I recently had the opportunity to try the new line of Giovanni Rana fresh pastas and sauces. If you live in NY or Italy you may be familiar with Giovanni. From what I read online, he is a very popular guy and has a restaurant in Chelsea Market. All varieties of pasta tasted great but my favorites were the spinach and the mushroom ravs. I don’t have an Italian grandmother but if I did I imagine her bolognese sauce would be just like Giovanni’s. I was really impressed.
FETTUCCINE PAGLIA E FIENO w/ BOLOGNESE
The best part is that you can have dinner on the table in 10 minutes. No exaggerating. The pasta cooks in under 4 minutes. Find the Rana products in your local safeway supermarket –refrigerated section.
Around St. Patty’s day I decided to make a sweet Irish soda bread. I followed the recipe below but added a heaping 1/2 cup of cranberries and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Next time I’ll add a bit more sugar. Turned out super tasty. Tell me that doesn’t look good…
I rarely drink cocktails but when I do it is always rum based. I love the flavor of rum so when Shellback asked me to try their new line of silver and spiced Caribbean rum I jumped at the chance. It came at a perfect time because we were hosting a Christmas Eve gathering and I wanted to serve a signature cocktail. I ended up going with a Coquito which some call the Latin version of egg nog. Ingredients include coconut milk, evaporated milk and lots of rum. Although the drink took some time to make it was well worth it and a huge hit.
Some said the smooth cocktail tasted like rum raisin ice cream. I even got a few compliments from people who are originally from Latin countries. Coquito will definitely be our go-to holiday beverage from now on!
While the weather remains chilly we will be using our spiced Shellback rum in coffee, tea and cider. However, I can’t wait for the sun and heat when I’ll be mixing up some mojitos, coladas and daiquiris with the silver. Check out the Shellback site for recipes.
This was the first recipe I made with items from my Full Circle organic produce delivery. Mike is not a fan of truffle oil but he loved this dish. All the ingredients worked together magically!
Tip: It was hot out and I was not about to turn on the oven… so for the mushrooms I just sauteed them in a pan!
This was soooo good….like breakfast for dinner. I did add the egg to the noodles too early which ended up making my sauce more scrambled than oozy but that didn’t stop me from devouring every last bite. Next time, I will remember to let my spaghetti cool a bit before mixing all the ingredients. I had some spinach on hand so I added that to the bacon/onion mixture. Yum.
If you have any leftover carrots that the Easter bunny didn’t eat or your CSA gave you a ton … try this soup. Honestly, if I didn’t make this myself I would have had no idea it was carrot. The combo of thyme and fennel creates a super unique flavor that I could not get enough of. Mike and I really enjoyed this.
Our St. Patrick’s day was spent as usual making corned beef. This year we made reuben sandwiches and for dessert I decided to make floats. I’m not a Guinness kinda gal, but my Irishman is, so this was my gift to him. It’s a pretty involved cocktail to make but he thoroughly enjoyed it so it was worth the time. I downed the ice cream and the whipped topping but most of the bitter stout remained in the glass. All that was left of Mike’s was a bit o’ cream on the tip of his nose.
We arrived late in the morning to the fish booth at the Los Gatos farmers market and missed out on the lobster tail special they had so the fish lady suggested we try her insanely huge prawns instead. She said they tasted just like lobster and she was not kidding! I knew exactly how I wanted to use them… I had just read the Feb. issue of BA and this recipe jumped out at me. To go with the massive shrimps we picked up some cod and halibut from Whole Foods. The result was a pool of wonderfully sweet, salty,clammy, smokey flavors. I will for sure make this again in the future.
BTW -we used polenta instead of the suggested grits but I’m sure it would be great with grits or rice.
Note: The real name of this dish is Bacon-Infused Carolina Fish Muddle but the word muddle is unappetizing to me so I changed it.
I’ve had the best of both worlds because I’ve grown up celebrating both Chanukah and Christmas. This year my parents came to my house to celebrate Chanukah and we made latkes. When I broke out my new Cuisinart food processor to grate the potatoes and onion my mom shook her head in dismay. “I always use a grater,” she said, “we are not making hashbrowns!”
My mom likes her potato and onion mixture to be like mush, not shredded. So after I used the shredder attachment and it was not to her liking I changed the blade and gave it a few pulses to get it to her perfect consistency. Making latkes is pretty simple and delicious. Happy Chanukah!
Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside
My Mom’s Latkes Recipe Makes about 16
Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes (peeled)
1 onion
1 tsp. salt
1 egg (beaten)
3 Tbsp. matzo meal
Vegetable oil to fry
Apple Sauce & Sour cream for serving
Instructions:
Grate the onion and potatoes with a box grater or as I described above (much faster!) into a bowl. Then mix with the remaining ingredients. Heat a skillet with vegetable oil (enough to cover 1/2 of the pancakes) over high heat. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil (don’t crowd) and fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain the latkes on paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt. Serve with apple sauce and sour cream.
For holiday gifts this year I chose to make the 2011 Food & Wine magazine coconut macaroons because I thought it was going to be quick and easy. I was wrong. My first batch was a disaster. I tried to half the recipe because it said it made 40 and I only needed 20. What resulted was a bunch of coconut pancake-like cookies.
Round 1 = EPIC FAIL
I tried again and made the full amount because it was obvious I didn’t have enough coconut. Whoever “tested and perfected” this recipe at F&W mag didn’t do a good job.
Reason 1 – The recipe doesn’t come close to making 40 macaroons as stated, it was more like 25.
Reason 2 -Don’t bake for 25 minutes! If you don’t want badly burnt cookies watch them carefully once they hit 10 minutes in the oven …anything over 15 and you are in trouble.
Reason 3 – There was no mention that the macaroons may run during baking so if you want them to look like what you see in a store (round balls) then you will have to trim the edges.
Reason 4 – They say to stick the finished product in the fridge for about 5 minutes for the chocolate to set. It takes a good 20 min.
In the end they still tasted killer but in order to not have to doctor them up to look presentable they need either more coconut or less sweetened condensed milk.
I’d never seen or tasted a delicata squash until it arrived in our CSA delivery. After some research I found out that it is sweet and most commonly prepared by simply roasting it in the oven, but I decided to take it a step further and make it into a soup.
You know it's a delicata squash by the cool green stripes
When they said it was sweet I expected flavors similar to a butternut squash but it was much more subtle. This tasted like a potato soup with a touch of sweetness. I’ve made many squash soups and sometimes they turn out bland but this, although mild, I found uniquely delicious.
For more winter squash recipes check out other bloggers participating in the Food Network’s Fall Fest (a season long franchise where Food Network editors team up with blogs to share tips and recipes about seasonal produce every week)…
Our CSA delivery was overflowing with beets in November. Since I was tired of making beet salads I started looking for a unique way to use them when this ravioli recipe grabbed my attention.
If you are not a fan of beets this is not going to convert you. You have to like the flavor because it is prominent. If you enjoy beets like I do you will find these truly satisfying. The only change I would make to the recipe next time is maybe use a more pungent cheese like blue. Other reviewers said they had tried that and I can see that really kicking up the flavor.
I made a few modifications to the Bon Appétit recipe.
1. I’m lazy so I chose to use wonton wrappers instead of fresh pasta (they suggested this option to save time)
2. Instead of boiling the ravioli’s I followed the directions on the wonton package to bake them. Preheat oven to 375. Mist a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place filled ravioli onto prepared baking sheet and brush tops of ravioli lightly with olive oil then bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Then I spooned over the poppy seed butter (which I added sage to).
This baked version would be better served as an Appetizer – cut in triangles with the butter on the side for dipping.
