Grilled Potatoes

You guys have to try grilling potatoes!  I don't know how this idea escaped me all these years, but I'm in love and make them all the time now.

I needed a side to go with the steaks with cilantro chimichurri and I wanted to grill it.  I had red potatoes on hand and a light bulb went off.  Having never done this before, I did a little Googling, kept the recipe simple and hoped for the best.  The crunchy potatoes were my favorite, but the skin on each potato has a nice crispness in contrast to the tender centers.  Some of the grill flavor comes out in the potatoes too.

COOK'S NOTE:  I've been using salt, pepper and chili powder for seasoning, but use whatever strikes your fancy. 

Grilled Potatoes
Original Recipe

2-4 red potatoes per person (depending on size), sliced ~1/4" thick
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Other seasonings

Preheat the grill.  Coat potato slices with olive oil and seasonings.  Grill the potatoes in a single layer for about 5 minutes on each side or until potatoes are golden and cooked through.

After removing them from the grill, taste and sprinkle with a touch more salt if needed.  These can be served with a dipping sauce, but they are pretty tasty one their own.

Roasted Cabbage

Is everyone still playing along with Pinterest?  I know I am!  I saw roasted cabbage go by recently and since I have a surplus of cabbage, I decided to give it a try.

I think this might be my favorite way to eat cabbage!  I was really surprised how good it was.  The intense flavor of the cabbage diminishes and picks up a roasted sweetness.  If you prefer, pass a bottle of vinegar to sprinkle onto the cabbage, they go great together.  I thought it was great without it, but either way you should definitely try this recipe!

I've got a few more cabbage recipes up my sleeve so stay tuned!

Roasted Cabbage Adapted from Everyday Food, April 2010 Yield: 6-8 servings  

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1 head green cabbage, cut into 1-inch-thick rounds

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 tsp caraway or fennel seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with one tablespoon of the olive oil. (My cabbage was large so I needed two baking sheets and a little more oil). Place cabbage in a single layer and brush with the remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with caraway or fennel seeds (if using). Roast until cabbage is tender and edges are golden, 40 to 45 minutes.

Toasted Quinoa, Corn and Avocado Salad

I knew I wanted some kind of tex-mex/southwest type of salad.  I love avocado, lime and cilantro (guacamole anyone?).  I really like black beans, but wanted to go another way with the salad.  I don't use quinoa regularly.  I've only experimented here and there so when I found this recipe I had to try it.

Quinoa is a great source of protein, and it's very filling.  We actually used this for our entree, and added a side of pasta salad and fresh veggies for dinner.  This recipe calls for rinsing and toasting the quinoa.  Some quinoa is packaged as pre-rinsed, but the the toasting process adds a nutty flavor.

This salad surprised us.  We didn't expect it to be as good as it was.  Kevin couldn't stop raving about it.  It was bright from the lime jalapeno dressing and we loved the pop of sweetness from the corn.

Toasted Quinoa, Corn and Avocado Salad

Adapted from Marie Simmons’ “Fresh & Fast Vegetarian” as seen on Ezra Pound Cake

Yield: 3 as a main dish or 6 as a side dish

1 cup quinoa

1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil

1 cup fresh corn kernels (from ~2 ears)

1 cup red peppers, diced

1/4 cup thin-sliced scallions (white and green parts)  (I used a bunch of chives)

1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and diced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Lime-Jalapeno Dressing:

2 tsp cumin

5 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

1/2 cup fresh lime juice, plus more to taste

1 Tbsp jalapeno, minced and seeded , plus more to taste

1 garlic clove, grated

1 tsp salt

Rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water for at least 45 seconds. Shake the strainer to remove as much water as possible.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the rinsed quinoa and cook, stirring, over medium heat until it is light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Add 2 cups water to the quinoa, and bring to a boil. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and appears to be uncoiling, 18 to 20 minutes.

Let stand, uncovered, until cool, about 10 minutes.

