Tomato Corn & Red Cabbage Salad

This is directly out of the August 2012 issue of Real Simple.  It was delicious!

I used 1/2 a small head of red cabbage sliced very thinly, fresh corn off of 5 ears I shucked & blanched, 2 avocados, and a whole bundle of green onions.  I felt it could have used even more onion flavor, maybe some cilantro, and swap the oil to lime juice ratio… more oil than lime in my opinion.  But you can make it however sounds good to you.  It was so fresh and filling without being heavy.

Recipe by Charlyne Mattox and Sue Li – Photo by Paul Sirisalee

The… Best… Meatballs.

I snagged this recipe from my sister-in-law.  She got it from a friend – and the actual recipe title is Sal’s Old-School Meatballs.  Here‘s a Good Morning America link to the exact recipe which is in Marc Vetri’s “Rustic Italian Food” cookbook.  But the real point is – when does a Sal who knows a thing or two about old-school ever make a bad meatball?  He doesn’t.  I’m telling you, I’ve had a few meatballs in my life.  These are by far some of the best.

Spicy Apple & Goat Cheese Salad

This salad is so yummy.  It has a great combo of sweet and heat plus the creaminess of goat cheese and crunch from apples and walnuts.  It is one of my faves!

Yummy “Hummus”

There is no smoother hummus to be had on earth than at Pita Jungle in Phoenix, AZ.  There may be other Pita Jungle locations around the country, so don’t fixate on airfare deals to Phoenix alone, even though I highly recommend a visit.  It’s a lovely place.  But we’re talking about hummus here.  And at The P. J. they either begin with shelled/skinned chickpeas or pass it through a fine mesh sieve, perhaps pulverize things in a way you or I have never dreamed.  I don’t know.  But it’s smooth.  “Good NIGHT this is smooth!” is what you’ll say.  But really, doesn’t it need to taste good?  Yes.  The answer is yes.  There will be a pop-quiz later.

Potato Leek Soup & Artichoke Tart

The weather is supposed to be cold.  So, I made soup and an artichoke tart – neither of which I’d ever tried before, no biggy.  The soup I found on Food Network’s website.  The tart is out of The Best of America’s Test Kitchen publication for 2012 I found at the check-out in Whole Foods.

The 6 Most Common Mistakes: Cooking Rice

I’m passing along an article about 6 common mistakes we make when cooking rice.  I’d also like to say “truer words have never been spoken” but these words are written, not spoken – and “never” is usually an unfair word.  Because really?  Never?  I can’t honestly say my husband NEVER puts his shoes in his closet.  Never is so conclusive and far-fetched.  All it takes is one time.  Just ONE TIME is all I ask for him to put his shoes in his closet for “never” to be a complete lie.

Really, I’ll bet other true words have been spoken.  And written.  And who put me in charge of deciding the truest?  I have no PhD.  I have no canonization credentials.  I am just someone who’d prefer fluffy rice.  So come on, let’s not make this that big a deal.

For more info on perfect rice, brown or white, click here.

Blasphemy Total Blasphemy

I’m trying to work on not feeling like “casserole” is a cuss word.  I really am.  They’re just so easy.  And quite a few I’ve been fed are really rather scrumptious minus the one with canned tuna and buttered Ritz.  Maybe I should focus more on why I feel this way – but maybe I shouldn’t even say “feel” this way – rather “felt” this way – or at least on my way to felting that way.

This one by “recipe girl” looks good.  Let’s try it.  Yes, let’s.  Chicken Spaghetti Casserole – click here for the recipe.

Baked Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes have some of the highest Vitamin A content available in one precious little (actually kind of ugly-looking) container at over 6 times your daily need in a medium to large, whole sweet potato – and over half your daily need for Vitamin C believe it or not.  And they taste great!  Lately, I’ve baked several with their skin on and after they’ve cooled, I’ll store them in the fridge.  They are wonderful reheated, unlike their waxy bro, The Russet.

Actually, I don’t know for sure if russet potatoes are nasty reheated, I just know I don’t like reheated mashed potatoes.  Or maybe I do.  Whatever, people!  I’m just trying to essplain you how good these baked sweet potatoes are for a change from a. a regular baked potato and b. what people ordinarily do to sweet potatoes!  Gooooolly!!!!  You guys.

Try it.  You might like it.

picture borrowed from joys of mommyhood dot com

Maple Pumpkin Pie

I’ll be making this pie in about 12 minutes from now.  If you haven’t already purchased and/or baked things, you should try it.  It’s from the Real Simple cookbook I posted the other day.  Let’er rip potato chip!