For more tasty beet recipes check out other bloggers participating in the Food Network’s Fall Fest (a season long franchise where Food Network editors team up with blogs to share tips and recipes about seasonal produce every week)…
We love burgers…this time it was made with beef from our grass-fed beef club. The meat was fantastic. This recipe is from the burger queen herself, Miss Ray. Tasty…but not good for a first date.
Project Open Hand peanut butter is all natural, trans-fat free, and contains ONE ingredient – peanuts!
Project Open Hand, a San Francisco non-profit food relief organization that provides meals and groceries to the city’s most vulnerable residents is now selling their popular homemade peanut butter to the Bay Area masses. Check out their story…
Purchase it at Project Open Hand – 730 Polk Street or SF Whole Foods markets.
Also, find the peanut butter featured in Humphry Slocombe ice cream flavor “Open Hand Fluffer Nutter” and Dynamo Donut’s “Open Hand Peanut Buddy” donut!
Project Open Hand provided me with a sample of the honey roasted peanut butter and, WOW, it was the best I’ve ever tasted. I decided to use some of it in a peanut butter milk chocolate pudding dessert. It turned out wonderfully creamy and soooo flavorful. If you can get your hands on some of this stuff you will be a happy camper and supporting a great cause.
The ebelskivers are back and better than ever! Imagine a blintz and a pancake all rolled into one. These were over the top good. We again saved a little time by using the Williams Sonoma mix. The recipe suggests using 1 tsp. of filling but use close to 2 …you’ll thank me.
For the first time we received a few stalks of rhubarb in our CSA. I had never cooked it before so went on a search for a recipe. There was a trend to use it in a compote or baked good (pie/cake) and almost always with strawberries. I decided to go with the easiest and fastest …. a crumble.
It turned out really tasty and super sweet. Rhubarb looks like red celery and I didn’t taste it raw but it’s supposed to be tart, so to compensate the recipe used a lot of sugar. With a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream (we tried both) it makes for the perfect summer dessert.
Modifications we made: we used walnuts and added a little corn starch to the filling to keep it from getting runny per the comments others made.
Mmmm Mmmm good. The sherry onions were the best part. Even though summer is no where to be seen in the Bay Area we still BBQ’d in the rain this weekend.
Mike’s childhood friend, Claudia Pruett, dropped off samples of her new product called 5 Minute Focaccia Mix. We received all 4 flavors (original,rosemary,raisin,choc chip) but decided to go with rosemary for our first time.
only 3 ingredients needed: mix,sparkling water,oil
Here is a video of us making the fragrant and yummy rosemary bread.
The process was fast & easy but the end result although tasty was a little thinner than expected. Along with the mix Claudia gave us some focaccia she had prepared and it was wonderfully thick and spongy. We are attributing the difference to the rising time because she said she lets the dough rise overnight and we only let it sit for 4.5 hours. It probably needs 7-10.
Focaccia can result in a very oily texture. We wanted to try and make it a little less so we used half the amount of oil called for. The dough did soak up a lot of the oil so next time we will probably use a little more than half.
Buy the A Tavola Together5 minute focaccia mixhere! If you’re local I’ve also seen it at the Los Gatos NapaStyle store.
Whoopie! Mike gave me this Red Velvet whoopie pie mix for xmas. We decided to wait and make them for a party we were attending because I didn’t want to be tempted to eat them all… which I would have easily done.
The directions were easy to follow and they turned out like expected (although a bit stingy with the filling mixture – I could have used a tad more). They were a hit at the party.
We spent Valentine’s day at home again this year but I didn’t mind because we made S’mores from Recchiuti Confections. Mike and I picked up a S’mores kit last time we were at the Ferry building in San Francisco and this was the perfect occasion to break it out.
Inside the fancy box you will find 9 handmade Marshmallows, 8 Recchiuti Grahams and a Recchiuti Bittersweet 85% Chocolate Bar.
It’s a grown up version of the classic dessert that is out of the world. The homemade graham crackers are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and the pillowy marshmallows are made with vanilla beans. You can make them in the oven (like we did since it was rainy and cold out) or you can do it the old fashioned way over an open flame.
Either way, you’ll be super happy with the results.
It’s the perfect little package. I plan on giving these out as birthday/holiday/hostess gifts this year so if you want one… invite me to a party :wink:.
Turkey, Turkey, Turkey why do you give us so much trouble every year (the time is never right and neither is the temp on the thermometer)? This Thanksgiving we decided to use the Cider Bourbon glaze from Williams-Sonoma. The turkey, once finally done, came out delish and moist. We really loved the glaze. It was sweet with a hint of spice. We followed the directions from WS but skipped the brine and instead used butter, salt & pepper on the outside and stuffed the cavity with fresh herbs. We brined last year and it seemed like a lot of work without much added benefit. The gravy was tasty but not sure it was worth having to buy $29 demi-glace.
I was inspired by a recent article Serious Eats wrote called: How to Make The Ultimate Patty Melt. My favorite burger is a patty melt. Always has been, always will be. Forget about lettuce, tomatoes, fancy mustard’s, aioli’s and chipotle ketchup’s. For a perfect burger all you need is quality bread, meat, cheese and onions.
I was drooling as I read the article but I didn’t feel like stinking up the house by frying so I decided to challenge Mike to make the darn things on the grill. He happily accepted.
We headed out to the market to pick up the ingredients:
Jewish Rye bread (I never new there were so many choices)
Aged Swiss
Kraft American cheese
Large Sweet onion
1 lb 80/20 ground beef (made 3 patties)
butter
When we returned we fired up the grill.
Mike made the patties kinda in the shape of the bread and added salt & pepper. I sliced up the onions and buttered one side of each piece of bread. Then we moved outdoors. Mike began to grill the meat and I started the onions on the grill’s burner (following the Serious Eats directions works well). When the meat was coming close to medium we placed some cheese on top and put the bread on the grill butter side down. Then we topped the bread with more cheese and the caramelized onions. Once everything was melty we sandwiched it all together and chowed down.
I don’t think I’ll ever make a Patty Melt on the stove again. This came out fantastic and not all greasy like it usually is. The meat was tender, the cheese gooey and the onions sweet. Perfection!
We had an end of the summer BBQ and needed a dessert. S’more pie immediately came to mind. I had seen a couple versions online and I ultimately went with Smitten Kitchen’s take. I was limited in time so I did get some help from the Keebler elves for the pie crust (which I wouldn’t recommend because it was too thin and you could barely taste it). The marshmallow topping was grand but took much longer than the 5 minutes written in the recipe –more like 15. I almost gave up after the majority of the hot sugar got stuck to the side of my mixer but I just let it beat on and it turned out perfect, but maybe a little less sweet due to the loss of sugar on the bowl. I was amazed at the outcome.
The pie was a hit at the party although next time I would use a milk chocolate to get a more campfire Hersey like feel… this was rather dark in flavor.
Our CSA produce delivery gave us 4-5 lbs of tomatoes in a single week (3 varietals). That’s a lot of tomats! There was also a couple cucumbers so making a gazpacho was a no-brainer. This José Andrés recipe was delightful.
Everyone under the sun has swooned over the “crack pie” from Momofuku Milk Bar in New York. When I saw the recipe in Bon Appetit I thought I better make it since I have no plans to visit NYC in the near future. I gotta say I was a bit worried about the lack of ingredients. All it really called for was butter, eggs, sugar, oats and cream. How could that be a pie? It sounded more like a cookie so I looked around the web to see how other people’s pies turned out. The only thing I found was a bunch of inconsistencies. There are many recipes on the net and none are the same. Baking times & temp to ingredients differ. I think pastry chef Christina Tosi doesn’t really want us all to know how to make her addictive pie! But in the end it turned out fabulous. It smelled and tasted like a gooey buttery caramel oat bar.
