Tag Archives: recipes

cooking

Pretty in Pink Desserts

February 8, 2011 – 2:54 pm

Okay, I know how overly commercialized Valentine’s Day is, but I still love it.  Pink and red and hearts and kisses, sappy romantic comedies, ‘Just Because I Love You’ gifts and cards, an excuse to curl my hair and paint my lips red and glossy … a head in the clouds sort of day.  Oh and did I forget to mention DESSERT?!

Raspberry Meringue Hearts – recipe at Women’s Day

Pink Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes (OMG) – recipe at Bubbly & Sweet

Bubblegum Marshmellows [my daughter would INHALE these] – recipe at Piece of Cake

Lovely Pink Grapefruit & Strawberry Granita – recipe at Back to the Cutting Board

Cranberry & Chocolate Mousse w/ Pomegranate – recipe at eCurry.com

Pink Popcorn Hearts [LOVE THESE!] – recipe from Pillsbury

Peppermint Bark [don't like peppermint? -any crushed hard candy would work!] – recipe at Madly Stylish Events



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cooking

Slow Cooked Chops w/ Apples & Fennel

December 21, 2010 – 4:06 pm

I’ve really been embracing the ease of a crock pot lately.  Just throw everything into the crock in the early afternoon, let it be, and by dinnertime it’s delicious.

The other day I made this delicious pork dish – so tender and full of flavor and I barely had to do anything.  I sliced up some onion, apples [peeled], celery, and fennel and put it into the crock pot with three thick cut boneless chops [seasoned w/ salt & pepper].  Then I poured a little spiced cider into mix.  I saved some of the fennel tops and placed them on top before putting on the lid and letting it do its thing.

I cranked it up to high and left it alone for the next three hours or so.  I checked on it, added a little more cider, and turned it down to low until we were ready to eat.  There are no pictures of the final dish because we gobbled it up before I remembered to take a photo.  That’s when you know it’s good!  I’ll be making this dish again for sure.

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cooking

Rachael Ray Makes Bacon

November 13, 2010 – 3:08 pm

Well, Rachael Ray has really outdone herself with this one … a recipe for Late Night Bacon.

Ingredients – Bacon.  Directions – “Place 2 sheets of paper towel on a microwave safe plate, lay the bacon out on the paper towel not over lapping the slices. Place 2 more sheets of paper towel on top. Place in the microwave on high for 6 to 13 minutes.”

(photo courtesy of naomi stelrose)

Wow.  Even more hilarious than the fact that this recipe is listed on Food Network’s site are all of the comments ….

“Hi Rachel Ray,
I have a huge dilemma. I love, love, love bacon and your recipe sounds DELICIOUS! But I’m just can’t stay up until “late nite”. What do I do???!!! Can you please urgently post a morning or preferably a mid to late morning bacon recipe? Thanks!” (from petersf)

“Rachel, would you PLEASE post this recipe in other languages? I feel it needs to be shared with other cultures. I also think you should bring this to the United Nations and conduct a workshop or something. You’re really onto something here. I know that some people think you look and sound like a waitress at a truck stop, but I don’t agree with that AT ALL!” (from angie)

“I was really hoping to combine this scrumptious recipe with some toast, but I can’t find the recipe anywhere on the Food Network. Rachel, please help me…if you know how.” (from teacher105)

And there are many many more.  Worth a read for a good laugh.

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cooking spotlights

Spotlight: Lucid Food Author, Louisa Shafia!

June 18, 2010 – 3:22 pm

I love cooking, but I rarely follow recipes to the tee.  If I want to find out how to make something, I usually scan the ingredients list, close the cookbook and just wing it.  Last Christmas one of my gifts was Louisa Shafia’s cookbook, Lucid Food.  It is one of the first cookbooks I actually read and actually followed all the directions.  Food is personal and her cookbook tells a story through her appreciation of food.  She has had the honor of cooking at Millenium and Roxanne’s in San Fransisco and Marcus Samuelsson’s Aquavit in New York City.  Her love for food and eco-friendly practices resulted in the start of her catering business, Lucid Food in 2004. Her cookbook features seasonal recipes that draw from a variety of cuisines.  Indonesian Corn Fritters, Seven Vegetable Miso Soup, Crispy Yuba Rolls, Watermelon/Apple/Lime Shake, Dungesness Crab w/ Fennel & Orange, Poached Quince in Orange Blossom Water … is your mouth watering yet???  A wide range of delicious food peppered with eco-conscious tips and earth friendly alternatives – and it’s all pretty easy to make.  Cooking good food doesn’t have to be complicated and Louisa’s food is a testament to simple & sophisticated dishes.

