tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66629919469287266382011-12-23T21:52:34.682-06:00cooking my way through my entire collection, one book at a time. It's going to take me 100 years.Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.comBlogger551100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-2350520978364127082011-05-03T16:26:00.000-05:002011-05-03T16:26:47.986-05:00

I hosted a brunch a few weeks ago and used it as an excuse to make these insanely decadent cinnamon rolls.  I don't care much for Bobby Flay, but I happened to be flipping past the Food Network one night as he was talking about the sticky buns from Flour bakery in Boston, and the food porn shots of these rolls hooked me.  When I googled for recipes, I was delighted to discover that they had

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-21042686487170551222011-04-24T09:18:00.000-05:002011-04-24T09:18:43.055-05:00

Yikes, 2 1/2 months since my last post. What can I say, except that life has kept me busy these last few months?  I am, however, making a new resolution to be better about keeping up with all of my various blogs.  No, really. I mean it this time.  About once or twice a month, usually on a Friday, we have homemade pizza night.  It's great fun and everyone is always happy since they get to put

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-821287420157663862011-02-03T16:54:00.000-06:002011-02-03T16:54:20.796-06:00

 On Tuesday, we had a normally rare snow day due to the freezing rain/sleet the night before, followed by freezing temperatures which resulted in the roads turning into solid sheets of ice.  Being from the Midwest, this type of thing never used to phase me, but since they don't have salt trucks down here (and barely even have sand), it makes driving pretty hazardous.  So E and I took advantage of

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-66193387018532738772011-01-19T11:03:00.000-06:002011-01-19T11:03:11.605-06:00

Last month, I had a few friends over for an impromptu knitting night, and I used that as an excuse to bake up some cookies.  Here's my version of a cranberry oatmeal cookie, adapted from an Allrecipes recipe.  I like this recipe because it's a bit more heavily spiced than your average oatmeal cookie, so it's especially good around the holidays.  I used cranberries because I hate raisins, but

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-73778322919347886572010-06-17T15:06:00.001-05:002010-06-17T15:08:32.862-05:00

When I was a kid, my mom used to occasionally make crepes for the family on weekends.  I never thought it was unusual until we had guests who "oohed and aahhed" over such a fancy breakfast.  But crepes really aren't all that hard to make.  It's more or less the same as pancakes, you just cook them one at a time in a smaller pan.  I'd say the hardest part is waiting the 30 minutes for the batter

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-29278844772400918442010-05-14T10:10:00.000-05:002010-05-14T10:10:41.442-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I've been busier than usual as of late.  But I promise I have a great weekend breakfast/brunch post coming up soon!  In the meantime, here's a link to a guest blog I wrote for Momtrends.  It includes my world-famous recipe for "Kitchen Sink Cookies."  Ok, maybe not world-famous, but they're pretty famous in our household.  Troy has declared them his favorite

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-81025984345720585042010-04-11T16:30:00.000-05:002010-04-11T16:30:39.945-05:00

Yikes, has it really been almost 2 months since my last post?  Sincere apologies, as the month of March was a bit crazy, and then, well...I guess I just got a bit lazy about catching up.  To make up for it, here's another restaurant review. For my birthday last month, Troy took me to Abacus for dinner.  We've always heard fabulous things about it but had yet to go there, so I was very excited to

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-20817221436372122602010-02-13T12:08:00.002-06:002010-02-13T12:23:07.485-06:00

With my mom in town for a visit last week, the hubby and I decided to take advantage of free babysitting and celebrate our anniversary a little early.  We usually try to go someplace nice and this year we settled on Craft. Craft Dallas is located inside the W hotel, right across from Victory Park.  I have to confess, Troy and I are rather woefully unhip, especially after being sequestered in the

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-18871052218534856002010-02-12T17:44:00.000-06:002010-02-12T17:44:26.835-06:00

  I've been dying to make these ever since my friend Abbie posted them on her website, The Green Wife (she has lots of great stuff there - recipes, crafts, giveaways, etc).  I mean, who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate together, right? Well with the big snowstorm here in Texas, we were more or less housebound today so I decided to give it a whirl.  They're a teeny bit labor intensive,

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-79832955996406052012010-02-08T21:56:00.000-06:002010-02-08T21:56:07.892-06:00

