Pork Medallions with Port Wine & Mustard Sauce

I don't recall if I've ever mentioned my most favorite restaurant in alla world? It was a small place that looked like any other small restaurant/bar - I don't really recall anything that special about the atmosphere. But the food? Oh dear sweet Jebus. It was fantastic. Unfortunately, the owner couldn't keep the place open - which shocked the hell outta me as it was ALWAYS packed. Rumors were the owners of the building upped his rent and he couldn't afford it.. other rumors were he got into a lil tax/money trouble.. whatever - the bottom line was I didn't have my favorite place to eat anymore and I was more than a lil sad. =( Their signature dish was pork tenderloin medallions in a port wine & mustard sauce. not only did they give you TWO pork tenderloins (I ate for days!) but this sauce that was poured over them was amazing. So amazing that in all the years we went there - I never had anything but the pork medallions. I just couldn't imagine anything else being as good. Wayne, my Mom and some friends always ordered different items and never was there a complaint, but for me.. it was that damn sauce. It's been a good 4 years or so since the restaurant closed. I've tried to recreate this sauce twice now. The first time was kind of close - but it called for pears. There were no pears in the original, but I thought what the hell and tried it. It was good.. very good. And then I lost the recipe. Mmm hmm.. so I tried again just this week. Not even close, quite frankly. I decided to just dump and pour and hope for the best. Well I didn't get the sauce I was hoping for, but I did get quite a fantastic sweet & tangy sauce that really went well with the pork. The first thing you'll notice when you taste is it's sweetness, but then you'll taste the mustard's tang and the port wine is very nice in the background. I think the only thing I'll change the next time I make this is to cut down on the brown sugar a bit. Hubbs didn't work that day so he wanted to contribute to the meal. I asked him to find a good side dish, preferably potatoes. He decided on an Onion and Potato Casserole that was quite nice, although probably not the best accompaniment for the medallions. Next time something lighter to offset the richness of the sauce might be better. But I'm including this recipe as it was very tasty and would be a fantastic side dish for just about any meat prepared a different way. Port Wine & Mustard Sauce 1 c. Port wine 1/4 c. dijon mustard 3/4 - 1 c. beef stock 1/4 c. brown sugar 1 TBS. butter Pan drippings After you've roasted your pork (I roasted mine in the same skillet I used to sear it in and then carefully made the sauce in the same skillet - keeping a thick kitchen towel over the handle at all times to remind my dork arse that it was searing hot) remove it to a dish and cover with foil to keep warm. In the skillet add the 1 c. of port wine sauce, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula to lift off the lil brown bits of goodness. Simmer the wine until it reduces by half. Add the mustard and about 1/2 c. of beef broth and continue to simmer until this has reduced by 1/2. Finally add the brown sugar and more broth depending on how thick you want the sauce to be. I don't think I added much more the second time - maybe a 1/4 cup or so? Anyhoo, simmer this slowly until you've reached the consistency you'd like then add the butter and stir until your sauce becomes silky. Drizzle over medallions and serve. Onion and Potato Casserole 3 c. sliced onions (2 large onions) 2 TBS butter 1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed cream of celery soup 1/2 c. water salt and pepper to taste 1/4 tsp. dried thyme 6 med. potatoes, sliced thin and parboiled 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese Preheat oven to 350º F. In a skillet, cook onions in butter until lightly browned. Add soup and water, season with salt and pepper and thyme. Arrange potatoes and 1/2 c. of the cheese in a buttered 2 quart casserole. Pour onion mixture over potatoes & cheese and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned. Serves 4 My Note: The only thing thing he did differently was cut the recipe in half.

