Mmmm...Tastes Good

Mamma's Munchies - Bacon Wrapped Figs

2010-06-14T12:46:00.006-04:00

My pal Lindsey over at Waking Up Williams has started a weekly post called Mamma's Munchies (yes, I call her my pal, and no, we've never met. Not yet anyway. Creepy internet friend minus the creepy part, but so what this chick is cool! Don't judge, it's not nice.). It's a fabulous concept and I can't wait to check out all the delicious things people link up too. Check out the button over there on the side bar! First up, appetizers. Who doesn't love a good app? So without further ado I give you:

Bacon Wrapped Figs (courtesy of my pal Megan who first served these to me!)

Figs (packaged or picked fresh if available)

Bacon (yum)

Fancy cheese - like gruyere

Wood skewers

Place a small piece of cheese on your fig. Wrap one slice of bacon tightly around fig. Place skewer through fig (and end of bacon to hold in place). Repeat until you have desired number. Place on grill over a medium-low heat until bacon is crisp and fig is tender. Serve warm.

p.s. stay tuned, next week - dips!

Updating the site

2010-06-01T20:00:00.003-04:00

So I've been gone a while and apparently some of my links are no longer valid or people haven't updated in a while (maybe they've been MIA like me) so I'm in the process of updating and adding some new links. Be patient with me (a little longer - it's been a year what's a little longer right?) I'll try and get them updated soon.

Basil Butter

2010-06-01T19:51:00.005-04:00

Seems simple enough, no? But what do you do with it once you have it? Use it on EVERYTHING. Seriously. Pasta? Yes. Steak? Yes. Grilled chicken? Yes. The possibilities are endless. Bonus - it couldn't be simpler to make!

Basil Butter

1/2 lb butter room temperature (salted or unsalted your choice)

1/2 C basil chopped fine (I used the food processer)

a sprinkle of minced garlic to taste

lemon zest to taste

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients with a large spoon. Use the back of the spoon to thoroughly incorporate. Place a large piece of Saran wrap on your counter. Put the butter in the center of the Saran and roll into a log. Place in freezer until ready to use. When ready to use cut off coins of your log and its ready to use!

Blueberry Muffins

2009-03-04T13:55:00.002-05:00

I'm on a major carb kick these days and what's better than a fresh out of the oven blueberry muffin to start your morning?!

D and I both have mention in recent weeks how good a blueberry muffin would be at various points in the day so I figured it was finally time to whip some up.

Bisquick Blueberry Muffins

2 C Bisquick

1/3 C Sugar

1 egg

1 Tbsp vegtable oil

2/3 C Milk

3/4 C Blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in large bowl with spoon (do not use a mixer) except blueberries. Once mixture is wet, it will still have small lumps, fold in blueberries.

Place muffin liners in standard size muffin pan. Fill each cup 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 13-18 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let since in pan for 2 minutes. Remove and let cool on wire rack.

And I'm back...sort of

2009-03-02T09:52:00.003-05:00

I apologize for my long unexplained absence. I have a really good reason I promise. Are you ready? Are you sure? Well okay, here it is:

I'm pregnant.

You know those woman who look amazing at any stage during pregnancy and when you ask them how their pregnancy is going they gush and gush and tell you how amazing and wonderful they feel? Yeah, that's not me.

Don't get me wrong, I've got it pretty good. I can nap when ever I want and don't have to leave my apartment when I have a craving (or rather my husband doesn't have to leave) since NYC is fabulous in the delivery department. However, I haven't really eaten meat in over a month. Red meat makes me feel ill. Seriously, the site of raw meat of any kind, not so pleasant. I'm getting better about this slowly but surely. I actually wanted hot dogs the other day! Hahaha.

Anyhoo, this is the reason there have been no cooking posts and well no posts at all really. Now that I'm entering my second trimester and starting to feel a little more human I plan on cooking a little more because honestly the only thing I've made since I found out I was pregnant was a from scratch loaf of bread. I guess I'll post that at some point.

The posts may not happen as often, but I'm going to try my best to not let it be months or even weeks between posts!

Now, off to brave the massive snow fall and find some blueberry muffins!

Online Stationary Show Starts TODAY!!

2009-01-18T10:00:00.004-05:00

Please check out the online stationary show I am hosting from Doodle Bugs Paper (see post below!). Enter code LLG at checkout to receive 10% off your order and to make sure your purchase is credited toward my show!!

Happy Shopping!!

Honest Scrap Award - Yay Me!

2009-01-15T19:35:00.005-05:00

Mrs. Potts over at Experiments in a Galley Kitchen has bestowed upon me the "Honest Scrap" award. Yay. I love an award. To be honest, my other award was getting sort of lonely, I'm glad she has a friend now!

The rules:

1. Chose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.

2. Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave them a comment informing them they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.

3. List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

So 10 honest things about myself:

1. I make the bed everyday, even if its 10 minutes before I get in it at night. Sleep just isn't the same to me if I didn't get into a neatly made bed.

2. I'm a terrible driver. I should not have a license. And now that I live in NYC, when I do have to drive, I'm a nervous driver. (P.S. your driving makes me nervous too)

3. I've become very spoiled while living in NYC. Though I think most people who live here are. I'm accustom to having only to walk 20 feet to take my trash out, having a doorman sign for my packages and someone to deliver them to my door, having my dry cleaning picked up and delivered and basically never having to go outside to get food if I don't want too.