This is one of the very first recipes that I came up with totally on my own, from scratch.  I'm not generally one to brag, but I will say that this cake usually earns raves whenever I make it.  It was inspired by the store-bought packages of sliced lemon cake my brother and I used to eat as a kid.  That stuff was a frightening shade of neon yellow but it was super lemony and I don't think I've

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-33970534902063875672010-01-13T17:19:00.004-06:002010-01-13T18:51:12.962-06:00

I actually made this a couple weeks ago, for New Year's Day, but I haven't had a chance to post about it till now.  Chinese "red-braised" beef is one of my ultimate comfort foods.  My grandmother use to make the best I have ever tasted, although my mom's is pretty darn good too.  I had my grandma teach me how to make this and a few other favorite dishes a number of years ago, following her to

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-74737915753920818212010-01-12T22:10:00.003-06:002010-01-12T22:19:38.104-06:00

I randomly decided I wanted to try to bake some pita bread today.  Well, not totally randomly.  I actually wanted to make naan, but as I was searching through The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger for a recipe (sadly to no avail), I came across this recipe for Country-Style Whole-Wheat Pita Bread and decided to try that instead since I already had all the ingredients for it. Ingredients 2 1/

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-61152909519496309002010-01-07T21:53:00.001-06:002010-01-07T21:54:04.823-06:00

I've been making fun of the dire weather warnings for the ARCTIC BLAST all week, but I have to confess, it really did get pretty dang cold!  I thought I moved to Texas to get away from phrases like "wind chill," dammit! In any case, the cold weather was a nice excuse to fire up the camp stove and eat hot pot (huo guo), also known as shabu shabu.  I have very fond childhood memories of

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-78439720261348918462010-01-02T22:55:00.002-06:002010-01-03T12:51:01.204-06:00

  Have I mentioned that I love the new bundt pan I got for Christmas from my lovely sister-in-law?  It's not often that I will bake twice in the same day, let alone using the same pan, but I couldn't resist trying out the recipe that came on the back of the box last night. You can also find a slightly different, scaled-down version of this recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website that's

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-43866162625319331672010-01-01T16:59:00.002-06:002010-01-01T17:14:37.820-06:00

Happy New Year!! For New Year's Day breakfast, I decided last minute to give Monkey Bread another try, this time using the shortcut that seems to be most popular, store-bought dough.  I actually happened to have a tube of refrigerated French bread dough on hand (bought for some other recipe that I never got around to making), so I opted to use that over biscuit dough.  But it was otherwise

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-5186797276715771432009-12-27T16:47:00.004-06:002009-12-27T19:21:32.701-06:00

We did our "fancy" dinner on Christmas Eve (prime rib roast, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus). I had also bought some lobster tails with the intention of making it more of a "surf & turf" dinner, but at the last minute, I realized that we already had a ton of food.  So I decided instead to save the lobster for Christmas day. Well, as dinner approached, I realized I had no clue what

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-71261679680214626262009-12-25T14:55:00.061-06:002010-01-03T11:42:35.588-06:00

We decided not to travel for the holidays this year and have our first real family Christmas at home.  It was especially exciting because this is the first year that our daughter really understood the concept of holidays, and it was fun to see how much she enjoyed the lights and decorations and of course, the presents. Since it was just the three of us, I didn't want to do anything too

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-49363263216720745722009-12-20T12:44:00.001-06:002010-01-03T11:45:02.934-06:00

My wonderful mother-in-law made this amazing coffee cake during one of her visits.  It was so rich and moist, I absolutely had to copy down the recipe.  Of course, being awash in thousands of recipes, I never got around to making it until just last month.  I made it for a knitting night with friends, and then again just a couple days ago for a potluck playdate.  It was every bit as good as I

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-84685736088323345212009-12-17T15:43:00.002-06:002011-12-23T21:52:34.697-06:00

(In case you missed them, here are links to part one and part two.) After you have what is more or less a base coat of icing on your cookies, you can do all your detail work. For me, this includes doing the outlines too. For these cookies, I pretty much just winged it and piped mostly straight lines and dots. The nice thing about snowflakes is that they can be as simple or as intricate

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-25054748453998339142009-12-17T12:29:00.002-06:002011-12-23T21:49:52.600-06:00