Tip: I read that some people complained that the pie was a runny pool of butter. You have to cook it for at least 30 minutes AND let the pie rest 2 hours then sit in the fridge preferably overnight. Don’t be impatient…it’s worth the wait!
Also, the BA recipe said to bake for a total of 50 minutes. I did it for 45 because the online comments said it was a bit overcooked. Next time I’ll probably bake for 35 (25 min on 350° & 10 min on 325°) just for a tad more gooeyness.
Mike adores anything lemon. So when we needed to use up 10 lemons from our new burgeoning lemon tree I decided to make Ina Garten’s lemon cake. I had bookmarked the recipe eons ago due to its stellar reviews. The cake turned out delicious. It’s a cross between cake and pound cake. It was tangy and sweet. Most of the cakes zip came from the glaze so if you want to tone down the tartness use less lemon juice in the glaze or omit it all together.
Tip: Don’t make this too far ahead of when you want to serve because it did dry out after a day.
Recipe link
Food Network, Barefoot Contessa / 2001
The corn is the star of this dish! If you don’t have fresh, sweet corn on the cob don’t bother making this recipe. Unlike most chowders this is light and healthy…don’t let the name fool you. A grand summer supper.
Tip: I made this on the stove top but still grilled the shrimp on the BBQ.
Recipe link
Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine /Aug. 2010
This was killer…literally. I could hear my heart cry as I devoured every morsel. Mike and I are trying to get back in shape by doing the P90X workout. This is not on the diet but this is what Mike decided to prepare for dinner the other night. He obviously didn’t read the ingredients before going to the store. Heavy cream, butter, cheese, egg yolk, and more butter! It was sinfully delicious though. The sauce was the one of the best I’ve ever tasted. It would be a perfect starter course. Really don’t attempt to eat this as a main dish as we did.
I just decided Mike was preparing us for our trip to Paris. We leave in 1 week!!!
My bread was super happy to slop up this broth. It was tasty and hearty but next time I would add some more variety of fish. Maybe scallops and halibut.
I’ve read articles about grilling pizza for years. We finally gave it a go. I don’t know if I’ve said it before but pizza may be my favorite food. I can eat it daily. To make life easy we used Trader Joe’s pre-made pizza dough. A 1 pound ball produces one large regular crust pizza with a crispy outside and soft inside or two thin crust pizzas. We had 2 balls one white and one wheat so we tried both sizes. It was much easier to make two small pizza’s… being able to flip raw dough onto the grill without making a mess takes mad skilz.
What we made:
Wheat pizza dough with onions,peppers, shrooms, buffalo mozz and tomato sauce.
White pizza dough with tomato sauce, buffalo mozz, fresh basil, crushed black pepper and sea salt.
The first recipe we decided to prepare from Steven Raichlen’s new BBQ cookbook was Filet Mignons with Whisky Mushroom Sauce a dish from Uraguay. It’s beef wrapped in bacon smothered in a creamy wild mushroom sauce. What’s not to like?
Recipe adapted from PLANET BARBECUE!: An Electrifying Journey Around the World’s Barbecue Trail by S. Raichlen (Workman, May 2010).
Make the sauce: Trim/clean mushrooms and thinly slice. Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until translucent but not brown, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to high. Cook until tender stirring often and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, until flour evenly coats the mushrooms, about 1 minute. Stir in beef stock and cream bring to boil, stirring well. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Add whisky, mustard, lemon zest and stir until blended, about 2 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Sauce can be prepared up to 1 hour ahead and kept warm.
Prepare the steaks: Wrap a slice of bacon around the side of each filet, sandwiching 2 bay leaves, if using, between the bacon and beef on opposite sides. Tie bacon in place with butcher string. Season top and bottom of steaks with salt & pepper.
Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. To be authentic you’d grill over oak or eucalyptus embers.
When ready to cook, brush and oil grill grate. Arrange filets on the hot grate and grill to taste 4-6 minutes per side for med-rare. Don’t forget to grill the sides to brown the bacon.
Transfer steaks to plate and remove string. Spoon sauce over the top and serve at once.
I find Mexican food the most difficult cuisine to make at home. My tacos, fajitas & enchiladas never taste as good as they do in a restaurant… until now. This recipe blew me away.
Rice pudding was a lot easier to make then I thought. The vanilla beans looked so pretty and the flavor was outstanding. We used an entire vanilla bean instead of half — what a waste not to. We served it with strawberries as suggested the first time but the next we used ripe banana slices and I gotta say I liked it even better. Tasted like a banana cream pie. The consistency was thick and creamy, not at all runny like grocery store pudding can be. A wonderful, fast, easy treat.
Tips: This was sweet even by my standards so I would recommend adding the sugar slowly and tasting to see how much you like.
The rice also could have been a little softer so I would leave it on the stove for 30 minutes instead of 20.
Mike and I planted two lemon trees in our backyard over 4 years ago and we have yet to see a single piece of fruit. We tried planting them in different parts of the yard and used numerous soils but they would not grow. We had no idea what we were doing wrong so we came to the conclusion that we had bought duds and went to the nursery to buy another. This time we passed on the tiny $10 trees and went for a big boy – one that actually had a good amount of flowers/buds. We planted it in the Fall and look at it now!! WE GOT LEMONS!!!
The first thing I made was lemonade because it was finally warm and not raining last weekend. This recipe is a bit unique. I’d never thought to make lemonade in a blender. It gave it a nice frothy consistency. This can taste just like the stuff you get at Hot Dog on a Stick™ if you add more grenadine (which I did on my second batch).
Recipe link
We have been on a unintentional Ina Garten cooking spree lately.
This is not the pot pie I grew up eating. The filling is not thick and creamy it’s more of a broth base which makes it seem more healthy than it probably is. When the buttery pastry deflated down into the bowl and got all saucy it was delicious. We made 4 pies and ate 2 a few days later and it was just as tasty. It’s a very warm and hearty meal.
Modifications to save time: We BBQ’d a couple boneless chicken breasts instead of roasting and we used pre-made puff pastry for the tops.
This really should be called super yummy meatball soup. I didn’t think I would enjoy a chicken meatball so much but without them this soup would be boring. I plan on making these meatballs to add to my next bowl of spaghetti.
Tip: Don’t be afraid of the dill. It really adds to the dish.
We had a bunch of left over corned beef so I decided to try and make a hash. It came out pretty well for a first attempt. To save time I cheated a bit by using a bag of frozen “Ore-Ida Potatoes O’Brien” (cubed potatoes with onions & peppers). I also left out the cream as it seemed unnecessary. It was a meal indeed.
I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day! This year I kept things simple. Corned Beef, Swiss cheese and Emeril’s Horseradish Mustard on Irish soda bread. I really wanted to make rye bread but couldn’t figure out a way to do it in less than an hour so that’s how soda bread made it into the sando equation. Soda bread is the simplest thing to make and has a very similar flavor to rye. See recipe here
We picked up the beef from Costco and prepared it according to the directions on the package. Drop in pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer 3 hours. So easy!
I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again…boiling meat sounds wrong but in this case it is sooo right! The result is succulent and tender.
If you want to see the Guinness corned beef we made last year go here
If Willy Wonka made a soup it would look like this. I made some modifications to the original recipe and created something very unique. Instead of Savoy cabbage I used Red and instead of yukon gold potatoes I used Red which is weird because the soup turned out purple. People who know me will think I did this on purpose because purple is my favorite color but I really had no clue that this would be the outcome of my tinkering with the ingredients.
The end result was far from “grape” tasting. It actually just tasted like potatoes. If I closed my eyes it was a little easier to eat.
I garnished with homemade croutons, parsley and additional bacon.