4. I love and hate NYC all at the same time.

5. I pick change up off the street. A penny saved is a penny earned (or something like that).

6. I gave up soda a few years ago but I still long for a Diet Coke every once in a while.

7. I use to tell my husband that when my dog died I wanted to have him stuffed so that he would always be around (no, I'm not kidding, yes, I'm apparently crazy) until we had to put my parents dog to sleep this fall, it completely changed my mind on finding the best taxidermist around. I'll settle for a nice little urn now.

8. I have a very odd sense of humor. The only person that understands it is my father. We crack each other up.

9. Baking is good for the soul. I love to bake.

10. I'm an only child which should explain a lot. :)

Now, for the seven lucky bloggers who I am tagging...

Bama Belle in the Big City

elefantitas alegres

New Girl on Post

Ravings of a Mad Housewife

Danelion Wishes

Millitini Straight Up, With a Twist

On My Way to Being a Healthy Bride

Online Stationary Show

2009-01-12T17:02:00.021-05:00

Hi Everyone!!!

I am cordially inviting you to an online stationary show I am hosting from Doodle Bugs Paper. While I know this has nothing to do with food or cooking, Kacey over at Doodle Bugs has some seriously cute stuff that I want to share with all my readers! Plus you get a discount (10%) because you read my blog (You're Welcome.).

Need new address labels?

How about some notecards?

A personalized stamp (I want one of these bad!)?

Don't forget to check out the sale section too!!

My online show is from January 18th through February 1st. When you check out (during that time) please enter the coupon code "LLG" and your order will go toward my show! Did I mention you'll get 10% off your total order???? Well you will (but you have to enter my coupon code!).

Shop early. Shop often. Just make sure you shop between January 18th and February 1!!!

Food and Wine Magazine

2009-01-11T17:42:00.004-05:00

Over the Holidays a few friends and I participated in a Holiday Exchange. I always look forward to things like this, we do it a couple times a year and its always such a good time to see what others think you'll enjoy.

This Christmas my friend A (who apparently knows me oh so well) sent me Kool-Aid (yes, the stuff you drank when you were 5), Bojangles Fry Seasoning and a subscription to Food and Wine magazine.

When I got home from the holidays my first copy was waiting for me. I had heard of the magazine but had never picked up a copy before, my mistake. It's a mecca of knowledge on obviously food and wine. The recipes? Simply AMAZING. You are sure to see a ton of stuff from here in the near future. Click here to check out their website.

Now if only I could learn to photograph food the way they do...

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

2009-01-09T14:21:00.008-05:00

Who doesn't love a biscuit? Especially if you open it up and add some country ham? Yum. With my sort of southern friends (hey, they all went to school in the south at some point, that counts for something!) all hanging out I had to bring a little southern food to the party. What better way than a ham biscuit?

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten

All-purpose flour

1 Tbs baking powder

1 1/2 Tsp kosher salt

12 Tbs cold unsalted butter, diced

1/3 C cold buttermilk

1 large egg

1 C grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1 egg beaten

Preheat over to 425 degrees. Place 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment. On low, add the butter and mix until the butter is the size of peas.

Combine the buttermilk and egg in a small bowl and beat gently with fork. Add to buttermilk mixture with mixer on low mix until moistened. In a small bowl, mix the cheese with a small handful of flour and to dough in mixer. Mix only to combine.

Place dough on well floured surface, knead lightly. Roll dough out till 1/2 inch thick. Using desired size biscuit cutter cut biscuits and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle tops with sea salt. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

To make the biscuits extra special I warmed up a piece of country ham in a skillet and cut it into bite sized pieces to place in the middle of the freshly made biscuits.

I'm Back

2009-01-09T10:22:00.013-05:00

And I'm back. In full swing too. Sorry I've been MIA for so long, but the holidays got the best of me. I was out of town for 15 days and those 15 days involved absolutely no cooking for me what so ever, unless you count my very specific daily Starbucks order, which, you probably don't.

A dear friend J is WAY pregnant and about to pop at the end of the month so I had a few ladies over to hang out with a little food and fun since we won't get to see J for a while.

Stuffed Mushroom (these things are seriously delicious)

Coutesey of Fresh from Cate's Kitchen, via Annie Eats adapted from allrecipes.com

24 whole fresh mushrooms

1 Tbs oliver oil

2 Tbs minced garlic

16 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 Tsp ground black pepper

1/4 Tsp ground cayenne pepper

1 1/2 Tsp butter

1/3 C bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a 9 x 13 inch pan coat with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms and removed stems, do not discard. Chop stems into fine pieces. In skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and mushroom stems. Cook until mushrooms have given off their moisture and it has evaporated. Set aside to let cool. In same pan, wiped clean, melt butter. Add breadcrumbs and cook, stirring, until the bread crumbs are golden brown. When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared pan and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

I'm definitely adding these to my repertoire they were seriously good.

Happy Holidays!!

2008-12-24T07:04:00.004-05:00

I'm sorry for the lack of cooking/baking related posts, it's the holiday, you understand right?

When mom is around I default to her cooking. I promise new yummy things in the New Year, perhaps before. Till then...

Happy Holidays!