Part II of the Fixin's

We don't make anything spectacular or fancy for our side dishes. I pretty much make everything my mother has made since I was a child - and I'm pretty sure she made everything her mom made for her. And pretty much means, I make everything the same except for that elusive sweet potato recipe I keep looking for and the stuffing. The recipe I'm going to share below is something you'd find Sandy Lee getting her panties in a bunch over, I'm almost embarrassed to say. Although this is NOT a Semi-Homemade recipe, but a recipe I was given from a friend many years before the fine people at Food TV even entertained the thought of giving Sandra Lee her own show. Made with a box stuffing mix (gasp!), zucchini, onions, cream of chicken soup and other decidedly artery clogging ingredients, this is the easiest and most delicious stuffing I've ever had in my life. So delicious, in fact, that my MOM requests it every year and won't even think about making her own stuffing FROM SCRATCH that she prepared all those years prior. TRUST ME when I urge you to try this easy stuffing the next time you serve chicken or chops. You will be amazed at the flavor of this recipe. Easy Stuffing 1 box of chicken flavored dry stuffing mix (I use Stouffer's Stove Top) 2 medium zucchini, sliced and then quartered 1 med. vidalia onion, chopped 1 small carton of button or crimini mushrooms, either sliced or quartered 1 stick of butter + 2 TBS., room temperature 1 can of cream of chicken soup 8 oz. sour cream 1 sm. can of French's French Fried Onions Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly grease an 8" x 8" Pyrex baking dish (I had to use a 9" x 13" metal baking pan on Thanksgiving because someone had already filled my glass 8" x 8" with the buffalo chicken dip by mistake *oops* - but if it's all you've got, cut the baking time down to 20-25 minutes) and set aside. In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, melt the 2 TBS. of butter and then add the quartered zucchini and onions. Saute for about 5-7 minutes until the onions are beginning to brown. Add the mushrooms and saute another 5-10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the cream of chicken soup and sour cream, then add the dry stuffing mix and the butter, mix well. Once vegetables are lightly browned, dump them in with the stuffing mixture and stir well. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the french fried onions over top. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes or until the french fried onions are goldeny brown. The rest of our sides are pretty much the same as everyone else has - the staples, if you will. Smashed potatoes, corn, brussels sprouts, green beans, corn bread, rolls, waldorf salad, cole slaw and cranberry sauce (not the canned jelly kind - ewww). Dessert is an apple pie and Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Pumpkin cake. Which I will share in the next post. And then? I'd like to forget about Thanksgiving and start thinking about Christmas presents.. ugh. hahaa!

Meeta's Monthly Mingle No. 4

I was getting a little worried about this month's Monthly Mingle.. as coming up with something that included zucchini and sage was posing a problem for me. I could think of a zillion zucchini recipes, but I don't use sage that often in my cooking. I did not want to disappoint the very lovely Meeta so I really needed to come up with something! After a lot of recipe research in cookbooks and online, nothing really sounded very inspiring. Bummer. BUT! When I decided to cook a big meal for Hubbs and I yesterday afternoon, I decided that instead of serving potatoes with the roast, I'd like some creamy risotto. As you know, risotto is very versatile and many different ingredients work well in it. I wondered how zucchini and sage with maybe a little hit of mild onion would taste in a basic risotto recipe? Ha! It was fabulous! And now, I've created a risotto recipe that I will use again and again - I lurve when that happens! So if you aren't familiar.. this month's Monthly Mingle is called "Take Two". Meeta gave us all the challenge of coming up with a dish that included zucchini and sage. Here is my submission, I hope you try it and I hope you check out all the rest of the creative dishes when she posts the roundup this coming weekend. There is still time to get in your creative sage and zucchini dish as well! The deadline is Oct. 12 - so get cookin' kids! :D Lisa's Sage, Zucchini and Green Onion Risotto 2 small to medium zucchini, cut into coins and then quartered 3-4 green onions, sliced thin 1 TBS. fresh, chopped sage 1 TBS. butter 1 1/4 c. Arborio rice 3 - 3 1/2 c. chicken stock 1 generous pinch of sea salt Ground black pepper, to taste In a large skillet, melt the butter and then saute the zucchini and onions (reserve about 1 TBS. of the sliced onions) until translucent. Add the rice and saute until it just begins to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 c. of the stock and stir rice until it soaks up most of the stock - then continue on in this fashion, 1/2 c. of stock at a time, until you've used all the stock - this should take between 20 and 30 minutes and the rice should be very creamy. Add the fresh sage with the last 1/2 c. of stock. Once the rice has absorbed the last of the stock, sprinkle the reserved onions on top and serve. *Note: When I make risotto, I normally add a good handful of Parmigiano or Pecorino. I did not do that this time as I wanted the other flavors to shine through, but I can't imagine it not being just as delicious with the addition of the cheese if you so desire. :D