(In case you missed it, here's a link to Part 1) Today I'm going to talk about the most fun part - icing and decorating the cookies! I won't lie, this part requires a fair amount of dedication because the real key to making beautiful, elaborately decorated cookies is time and patience. As I mentioned in part one, you want to allow yourself at least 3-4 days to make decorated cookies. These

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-67807442516774045892009-12-13T11:57:00.009-06:002010-01-03T11:42:55.198-06:00

Well, I suck. I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. Sincere apologies for my lameness, although in my own defense, I spent the better part of November (including Thanksgiving) sick. And since then...well, I guess I've just been lazy.To make up for it, I thought I'd post a step-by-step of how I do my decorated sugar cookies. I absolutely LOVE baking and decorating. It's

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-82133835878006620582009-10-28T17:41:00.005-05:002009-10-28T18:23:12.679-05:00

I love sushi. I mean, I really love sushi. Like, I could eat it all day, every day. And I almost don't care where it comes from. Sushi buffet? Hell yeah! Grocery store sushi? Sure, why not! When Troy and I talk about what kind of competitive food event we could each excel at, my food is sushi.That being said, it's really a bit of a sin that I've never tried to make sushi myself at home.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-64244673485027217262009-10-12T12:56:00.004-05:002010-01-03T11:42:55.199-06:00

I don't always cook from scratch, but I am normally pretty adamant about baking from scratch. However, lately I seem to be going through a phase of throwing together convenience stuff from mixes. Last night was no exception. The weather here has cooled off quite a bit in the last week, so Troy decided to make chili, which is one of his specialties. I contributed by making cornbread (from a

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-28285762687043552602009-10-10T18:48:00.004-05:002009-10-12T13:11:51.207-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA again. Not going to make excuses this time, but I'm working on getting back into the blogging groove. In the meantime, here are some photos of things I've cooked but been too lazy to actually write entire posts about. They're actually all things that I make on a semi-regular basis so I promise, I'll come back to them and post recipes eventually.Curried chicken thighs with

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-61275799380310929602009-09-17T15:36:00.001-05:002009-09-17T19:05:32.298-05:00

Fried rice is my number one comfort food. I could probably eat it every day, and I don't care whether it's homemade, take-out or whatever, although I suppose I draw the line at frozen. It's also my favorite way to use up whatever is in my refrigerator. Over the years, I've had a number of people ask me for a fried rice recipe, and I've always had a hard time giving one because it's such a

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-5545341702826101162009-09-10T21:39:00.005-05:002009-09-10T22:22:20.637-05:00

Not to brag, but I make a pretty darn good lasagna. I've been meaning to share the recipe for a while, even though it's not super fancy or unique. It's just really a good classic meaty, cheesy, tomato-y lasagna.Lasagna was always my favorite Italian dish as a kid. It used to be the dish that I always ordered without fail. Of course, as I got older and my tastes got more sophisticated, I

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-62647340402602771002009-09-09T19:37:00.003-05:002009-09-09T19:46:16.187-05:00

I'm starting to think I should just change the name of my blog seeing as how lately I've been cooking more from other blogs than anything else. But hey, better to post something than nothing, right? Today's entry is chicken katsu, inspired by my love of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, and also from this blog that I bookmarked a while back. Chicken katsu is basically the Asian equivalent of chicken

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-68056516540441287852009-09-03T01:10:00.001-05:002009-09-03T01:11:52.164-05:00

Sorry, never got around to uploading the other night. As you can see, we were out of spaghetti, so we had whole wheat shells instead. Oh and Troy said that the meatballs and sauce were actually better the next day.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-78191363242957242192009-08-30T23:15:00.003-05:002009-08-31T14:30:47.386-05:00

Last week, Troy requested I make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Well, with the frenzy of baby shower preparations, it sort of fell by the wayside. I decided to make it for Sunday dinner instead.Confession: I don't make spaghetti sauce very often because I'm lazy and it's just so easy to open a jar (the Barilla brand sauces are particular faves in our house). But my sister-in-law recently

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-82157195947441533942009-08-29T16:41:00.006-05:002009-08-29T19:45:20.156-05:00

