Elizabeth's Edible

More Mac

2012-01-26T08:24:00.000-05:00

The second most popular recipe on my blog is my Golden Baked Mac and Cheese. It was fairly popular when I first blogged it in 2008 and has always garnered a fair amount of attention over the years.

But with the onset of the Pinterest craze, that delicious dish has experienced a resurgence. Comments and emails are flowing in about the yummy dish on a daily basis and I couldn't be happier. It deserves to be one of the stars of this blog because it is an insanely delicious classic that is super easy to make and I don't know a person who isn't in love with cheesy, gooey baked pasta. I make my Mac and Cheese a lot! I always bring it to family holiday gatherings, I make it a few times a year with a pot of chili, I make it when the weather first turns cold and I am craving comfort food and I make it anytime that I am searching for that famous familiarity of the dish. But even though I probably make it 8-10 times a year, I have never thought of it as much as I have been lately. With all the recent comments, I decided to visit the Analytic tracker for my blog and I was blown away at the number of hits that dish received.

So realizing more than ever that Macaroni and Cheese is something that people can not get enough of, I decided to search for some other interesting takes on the classic. This Crab Mac recipe was so appealing to me because it seemed to be a grown-up, decadent spin on the very famous classic and what sold me was the incorporation of fontina cheese - a favorite of mine! This "Gratin" was a truly indulgent treat and a great way to participate in the Mac and Cheese craze I have been a part of lately.

Crab, Pasta and Cheese Gratin
Adapted from William Sonoma

Ingredients

3/4 lb. rigatoni pasta
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, heated
1/2 cup heavy cream, heated
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
Ground nutmeg, to taste
1 lb. lump crabmeat, picked over for shell pieces
3 Tbs. chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup finely shredded fontina
1/2 cup plus 3 Tbs. grated Parmigiano-
Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup plus 3 Tbs. finely shredded white
cheddar cheese
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 400°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

Bring a large pot three-fourths full of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni, stir well and cook until al dente (tender but firm to the bite), 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water to halt the cooking and drain again. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the olive oil. Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 Tbs. of the butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until fully incorporated, about 3 minutes; do not allow to brown.

Slowly add the milk and cream, whisking constantly.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Add the sauce to the macaroni and mix well.

Fold in the crabmeat,

chives, peas,

and 1/2 cup each of the fontina, Parmigiano-Reggiano and cheddar cheeses.

Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

Top with the 3 Tbs. each Parmigiano-Reggiano and cheddar, sprinkling evenly over the surface. Then sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Finally, cut the remaining 2 Tbs. butter into bits and use to dot the top of the gratin.

Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Click Here for My Adapted Recipe

Bogus Beignets

2012-01-18T20:52:00.001-05:00

I made this recipe a REALLY long time ago - like over six months long time ago. These pretty pictures have been sitting in my "To Blog" folder for quite a while staring me in the face every time I open it up. I just couldn't bring myself to blog it, I don't even know why I made it in the first place. If I remember correctly, I think it was a desire to rid myself of some soon to expire ricotta. Don't get me wrong, it isn't that this tart/sweet treat isn't insanely delicious or even that it was hard to make. In fact, it was a simple recipe with only a few ingredients that turned out to be extremely delectable.

My hang up was that the recipe is named after one of my all-time favorite New Orleans desserts that has no rival or substitutes. A dessert so amazing, so unique and so identifying in its own right that it should never have to share its name. Blame it on my upbringing in this amazing food city, call me biased, argue its validity - but in my mind nothing should be labeled as a beignet unless it looks like this:

Now, to the untrained eye these two may look similar. But trust me, they aren't - not even in the slightest. One is round and the right one is square. One is bite-sized and the right one is at least a 6-biter. One is lightly dusted with powdered sugar and the right one is covered massively. I could go on and on. Instead, I will leave you with this suggestion - if you are craving beignets then come to New Orleans and if you are wanting to make a tasty at home "doughnut-hole-type" concoction then follow my recipe below!

Lemon Ricotta "Beignets"
Adapted from All You October 2010

Ingredients

Vegetable oil
1 large egg
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Confectioners' sugar

Preparation

Heat 2 inches vegetable oil in a large deep cast iron pot over medium-high heat until it reaches 350ºF on a candy thermometer. (As oil is heating, watch thermometer carefully and adjust heat to keep oil from getting too hot.) Line a large plate with paper towels.
In a large bowl, stir together egg, sugar, ricotta, lemon zest, vanilla, flour and salt until smooth.
Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of batter into hot oil and fry, turning once with tongs or a slotted spoon, until beignets are golden, 2 to 3 minutes total. Remove beignets with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate briefly to drain. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired,

and serve immediately.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Better Butter

2012-01-09T20:44:00.011-05:00

Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Holiday season. This year was great for my little family. Rex is at a fabulous age where he is old enough to enjoy carols, family gathering and new gifts yet still young enough to have some of the perils of the season escape him. Christmas and New Years were packed with fun gatherings, lots of cooking and good cheer. Immediately on the heels of that fun was my 30th birthday celebration, which my husband so kindly managed to stretch out into a full weekend of good times (more details on that excitement later).

I realized while preparing this super easy, exceptionally delicious appetizer for our New Year's Day get together that I have never shared it with my readers. I have been making this recipe for a while. It is a great one to add to the party table as it can be prepared up to 2 days ahead or even immediately before due to its simplicity. I also really enjoy serving it during parties because it is unique and not your typical holiday appetizer. This shrimp butter, regardless of what I spread it on always flies off of the platter.

Shrimp Butter
Adapted from Southern Living 2004 Annual Recipes

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 pound peeled cooked shrimp, finely chopped
3 tablespoons grated onion
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon pepper
chopped chives for garnish

Directions:

Beat cream cheese and butter

at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in chipped shrimp and next 5 ingredients;

spread mixture evenly

on toasted bread, crackers or fresh veggies. Garnish with chopped chives.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Happy Holidays 2011

2011-12-24T12:35:00.003-05:00

Wishing you and yours a great Holiday Season!

Strategic Strata

2011-12-13T22:00:00.015-05:00

I think this is technically a breakfast dish, but I served it for dinner. I would definitely suggest putting it in the lunch/dinner category as it is very rich, but equally delicious. It is a great meal to serve to a crowd on a busy day because not only can it be a day ahead, it actually needs to be prepared at least 9 hours prior to serving. I am always looking for dishes that I can prepare ahead and heat/cook just before serving when I have a large crowd or a particularly over-scheduled time in my life, like the holidays!

Asiago, Mushroom, and Sausage Strata
Adapted from Southern Living Christmas Cookbook

Ingredients

1 lb. ground pork sausage
2 Tbsp. butter
1 (8oz) package sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1 medium shallot, minced
1 tsp minced dried thyme
1 (16oz) loaf sourdough bread, cubed
1 1/2 cups shredded Asiago cheese, divided
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat, stirring often, 6 to 7 minutes or until; meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain.

Melt butter in pan over medium heat; add mushrooms and shallot, and saute until tender.

Stir in sausage and thyme.

2. Place bread in a lightly greased 13'x9' baking dish.

Sprinkle mushroom mixture

and 1/2 cup cheese over bread.

Whisk together eggs and remaining 3 ingredients;

pour over mushrooms and bread.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and chill at least 8 hours (I chilled over night).

3. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 more minutes or until set and lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Book Club Bounty - November

2011-11-30T20:59:00.013-05:00

I knew I had found my November Book Club recipe when I read the following excerpt on the Southern Living Website , "It is the most requested recipe in Southern Living magazine history". And to sweeten the deal even further, the recipe was super simple and required preparation steps more similar to banana bread than to any cake recipes I am used to making. It was a no brainer, extremely popular and easy! How could I not make it?!?

I whipped this cake up in no time, the frosting was a cinch too and off to Book Club I went to discuss our November read, "The Reliable Wife" by Robert Goolrick. The cake was a smashing success, the book was not. Most of the members complained about not liking the book and of its dark nature. But I must say, despite its less than stellar reviews it did make for great discussion. We found lots to ponder, dispute and elaborate on in this book.

All in all, I would say the cake is a must try and the book is a decent read if you are in the mood for something a little more heavy and seedy.

Hummingbird Cake
Adapted from Southern Living 1999

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped ripe bananas
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil,

stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat.) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans, and bananas.

Until incorporated. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cakepans.

Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
Cut the rounded top off of the cakes to level.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake; sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top. Store in refrigerator.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Sinful Sauce Showdown

2011-11-17T19:50:00.018-05:00

This recipe is incredibly rich and sinfully delicious. It is the type of dish where you use the self-checkout at the supermarket when buying the ingredients in order to avoid the disdainful judging eyes of the cashier. It is a meal that you hope your guest don't come early while you are cooking it for fear they will see the copious amounts of bad for you components you are adding into the pan. But instead of feeling guilty for embarking on this full fat, creamy adventure I decided to go the opposite route. Knowing I don't cook like this often, I wanted to take full advantage. So what did I do? I doubled the queso sauce recipe below and decided I would serve it later in the week with pasta for Round 2 of this deliciousness.

Obviously needing to space out the number of days we indulged in this recipe, I stored my second batch of sauce in a sealed container and put it in the fridge until later in the week. I made the enchiladas on Friday and on Tuesday after work I started filling a pasta pot with water in order to boil some penne to serve with my much anticipated crawfish cream sauce. Right around the time my water started to boil Forrest sauntered into the kitchen and asked what was for dinner. I told him that we would be having the cream sauce that I made over the weekend on top of pasta. With an amazingly calm expression, he commented that we didn't have any of that left over. I explained that I wasn't talking about the few enchiladas that remained after our dinner party on Friday night, but about the very large container of sauce I placed all the way in the back of the fridge separated from everything else. Once again, Forrest mentioned that we didn't have that any longer. Certain that he was still confused, I (not so calmly) asked what had happened to it. He told me that he ate it. For some reason I couldn't believe what he was telling me. When did he heat up the sauce, cook pasta and have 6 people over to help him consume the 3 cups of creamy deliciousness laced with cheese and a full $16/lb of crawfish? This is when he revealed the true shocker. He ate it throughout the week - for a snack! with potato chips! I was livid. I couldn't believe it! I ranted and raved about how he turned a roughly $30 dish into a snack, we now had nothing for dinner, and I was looking forward to eating it again and wouldn't have the chance. Instead of apologizing, offering to go out and get us dinner to make up for it, or claiming ignorance, he looked at me and remarked, "It was so good too!"

Crawfish Enchiladas
Adapted from Paul Prudhomme

Ingredients

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 cup canned green chiles, chopped

3/4 cup finely chopped green bell peppers

2 3/4 teaspoons of salt
2 3/4 teaspoons of white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground red pepper (cayenne)
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup dairy sour cream

8 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese or other white (preferably non-processed) cheese (2 pounds)

2 pounds peeled crawfish tails

2/3 cup very finely chopped green onions

1/2 cup cooking oil

20 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Directions

In a large skillet melt ½ stick of the butter. Add the onions, green chiles, bell peppers, 1 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 3/4 teaspoon of white pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of oregano and the minced garlic. Sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the cream and bring mixture to a rapid boil;

then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the sour cream;

with a metal whisk, beat continuously until the sour cream is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add 3 cups of the cheese

and stir until melted. Set the sauce aside.

