A Girl's Gotta Eat!

So this post isn't a recipe, but a kitchen gadget recommendation. For Christmas, Mike bought me my very first cast-iron skillet. How in the world have I been cooking all these years without this?? One of my fondest memories takes place during a visit at my late Great Grandma Lela's house. Grandma Lela always sent us handmade ornaments every year for Christmas (and every year they were different), made each of Christmas stockings (which we still use at my parents' house), and was always so much fun to be around the few times we made it out to see her.   On this particular visit, she offered to make dinner for us—cheeseburgers. Never one to pass up a tasty burger, even in my younger days, I was ready for her to fire up a grill and get to cooking them. Instead, she pulled out a very seasoned, very loved cast-iron skillet. Nevermind that...a burger is a burger, right?   Wrong. They were delicious, juicy, one of the tastiest things I remember eating even to this day ami...

Now that I know how well my ice cream maker works (having made Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Lemon Raspberry Sherbet), I have a long list of ice cream, sherbet, and sorbet that I can't wait to try. Next on the list was Coconut Ice Cream from the Ben & Jerry's Cookbook the MIL gave me with my new gadget. I used eggs in the sweet cream abse this time, although I cooked the base even though they didn't to avoid any potential issues using raw eggs. To do this, I heated the milk and cream to a low simmer in a saucepan. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Gradually whisk some of the hot milk into the eggs, then whisk the eggs into the remaining hot milk. Continue to heat over low to medium-low heat until slightly thickened. Proceed as directed. You can skip this and make the recipe as they directed if you're not worried. Be sure to get coconut cream (not coconut milk), which we found with the drink mixers at Walmart/Kroger. Coconut Ice Cream 2 larg...

Many of you know that for the month of January, Mike was in Antarctica for work. What you may not know is that I wanted to surprise him when he got home with the aforementioned Lemon Raspberry Sherbet, found in Salt to Honey , the newest cookbook from the Junior League of Salt Lake City . I’ve been waiting to try this recipe for a while. Like the vanilla ice cream I previously posted, the lack of an exorbitant number of egg yolks appealed to me, as did also the combination of lemon and raspberry—two of Mike’s favorite flavors. The recipe is simple and easy to follow, and oh so tasty. The only thing I would do different next time is either A) spread my raspberries out on a larger pan (not in a baggie) before freezing them to prevent the large chunks I ended up with, or B) cheat and use already frozen raspberries, which I’m sure would work but would not have the same fresh flavor. Lemon Raspberry Sherbet 1⅓ cups sugar 2⅔ cups milk ⅓ cup cream Zest and juice of 2 large lemons 1 tab...

For Christmas, I received a kitchen gadget that I’ve wanted for a long time, but only recently had a place to store it when not in use—an ice cream maker. I have looked at several over the years, and read many reviews, but decided a while ago that the one for me is the Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker that attaches to my standing mixer. It requires no ice or rock salt, has the same (or greater) capacity as most other makers, and best of all, can be stored in our freezer chest, ready to make ice cream and sherbet at a moment’s notice. There are a ton a recipes I want to try (my MIL also got me a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cookbook ), but I decided the bets place to start was with vanilla ice cream. Easy enough, right? Maybe not so much…I found tons of recipes! How would I ever choose? I decided to keep it simple, so went with a recipe I found online that used no eggs, only milk and cream. I got both of these items from the dairy at the NFM , wanting the best quality available to me. (...

In the fall of 2008, Mike and I went on a fantastic cruise to Alaska . While in Ketchikan , we decided we needed a light lunch while out on the town. We had been walking around for a while, taking in the sights and trying to catch a glimpse of the jumping salmon in the river that runs through town, and spotted a little café tucked away, with the tasty aroma of coffee wafting from its doors. Mike had a cappuccino; I had a mocha. We both ordered smoked salmon bagels, which was easily one of the tastiest things we ate on the entire trip. And let me assure you that we ate lots of tasty things. When we returned, we wanted to re-create that delicious spread, but encountered 2 dilemmas. First, we needed to find he right recipe. Second, we had to find good, affordable smoked salmon. Finding the recipe was easy (see below). Mike discovered it on food.com (previously recipezaar.com). Finding smoked salmon that wasn’t crazy expensive proved a little more difficult, so we reserved making the spr...