Seafood Chowder and Honey Cornbread

I wasn't even going to post the Seafood Chowder recipe as I did not like it at all. But, I do not like seafood in soups/chowders unless it's my father's clam chowder - AND I'm not a fan of bacon in my soups either.. I figure this recipe must be decent though, as Hubbs ate not one.. not two.. but three fakkin bowls of the stuff! Therefore, I'm sharin' =) The Honey Cornbread, on the other hand, was delicious. Not too sweet and not too crumbly. Unfortunately, I didn't cook it long enough (as you'll see in the picture) and the very middle was smooshy - but the rest of it was pretty tasty! Seafood Chowder Courtesy of Recipezaar 3 slices of bacon, chopped 1 TBS. olive oil 1 c. celery, sliced 1 c. onions, chopped 2 c. chicken stock 1 bottle of clam juice 2 c. potatoes, peeled & chopped (I used baby reds, so I didn't bother peeling) 1 c. carrots, sliced 1 can (15 oz.) tomato juice 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. sea salt 1 TBS. corn starch (See Note) 1 TBS. water 1 lb. of seafood (I used a bag of assrt. seafood that I purchased at Trader Joe's - shrimp, bay scallops and calamari rings) Saute bacon in medium to large stock pot until crisp, add 1 TBS. olive oil, onions and celery sauteing until soft. Add stock, clam juice, tomato juice, potatoes and carrots. Season with salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 35 minutes. Add seafood and a slurry made of the cornstarch and water. (1 TBS. cornstarch and 1 TBS. of water didn't come close to thickening this chowder - so I added 2 TBS. of both and it still didn't thicken.. I gave up, basically because it wasn't a big deal to us that the chowder was more like a soup. So if you want this thick, I suggest starting with 2 TBS. of cornstarch and water and then adding more to get the thickness you desire). Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Honey Cornbread Courtesy of Recipezaar 1 c. all purpose flour 1 c. yellow cornmeal 1/4 c. sugar 1 TBS. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 2 eggs 1 c. heavy cream 3 TBS. honey 1/4 c. vegetable oil Preheat oven to 400º F. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a medium bowl and then slowly add dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Transfer to either a 9" springform pan or a 8" x 8" baking dish that's well greased. Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven, or until toothpick comes out clean. (guess who was rushing and forgot to check with a toothpick? *sigh*) Slather slices in butter (ya'll) and enjoy! ;)