In a 4-quart saucepan melt the remaining ½ stick butter. Add the crawfish, green onions and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of white pepper, 1 teaspoon of red pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of oregano.

Sauté over medium heat for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cheese sauce to the crawfish mixture

and stir well. Simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

In a small skillet heat the oil to 325º. Holding the tortilla with metal tongs, dip each into the hot oil just long enough to soften, about 1 second on each side; drain on paper towels.

Spoon about ⅓ cup sauce on each tortilla

and roll up tortilla; place seam side down in a baking dish.
Cover the tortilla from end to end with a generous amount of additional sauce. Then sprinkle it with the remaining cheese.

For the prettiest presentation, place the enchiladas under a broiler near the flame until the cheese melts and begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Or, bake the enchiladas in a 350º oven until cheese melts, about 5 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Spread for your Spread

2011-11-08T20:52:00.012-05:00

With the Holiday season approaching us, I couldn't think of a better recipe to add to your upcoming menus. This is a simple dish that can be prepared in advance and baked off a few minutes before your gathering starts. This appetizer is extremely delicious, hearty, comforting and rich - everything a holiday menu item should be in my opinion. Dips and spreads are so popular at parties during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and I love to have a variety of options that are a little different than your expected ones.

Caramelized Onion, Gruyere and Bacon Spread
Adapted from Cooking Light November 2011

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 Tbs Butter
3 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded and divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided
1/3 cup canola mayonnaise
1/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan lightly with cooking spray. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low; cook 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

Reserve 2 tablespoons cheese. Combine remaining cheese, caramelized onion, 1 tablespoon chives, and the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl.

Transfer the mixture to a 1-quart glass or ceramic baking dish coated lightly with cooking spray. Sprinkle with reserved 2 tablespoons cheese. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon chives.
Serve with toasted baguette slices.

Book Club Bounty - October

2011-10-25T20:11:00.013-04:00

My friend Melanie hosted October's Book Club meeting and once again I offered to bring a dessert. The October Book Club was a couple days before Rex's 1st Birthday Bash, so I didn't want to bring something very complicated since I had a long weekend of cooking ahead of me. I remembered this recipe from a long ago issue of Cooking Light and I thought it would be a great opportunity to try it out since it seemed very easy. All this recipe required was basically measuring and stirring and the result was still a beautifully delicious dessert!

This month we read "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay. It was a much better choice than last month's book and the discussion was much more productive. In addition, the general consensus was that we all enjoyed reading historical fiction - especially about a topic so few of us were familiar with prior to reading the book. I recommend this book and I highly recommend this tart!

Bourbon Pecan Tart with Chocolate Drizzle
Adapted from Cooking Light November 2007

Ingredients

1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 cup pecan halves
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
Cooking spray
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 10 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk.

Stir in pecans.

Roll dough into a 13-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan coated with cooking spray. Trim excess crust using a sharp knife.

Spoon sugar mixture into prepared crust.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Drizzle chocolate over tart.

Slice and Serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Oldie But Cookie

2011-10-09T21:57:00.005-04:00

Rex recently started a new school and had to say good-bye to his first daycare and his teachers that have known him since he showed up as a 12-week-old infant to their classroom. It was hard to part ways with all of the women who cared for him, nurtured him and loved him when Forrest and I had to work. We wanted to say thanks in a special way and I thought there would be no better way to please a large group of women than with chocolate chip cookies. After all, CCC are a widely loved treat and I figured no one would be excluded in the indulgence if I sent these their way. Once I settled on the recipes, I whipped up a batched, packaged them in a pretty way and sent them to school with Rex on his last day. Everyone was elated with their thank you gifts, as people often are when the gift is an edible one. Even better if it is a deliciously gooey and chocolatey edible gift!

I wanted to take the opportunity to re-share one of my go to recipes with my new readers. I LOVE this CCC recipe! Give it a try, you will be pleased - I promise.

V is for Veggie

2011-09-27T20:50:00.013-04:00

Since Rex has been off of baby food and solely on table food, I have been exploring creative ways to still get his vegetables in him. He loves carbs (can you blame him?) so I normally find myself mixing the vegetables that I have chopped into miniscule pieces in rice or pasta. After we spoon them both in, he is quite skilled at separating the starch from the vegetable and returning one back out of his mouth via his tongue. Can you guess which one he decides to keep?

Because of this little veggie rejection trick he has mastered I knew this recipe would be a fantastic way to get him to eat his vegetables. If I cooked the risotto in the squash there would be no way for him make the distinction. And I am happy to report it was a huge hit! He devoured two bowls and ate it for lunch the next day as well. No veggie objection here!

Butternut Squash Risotto
Adapted from Cooking Light October 2011

Ingredients

3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash, divided
3 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
5 ounces applewood-smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preparation

Combine 2 cups squash and 2 1/2 cups water in a saucepan; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Place mixture in a food processor. Process until smooth.

Return mixture to pan. Stir in broth; bring to a simmer. Reserve 1/4 cup squash mixture. Keep pan warm over low heat. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Stir in remaining 1 cup squash, 2 1/2 cups squash mixture, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Cook 2 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly.

Add remaining squash mixture, 1 cup at a time,

stirring until each cup is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in reserved 1/4 cup squash mixture. Top with parsley and bacon.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipes

Book Club Bounty - September

2011-09-13T14:45:00.015-04:00

September's Book Club was hosted by my sister and since I only had to provide one dish for the meeting, I decided it would be an extra chocolatey dessert. This cake made a beautiful presentation and all of the ladies seemed to enjoy it. Next time I make this cake I will be sure to serve it with some vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fresh whip cream. It was very rich and crumbly and could have used a little something to balance the texture.

As for our book, we read "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo. Meh. I wasn't in love with this book at all, our discussion wasn't nearly as compelling as the month before and I think we learned one very important book club lesson - no non-fiction.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Adapted from William Sonoma

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

For the Glaze:

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs. chocolate liqueur

Directions:

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 325°F. Grease and flour a decorative 10-cup Bundt® pan.

To make the cake, over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; repeat until well blended. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 30 to 45 seconds. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the granulated sugar, beating until blended. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating each addition until incorporated before adding more, until the mixture is thick and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes; stop mixer occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the speed to low and fold in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour,

until just blended and no lumps of flour remain. Then gently fold in the chocolate.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading the batter so the sides are about 1 inch higher than the center.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack and cool the cake upright in the pan for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the granulated sugar and water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate liqueur.

Set the rack over a sheet of waxed paper, invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Generously brush the warm cake with the glaze.

Slice and Serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Salami Skepticism

2011-09-07T20:50:00.014-04:00

Forrest is a big fan of Salami and I have never been crazy about it, but always willing to eat it if it is buried in a a dish with other ingredients of my liking. I went into making this super easy calzone thinking I would be turned off by the fact that the salami was the sole meat. And boy was I ever wrong. This calzone was delicious. All of the ingredients worked wonderfully together and it even left me questioning my salami disdain...

Salami Mozzarella Calzone
Adapted from the Food Network

Ingredients

1 large green bell pepper, diced and sauteed in cooking spray
4 oz of white button mushrooms, sliced and sauteed in cooking spray
1 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 pound shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
1 13.8-ounce tube refrigerated pizza dough
1/4 pound deli-sliced salami, cut into thin strips
1/4 pound sliced provolone cheese

Directions

Place a baking sheet upside down in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Beat the eggs and parsley in a small bowl.

Pour half of the egg mixture into a medium bowl and stir in the mozzarella.

Reserve the remaining egg mixture for brushing on the crust.

Turn another baking sheet upside down; line with parchment paper and brush with olive oil. Unroll the dough on the parchment paper and pat into a 9-by-12-inch rectangle. Spread the mozzarella mixture over one half of the dough, leaving a 1-inch border along the edge.

Top with the salami,

followed by vegetables

and provolone.

Fold the other half of the dough over to cover the filling. Crimp and roll the edges to seal,

then pierce the top of the dough in a few places with a knife.

Slide the calzone with the parchment paper onto the hot baking sheet; bake 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining egg mixture,

then continue to bake until the crust is golden, 5 to 10 more minutes. Let rest 5 minutes, then cut into wedges.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Lemon Loaf

2011-08-28T20:33:00.014-04:00

Recently Forrest borrowed a few tools from one of our friends to cut down some branches of a tree that were hanging on our roof. Not only did our friend Chris lend his tools, he also came over and helped Forrest while trimming the bushes perched on an extension ladder. I wanted to say thank you to Chris for keeping my hubby safe and I always try to show my appreciation with special sweet treats. I remember Chris's wife telling me before that he loved citrus desserts. I did a quick search and knew this would be the perfect bundle of thanks to send his way.

I decided to "top" the bread with pecans instead of mixing them into the batter like the recipe originally suggested in case Chris and Melanie were not pecan fans. But as you can see, the nuts sunk to the bottom of the bread and my topping attempt was a bust. The bread was still delicious, just not as pretty as I had planned.

Lemon Bread
Adapted from William Sonoma

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup chopped pecans

For the Lemon Syrup:

1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 1-lb. loaf pan.

In a bowl, stir and toss together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until blended, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture along with the milk

and lemon zest.

Beat until blended and smooth, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan

and spread pecans on top

and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the lemon syrup: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon juice. Set aside, stirring occasionally; don't worry if the sugar does not dissolve completely.

Remove the bread from the oven and transfer the pan to a wire rack. Using a fork, gently poke the top in several places. Stir the syrup, then slowly drizzle it over the hot bread.

Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto the rack, top side up, and let cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf.

Click Here for my Adapted Printable Recipe

Special Salt Selection

2011-08-16T09:53:00.014-04:00

It isn't very often that the ingredient I most want to showcase in a dish is salt. However, that was the case when I set out to make these pita pizzas. I wanted the salt to be the star. I had these aspirations for the spice because it was special. Not just any salt. Certianly not something poured out of a metal spout from that blue cylindrical container. This salt was "Fumee de Sel", fleur de sel crystals which are hand harvested on the coast of France, then gently smoked over wood chips from aged oak Chardonnay wine barrels. Fancy right?

I purchased this Fumee de Sel when we traveled to Seattle over a year ago. There is a lovely shop in Pike's Place Market called Market Spice. I procured a bag of this unique salt and used it here and there in recipes, but never found the right recipe with simple enough ingredients to really give the salt the attention it deserves. This grilled "pizza" recipe was perfect! The specialty salt added a smokey flavor to the veggies and the pita that complimented the grilling perfectly.

Grilled Portobello Goat Cheese Pizzas
Adapted from Cooking Light August 2004

Ingredients

2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (6-inch) pita rounds
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 (6-ounce) package portobello mushrooms
2 medium Roma tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/3 cup (3 ounces) goat cheese
1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil

Preparation

Preheat an outdoor grill over medium heat.
Combine garlic and 1 tsp of olive oil; brush evenly over pitas.

Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper evenly over pitas.

Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper evenly over mushrooms and tomatoes. Brush mushrooms and tomatoes with remaining oil and balsamic vinegar.

Grill pita for 1 minute each side; mushrooms for 6 minutes or until tender, turning once. Grill tomatoes for 1 minute.

Combine goat cheese with crushed red pepper. Spread goat cheese evenly over warm pitas. Arrange the mushrooms and tomatoes evenly over pitas.

Sprinkle with basil and Serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

** Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way by Market Spice. I just wanted to mention the shop since it left such a great impression on me.

Book Club Bounty - August

2011-08-07T18:50:00.012-04:00

I recently started a Book Club. It is made up of a diverse group of women based on the way membership was determined. I was allowed to invite in two members, two invites for my sister and two for my mom and a few random adds. We did this to ensure that we would have a group of ladies from different generations, with different viewpoints and varying opinions. We had our first meeting this past week and it went wonderfully. It was fun, intriguing and intellectually stimulating. I have never been in a book club and was excited that it seemed we avoided a common book club mistake of creating an excuse for gossiping and drinking (although we did those things too ;-). I really wanted to discuss the book we had chosen, evoke thought and hear different interpretations from the other members. I think we did a great job.

Even though I wanted our first meeting to be solely focused on the discussion of the book we read, of course I still wanted to start the evening out with a perfectly planned spread of noshes. This dish was on the menu and it was very delicious and easy to throw together.

Since we will have Book Club monthly I plan on highlighting one of the items I serve at each meeting here as well as tell you the book we read in case you are looking for a good read. We read "Room" by Emma Donoghue. It was a very interesting read. It was definitely different from anything I have ever read before and provided for great discussion. I highly recommend this book.

Tomato Feta Pasta Salad
Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients

1 pound fusilli (spirals) pasta
Kosher salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 ripe roma tomatoes, medium-diced
1 small can of sliced black olives
1 pound good feta cheese
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

For the Dressing:

5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
12 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil for 12 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain well and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, feta and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper with a whisk.

Pour the dressing over the pasta,

sprinkle with the Parmesan

and parsley

, and toss well.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Broccoli Bounty

2011-07-19T20:40:00.016-04:00

Having a baby is definitely changing the way we eat. Now that Rex has expressed his extreme distaste for pureed baby food, we have moved on to finger foods and chopped up table food options for him during dinner time. I have been forced to incorporate ingredients in our meals that we can modify for him to eat as well. With this being the case, things like this and this aren't the best choices anymore.

I wanted to lightly boil a few broccoli florets to give Rex for dinner one night this week since I figured he could easily feed them to himself (something he is insistent on these days) and they are a healthy finger food for sure. And since you can't buy 3 broccoli florets at the supermarket I had to come up with what to do with the rest of the bag. I could have easily just served them with a little lemon and pepper after boiling the whole pound, but this recipe seemed like a much yummier alternative. And it was!

Broccoli Cheddar Casserole
Adapted from Cooking Light August 2006

Ingredients

4 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets (about 1 pound)
1/6 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 cup pita chips or melba toast rounds

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cook broccoli in boiling water 3 minutes or until crisp-tender;

drain and place in a bowl of ice water for 3 more minutes.

Drain again.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Place flour, salt, and dry mustard in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat; gradually add the milk and chicken broth, stirring with a whisk until blended.

Cook for 3 minutes or until it is thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and add shredded cheddar cheese and 6 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese,

stirring until melted. Stir in pepper.

Add broccoli,

tossing to coat.

Spoon the broccoli mixture into a 8x8-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Place pita chips in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 cup. Combine chip crumbs and the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, and sprinkle evenly over broccoli mixture. Spray top of casserole lightly with cooking spray.

Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Kitchen Kaos

2011-07-11T20:43:00.012-04:00

I have done A LOT of cooking, I think I am somewhere in the 350 range of recipes just on this blog and that only counts the cooking I have done in the last three years. That isn't even taking into account the time I spent in the kitchen before this blog; nor does it consider all the recipes I have made and haven't blogged or things I have made more than once after blogging them. What I am trying to get at is that I have done a whole ton of cooking in my day and I have been relatively lucky to avoid any serious kitchen mishaps or accidents.

I can only remember two times I had a problem and for one of them I wasn't even cooking, I was just testing out my new knives and I nicked my fingertip. The other time I was making my brother eggs when I was in high school and I sprayed PAM directly into the pan on the open gas flame (that was scary).

I consider myself fortunate to have escaped anything serious up until this point. That is, until these seemingly benign Asian Lettuce Cups. This recipe didn't even include all that much cooking so it was surprising that this is where I slipped up. I still am not sure what exactly happened, but I know I had a close call. After I sauteed the mushrooms, I left the pan on the fire and added more oil. Then I went to the fridge, got the shrink wrapped pork package and poked a whole in it to open the top and drop the pork into the pan. Well I am guessing that a small piece of the plastic fell into the hot oil and we had a tower of fire burning in the pan as high as the kitchen cabinets. Forrest was playing with the Baby in his nursery and I screamed his name as I stepped back and all I could think was, "Do not come to my rescue with our Son in your arms." As I turned around in shock to watch for my help emerge from the hallway, I was petrified to see my husband standing there with our 9 month old in his arms. As I thought through my fire safety skills and what I should do next, I noticed a strange look on my husbands face. He looked surprisingly calm and a little confused. At that point I realized that the fire had burned off and there was no emergency to be had. Thankfully this little kitchen accident had a happy ending and it served the purpose of putting me back on my toes in the kitchen in regards to safety.

Asian Lettuce Cups
Adapted from Cooking Light August 2010

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
2 cups coarsely chopped shiitake mushroom caps (about 5 ounces)
16 ounces ground pork
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2/3 cup thinly sliced green onions (about 4)
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
8 Boston lettuce leaves
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
4 teaspoons lower-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 1/4 teaspoons Sriracha
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms;

sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Place mushrooms in a large bowl. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add pork, garlic, and ginger to pan;

cook 6 minutes or until turkey is browned, stirring to crumble. Add pork mixture, onions, and water chestnuts to mushrooms in bowl;

stir well.

2. Spoon 1/2 cup turkey mixture into each lettuce leaf. Combine hoisin, soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha, and salt in a small bowl,

stirring with a whisk. Serve sauce with lettuce cups.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Movie Mayhem

2011-06-30T20:53:00.016-04:00

When the remake of the Cowboy Flick True Grit was initially released, my husband wanted to see it really badly. At the time we had a newborn baby and trips to the movie theater were not on our daily agenda. So, in order to fulfill his desire he did a bad thing. He tried to download a bootleg version of the film on our home laptop. As it often goes when you do bad things, karma smacks you in the face. Mid download - our laptop crashed. Great! I had nothing to do with this illegal transaction, but now I had to suffer the consequences. Luckily (for him), he is an IT guy so he was able to fix the laptop in a few days and we were back in business. And he learned his lesson and figured he would have to wait to see the movie until he could do it legally.

Well about 3 weeks ago he announced that the new Tuesday release on OnDemand would be True Grit. He was so excited that he would finally see the movie he had patiently after not so patiently waited for for several months. I wanted to do something fun the night he had planned to watch the movie so I decided we would do a campfire breakfast for dinner. It was great fun using the skillet on the grill top and we had a blast cooking up dinner in the backyard pretending we were cowboys.....

Campfire Fried Eggs with Bacon Potato Hash
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living June 2011

Ingredients

1 pound baby Yukon Gold potatoes
8 ounces thick sliced bacon
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
8 large eggs
3 green onions, chopped (green parts only)

Directions

Cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.
Cook bacon in a cast-iron skillet set over a campfire or on a medium-high grill,
turning occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon, let cool slightly; crumble. Discard all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease. Leave the remaining grease in the skillet
Add potatoes to skillet, lightly smash each using the back of a spoon, and cook until just starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Stir green onions into hash.
Stir crumbled bacon into skillet.

Push hash to one side of skillet.
Working in batches, and adding oil as needed, crack 4 eggs into skillet,

season with salt and pepper, and cook until desired. Serve eggs with hash.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Farmer's Market Finds

2011-06-13T16:33:00.016-04:00

Forrest and I have been wanting to go to the Crescent City Farmer's Market for a long time now. But since we had Rex, it takes us a lot longer to execute on things like that than it ever did before. We finally made it there after several months of talking about it and we were so happy we did. It was much smaller than expected (maybe we were spoiled from our days in DC), but it was still very nice and we enjoyed the diverse stands they had set up.

One of my scores of the day were these huge beautiful zucchini and I knew exactly what I would make with them. I couldn't wait to put this recipe together and it was a great one to use locally grown produce in. The flavor of this dish was delicious and it could just as easily be served as a side dish at a casual weeknight meal or at a fancy holiday dinner.

Stuffed Zucchini with Cheesy Breadcrumbs
Adapted from Cooking Light June 2011

Ingredients

3 (1.3-ounce) slices day-old whole-wheat bread
1/4 cup dried Italian bread crumbs
3 medium zucchini
3/8 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chicken stock
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Place bread in a food processor; pulse until fine crumbs form. Set aside.
3. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell.

Chop pulp. Place zucchini halves, cut sides up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

4. Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini pulp and onion; sauté 5 minutes.

Add remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, artichoke hearts, thyme, and garlic; cook 45 seconds.

Add chicken stock; cook 1 minute or until most of liquid evaporates. Combine both breadcrumbs and onion mixture in a large bowl; stir in cheese

and remaining ingredients.

Spoon 1/2 cup breadcrumb mixture into each zucchini shell.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until just tender.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Great Grub Grilling

2011-06-07T20:54:00.010-04:00

Back when we still lived in DC I wrote about condo living and its restrictions on owning a grill. There were so many recipes that I didn't attempt because they required an outdoor grill or had to modify to make them work on our indoor grill. Well now that we are homeowners with a real backyard and a legit grill, we can't get enough of outdoor cooking.

I was so excited to see Giada DeLaurentiis' recent episode "A Girl's Grill", that included some fun and unexpected recipes for the grill. I was immediately attracted to this particular recipe because of its delicious ingredient list. I couldn't' wait to make them, and for good reason. They were amazing! They were sweet and crunchy from the corn, smokey and gooey from the cheese and from the grilling and the perfect side dish to accompany any grilled meat. We loved them. And thanks to my generous in-laws for passing down your grill, we are really enjoying it!

Grilled Corn and Cheese Cakes
Adapted from Giada DiLaurentiis

Ingredients

2 cups fresh cooked corn, taken off the cob
3/4 cup shredded smoked mozzarella (3 ounces), rind discarded
1 cup plain breadcrumbs, divided
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sour cream, for serving

Directions

In a food processor, pulse the corn into a chunky puree. Place in a medium bowl. Add the cheese to the corn and mix.

Add a 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, chives, sour cream, salt, and pepper.

Stir until combined.