I've Been Tagged

2008-12-22T18:38:00.009-05:00

My new buddy (really new LOL!) over at Good Mourning, Glory has tagged me! Now I have to tell the blogger world seven (random number - who chose that!) random or weird things about myself and then tag seven other random bloggers. Here goes... Enjoy my weirdness!!

1. Bojangles Supremes Dinner Combo with French Fries and Sweet Tea is my All-Time favorite fast food!

2. I arrive everywhere at least 10 minutes early.

3. I look for "Mole" people when I ride the subway.

4. I'm left handed (not weird to me, but it is to some!)

5. I love shampoo. I'll try a million kinds then use the same one for a year. Try a million kinds and then use a different one for another year.

6. Haircut - generally equals a good cry, even if its just a trim. Pathetic, I know.

7. Driving a car is my own personal version of hell. I hate it.

Now for those seven lucky bloggers I am passing this on to:

Pooba

Live. Love. Eat

Jimmy Choos and Tennis Shoes

Elefantitas Alegres

Kitchen Concoction

Bama Belle In The Big City

Crazy Kyley

Check out these amazing bloggers and leave them a little note!

Homemade Pizza

2008-12-14T19:55:00.006-05:00

Since I decided that I needed a 2 1/2 hour nap at 4pm today, cooking dinner obviously wasn't high on my priority list. D was agreeable to homemade pizza, quick and easy. Actually he loves to make homemade pizza which is great because it means less work for me. We cheated tonight and bought a crust (I did have pizza dough on hand but the thought of rolling it out seemed to much, yes, I am that lazy) but I did cook fresh mushrooms to go on top, that makes up for the store bought crust right? So half pepperoni and full-on mushroom pizza it was. Looks tasty right? If you are looking for a quick, easy and more nutritious that ordering in dinner, give this a try! No real recipe to go along with this since I didn't make the crust from scratch. Just get some sauce, some cheese, and what ever toppings sound good to you!! Bake for 8-10 minutes and you're ready to eat!

My New Look

2008-12-14T16:54:00.002-05:00

What do y'all think? Would love some feedback.

Fabulous Giveaway for the Kitchen Happy People

2008-12-14T09:09:00.005-05:00

If you love all things kitchen like me head over to Ravings of a Mad Housewife right now to enter her fabulous giveaway. She (and Homer Laughlin China Company) are giving away 4 4-piece place settings of Feistaware! GO. Pick your colors and leave her a comment on her blog to enter. If you win, I want half, I mean you DID hear about it from me. :)

Challenge 3: Mushrooms

2008-12-10T20:15:00.005-05:00

Challenge #3: Mushrooms! I'm so excited. I have to admit though when I tossed out my 3 choices to my pals L and C (stop by their blogs, Small Kitchen Big Taste and Kitchen Concoction) I offered up ricotta, mushrooms and wine. Yeah, I totally wanted to try this recipe so I purposely picked ingredients in it! They didn't seem to mind though (wait, have I told them this? Hmmm I have now LOL).

I've been a little obsessed with wanting to make gnocchi ever since my cooking school experience and then Bon Appetit arrives in my mailbox with this recipe? Fate I tell you.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Marjoram

Gnocchi

1 Pound fresh ricotta cheese

1/2 C all-purpose flour

1 Large egg

1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp butter, melted

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 Tsp salt

Pinch of ground black pepper

Sauce

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 pound assorted wild mushrooms, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces

4 Green onions, white and pale green parts finely chopped, dark green parts thinly sliced

1/4 C dry white wine

1/2 C (or more) low-salt chicken broth

1/4 C grated parmesan cheese plus additional for sprinkling

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp fresh marjoram leaves

To Make the Gnocchi - Place ricotta in strainer set over medium bowl. Chill until ricotta has texture of wet clay, about one hour.

Mix ricotta, 1/2 C flour, egg, and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, adding more flour by the tablespoonfuls until dough is slightly sticky (don't add too much!!!!) Cover and chill 30 minutes.

Sprinkle rimmed baking sheet generously with flour. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface. Cut into 4 equal pieces. Using hands, roll 1 piece on floured surface into 3/4 inch-wide log. Cut log into 1 inch pieces. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover gnocchi with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour (can be make a day ahead but doesn't keep much more than 1 day).

To Make the Sauce - Heat olive oil in large skillet over high heat. Add mushrooms; saute until they begin to brown, about 4 minutes. Add chopped white and pale green parts of the green onion. Saute 1 minute. Add wine; stir until almost all liquid is absorbed. Add 1/2 C chicken broth. Stir until sauce is slightly thickened.

Working in two batches, add gnocchi to large pot of boiling salted water, stirring to prevent sticking. Boil until gnocchi rise to surface of water, the continue boiling until cooked through, 1-2 minutes longer. Using slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to skillet with mushrooms. Add sliced dark green parts of green onions.

Re-warm mushrooms with gnocchi and green onions over medium heat, adding more broth by 1/4 C full if dry. Remove from heat. Add 1/4 cheese, butter, and marjoram, stir until cheese and butter melt. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Delicious!

Favorite Things Swap

2008-12-05T16:03:00.011-05:00

My package arrived!!! I have been eagerly awaiting its arrival, pretty much annoying my doorman each day by asking if I had received any packages. Well, no more. IT'S HERE! And its fabulous! Really fabulous.

My swap partner Kyley outdid herself (she certainly outdid what I sent her and now I feel slack!). She sent so many goodies! And can we just talk about how cute she wrapped everything? Fantastic.