Mmmm Mmmm good! I needed a fancy dessert for a Valentine’s day at home. The milk chocolate Soufflé in the February issue of Bon Appétit called to me. It was insanely easy to make and more importantly could be done ahead of time. The end result was light, airy, puffed perfection. I passed on the whip that was supposed to go with this and instead made a baileys cream (heavy cream,powdered sugar,baileys). This recipe is a keeper!
Note: I used my complimentary supply of farm fresh eggs from Eggland’s Best to prepare this. Their eggs are so healthy that I didn’t feel bad eating two Soufflés…
Yes, I thought this would be gross. Mike finally decided to use the 6 kiwi’s that had been sitting in our fridge for 2 weeks. He transformed them into a uniquely creamy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
It was surprisingly good and very sweet. It had a fresh, clean taste that reminded me of a sorbet. A small scoop is all you need to be satisfied.
It was time to test the new chocolate ebelskiver mix from WS. We used three different fillings and they all turned out wicked awesome but the caramel was the best!
The recipe for Chocolate Ebelskivers is on the mix if you buy it. If you don’t, I’ve attempted to give you a recipe below…
For the pancakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking
cocoa powder (if you want to make them chocolate)
For the filling:
We used Nutella, Peanut butter and Caramel sauce right out of the jars (placed them in the fridge for 10 minutes b4 so they would be easier to work with). You want it to be a paste like consistency not soft and runny.
Directions:
To make the pancakes, in a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar. In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and the 4 Tbs. melted butter. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy. Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter in two additions.
Put 1/8 tsp. melted butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan. Set over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 Tbs. batter into each well. Spoon 1 tsp. of the filling of your choice into the center of each pancake and top with 1 Tbs. batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Using 2 skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the pancakes to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling. Dust with powdered sugar.
What to do with a bushel of carrots from your latest CSA delivery? MAKE CARROT SOUP!! Man, this was good. Ginger and lemon are a fantastic compliment to carrots. I would have never guessed.
They say to serve with sour cream but it’s good with or without.
Happy holidays everyone! For the first time we decided to make sweet gifts for the family. To our surprise everything turned out perfect. I thought making toffee and fudge were recipes for disaster but they were really easy to prepare. Add some tins from the dollar store and you have a very festive gift.
Tip: after smoothing out the chocolate on top of the toffee don’t just toss it in the fridge. Let it sit for like 10 minutes to make sure all the chips melt completely. We didn’t, which just meant when we broke it up there were some chips still in tact. No biggie.
This fudge was made with mostly milk chocolate so it was not super rich which is my preference.
Check it out… We finally made a recipe from our Thomas Keller “Bouchon” cookbook! Mike whipped this soup up on a week night to boot! It was not super difficult to make and it turned out fantastic. Sweet with a little spice. This would be a perfect starter course at a dinner party especially during the holidays.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. This year Mike and I were given the task to make a turkey, green beans, cranberry sauce and gravy.
After much deliberation and many hours looking through foodie magazines we decided to go with the following recipes:
Sage Butter-Roasted Turkey with Cider Gravy (Bon Appétit, November 2009)
Bacon Braised Green Beans by Emeril Lagasse (Food Network magazine, November 2009)
Cranberry, Pomegranate, and Meyer Lemon Relish (Bon Appétit, November 2008)
Mike and I have yet to master the art of cooking a turkey. It gives us problems every year. It just never seems to cook all the way through. Even with all the trouble the breast meat was nice and the gravy was fantastic but next year I want ham! The cranberries were tart and lovely but the green beans were the star of the meal. I lost track of all the compliments I received. These were super simple to prepare and I have a feeling I will be asked to make these again next year!
Tip: if you try the turkey recipe make sure you remove most of the salt rub before cooking the bird. Also, clean out the bottom of the pan so your gravy isn’t too salty.
I’ve been c-r-a-v-i-n-g lobster. The kind of lobster I had growing up in Massachusetts when my family would hop in our station wagon and drive to New Hampshire in search of the ultimate lobster meal. Since moving to California, long gone are the days of cheap, simple lobster eats. Lobster tends to be insanely expensive and come in extreme forms. I don’t want lobster sliders, sushi rolls or mac & cheese. I’m going back to basics…I want a lobster so fresh and tasty all it needs is a little drawn butter to make my mouth water. Head, tail, legs and guts. I wanna get my hands dirty and maybe even my shirt. Lobster Gram to the rescue!
Thanks to Foodbuzz and their monthly blogging event where they sponsor 24 people to create 24 meals in 24 hours Mike and I were transported back in time to one of my fondest childhood memories. We had LIVE Maine lobsters delivered to our door from one of the top lobster delivery services on the net…Lobster Gram.
WOW! what a day…the lobsters arrived right on time and were alive and kickin’, well actually they were a bit jet-lagged initially but they perked up. I was amazed to find that they were so fresh that there was no fishy smell at all. Not even the shipping container smelled. The box comes with everything you could possibly need to create the perfect dinner: a great detailed cooking guide, lemons, butter, bibs, crackers, picks and hand wipes. The entire process of ordering online to cooking was surprisingly simple. Lobster Gram makes things fool proof. The end result was FANTASTIC! The lobster was super tender and sweet. It didn’t even need butter… but that didn’t stop us from using it!
Here is a video that shows the delivery, prep and the plunge into the pot:
To complete our crustacean feast we prepared the following sides:
Cheddar Biscuits with Garlic Butter
Corn on the Cob with Shallot -Thyme Butter
The only modification to the biscuit recipe we made was to double the amount of garlic. They were really fast and easy to make. Awesome right out of the oven. The corn had wonderful flavor. The only change next time would be to use corn off the cob so we don’t lose all the buttery shallot goodness on the plate!
and for dessert…
Apple Galette with Caramel Sauce and Vanilla cream
This treat consisted of sliced apples on top of a 5″ circular puff pastry and what you can’t see is what makes it taste so unique – under the apples is a half dollar size disc of pure almond paste. We’d never used almond paste before and a little goes a long way. Yum!
If you’ve ever considered having lobsters delivered — JUST DO IT!! This was a totally fun and rewarding experience! I can’t wait to do it again and again and again…
When I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. It looked sooooo good. The end product was more bread-like then the usual moist buttery pound cake consistency but still wonderful. When nutella is cooked the potent flavor of hazelnut transforms into a lovely light chocolate. As suggested we served this with homemade coffee ice cream that Mike made. Scrumptious!
Note: The recipe says use the entire container of nutella… it will seem like a lot but it really isn’t.
I wanted to try something new with our beets — no roasting or salads. The October 2009 Food & Wine magazine had the solution…risotto! Not only was it tasty but it was gorgeous to look at. To accompany the risotto Mike served a fantastic Pinot from Burrell School Winery. It had tons of berry flavor and a hint of spice which is what made it so nice with the risotto – it added a bit of a kick to the meal. Burrell is a hidden jewel in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The wines are complex, unique and very affordable. Stop by the old, red school house and taste some great wine, meet wonderful people and take in the spectacular view.
Yum! I was looking for a way to use up some peaches and this is what I found! Ice cream covered in lemon marinated peaches, buttery graham cracker crumble and a cinnamon syrup. The little crunchies make the sundae. If you’re smart you’ll double the recipe. Honestly, you really don’t need the syrup. It’s grand with or without.
view from the top
For the vanilla ice cream we used the Williams-Sonoma Ice cream starter. The few egg based ice creams we’ve made have not impressed me. They are overly creamy and have a milky taste so when I saw this mix I snapped it up. It was fantastic and does not skimp on the Madagascar Bourbon. The flavor was bananas – not literally… I will use this again and again even though it’s a bit overpriced. Need an ice cream maker? This one is awesome.
