A Girl's Gotta Eat!

Enjoy with a glass of the wine you used .  I know, I've been on quite an Ina kick recently, but I promise this will be the last from her for at least a couple posts. Variety is the spice of life, right? The thing is, Becky bought me Back to Basics for Christmas, and I've been dying to try so many of the recipes. You're sure to see Bay Scallop Gratins and Mustard-Roasted Fish soon, but this for my debut recipe from this book, it was Roasted Potato Leek Soup all the way. I was finally starting to feel almost normal after coming down with a sinus infection a few days before Christmas, and it's hard to beat a nice, hot bowl of soup when you're feeling crummy, especially soup as comforting as potato. Normally when a recipe calls for crème fraîche, I grab sour cream and don't even bother looking in the store, but I decided that in order to do the recipe justice, I needed to follow directions as much as possible. I found crème fraîche at Publix in the section wit...

Christmas morning tradition involves all of us heading to my parents' house to open presents and eat breakfast, which usually takes us well into the afternoon. Typically we have breakfast casserole, sticky buns, and curried fruit. This year I contributed Cheddar Dill Scones, something I thought would be good for breakfast as well as sandwiches later that afternoon. I've never attempted scones before, but I have thought about it often. Making these made me even more grateful for my KitchenAid mixer...I don't know that a regular mixer could stand up to the thick dough. I was also a bit nervous about the kneading process. I've only ever made quick breads. My mom and granny make fantastic breads, but it always seems like I'm watching art as they knead the dough. I decided to go for it, anyway. It was past time to learn... I did all as directed in the recipe, except for the eggs. I always buy large eggs, so used 5 to compensate for their slightly smaller size. Ina G...

For as long as I can remember, we have served green bean/corn casserole at every Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve meal. After I made it a few weeks back for Thanksgiving (and subsequently brought half the dish home), I decided to try a new vegetable dish for the family's Christmas dinner. As luck would have it, Mike and I were watching Barefoot Contessa last Sunday while getting ready for church as we usually do, and she made a Cauliflower Gratin that we both thought looked delicious. Even better, she was featuring recipes that could be made in the day before and cooked when needed. This proved to be even more important when I was knocked out with a sinus infection and didn't have the energy to be in the kitchen for hours getting stuff ready. I was leary as to how the family would react to this foreign veggie at our Christmas dinner, but I was pleasantly surprised at their acceptance. I've even been asked to make it again, so I consider it a success. Ina Garten...

Last night was our Christmas celebration with Mike's family. His mom and brother make two pots of chili (one spicy, one not so spicy), and we have snacks and something sweet to round out the celebration. This year I made Tiramisu Layer Cake. I first made it for his mom's birthday a year or so ago, and it was a HUGE hit. It's not terribly hard to make, but it does take a little extra time and isn't something I'm whipping up every weekend. In the spirit of giving and the holidays, I went for it. I especially like this recipe because it starts with a cake mix, but transforms into something much more decadent. Instead of retyping the recipe, here's a link: Tiramisu Layer Cake . Enjoy! I didn't even out the layers before stacking, but you can so it will sit straighter. There's always more than enough whipped cream to frost the whole thing. I usually pile up the extra on top.  Yumm...

Let me preface this by saying we really do work in my office, not just eat. Having said that, today was our cookie swap! We've never done one before, but the pie potluck last month was a huge hit, so we decided to give it a try. I'll share others' recipes once I get them (I may scan in the recipe cards one at time.), but below is mine. I read it in the Junior League of Galveston County's Beachside to Boardwalk . I typically choose chewy cookies, but the salty/sweet combo of these immediately enticed me. I had trouble finding flaky sea salt, so I used coarse sea salt instead and was perfectly pleased with the results. I also made my cookies slightly smaller ( 1½ tablespoons instead of 2) so they would more easily fit in the baggies I was using .  This recipe is definitely a keeper! Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies 1 cup all-purpose ¾ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons salted butter, slightly softened 1 c...

Ok, so the second recipe I made for the potluck was new to me: Broccoli Salad. A good friend brought a broccoli salad to our house a few months back. I'm not a huge fan of raw broccoli, but decided I would be an adult and try it. Very tasty! She couldn't find the exact recipe she used, but I gound this one in You're Invited Back   [50% off at Cookbook Marketplace!] from Junior League of Raleigh. It was easy to mix up. I kept the dressing separate, mixing it in about an hour before we were supposed to eat. Broccoli and Cranberry Salad 6 cups (1-inch) broccoli florets 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese 1 cup crumbled crisp-cooked bacon 1 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup chopped red onion 1 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper Combine the broccoli, cheese, bacon, cranberries and onion in a large bowl and mix well. Combine the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl and whis...

Time for our annual Christmas potluck at work. This year we veered from the usual ham and are having barbecue. I made two easy recipes, so I'll leave two short posts to share them with you. Recipe #1 was Bobby Flay's Easy Coleslaw. I didn't even like coleslaw until I tried this, and now I would argue it's a must have for barbecue sandwiches and burgers and barbecue sauce. Instead of shredded fresh cabbage and carrots, I use 1 bag of coleslaw salad mix. ¾ cup mayonnaise ½ grated white onion 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons celery seeds 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar salt and pepper to taste  1 small head cabbage , shredded 1 carrot, shredded Whisk the mayonnaise, onion, sugar, celery seeds, vinegar, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl. Add the cabbage and carrot (or coleslaw salad mix) and stir or toss to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

After picking up new herbs at the Nashville Farmers' Market over the summer, our breakfast nook is now full of basil, chives, and rosemary. The basil isn’t a problem for us to use; we often throw it in when we’re making some sort of pasta dish (which is fairly frequently) or when we’re making a dip or appetizer (also a frequent occurrence). This is not quite the case with the rosemary. We do like rosemary (otherwise we wouldn’t have bought it), but we have found ourselves with quite a bit and are unsure how to use it all. We don’t often think about cooking pork dishes at home, and I’ve seen dozens of recipes that combine it with rosemary. And so, here’s the recipe we used, found both in Recipes Worth Sharing (a compilation of many cookbooks) and Tables of Content (see reference in previous post). [Both books can be purchased at HALF PRICE until the end of December.] The recipe was really easy, and while I made it over the weekend, I think it would be a great weekday meal as we...