I mean she wrapped everything is zebra print fabric!! Let me just tell you my dog saw the fabric and started growling which is just hilarious.

I'm completely in awe of her creativeness (is that even a word?). And LOVE what she sent. It is so funny to me that complete strangers can have so much in common. I mean seriously. Some of her favorite things are also mine.

The stationary? Too cute. The pens? Perfect. Chicken cookie cutter? I LOVE to bake. A Butterfinger, Jolly Ranchers and microwave popcorn? Who doesn't love those things? Oh not to mention she sent me the book The Shack, which is such a great book!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Kyley for all the fantastic goodies. And a huge thanks to Mamarazzi for hosting the Favorite Things Swap. I can't wait to participate in your next event!!

Challenge #2 - Pears

2008-12-04T06:51:00.007-05:00

Yes, we are at it again, another challenge. This time my blogger friends and I decided the main ingredient would be the wonderfully delicious pear. Such a versatile fruit. I thought this would be a difficult challenge, I had no idea how many recipes I would find when I started digging a little into the piles of recipes I have collected over the years. So many to choose from how do I decide!?! Something different. Something salty, yet sweet, but with a little edge. Yes, that's right folks I'm working with gorgonzola today, I know, I know, me. Of all people. I. Hate. Stinky. Cheese. But in this case, it works, and I LOVE IT.

Bartlett Pear and Prosciutto Bruschetta

32 (any number works) crusty French baguette slices - I used a whole wheat baguette

2 medium ripe Bartlett pears, cored and chopped

1/4 C minced red onion

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp chopped fresh Thyme

2/3 C crumbled stinky cheese (your choice of type)

1/3 C butter (do NOT use margarine)

32 small strips prosciutto (needs to match baguette slices)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. In a small bowl, stir together pears, onion, olive oil, vinegar and thyme. Let stand 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to marinate.

In a small bowl, stir together gorgonzola and butter until smooth. to prepare bruschetta, spread about 1/2 Tbsp of the gorgonzola mixture onto each toasted baguette slice. Top with prosciutto and a small spoonful of the pear mixture. Serve immediately.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

2008-11-21T23:59:00.005-05:00

...Don't know when I'll be back again.

Okay, I do know when I'll be back (assuming I don't decide to skip that whole return portion of my trip) but till then I'm off to the Aloha State to cheer on the Tar Heels!!!

Enjoy your week!!!

*Edit* So we tried to leave this morning. Key word being tried. I'm currently in the Chicago airport....I know you all are very jealous of this fact. I would be if I were you. :) We're slowly making our way across the country... sometimes when life throws you lemons....well sometimes you get really bad lemonade. There may or may not be another update on my journey, we'll see how it goes. I'll give the full story when I return.

Happy Turkey Day Y'all.

Cooking School Anyone?

2008-11-19T08:39:00.008-05:00

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education with D and our friends M and K. This was actually a work event for D and K but M and I were lucky enough to get to tag along for a change! (The boys get to do all sorts of fun stuff and call it "work related"!)

There were approximately 45 people at the event and we were all charged with cooking our dinner (with the assistance of professionals

of course!). After a few cocktails and some hors d' oeuvres we split into groups and attempted to create the following:

Appetizer

Basil & Italian Parsley Gnocchi with Sage Butter, Slow-Cooked Tomatoes and Parmesan

Entree

Roasted Striped Bass with Parsley-Garlic Sauce

Roasted Strip Loin of Beef with Sherry-Shallot Demi Glaze

Gruyere-Potato Souffle

Sauteed Haricot Verts (green beans people!)

Dessert

Peanut Butter Chocolate Parfait served with Dark Chocolate Nut Bark with Fleur de Sel

The four of us decided that learning how to make gnocchi was the way to go. I'm not a huge fan of getting my hands dirty (okay, I really hate it) so anything that requires me to make a dough also requires me to wash my hands way too many times. But I put my big girl panties on and dealt with the mess, after all, this was suppose to be fun (and I wasn't in the privacy of my own kitchen were no one could see how many times I really wash my hands!).

Making gnocchi is actually REALLY simple. We all had a great time participating, maybe it was the wine, but I think even without wine we would have had a great time.

If you live in New York City and you've never been it I.C.E, you should definitely check it out. I'll definitely be going back to take some classes.

Chicken Marsala

2008-11-17T10:33:00.008-05:00

For YEARS I was not a fan of chicken. If you wanted me to eat it, it needed to come in the form of Bojangles Chicken Supreme dinner or a Cajun Fillet Biscuit, otherwise, don't bother me with this silly bird (and if you have never experienced the wonder that is Bojangles... Go. There. Now. Seriously. Right now.).

Slowly over the last two years (and mostly because D really enjoys chicken) I've come to appreciate this form of protein.

Then I discovered the deliciousness that is Chicken Marsala, and if I'm going to eat chicken and it isn't from Bojangles, this is what I want!

Don't let the ingredient list scare you, this is really simple with a tremendous amount of flavor.

Chicken Marsala

3-4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts, lightly pounded

Salt and pepper

1/4 C all-purpose flour

2 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs unsalted butter

3/4 Lb fresh mushrooms (whatever kind you prefer!) cleaned and sliced

2 Tbs finely chopped shallots (do not substitute regular onion - you need this for flavor!)

1/2 C Marsala wine

1/2 C chicken stock

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Put the flour in a bowl. Dredge the chicken in the flour shaking off the excess.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook (turning only once) until lightly browned on both sides and barely firm when pressed in center, approximately 6-8 minutes. Place chicken on a plate and cover to keep warm.

