping sauce and refrigerate. Place the shrimp and remaining dunk in a ziploc bag. Seal the bag and shake to coat. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, up to 8 hours.
Soak twenty-four 6-inch wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes; drain before using. Preheat a grill to medium high or the oven to 450.
Drain the shrimp. Thread 1 shrimp onto each skewer. If using a grill, brush or spray the grill rack with oil. Place the skewers on the grill rack and grill, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, rotating the skewers frequently until the shrimp are pink. If using the oven, place the skewers on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and cover loosely with more foil. Bake 5-7 minutes. Serve warm, at room temp or chilled with the remaining dunk.
Sweetnicks' Note: Do not bake these instead. I tried that last night to save a bit of time and mess, and the shrimp just doesn't taste as good as grilling. If you can't use an outdoor grill, then a grill pan would work fine as well.
Orange Brownies
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure orange extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter, eggs, orange extract, and orange zest and beat with a handheld electric mixer until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown and set. Remove from oven and pierce top of entire cake with a fork.
Glaze:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Pour glaze over cake. Cool cake and cut into squares.
I worked until 1 today and spent the afternoon resting. When The Husband came home, he helped out in the kitchen, and in half-an-hour, we got tonight's dinner made, as well as tomorrow's, and also a batch of Orange Brownies. And best yet, all three recipes used ingredients I already had on hand, so I'm doing good on my pantry challenge so far.
First up, tonight's dinner. I made another one of our favorite tried-and-trues, Giada's
Lemon Spaghetti. It's a great go-to dish and versatile enough that it's a perfect weeknight meal and still different enough to serve to company.
Lemon Spaghetti
While that was coming together, we took some leftover chicken and baked Ina's
Indonesian Ginger Chicken. Another favorite go-to dish of ours, it's so quick to throw together, you can't help but make it again and again. So that's dinner for tomorrow night, but you'll just have to tune in tomorrow to see what I make to go with it, and to make it more ARF/5-A-Day-friendly.And lastly, to coincide with the upcoming Weekend Cookbook Challenge #3, I made Paula Deen's
Orange Brownies. It's a recipe I have made before, but it was time to dig it out, dust it off and give it another go-around.
Orange Brownies
Not bad for a half-hour's worth of work, eh? Sometimes it's good to have a plan. It really does make all the difference. Nicholas has a new thing now when you ask him to smile for the camera... instead of smiling, he opens his mouth in a huge grin instead. Quite the little munchkin.
Now since tonight's cooking made the rounds of a few celebrity chefs, it's the perfect lead-in to our next topic ... a new show on Food TV Network, Chefology. Four upcoming episodes highlight the careers and humble beginnings of Paula Deen, Giada DeLaurentiis, Ina Garten and Emeril Lagasse. Check your local programming for scheduling info.
One last thing before I go. I missed one pup in the Weekend Dog Blogging round-up last night, and since she's a newcomer, I don't want you to miss out on Stumpan's cute, banana-eating face (from Anne's Food in Sweden). Isn't she adorable? That face!
OK folks, all for tonight. Get your ARF/5-A-Day entries in to me via e-mail if you'd like to be included in tomorrow's round-up. Remember, it can be any ARF, fruit and/or veggie. Happy cooking!
A year ago today... in a stroke of pure coincedence, I actually pulled this recipe to make tomorrow. Too funny.
P.S. Hey C! You'll have to delurk long enough to tell me how the Jugged Chicken turned out. Comment away. ;)
Indonesian Ginger Chicken
1 cup honey
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic (8-12 cloves)
1/2 cup peeled and grated fresh ginger root (I use a few tablespoons of ginger paste instead)
7 lbs of chicken pieces
Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey is melted. Arrange the chicken in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan, skin side down, and pour on the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan, turn the chicken over and raise the temperature to 375. Continue baking for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when you cut into it. Sauce will be a rich, dark brown.
Yields: 4-6 servings
Glazed Shrimp wth Bourbon Barbecue Dunk
Dunk:
1-1/2 cups chili sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoon minced garlic
24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, about 1 lb
Makes 24 skewers (we served it piled on a plate with toothpicks to make it easier)
To make the dunk: Whisk together the chili sauce, green onions, olive oil, molasses, bourbon, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Tabasco and garlic in small bowl. Reserve 1 cup for a dipping sauce and refrigerate. Place the shrimp and remaining dunk in a ziploc bag. Seal the bag and shake to coat. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, up to 8 hours.
Soak twenty-four 6-inch wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes; drain before using. Preheat a grill to medium high or the oven to 450.