Honey Ginger Salmon with Risotto

Yesterday I was up at 4 in the morning and by 6 I was bent over in pain again (ugh!) so I went back to bed and slept until 11.. holy schnikeys! Once up, I discovered that Hubbs had cleaned the house and aired out the stench of the chicken from hell of the night before. After all that sleep, I was feeling pretty good for a switch and a change.. and seeing my house freshly cleaned put me in an even better mood. Wayne's brother is up from Florida and staying with their other brother at his cabin in the woods and I knew Wayne was dying to go see them, so I begged him to just go have some fun and not worry about me, I was feeling good. Besides, this was probably going to be his only chance, as we've finally heard from bossman that Wayne will most likely have to leave for Arkansas next weekend. It will only be for a week this time, but his brother will be gone by the time he gets back. After he left I came back to the office, propped up my feet (hi doc!), and checked e-mail and my blogroll. Not long after, I started feeling the pain again but thought to myself that this is simply ridiculous. I can not do another day in bed, I've got laundry out the ying yang and I missed my kitchen so very much. So I popped a pain pill left over from surgery. I know, I know.. not following doctor's orders, blah blah blah.. but this laying in bed shit obviously wasn't helping (at least not fast enough for me) and my body was screaming for some movement. After the initial 15 minutes of feeling high as a kite (woo!), I couldn't feel the pain anymore and proceeded to get some laundry done. I was careful, made several trips with small baskets of clothes and didn't over exert myself. And I've gotta tell yas, I felt great the rest of the day. Every once in a while I'd get a pang, but nothing like the previous pain I'd been having. I accomplished quite a few chores and didn't feel any worse for the ware. Today, I feel pretty good - and am going back to work. I really think the movement did me some good, honest! :D In between loads of laundry I checked out a few of my cookbooks and decided that I wanted to cook a beautiful piece of salmon I had bought last week. While looking for a recipe, I also had Food TV on (shocker, eh?) and The Head (a/k/a Giada) was making a simple risotto that looked fabulous. So I looked through her book and found the recipe which I thought would be a great side to the Honey-Ginger salmon recipe I had decided on in the Cooking Light book. We aren't big fans of salmon in this household. I've attempted it twice now and it just never floated our boats. I sincerely think that the difference this time was the fillet I bought. Normally my grocery store carries the farm raised fish shipped in from Chile or Vietnam or somewhere equally far away. This fillet was from Alaska and was caught wild (or so the fish gal said). It was of the darkest ruby red that I've ever seen and smelled like nothing really, meaning there was no over powering fishy smell at all. Still, I only bought a 1/2 pound fillet, just because we've never been that into salmon. I cut the fillet in half, which gave us both a nice slice of fish and I marinated it as per instructions. Hurray! The fish was marvelous and although I will only buy the same fish caught wild in Alaska from here on out.. we will have it again. I'm so happy about that because I've seen so many fabulous salmon recipes that looked insanely good but I was afraid of making them. Now I know I can try them out, now that I know which salmon to buy. This was a sweet glaze, well doh! honey!, and it did pair very well with the savory risotto. The risotto was amazing.. creamy, nutty and buttery. Yum. Honey-Ginger Glazed Salmon Courtesy of Cooking Light's Annual Recipes 2006 Basic Risotto Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis For the salmon: 2/3 c. sage honey (I used basic clover honey) 2 TBS. fresh lemon juice 2 TBS. warm water 1 1/2 tsp. grated, peeled ginger 1 garlic clove, minced 4 (6 oz.) skinless salmon fillets (1 inch thick) 1/4 tsp. salt Preheat oven to 350º F. In a small bowl, combine honey, juice, water, ginger and garlic. Pour honey mixture into a 9" x 13" x 2" Pyrex baking dish, arrange fish in pan, skinned side up. Let stand 20 minutes. Turn fish over, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and preheat broiler. Brush fish with honey mixture and broil for 7 minutes, (As you can see, the honey mixture started to burn a bit after about 5 minutes, so I took the fish out and it was perfectly done.) or until fish is browned and flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. I cut both of these recipes in half. For the risotto: 4 c. reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used a good chicken stock) 3 TBS. butter 3/4 c. finely chopped onion 1 1/2 c. Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice 1/2 c. dry white wine 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. fresly ground black pepper 2 TBS. fresh, chopped basil (Recipe didn't call for this, so optional) In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Cover the broth and keep hot over low heat. In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 TBS. of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer, until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 c. of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 c. at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Remove from heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining TBS. of butter, salt & pepper and the basil (if so desired). Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

