Blog Archives
21
Jul 2011
Jul 2011
Last weekend, we returned home from our family vacation in Destin, Florida to find a handful of summer squash (yet another family garden project) eager to be picked. They were beautiful, but in an odd way. Their pale orange color and firm, bumpy skin made we question if we had planted what I thought was yellow crooknecks. I didn’t think much more about it until I went to prepare the squash for this recipe Their usually tender skin was tough to penetrate with the knife. So I decided to peel the outer layer, which did make for easier slicing. [ ... ]
15
Jul 2011
Jul 2011
I have no intentions of preheating the oven or even lighting up the grill today. It’s just too doggone hot to play with fire inside or out, if you know what I mean. So, I’m planning three no-cook meals beginning with fresh strawberries and a hard-boiled egg for breakfast and ending with Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus and a refreshing cocktail for dinner.
Now I don’t know about you, but I was raised on only a handful of fresh vegetables and asparagus wasn’t one of them. No, the asparagus I was familiar with came from the grocery store shelves. I’m not [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Salad, Vegetables
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays Comments off
08
Jul 2011
Jul 2011
Have you figured out by now that I’m a chips-and-dip junkie? Oh yeah! My addiction is well-documented in many of my Finger Food Friday posts … and there’s plenty more where those came from! I spend the better part of most days playing around with refrigerator finds in the hopes of creating yet another hot, cold, creamy or chunky dip to scoop onto whatever salty, crunchy vehicle I have on hand. Today, for instance, I have an unopened bag of Xochitl (pronounced “so cheel”) thin and crispy tortilla chips–my new favorite–and a handful of perfectly [ ... ]
04
Jul 2011
Jul 2011
Happy Fourth of July! Happy Birthday America! Happy 91st Birthday Mimi ( my maternal grandmother and the matriarch of our family )! Happy Birthday Emily ( my 9-year old niece )! There are so many reasons to celebrate today. So let’s eat cake — or Mississippi Mud Pie!
Mississippi Mud Pie is a down-home, unfussy sweet I associate with July 4th family get-togethers. There are countless variations, but our family recipe relies on a baked pecan crust and a rich, chocolatey pudding layer which represents the muddy banks of the Mississippi. It’s [ ... ]
01
Jul 2011
Jul 2011
Througout the years, I’ve eaten deviled eggs every which way. Many were decades-old family recipes that followed some combination of mashed yolks, mayo, mustard and sweet pickle relish. Others were filled with more interesting ingredients like crabmeat, chipotle peppers or Underwood Deviled Ham in the can. Do you remember that stuff? All of them were delicious, even the ones with pickle relish–which I firmly believe should be relegated to hotdogs! At home, however, I’ve always stuck to my traditional recipe of Hellman’s mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and black pepper. I’ve relied on those basic ingredients [ ... ]
30
Jun 2011
Jun 2011
If you want to add some sizzle to your summertime side dishes, serve this Bourbon Creamed Corn at your next cookout. Sure beats the canned “cream style sweet corn” we’re all too familiar with. It’s also a pleasant change from the grilled or boiled corn on the cob that frequents most backyard bashes.
This recipe is my best attempt at recreating a restaurant side I ate many years ago. I had to make it a couple of times before I got the cream-to-bourbon ratio just right. But I think I’ve finally nailed it. I also faced the challenge of balancing out [ ... ]
24
Jun 2011
Jun 2011
Are there certain foods you love but haven’t had in years? It could be a favorite childhood dish or maybe one of the first things you learned to cook on your own. If your answer to that question is yes, have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? I do that Q&A thing throughout my daily ritual of “recipe diving” (the fine art of digging through years and years of recipes for inspiration and sustenance) and meal planning. That question is also one of the reasons I started this blog–to protect “endangered” foods. You know, the ones on [ ... ]
21
Jun 2011
Jun 2011
I have another yummy basil recipe for you to try. It’s Basil Chicken Salad. Think big chunks of chicken coated in a creamy mixture of fresh basil, pungent garlic and sharp Parmesan. Sounds good, doesn’t it? It’s a nice departure from the chicken salad we ate as kids. There’s no celery, no fruit and absolutely no pickle relish. Just a handful of bold ingredients that become more delicious over time.
To take full advantage of these wonderful flavors as they develop, I’ve come up with a three-day plan for eating this chicken salad. On day one, after the salad has [ ... ]
17
Jun 2011
Jun 2011
Roasted fingerlings are all the rage in my house right now. My whole gang loves munching on these odd-shaped potatoes. They have thin skins and are perfectly portioned too. So nothing goes to waste (every mom has to love that). I pop them in a hot oven for twenty-minutes and boom! Tiny tender tubers. I usually serve them as a snack straight out of the oven. Although tonight, I’m preparing a robust Romesco Sauce to dip them in. I thought that would make a great dish for a Finger Food Friday fete!
Romesco sauce is a relative newcomer to my recipe [ ... ]
10
Jun 2011
Jun 2011
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the family veggie garden is off to a promising start. Our herb garden is thriving too. This year we’ve planted rosemary, lemon thyme, pineapple sage and basil. The rosemary and lemon thyme get ample attention in my kitchen in dishes such as Barbecue Shrimp and Grilled Lamb Chops. The pineapple sage is new to me and my garden–I’m exploring ways to use it with pork and incorporate it into cocktails and maybe even ice cream. I’ll let you know if I have any success with that. [ ... ]