Drain the shrimp. Thread 1 shrimp onto each skewer. If using a grill, brush or spray the grill rack with oil. Place the skewers on the grill rack and grill, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, rotating the skewers frequently until the shrimp are pink. If using the oven, place the skewers on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and cover loosely with more foil. Bake 5-7 minutes. Serve warm, at room temp or chilled with the remaining dunk.
Sweetnicks' Note: Do not bake these instead. I tried that last night to save a bit of time and mess, and the shrimp just doesn't taste as good as grilling. If you can't use an outdoor grill, then a grill pan would work fine as well.
Orange Brownies
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure orange extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter, eggs, orange extract, and orange zest and beat with a handheld electric mixer until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown and set. Remove from oven and pierce top of entire cake with a fork.
Glaze:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Pour glaze over cake. Cool cake and cut into squares.
| link | posted at 8:45 PM
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Another take-it-easy kind of day for me today. I didn't leave the house at all, and did more resting. To put it mildly, I was a bum. :) The Husband took care of dinner, and The Neighbor took care of dessert. It's all about the teamwork here at Sweetnicks. ;)
The other day, one of my visitors asked what some of our favorite "tried and true" recipes are. Tonight's entree, Jugged Chicken, is one of The Husband's oft-requested dishes, and one of our "tried and trues." A very simple recipe, it's a classic Portuguese dish known as frango na pucara and has a savory garlic sauce. It's called "jugged" because of the alcohol in the sauce. Make sure to have some nice crusty bread to sop it up with. I also made Glazed Shrimp with Bourbon Barbecue Dipping Sauce, and for dessert, The Neighbor made Paula Deen's Chocolate Bread Pudding. Delicious stuff, and a great way to use up day-old bread.
Finally back to resuming Treats to the Office Mondays, I made Mom's Cranberry Bread for The Neighbor to take into work. Not MY Mom's recipe ... not sure WHOSE Mom it is, but the recipe is another simple one, and made use of ingredients I already hand on hand, as did the Shrimp dish.
Perfect.
And speaking of making use out of ingredients already on hand, in the days (and weeks!) to come, I'm going to be concentrating on cooking out of my pantry. It tends to get very overloaded, with ingredients routinely getting pushed to the back. Of course, when that happens, I invariably buy ingredients I already unknowingly have. That said, I uncovered a bag of cooked shrimp in the freezer today, so that's going to turn up in dinner somehow tomorrow. Until then ... on with the Dog Parade! Off to watch the Oscars. :)
P.S. Just a quick programming note... for those that subscribe to my site and get daily e-mail updates, I have dropped the Bloglet service and resubscribed you all under FeedBlitz, so you should be getting the daily e-mails again now. If you don't, or have any questions, drop me a line.
A year ago today ... I got another new cookbook and we had mussels our favorite way.
Paula Deen's Chocolate Bread Pudding
In a rousing game of "Spot the Doxies," can you find all three in this photo from Moveable Feasts Food Blog in Virginia? It took me a minute to find the third one.
An Alaskan Malamute from The Hungry Rose pops in:
Toby visits Stalking the Waiter in California. What a gorgeous, fluffy coat he has!
Kita from Sugar Mountain Farm in Vermont:
Somebody's sleepy ... it's the pup from Up a Creek without a Patl from New England:
Zoe from Is it EDible?" in California brings Weekend Dog Blogging our first video - go check it out!
Lulu's neighbor, Alaska (love the name!), checks in from Why Travel to France is up next:
Little Willie from Eating for One in Kansas sits for a spell:
The pup from Something So Clever in Montana, getting all snuggly:
Bear trying to catch a little shut-eye at Farmgirl Fare in Missouri:
Beau stops by Ragus Pug in Florida:
Up next is Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen in California:
And lastly, our own Eli, the only dog I know that actually lies down on the floor to watch TV. Forget it if an animal (any animal!) comes on the screen; he jumps right up and stands nose-to-screen.
Paula Deen's Chocolate Bread Pudding
1-pound loaf French or Italian bread, cut into cubes (about 15 cups)
3 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup coffee-flavored liqueur
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons pure almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 325F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Place the bread in the baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, and liqueur. In another bowl, combine the granulated and brown sugars with the cocoa powder and mix well. Add this to the milk mixture and whisk to combine.
Add the vanilla and almond extracts and the cinnamon to the beaten eggs. Combine the egg mixture with the milk mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread cubes; let stand, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed most of the milk mixture. Bake the pudding for 1 hour, or until set; a knife inserted into the center of the pudding should come out clean. Serving the pudding warm, or refrigerate it and serve chilled. Serve it warm or cold, with whipped cream or a dessert sauce.
