When it's cold outside it's hot in here

Holiday greetings!!! Well, after holiday greetings I suppose.  We had the traditional meal for Thanksgiving and on the same note, the traditional leftovers. I'm sure everyone is tired of dressing and cranberry sauce so this is the perfect time for a little variety. It is the spice of life you know.

JALAPENO CHEDDAR CORNBREAD MUFFINS! Amanda Hesser hasn't disappointed me one time! Her cookbook has been a hit every time I've used it! From the challah recipe to complex pastries, this novel of mouth watering recipes is a must have for every kitchen. Might I suggest adding it to your Christmas list.~ Happy cooking!

Yum

 

I really dislike the time change we use in the fall. I really dilike the nakedness of the trees as they shed their leaves. I really dislike how the dry air affects my skin when it's cold. But I LOVE comfort foods! Cheese ravioli, crisp salad with Kalmato tomatoes and last but not least, fresh made tomato basil bread with cheddar cheese baked into the bread. Go ahead mother nature, I'm ready!

 

Comfort

So it seems fall has descended upon us, as the east coast braces for hurricane Sandy we are in the midst of a cold front with the promise of a snow flake or two.  As the rain drizzles and the wind blows through the trees we have resolved ourselves to enjoying a day indoors with soup and cinema. Hearty vegetable soup was just the perfect treat for a cool October afternoon.  I hope each of you are safe and warm

P.retty M.agnificent S.tuff

Like some gals, I too want to rip someone's face off for no apparent reason once a month. It's that feeling that comes over you when you think if you have to hear someone, anyone, take one more breath it will surely be their last. Well I found a temporary cure!!!! It's effects only last during and and a short time after consumption. Yep, you guessed it, chocolate. Well, maybe I can't state I found the cure but I decided baking tasty treats was a great way to convert the potential for violence into sweet goodies. 

I found this recipe the other night around 8:30 and they sounded so good I couldn't resist making them right then. These brownies have a special ingredient.......no! Not that special! They have a bit of Irish in them! Guinness beer brownies are now my favorite brownies. These are so wonderful! They're not greasy like box recipes and they have just the right mixture of bittersweet, white and semisweet chocolate to give Midol a run for their money! So the next time you find yourself in the predicament where serious bodily harm to another is surely imminent I suggest you head to the cupboard and bake!!!! Happy cooking!

Salsa..exciting dance....boring dish

 So the summer garden has yielded it's bounty and we have been able to can and freeze some of our harvest. Last year we made a version of black bean salsa, it was tasty but like most things, we felt we could improve the recipe. First, I just want to say how time consuming canning ANYTHING is. You might as well write an entire day off of your life. It's a boring process of waiting and when you are finally finished (which will be 10 hours later) you can't eat anything you've made.

 Of all the things we have canned and preserved I like this best. Not really because I'm so fond of salsa but because IT'S SO PRETTY! What a lovely display of color! It's virtually a palette of vegetables.

 Once the black beans are cooked you can combine the ingredients. Our recipe has beans, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, corn, garlic, cilantro, fresh squeezed lime juice, red pepper flakes and cumin. Believe me this is a lot of chopping and dicing.

Sadly, it looks like sewage when it's canned but it tastes so good I have to make up a word to describe it.....fantabulous!

Back in Black

Wow! It has been a long time since my last post. Time really gets away from me sometimes. In my defense we went on a vacation, school started, soccer practice started and life in general has been happening. I will try to do better from here on out. One of the great things about being out of town is the opportunity to eat in a different restaurant and try new foods. We ate at McGuire's Irish Pub and it was so tasty! I liked it so much I bought the cookbook and that's where this little dish was from. It's called Black Beer Chili and it's quiet a bit different from the chili I'm familiar with but a nice change.

I typically use dark beer when I make chili because I feel it gives a richer taste but I don't normally use 4 1/2cups of the stuff. Another distinct difference is the type of meat, I use ground beef (grass fed of course) but this called for sirloin. I was afraid the meat was going to be tough but I guess all the beer and a dash of balsamic vinegar really aids in tenderizing. It was a big hit with Lance and Dennis! I think the best part is the corn and black beans are fresh from our garden. It's always nice when you can enjoy the fruits of your (in this case Lance's) labors. Happy cooking!!