Form the mixture into 9 balls and then flatten into patties, each about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 3/4-inch thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Coat the patties in the remaining 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and drizzle with olive oil. Place a grill pan over medium heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Brush the patties with olive oil

and grill until toasted, 4 minutes on each side.

Arrange the corn cakes on a platter and top with a dollop of sour cream and small chive pieces.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Bank Breaking Bacon

2011-05-25T21:03:00.015-04:00

Very often, ingredients inspire my recipe searches. If I have left over herbs or a surplus of a certain meat due to a sale at the supermarket I will search those ingredients in my favorite recipe databases until I come up with the perfect find. This recipe was a result of one of those searches. Because after the Great Bacon Debacle of 2011 I had some bacon to use up. And that is putting it lightly.

The Great Bacon Debacle of 2011 started when Forrest so kindly agreed to accompany me to the grocery. I usually go it alone, especially since Rex was born as it is just quicker to get in and out when I am by myself. But on this particular occasion I had left the weekly shopping to a Saturday morning and Forrest and the baby came along. Our local grocery often has Buy 1 Get 1 Free deals and I try to take advantage of them whenever they involve products I know we will use a lot of in our cooking. On this day, as we passed the pork section we noticed that bacon was part of the BOGO deal so I picked up two regular sized packages of the cured pork and threw them in our basket. Forrest pointed out that the huge 5 pound "bricks" of bacon were also BOGO and that we should get those as we "always NEED bacon". I told him that 10lbs of bacon was an awful lot, but he promised to break them up into usable sized packages and refreeze them in Ziploc bags as soon as we got home. So I reluctantly agreed and we moved on to the next aisle.

"So why did that turn into a debacle", you ask? Things really went south as we arrived at the self checkout counter. I hurried along scanning my items and double checking to see that all prices and promotions were honored on our screen. As I rang up the first Bacon Brick I was astounded to see that is cost $16.99! Even at buy one get one free that is a whole lot more than I ever want to spend on bacon. So I rolled my eyes at Forrest and scanned the next brick. As usual, the price showed up on the screen (still $16.99 even though I was hoping it wasn't) and then I waited for the corresponding (-16.99) to appear in red indicating the second one was for free. Nothing..... They weren't buy one get one free, Forrest misread the sign! So now not only had I just rang up 10lbs of bacon, I just spent 34 dollars on bacon!

Looking for someone to blame, I immediately told Forrest that was ridiculous and he was a careless shopper. He volunteered to tell the attendant we didn't want it to have it voided off of our bill. This is where a normal, not hot headed human being would have obliged and the bacon fiasco would have come to an end right there and then at Self Check Out Register #4. But I am much too stubborn, easily embarrassed and wouldn't allow him to get it off the bill. So I stayed bitter the whole way home and then complained for about 2 days about the copious amounts of bacon in our freezer. Even though Forrest had broken them into manageable portion as promised, I still claimed we would "never" use it all. As if!

The bacon was gone in the span of the next month and every time I made a recipe with bacon that was a success like this one, I had to apologize to Forrest for my ridiculous generalized statements on that day.

Asiago, Potato and Bacon Gratin
Adapted from Cooking Light April 2004

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 teaspoon salt, divided
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons minced yellow onion
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Asiago cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender. Drain. Sprinkle potatoes evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside and keep warm.

Heat a medium saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add onion; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.

Add the flour to the milk in a measuring cup and whisk to incorporate. Gradually add remaining milk mixture, stirring with a whisk.

Cook over medium heat 9 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt, Asiago, chives, pepper, and bacon.

Arrange half of potato slices in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour half of cheese sauce over potato slices.

Top with remaining potato slices and cheese sauce; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Sloppy Seconds

2011-05-18T21:05:00.014-04:00

I have never in my life (prior to Sunday night) eaten a Sloppy Joe. My mom didn't make them growing up and let's face it, they aren't the type of cuisine that often pops up on restaurant menus. I have never had the desire to whip them up in my own kitchen, because quite honestly they have never come to mind. As I flipped through this month's issue of Cooking Light I was intrigued by this version since it contained equal parts meat and mushrooms. I am a big time mushroom girl so I figured there was no time like the present. Not to mention, my husband was uber jazzed when I asked him if he would like Sloppy Joe's for dinner one night this week. Men are so easy to please in the cooking department!

Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Cooking Light June 2011

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground sirloin
2 (8-ounce) packages presliced cremini mushrooms
1 cup prechopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup no-salt-added tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
4 (2-ounce) Kaiser rolls or hamburger buns, toasted

Preparation

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add beef; cook for 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Salt and pepper the beef during browning.

2. While beef cooks, place mushrooms in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until finely chopped.

Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic to pan;

cook for 3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add tomato paste and next 5 ingredients (through salt)

to pan; cook 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and liquid evaporates.

Stir in pepper and hot sauce. Spoon about 1 cup beef mixture on bottom half of each bun; top with top halves of buns.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

How forzo I've Come

2011-05-11T21:03:00.001-04:00

I live one block away from my old high school. I also live within walking distance to many amenities so I frequently walk past my old school on the way to the grocery, gym and pharmacy. It is a large school that occupies an entire city block, so I am usually in front of the old buildings for quite some time on these walks. Every now and then I can't help but feel a little nostalgic. I gaze at the brick structures and think what my life used to be like when I spent so much time within their walls.

As I walked back from the gym this morning my mind turned to these types of thoughts and I was reminded of how I felt about the world at the tender age of 16. I thought I had it all figured out and that there was nothing left to learn. I was arrogant and presumably all-knowing. I am sure I felt like that for several more years, but it is now at almost 30 that I completely understand how little I knew back then and what lessons I learned the hard way because of my ignorance. It is a really heavy thought and not necessarily the most light hearted reflection to have before I even started my work day.

In order to try and lighten my mood I turned my wandering thoughts to food - one of my favorite topics. And I started to reflect on how much I have learned about food, cooking and ingredients in the last 15 years as well. When I was a young student in my checkered skirt and monogrammed Peter Pan collar I was so clueless about so much of the culinary world. Sure, I loved food - but my exposure to it was minimal and I had not yet even began to tap the experiences and resources of all things foodie. I was a picky eater from a very non-adventurous food family. As I have mentioned before, my Mom was a fabulous cook but she wasn't experimental and my Dad is a creature of habit. So I liked what I knew and that wasn't that broad.

One ingredient in particular that I don't even think I knew about until college was orzo. I know my Mom didn't use it, but I also can't remember anyone else using it in their cooking or seeing it at restaraunts. I am not sure if it wasn't readily available or because I wasn't familiar with it did it just get overlooked. To me, it seems like orzo is the perfect ingredient for children as the tiny shaped pasta is very versatile and uber delicious.

I finally wrapped up my philosophical merry-go-round of thoughts with the conclusion that I have learned an astronomical amount about food and cooking in the last few years and I can't wait to tackle more!

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi
Adapted from Cooking Light March 2009

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked orzo
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
7 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Preparation

1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Place orzo in a medium bowl. Stir in parsley and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and keep warm.
2. While orzo cooks, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add half of shrimp to pan;

sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan. Add remaining shrimp to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until almost done. Transfer to plate.

3. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in pan. Add garlic to pan;

cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in juice,

shrimp and pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

How to Make Homemade Baby Food - Pears

2011-04-26T21:48:00.010-04:00

As I mentioned in this post here, I knew for sure that I would make Rex's baby food when the time came to introduce solids into his diet. The main reason driving this desire was my passion for cooking and feeding that homemade food to the ones I love. But of course, there were other benefits that would go along with making his meals. I would know what he is getting in each meal and could be sure there are no preservatives or additives in each serving. I also wouldn't have to store tons of those mini glass jars in our pantry or worry about stocking up at the grocery. And of course it would be cheaper. I think that last benefit is one that could have been easily thrown out the window if I chose to do it the wrong way though. If I were to give into the urge to purchase all of the fancy baby food making accessories that are on the market today, telling myself it was cheaper would be a lie. Don't get me wrong - these homemade baby food products for assisting in this endeavor are super cool. There are appliances, cook books and snazzy ice cube storage trays. All of which I am sure would be helpful, but I was determined to make it work with what I had. After all, I have a fully equipped kitchen for making adult food and I figured I would be able to pull it off sans any unnecessary purchases. Pear puree (Rex's all time favorite so far) is the perfect recipe to showcase how I used what I already had in my kitchen to make baby food without the aid of any baby food specific kitchen items.

Homemade Baby Food - Pears

Ingredients

4 Ripened Pears

Directions

1.) Peel Pears using a vegetable peeler. Cut pear into cubes; discarding stem and core.

2.) Place a colander over a small sauce pan filled with 2 inches of water making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the colander. Place over medium heat. When the water begins to boil, place the cubed pear into the colander

3.) Cover with the top of a pot cover that will fit inside the colendar. Steam for 10 minutes.

4.) Remove steamed pears and puree using an immersion blender, a food processer or liquid drink blender.
5.) Store in small containers and cover immediately to avoid browning. Let cool and refrigerate or freeze.

Bread Buddy

2011-04-18T21:02:00.009-04:00

This is a recipe I made to accompany my fabulously delicious Boeuf Bourguignon Soup. I was really impressed with the ease and uniqueness of this recipe. I have had thousands of bread variations with soup before, but have never seen it done like this. The horseradish was perfect with the beefy flavor of the soup, but I see no reason why you couldn't substitute other things in place of the horseradish to complement different dishes. I have visions of fresh herbs, citrus, cheeses and sun-dried tomatoes. I think the possibilities are endless with this super simple way to jazz up a loaf of bread!

Horseradish Chive Bread
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living December 2010

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Coarse sea salt
1 large French bread loaf

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mash butter with horseradish and chopped chives

using a spatula until smooth. Season with sea salt.

Slice bread on an angle, without cutting all the way through.

Generously spread butter mixture evenly onto each piece,

and wrap loaf in foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Cooky Cookie

2011-04-05T20:52:00.014-04:00

I love when I find a recipe that takes a dish and uses it in an unexpected way. Anything that is typically sweet and given a savory twist is always fun. I love serving dishes that are new, different and warrant a response of, "I've never seen it done like this before!" This recipe is just that kind. A typical Italian cookie, most often served with coffee remixed with savory ingredients and served along side a bowl of chili. Now that is unexpected!

Savory Two Cheese Biscotti
Adapted from Cooking Light March 2005

Yield: 2 dozen (serving size: 1 biscotto)

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 cup fat-free milk
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 large eggs
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through pepper) in a large bowl.

Combine milk, oil, and eggs; stir with a whisk.

Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until well blended (dough will be dry and crumbly).

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 8 times. Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into an 8-inch-long log. Place logs, 6 inches apart, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment; flatten to 1-inch thickness.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Remove from baking sheet; cool 10 minutes on wire rack.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

Cut each roll diagonally into 12 (2/3-inch) slices using a serrated knife.

Place slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes. Turn biscotti over; bake an additional 10 minutes (biscotti will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.