Jugged Chicken
1 3-1/2 pound chicken (use thighs and drumsticks)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 jar pearl onions (in canned vegetable aisle)
4 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
8 oz prosciutto, chopped
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup Port
1/3 cup brandy
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Preheat oven to 400. Rub chicken with butter and season inside and out with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to large, heavy, deep casserole. Combine onions and all remaining ingredients in large bowl. Pour over chicken. Cover and bake until chicken is done, about 55 minutes. Serve in bowls with crusty bread; white rice makes a great side dish, using the extra juices from the chicken.
**I don't always have Brandy on hand, and in cases like that, I just add extra of the other alcohol, and it still tastes great.
Mom's Cranberry Bread
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup cranberries -- Fresh or frozen; washed and chopped or halved (I used dried)
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 beaten egg
3 tablespoons oil
1 cup orange juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift dry ingredients together. Add cranberries and nuts. Mix eggs, orange juice and oil in a bowl; add to dry ingredients, cranberries and nuts. Mix slightly. Bake in greased loaf pan for one hour.
The other day, one of my visitors asked what some of our favorite "tried and true" recipes are. Tonight's entree, Jugged Chicken, is one of The Husband's oft-requested dishes, and one of our "tried and trues." A very simple recipe, it's a classic Portuguese dish known as frango na pucara and has a savory garlic sauce. It's called "jugged" because of the alcohol in the sauce. Make sure to have some nice crusty bread to sop it up with. I also made Glazed Shrimp with Bourbon Barbecue Dipping Sauce, and for dessert, The Neighbor made Paula Deen's Chocolate Bread Pudding. Delicious stuff, and a great way to use up day-old bread.
Finally back to resuming Treats to the Office Mondays, I made Mom's Cranberry Bread for The Neighbor to take into work. Not MY Mom's recipe ... not sure WHOSE Mom it is, but the recipe is another simple one, and made use of ingredients I already hand on hand, as did the Shrimp dish.
Perfect.And speaking of making use out of ingredients already on hand, in the days (and weeks!) to come, I'm going to be concentrating on cooking out of my pantry. It tends to get very overloaded, with ingredients routinely getting pushed to the back. Of course, when that happens, I invariably buy ingredients I already unknowingly have. That said, I uncovered a bag of cooked shrimp in the freezer today, so that's going to turn up in dinner somehow tomorrow. Until then ... on with the Dog Parade! Off to watch the Oscars. :)
P.S. Just a quick programming note... for those that subscribe to my site and get daily e-mail updates, I have dropped the Bloglet service and resubscribed you all under FeedBlitz, so you should be getting the daily e-mails again now. If you don't, or have any questions, drop me a line.
A year ago today ... I got another new cookbook and we had mussels our favorite way.
Paula Deen's Chocolate Bread Pudding
In a rousing game of "Spot the Doxies," can you find all three in this photo from Moveable Feasts Food Blog in Virginia? It took me a minute to find the third one.
An Alaskan Malamute from The Hungry Rose pops in:
Toby visits Stalking the Waiter in California. What a gorgeous, fluffy coat he has!
Kita from Sugar Mountain Farm in Vermont:
Somebody's sleepy ... it's the pup from Up a Creek without a Patl from New England:
Zoe from Is it EDible?" in California brings Weekend Dog Blogging our first video - go check it out!
Lulu's neighbor, Alaska (love the name!), checks in from Why Travel to France is up next:
Little Willie from Eating for One in Kansas sits for a spell:
The pup from Something So Clever in Montana, getting all snuggly:
Bear trying to catch a little shut-eye at Farmgirl Fare in Missouri:
Beau stops by Ragus Pug in Florida:
Up next is Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen in California:
And lastly, our own Eli, the only dog I know that actually lies down on the floor to watch TV. Forget it if an animal (any animal!) comes on the screen; he jumps right up and stands nose-to-screen.
Paula Deen's Chocolate Bread Pudding
1-pound loaf French or Italian bread, cut into cubes (about 15 cups)
3 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup coffee-flavored liqueur
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons pure almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 325F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Place the bread in the baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, and liqueur. In another bowl, combine the granulated and brown sugars with the cocoa powder and mix well. Add this to the milk mixture and whisk to combine.
Add the vanilla and almond extracts and the cinnamon to the beaten eggs. Combine the egg mixture with the milk mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread cubes; let stand, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed most of the milk mixture. Bake the pudding for 1 hour, or until set; a knife inserted into the center of the pudding should come out clean. Serving the pudding warm, or refrigerate it and serve chilled. Serve it warm or cold, with whipped cream or a dessert sauce.
