A Girl's Gotta Eat!

 Dad's cupcakes (The tray looks like a glove.)   Last Tuesday Dad turned 60...a momentous occasion indeed. We wanted to do something special for him, so my sisters, Mom, and I decided to throw a surprise party! (My sisters and I also surprised both parents by flying Tony in for the weekend...very exciting indeed.) Rest assured...food was plentiful. We had pork and chicken barbecue, salsa ranch dip, Buffalo Chicken Dip, Green Goddess Dip, chips, veggies, cupcakes, German Chocolate Cake, and who knows what all else. We also had beer, margaritas, and today's recipe, Sippin' Sangria. I have made this before, and knew it was both tasty and easy to double. Hope you enjoy it as much as our partygoers did :) Sippin' Sangria 1 (1.5-liter) bottle cabernet sauvignon or merlot (I used 1 (750-mL) bottle of each) 1 cup vodka 1 cup orange juice 1/2 to 1 cup sugar (to taste) 1 teaspoon (about) ground cinnamon 1 apple, chopped 1 each orange and lemon, thinly sliced a...

Mike had the lead on choosing dinner last night. I find he always chooses something tasty, and many times finds recipes I may have skimmed over for some reason. This time, as soon as he was telling me his choice, I knew the exact one. I had been eyeballing it myself ever since last month's issue of Food Network Magazine came in. It was practically calling for us to eat it...Grilled Shrimp and Noodle Salad. We love eating Asian cuisine, but rarely find ourselves making it at home unless it's an Asian sauce or other condiment on some seafood (particularly salmon.) This, though, looked too scrumptious not to try. Frustratingly, we hit a snafu before even beginning. The recipe calls for (and this was a big draw for me) flat rice noodles. Easy to pick up at your neighborhood grocer, right? Wrong! Unable to find said noodles while shopping, Mike bought very authentic, very wheat-based Japanese noodles from the international aisle at Kroger. Certain I could find them, I headed out ...

This past week was a particularly hard one in the Nash house. We very suddenly and unexpectedly lost our beloved cat, King Lear. With the stress of visiting vets and grieving our loss, cooking for ourselves was pretty far down on our to-do list. Cooking, however, can be therapeutic as well as necessary, so yesterday we decided to try a new recipe for Smoky Enchilada Soup. The weather was gloomy (like our mood), and it sounded like the perfect comfort food—warm, easy, and soothing. We made everything as directed and were quite pleased. You can adjust the amount of adobo if you need it more or less spicy, but it was about perfect for me as-is. Don’t skip the queso fresco on top…it really adds a nice little touch. I found the recipe in Texas Tables , a multiple award-winner from the Junior League of North Harris and South Montgomery Counties . Smoky Enchilada Soup ¼ cup vegetable oil 1½ cups finely chopped onions 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped 2 tablespoons chicken base 1 t...

Hello again! I feel like it's been forever since I posted a new recipe, but I suppose it's only been a little over a week. Tonight, Mike and I tried a “new” recipe from our March 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine, Chicken Korma. Oh...my...goodness...was this tasty or what? Let me tell you, we thought it was delicious. I've heard about layering flavors on various cooking shows we watch, and Mike and I agreed that this was a prime example.  It did take us slightly longer than the 35 minutes cook time posted in the magazine, but we think that’s partly because we multitask and partly because we cook with electric heat instead of gas. We made the recipe almost exactly as described, with two exceptions. We found ground chicken was sold only in 1-pound increments, so we used the entire pound and added a little extra coriander and cumin (the latter of which is one of our favorite spices.) The other exception is that we couldn't find pita bread without pockets, so we used Fl...

Congrats, Heather! If you will e-mail me your latest address, I'll get your book in the mail shortly. To those who didn't win this time, stay tuned. I will continue to have little contests and giveaways as I'm able. Keep the great comments coming!

Greetings, all! I don't have a new recipe for you tonight, but I wanted to get one more post up before the drawing for a FREE cookbook tomorrow. Instead, I'm coming to you for inspiration. What recipe have you been wanting to try, but just haven't gotten around to yet? Maybe you've been too busy. Maybe its ingredient list is a mile long and you're just a bit intimidated. Whatever the reason...post your idea in my comments section below, and I'll choose one or two to try in the coming weeks. I look forward to hearing from you!

Truth be told, muffins are up there as one of my favorite things both to make and to eat. There's something about a warm muffin fresh from the oven, split open and enjoyed with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee that just can't be beat. Several months ago I spotted a recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins that I knew I had to try. Since we had a cooler day today, and because Mike was busy studying, I decided it was well past time to whip up some of these bad boys. The recipe may sound difficult and decadent, but in truth falls only in the latter category. There's not even a need to bust out your mixer, because everything is stirred together by hand. And because you melt the butter, you don't even have to plan ahead and set butter out to soften. This was my kind of recipe. Now, my plan is to take them to the office tomorrow, so one batch would simply not be enough. I made up a second batch and made some regular-size muffins and some mini muffins. Other that a lit...