A New Cookbook

A few weeks ago, Cooking Light magazine sent me an offer for their "Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2006" cookbook. Their promotion for the book was quite enticing, with lots of gorgeous pictures and some really yummy sample recipes.. so enticing, that I sent the little postage-paid card back the same day requesting the book. I received it this past Friday and couldn't wait to sit down and go through it. Much to my chagrin their finished product wasn't anything like the promotion. There are tons of recipes, yes.. but they are all presented in a mish-mash way on the pages, with "clumps" of picture pages throughout the book. The recipes are organized by monthly issue instead of the normal categories you'd find in just about any cookbook published.. EVER. So to find a recipe, say, something in the appetizer or side dish category, I have to go to the back of the book and look in the index that's listed by INGREDIENT. In other words, unless I know exactly what main ingredient I want to use for a certain appetizer or side dish, I have to peruse the whole freakin index to find something that fits the bill. Gah. Okay, so I've found a couple recipes that look good - and am hoping they are appetizers and/or side dishes - I go to their corresponding pages to find that I then have to search the page to find the recipe, because they've slammed about 5 recipes on each page. If I want to see what the finished recipe looks like? Yeah good luck.. I can go through the several clumps of picture pages and MAYBE get lucky if they've taken a picture of the recipe I've chosen, but I found I didn't luck out very often. This isn't my first cookbook made up of a magazine's year's worth of recipes. I have several of "Home Cooking"'s annual collection of recipes and those books are categorized by appetizer, main dish, side dish, desert etc.. with pictures on every single page that actually correspond with the recipes. So shame on Cooking Light - it looks as if they had 2 people in charge of creating this book and those 2 people waited until the last minute - so they just slapped typed recipes all over the place and as an afterthought, threw in those picture page clumps. No organization whatsoever. Okay, I lied.. organized by monthly issue. I don't receive the magazine, so I don't know what was published each month. Had I received the magazine, I can GUARANTEE that I would not remember what was published each month anyway! Sheesh. Okay before sending this book back, I've decided to try a few recipes to see if they are worth keeping the book, regardless of the ass-pain it would be to search for a recipe when I wanted one. The first one I chose was a type of potato salad that was mayo-less and used roasted potatoes. I served this potato salad with my London Broil, some steamed asparagus and a salad that my girlfriend, Mindy, and her family brought yesterday for our lil 4th of July get together. The salad was decent, very different from any potato salad we've ever had. The roasting of the potatoes was fabulous and I'd really like to try the other potato salads I've made in the past with roasted potatoes to see if they'd work. The vinaigrette was a bit vinegar-y for my taste, but also quite delicious.. in other words, I'd make it again but cut the vinegar back quite a bit. So with that, and the opinions of my guests... this recipe is a keeper but with a little tweaking needed. I have hope for the book.. this recipe isn't the deal breaker, but it does make me want to try others. Roasted Potato Salad Courtesy of Cooking Light's Annual Recipes 2006 Potatoes: 2 tsp. olive oil 1/4 tsp. kosher salt 4 lbs. small red potatoes, quartered (I did a large dice) Cooking spray 1/2 c. chopped green onions 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley 4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled Vinaigrette 2 1/2 TBS. balsamic vinegar (I will cut this down to 1 TBS. next time) 1 TBS. Dijon mustard 2 tsp. olive oil 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1/4 tsp. kosher salt Preheat oven to 450º F. To prepare potatoes, toss potatoes with 2 tsp. olive oil and 1/4 tsp. kosher salt. Arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes or until tender. (I found that even diced, the potatoes weren't exactly fork tender after 30 minutes, so I flipped them around and continued roasting for another 20 minutes, which made them nice and tender and also a tad bit crispy around the edges - which was perfect). Cool potatoes. Combine potatoes, onions and bacon. To prepare the viniagrette, whisk together vinegar, mustard, salt & pepper while drizzling the olive oil in until you've created a thick emulsion. Pour viniagrette over potato mixture and coat well. Serve immediately. This recipe serves 8 with 1 c. servings.