To Make the Dressing: Sprinkle the cumin in a small skillet, and toast over medium heat, stirring, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. When the skillet is cool to the touch, add the oil, lime juice, jalapeño pepper, garlic and salt. Whisk to blend.

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients to a large bowl and toss to combine. Spoon the salad onto a large platter, and sprinkle the avocado and cilantro on top.

Beet and Orange Rocket Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

Okay, my family is in Atlanta already!  Jim and Melissa ride in the ADA Tour de Cure on Sunday.  They would really appreciate your financial support.  They're only $200 away from their fundraising goal of $5000, please donate if you can.  I'm baking cookies for donors, see details about your thank you cookies here.  Go Team Wolfepack I'm so proud of you!

I actually made this salad last summer and I'm just getting around to telling you about it.  We really loved everything about this Beet and Orange Rocket Salad!  It was sweet from the oranges and candied walnuts, set off by the earthy beets and peppery arugula.  And who doesn't love the tart creaminess of goat cheese?  This salad is the perfect accompaniment for dinner on the deck on a warm summer night.     Once the beets and vinaigrette are ready (both can be made ahead), this salad is easily thrown together.  Since the grill is most likely being used for other parts of your dinner, it just makes sense that you'd cook your beets on the grill too.  This salad can be mixed together, but it also makes a great presentation if you arrange everything on the plate.
I look forward to making this again, especially once our garden comes in.  Hopefully our beets will be bigger than a golf ball this year!
Oh, and just in case you come across "rocket" in a recipe, it's just another name for arugula.
Beet and Orange Rocket Salad Original Recipe
Arugula (from our garden, yay!) Assorted lettuce (I used a mix from our garden) Beets, scrubbed and ends trimmed, chopped Mandarin Orange Segments (I used canned oranges, always soft and sweet) Goat Cheese Candied Walnuts Orange Vinaigrette (recipe below)
Before prepping everything else, you need to get the beets cooking.  Preheat the grill.  In a bowl, drizzle a little olive oil over the beets (just enough to lightly coat).  Create a foil packet around the beets, close it up, and poke a few steam vents.  Place the packet on the hot grill, cook for 30 minutes or until beets are tender.  Remove beets from packet and let them cool for at least 10 minutes before adding to the salad.
Combine all ingredients or arrange them on the plates and serve with orange vinaigrette.

Orange Vinaigrette From Michael Symon's Live to Cook Yield:  1 1/4 cups
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1 Tbsp shallot, minced 1 tsp garlic, minced 1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped 1/4 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp kosher salt 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
In a small non-reactive saucepan, bring the orange juice to a simmer.  Cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
Combine everything except the oil in a medium mixing bowl.  Start whisking in a few drops of oil at a time, then add it in a thin stream.  Whisk continuously until all the oil is incorporated.  Taste vinaigrette and adjust seasoning if needed.

Pasta Salad

Just a reminder that my siblings are riding 37 miles for diabetes in the Tour de Cure.  If you donate, I'll bake you cookies.  See details here. 


Summer's coming and I'm on the lookout for some different salads to try.  I'll be featuring salad recipes throughout May so check back to get some new ideas.  Or at the very least get a new recipe for a classic summer staple, like today's recipe. 

Up first is my Gram's pasta salad recipe.  It's easy, colorful and full of veggies.  If you want to keep it vegetarian, it's still great even without the pepperoni.  This pasta salad tastes best if it's made at least a few hours before serving.  I try to make it the day before if I can.  And I love to eat it for lunch with leftover grilled chicken.


What are some of your favorite salads?

Pasta Salad
Adapted from Gram Valentine
Yield: a ton!

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup red onion (about 1/2 of a small red onion)  I don't like raw onion so I don't add much, feel free to bump it up
2 (15 oz) cans black olives, sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 oz pepperoni slices, quartered
8 oz NY sharp cheddar, cubed
1 box (12 oz) tri-color pasta
1/2 cup Italian dressing, plus about 1/4 cup more when you serve it

In a large pot bring water to boil, salt it (the water should taste salty like the sea), and add the pasta.  Cook to al dente (2-3 minutes less than the package specifies).  Strain the pasta and run cold water over it until it cools (to stop the cooking process).