We got a box of figs in our produce shipment and I had no idea what to do with them. We had never cooked with figs. I ended up winging it because I couldn’t find one recipe that had everything I wanted. First I slathered a pork loin with evoo, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary and thyme. Mike then threw it on the grill and did his thing. Meanwhile, I made a fig sauce using a Martha Stewart recipe I found online (below). I was low on port so I used 1/2 port & 1/2 red wine. It was not overly sweet so I added a little sugar. The sauce came together easily. It was thick, closer to a glaze. I could have thinned it out with some water but I liked the consistency. It was a wonderful complement to the pork.
Usually when I make linguine with clams I make the pasta in one pot and the clams & broth in another. When I found this recipe where you cook your pasta in the clam broth I knew I needed to try it out. It seemed like a interesting idea. As I followed the directions I ended up needing to add a lot of extra wine & water to the pot in order to cover the pasta so it would cook. There just wasn’t enough broth. Because we used packaged pasta it needed time and liquid to get soft which left us with a thick starchy sauce instead of a broth. In the end it still tasted really good but I think this would work marvelously with fresh pasta.
We received 4 ears of corn in our produce delivery so we decided to make a chowder. We made a couple changes to the Tyler Florence recipe we found included adding BACON! Instead of using the butter we used the bacon drippings to saute the onion, garlic and thyme. We also sprinkled in some additional herbs and we substituted half and half for the cream to make it nice and light. Delish!
Yum, Yum, Yum. I truly enjoyed this. It was so garlicky that it kinda tasted like a scampi. If you like garlic you should like this. The only modification to the recipe was we used half the amount of chili flakes. For some reason I prefer to taste my food and not have my mouth on fi-yah.
The title says it all. This was super simple to prepare. When you think of Cioppino you usually think of a pot boiling away for hours. This was done in 30 minutes but doesn’t lack flavor. Our modifications to the recipe included adding fresh basil and substituting chicken stock for the water. For the fish we chose jumbo shrimp, mussels and scallops. I think any hearty white fish would go well. Served with crusty garlic bread this was a fantastic meal that we were able to whip up after a long day at work.
Summertime = cocktails in our house. I have yet to like a Bobby Flay recipe or restaurant but he does know his way around a blender. This was a cool treat. Garnished with some toasted coconut it was a perfect after work pick me up.
Mike really loved this dish. The flavors were very Mediterranean inspired and would be grand with couscous (we didn’t have any). The topping was a wonderful combination of sweet and sour.
OMG! This was awesome. Little stacks from heaven. Mario put his foot in this recipe. If you like eggplant, you’ll love this…heck, if you don’t like eggplant I have a feeling you’ll like this. It was time consuming and messy to make (why are eggplant recipes always so complicated?) but sooo worth it. The tomato sauce that went along with this will now be our go-to pasta sauce. I would of been happy with just a bowl of sauce!
We served this up as a side dish at our 4th of July Fried Chicken dinner. This is not your typical corn bread, it’s light and airy more like a frittata because you use a lot of beaten eggs. It’s also not sweet. I think I would have liked it a tad more sweet so I will add more sugar next time. Nice alternative to the norm.
Mike made these per my request on the 4th of July to accompany our Southern themed meal. This is the kind of cocktail where you can slam 4 without noticing. It tastes really good. We made way more than was needed for the number of guests we had over so days later the liquor is much more pronounced and I’m still sippin’ on them. It does take some effort to make but well worth it. I found this recipe in the Aug/Sept issue of the Food Network magazine.
These were soooo good and easy to make. Tasted similar to the ones I get at the Counter. I used 2 medium sized onions (red & white). I didn’t have the patience to do more than one batch so I tossed them all in at the same time. They still turned out fantastic, just had to keep them in the fryer a little longer (about 4-5 minutes). I will make these again and again. Great recipe Pioneer Woman!
If you don’t have a portable deep fryer I highly recommend getting one like ours (see here).
I was cravin’ a kicked up BLT and found two recipes online from Thomas Keller (French Laundry/Ad Hoc) and Tom Colicchio (Craft/Top Chef). I couldn’t decide which to try so I made both (on different days…I’m not that piggy!). I hate to say it but it ended up in a tie. Both sandos were good but definitely missing something.
The Pro’s:
Keller – yummy bread and cheese selection
Colicchio – frisee with oil/vinegar was a grand addition
The Con’s:
Keller – Needed a more flavorful sauce. Mayo just didn’t cut it.
Colicchio – This needed a big juicy slice of tomato. It was a tad dry.
I picked this Mario Batali recipe because we had not been to the grocery in a week and it included ingredients that we had at home. This is similar to a dish I have made many times but this is a bit more zippy in flavor. I love this kind of pasta sauce because you toss everything in a blender and you’re done. Super easy and fast. Make sure you don’t try this on a first date because the garlic is potent.
Recipe link (we used penne and 1/2 tsp. of red pepper flakes!)
Mike decided to surprise me with a new burger he found in the Great Burgers cookbook by Bob Sloan. Preparing us for our upcoming trip to NOLA he made the Bayou burger which is a lamb/andouille sausage patty packed with cajun flare. This had great flavor and was super juicy. I will warn you that these bad boys stay with you far after the time you eat them (if you know what I mean)…
Ingredients (adapted from Great Burgers- makes 4)
1lb ground lamb
1 andouille sausage (3 ounces) cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 egg beaten
2 tsp. cajun seasoning
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried basil
pepper to taste
Mix everything together to make burgers. Cook 5 minutes then flip for 4-5 more minutes. Serve with red onion, lettuce and mayo or creole mustard. We added tomato.
This was nothing like the orange chicken at Panda Express. This was much healthier because it’s not fried. I found this recipe in the 15 minute meal section of June’s Bon Appétit. As you can see we added mushrooms because they came along with the peas in our produce delivery and we used yellow onion instead of red. I have to admit I think I like the Panda Express version better but this was a tasty alternative and my waist appreciated it.
I’m baaaack! Sorry for the sporadic posts… my real job has actually been keeping me very busy 😥
Welcome to another episode of Top Scallop (if you watch Top Chef you’ll know what I mean). We have been eating a lot of scallops lately. These were covered in a light garlic sauce. I know it’s hard to see but trust me it’s there. Of course it was good — they were covered in garlic cream and served with buttered rice!
For a risotto this was easy to make (of course I say that because Mike made it 🙂 ). The first day we ate this the lemon just lingered in the background and gave a kiss of citrus. The next day it was much more pronounced. This was the first risotto I’ve had that was better the following day. Not at all clumpy or dry and the flavors matured. Good stuff!
Back to cooking at home…. after all that Food & Wine…
This dish is meant to be served cool (the pasta) so it would be perfect on a hot night. I actually think it would also be good served warm. The flavor is very floral with the many herbs used. It’s like a mouthful of Spring. This was light and tasty.
As Mike and I arrived in beautiful Pebble Beach we both headed off to our first events. He went to the Vérité tasting and I went to the Thomas Keller cooking demo. For those of you who need an introduction Keller is the renown owner/chef of The French Laundry, Bouchon, Ad Hoc and Per Se. Things started off with a quick intro by the head honcho at Food & Wine Magazine Editor-in-Chief Dana Cowin. This was the first time I had seen Chef Keller in the flesh and he was very personable and humorous.
He wasted no time and immediately began making two gnocchi dishes: a classic potato gnocchi with mushrooms and peas then a flour based choux dough gnocchi with onions and a garlic emulsion. Keller made the whole process look easy but I guarantee it isn’t. He grew up making gnocchi with his Nona. She said that you know when the dough is ready when it feels like your earlobe. Thomas said that the key to making great gnocchi is practice. The more times you make it the better it gets. Don’t expect it to turn out perfect the first time.