lucidfood

After featuring her recipe for Cucumber & Pomegranate Salad on my blog, Louisa sent me a thank you email [much to my surprise] and gladly obliged to answer a few questions for the blog.  Through our email conversations, I learned that she lives in my old home of Williamsburg [Brooklyn] – which made me like her even more!  Here is what she had to say ….

read more »

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cooking

Cool Find: www.recipelook.co.uk

February 26, 2010 – 4:13 pm

While going through my RSS feeds this morning, I happened upon a post from Talk Crafty To Me about one of the coolest recipe sites [Recipe Look] I have ever laid eyes upon.  It is the creation of Artists & Designers, Amelie Labarthe and Tom Ballhatchet and filled with readers’ drawings of recipe instructions.  So clever – and the drawings are pretty amazing.  Many of them would look great as prints to hang in the kitchen …

Risotto alla Milanese by Emilie Boudet

risotto

Roasted Potato Wedges by Rachel Rauch

roasted-potato-wedges

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Tasty Cucumber & Pomegranate Salad

January 21, 2010 – 5:09 pm

I will admit it – before making this recipe I had never eaten a pomegranate.  I have had pomegranate juice, but this was the first time I’ve purchased the whole fruit.  I had Mike open it up and get the seeds out for me [it kind of looked like a pain to me - thank you, honey!].  I popped one in my mouth – a little crunch, a little explosion of deliciousness!   Yum!

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This Cucumber and Pomegranate Salad recipe is adapted from my Lucid Food cookbook by Louisa Shafia.  It’s fairly quick and easy to make and should be devoured immediately.

You will need:

2 Cucumbers [halved, peeled, and seeds removed - or use little Persian cucumbers like I did and just peel and slice]

Seeds of one Pomegranate

2 chopped scallions [original calls for just the greens, but I used the whites too]

Some fresh cilantro

Feta Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Lemon & Sweet Grapefruit [or a Lime]

Olive Oil

Just chunk up the cucumbers and add 3 or 4 tbs of pom seeds, the scallions and cilantro.  The original recipe calls for lime juice, but I didn’t have any around so I used the juice of a sweet grapefruit and a lemon.

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Squeeze the juice in and add a little drizzle of olive oil, some salt and pepper to taste, and then toss together.  Crumble some feta cheese on top and enjoy!  This salad is super refreshing.  I’m addicted.

IMG_9097

‘

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cooking

Christmas Cookie Roundup

December 21, 2009 – 4:46 pm

It is no secret that I love cookies.  In fact, I have a few almost every night with a glass of milk while relaxing with Mike on the couch after Ava finally goes to bed.  My favorite – chocolate chip – and I cheat by baking up batches of Pillsbury’s Simply Cookies [as you will find out in tomorrow's post, I am not a baker].  Growing up, we always had trays and tins full of cookies to eat at Christmastime.  My gramma must have been baking them in her sleep.

One of my holiday favorites are Russian Tea Balls [or Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cakes].  I have lost more than one of these in my glass of milk.  Nutty, cakey, little balls of goodness covered in powdered sugar … and fairly easy to make!  I found a great recipe for these at Peppercorn Press.

[Click image for recipe]

russianteaballs

How cute are these little gingerbread houses?!?!?!  Thanks to Megan of Not Martha you can print out a pattern and start building your own tiny houses to accompany your mugs of coffee, hot chocolate, egg nog, etc.  Mike and I were thinking this recipe would be great to make little Santa’s to hang on your mug or snowflakes or candy canes or whatever.  Maybe one day I will give it a try and if you do, I would love to see the results!

[Click image for recipe]

ginhouses

While we’re on the subject of gingerbread, check out this recipe for Gingerbread Man Cookies [on a stick!] created by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks.  Kids will LOVE these!

[Click on image for recipe]

gingonstick

Gaby Dalkin of What’s Gaby Cooking? is to thank for these Chocolate Snowballs.  It’s basically a delicious chocolate cake and some cream cheese frosting rolled into cute little balls of goodness and dusted with powdered sugar.  Mmmmmm.

[Click on image for recipe]

devilballs

Now, this next recipe isn’t exactly a cookie, but it is a major Christmas sweet treat staple for my family [Ohio].  Buckeyes aka Peanut Butter Balls.  Sugar coma, here I come.  The family recipe Michelle from Brown Eyed Baker [or her old blog, Sugar & Spice] uses is pretty close to the Buckeyes my gramma makes.

[Click on image for recipe]

buckeyes

I love chocolate and Mike loves candy canes, so these Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are perfect for us.  Just looking at them makes my mouth water.  Get the recipe from Susan at Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy.