Dump all the ingredients except that last 1/4 cup of dressing into the largest container you have and mix until evenly distributed.

Before serving add the 1/4 cup of dressing to the salad and mix.

Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables

Hunger Games Week: Every day this week, I'm going to post a recipe that was inspired by food mentioned in The Hunger Games  trilogy.  In anticipation of the movie, Cleveland's Plain Dealer hosted a Hunger Games recipe contest.  The recipes had to be original, and we were allowed 50 words of description and one photo. 
I submitted six recipes, and I've already revealed Creamy Mushroom Soup, Goat Cheese Wrapped in Basil, and District 12 Ration Grain Biscuits. 
The winners of the recipe contest were announced in the Taste section of today's paper and the Roast Groosling with Sweet Roots WON!  Check out the paper's web version here.  The recipe below is what I submitted, you'll notice it's a little different than the one in the paper because they adapted the recipes.  

Side Note:  I don't agree with their choice of winner for the Breads of Panem category.  The winning bread is not at all like the District 12 bread described in the book (flat and dense).  However, it's a great fit for District 11 (crescent shaped and sprinkled with seeds), so maybe it was just a typo.  If that's what happened, then I think it was a good choice.

Groosling shows up quite a bit as a source of food, especially in the Arena.  An important alliance between Rue and Katniss was developed while sharing a meal of groosling.  Foraged root vegetables make a great accompaniment to the roasted meat.

Roast Groosling with Sweet Roots (aka Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables)

Original Recipe

Yield:  6 servings

3 lbs various root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, katniss roots, etc.), chopped into similar sized pieces (~ 1 1/2 inches)

2 onions, peeled and quartered, root ends removed

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 (~4 lb) groosling (chicken can be substituted), plucked, head, feet and innards removed and cleaned

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl, place the chopped vegetables.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with dried herbs.  Mix until everything is thoroughly coated.  Distribute evenly around the pan leaving space in the center for the groosling.

Rinse the groosling with water and pat it dry.  Rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place in the prepared roasting pan.

Place the pan in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 375 F and cook for 80 minutes or until juices run clear and thigh meat registers 165 F.  

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.  If the vegetables aren't done, put them back into the oven while the chicken rests.  When the vegetables are done cooking, mix them around with the pan juices.  Carve the chicken and serve with the roasted root vegetables.

 

Baked Spinach

I made this baked spinach recipe for a dinner party and it got rave reviews.  In fact, everyone thought it tasted so good that you could serve it as an appetizer and scoop it up with tortilla or pita chips.  It really is that good!  I had to share it with more people so I brought it to Thanksgiving.

Prepping and cooking the spinach was really quick because I didn't have to stem the leaves.  The stems on baby spinach are soft when they're cooked.  If you use regular spinach, the stems won't softened as much, so you should remove them.  Since spinach is the main flavor, I recommend using fresh leaves, but in a pinch, you could probably use frozen spinach that's been thawed and squeezed of excess water.

You can definitely make this ahead too.  You can stop after the spinach is cooked and finish the rest closer to dinner.  You could also prep everything up to adding the cheese and seasoning the spinach.  Then just before you're ready to put it in the hot oven, add the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs.


Baked Spinach
Adapted from Annie's Eats
Yield: 6 servings

3 lb fresh spinach I used baby spinach.
3½ Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
Salt and pepper
1½ Tbsp flour
1 cup stock (milk, broth, or cream)  I used cream both times.
3/4 cup grated cheese, divided (Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, Gruyere, etc.) I used parmesan and romano.
2 Tbsp dry breadcrumbs

Stem and wash the spinach, draining it but letting drops of water still cling to the leaves. Place the spinach in a large pot covered with a lid over high heat. (Since spinach takes up some much space, I had to cook it in my largest stockpot in 2 batches.)  Cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted (2-4 minutes for baby spinach, 4-6 for regular spinach). Transfer the spinach to a colander, fill the pot with cold water, and immediately return the spinach to the pot with the cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again. Working with a handful at a time, squeeze the spinach to extract as much excess water as possible. Coarsely chop the spinach. (You should have about 3 cups of chopped spinach.)