In the same pan over medium heat melt butter. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they give off their own liquid and it evaporates, about 5 minutes. Stir in the shallots and cook until softened. Add Marsala. Raise the heat to medium-high and boil for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock and return to boil.

Return chicken to the pan and turn to coat the chicken. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce is thickened.

Clean Eating

2008-11-14T10:02:00.003-05:00

While perusing Barnes and Noble the other day to expand my magazine collection I came across one that I had never seen or heard of before called Clean Eating.

What is Clean Eating? The general concept is steering clear of overly processed, refined food, refined sugar (anything full of sugar really, juices included), saturated and trans fat, and alcohol.

I am fascinated by this magazine. It use to be published quarterly but as of the last issue it will be printed 6 times a year, including another issue in December. Though I'm not a "clean eater" I do love a good magazine with great recipes and the recipes in the magazine? AMAZING. If you check out the magazine online there is even a section for 30 days of clean eating in which they provide you with grocery lists for each week, how incredibly helpful is that?

Risotto (courtesy of Clean Eating Magazine)

1 Pint cherry tomatoes

1/4 C olive oil, divided

salt and black pepper to taste

1 Tsp minced garlic

1 Small onion, diced, divided

2 C diced zucchini

1/4 C fresh lemon juice

1 Lb. arborio rice

2-3 C fat-free chicken broth

18 Sea scallops

1 bunch parsley, chopped (optional)

Roasted tomatoes - Toss tomatoes in 2 tsp oil with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place on non-stick baking sheet and bake 1 hour at 250 degrees.

Zucchini puree - In a medium pan, heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and half the onion and cook until translucent. Add zucchini and cook 5 minutes. Place all ingredients in a blender. Add lemon juice and 1 Tbs oil and puree. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Risotto - Heat 1 tbs oil in a medium pot on medium heat and saute remaining onion until translucent. Add rice and stir to coast. Add broth 1 C at a time until absorbed, stirring continually for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Once rice is cooked, stir in zucchini puree. Set aside.

Scallops - Heat 1 tbs oil in a small pan. Season scallops with salt and pepper and cook both sides until lightly browned. Add roasted tomatoes and saute 5 minutes. Place risotto on a plate and top with scallop and tomato mixture and parsley.

(above listed photo is courtesy of www.cleaneatingmag.com)

Contest Day!!

2008-11-12T16:46:00.006-05:00

Can we just stop and talk about the fabulous giveaways my fellow bloggers are having? I mean first its MMM and her love of all things stationary (Yay for the Paper Cafe!) and preppy. Now one of my new favorite bloggers, Adventures of a Southern Newlywed, is giving away a Keurig Platinum Brewer.

Who doesn't love a good cup of coffee in the morning? (Okay not everyone drinks coffee, but this girl does!) I think I'm in love with this coffee maker already, especially since I just discovered that the Barnes & Noble next to my building is leaving which means no more Starbucks right outside my door!

I digress... check out Adventures of a Southern Newlywed and enter to win this fantastic coffee making machine (though if you win and I won't be prepared for me to be at your house a lot wanting you to make me coffee - it's only fair).

(Hey, at least this contest has something to do with food!)

Marriage, Magnolias and Manhattan is Hosting a Giveway!!!

2008-11-12T07:52:00.003-05:00

Check out Magnolias, Marriage and Manhattan, she is hosting a giveaway from The Paper Cafe for a Donovan Designs Calendar. Super cute. The deadline to enter is Friday!!

She is picking 5 winners and you have a chance to have multiple entries (reason #1 why I am posting this on my blog about food!). If you decide to enter please let her know that you saw the contest on my blog (I get an extra entry for that!).

Good luck!!

It's Turkey Day... Gobble Gobble (Part 2)

2008-11-11T19:18:00.007-05:00

As a follow up to my last post here are a few additional recipes from my (early) Thanksgiving dinner. An oldie and a goodie. I highly recommend both of these!!! Enjoy.

Angel Biscuits (thanks Nana!)

5 C sifted flour

1/4 C sugar

3 Tsp baking powder

1 Tsp baking soda

1 Tsp salt

3/4 C shortening (plain)

1 Pkg yeast

2 Tbs warm water

2 C buttermilk

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix in in shortening with hands until a course meal is formed.

Dissolve yeast in the warm water, add yeast/water mixture to the buttermilk. Add to flour mixture, mix well with

hands until dough is formed. Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead if necessary. Add additional flour to make soft dough.

In 9x13 inch pan melt 3 Tbs butter. Once melted remove pan from oven. Slightly elevate one end of pan on counter so all the butter is at one end. Roll out dough till it is 1/2 inch thick. Cut with round 2-3 inch biscuit cutter.

Dip 1/2 of one biscuit in butter, fold in half and place at the end of the pan without butter. Continue until you have made the number of desired biscuits.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm.

(remaining dough can be placed in Ziploc bag with air removed and stored in the fridge for up to a week)

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

(Courtesy of Ocean Spray)

1 C water

1 C sugar

1 (12oz) package Ocean Spray Fresh Whole Cranberries

Bring water and sugar to a boil in medium saucepan. Add cranberries and return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour sauce into bowl, cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time.