Dry Brining Your Bird

Last Thanksgiving, I brined my turkey.

There’s no real time for this, as far as the instructions go, but I still may try “dry brining” my small 5-person bird starting tonight (Tuesday before TG).

Sounds genius enough.

For info and instructions, click here.

Real Simple Literally

Rarely do I thumb thru a cookbook and find EVERYTHING appealing.  Even among my favorites, there are things that don’t strike every chord.  But there is something about this collection of “Real Simple” magazine recipes that is – to me – worth a try on every page.  I found it in the check-out lane.  It’s only $13.99 and looks as if these are published seasonally.  So there will likely be even MORE!  Grab one.  Give one.  Give several.  It’s almost Christmas, ya know!  Insanity.

I’ll be trying and posting from this, no doubt.

Modification: Corn Chowder

Considering I myself have caught hold of the [Pinterest] WAVE OF THE FUTURE where I can not only find and group recipes together, I can pin any recipe I find from the internet anywhere.  This, to me, means this food blog might get phased out… unless I post more of my own recipes rather than passing along things I’ve tried.

However – I am going to start posting other’s recipes I’ve tried, but modified to make healthier.

Let’s start with PW’s Corn Chowder with Chilies.

Bready Goodness

Let’s talk about yeast.  Is it alive?  Can I kill it?  Can I overwork it?  My recipe calls for warm milk, but not too warm.  Surely I can kill this yeast.  What is active dry vs instant yeast?  What is brewer’s yeast?  What is cake yeast?  WHY DO I EVEN WANT TO WORK WITH YEAST!?

{slams cookbook closed} Conclusion: I don’t.

But I do. 

Freezing Fresh Basil

Perfect Shirley Temple

I can’t think of anything more summery or 4th of July-ish than a Shirley Temple to drink with your lunch. 

I’ll Have You Know

Not everyone is born knowing how to cook.  This is my very first and very favorite cookbook given to me by my mother-in-law when I got married.  I’ve been baking since I was about 8 or 9, but that’s a whole other bird.  Chicken requires the killing of bacteria.

I cooked this book on a hot burner atop the old stove in our first house.

Things have come a long way, but it only requires trying again if you don’t get something right.  I still burn things all the time.

Pot stickers?  Hello!  Remember?

4th of July

What are some of your usual 4th of July menu items?  Here is a list of what I’ll be serving for all the family coming over.  Share your ideas or use some of mine if you’re stumped about what to make.

Tomato Basil Tart

Remember when I said I couldn’t wait to tell you about what you could do with that Lemon Basil Mayo?  Turns out – I could.  But the wait is over!  It also turns out I’ve been making a ton of things with crusts lately.  Bonus.

This is my version of one of my mom’s recipes I love.  You can modify however you like – there is truly no reason this can’t be made in a pie plate – or with any variety tomato you have.  You could even put cooked bacon in it.  Fantastic 4th of July side-item, yo.  Just in the nick of time.

Super Festive

I’m seriously doing some of THESE for the 4th!

Spinach Mushroom Quiche

This is my brother’s quiche recipe.  And for all I know, he got it straight from whom all blessings flow.  I mean … it is pretty heavenly.  That’s why you should make it.

Start with the pastry so you can give it time to relax and chill in the fridge while you prepare the other ingredients.

Lemon Basil Mayo

This could totally be called an aioli – which is nothing more than a fancy mayonnaise containing garlic – because that’s what this is – except with no yolks and oil up front … basically all we’re doing is doctoring some Hellman’s.  But I can’t wait to tell you what else you can do with it apart from spreading it on your turkey sandwich, the bun of a grilled chicken sandwich, doing the same for a grilled salmon sandwich – or even dipping your face french fries in it.  It’s so good.

Oh For Shame

I used a salad kit the other night and I’m not even going to say I’m sorry.  Sports have completely taken over our lives – with two boys playing – we’ve had a lot of Qdoba.  And I mean a lot. 

Spanakopita

Spanakopita is a traditional Greek, savory, spinach filled pastry using phyllo dough in this case.  You can make one big, square spanakopita and serve lasagna style.  You can use a round, spring-form or tart pan and slice in to wedges; or you can fold individuals – whatever you like.  The bake time will vary depending on size, but I’ll get in to that later… 

Greek Salad

This salad recipe by Jamie Oliver is so flavorful – has no lettuce – uses a variety of tomatoes – and will knock your socks right off.  His calls for green bell pepper – I prefer the flavor of red or yellow.  And I also prefer Kalamata olives to black in this.  But otherwise – holy deliciousness.