Jugged Chicken
1 3-1/2 pound chicken (use thighs and drumsticks)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 jar pearl onions (in canned vegetable aisle)
4 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
8 oz prosciutto, chopped
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup Port
1/3 cup brandy
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Preheat oven to 400. Rub chicken with butter and season inside and out with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to large, heavy, deep casserole. Combine onions and all remaining ingredients in large bowl. Pour over chicken. Cover and bake until chicken is done, about 55 minutes. Serve in bowls with crusty bread; white rice makes a great side dish, using the extra juices from the chicken.
**I don't always have Brandy on hand, and in cases like that, I just add extra of the other alcohol, and it still tastes great.
Mom's Cranberry Bread
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup cranberries -- Fresh or frozen; washed and chopped or halved (I used dried)
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 beaten egg
3 tablespoons oil
1 cup orange juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift dry ingredients together. Add cranberries and nuts. Mix eggs, orange juice and oil in a bowl; add to dry ingredients, cranberries and nuts. Mix slightly. Bake in greased loaf pan for one hour.
| link | posted at 9:44 PM
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Not too much to report today, although we did get one new recipe in. I pretty much spent the whole day in bed, except for 15 minutes here and there. I am just completely zapped of energy. I’m not sure if it’s because I worked half-days this week at work (too soon?) and maybe that caught up to me, or what, but I’m going to see if the surgeon can see me Monday for my follow-up appointment, instead of Tuesday. Just feeling a little “off.” And, I've noticed, this has definitely extended to the kitchen ... as I catch myself putting beaten eggs into the garbage bowl, instead of their shells; using croissant dough for the pizza, instead of pizza dough ... I feel like a walking disaster! :)
OK, enough about me … onto why you came here – the cooking! We made a new recipe for dinner tonight, Pine Nut-Crusted Flounder with Balsamic Orange Reduction Sauce. A very simple recipe and tasty, though decidedly not light. It was good and quick to make, but not a WOW for me.
For Nicholas and my stepdaughter, I made Goat Cheese and Maple Frizzled Ham Pizza, knowing they probably wouldn’t be clamoring for the fish. I had enough of the pizza and fish to send some to The Neighbors for their dinner, and apparently when The Girlfriend heard she was having pizza … and then saw it, she shrieked, “THAT’S NOT PIZZA!” OK, so not the most adventurous eater in the group, I think it’s safe to say we won’t be converting her to being a goat cheese fan anytime soon.
Before I forget again (Stephanie!), I finally got around to taking a picture of the cooking magazines I snagged on my bookstore runs last week. The cover of delicious. magazine is Macerated Strawberries with Champagne Sorbet - sounds divine! Still no Donna Hay issue yet, but any day now...
If it’s the weekend, it must be time for Clare’s Weekend Cat Blogging, and this time, I managed to wrangle four participants! Look how sweetly our Callie smiles for the camera, even though Sugar has her in a headlock. No matter. As soon as I got my shot, Callie threw Sugar over the side of the bed (very gently, of course).
Then my sister sent me some great shots of her cats, Lord Nelson (who obviously doesn’t miss many meals; check out that belly!) and the beautiful Lady Emma.
Don’t forget to e-mail me your permalinks for Weekend Dog Blogging and send your herb permalinks over to Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen for her Weekend Herb Blogging event. I sent mine in already - what are you waiting for?
OK folks, all for tonight. Until tomorrow…
A year ago today ... see what cookbooks I bought.
Pine Nut-Crusted Flouder with Balsamic Orange Reduction Sauce
Quick & Simple Magazine
Serves 4
4 oz Parmigianno-Reggiano cheese
1 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
1-1/2 lbs. flounder, black cod, whitefish or bluefish
3 large eggs beaten
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (if desired)
Place the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the pine nuts, Italian seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon salt; finely chop. Spread the nut mixture on a plate (I used disposable pie tins for easy clean up). Put the flour on another plate. Dip both sides of the fish in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the fish in the eggs, then coat evenly with the nut mixture. (The battered fish can be covered and refrigerated for up to 8 hours before using). Preheat oven to 400F. Place the fish in a baking dish, flat side down. Roast for 12-14 minutes, until the fish begins to flake.
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the balsamic vinegar, orange juice, honey, garlic, red pepper flakes and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil for about 1 minute, until slightly thickened. Transfer fish to dinner plates and drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
OK, enough about me … onto why you came here – the cooking! We made a new recipe for dinner tonight, Pine Nut-Crusted Flounder with Balsamic Orange Reduction Sauce. A very simple recipe and tasty, though decidedly not light. It was good and quick to make, but not a WOW for me.