It's rare for me to feel completely happy with anything I make, whether it's food or knitting or whatever, but I must say, I'm overall very pleased with how everything turned out for my friend's baby shower. I actually relied quite heavily on the two Ina Garten cookbooks I have: Barefoot Contessa and Barefoot Contessa Parties! These were two of the first cookbooks I ever bought and I use them

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-11382092603637218322009-08-27T22:17:00.006-05:002009-08-29T16:41:09.437-05:00

I'm starting to consider rethinking my approach to this blog. I've been cooking quite a bit lately...just not from the Pepin book. Oops. In any case, I mixed up some mini cranberry orange scones for a baby shower I'm throwing this weekend. I won't be baking them till this weekend (no picture just yet since Troy and I ate the testers before I remembered to snap one). Like the coffee cake from

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-68033939772984545282009-08-25T15:23:00.005-05:002009-08-29T18:13:52.273-05:00

Per the request of a friend, I made the lemon-raspberry swirl ice cream sandwiches from this blog yesterday. And let me just say, they are freaking super delicious. Totally worth the effort.My very minor variations:I did not have two 8-inch square pans, so I used one 9x12 baking sheet to make the cookie crust. Doing that meant my crust turned out smaller but thicker, which I don't really think

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-63028596609734291842009-08-16T15:41:00.008-05:002009-08-29T18:14:06.456-05:00

Sorry if it seems that I have fallen off the face of the earth in regards to updating this blog. Between all the traveling we've been doing this summer, and just the busyness of life in general, I have not been very good about keeping up. After spending almost 2 weeks in Iowa, I could not get my act together to do any sort of serious cooking, especially since we took another long trip to

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-33398884318437554482009-06-24T16:45:00.002-05:002009-08-29T18:14:50.609-05:00

Ingredients:Pate Brisee1 c. all-purpose flour (5-5 1/2 oz)6 tbsp cold unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 1/2-inch slices1/8 tsp salt1/4 tsp sugarAbout 3 tbsp ice waterFilling1 large or 2 small leeks, trimmed, washed, and thinly sliced (2 cups)3/4 c. water4 large eggs1/2 tsp salt1/2 tsp black pepper1 1/2 c. grated Gruyere cheese1 1/4 c. milk1/4 c. heavy cream1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.2.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-12371145896605576652009-06-24T00:30:00.003-05:002009-08-29T18:14:44.837-05:00

I'm currently baking a quiche. Yes, I realize it's after midnight. This is my punishment for being a procrastinator. But I digress.I think from here on in, I'm going to start doing individual recipes. There are a few more full-dinner menus in the book, but some of the sections are now more focused on one ingredient or cooking method. It's also starting to become more difficult for me to do 3

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-85323945728903202142009-06-22T14:44:00.006-05:002009-06-22T18:08:13.924-05:00

Un-freaking believable! Or is that considered three words? Either way, the salted caramel ice cream turned out absolutely AMAZING. Smooth, rich, creamy, buttery, caramel-y goodness on a spoon. I shared a bowl with Troy last night, and I'm currently resisting the urge to go dig into it with a spoon right this second because once I start, I don't think I'll be able to stop. This is up there

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-42964115470359555502009-06-20T17:13:00.004-05:002009-06-20T17:29:11.219-05:00

I love food/cooking blogs (surprise). There are a few I follow pretty regularly, but I also happen upon a lot of others at random. I know this blog is supposed to be for one specific cookbook at a time, but I'm occasionally going to post other stuff I make from recipes I've found online. And the bonus for me is I don't have to type in the whole recipe, just link. Yeah, I'm lazy like that. In

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-88819466713270865362009-06-18T21:09:00.006-05:002009-06-19T00:27:11.446-05:00

Ingredients: 1/4 c. honey 1 tbsp grated orange rind 2-3 tbsp orange juice 1 tbsp Grand Marnier 1 large cantaloupe (about 1 1/2 lbs), seeded, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces (2 1/2 cups) 1 cup strawberries, washed, hulled, and halved or quartered, depending on size (about 3/4 cup) 1. Combine the honey, orange rind, orange juice, and Grand Marnier in a bowl large enough to hold the melon and

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-27184848363748628132009-06-18T20:41:00.005-05:002009-06-19T00:22:12.659-05:00