Wipe out the pot and then melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the chopped spinach. Cook, stirring frequently, until all of the moisture has been boiled off (when the spinach starts to stick to the pan).

Reduce the heat to medium and sprinkle the flour over the spinach. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Stir in about 2/3 of the cooking liquid a small amount at a time, scraping the bottom of the pan as you go. When the liquid has been added, stir for another minute or two. If needed, add in the remaining liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix ½ cup of the shredded cheese into the spinach mixture and then spread the mixture into a lightly greased baking dish. Toss the remaining ¼ cup of cheese with the bread crumbs and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top. Melt the remaining 1½ tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the top. Bake until lightly browned and heated through, about 30 minutes.

Beet Risotto

I had a collection of root vegetables (beets, parsnips, potatoes and sweet potatoes) laying around so one night I decided to roast them all.  I cut everything up and on one baking sheet mixed the parsnips, potatoes and some sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.  On another baking sheet I had the rest of the sweet potatoes on one side and the beets on the other (both mixed with olive oil, salt and pepper).

I decided to use the variety tray to make a soup (I pureed the veggies with chicken broth).  The roasted beets made their way into risotto, and the leftover sweet potatoes were used as a side/garnish.  I filled a measuring cup with risotto then turned it upside down on a plate for a fun presentation.

I was really happy with how this turned out!  You get a nice roasted earthy flavor from the beets mixed with the creaminess of the rice and cheese.  Plus it's bright pink, so it'll make any dinner plate more colorful!

Beet Risotto

Original Recipe

Yield: about 3 cups of risotto

4 small beets, scrubbed, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp olive oil

3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp butter

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Arborio rice

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with foil and add the diced beets.  Drizzle olive oil over the beets, sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper, then mix it all around so the beets are evenly coated.  Roast in the oven, stirring occasionally) for about 40 minutes or until the beets are tender.

After the beets have been roasting for about 20 minutes, heat the chicken stock in a small saucepan (not boiling).  In a large saucepan on medium-high heat, saute the onions in butter until soft, 3 minutes.  Add the garlic to the pan for 30 seconds before adding the rice and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes without browning the rice.

Pour 3 cups of the hot stock into the rice mixture and stir.  You don't have to stir constantly, but keep an eye on it so the rice doesn't burn.  When almost all the stock has been absorbed by the rice, add the roasted beets and the last 1/2 cup of stock.  Stir until the stock is absorbed.  Remove the risotto from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom Risotto

This mushroom risotto is creamy, earthy and delicious.  It's the perfect side dish or entree to warm you up on these cold winter days.

Don't be scared of making risotto, it's not the huge labor of love people make it out to be.  You can either make it the more traditional way (adding small amounts of stock at a time) or the easy way (dump the stock all at once).  It does take about 20 minutes for each method, but it's not all active work.  You can prep something else, while keeping your eye on the risotto.  I definitely recommend you try this recipe. 

A word of the wise when making risotto: make sure the stock is hot.  If it's not hot, you'll slow down the cooking process and your risotto will take longer to finish.

Mushroom Risotto

Adapted from Simply Recipes

4 Tbsp (half stick) butter

2 cups mixed mushroom varieties (such as white button, shiitake, chanterelle, or portabello mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into half inch to inch pieces)

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 1/2 cups chicken stock (use vegetable stock for vegetarian option)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup shallots, minced (can substitute onion)

1 cup arborio rice

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and saute about 5 minutes (if using chanterelles, dry sauté first for a minute or two and let the mushrooms cook in their own juices before adding the butter). Add white wine, bring to a boil, and reduce liquid by half, about 3-4 minutes. Lower heat to medium, add cream, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.