For Nicholas and my stepdaughter, I made Goat Cheese and Maple Frizzled Ham Pizza, knowing they probably wouldn’t be clamoring for the fish. I had enough of the pizza and fish to send some to The Neighbors for their dinner, and apparently when The Girlfriend heard she was having pizza … and then saw it, she shrieked, “THAT’S NOT PIZZA!” OK, so not the most adventurous eater in the group, I think it’s safe to say we won’t be converting her to being a goat cheese fan anytime soon.
Before I forget again (Stephanie!), I finally got around to taking a picture of the cooking magazines I snagged on my bookstore runs last week. The cover of delicious. magazine is Macerated Strawberries with Champagne Sorbet - sounds divine! Still no Donna Hay issue yet, but any day now...
If it’s the weekend, it must be time for Clare’s Weekend Cat Blogging, and this time, I managed to wrangle four participants! Look how sweetly our Callie smiles for the camera, even though Sugar has her in a headlock. No matter. As soon as I got my shot, Callie threw Sugar over the side of the bed (very gently, of course).
Then my sister sent me some great shots of her cats, Lord Nelson (who obviously doesn’t miss many meals; check out that belly!) and the beautiful Lady Emma.
Don’t forget to e-mail me your permalinks for Weekend Dog Blogging and send your herb permalinks over to Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen for her Weekend Herb Blogging event. I sent mine in already - what are you waiting for?
OK folks, all for tonight. Until tomorrow…
A year ago today ... see what cookbooks I bought.
Pine Nut-Crusted Flouder with Balsamic Orange Reduction Sauce
Quick & Simple Magazine
Serves 4
4 oz Parmigianno-Reggiano cheese
1 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
1-1/2 lbs. flounder, black cod, whitefish or bluefish
3 large eggs beaten
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (if desired)
Place the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the pine nuts, Italian seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon salt; finely chop. Spread the nut mixture on a plate (I used disposable pie tins for easy clean up). Put the flour on another plate. Dip both sides of the fish in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the fish in the eggs, then coat evenly with the nut mixture. (The battered fish can be covered and refrigerated for up to 8 hours before using). Preheat oven to 400F. Place the fish in a baking dish, flat side down. Roast for 12-14 minutes, until the fish begins to flake.
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the balsamic vinegar, orange juice, honey, garlic, red pepper flakes and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil for about 1 minute, until slightly thickened. Transfer fish to dinner plates and drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
| link | posted at 8:03 PM
Friday, March 03, 2006
Hey all - we made it through the week. As for me, I'm exhausted. I think working half-days all week finally caught up to me, and I've been really wiped out all day. I had planned to make fish for dinner tonight, but there was a water main break near our street this morning, and the water was off all day. Between that and my energy level, we ended up getting take-out to keep it easy.
Tonight we finally resumed Friday Night Date Night, and it was The Neighbors turn to escape for a peaceful meal, while Nicholas and The Girlfriend played here and had their very own Date Night.
Any American Idol fans out there? There have been a lot of food references this week that have made me chuckle. I love Kellie Pickler (she is too cute!) and she described that she had Spinach Salad for the first time this week ("it tasted like taking leaves off a tree and eating them") and calamari (and she said it, "cala-marry; I tried it and hopefully will never have to eat that again."). She's quite the sport though, at least she's adventurous enough to try new things out.
Bucky was up next, explaining that back home, they call potatoes, "potatoes, but here in LA, they're call 'smashed potatoes.' Nothing is what it seems, and I'm definitely going to lose weight here. I just want to order some rice and get rice. I don't know what anything is."
It was all very endearing and rather cute actually. I've got my choices narrowed down to 7, but can't get it lower than that until we hear them for a few more weeks. At this point, it's anybodys game ... but thankfully not Brenna's. Geesh.
In cookbook news, Rachael Ray has another new cookbook coming out in April. If you're a Rachael Ray fan, you can preorder it now at Amazon: Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals. When does she sleep?!
Giada DeLaurentiis also has a new one coming out, her second, Giada's Family Dinners, which you can also preorder now.
OK folks, all for now, I'm calling it a night. Until tomorrow ... Weekend Dog Blogging is here.
A year ago today ... a pretty bland post actually, musing about what to make for dinner (homemade pizza?) and a review from the night before.
Tonight we finally resumed Friday Night Date Night, and it was The Neighbors turn to escape for a peaceful meal, while Nicholas and The Girlfriend played here and had their very own Date Night.