Serve with Chili or other savory meat dish.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

A+ Avocados

2011-03-28T21:29:00.013-04:00

One of the food items I was most surprised to read as a suggestion for baby's first food was avocado. I haven't seen jarred avocado in the baby food aisle and have never seen another baby eat one so it was quite a surprise. But according to all the information I read, it is a great first introduction food because it is easy on the baby's stomach and doesn't tend to cause any type of adverse reactions. I was also really excited to put it in Rex's rotation because both Forrest and I are avocado junkies (we even visited an avocado farm during a vacation to Central California and posed with the trees for pictures as if they were celebrities) and I thought it would be cool for him to indulge when we do.

Well unfortunately Rex hated the fatty fruit. He acted as if we were putting chunks of poison in his mouth and he gagged and coughed violently until we got the message and stopped shoveling the green goopey spoonfuls into his mouth. We were disappointed to say the least. How could he not take to our beloved avocado? We still aren't sure, but we do know he wasn't as excited to be eating it as we were to be serving it to him. We will try again though since we aren't willing to accept the fact just yet that he doesn't share our avocado affinity.

It wasn't all dissapointment though in the avocado department that evening, because there was one positive outcome. Although Rex didn't like his portion, we certianly did. Below is the recipe we made with our avocados that night and it was sinfully indulgent! The dressing doesn't seem like much while you are making it especially since it is made up of mostly water, but it is perfection. And paired with the mono-seeded fruit, it is divine!

Avocados with Warm Bacon Parsley Vinaigrette
Adapted from Sunset April 2009

Ingredients

1/3 pound thin-sliced bacon
2 firm-ripe avocados, each pitted, peeled, and cut into 4 to 6 wedges
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a large frying pan over medium-low heat until crisp.

Drain on paper towels; let cool. Remove pan from heat and discard all but 2 tbsp. bacon fat. Divide avocado wedges among 4 plates.

2. Heat reserved bacon fat over medium heat. Add garlic, 1/4 cup water, the lemon juice, and sugar and simmer 1 minute, stirring.

Season with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley

and crumble in bacon.

Stir to incorporate.

Immediately pour over avocado wedges and serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

To Take-Out or Not To Take-Out?

2011-03-24T21:51:00.012-04:00

We eat out or order take-out pretty frequently lately. But one thing we never order is Chinese food. It is just too easy to make at home and it always tastes fresher, lighter and less greasy than if we had it delivered. If you are craving Chinese take-out, there is no reason to ever order another dish known by its corresponding number. This was a super simple solution to chop stick cuisine.

Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry

Adapted from Cooking Light January 2008

Ingredients

1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups small broccoli florets
1 cup vertically sliced sweet onion

Preparation

Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Sprinkle shrimp with salt. Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry 30 seconds.

Add shrimp to pan, and stir-fry 3 minutes or until done.

Remove shrimp mixture from the pan.

Add remaining 1 teaspoon canola oil to pan. Add broccoli and onion to pan; stir-fry 6 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender.

Add shrimp mixture and broth mixture to pan;

cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Serve over brown rice or soba noodles.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

How to Make Homemade Baby Food

2011-03-22T20:42:00.019-04:00

I love to cook and I especially love to cook for the people I love. I take pride in spending time picking out the perfect recipes, shopping for quality ingredients, carefully preparing each dish and deciding on the perfect presentation. It is so rewarding after all of the aforementioned effort to see the faces of my loved ones as they taste my meals and to hear their praise and appreciation. There is nothing better.

With all that being said, I couldn't wait to cook for my baby. I know I have years of making meals for him, packing his lunch and deciding on snacks so I tried not to rush the process. After all - I was "making" his food for the last five months anyway, just not in the kitchen ;-) But when the time came to start Rex on solids I knew there was no way I would be popping a metal top to that glass jarred baby mush anytime soon.

I researched safe first foods for babies and I set off to prepare my baby's first "meal". I couldn't have been more excited to see his reaction. And as it normally goes with babies, it was priceless. Unsure at first, in love by bite #5. It was a success and I was one proud mommy chef!

Homemade Baby Food (Sweet Potatoes)

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash sweet potato thoroughly under running water using a clean kitchen towel.

2. Poke holes in the sweet potato using a fork.

3. Wrap sweet potato in aluminum foil and place in a square baking dish.

4. Bake for 60 minutes for a large sweet potato and 40 minutes for a small sweet potato.

5. Remove from the oven and let cool.

6. Peel the skin from the sweet potato and cut out any brown spots.

7. Add about an ounce of formula or breast milk to the sweet potato meat.

8. Puree using an immersion blender, drink blender or food processor.

9. Serve to your precious baby.

Tweet me in the Middle

2011-03-16T20:21:00.006-04:00

It's true, in the past year I haven't blogged as often as I used to. I used to crank out 3-4 posts/recipes a week. Then I got pregnant and was too tired to cook/blog that often, then I moved in with my mother-in-law and I didn't have to cook (Thanks Mrs. Pat), then we got our own house and I thought things would crank up again, then we had a baby and I was too busy to cook/blog that often. Each one of my posts take a considerable amount of time between photo editing, recipe adaptation, printable document creation and the actual composition of the accompanying story/explanation that starts each post. It just isn't feasible in my current lifestyle to make that happen more than once or twice a week at best.

But just because I can't blog as often as I used to, it doesn't mean that I am any less devoted to this blog, food or eating. All three are still a big part of my life and I hope one day I can resume my posting frequency as soon as my life calms down a bit. But in the meantime I have decided to create a Twitter account to keep you up to date on all things "food" in my life. Just because I am not blogging four times a week doesn't mean I am not still cooking, eating and thinking about food.

One benefit of this blog is that I had roughly 2 years of recipes under my belt before I moved home to be with my family and before we had a baby. That experience in the kitchen afforded me the luxury of many recipe options. I always have a past blog recipe in mind when I need to bring something to a get together or when I am looking for a go to dinner. Blogging four times a week like I did in the past pretty much meant No Repeats. Even if something was delicious, there just wasn't time in the week to make something we already tried if I had to create four new recipes/blog post in only seven days. So now that I am not blogging as often, we have been able to go back and visit some of the fabulous dishes I made before.

These are the types of things I will let you know about via my Tweets. I plan to keep you abreast to old recipe redos, favorite restaurants, ingredient searches and sometimes just plain old boring day to day food musings.

So, click this link if you want to follow me @ElizEdibExp. If getting your own Twitter account isn't your thing but you are still interested in what I am up to, you can view my last few Tweets on the side bar of my blog home page. But it will be beneficial to follow me, because in about a month I am going to have a fun giveaway for all of my followers.

Restful Rice

2011-03-14T21:19:00.020-04:00

I love this recipe for more reasons than its flavor. I loved this recipe before I even tasted it because of its method of preparation for the rice. Although I cook often and have tried my hand at several cooking techniques and believe I have triumphed over many of them, one thing I have not excelled in is rice preparation. I am never satisfied with the way my stove top rice turns out. It is either too crunchy or too mushy or too wet. That is why when I found this recipe I was fired up to give it a try. I didn't have to boil rice on the stove to enjoy the groovy grain. This rice was perfectly cooked. It was a perfect texture coupled with the fabulous flavor of the dish. This recipe is a definite winner!

Chicken and Rice
Adapted from Cooking Light October 2010

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups chopped onion
1 carrot, thinly sliced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup long-grain white rice
Cooking spray
1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup water
4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Pecorino Romano cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add 4 chicken thighs to pan;

sauté 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan. Repeat with remaining chicken. Place chicken on a plate on the side.

3. Add onion and carrot to pan; sauté 4 minutes.

Add mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes.

Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add rice; sauté 1 minute.

Spoon rice mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray;

stir in broth, 1/4 cup water,

and cream.

Arrange chicken over rice mixture;

sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until chicken is done.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Happy Mardi Gras 2011

2011-03-08T01:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Mardi Gras! This is the latest sweet treat I made for Rex's daycare teachers as a special thank you for taking care of my precious little boy. I knew that this particular holiday treat needed to make a statement and be very unique. What else would you expect from a little baby named Rex?

These were a cinch to make and really didn't require a recipe at all, mostly just assembly. These king cakes were worlds away from the king cake I made back in the day while residing in DC. They were no where near an all day affair.

In order to make these mini masterpieces, simply buy a can of jumbo cinnamon rolls, unroll each roll, cut in half, twist the two halves together, form into a circle and bake for 10 minutes. Ice the cakes while still hot. using the cinnamon icing. Sprinkle with purple, green and gold sprinkles. Let cool and package.

Newb Nib

2011-03-02T20:51:00.015-05:00

Before we move on to the next holiday treat Rex (and his Mommy) have whipped up, I need to finish telling you about his Valentine's Day confections. The other cookie we made to place in the precious packages were Cocoa Nib Shortbreads.

The cocoa nib was an ingredient that I previously had zero experience with and to be honest had never even heard of prior to finding this recipe. When I came across the recipe and the mystery ingredient, I was instantly intrigued and had to give them a go. After some research, I found that cocoa nibs are the dry-roasted pieces of the cocoa bean that are a result of chocolate processing. Essentially, they are perfectly roasted cocoa beans separated from their husks and broken into small bits. They are the essence of chocolate. Nibs add crunchiness and subtle chocolate flavor to baked goods and savory dishes. They make a great substitute for roasted nuts or chocolate chips, without added sweetness.

Finding out what cocoa nibs were was a lot easier than actually finding cocoa nibs for purchase. I was able to find a bunch of online sellers, but came up fruitless in my search amongst the local supermarkets. Cocoa nibs are often deemed "health food" because of their high concentration of antioxidants and that fact actually led me to the right place to find this unique ingredient - Whole Foods. They weren't cheap, but alas I had everything I needed to make these bad boys.

Cocoa Nib Shortbread
Adapted from Martha Stewart Cookie iPad App

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cocoa nibs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in upper third portion of the oven. Whisk to combine flour and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Gradually add confectioners' sugar;

beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture all at once, then add cocoa nibs; mix just until combined.

3. Divide dough in half, and shape into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and chill 1 hour.

Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds; (pardon the camouflage effect the cookies have on my counter tops, that granite should be called cocoa nib counter!)

space 1 inch apart on parchment or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheets. Chill 30 minutes.

4. Bake until golden, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool completely. Drizzle with melted semisweet chocolate using a fork, if desired.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Specialized Sandwich Style

2011-02-21T19:37:00.013-05:00

When it comes to sandwiches I have always been a Ham and Cheese type of girl. Now that I am a more adventurous eater I will often try other varieties, but growing up Ham and Cheese was always my first choice and because of that it still remains a personal favorite. Therefore, I think it is only natural that I feature a few different versions of the classic sandwich here on my blog. Or maybe I am just trying to span all of the ham and cheese cultures that I can come up with. A while back I presented you with this Italian version and now I give you H&C with a French spin.

Creole Croque Monsieur
Adapted from Cooking Light January 2010

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Creole mustard
1 tablespoon fat-free mayonnaise
8 (1-ounce) slices Italian bread
6 ounces thinly sliced ham
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup egg substitute or 2 eggs
1/4 cup fat-free milk
Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Combine mustard and mayonnaise in a small bowl.

