Friday, May 16, 2008

Bread? Or pizza?

This Georgian Cheese Bread, a bread known as khachapuri in the Republic of Georgia, is the best of both worlds. It is doughy and yeasty like a bread and cheesy and greasy and crusty like a pizza. It is so unbelievably easy to make..you just have to be patient while the dough rises...try it this weekend!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Delicious and Nutritious!

This Mango-Radicchio Caprese with Basil Vinaigrette salad has 'fancy five-course dinner party' written all over it! It is beautiful, delicious and unique. Look for 'champagne' mangos - they are so much sweeter and more flavorful than the regular mangos that you find in the grocery store.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Happy Easter!




I made this scruptious lemon meringue pie for dessert for our Easter dinner. We also had a baked ham, au gratin potatoes, and asparagus w/hollandaise sauce.




I also made these adorable little place cards for our table setting, but we ended up eating in the living room becuase it got so late! (I didn't really want to write our names on them anyway!)

Friday, March 7, 2008

Cinnamon Rolls 101

I'll admit that I have only used yeast a handful of times in my life (and not always successfully!) When I read an article in Bon Appetit by Molly Wizenberg (a.k.a. Orangette) titled "The Trouble with Yeast," I knew that I had to try to make these gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze for myself. I had to put the rolls directly on the heat register so that they would be warm enough to rise, and it took a lot longer than the recipe suggested, but they were a success! I took a picture of the rolls in the pan so that I would know when they had "doubled in size." This picture shows them at the peak of plumpness.


Sunday, February 24, 2008

A Trio of Chocolate Treats!



It was two of my co-workers birthdays on Saturday, so I decided to make something sweet to bring to work: Peanut Butter Bon-Bons, Truffles with Grand Mariner, and Chocolate Brandy Balls. They were a hit!


The recipe for the Peanut Butter Bon-Bons comes from the Glenwood City Centennial Cookbook published in 1985. The recipe was submitted by my aunt, Sandi Canfield.


Peanut Butter Bon-Bons
Mix together:
3 c. Rice Krispies
2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. chunky peanut butter
1 stick butter, melted
Roll into balls.
Melt over double boiler:
1/2 cake paraffin wax
16 oz. chocolate chips
Dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate mixture and let cool. Enjoy!!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Super Bowl Sunday - It's All About the Food!

Baby Greens, Pear, and Blue Cheese Salad







We wanted a light lunch on Super Bowl Sunday so that we would have plenty of room for excessive amounts of food during the game. After all, that's what the Super Bowl is about, right? The food!!

We had some juicy pears from Harry and David and made this salad along with a fresh baked bagette (from Whole Foods - did you know that they sell frozen specialty breads that you just pop into the oven for 10-15 minutes?)



How do you make an already deliciously greasy meal even better? Add bacon!
This was my first time ever frying chicken and my critic thinks that I need a bit more practice. I think that means that he just wants more fried chicken!

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Steaks with Merlot and Boursin Sauce


We love to cook together on Saturday nights and have a few drinks and relax. This Saturday, we made a recipe from Bon Appetite, Steaks with Merlot and Boursin Sauce.http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/241087 We used dry-aged angus ribeyes from Whole Foods and cooked them in a cast-iron skillet. We used no oil as the steak was so nicely marblized. Next we tented the steaks with the cheese on top while we prepared the refined merlot sauce in the cast iron skillet. We then drizzled the sauce over the cheese and the steak and it was truly amazing.