Any American Idol fans out there? There have been a lot of food references this week that have made me chuckle. I love Kellie Pickler (she is too cute!) and she described that she had Spinach Salad for the first time this week ("it tasted like taking leaves off a tree and eating them") and calamari (and she said it, "cala-marry; I tried it and hopefully will never have to eat that again."). She's quite the sport though, at least she's adventurous enough to try new things out.
Bucky was up next, explaining that back home, they call potatoes, "potatoes, but here in LA, they're call 'smashed potatoes.' Nothing is what it seems, and I'm definitely going to lose weight here. I just want to order some rice and get rice. I don't know what anything is."
It was all very endearing and rather cute actually. I've got my choices narrowed down to 7, but can't get it lower than that until we hear them for a few more weeks. At this point, it's anybodys game ... but thankfully not Brenna's. Geesh.
In cookbook news, Rachael Ray has another new cookbook coming out in April. If you're a Rachael Ray fan, you can preorder it now at Amazon: Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals
. When does she sleep?!Giada DeLaurentiis also has a new one coming out, her second, Giada's Family Dinners
, which you can also preorder now.OK folks, all for now, I'm calling it a night. Until tomorrow ... Weekend Dog Blogging is here.
A year ago today ... a pretty bland post actually, musing about what to make for dinner (homemade pizza?) and a review from the night before.
| link | posted at 9:14 PM
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Hey all! Happy Thursday. We have a little ground to cover, so grab your cup 'o joe and let's get right to it.
First of all, this is the Freedom & Celebratory Edition. Why, you ask? Freedom because I can finally drive today! Can I get a whoo-hoo?! It's been exactly two weeks today since I drove. I don't go for my follow-up appointment until Tuesday, but in the meantime, they said I could drive, as long as I was careful, so I'm only driving to and from work, but hey, I'll take it.
And Celebratory because exactly one year ago today, I started this web site. As Stephanie calls it, Happy Blog-iversary to me! (And quite coincidentally, she's celebrating an anniversary of her own today!)
My site has undergone quite a few changes in the past year with more to come, and you guys have been with me through many highs and lows. It's amazing that it's been a whole year already - it went by so fast! In looking back at some of my posts from the very beginning, they have definitely changed a lot ... be it in content, length and even picture-taking. It actually wasn't until March 31 that I started taking pictures for my posts; wonder what took me so long?! To those that have been with me since the beginning, thank you for staying along for the ride. To new visitors, welcome. And to all of you, here's to our next year together!
OK, now that that's out of the way, on with the show...
I managed to get a few new recipes made tonight. In the month of February, I made a pathetic number of new recipes, but considering I was on vacation for a week, in the hospital for four days and have been slowly recuperating since then, we're just going to wipe the slate clean and focus on March. With three new recipes to hit the table today, we're off to a good start. ;)
First we'll start with a new recipe that I actually started yesterday, since it had to sit overnight for 12 hours. I made Sugared Oatmeal Crisps, a recipe I found in the new issue of Very Good Things. They were tasty and very simple to make. Not a WOW for me, but still good. And speaking of Very Good Things, while you're there make sure to check out my two new articles for the site, a new delicious version of Guacamole and a book review on our favorite domestic diva, Being Martha.
OK, our next new recipe leads me to our Resdiscovering My Library segment. A little while ago, we made a salad recipe from Columbia's Restaurant. It was until our recent trip to Key West that I discovered the restaurant had their own cookbook. I was looking for a side dish, so grabbed the cookbook in search of rice. I found their recipe for Good Rice. Yes, you read correctly, that's the name of the dish. And, well, appropriately named. It was good. The Husband said it reminded him of the rice his Mom used to make. I'll take that. :)
Lastly, I made Poached Eggs with Avocado, a recipe I found in an old issue of the Australian version of Family Circle magazine that a friend sent me (thank you, Gecko!). This was definitely my favorite recipe from tonight, but loving avocados as much as I do, I could be a little biased. Toasted bread, spread with mashed avocado, sliced cherry tomatoes and a poached egg, topped with a smidge of salt and pepper. Addicting.
I could have eaten them all night.
OK, one last piece of business, then we're done ... this week's nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block goes to Cucina Testa Rossa. Whether she's succumbing to the Starbucks giant like the rest of us, whipping up a Pear Tart in a Cage, or introducing me to my favorite new phrase (which still makes me laugh every time I read it!), I'm sure you'll love her site. Check it out when you get a chance - you'll be glad you did.
Alright, I'm finally done ... that's it for tonight. Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... I was talking about Lemon Parmigianno Chicken and Feta and Orzo Salad. I remember that salad well; think it might hit the table this weekend. Good stuff.