It's Turkey Day... Gobble Gobble (Part I)

2008-11-11T10:06:00.014-05:00

Okay, well it's not really Thanksgiving, but this past Sunday in my world it was. D and I will be out of town this year over Thanksgiving, spending the week enjoying some Tar Heel basketball in a far away land (think Jurassic Park, pineapples, and volcano's), so I decided to celebrate a couple of weeks early.

We invited our friends M and K over to enjoy the festivities. M has recently discovered her love of the kitchen and offered to bring mashed potatoes, a delicious appetizer of prosciutto wrapped asparagus with truffle oil, banana cream pie AND chocolate chip cookies. I spent most of the day Sunday preparing our feast. I have a tendency to go slightly overboard when entertaining, I never think there is enough food, which could never be further from the truth.

The Menu:

Herb Glazed Turkey, Stuffing, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Creamed Spinach, Cranberry Sauce, Angel Biscuits, and of course Banana Cream Pie and Cookies

Herb Glazed Turkey

1 Turkey

1/4 C olive oil

2 Tsp dried thyme

1 1/2 Tsp salt, divided

1 1/4 Tsp pepper, divided

1 C honey

1 C corn syrup

1/4 C butter, melted

2 Tsp dried rosemary, crushed

1 Tsp rubbed sage

1 Tsp dried basil

Brush turkey with olive oil; tied the drumsticks together. Place turkey breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Combine the thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, sprinkle evenly over the turkey. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 1/2 the amount of time recommended for the size of your turkey.

In a small bowl, combine the honey, corn syrup, butter, rosemary, sage, basil and remaining salt and pepper. Brush over turkey. Bake the remaining time left for the size of your turkey basting frequently with pan drippings.

Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly. Cover and let stand for 15-20 minutes before carving.

Creamed Spinach

1 1/2 C whole milk

4 (10 oz.) boxes of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry; reserve 1/2 C liquid

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbs butter

3 Tbs all-purpose flour

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 Tsp nutmeg

Salt and ground black pepper

Combine milk, spinach liquid and garlic in a small pot and heat slowly until very hot and steamy. Let stand 5-10 minutes to soften garlic.

Melt butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour. Add hot milk mixture all at once, then whisk until smooth. Stir in spinach; cook until sauce is thick and bubbly and spinach is tender but still green (approx. 5 minutes). Stir in cheese, nutmeg, and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Stay tuned for Turkey Day Part II...

My First Award!

2008-11-10T14:13:00.004-05:00

Mamarazzi from Dandelion Wishes has bestowed upon me (and the other participants) the Bloggy Goodness Award for participating in her first ever Favorite Things Exchange. The concept was simple. All I had to do was pass along a few of my favorite things to someone else. And who doesn't love to get a fun package in the mail!! So yay for me and all the other participants for doing something good and fun. And a huge shout out to Mamarazzi for hosting the exchange!!! I hope everyone has had as much fun as I have and I can't wait to see what I get in the mail from my exchange partner Kyley who runs the blog Crazy Kyley, check her out. She's got the most adorable twins!

Now for even more fun, I get to pass along the award to others! So MMM (Magnolias Marriage and Manhattan for those of you not in the know) I would like to give you this award to add to your trophy collection. Your blog keeps us all smiling. From your tales of Daisy, your adventures in NYC, your unborn son, and your constant give aways and warm wishes to others you are amazing. Here's to you.

**Check out my award on the sidebar!!**

The Challenge: Butternut Squash

2008-11-10T13:21:00.013-05:00

Two of my blogger friends and I decided that a cooking challenge was in order. The rules: a different ingredient will be picked twice a month (until we get bored with it!) and we will each come up with a recipe relating to the main ingredient, think Iron Chef minus the T.V. cameras and the crazy host.

Main Ingredient: Butternut Squash

The Recipe: Butternut Squash Wontons with a Honey Soy Dipping Sauce

1 Butternut Squash

4 Oz. package of cream cheese

1 Tbs honey

2 Tbs maple syrup

1 Pkg. wonton wrappers

Water

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

Slice butternut squash in half, cleaned and place in shallow baking dish. Roast at 425 for 40 minutes. Remove skin and chop into large chunks. Place chunks in medium sized bowl, add cream cheese, maple syrup and honey. Using a potato masher, mash until slightly creamy texture is achieved. Sprinkle in cinnamon and nutmeg.

Place a tablespoon of mixture in the center of each wonton wrapper. Use water to seal the wonton into desired shape. Place finished wontons into deep fat fryer until golden brown.

Honey Soy Dipping Sauce

Honey

Soy Sauce

White Vinegar

In small bowl combine honey and soy sauce (I used low sodium). Add a touch of white vingear to taste.

Don't forget to check out my blogger friends L who writes Small Kitchen, Big Taste and C who just started Kitchen Concoction (bookmark them for future reference!) and see what recipe they have made!!

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (or my new oven)

2008-11-05T12:39:00.007-05:00

Not sure what possessed me to want to try this. Perhaps it was the "Hot Nuts" vendor up the block, but I was at the store and saw these lovely nuts and thought, surely it can't be that hard. Besides, they smell so good when the Hot Nuts guy roasts them I sort of wanted my apartment to smell that delicious too.