Spiced Lamb Skewers with Herbed Yogurt

This original recipe for lamb burgers uses an Indian spice blend, garam masala [available from Archer Farms at Target, online, or your local Indian grocer]… but the end product flavor is very similar to the meat on a Greek Gyro in a lot of ways.  And the only reason I called these “skewers” is I like the word better than “meatball” and they’re fun to serve 3 to a little wooden skewer.  But really, they’re meatballs.  You could form flat patties if you like or even sub beef, but I found the original idea of serving on a burger bun too “bready”… so I serve alongside flat bread, or wrapped within like a flat bread taco.  To make things easier, I pulse the herbs, onion, chile and ginger in a food processor.  I also whirl the yogurt sauce in the food processor.  Bing. O.

Original lamb burger recipe courtesy Anjum Anand [modified]

Chili Seasoning

 

I’m often asked, “Do you really cook like this for your family every night?” – and well – yes and no.  No, not every night.  But yes – I do cook pretty often – and with varying levels of preparation.  We aren’t always having fish tacos with 13 side items – and on a drizzly day like today, chili sounds good.  My favorite spice mixture is Williams original.  If I either can’t find any or think I’ve got some and come to find I don’t – here is a great chili spice mix you can throw together instead.  I always add a bottle of mild beer, a can of diced tomatoes and beans.  I don’t like it to taste as if there is beer in it, so something light like Heineken rounds out the flavor and gives a certain something it otherwise doesn’t have.  Try it.

Asparagus: Ten Ways

Pad Thai

 

1. This is fun to make.
2. I highly recommend a wok, but you can use a rounded bottom fry-pot.
3. It is so delicious!  So, don’t automatically poo poo the idea of doing this yourself. 

Having the right ingredients is key, not gonna lie, but I’ll also suggest not-as-good-but-good-enough substitutions if you know for sure you’re not going to shop for palm sugar or salted cabbage.  The Asian super market really is fun to walk through, and the people are truly helpful if you need to find, say, fish sauce.  They’ve got woks for $13.  They’ve got everything else you’ll need for this too, so you might as well just go get it all in one place.  However – I’ve seen pad Thai noodles and other Asian ingredients in regular grocery stores [Homeland, Crest’s, Buy For Less] – just not every single item for this particular dish.  And I’d be happy to go over to the Asian grocery store with you… unless I don’t know you.

Spring Rolls

These spring rolls are really fresh, light, and I’d even say they’re refreshing.  They’re filling without being heavy and are simple to make.  They’re sometimes called “Summer Rolls”.  Either way, these are not fried and usually that’s the difference between spring rolls and summer rolls when I’ve seen them available in restaurants.

Potstickers: Veggie or Pork

Recipe courtesy of Dave Lieberman

These are delicious and easy to make.  There are several steps, but with everything prepped, you can create an easy assembly.  Wonton wrappers can be found in the refrigerated section usually around the bagged salad in most grocery stores.  They are packaged in plastic and look like a stack of square, pasta sheets.

Corn Chowder with Chilies

This is a Pioneer Woman recipe I’ve previously posted the link here – but wanted to copy the whole recipe for you in case you didn’t get a chance to look.  With snowy weather headed, it’s the soup I’m craving.  It’s light and rich at the same time.  It’s got just the right amount of heat at the back of your throat without being too spicy.  It’s just killer.  I realize it may be too late to head to the grocery store at this point, but next time it snows… make this.

Foods that Promote Happiness

I thought this was interesting – copied from a Yahoo Health article.

You will be happy to know that a few spoonfuls of the right kinds of foods may turn a bad mood around! Whole foods contain vital nutrients that provide both physical and psychological benefits. Read on to discover which foods contain those mood-boosters to help you smile your way to longevity.

PSA: Page View

I’ve made a few changes around here… In addition to being able to search for any particular recipe posted here [as always, at the very top right in pink] – now to the middle-right we have what may be way too many categories, but so what… In addition, each wordy as hail post is condensed to a few sentences with the option to read further – making scrolling down way less of an hour-long experience.

Hopefully I’ve made things a little easier to search and pair down.  More small changes to come.  Boo Yow.