Throughout his demo he stressed three things:
1. Seasonal cooking is essential to making a successful dish. Everyone should have a garden.
2. The importance of getting kids in the kitchen and cooking.
3. Salt, Salt and more Salt (he loves this stuff). He talked about it at length. He feels salt enhances flavors unlike pepper which can change flavors. That is one thing I noticed while eating at Ad Hoc the food is always seasoned perfectly.
As the cooking came to a close my mouth was watering and I was ready to eat but the gnocchi would not be mine. This was the first demo I’ve been to where you didn’t get to sample the goods at the end (a bit of a let down) so I can’t tell you if the food was tasty (who are we kidding …of course it was) but I can tell you that it smelled heavenly. What we did receive was a cool gift bag that had 4 chocolate bouchons and a French Laundry/ Pebble Beach apron. Spending the morning with Thomas Keller was a fun experience and I’m excited to make gnocchi at home for Mike, he loves them (ya…he will probably end up making them for me…😆).
OMG! These are just like the real deal. I didn’t think Chef Keller would put his name on a product of poor quality. He teamed up with Williams- Sonoma to produce the iconic chocolate Bouchon mix and mold. The mix easily made 24 sensational corks.
Tasty tip: If you want big Bouchons fill the molds to the top, if not fill them just a tad under the lip. The mold works great and the little bad boys slide right out.
The only reason we decided to try this recipe is that we received a whole bunch of kiwi’s in our produce delivery. I was extremely skeptical that the ingredients in the salsa would mesh but they did. It had a fresh, tropical vibe. I have to say that the broiling method of cooking the chops was fantastic. When Mike pulled them out of the oven I thought they were burned, but they were charred on the outside and perfectly pink on the inside. It’s a fast and easy dish to prepare.
Ready to feel guilty? Then this is the dish for you! On day 3 of Mike’s birthday celebration I decided to make him this for dinner. It was outstanding but also used the majority of a carton of heavy cream. In reflection I could have forgone the cream in the grits and used 1/3 less in the sauce, but you only live once, might as well go all the way. No longer will grits be relegated to the breakfast table.
Modifications to the recipe: added a little parm to the grits, used bacon instead of pancetta in the sauce.
We got beets! I’ve been waiting for beets to arrive in our produce delivery for months. Beets are the bomb and if you don’t agree, you haven’t had them prepared in a way that brings out their yumminess. After preparing this recipe we learned beet greens are not to be discarded. They are wonderful. At the suggestion of other reviewers we added garlic to the gremolata and once the fish was cooked I finished it with a little orange juice to give it a punch of citrus. The meal was light, healthy and delicious.
This has to be the easiest bread recipe in the world. It contains 5 ingredients and no yeast and no waiting for rising. From start to finish it took 35 minutes. I have to be honest I had doubts that this would be edible. I was envisioning a big solid rock emerging from the oven. To my surprise it did turn out. It was dense but still soft and chewy on the inside and tasted just like rye bread. I truly enjoyed it.
Tasty Tip: we used reduced fat buttermilk (2 cups) and it was all good.
The main dish was corned beef. I am a corned beef fiend although I grew up eating it in another form… corned beef on rye with mustard and a dill pickle. This was the first time Mike or I had attempted to cook the beef at home. When I read the recipe Mike found I was very concerned that it would not turn out right. The whole idea of boiling meat just sounded wrong but I would find out it was sooo right. The result was amazing. It was tender yet firm and the flavor was perfection. I can’t wait to make it again next year. I’m already planning the menu. Seriously.
Tasty Tip: Don’t be tempted to sample the braising liquid before adding the veggies. It will taste like a pool of salt. The Guinness flavor throughout is very mild. We will use 2 bottles of beer next time and less water.
I was craving lemon chicken so I went on a crusade to find a new recipe. The first I came across was by Lidia Bastianich who is one of Mike’s aunt’s favorite celeb chefs. In her honor I thought we should give it a try. It looked like a light and fresh dish. The result was a smorgasbord of flavors: sour (lemon), tangy (capers) and salty (olives). The chicken paired nicely with the accompanying sauteed spinach & breadcrumbs. Winner, Winner chicken dinner! I now know why aunt Joan is a follower of the PBS star.
This is one of my favorite winter meals. Hearty, scrumptious, comfort food. You can make side dishes to accompany this but we usually go Medieval and devour the birds in one sitting. Every time I purchase cornish hens (usually frozen but still super tasty) I am amazed at how cheap they are. It’s the best spent $7.
Ingredients
2 game hens
butter
garlic salt Secret ingredient… Lay’s classic potato chips (gives a salty crunch)
Preparation
Rinse hens, remove giblets (if any), pat dry, then arrange in a baking pan. Slather slightly melted butter all over the hens. Shake some garlic salt on and inside the cavity. Then lightly crush the potato chips by hand and sprinkle on and around the birds. Place in a 350 degree oven and roast until juices run clear when hens are pierced in thickest part of thighs, about 80 minutes. If at the 60 minute mark the birds are not golden brown on top turn up the heat to 400. Remove from oven, spoon some cooking liquid over hens and serve immediately.
I finally prepared my first Julia Child recipe. I figured if I’m gonna do something French I better refer to the master. This was easy but time consuming. Next to lobster bisque and tomato, onion is my favorite kind of soup. It’s so comforting and rich. Good the first day, outstanding 4 days later. The flavors really change over time. If you can wait (I couldn’t) prepare this a few days before you want to serve. It tastes like an item from a five star restaurant.
This year we again stayed home for Valentine’s day. We feasted on fresh Dungeness crab and then indulged in this….
Chocolate fondue with a shot of Baileys Irish Cream
To accompany the chocolate we had strawberries, apples, bananas, pirouette wafers and rice crispy treats. Good stuff! The cute sweetheart fondue set was my “V” day gift from Mike last year.
You say you don’t like brussel sprouts…I say you haven’t had them like this! I had to find an interesting way to prepare the brussel sprouts that arrived in our produce delivery because Mike is not a fan. In this recipe instead of leaving the sprouts whole you slice them up and sauté with BACON. While I made the sprouts Mike seared our scallops like a pro. When topped with the lemon creme fraîche the citrus combo was out of this world.
I prefer sweet chili over spicy. This recipe is one of my mom’s. It’s super easy and fast to make. An official 30 minute meal that tastes like it was bubblin’ away on the stove top for an entire day.
Ingredients
1.5 lbs ground beef garlic salt
1 can kidney beans (drained)
2 cans stewed tomatoes with onions and peppers
1T chili powder
2 pinches of cinnamon
sugar
Directions Brown the beef in a large pot with a couple shakes of garlic salt. Drain any excess grease. Add beans, tomatoes, chili powder, cinnamon and sugar to your desired taste. I like it really sweet so I use about 2 tablespoons of sugar but put some in, stir and taste, to see how much you prefer. Simmer until thick about 20 minutes.
Top with grated cheese,chopped onion and sour cream then serve with a side of cornbread.
In our produce delivery we received fennel. I thought —Yuck! I despise black licorice so I thought that would also be the case for this vegetable. I was wrong, I found out I love fennel. It has the aroma of black licorice but the flavor of sweet onions once sauteed. This dish turned out to be brilliant.
We cooked the pork 10 minutes on the stove and 10 minutes in the oven and it came out just right. Juicy and tender. Pork is so easy to prepare and tastes amazing without having to do much to it. A little salt and pepper and it’s gold.