Note: I've never even eaten a chestnut much less roasted one!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place a chestnut on a dishtowel, this will allow the chestnut to sink into the dishtowel and keep it from rolling while you make the cuts in the next step. Use a sharp knife to cut an X into one side of the chestnut to allow the steam to escape, otherwise it will explode. (This would be bad, very, very bad)

Place on cookie sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes or until the chestnuts are tender, easy to peel and golden brown in color.

Peel nuts when they are cool enough to handle and serve with salt if desired.

So they didn't exactly turn out as well as I had hoped. They look pretty, but they produced no smell (sad!) and I've discovered that chestnuts are definitely not my favorite nut. Oh well, live and learn.

Pumpkin Beer Bread

2008-11-02T18:20:00.010-05:00

As previously stated I love pumpkins and pumpkin flavor. After watching the NYC marathon this morning (cold and carbs what's better after running 26+ miles??) I decided it was time to finally use that pumpkin I hunted down a while ago! I found this recipe for a moist, yet dense pumpkin bread with a nice smooth texture and with my oven back in full swing I decided to bread out the loaf pans!

Pumpkin Beer Bread

3 1/4 C all-purpose flour

2 Tsp salt

2 Tsp baking soda

1 Tsp baking powder

1 Tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 C water

1/3 C ground flaxseed

2 1/2 C sugar

2/3 C canola oil

2/3 C beer (at room temperature)

3 large eggs

1 (15oz) can of pumpkin

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, salt, and next four ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with whisk.

Combine 1/2 C water and flaxseed. Place sugar and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add flaxseed mixture and pumpkin. Beat at low speed just until blended. Add flour mixture beat just until combined.

Divide batter between 2 loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely.

Wrap the second loaf in plastic wrap and freeze for up to two months!

The Secret is in the Sauce.... Amazing

2008-11-02T14:14:00.004-05:00

For those of you that have never experienced The Secret is in the Sauce you must go there directly after reading this post. Sign up. Join their community. These ladies are amazing. They have created a "Sitstahood" of blogger's dedicated to leaving comments. Its great if you are looking to get traffic to your blog or just searching for new blogs to read. Whatever you reasons for joining, just do it. Its a great way to support one another!

They are currently have a contest up for a New Bissell vacuum! Who couldn't use a new vacuum. Especially if you are like me and have your vacuum hidden in the closet in hopes that one day it will come back to life. Click here to see the post regarding this contest!

Ode to my Oven

2008-10-30T18:03:00.005-04:00

Oh how I love you so.

New.

Clean.

AND WORKING!!!!

Yes, today I got a new oven. It makes me so happy - you have no idea. Unfortunately, there were no drip pans for the stove....... so the wait is on for those to arrive. But at least I can bake!

Mastering the Dinner Roll

2008-10-30T17:51:00.008-04:00

I came across a simple recipe for dinner rolls yesterday in the new Cooking Light magazine. Usually I'm not a fan of baking homemade rolls for dinner (its that whole multi-tasking thing) but with the leftover lasagna in the fridge, I figured why not. I had all the ingredients I needed already in the cupboard so all that was left to do was to get the dough to rise! I was pleasantly surprised how easy and tasty these were. I'll definitely be making them again. Next time I might add some garlic for a nice garlic roll!

Dinner Rolls

2 Tbs sugar

1 Pkg dry yeast

2/3 C warm water

3 Tbs butter, melted

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour

1/2 Tsp salt (skip this if you use salted butter)

Cooking spray

1 Large egg yolk, lightly beaten

Dissolve sugar and yeast in 2/3 C warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in butter. Combine flour and salt in large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add yeast mixture to flour; stir until soft dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic; add flour to prevent dough from sticking to hands. Place dough in large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat. Cover and let rise 1 hour.

Divide dough into 12 equal portions placing in muffin tin coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 20 minutes or until doubled in size.

Gently brush dough with egg yolk (add minced garlic if you like). Bake at 400 degrees for 13 minutes or until golden brown.

Cold Weather Food

2008-10-29T12:57:00.006-04:00

The other night my husband requested lasagna for dinner. I'm not a pasta lover so I don't make it often, but it's a good cold weather meal and its COLD here in NYC. Off to the store I went to get my ingredients. It's a fairly simple meal just a little work to put it together, but I don't mind because it freezes beautifully. It's one of those meals that seems and looks a lot more complicated that it really is. Lasagna leftover is always better than lasagna made that day.

Mom's Lasagna

1 lb ground beef

1 1/2 jars spaghetti sauce (any variety works)

20 oz. small curd cottage cheese (more to taste)

3 C shredded mozzarella

Parmesan cheese

2 large eggs

1 box lasagna noodles cooked 1/2 way

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, brown meat; drain. Add sauce and simmer 10 minutes. In a pot boil water and cook noodles 1/2 way. In a large bowl combine the cottage cheese, 1/2 the mozzarella and eggs.

Coat bottom of 13x9 or similar sized pan with sauce. Place 3 noodles lengthwise over sauce; cover with sauce. Spread some cottage cheese mixture over sauce (you do not need to completely cover the sauce with the cheese). Repeat layers of lasagna, sauce, cheese. Top with layer of lasagna and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until hot and bubbly.

*Side note: I think this is better the second day. I recommend making it and cooking it half way then placing it in the fridge till you are ready to serve. Finish cooking it the day you are ready to serve by cooking it for 30 minutes or until heated all the way through.