Green Chili Chicken Lasagna

This recipe is courtesy of none other than yours truly!  I will say it wasn’t an entirely original thought as it was inspired by Lottinville’s Santa Fe Lasagna [highly recommend].  Their lasagna has pulled pork.  I decided to make things simple by giving you yet another use for pulled chicken from a store-bought rotisserie chicken.  Result: Yum.

Troubleshooting: Print Page

 I’ve finally found a Print and an Email button to add to the bottom of each post.  Save the paper and email the recipe to yourself.  Or print.

Either way, I’m still working on a way to print JUST the recipe without all of my ramblings.  Stay tuned.

Lemon Parsley Grilled Chicken

This is one grilled chicken technique I use in a variety of ways.  If I were Racheal Ray right now, I’d be calling it my “go to” grilled chicken.  And apart from an Asian recipe, southern fried or BBQ’ed – any time I’m adding grilled chicken to something or eating it on its own, it is usually this particular chicken whether I’m cooking it inside with a grill pan or outside over charcoal. 

Tomato Fennel Cream Sauce

 

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

The original recipe calls for the sauce over breaded chicken – something I find too heavy; so I serve it with grilled chicken instead.  But, this light, creamy sauce could be tossed with pasta with or without sliced grilled chicken or grilled Portobello caps and be marvelous.  It’s just a great sauce.

Eggplant & Pasta in Deconstructed Basil Pesto

 

The original recipe, courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis, calls for using a pasta called trenette [“tren’netty”]… I find most pastas are practically exactly the same, so use whatever one you want.  I love orecchiette.  I love penne.  I mean, I wouldn’t use lasagna noodles unless you just want to layer this.  Holy light-bulb-DING that would be good.  Make some bechamel.  Add whatever cheese you like between the layers.  Pulse the eggplant in a food processor to break down smaller after sauteing and create an eggplant lasagna.  My brain just exploded – but okay now, to the point of this recipe.

I don’t actually food-process any of this pesto like the recipe calls for – or like I did in this previous Simple Pesto post.  I just throw it all in “deconstructed” style.  So here she blows.

Caprese Salad

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

This salad – what can I say that would make you want to go stuff it in to your face!?  It’s so good!  Toss it with pasta.  Eat it on its own.  Add chicken.  Add whatever you like.  Or don’t.  But it’s your loss.

Artichoke Gratinata

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lb. frozen artichoke hearts, thawed [you could use drained, canned artichoke hearts if you cannot find frozen]
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Parma-Style Carrot Cake

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis – clearly, I’m a fan.

This cake is not the traditional idea you might have of carrot cake.  It’s dense.  It is moist.  It would be a great brunch item.  It can be made in a regular cake pan, a bundt, or even in to muffins.  Muffins, of course, would need an adjusted baking time [one I have not attempted, but I’d start at 20 minutes tops and then check for doneness with a toothpick].

A Pot Procured

Here’s what I went to Williams Sonoma today and purchased with the most generous of gift card Christmas gifts ever given. 

Cauliflower-Goat Cheese Gratin

Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated

A Public Service Announcement

I’m working on several things – artichokes, grits… ya know… stuff.
But the main thing is having or finding a way to have a “PRINT THIS” button. Hello? I’m a little late on that one.

Brining & Roasting a Turkey

A couple of years back, due to circumstances beyond my control, I found myself cooking the whole Thanksgiving meal very last minute.  And now I can tell you what I’ve learned about brining a whole turkey for roasting. 

It’s P-Dub This Week

Three days this week, I’ve decided to make a few Pioneer Woman recipes.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Brussels sprouts are part of the cabbage family and resemble miniature cabbages.  And if you’ve ever been around while cabbage is being boiled, you are aware of the sulphury, someone-farted [I have boys, so farts are funny] quality they can have when simply cooked on their own.  These, cooked in rendered bacon fat, with the added depth the balsamic brings, deliver much more of a mellow, earthy bite.  And by earthy I don’t mean to seem as if they taste anything like dirt.  They just have their own mild vegetable-ish flavor.  And this cooking method is really fantastic if ever you thought you hated or would hate Brussels sprouts.

Sweet Onion & Goat Cheese Crustata

Pastry-dough recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis – and this is a borrowed photo

Roasted Winter Vegetables

Recipe Courtesy of Ina Garten: Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Gorgonzola Beef Tenderloin

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

Ingredients

Head roast of beef tenderloin, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
sea salt
ground black pepper
Olive oil
3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese

Directions