Poached Eggs with Avocado
Australian Family Circle 2002
Serves 2
4 slices of crusty bread, toasted
1 ripe avocado, halved
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 eggs
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
Spread toast thickly with avocado. Top with tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring a deep frying pan of water to boil. Reduce to a fast simmer and add vinegar. Crack an egg onto a saucer. Swirl water with a wooden spoon and slide egg into center of pan. Poach eggs individually for 1-2 minutes. Drain each egg and arrange on toast. Scatter with chives and serve.
First of all, this is the Freedom & Celebratory Edition. Why, you ask? Freedom because I can finally drive today! Can I get a whoo-hoo?! It's been exactly two weeks today since I drove. I don't go for my follow-up appointment until Tuesday, but in the meantime, they said I could drive, as long as I was careful, so I'm only driving to and from work, but hey, I'll take it.
And Celebratory because exactly one year ago today, I started this web site. As Stephanie calls it, Happy Blog-iversary to me! (And quite coincidentally, she's celebrating an anniversary of her own today!)
My site has undergone quite a few changes in the past year with more to come, and you guys have been with me through many highs and lows. It's amazing that it's been a whole year already - it went by so fast! In looking back at some of my posts from the very beginning, they have definitely changed a lot ... be it in content, length and even picture-taking. It actually wasn't until March 31 that I started taking pictures for my posts; wonder what took me so long?! To those that have been with me since the beginning, thank you for staying along for the ride. To new visitors, welcome. And to all of you, here's to our next year together!
OK, now that that's out of the way, on with the show...
I managed to get a few new recipes made tonight. In the month of February, I made a pathetic number of new recipes, but considering I was on vacation for a week, in the hospital for four days and have been slowly recuperating since then, we're just going to wipe the slate clean and focus on March. With three new recipes to hit the table today, we're off to a good start. ;)
First we'll start with a new recipe that I actually started yesterday, since it had to sit overnight for 12 hours. I made Sugared Oatmeal Crisps, a recipe I found in the new issue of Very Good Things. They were tasty and very simple to make. Not a WOW for me, but still good. And speaking of Very Good Things, while you're there make sure to check out my two new articles for the site, a new delicious version of Guacamole and a book review on our favorite domestic diva, Being Martha
.OK, our next new recipe leads me to our Resdiscovering My Library segment. A little while ago, we made a salad recipe from Columbia's Restaurant. It was until our recent trip to Key West that I discovered the restaurant had their own cookbook
. I was looking for a side dish, so grabbed the cookbook in search of rice. I found their recipe for Good Rice. Yes, you read correctly, that's the name of the dish. And, well, appropriately named. It was good. The Husband said it reminded him of the rice his Mom used to make. I'll take that. :)
Lastly, I made Poached Eggs with Avocado, a recipe I found in an old issue of the Australian version of Family Circle magazine that a friend sent me (thank you, Gecko!). This was definitely my favorite recipe from tonight, but loving avocados as much as I do, I could be a little biased. Toasted bread, spread with mashed avocado, sliced cherry tomatoes and a poached egg, topped with a smidge of salt and pepper. Addicting.
I could have eaten them all night.OK, one last piece of business, then we're done ... this week's nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block goes to Cucina Testa Rossa. Whether she's succumbing to the Starbucks giant like the rest of us, whipping up a Pear Tart in a Cage, or introducing me to my favorite new phrase (which still makes me laugh every time I read it!), I'm sure you'll love her site. Check it out when you get a chance - you'll be glad you did.
Alright, I'm finally done ... that's it for tonight. Until tomorrow...
A year ago today ... I was talking about Lemon Parmigianno Chicken and Feta and Orzo Salad. I remember that salad well; think it might hit the table this weekend. Good stuff.
Poached Eggs with Avocado
Australian Family Circle 2002
Serves 2
4 slices of crusty bread, toasted
1 ripe avocado, halved
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 eggs
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
Spread toast thickly with avocado. Top with tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring a deep frying pan of water to boil. Reduce to a fast simmer and add vinegar. Crack an egg onto a saucer. Swirl water with a wooden spoon and slide egg into center of pan. Poach eggs individually for 1-2 minutes. Drain each egg and arrange on toast. Scatter with chives and serve.
| link | posted at 9:55 PM
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
... but I helped him out a bit. He stopped at the grocery store on his way home from work, and I whipped up a quick dinner - teamwork. Decidely ARF/5-A-Day-friendly, I made Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Smoked Mozzarella.
I had some Broccoli Rabe in the fridge that needed to be used today ... or else it was a goner, so I was specifically looking for a recipe to use it up. An older Cooking Light recipe, it was fast to make and delicious. I would definitely make it again.