Bring stock to a simmer in a saucepan.

In a deep, heavy, medium sized saucepan, heat oil and remaining butter on medium low. Add shallots or onions and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat with butter and oil. 

Adding Stock Method 1:  Add simmering stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring enough to keep the rice from sticking to the edges of the pan. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. This process will take about 20 minutes. The rice should be just cooked and slightly chewy.

Adding Stock Method 2:  Dump all the simmering stock into the rice mixture all at once, stirring occasionally to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  This process will take about 20 minutes. The rice should be just cooked and slightly chewy.

Stir in the mushroom mixture and the Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve garnished with parsley (if using). 

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

This dish was all about leftovers.  I had leftover ham and rice in the fridge and I needed something that would give us leftovers for the rest of the week.  This casserole certainly did the trick, and it tasted great too.

Jacques Pepin taught me a trick about broccoli.  When you buy it fresh, don't throw away the stalk.  Just peel or cut off the rough outside skin of the stalk to expose the insides.  Once cooked, the tender stalk pieces are my favorite part of the broccoli (and Jacques')!

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Yield: 6 servings

1 pound fresh broccoli (about 4 cups), chopped

Salt for blanching water

2 cups cooked ham, chopped

1 cup cooked rice

1/3 cup flour

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup cream

1 cup milk

2 to 3 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper (1 to 2 teaspoons if using fine ground black pepper)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp Dijon mustard

8 oz cheddar cheese, grated

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (1 Tbsp salt for 2 quarts of water). Add the broccoli and boil for 3-5 minutes or until just tender enough so that a fork can easily pierce the floret, but still firm. Strain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

While the water in step one is coming to a boil, cook the bacon pieces on medium heat in a frying pan until lightly browned, but not crisp. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess fat. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425. Butter a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. In a bowl, whisk the eggs into the flour, then whisk in the cream and milk. Add the black pepper (more or less to taste), salt, and mustard. Mix in about a third of the cheese.

Place the parboiled broccoli florets in the casserole dish, sprinkling about a third of the cheese over the broccoli as you lay them down. Sprinkle the ham and rice over the broccoli. Pour the egg, cream, milk, cheese mixture over the broccoli, moving the broccoli pieces a bit so that the mixture gets into all the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle the casserole with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 25-40 minutes, or until set. Once the top has browned, you may want to tent with aluminum foil to keep from burning.

Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese

The inspiration for this dinner was that Mile's Market had Yancey's Fancy Smoked Gouda with Bacon on sale.  I grew up in Western NY near Kutter's Cheese (now Yancey's Fancy) so I got a kick out of finding it in Cleveland at Miles Market a few years ago.  They usually have the horseradish or wasabi varieties, so when I saw the smoked gouda, I had to try it.  I went home and searched for a macaroni and cheese recipe to use it.

In my opinion, it's the cheese that really makes a macaroni and cheese.  I'm happy to report that Yancey's Fancy has got some excellent flavor going on with the Smoked Gouda with Bacon.  This recipe makes a very creamy and deliciously smoky mac n cheese.  Since the cheese had bacon in it already, I opted to skip the bacon in the recipe, but next time if I just have regular smoked gouda, I'll definitely try it with the bacon.

Smoked Gouda and Bacon Mac & Cheese
Adapted from The Adventures of Mindyanna Jones

1 pound whole wheat shells
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 small sweet onion or 1 shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
8 oz shredded smoked Gouda
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
4-6 slices crispy cooked bacon, crumbled

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While the water is heating up, cook, drain and crumble the bacon.  Once the water is boiling, add salt to season the cooking water, then add the pasta. Cook for 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente. Drain well and return to the pot.