OMG! How cute are these matzo balls?!? Usually this isn’t the case. I once went to a deli in NY and my colleague ordered matzo ball soup and all she got was a single ball the size of my head. No joke. This is a time intensive dish. Don’t think you can whip this up on a weeknight. The recipe for the soup seemed a little on the bland side so I made some enhancements. I added carrots,onions,celery and chopped roasted chicken breast to the stock. It turned out soooo good. Mikes reaction… “This is the best thing you’ve ever made.” My mom is going to be impressed.
Tasty Tip: Want to save some time — stick the ball mixture in the freezer for 1 hour instead of the fridge for 2.
Another well received appetizer at my sister’s “b” day bash was this onion dip by the Barefoot Contessa. This took some time to prepare (40 minutes) but was well worth it. The final concoction was sweet and creamy with a bit of a kick. I served this with long pretzel sticks (which everyone thought was a yummy and interesting combo). Now that I think back, kettle potato chips would have also gone well.
As mentioned in the previous post we decided to try out our Daregal fresh frozen herbs on a Rack of Lamb. This application really allowed the herbs to shine. The recipe we used was super simple to prepare and downright delicious.
This recipe is a keeper! But it was much more work to make than I expected. In my mind we were going to throw a bunch of veggies in a pot and ta-dah — Minestrone. Not exactly. You do toss a bunch of veggies in a pot but it’s done in numerous intervals. It all starts with bacon (or pancetta) which is what brings out all the magnificent flavors. Each layer is slowly bathed in bacon fat and eventually transforms into a cauldron of love.
Tasty Tip: We didn’t bother with the drawn out overnight bean procedure. Instead we popped open a can of white beans and it turned out just fine.
This is our go-to Christmas morning breakfast. While Mike is excited to tear into his gifts, I’m waiting to tear into these bad boys.
Instructions: Cut up a loaf of crusty french or sourdough bread into thick slices. Then take slices and dip both sides in eggnog (no egg or milk needed). Toss in a pan with lots of butter and cook till golden brown. Serve with powdered sugar, Aunt Jemima and a slab of bacon. Mmm, Mmm good.
A while back I read about “The Burger Bash” hosted by Rachael Ray at the Food Network New York Wine & Food festival (Oct 10th). Celeb chefs dueled to see who made the best burger and the winner of the night was Katie Lee Joel’s (Season 1 host of Top Chef ,cookbook author and wife to Billy) Logan County Hamburgers. I l-o-v-e a good burger so I had to give it a try. Most of the news coverage gave Katie Lee a hard time because they didn’t think she did anything spectacular to deserve the win. They basically called her burger an embellished grill cheese. I think it’s closer to a patty melt. Either way it tasted damn good! You hold your trophy high Katie Lee!
What is a Cinnamon-Bun Ebelskiver? It’s basically a cinnamon roll and a pancake rolled into one!
We received the Williams-Sonoma ebelskiver pan as a gift a few years back. Last weekend we whipped it out and made breakfast for the family before we went to cut down Christmas trees. Mike and I have made nutella, boysenberry and peanut butter filled ebelskivers in the past but these were by far the best. Each bite oozed cinnamon sugary goodness (don’t go light on the filling). The drizzle of cream cheese frosting was awesome. It was light, airy and melted in your mouth.
Another fine fish dish. If you like the classic combination of lemon, capers and white wine you should go gaga over this. The addition of scallions and tomato are a delightful bonus. Mike couldn’t find Haricots Verts so we substituted good old green beans. A quick and visually pleasing meal.
Tasty Tip: you can get away with using 1/2 the amount of butter and it still tastes grrrrreat.
This was phenomenal. I never thought we would be able to make a Pho like soup at home, much less in 30 minutes and all in one pot. I was astonished at how good this was. I slurped my bowl up with a side of hoisin sauce to add a little sweetness. I could eat this every week. Hats off to you Rachael Ray!
Tasty Tip: We cut the amount of ginger in half and used just under 1/2 tsp. of chili flakes in order to keep the heat to a minimum. It was perfect.
When I saw the Osso Buco episode on Tyler Florence’s show I knew I had to make it. It looked unbelievably good. I’ll admit the online instructions were a bit confusing so I took the advise of other reviewers that suggested we use a less expensive wine, a smaller amount of wine (1/2 bottle) and increase the amount of veggies. I also decided not to throw an entire head of garlic in with the paper skin since the directions didn’t say anything about removing it. I in-turn used 7-8 pealed garlic cloves.
Gremolata
The recipe called for a gremolata garnish. I made it even though I thought it might be unnecessary. Thank goodness because it took the dish to a whole new level. The orange zest, garlic, cranberries and nuts along with the succulent veal was an eye opening experience.
If you’re having guests over for dinner this is a real show-stopper.
Mike and I didn’t have Thanksgiving dinner at home this year which meant no left over turkey. So I decided to have a post Thanskgiving feast at our house yesterday. When I informed Mike of my plans he was not at all excited but when I told him we could BBQ he agreed. I picked up a Butterball Boneless Turkey Roast and Mike threw it on the rotisserie. After two hours and periodic basting with some Bone Suckin’ Sauce (a gift from mom’s trip to North Carolina) it was sweet, tender and juicy. What a super easy way to prepare a bird. Served with a side of Stove Top stuffing (the best 5 minute stuffing in the world) and cranberry sauce it was just like the real thing.
I have no idea where my mom got this recipe for zucchini bread. All I know is she made it a lot growing up. This was my first time making it myself. It came out like I remember but I left out the nuts. My favorite way to eat it is covered in cream cheese. I can transform anything healthy into something bad. Continue reading →
Kale arrived in our produce delivery. I’d never had Kale before. Looking at recipes, potatoes seemed to be Kale’s most popular accompaniment. I decided to make a soup. In the end the flavors/consistency turned out to be a cross between a minestrone and tortilla soup. The kale had a unique taste. The soup was a bit spicy from the chorizo (but not hot) and smokey from the paprika.
We followed the online suggestions to add more onion and cut the amount of Kale. I think adding chicken would be good next time.
Don’t skimp on the croutons. The salty crunch really made the dish. The method for making croutons at our house is to cut up some sourdough then sprinkle with olive oil and garlic salt and bake for 7-10 minutes. It was a light and hearty winter soup.
I’m such a sucker at the checkout. I don’t know why but I purchased the November issue of the Rachael Ray magazine. I didn’t need it. I’m already behind in reading looking at photos in my Oct/Nov issues of Gourmet, Food & Wine and Bon Appétit.
Anyways, while skimming through it I saw a recipe that could use 3 items from our recent produce delivery (apples, pears and potatoes). It was a 30-minute meal that actually only took 30 minutes to prepare. It tasted like a chicken-apple pot pie.
When the weather starts to get cooler I like to bust out my trusty dutch oven and make one-pot meals. We had a bag of potatoes from our produce delivery to use so I decide to make a pot roast. I found an interesting recipe online from Dave Lieberman. It was remarkably easy to prepare and tasted magnificent. The hint o’ honey and the wine (Santa Cruz Zin) made the dish sing. The veggies and beef sucked up all the flavors and were tender and sweet.
This was my first Lieberman recipe and I was impressed with the results.
You all know I purchased Giada De Laurentiis’ new cookbook “Giada’s Kitchen” in order to attend the signing event. Well, the book is actually really nice. The pictures are beautiful and the recipes are inventive. The first recipe we decided to make was the “Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto” (we used acorn squash). Mike “the king of risotto” was intrigued by the use of vanilla in the stock*. I was super surprised to find out a single vanilla bean was $12 ($8 on sale)!!! The dish turned out fabulous. The vanilla was not at all overpowering. It just sits in the background adding a bit of sweetness. The modifications we made to the recipe included using 1.5 cups of wine (a santa lucia highlands chardonnay worked perfectly) and we puréed some of the squash and added it in along with the chunks. I would suggest serving this as a side or starter since it is a bit heavy.