Pleasantly Poached

Breakfast is a meal I rarely have time for but really enjoy making. So, whenever the opportunity presents itself I try to make (no pun intended) the most of it. This was a morning of opportunity!! I purchased a Bon Appetit cookbook at the book fair I attended a month ago and found a simple recipe for skillet poached eggs. The original recipe suggested combining green onions, kosher salt and parsley to olive oil and brushing the mixture on the inside of the ramekins. I omitted the parsley.

The eggs were covered and simmered 6 minutes. While the eggs were turning into magical goodness I brushed some of the olive oil and green onion mixture onto challah and toasted a few slices. The original recipe suggested using prosciutto but we used bacon as a substitute. Once the eggs were cooked and the bread was toasted I assembled our breakfast treats.

I made a few modifications to this dish with the addition of greens and mediterranean goat cheese to provide a savory contrast to the slight sweetness of the challah. Happy cooking!!!

Blueberry Bliss

 I love baking and making sweet treats. This homemade cheesecake with fresh blueberry topping and homemade graham cracker crust is beyond wonderful! Cheesecake has never been one of my preferred choices for an after dinner treat, but once I tried Tyler Florence's Ultimate Cheesecake recipe I had a whole new outlook on cheesecakes. This is a simple recipe with great results. The perfect ending to a hot summer day.

Harvest Time is Coming

A few tomatoes are starting to ripen!

Corn is continuing to grow!!

Up, up and away beans!!

A pepper peeks out!

Cantaloupe courage!

What a graceful pose.

A few beauties grow amongst the veggies.

 Some things are flowers and veggies, who knew an onion could be so pretty?

Without this we couldn't have all that...

A Caribbean Dish for Caribbean Temps

The heat has been so oppressive here, (100 degrees) I find it hard to think of meals I want to eat. One of my favorites is fish tacos. It's easy, fairly quick and relatively healthy. It's filling without leaving you feeling disgusting when you are finished. The fresh jalapenos combined with cilantro, red onion and tomatoes provides a refreshingly zingy taste to the tacos.

I like to make a tasty sauce from Greek yoghurt, fresh lime juice, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a dab of mayo. YUM! YUM! YUM!!

A Tasty Treat

I am a fan of bread and I certainly don't think I'm very different from most on this matter. One of my favorite breads however is challah. I love the sweetness it brings to the meal as an accompaniment or as the main ingredient. Because of the sweetness and its rather fluffy nature it makes a great choice for baked french toast. I used a rather basic recipe for this dish and since I only added a few specific ingredients I'm not going to include the recipe. Let's face it, those are easily accessible. However, I will give you my additions. I added vanilla extract to the egg mixture along with some cinnamon and nutmeg. Once the bread was soaked in the egg mixture I placed it in the oven where it began creating its goodness. 10 minutes before it was done I sprinkled some pecans on the top. 

Voila!

Memorial Day breakfast..........almost

I decided to make blueberry muffins for breakfast this morning. I've attempted a few muffin recipes in the past and they were rather yucky. I'm sure it was something I did, or didn't do, or maybe there was a misalignment in the cosmos. Whatever the reasons were.....today was a day of redemption!! These muffins rocked the house....and eventually the neighbors house. I decided I should share or Lance and I were going to have consumed 52 grams of fat and 1100 calories before 11 a.m. The only thing I added to the To Die For Blueberry muffins (allrecipes.com) was a splash of vanilla and instead of 1/2 cup of white sugar to the crumb topping I decided to add 1/4 white sugar and 1/4 brown sugar. Added a little fruit with some honey drizzled over everything and ate until I regained my sensibilities, at which point the neighbors were plagued with their goodness. It was almost a patriotic breakfast, if only I had some strawberries. There's always July 4th.

I'm not a big fan of meat and anytime I can find a dish that doesn't have it as an ingredient (and I think the rest of the fam will eat it) I get super excited! This is a light dish from food network with a crisp fresh taste. The broccolini combined with radishes and shallots is like having an entire summer season in your mouth (pretty awesome isn't it..unless you're more of a winter person) at once. The dressing in a combination of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, just enough to add a little zip, you don't want it to over power the fresh vegetables. Enjoy!