Who Doesn't Love an Apple Pie

2008-10-29T10:59:00.009-04:00

Recently while in North Carolina my sister-in-law mentioned how J, her boyfriend, had been craving homemade apple pie. No problem I thought, I'm basically the queen of apples these days with all that apple picking, what's one more pie! So off to the store my mother-in-law and I went. Apple pies are super easy and one of my favorite things to bake (the smell is just so amazing). There is nothing better than fresh baked apple pie fresh out of the oven! I highly recommend investing in an apple corer and a good peeler, it makes peeling and coring your apples so much easier. I use a OXO peeler and corer.

Homemade Apple Pie

6-8 apples peeled, cored and sliced

3/4 C sugar

2 Tbs all-purpose flour

3/4 Tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 Tsp salt

1/8 Tsp ground nutmeg

1 Tbs butter, unsalted

Lemon juice

2 9-inch round pie crusts (I was lazy and used Pillsbury)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place 1 pie crust in an 9in pie plate.

In a large bowl, mix apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and lemon juice. Pour into pie plate. Cut butter into three pieces and place on top of apples. Place second pie crust on top of apples. Press top and bottom pie crusts together. Cut slits in several places on top pie crust.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until pie crust is golden brown. You may need

to cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil if there is excessive browning before the cooking time is complete. Cool on baking rack for several hours before serving.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

2008-10-21T12:59:00.004-04:00

I love pumpkins. They are such a versatile fruit (yes, I said fruit, google it if you don't believe me). Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin soup. Roasted pumpkin seeds. Jack-O-Lanterns!!! The list goes on and on. Not to mention the fact that pumpkin is SO good for you. Go ahead say pumpkin out loud. It's a fun word. Pumpkin. Pumpkin. Pumpkin. Love it.

Finding canned pumpkin is another story. I live in New York City, there must be over a thousand grocery stores here, so you would think that this should be an easy task. So not the case. I went to two stores yesterday, no pumpkin. Pie filling yes, pumpkin no. So this morning after my morning stop at my favorite coffee house, back on the search for pumpkin I went. I finally found some at the THIRD store I went too. So I bought 2 huge cans.

Now if only my oven worked....

Brownies Not So Brown

2008-10-20T14:08:00.006-04:00

I found this super cute brownie recipe posted on Swanky Tables blog (if you've never been to her blog GO NOW, its that amazing) that I really wanted to try.

Mission for the morning, bake brownies.

Everything was going along just fine, I had the brownies in the oven, so off for a little blog reading I went.... the buzzer goes off 25 minutes later I use my trusty cake tester, brownies not done. Add another 5 minutes to my timer. Still not done. And so this went until the brownies had been in the oven for over an hour and were still raw in the center. I'm not a happy camper at this point and gave up! This is what they were suppose to look like when all is said and done:

Picture Courtesy of Swanky Tables and Lisa Hubbard InStyle Magazine

Domino Brownies

(Makes 24)

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

2 C sugar

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped and melted

3 eggs

1 C all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1 Tsp vanilla

White chocolate chips and white frosting in tube for decoration

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13" x 9" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl beat butter and sugar together with electric mixer. Stir in melted chocolate; beat in eggs until well combined, then stir in flour and salt. Add vanilla. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 min. Cut into rectangles measuring about 3" long by 1" wide. Place on wire rack to cool. Add frosting lines, top with white chocolate chips to resemble domino patterns.

Chocolate Chip Cookies without Chips?

2008-10-17T12:36:00.014-04:00

Who ever heard of such a thing? Certainly not me, well, not until last night. While discussing my baking endeavors a friend of mine mentioned she loved chocolate chip cookies without the chips. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Seriously? A Chocolate Chip Cookie without chocolate chips? But why?
S: I like the dough. And its different than just having a sugar cookie.
Me: Hmmmmm okay I'll make some.

And back into the kitchen I went. However, my husband did not think this was such a great idea and insisted that I throw some chips into half the batter so he could have REAL chocolate chip cookies. REAL Chocolate Chip Cookies
Do not use a mixer!!
1/2 stick margarine
1/4 C solid shortening
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 C light brown sugar
2/3 C granulated sugar
4 C Bisquick
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (12oz) package chocolate chips
1/2 C nuts, chopped (optional)

Melt margarine and shortening and add sugars. Stir in eggs and mix well. Stir in Bisquick, then add vanilla extract, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Do not over bake or cookies will be hard. Cookies should be slightly soft and chewy; they won't be brown on top, only light brown on bottom.

Fall is Here

2008-10-16T15:24:00.012-04:00

Or so I thought until the sun came out and it was 75 degrees in the middle of October. That's not suppose to happen in New York. But alas, my friend Megan and I took full advantage of the gorgeous Fall day and went apple picking.

Twenty, yes twenty, pounds of apples later in my little New York City kitchen, I needed something to do with said apples. So the baking began. There was Apple Pies (uh huh, more than one), Jewish Apple Cake, and my favorite, Applesauce. I'm sort of obsessed with it, I've made it three times in less than a week.

Homemade Applesauce

4 apples peeled, cored and chopped into large chunks

1/2 C water

1/4 C sugar (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon

In a saucepan over medium heat combine all ingredients. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Place saucepan in refrigerator to cool, approximately 15 minutes. With a potato masher or a fork mash apples until desired consistency is achieved.

Enjoy!