I’m not really a salad person. I will have one as a starter but never as a main course. The salads we eat at home are not usually worthy of a post. That is until now. This salad was the bomb! The dill dressing went perfectly with the spicy radish, sweet onions and tart apples. We continued to use the leftover dressing throughout the week on any piece of lettuce we could get our hands on.
Rachael Ray, I don’t care what others say about you, I have yet to try a recipe of yours that I didn’t like…
Recipe link The only thing I left out was the poppy seeds (didn’t have any).
Mike picked this recipe because we had a bunch of arugula and mozzarella to use up. This was our first attempt at a stuffed burger. I was a bit worried that the pesto would ooze out all over the grill but it remained in tact. The pesto did not use a lot of oil so the consistency was more like a paste. We chose to nix the buns and go with naan since we already had it in the fridge. I fell in love with naan ever since we made lamb burgers. It makes the meal much less heavy.
We both found the burgers to be marvelous. They were j-u-i-c-y and flavorful. Looking at those photos makes me want to fire up the grill. You must try this.
Bon Appétit “Classic” vs. “New” Chicken Parm battle
I found two chicken parmesan recipes from Bon Appétit. The Sept 2008 cover featured a classic version by Mario Batali’s Otto restaurant and the June 2008 issue featured a new somewhat healthier version. Mike and I made both to see… which recipe reigned supreme.
The “classic” version was pretty time consuming to make but worth it. The sauce was tangy and the chicken ooey gooey. Many dishes benefit from some time in the fridge –this is not one of them. Starve yourself for the day and tuck-in! This is best pipin’ hot out the oven.
Modifications to sauce : Mike added fresh oregano plus 1/2 can of tomato paste to thicken. Classic Recipe link
Classic
The “new” recipe was fast and easy to prepare. The garlic chicken covered in cheese was super juicy, and the roasted tomatoes burst in your mouth and were a perfect complement to the chicken. It was a fresh and light dish but when all was said and done I didn’t really feel like I was eating chicken parmesan.
Modifications: I added Italian seasoning and fresh basil to the dish to punch up the flavors. New Recipe link
New
THE VERDICT: both were good in their own ways but if I had to pick a winner it would be… the Classic … you can’t beat crispy chicken slathered with tomato sauce & bubblin’ mozzarella!
Have you ever made pasta in the same manner as a risotto? Well, here’s your chance. It’s the same concept except you substitute small pasta for the rice. The result is a slow cooked masterpiece and well worth the time it takes to prepare. The sauce was so rich and creamy I actually felt guilty eating it. It tasted as though I would put on 5 pounds once I finished. Mike and I probably should have eaten smaller portions with a salad instead of devouring the entire pan. Next time, oh yes, there will be a next time, I think I will use 1/2 the amount of cheese and add a little more tomato. I’m sure it will turn out just as good and I will have a clear conscience 😀.
Step 1 - make Tomato Confit
Step 2,3 - brown the pasta and start adding stock
Step 4 - add tomatoes, cheese & herbs
Note: After checking the Chavrie Goat cheese label I see it’s not super high in fat but it sure tastes like it is…
What to do with a huge ripe melon? Make sorbet! Summer is supposed to be over, but the last 2 weeks we had some fiery days down here in the South Bay. Beat the heat with this…
Indian food has never been a favorite of mine, probably because the only times I have had it was when coworkers took me to all-you-can-eat Indian lunch buffets. It was always a bad experience where I ended up eating tons of bread and not much else. When I saw this chicken recipe in the October 08 issue of Food & Wine magazine I thought it was time to give Indian food another try. The mag recommended making a cilantro mint yogurt sauce to accompany the Tikka because it does bring the heat. Both had beautiful colors and flavors. Served with grilled naan and a simple cucumber & tomato salad I have a new found affection for Indian food.
Pete, the winner of Rachael Ray’s Hey, Can you cook?! competition returned to the show to prepare a meal. His dish looked really good so we made it. What do you think? The scallops were grand and the corn I could totally see eating at our next Thanksgiving dinner. They were super buttery and had all those memorable holiday flavors. I think Pete deserves his win…
I was in the mood for mussels. I order them at restaurants all the time but have never made them at home. I didn’t think it would be so easy. Once you take the time to clean them the actual prep/cook
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The best part is that you can have dinner on the table in 10 minutes. No exaggerating. The pasta cooks in under 4 minutes. Find the Rana products in your local safeway supermarket –refrigerated section.
Some said the smooth cocktail tasted like rum raisin ice cream. I even got a few compliments from people who are originally from Latin countries. Coquito will definitely be our go-to holiday beverage from now on!
For more winter squash recipes check out other bloggers participating in the 
It’s the perfect little package. I plan on giving these out as birthday/holiday/hostess gifts this year so if you want one… invite me to a party :wink:.
Tips: This was sweet even by my standards so I would recommend adding the sugar slowly and tasting to see how much you like.
a great detailed cooking guide, lemons, butter, bibs, crackers, picks and hand wipes. The entire process of ordering online to cooking was surprisingly simple. Lobster Gram makes things fool proof. The end result was FANTASTIC! The lobster was super tender and sweet. It didn’t even need butter… but that didn’t stop us from using it!
I wanted to try something new with our beets — no roasting or salads. The October 2009 Food & Wine magazine had the solution…risotto! Not only was it tasty but it was gorgeous to look at. To accompany the risotto Mike served a fantastic Pinot from Burrell School Winery. It had tons of berry flavor and a hint of spice which is what made it so nice with the risotto – it added a bit of a kick to the meal. Burrell is a hidden jewel in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The wines are complex, unique and very affordable. Stop by the old, red school house and taste some great wine, meet wonderful people and take in the spectacular view.
For the vanilla ice cream we used the 
As the cooking came to a close my mouth was watering and I was ready to eat but the gnocchi would not be mine. This was the first demo I’ve been to where you didn’t get to sample the goods at the end (a bit of a let down) so I can’t tell you if the food was tasty (who are we kidding …of course it was) but I can tell you that it smelled heavenly. What we did receive was a cool gift bag that had 4 chocolate bouchons and a French Laundry/ Pebble Beach apron. Spending the morning with Thomas Keller was a fun experience and I’m excited to make gnocchi at home for Mike, he loves them (ya…he will probably end up making them for me…
This has to be the easiest bread recipe in the world. It contains 5 ingredients and no yeast and no waiting for rising. From start to finish it took 35 minutes. I have to be honest I had doubts that this would be edible. I was envisioning a big solid rock emerging from the oven. To my surprise it did turn out. It was dense but still soft and chewy on the inside and tasted just like rye bread. I truly enjoyed it.
Ingredients
To accompany the chocolate we had strawberries, apples, bananas, pirouette wafers and rice crispy treats. Good stuff! The cute 
Mike and I didn’t have Thanksgiving dinner at home this year which meant no left over turkey. So I decided to have a post Thanskgiving feast at our house yesterday. When I informed Mike of my plans he was not at all excited but when I told him we could BBQ he agreed. I picked up a Butterball Boneless Turkey Roast and Mike threw it on the rotisserie. After two hours and periodic basting with some 
When the weather starts to get cooler I like to bust out my trusty 
Indian food has never been a favorite of mine, probably because the only times I have had it was when coworkers took me to all-you-can-eat Indian lunch buffets. It was always a bad experience where I ended up eating tons of bread and not much else. When I saw this chicken recipe in the October 08 issue of Food & Wine magazine I thought it was time to give Indian food another try. The mag recommended making a cilantro mint yogurt sauce to accompany the Tikka because it does bring the heat. Both had beautiful colors and flavors. Served with grilled naan and a simple cucumber & tomato salad I have a new found affection for Indian food.