Ingredients:4 fillets of sea bass (about 1 1/2 lbs)2 lg Idaho potatoes (1 lb total)1/2 medium leek (about 3 oz) washed, and finely chopped (1/2 cup)1 tbsp cottonseed or safflower oil1 tbsp unsalted butter1/2 tsp salt1. Remove and discard any bones or sinews from the fillets. When cleaned, each fillet should weigh about 5 oz.2. Peel the potatoes (or leave them unpeeled, if desired) and wash them

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-81955158155441371402009-06-18T20:06:00.002-05:002009-06-19T00:01:44.351-05:00

Ingredients:2 eggplants (about 1 3/4 lbs total), each about 3-4 inches in diameter1 1/2 tbsp canola oil3/4 teaspoon salt1 1/2 oz leftover bread, preferably from a baguette, cut into 1-inch pieces1/4 c. mixture chopped fresh chives and fresh parsley1 clove garlic, peeled2 tsp virgin olive oil1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.2. Trim the eggplants, peel them, and cut them into thick slices, each

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-44999200992660653442009-06-18T19:57:00.004-05:002009-06-19T00:09:12.799-05:00

Ingredients: 1 small head cabbage or half a large head (1 1/4 lbs) 1 carrot (4 oz) peeled 1/3 cup mayonnaise 3 tbsp cider vinegar 1 tbsp sugar 1 tsp salt 2 tsp poppy seeds 1/4 tsp Tabasco hot pepper sauce1 tsp curry powder 1. Trim the cabbage, removing and discarding any damaged parts, and shred it on a slicer or by cutting it into thin slices with a sharp knife. (You should have 5-6 lightly

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-73786190384969993362009-06-17T22:50:00.004-05:002009-06-17T23:15:50.391-05:00

I have to admit, I'm really starting to enjoy this little project. It's nice to cook real food on a regular basis. I usually only cook 3, maybe 4, days out of 7, and the rest of the time we eat leftovers, "scrounge," or eat/take out. So even though I still have yet to edit yesterday's photos and get those up, I'm already planning on cooking again tomorrow night, this time for guests!Tomorrow

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-65961383708254173292009-06-17T21:13:00.004-05:002009-06-17T21:39:08.633-05:00

Confession time: In case you haven't noticed, I dropped the last course. It was essentially just fresh pears served with unshelled nuts which you roasted in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Pears aren't really in season right now (in fact, they didn't even have any at the store yesterday), and I also just wasn't in the mood to go on a mad hunt for unroasted, unshelled nuts. If I happen

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-78821284480576783142009-06-17T00:06:00.006-05:002009-06-18T21:31:33.212-05:00

Ingredients:1 tsp peanut or cottonseed oil3 tbsp chopped onion1/3 c. short brown rice (1 1/2 oz)1 c. chicken or beef stock, preferably homemade unsalted and defattedSalt to tasteDash red pepper flakes1 stalk broccoli (3-4 oz)2 tbsp grated Swiss cheese1. Heat the oil in a small sturdy saucepan. When it is hot, add the onion and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally until

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-20564227708852654842009-06-16T22:44:00.004-05:002009-06-18T21:46:32.778-05:00

Ingredients:2 cups loosely packed escarole1 slice stale bread (about 1 oz)1 1/2 tsp canola or peanut oilDressing:1/2 clove garlic, peeled1 anchovy fillet in oil, coarsely chopped2 tsp fresh lemon juice1 tbsp olive or peanut oilDash saltDash freshly ground black pepper2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese, or a combo of blue with pieces of Cheddar, Camembert, etc.1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.2.

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-24713121709426652352009-06-16T22:11:00.005-05:002009-06-18T21:32:41.701-05:00

Ingredients:1 tsp olive oil1 chicken leg (8-10 oz.) with skin, back bones, and tips of drumsticks removed (about 6 oz, trimmed weight)Dash salt1/8 tsp chili powder1/8 tsp cumin Dash dried thyme Dash cayenne pepper1/2 tsp all-purpose flour1 strip lemon peel, removed with a vegetable peeler1 strip orange peel, removed with a vegetable peeler1 tsp chopped fresh ginger (washed, but not peeled)1

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-57887851364764125262009-06-16T15:22:00.004-05:002009-06-16T15:29:07.711-05:00