Spread 3/4 teaspoon mustard mixture over each of 4 bread slices; layer each slice with 1 1/2 ounces ham and 1/4 cup cheese. Sprinkle evenly with pepper.

Spread 3/4 teaspoon mayonnaise mixture over each remaining bread slice; place, mustard side down, on top of sandwiches.

2. Combine egg substitute or egg and fat-free milk in a shallow dish. Dip both sides of each sandwich into the egg mixture.

3. Heat a large nonstick griddle or large skillet over medium heat.

Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sandwiches to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and cheese melts.

Serve.
Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Priceless Patron

2011-02-15T12:40:00.023-05:00

Shortly after Forrest and I moved back home to New Orleans, my youngest brother Kent also moved back after an 8 year stint in Alabama. His move home completed the circle and now my entire immediate family resides back in or around New Orleans, a fact that elated both of my parents beyond belief. Since my baby bro settled back in I have made it a habit of cooking dinner for him fairly frequently. There are a multitude of reasons for hosting him for dinner, some of which include:

1. He is a very adventurous eater and will try anything I make.
2. He is young and single and sometimes has free evenings to spend with us.
3. He is just starting out in a new job, with a new apartment and a new car and my feeding him helps him save money.
4. He and Forrest are really good buddies, despite the fact that they have hardly anything in common, and having him over gives Forrest the opportunity to ask him to do things like throw the football, shoot the bb gun, and insulate the pipes - all to which Kent constantly declines, but Forrest never stops asking.
5. He loves food as much as I do and is always enthusiastic and appreciative of my meals.
6. I want him to feel included and happy in his hometown and hope everyday that he feels he made the right choice to return.
7. He is the baby of the family, and isn't that what you do to the baby? Spoil them!
8. He lives really close to our house, so even if it isn't planned any more than a couple minutes in advance it is still a possibility for him to hop on over.
9. He says annoying baby brother things while I am cooking like, "isn't that just a fancy way of doing it", or "there must be an easier way", and "where did you learn that?" or my all time favorite, "Mom doesn't do it like that, does she?"
10. He is one of the more quiet members of my family and it gives me the opportunity to visit with him sans some of the louder participants and hear what he has to say for a change.

But the number one reason there will always be a place at my dinner table for my now grown up baby brother is......Sometimes when I am in the kitchen chopping, measuring, and sauteing all while taking pictures for this crazy blog, I look up and see this:

Thank God for open floor plans! My baby brother and my baby, Priceless!

The recipe below is one of Kent's favorite things I have cooked for him over the last few months. He talks about it all the time. And trust me, it is well deserved. Although this is an all day recipe (one I made while still on maternity leave and had the whole day to man the stove), it is worth the effort. This is so rich and succulent that it is impossible to forget!

Boeuf Bourguignon Soup
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living December 2010

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 bone-in short ribs (2 inches thick, 2 pounds total)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
3 carrots, 2 finely chopped and 1 cut into 3/4-inch cubes
3 shallots, minced
3 strips bacon, thinly sliced crosswise
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 thyme sprigs
1 dried bay leaf
1 cup dry red wine, such as Burgundy
8 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium beef stock
2 cups water
No Yolk Egg Noodles, for serving

Directions

Season ribs with 1/2 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Trim white fat. Coat with cornstarch. Heat oil in a large heavy pot (preferably enameled cast iron) over medium-high heat. Lightly brown ribs on all sides, about 6 minutes.

Transfer to a plate.

Add mushrooms to pot.

Cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; add cubed carrot.

Add shallots, bacon, and chopped carrots to pot.

Cook until caramelized, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomato paste.

Return ribs with plate juices to pot. Add thyme and bay leaf. Raise heat to high. Add wine.

Cook, scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon, until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Add stock and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until beef is tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Remove ribs. Separate meat from bones; discard bones and any pieces of fat left on the beef. Cut meat into bite-size pieces; return to pot. Add reserved mushroom-carrot mixture.

Bring to a simmer; cook until cubed carrots are tender. Skim any remaining fat off the top of the soup. Season with salt. Ladle soup over bowls of egg noodles and serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Valentine Treats

2011-02-14T14:12:00.010-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone. Below is one of the homemade cookies I made for all of the sweeties in Rex's life. Even at 4 months old he has a ton of people he wanted to share his love for on this special day. We hope everyone has a wonderful day and celebrates it with the ones they are sweet on ;-)

Classic Lemon Shortbread
Adapted from Martha Stewart Cookie iPad App Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with rack in upper third of oven. Whisk to combine flour and salt in a bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down side of bowl as necessary. gradually add confectioners' sugar,

beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add lemon zest and juice.

Add flour mixture all at once; mix on low just until combined.

3. Divide dough in half, and shape into disks. Wrap each in plastic, and chill 2 hours. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Using a fluted cookie cutter, cut out dough and space 1 inch apart on parchment-lined or silicone-lined baking sheets. Chill 30 minutes.

4. Bake until golden, 22 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack, let cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar using a fine sieve.

Package and Serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Tantalizing Tomato Treat

2011-02-08T17:19:00.002-05:00

This is an amazingly easy, refreshingly quick, and completely satisfying meal. I didn't know what to think of this dish when I started to prepare it, but it was fun to pull together and the results were superb. I was so happy with the short cooking time and the different twist of this meal that I know I will soon be making this again for us to enjoy!

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes
Adapted from Cooking Light January 2011

Ingredients

1 (3-ounce) piece French bread baguette
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
2 medium roma tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Place bread in a food processor; pulse until fine crumbs measure 1 1/2 cups. Combine breadcrumbs, parsley, and garlic.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumb mixture; cook 3 minutes or until golden brown and garlic is fragrant, stirring frequently.

3. Coat 6 individual gratin dishes with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Arrange shrimp in a single layer in dishes; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

Sprinkle with 3/4 cup breadcrumb mixture; top with tomato slices.

Sprinkle with remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Top with remaining 3/4 cup breadcrumb mixture; dot with remaining 3 tablespoon butter.

Bake at 450° for 12 minutes or until the shrimp are done. Drizzle with vinegar.

And Serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Teensy Toast

2011-01-31T17:15:00.000-05:00

Weekend breakfast is something I really look forward to these days. We are up so early with Rex that there is always time to add another home cooked meal to the day when our work schedules aren't an obstacle. Most Saturday mornings we are blessed with a visit from my sister and 2/3 of her kids. After she drops her daughter off at dancing school they usually stop by while waiting for her class to finish. We made these one Saturday anticipating our usual Saturday Morning guests, but life got in the way and things didn't turn out as planned. My sister's daughter got sick at dancing and they had to turn around and get her before they made it to our house. Bummer too, because these tiny toasts were delish! I will definitely have to make them again for my nephews. Forrest won't complain either ;-)

French Toast Bites
Adapted from Sunset September 2004

Yield: MAKES: About 6 servings

Ingredients

1 loaf (about 1 lb.) sturdy artisan-style bread
6 eggs
1 cup low-fat milk (1% or 2%)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Cut bread into 1-inch-thick slices. Trim crusts; cut bread into 1-inch cubes. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Add 2 cups bread cubes and mix to saturate.

2. Lightly butter a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan. Place pan over medium-high heat. Lift bread cubes from mixture, shaking off excess liquid.

Add cubes to hot pan and cook (adjust heat if necessary),

turning as needed making sure to brown all six sides of each cube, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Keep warm.

3. Repeat to soak and cook remaining cubes. Discard any remaining egg mixture.

4. Sprinkle the French Toast Bites with powdered sugar and serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Memorable Meetings

2011-01-18T18:07:00.000-05:00

Although my experiences rubbing elbows with celebrities are existent, they aren't necessarily anything to write home about. Let's see, there was that time I met all five members of N'Sync (which we all know they didn't amount to much - except JT who wasn't exactly JT at the time, so I didn't know the significance when it was happening), another time I waited on Weezy while working at a New Orleans restaurant, the time I flew on the same plane as Richard Simmons from LAX to New Orleans and two shared bar experiences with Eli Manning and Britney Spears on separate occasions. Considering the majority of the famed folks mentioned above are homegrown talent, I am sure I am not the only New Orleanian to have had chance encounters with them; therefore making the experience a little less noteworthy.

But Forrest's Grandma Gottung has a celebrity encounter that in my opinion rivals the best of them. After WWII she was traveling around Europe teaching. During a dining experience in Rome she met the one and only Alfredo di Lelio, the inventor of the infamous dish - Fettuccine Alfredo. Now THAT in my opinion is pretty epic, but then again anything to do with food in my opinion takes the cake (pardon the pun)! She often tells the story and I have had the pleasure of hearing it a few times while dining with her in Italian restaurants. In order to pay homage and as (what I think is) a precious nod to her brush with Foodie Fame, she always orders the dish whatever her mood.

Now I know for certian that this rendition of his dish would have ole' Alfredo rolling over in his grave, but I am an avid Cooking Light recipe doer so I had to give it a try.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Bacon
Adapted from Cooking Light January 2010

Total: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients

1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated fresh fettuccine
2 slices applewood-smoked bacon, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
2/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

2. While pasta cooks, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally.

Remove bacon from pan using a slotted spoon, reserving drippings. Add garlic to drippings in pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Be very careful not to burn the garlic. Sprinkle flour over garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; cook 2 minutes or until bubbly and slightly thick, stirring constantly. Be sure to whisk out all lumps from the flour.

Reduce heat to low. Gradually add cheese,

stirring until cheese melts. Stir in salt and reserved 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

Add hot pasta to pan; toss well to combine. Sprinkle with bacon, parsley, and pepper. Combine and Serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Savory Straws

2011-01-12T18:16:00.000-05:00

I added these little pretties to my menu for Rex's Baptism at the last minute. I was looking for something that would add some height to the table and serving these in a highball glass was the perfect solution. They popped off the table in the ideal way as if they were screaming, "Please take me, I am delicious"!

Cheese Straws
Courtesy Martha Stewart

Ingredients

All-purpose flour, for dusting
14 ounces frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
Coarse salt ( I used Fleur De Sel)

Directions

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pastry dough (use an all butter pastry for best results - I used Dufour a brand I found at Whole Foods)

to a 12-inch square. Use a pastry brush to dust off excess flour; brush some beaten egg over dough until well moistened. (Work the following steps quickly or the dough will become too warm and very hard to work with).

Sprinkle bottom half of dough with half the cheese and a pinch of salt.

Fold top half of dough over cheese-covered section, and press gently all over dough to seal. Roll out dough again to a 7 1/2-by-12 1/2-inch rectangle. Brush top of dough with more beaten egg. Sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese, and season with salt; press gently on topping to adhere it.

Using a pastry wheel or sharp knife, trim edges to form a neat 7-by-12-inch rectangle.

Cut dough into 1/4-by-12-inch strips. Twist into spirals, and place about 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets. To prevent straws from straightening out, gently press both ends onto sheets.

Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until straws are golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven; loosen straws from sheets with a thin spatula and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Click Here for Printable Recipe

Welcome 2011 !!

