"What's the story, Morning Glory? Need a little time to wake up wake up." ~Oasis (Morning Glory lyrics) Around Christmastime a coworker of mine brought in an amazing homemade bread to share with us. It was sweet and dense and had carrots in it, so I knew it was super good for me. Right. Well, it was so delicious that I had two pieces (ok, maybe three). So when it came time to make something for a day with the ladies I thought this would be just the thing. I'm bringing it today-hopefully the loaf will make it out of my kitchen. There are lots of recipes for Morning Glory bread out there-you …
"Polenta? Oh you mean Italian grits." ~Unknown My niece and I got to spend a little quiet time together last weekend before she traveled back to NYC after the Thanksgiving holiday. Before she headed to Logan we stopped into a little Italian joint to enjoy a couple of small plates, salads and some vino. I chose the roasted vegetable dish (which was amazing) and she chose the baked polenta, something I had never tasted. We ate, drank and were merry...and after a couple of hours she left for the city that never sleeps and auntie managed to score the leftovers. I mixed those roasted vegetables …
"Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?" ~Clark Griswold (Christmas Vacation) Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to start thinking about Christmas. Perhaps you've started your shopping or decorating, or are heading to the stores this weekend. Or, if you are like my mother-in-law, maybe you finished all of that around Halloween. (How I wish I had her energy!) Whatever your plans may be, you deserve to treat yourself at the end of the day. This eggnog definitely fits the bill. Eggnog Ingredients: 3 1/2 …
“Once again, my life has been saved by the miracle of lasagna.” ~'Garfield' (Jim Davis) Ah lasagna. You cheesy, saucy little minx. I do adore you. And now that I have found a recipe combining you with another of my great loves (soup) I may just have died and gone to foodie heaven. The component that truly makes this soup sing is the cheesy mixture. Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella...oh my! The original recipe calls for the pasta to be cooked in the soup but I cooked the pasta seperately. If you are planning on having leftovers you don't want the pasta to get mushy. Ground beef can also be …
"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." ~Lewis Carroll There is nothing like a lazy Sunday. Unfortunately because of our hectic lives we don't get to enjoy them as often as we'd like. Between sports, events, errands, etc., it seems as though there is never a day of rest during the week anymore. At this point I'll take what I can get...so how about a lazy Sunday morning? Just a few hours to sleep in, read the paper, take the dog for a leisurely stroll...then eat a nice breakfast with my cup of Joe. This quiche is perfect for that morning, because you …
"You don't want to make a steady diet of just lettuce. You don't want to make a steady diet of fried chicken." ~Paula Deen Chicken Cacciatore is one of those dishes that is just perfect for a slow cooker. Chicken and vegetables stewing together all day-the smell is heavenly and the taste is spectacular. So when I saw that the supermarket had chicken thighs on sale I just knew I had to make it. I dug out my old recipe, purchased my ingredients and pulled the slow cooker from the pantry. Then I ran late every morning, all week long. Rats! I did end up making the Chicken Cacciatore for dinner …
"When you're on the Queen Catherine, don't let 'em give you any of that flank steak crap. You know what I mean? Try the London Broil." ~Quote from Cabin Boy I have been trying to tighten our budget for awhile now and that has included everything from the cable bill to the grocery tab, the latter being the toughest. I read blogs written by thrifty ladies who somehow manage to spend a paltry fifty dollars a week to feed a family of five. I'm not talking about hot dogs and cans of beans for dinner either; these ladies make healthy meals every day. I have yet to get anywhere in the vicinity of …
"Miracles are like meatballs, because nobody can exactly agree on what they are made of, where they come from, or how often they should appear." ~Lemony Snicket I have been bringing sweet and sour meatballs to parties for years now and they have always been well received. My original version was made right in the microwave and then there was a slow cooker alteration, but I've finally settled on this stovetop version as my favorite.The combination of sweet pineapple and brown sugar mixed with tangy soy sauce and vinegar is just delightful. And come on, how many of us can resist a good …
"Someone has stolen three of my tarts!" ~The Red Queen (Alice in Wonderland) While thumbing through my People magazine last week I came upon a recipe for a lemon tart. Having never made a tart before, and therefore not realizing how easy it would be, I skipped right over it. The following day the magazine was laying on the coffee table and after a gust of wind blew through the window, the magazine opened to what else...the lemon tart recipe. My dessert destiny was calling to me. Clearly I needed to embrace it. And as luck would have it, I had all the ingredients right in the kitchen. This …