Surprisingly enough, although The Husband eschews all green vegetables, and usually picks around them, he had two helpings, Broccoli Rabe included. That's good enough for me. And in a little Broccoli Rabe Solidarity, A Veggie Venture is also jumping on the Broccoli Rabe bandwagon and is featuring a great ongoing round-up of Broccoli Rabe recipes, which will be very helpful, because, believe it or not, searches for Broccoli Rabe recipes turn up very few. All Recipes, for example, has a whopping two, and Cooking Light, not much more.
Tomorrow, Nicholas' school is celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday. 
I knew I wanted to make something for him to bring into school to celebrate, and when I saw Jennifer's post on what she made for her students to celebrate the festivities, I knew what Nicholas would be bringing in. I wish I had teachers like HER growing up!
To tell you the truth, I loathe to cut out cookies and very rarely do it, but as luck would have it, in my cookie cutter jar, I happened to have fish cookie cutters - perfect. I even had sharks and dolphins! Quite the collection for someone who cuts cookies so infrequently.
Nicholas bounded into the kitchen mid-cookie-cut and wanted to know what I was making.
"Fish cookies!" I said.
"Ewwww, I don't want fish cookies. That's yuck." he replied.
Once I convinced him that they weren't actually made of fish, he was good. We sampled a few when they were done, purely for taste testing purposes, of course, and they were delicious. I'm sure the kids will be happy with them tomorrow ... it certainly doesn't take much at this age. ;)
One fish
Two fish
Red fish
Blue fish
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursday, Rediscovering My Library Thursdays, and, most importantly, one very special day. Until then...
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Smoked Cheese
Broccoli rabe resembles tiny clusters of broccoli florets amid bunches of leaves. You can substitute kale or spinach in this recipe and get equally delicious results.
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups chopped broccoli rabe
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups hot cooked orecchiette (about 8 ounces uncooked small ear-shaped pasta)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded smoked mozzarella or smoked gouda cheese
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and garlic; cook 1 minute or until garlic begins to brown. Stir in broccoli rabe; cook for 1 minute. Add broth and salt; cover and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in pasta and cheese. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
I had some Broccoli Rabe in the fridge that needed to be used today ... or else it was a goner, so I was specifically looking for a recipe to use it up. An older Cooking Light recipe, it was fast to make and delicious. I would definitely make it again.
Surprisingly enough, although The Husband eschews all green vegetables, and usually picks around them, he had two helpings, Broccoli Rabe included. That's good enough for me. And in a little Broccoli Rabe Solidarity, A Veggie Venture is also jumping on the Broccoli Rabe bandwagon and is featuring a great ongoing round-up of Broccoli Rabe recipes, which will be very helpful, because, believe it or not, searches for Broccoli Rabe recipes turn up very few. All Recipes, for example, has a whopping two, and Cooking Light, not much more.
Tomorrow, Nicholas' school is celebrating Dr. Seuss'
birthday. I knew I wanted to make something for him to bring into school to celebrate, and when I saw Jennifer's post on what she made for her students to celebrate the festivities, I knew what Nicholas would be bringing in. I wish I had teachers like HER growing up!To tell you the truth, I loathe to cut out cookies and very rarely do it, but as luck would have it, in my cookie cutter jar, I happened to have fish cookie cutters - perfect. I even had sharks and dolphins! Quite the collection for someone who cuts cookies so infrequently.
Nicholas bounded into the kitchen mid-cookie-cut and wanted to know what I was making.
"Fish cookies!" I said.
"Ewwww, I don't want fish cookies. That's yuck." he replied.
Once I convinced him that they weren't actually made of fish, he was good. We sampled a few when they were done, purely for taste testing purposes, of course, and they were delicious. I'm sure the kids will be happy with them tomorrow ... it certainly doesn't take much at this age. ;)
One fish
Two fish
Red fish
Blue fish
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
OK folks, all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursday, Rediscovering My Library Thursdays, and, most importantly, one very special day. Until then...
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Smoked Cheese
Broccoli rabe resembles tiny clusters of broccoli florets amid bunches of leaves. You can substitute kale or spinach in this recipe and get equally delicious results.
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups chopped broccoli rabe
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups hot cooked orecchiette (about 8 ounces uncooked small ear-shaped pasta)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded smoked mozzarella or smoked gouda cheese
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and garlic; cook 1 minute or until garlic begins to brown. Stir in broccoli rabe; cook for 1 minute. Add broth and salt; cover and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in pasta and cheese. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
| link | posted at 8:39 PM
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