Call me crazy, but I think I'm going to attempt another menu tonight. Just don't get used to seeing a new one every day because I'm one of those people that somehow manages to use every pot, pan and dish when I cook, so it is hell to keep my kitchen clean. Anyways, Troy is working late tonight, and my original dinner plan fell through, so I've decided to skip ahead a couple menus in the book

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-86029148444443036582009-06-16T15:17:00.003-05:002009-06-16T17:40:23.681-05:00

**pictures have been added to previous posts**Final notes and thoughts on the menu: Overall, I really enjoyed this meal, chewy meat and all. Troy thought that it was a bit overly fancy for everyday. I'm not sure that I'd really label it as an "Easy Shortcut" meal, like the name implied. There's a fair amount of chopping and prep, as well as a few ingredients that I don't normally keep on hand. So

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-6726140053321498332009-06-16T14:05:00.005-05:002009-06-16T15:21:00.446-05:00

Ingredients:1 lemon1/4 c. maple syrup1 pint (12 oz.) blueberries, preferably small wild ones1. Using a vegetable peeler, remove 4 pees from the lemon and set them aside. Cut the lemon in half, and press it to obtain the juice (about 2 tbsp).2. Mix the lemon juice and maple syrup in a bowl large enough to hold the blueberries.3. Rinse the blueberries well in cool water, removing and discarding

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-15119835045264904152009-06-15T22:53:00.005-05:002010-01-03T11:44:14.913-06:00

Ingredients:3 c. all-purpose flour1 1/2 tsp salt1 1/2 tsp baking powder1 1/2 c. milk1/2 tsp canola oil1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.2. Reserve 1 tsp of the flour and combine the remaining flour with the salt & baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add the milk, and mix gently and quickly with a wooden spatula until the mixture forms a solid mass.3. Oil an aluminum nonstick baking sheet with the

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-90868039253748365892009-06-15T21:38:00.002-05:002009-06-16T15:07:27.380-05:00

Ingredients:4 baking or all-purpose potatoes (about 8 oz each), left unpeeled, but washed and any dark or damaged spots removed4 medium onions (about 5 oz each), left unpeeled (Vidalia or Maui onions are a good choice)1 1/2 tbsp peanut or safflower oil1/4 tsp salt1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.2. Split potatoes in half lengthwise, and cut the onions in half crosswise. 3. Pour the oil on an

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-45912581482633368822009-06-15T21:07:00.002-05:002009-06-16T15:04:52.113-05:00

Ingredients:4 beef shoulder blade steaks (chicken steaks), 5-6 oz each1 1/2 tsp virgin olive oil1/4 tsp salt1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper2 tbsp chopped shallots1/3 cup water1 tbsp unsalted butter1/4 c. fresh herbs (tarragon, chives, parsley, etc.), finely chopped1. Heat a large, sturdy skillet (cast iron or heavy-duty aluminum, not nonstick). Brush the steaks on both sides with the oil,

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-20565190422245359882009-06-15T20:29:00.003-05:002009-06-16T15:03:43.736-05:00

Tonight's dinner had highs and lows. For sake of readability, I'm going to break it down into separate posts, recipe-by-recipe.Greens and Sardine SaladIngredients:1 (4 oz) can sardines in olive oil1/2 c. chopped onion3 plum tomatoes, cut into 1-inch dice (1 1/2 cups)2 1/2 tbsp virgin olive oil1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar1/4 tsp salt1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper5 cups salad greens (Boston

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-9591086485589387502009-06-15T16:44:00.010-05:002009-06-16T15:11:37.462-05:00

So as mentioned before, for my first cook-a-book I'm going with one of the first cookbooks I ever bought, Jacques Pepin's Kitchen: Cooking with Claudine. The premise of the book is that he is teaching his adult daughter how to cook, both for herself and for others (it's a companion book to a PBS series). The book is organized into menus, and I'd say it's targeted at beginners, with a nice

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6662991946928726638.post-85640322256258932942009-06-10T14:37:00.007-05:002009-06-15T21:20:06.975-05:00

So what the heck do I need another blog for? Well, I've been feeling sort of melancholy lately, mostly about not pushing myself to do more, creatively, but also about not having gotten as far in my culinary career as I would have liked before I had kids. Not that I ever wanted to own a restaurant or anything like that, but I have such a passion for food that I feel like it's a shame to let that

Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06773848714457136153noreply@blogger.com5