While the pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and heat with the butter until it melts. Add the onion and shallot and cook for 3-5 minutes to sweat them out. Raise the heat a bit, then whisk in the flour, cayenne, and paprika. Whisk together until the roux bubbles up, then cook for 1 minute more. Whisk in the milk and stock and raise the heat a bit higher to bring the sauce to a quick boil. Once it bubbles, drop the heat back to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the cheese to the thickened sauce and stir to melt it, a minute or so. Stir in the mustard and bacon and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Pour over the cooked pasta and toss to combine. Adjust the seasonings and serve.

Corn Muffins

You  know that corn bread recipe I gave you last year?  Unless you're using it as a Mix in a Jar gift, stop using that one and try the following recipe.  This is now my favorite corn muffin recipe.  This corn muffin is sweet, but it's also more sturdy (less crumbly) than the other corn bread recipe.  I have not made it in an 8x8 pan, but personally, I like the individual portions that a muffin brings.  I love corn muffins with chili, "low and slow" meats from the grill such as ribs or brisket or any meal with barbecue sauce.

If you don't have buttermilk (or don't want to buy a pint or larger just for corn muffins), add 1 Tbsp of vinegar OR lemon juice per 1 cup of milk and let it sit for 5 minutes until it has curdled.

Corn Muffins

Adapted from Coconut & Lime's Classic Northern Cornbread

1 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or paper line about 16 muffin cups (or grease an 8x8 inch baking dish). In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, buttermilk and melted butter until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean or with just a few dry crumbs. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Recipes You Missed From 2009

Even though my last recipe post was way back in --holy crap! way back in July, I have been cooking and baking up a storm since then. Even though I take pictures of a lot of food (over half of our pics from 2009 were of food), I'm really bad about putting it here. To ease my mind about my failure to follow through, I'll post pictures and links to the original recipe for some of the food I made last year. For dinners, I do a lot of just throwing things together and voila something good happens. I need to be better at writing it down so I can put those recipes up here, that is after all, the purpose of this blog.

Almond Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote:



Stuffed Zucchini : I just whipped this up one night. The grilled zucchini “shell” is stuffed with a mixture of ground turkey, summer squash, zucchini, green peppers, onions, garlic and tomato sauce and topped with goat cheese.

This summer I made my Mom’s Potato Salad which resulted in my first time hard boiling eggs.

Snickerdoodle Blondies: 

Frittata and Sage Sausage: One weekend when my parents were in town, I decided to make a frittata (my first time and I just “winged it”) with whatever veggies we had in the fridge and I mixed fresh sage into some bulk pork sausage. The hot sauce garnish added a nice flavor to the frittata.

Butter Pecan Fudge: Best fudge EVER!

3 Layer Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling: I offered to make an engagement cake for Kevin's Uncle. The happy couple requested anything with chocolate and raspberry so I turned to The Smitten Kitchen's Double Chocolate Layer Cake. This is now my go-to chocolate cake recipe. I used Deb's raspberry filling instead of ganache and frosted it with white buttercream.

I made a Smash Cake for Sophie's 1st Birthday (Kevin's goddaughter) using the same chocolate cake but omitted the raspberry filling. This was my first time using my icing tips. It was supposed to look like a block, but it didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped.

Outrageous Brownies: Half this recipe and bake in a 9x13 pan for about 25 min.

We had a Bacon Party! My sister even dressed up as bacon, luckily none of our guests tried to eat her. Avocado, Feta And Pancetta Bruschetta (FYI: rocket is arugula), Proscuitto Wrapped Figs, Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Maple Bacon Frosting, Chocolate Covered Bacon, Candied Bacon, Bacon Ice Cream and so much more!

Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy: Check out that steam! I wouldn’t use this biscuit recipe again (they were only okay), but the gravy was really good. I added a little more milk until I reached the gravy to sausage ratio I wanted.

Mushroom Stuffed Roast (based on this recipe): Remember when I was searching for butcher’s twine? This was why. The wine should also be noted, Merritt Winery's Cabernet Sauvignon is our favorite red and it's under $20.

Homemade Marshmallows: To make the mini marshmallows, I spread the "goo" on a prepared cookie sheet instead of the labor intensive piping that Alton Brown suggests.