2011-01-03T20:26:00.018-05:00

I must say, I am sad to see 2010 go. It was a year filled with so many exciting changes for Forrest and me and I know I will always cherish last year. In summary, we moved back to our hometown (where both of our families live), the best food city in the world:

Forrest got an awesome new job.

We built and moved into our first home and I got my dream kitchen (partial picture of said kitchen below):

And most importantly, we welcomed our most favorite foodie to the family:

As you can imagine, 2010 will be a hard year to top for my little family. But alas, 2010 is gone and 2011 is here to stay. We will focus on being thankful for our many blessings last year and are eager to see what the future holds. I have included a healthy take-out alternative for all of you who are looking to lighten up your fare in 2011. This was much quicker than ordering out and certainly easier on the waistline.

Kung Pao Chicken
Adapted from Cooking Light December 2010

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces all fat removed
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon, peeled minced ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper (about 1 large pepper)
1 cup snow peas, trimmed
2 tablespoons chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

Preparation

1. Heat sesame oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan;

sauté 3 minutes or until softened. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Being careful not to let it burn. Add chicken;

sauté 3 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.

2. Combine 3/4 cup water and the next 5 ingredients (through crushed red pepper) in a liquid measuring cup,

stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves. Add water mixture to pan;

bring to a boil. Add bell pepper and snow peas to pan;

cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and sauce thickens. Sprinkle with nuts.

3. Serve over brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Prime Pumpkin Pick

2010-12-19T21:34:00.001-05:00

My friend Melanie ran a contest on her blog recently. She was looking for some recipe ideas for the upcoming holiday season and decided a great giveaway would be a good idea for encouraging her readers to submit recipes to her inspiration folder. One of the prizes for the random winner was the opportunity for their recipe to be featured on my blog.

I liked the idea because it gave me the chance to cook with Mel in my new kitchen and it was one less recipe I needed to search out and research on my own. Plus, this particular winning recipe was a great way to use up some leftover pumpkin from the last holiday we just had! This recipe was very easy to pull together and everyone loved the results. I split the cake I kept (Mel took the other two for gifts) between my sister and Forrest and they both gave it glaring reviews! Give this one a try, you won't be disappointed. Thanks April!

Yummy Pumpkin Bread
From April T.

We used regular sized loaf pans and made 3 loaves.

Ingredients

3 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 cups white sugar
6 eggs
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves;

stir into the pumpkin mixture

until well blended.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes (we found our cakes were ready at 1 hour and 10 minutes. The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed.

Click Here for the Printable Recipe

Meal Time Mayhem

2010-12-07T18:40:00.014-05:00

I fully intended to be the type of pregnant woman that had tons of previously prepared frozen meals stored in the deep freezer prior to delivery so that once baby was here all we had to do was defrost, heat and eat. I had visions of lasagnas, enchiladas, red beans and marinara sauce all perfectly packaged, lined up in the freezer with pretty labels just waiting to assist me in the early hectic days of new parenthood. I have been known to bring meals to my friends and family when they became new parents and I wanted to be ready with the same conveniences for my husband and me.

What I didn't anticipate was how miserable I would be at the end of my pregnancy. Just the thought of standing in my kitchen long enough to open a few boxes of Pasta Roni even wore me out. It was so hot, I was so swollen and the exhaustion was unimaginable. I did zero cooking towards the end and therefore I did zero preparation for what would happen at meal time after our little of bundle joy joined us in this world.

And as it turned out, the lack of frozen meals turned against us. In the early weeks of Rex's life, dinner time was by far his fussiest period of the day. Even though my energy was up, my feet were back to normal and I had the desire to cook again it wasn't exactly easy. It took everything we had for the two of us to calm the baby enough to even be able to have a 2 minute discussion about what we would have for dinner more or less cook an entire meal. To be honest, most nights we ate take out. But on the rare occasion we could pull off home made dinner, it was meals like this that really helped. Quick dishes do exist and if the mom of a 6 week old colicky baby could pull this one off, anyone can! This was delicious and surprisingly gourmet tasting for starting out frozen!

Bacon Pierogi Bake
Adapted from Cooking Light December 2010

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 pierogies and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) package frozen potato and onion pierogies (such as Mrs. T's)
Cooking spray
3 center-cut bacon slices, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup thinly diagonally sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Arrange the frozen pierogies in an 11 x 7-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Cook bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until crisp; remove from pan. Set aside.

3. Add garlic to drippings in pan, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add 1/3 cup cream cheese to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until cream cheese begins to melt, stirring frequently. Gradually add chicken broth to pan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. (My cream cheese is almost completely melted in the picture below.)

Pour the cream cheese mixture evenly over pierogies.

Top evenly with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Remove from oven, and

sprinkle with bacon, green onions, tomato, and pepper.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Putting on Peanut Pounds

2010-11-29T20:07:00.021-05:00

Sometimes I make things that I wouldn't even dream of tasting. My lack of desire isn't triggered off of the fact that the recipes or bad or that I spend so much time on them that I am over it before it is complete. The reason I won't try some of my dishes is that they are made with ingredients I don't like at all. This doesn't happen often, but when it does I have to rely on the reviews of others to know if the recipe is a success. This dish in particular is one that I didn't care to eat, taste or sample. I am not a huge fan of chocolate and I definitely don't eat peanut butter. I made this as a thank you gift for someone who made a wooden awning for my son's nursery. And since the recipe yields two cakes I kept one back for my family to enjoy. And according to them, it was a delicious cake that they were happy to indulge in.

Chocolate Pound Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze
Adapted from Martha Stewart July 2009

Ingredients

Makes 2 cakes

FOR THE CAKE
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup best-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon coarse salt
4 sticks softened unsalted butter, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
9 large, room-temperature eggs
FOR THE TOPPING
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
5 to 6 tablespoons whole milkHE CAKE spoons w

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans. Combine all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, and salt in a bowl.

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.

Lightly beat eggs, and add to mixer bowl in 4 additions, mixing thoroughly after each and scraping down sides.

Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until just incorporated.

Divide batter between pans.

Tap on counter to distribute; smooth tops.

Bake until a tester inserted into center of each cake comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack. Make peanut butter glaze: Warm peanut butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add milk, and stir until smooth.

Drizzle over cooled cakes.

And Serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Don't forget to enter the NFL Contest for a chance to win some fabulous prizes: http://elizabethsedibleexperiencereviews.blogspot.com/2010/11/nfl-contest.html

Take it to the House

2010-11-14T22:35:00.002-05:00

In football speak, “Taking it to the House” means scoring a long touchdown, but this season, Procter & Gamble, one of NFL’s sponsors, wants to help you take it to the house as part of their Facebook photo contest. Prizes include an at-home visit from a local team legend, a $10,000 community donation in support of NFL PLAY 60 and P&G products.

Check out my Game Day (which includes some awesome football watching recipes!) post at this link:

http://elizabethsedibleexperiencereviews.blogspot.com/2010/11/nfl-contest.html

and follow the instructions to enter on your own!

Garden Grub

2010-11-03T12:13:00.020-04:00

I made these delicious babies a few weeks before I had my baby. I have been meaning to blog them for a while but wanted to wait to get a picture of my new garden to share with this recipe. What does my garden have to do with these quesadillas you ask? Well two things, I made these the night we met with our landscape architect to plan out our landscaping for the front of our house. And the second is that when I found out how pricey landscaping is I instantly wanted to just fill the garden bed up with herbs for recipes like this one and call it a day. As you can see below, we didn't go that route and now that it is all planted and done with I am glad we made the investment - I think it really finishes off the front of our new home and gives it that polished look.

Prosciutto & Black Pepper Quesadillas with Rosemary Oil
Adapted from Bobby Flay

Ingredients

Quesadilla:

12 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 red onion, finely sliced
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
Olive oil
1/4 cup Parmigiana Reggiano cheese
8 slices prosciutto di Parma, thinly sliced

Rosemary Oil:

1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup coarsely chopped chives
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Make the rosemary oil: Combine the oil, rosemary, chives and salt and pepper in a food processor

and process until smooth. Strain through a fine strainer

and store the green goodness in the refrigerator.

Quesadilla: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Saute the red onions in a tsp of olive oil until softened about 8 minutes.

Place 8 tortillas on an ungreased baking sheet or non stick silicone baking pad. Spread half the cheese, onion and black pepper on each and season to taste with salt.

Top with 3 thin slivers of prosciutto and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cover with remaining tortillas and brush the tops with olive oil

and sprinkle with some more of the Parmesan cheese.

Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet or a non-stick silicone baking pad and bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until the tortillas are lightly golden brown and the cheese has melted. Cut into quarters, top each quarter with a slice of prosciutto and drizzle with the rosemary oil.

Click He re for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Comfort Chicken

2010-10-24T21:11:00.017-04:00

This recipe is comfort food at its finest. It reminds me of something my Mom or Grannie would have cooked for us growing up, but they would have served it over angle hair instead. This meal was delicious, satisfying and flavorful. And the leftovers were to die for - I ate them for an entire week and I normally don't do leftovers.

Braised Chicken Thighs and Button Mushrooms
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 chicken thighs
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe in link above
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
16 ounces button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced yellow onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups dark chicken stock
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 pound of bowtie pasta
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Set a 10-inch, straight-sided saute pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Season the chicken thighs with the Essence, salt and pepper. Place the chicken, skin side down in the pan and sear until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the chicken over and sear on the second side for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pan and add the butter and mushrooms.

Saute the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until browned and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour into the pan

and cook, stirring often to make a light brown roux, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stock to the pan and stir.

Add the rosemary to the pan,

bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan, skin side down and cook the chicken for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook until the meat is very tender, about 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the chicken over pasta and garnish with the chopped parsley.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

He's Here !

2010-10-12T12:38:00.003-04:00

Forrest and I had our first born on October 11, 2010. He weighed 9lbs 9 ounces (can you tell his momma liked to indulge in yummy food while "baking" him?) and was 22 1/4 inches long. We are completely smitten and we can't wait to get him home to start cooking up all of our new adventures that are ahead of us as a family of three!

Meet Rex Paul Foti:

Ne Ne Nursery

2010-09-30T16:07:00.026-04:00

I made this Bananas Foster Bread as a thank you for my wonderful Mom for helping get our soon-to-be son's nursery ready. I have expressed this sentiment before on this blog, but it is worth mentioning again - my Mom is a superwoman. She can do anything, will attempt any job and is more than willing to help in any endeavor. I found a picture on the Internet of a baby nursery I wanted to use as my inspiration, but didn't have the slightest idea of where to start or how to accomplish all of the unique touches I had fallen in love with. I showed my mom the picture, asked her if she would help and if she had any ideas of how to start - of course she did.

The first step was achieving the tree mural that would take up most of the 10 foot wall behind the crib. I told her I found a stick and peel wall decal on the Internet, but she said we could do it ourselves. She started with a free hand drawing of the tree in question, transferred it to a transparency, projected it onto the wall and made a life size stencil. Then I cut it out - that was the extent of my contribution. She then spent a few hours of one of her days off painting the tree using the stencil she had made. And that was just the start of it.