[Click on image for recipe]

chocopeppermint

Who can resist the crunchy creamy goodness of an Oreo?  Not me.  And even better?  A Homemade Oreo from Deb at Smitten Kitchen.  OMG these look amazing.  Milk!!!  I need milk!!!!!

[Click on image for recipe]

oreos

And to wrap things up … I couldn’t have a Christmas Cookie Roundup without including some fruit and nuts.  This recipe for Cherry Chocolate Nut Cookies comes from Sybil Brown, via Taste of Home.

[Click on image for recipe]

cherrychoc

So there you have it.  Eight amazing Christmas treats to fatten up Santa [and your friends].  If you have an awesome Christmas cookie recipe, let me know and we can share it!  XO!

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cooking

Amazing Birthday Cakes Anyone Can Make!

November 20, 2009 – 2:52 pm

My little Ava babers turned one this week – unbelievable!  I baked her an organic chocolate cake with chocolate icing and spelled out “Happy Birthday Ava” in puffs – her favorite treat.  I thought she would just dive right into the cake when we set it in front of her, but instead she daintily picked off one of the puffs and put it in her mouth.  She wanted nothing to do with the cake.  Eventually she got into the frosting when she started smashing her treats down into the cake, but there was no face in the cake like I expected … maybe next year.

I just made a chocolate sheet cake – no fancy schmancy decorations, but next year for Ava’s second birthday I plan on going all out.  I found these amazing cakes that actually seem fairly simple to bake and decorate – no elaborate piping, no fondant, no ‘cake boss’ skills required.  Just a little imagination and a whole lot of love!

This super cute Castle Cake uses sugar and waffle cones for the turrets and you could customize this cake in so many ways with your own candy choices.  For more details, visit the Parenting website.

castlecake

I found this Sledding Party Cake recipe at Better Homes and Gardens.  Coconut snow, pretzel rod trees, and cute little teddy graham sledders!

sledcake

I think this Cookie Crown Cake with M&M and gumdrop jewels is so pretty!  Find out how easy it is at Family Fun.

crowncake

The Family Fun site also has an A to Z list of cute cupcake ideas like this Mini Monster!

minimonster

I found this cool site called Birthday in a Box – they have everything you can imagine to put a party together – including this awesome Daisy Cake Pan!

daisypan

And this Dinosaur Cake Pan!

dinopan

Have you made an amazing birthday cake??  Send me a picture and the recipe and I’ll feature it on the blog!!!

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cooking

Spicy Goat Cheese & Corn Quesadillas

September 9, 2009 – 4:30 pm

It’s official – we are moving to Chicago!!!  So long NYC!!!  As you can imagine, things are busier than normal around here.  Ava is determined to walk [and wave and clap and jibber jabber all day long!] and we have tons of stuff to pack, so I am lucky if I get five minutes of peace.  Somehow I still manage to find the time to cook … but it has to be quick and simple and of course delicious.  I made this quesadilla for lunch the other day in less than 20 minutes.  Go, Shannon!

To make a Spicy Goat Cheese & Corn Quesadilla … [and if you can't handle the spicy, just leave out the hot sauce!] …

First, cook some corn.  I just microwaved some frozen corn, but this is also a great way to use up those end of season ears of corn sitting in the crisper.  Add chopped scallions, fresh chopped basil and/or cilantro, and diced tomatoes to the corn.  Then add a few dashes of salt and pepper and squeeze in some hot sauce.  Next, crumble up some goat cheese and mix it all together ….

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Heat up a little bit of canola or vegetable oil in a skillet.  Place tortilla in skillet [I used whole wheat tortillas] and spoon in some of the goat cheese & corn mixture onto one half.  Fold the tortilla over, cook on one side then flip and cook on the other until golden brown.  That’s it – all done!  Easy!

Spicy Goat Cheese & Corn Quesadilla

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cooking

Now THAT’S a Ham Sandwich!

August 26, 2009 – 11:51 pm

This sandwich is sort of Croque Monsieur meets Monte Cristo meets Grilled Cheese and is soooo rich and delicious!

First, whisk together an egg [or two] and some milk.  Add a little pepper, paprika, and some fresh chopped rosemary and lemon thyme.  Heat up some butter in a skillet and dip your bread [I used whole wheat sourdough] into the egg mixture, coating both sides.  Cook the bread like you’re making french toast.  When it’s finished, remove the bread from the pan and top with shaved ham, pickles, mayo, and shredded mozzarella cheese.  Melt a little more butter in the skillet and place the sandwich back in for some melting action [about two minutes on each side over low to medium heat].  Remove from pan, cut in half and eat it up!!!  [And yes, I took a bite out of it before taking this picture.  I couldn't resist!]

shannon's ham

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