"A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins." - Laurie Colwin I would like to take a moment to talk about tomatoes. Fresh, ripe, delicious tomatoes. Whether they are from your garden, the grocery store or the farmer's market, now is the perfect time to enjoy that fruit-in-veggie's clothing. Our overflow of summer squash has finally ended and now we are in the midst of a tomato deluge; A glorious tomato deluge. I mean, there is nothing quite like a fresh tomato from the garden. The cherry and Roma tomatoes are the two we are getting a lot of and my favorite thing to do …
"Green Eggs and Ham was the story of my life. I wouldn't eat a thing when I was a kid, but Dr. Seuss inspired me to try cauliflower!" ~Jim Carrey During our vacation last week there was a lot of talk about food. I suppose that is to be expected when you put four people who love to cook in a house with a gourmet kitchen. The house had an AGA stove. Have you heard of an AGA stove? No? Neither had we. This stove is always running and has four separate ovens that vary in temperature along with two hot plates on top that are also always heated. Though there was a bit of a learning curve for us …
"Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority." —Vince Lombardi Well here we find ourselves on Super Bowl Sunday again. Last year was a bit of a letdown for New England but this year it's game on! There is nothing better than a New England-New York matchup, right? My prediction? Patriot Nation will be fat, exhausted and very happy come Monday morning. So to help handle the "fat" part of that equation, here are two dips that are sure to please your football-watching folks...whether you are heading out for the game or…
"A 'traditional' male might enjoy egg-and-bacon pie if his wife served it to him; a quiche-eater, or Sensitive New Age Guy would make the dish himself, call it by its French name quiche, and serve it to his female life partner to demonstrate his empathy with the Women's Movement. He would also wash up afterwards." —Bruce Feirstein (author of "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche") I live with two males, aged 35 and 7. These two love to eat but give me zilch when it comes to suggestions of what to make for dinner. (I hear this is a very common situation in households all over the world.) So, tired of …
"When someone asks if you'd like cake or pie, why not say you want cake and pie?" ~Lisa Loeb For Christmas, my sister-in-law gave me a cookbook devoted solely to pies. Now I love a freshly baked pie as much as the next gal, but I avoid actually making them due my subpar baking skills. A chocolate cream pie is about the best I can manage. Thumbing through the beautiful photographs in this book, though, was definitely inspiring. It inspired me to ask my husband to make one. Luckily, he was up for it and made the most delicious-looking pie in the book. Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Pie. Just typing …
As we head into the third week of January we've started to grow accustomed to our new, healthier routines. Right? Well, hopefully anyway. Having a salad for lunch every day can get boring so it's about time to mix things up a bit. How about some soup? Soup makes for a warm and satisfying lunch but unfortunately can be high in fat and calories. With just a few substitutions you can make soups that are good for you and still have great flavor. This is a revamp of my Shrimp and Corn Chowdah recipe. Switch to buttery spread, low fat milk and low fat broth, omit the bacon and cream of corn. Then …
"Fondue sets, martini shakers and juicing machines: three things the world could live completely without." —Douglas Coupland My in-laws gave my husband and I a juicer over the holidays. This was after I saw it unopened on a shelf in their basement and asked a few times if they were ever going to use it. Subtlety may not be my strong suit but who cares? I got a juicer! My boy, E, was anxious to give it a try so we threw some pineapple and baby carrots we had in the fridge together and hoped for the best. End result? Delicious! After doing some research I found out that carrots are the liason …
"If only one could tell true love from false love as one can tell mushrooms from toadstools." —Katherine MansfieldOne of my best girls, Miss T, came for a visit the other day and offered to make stuffed mushrooms. I was thrilled, since that is one of my favorite appetizers (that I very seldom make since my boys hate 'em.) As she unloaded the arsenal of supplies from her Market Basket bag I took pause. Crabmeat, shrimp, celery...these are not the makings for typical stuffed 'shrooms. As she sauteed, stuffed and baked she told me the story of how this great recipe came to be. It was handed down…