Next up was the fact that I didn't want off the shelf curtains or a bed skirt, so she spent another entire Saturday sewing and hanging curtains, figuring out how to make a crib skirt and whipping that out like a professional. I told you she was amazing! On another Saturday I showed up at her house with some new fabric I wanted to add to the room. As she saw me walk up the stairs to her front door she immediately guessed I had another project in mind for her. That particular day she worked her way through sewing throw pillows and recovering an existing lamp shade in said fabric. The shade and one of the pillows can be seen below, and I told you she could take on any project in spite of lack of experience.

Her last and final project occurred this past Saturday when she spent the day helping me hang these giant flash cards behind the changing table. I wanted them there, I purchased them and the ribbon and then I didn't have a shred of confidence that I could get them hung neatly. Of course she had some really genius idea of how we could do it and she whipped it out in no time at all while we baby sat two of her grandsons.

Some of the other personal touches in the nursery that I love so much are the baby outfits we hung on the wall. No my Mom didn't make these, but they were worn by my two oldest nephews when they were infants. Since my nephews are only six years old now these could hardly be considered heirlooms, but being that they were both New Orleans babies born before Katrina it is miracle that we still have anything from their early life. Since the hurricane hit before they were both one, I spent different portions of the rebuilding process living with each one of them at different times and because of it I have a very special relationship with them and can remember watching them grow each day into little boys. I love having something from each of them in my son's nursery. He will be lucky to have such great older cousins as role models throughout his life.

There is one item though that could be considered an heirloom that made it into the nursery. The white toddler rocking chair below belonged to my husband and was given to him by his Aunt when he was a baby. It used to be brown with a heavily used cotton cover on it that needed some attention. Way before we moved in our house and started this nursery, Forrest began to restore the chair and repaint it a color that would match our decor. He spent several of his Saturdays in his parents garage prepping his chair to pass on this his first born. It is very special to have something of his in the nursery and it has proven to be a very popular piece with my younger nieces and nephews when they have come to visit. Therefore, I have no doubt our son will appreciate it as well.
My mom also crosstiched the alphabet blanket hanging over the crib. She was such a big part of this nursery and she made it all possible. I couldn't have gotten even a quarter of it done without her help. Making this extremely easy bread doesn't even scratch the surface of thank you's that I owe her, but it was a sweet start. I told her recently in a thank you note that if I am half the mom to my son as she has been to me he will be one lucky boy! Here is to my extremely creative, willing and selfless Mom!

Nursery Inspired by Holly Mathis Interiors

Bananas Foster Bread
Adapted from Cooking Light October 2010

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
6 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
1/4 cup dark rum, divided
1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 large eggs
6.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cooking spray
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine banana, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 5 tablespoons butter, and 3 tablespoons rum in a nonstick skillet.

Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble.

Remove from heat; cool. Place yogurt, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, and eggs in a large bowl

and mix until combined. Add the cooled banana mixture and beat with a mixer at medium speed.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through cinnamon) in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; place on wire rack.

4. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter, remaining 1 tablespoon rum, and powdered sugar; stir until well blended. Drizzle over the warm bread.

5. Slice and Serve.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Crop Craze

2010-09-23T18:30:00.011-04:00

Depending on where you live, there may be a bountiful amount of fresh corn in the supermarkets at an amazingly low price right now. I love fresh corn and I love finding new creative ways to use up that super cheap super sweet maize. The corn I used for this dish was probably the cheapest I have ever gotten fresh corn. It was free! My sister in law, Allison purchased it for a family cookout and we didn't end up using it during the meal. When it came time for volunteers to take the fresh corn home, I was front and center. I wasn't sure what I would do with it, but I knew I wanted it and I knew it would end up in something delicious. I just couldn't have imagined it would have been this delicious. This is a great quick and easy side dish that could be served along side any weeknight meal or even star in a special holiday meal like Thanksgiving. You must give it a try.

Corn Pudding
Adapted from Southern Living July 2001

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

1/8 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 6 ears)

Preparation

Remove kernels from the cob using a sharp knife or a corn zipper.

Combine first 4 ingredients.

Whisk together eggs, whipping cream, and butter.

Gradually add sugar mixture, whisking until smooth; stir in corn.

Pour mixture into a lightly greased 8 x8-inch square baking dish.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until golden brown and set. Let stand 5 minutes.

*3 cups frozen whole kernel corn or canned shoepeg corn, drained, may be substituted.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Perfect Petite Potato Pancakes

2010-09-05T15:54:00.013-04:00

I have made quite a few appetizers in my day, but this one is definitely on my list of all-time favorites. The flavors are so amazing, they make a beautiful presentation and they are a cinch to throw together. I first made these for a special Mother's Day dinner while living in my Mother-In-Law's home and then again later in the summer for another family dinner. They always satisfy the crowd and I really enjoy making them. Just blogging them has me craving another petite potato pancake!

Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Cream on Potato Pancakes
Adapted from Cooking Light November 2005

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
2 pounds of shredded frozen hashbrowns, thawed
1/2 cup grated fresh onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large egg whites
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
3 tablespoons grated Granny Smith apple
2 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt
4 teaspoons prepared horseradish
4 ounces smoked salmon, broken into 48 pieces
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through egg whites) in a large bowl,

stirring until blended.

Divide mixture into 48 level tablespoon-sized pancakes, squeezing each to remove excess moisture.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 16 pancakes; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

Add 1 teaspoon of oil at a time as needed. Arrange on two baking sheets coated with cooking spray.

Repeat procedure twice with remaining oil and pancakes. Bake at 400° for 5 minutes or until cooked through.

Combine mayonnaise, apple, yogurt, and horseradish in a small bowl; place 1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise mixture on each pancake. Top each with a salmon piece; sprinkle with chives.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Stuffin' for Muffins

2010-08-17T21:15:00.019-04:00

I am feeling particularly "stuffed" myself these days and I felt a strong connection to these sweet treats. These muffins were so easy to pull together and I loved the unexpected surprise in the center. They were a delicious late night treat and just as good the next morning for an unusually naughty breakfast deviation from my plain whole wheat waffles.

Stuffed Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted from Betty Crocker

Filling :

1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon milk

Muffins:
1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Grease bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with shortening or spray, or line with paper baking cups. In small bowl, mix all filling ingredients until smooth; set aside.

2. In large bowl, beat milk, oil and egg with fork or wire whisk.

Stir in remaining muffin ingredients just until flour is moistened.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

3. Place about 1 rounded teaspoon filling on batter in each muffin cup.

Top with remaining batter.

4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan to cooling rack (may need to run knife around side of muffins to loosen). Cool 5 minutes. Serve warm or cool.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Emeril with Ease

2010-08-04T20:05:00.011-04:00

This is one of the easiest Emeril recipes I have ever made. His recipes are normally accompanied by mile long ingredient lists and several detailed steps. Don't get me wrong, it is always worth it - I find his recipes to be reliably delicious every time. But it was refreshing to find one that was such a cinch. Give this a try next time you have crawfish on hand - you won't be disappointed!

Crawfish Smothered Grits
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

1 pound peeled crawfish tails
Salt
Cayenne
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 cups beef stock
3 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking white grits
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

In a mixing bowl, toss the crawfish tails with salt and cayenne. In a 3-quart saucepan, over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Season the onions with salt and cayenne. Saute for 2 minutes, or until the onions are soft.

Add the crawfish and garlic.

Continue to cook for 2 minutes. Add the stock and half and half to the pan. Season generously with salt and cayenne. Bring the liquid to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the grits and stir constantly until they are very tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the cheese and stir to mix and melt it.

Serve warm.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Krowning Kitchen Kreation

2010-07-22T22:16:00.023-04:00

Of course every aspect of building a new home is fresh and exciting. But by far, the most squeal-inducing part for me has been designing and watching my new kitchen come alive. Anyone who cooks as often as I do would naturally feel blessed to be able to create a kitchen with all the details precisely as they desire. When I imagine my husband and me in our new home, I am always in the kitchen in every scenario preparing a meal of some sort. I know that I will spend time in all the other rooms of our house, but I can't help but believe that I have many hours ahead of me in that kitchen.

The kitchen is still bit of a construction zone, but it has reached the point where I can go in and look around and almost hear the sounds of a well orchestrated meal coming to life. I can envision where I will chop, where I will saute and how I will move around in the kitchen from one thing to the next as I bring together my favorite recipes.

I snapped a few pictures of the kitchen as it looks today and will make sure to provide updates as we progress further in the process. Below is the wall of cabinets that will soon contain my shiny new double oven and my professional six burner cooktop - I feel intoxicated just thinking about it!

Next up is our huge (remember we are used to condo living) pantry and the cabinets that will house the dishwasher and the split-level bar that I plan to display my spreads of party food on in the very near future.

Here is the view from the dining room into the kitchen and the breakfast area in the far end of the photo. We already purchased a massive table for the space and I am looking into a seamstress to make cushions for our built-in window seat that I plan on having many a Saturday morning breakfast perched upon.

It is almost too much excitement to contain and I am so excited I have this blog to share the experience through. But it is very important to note that none of this would be possible without my dear old Dad. He owns a construction company and is building this house for us in one of the most loving and time consuming gifts a person can give. I know for him it is a true labor of love. He is a very busy man and our project certainly hasn't helped clear his schedule. I can tell that he has taken so much pride in every detail and I am positive that we will have the best home Forrest and my money can buy. His willingness to take on such an involved project for nothing other than a thank you will not easily be forgotten. Forrest and I are so grateful for the gift he has given us and we will spend a lifetime trying to repay him in any way we can. And if there is anything I do well, it is repayment in the form of food. I plan on making more than my fair share of meals for my father in the beautiful kitchen of my dreams that he made a reality!

This is the perfect recipe to accompany this post since my Daddy eats a slice of Cinnamon Raisin Bread every morning with a glass of juice. It isn't as sweet as this pound cake and no where near as fattening, but the ingredient combination is one that brings him to my mind every time I read it in a recipe.

Cinnamon-Raisin Pound Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living July 2009

Ingredients

Makes 2 cakes

FOR THE CAKE

1 pound (3 1/4 cups) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
4 sticks softened unsalted butter, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
9 large, room-temperature eggs
2 cups raisins
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

FOR THE TOPPING

2 cups confectioners' sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans. Combine 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl.

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.

Lightly beat eggs, and add to mixer bowl in 4 additions, mixing thoroughly after each and scraping down sides.

Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until just incorporated.

Toss raisins in remaining 2 tablespoons flour; fold into finished batter.

Divide batter in half. Fold cinnamon into 1 half.

Scoop batters into 2 prepared pans, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating plain and cinnamon.

Swirl with a knife about 8 times.

Tap on counter to distribute; smooth tops.

Bake until a tester inserted into center of each cake comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.

Make the glaze: Combine 2 cups confectioners' sugar and 4 to 5 tablespoons milk in a bowl.

Drizzle over cooled cakes.

Let the glaze harden and serve.

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