Chicken Breasts in Creamy Caper Sauce

I'm trying my hardest to use up what's in our freezer.. which truly means, I don't have to shop for meat or poultry for a good year or so. Sheesh. I swear, what is it with me and the fear of one day opening the freezer or pantry and NOT finding what I want? I live less than a mile from our grocery store, it's not like I've got to plan for the big trip into the city to buy some chicken or a steak when I want them. But no, God forbid I decide that morning that pork chops sound good for dinner and have to trek allllll the way to the store (2 minutes) to get them. Hubbs doesn't understand my stocking fetish either. I guess that's why he bought 3 freezers?? hehe Anyhoo.. getting rid of some chicken breasts sounded good yesterday. In an attempt to try to eat light for a switch and a change, I had hopes to just broil or grill them and serve with a salad. Yeah that lasted until about 3 p.m. I got stuck at work yesterday with no break so I was starving. What's the 2nd worst thing you can do while hungry, besides grocery shop? Go looking for recipes. I found this one, as per usual, on All Recipes. Another 5 star rated recipe with a boatload of reviews. The main reason I chose it was because it had dill in the recipe. I grow dill for pickling green beans, and that's the only recipe I use it for - so I thought using it somewhere else would be a nice change of pace. While making the pan sauce for the recipe, I tasted to adjust seasonings and it was delicious.. I was so happy with the results. The only ingredient that wasn't added yet was the dill - as per my lessons taught from Paula, Emeril, Rachel, Ina and other assorted celebrity chefs, I did not want to add my fresh herb until the end so that I'd get the most out of it. Mmmm 'kay? The sauce was perfect UNTIL I added the dill.. it gave it a twangy not quite right taste, unfortunately. Maybe it's because I like my dill in pickles and green beans? Could I be a dill snob? It smells so damn good it should be delicious in anything, right? Oh well. The recipe is a keeper but next time.. no dill. By pounding the chicken breasts flat, you cut your cooking time in half and get a more tender bite. The sauce was creamy, with subtle hits of garlic and lemon. The capers lent a salty and slightly fruity taste that made the dish that more special. I served this with my rice pilaf, a recipe I've used for many years and is still the best rice pilaf I've ever had to date. This is a quick dinner that comes together in a flash and really perks up boring chicken breasts. :D Chicken Breasts in Caper Cream Sauce with Rice Pilaf For the Chicken: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin 1 c. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. pepper 3 TBS. butter 2 tsp. grated lemon peel (See note) 4 cloves garlic minced (See note) 1/2 c. heavy cream 2 TBS. capers, drained & rinsed (I didn't rinse mine) 2 tsp. fresh, chopped dill weed (See note) Place chicken breast in large ziplock bag (unsealed) or between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound until they are about 1/4" thick. Heat oil in a large skillet. Season chicken breasts with salt & pepper, dredge in flour. Fry breasts until golden brown - about 4 minutes each side. Transfer to plate covered in paper towels to drain, cover with foil to keep warm. In same skillet, add heavy cream, garlic, lemon peel and capers. Whisk until the cream becomes a bit thinner, approximately 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in fresh dill. Spoon over chicken breasts. *Note: The recipe called for lemon/pepper, dried dill weed and garlic powder. - I went with fresh grated lemon peel, fresh dill and cloves of garlic. For the Rice Pilaf: 1/2 c. chopped onion 1/2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms (or rough chop) 1/4 c. chopped celery or bell pepper (I used red bell pepper) 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 TBS. butter 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1/8 tsp. black pepper 1 3/4 c. chicken stock (If serving with beef, use beef stock) 1 c. rice (your choice on which kind you'd prefer) In a saucepan, saute onions, garlic, celery or bell pepper for approximately 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute another 3-4 minutes. Stir in rice and stock, season with salt & pepper. Bring to boiling, reduce heat then cover, simmer about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender & liquid is absorbed. *Note: To add a nutty flavor to the rice, brown lightly in 1 TBS. of butter before beginning recipe.

Kitchen Sense - A Cookbook Spotlight

*Note 7/2/06: I just received an e-mail from Sara of I like to cook letting us know that there was a miscommunication from the publishing company. They did not want us to blog about a recipe in the book, all they wanted were reviews of the book. So I've taken the recipe out. If anyone is interested in the recipe, e-mail me and I'll give you the ingredient list and my version of how I made the dish. :D Imagine my surprise and great delight to be invited to participate in the very first Cookbook Spotlight event! Ali e-mailed me with the invitation from Cathy at A Blithe Palate asking me if I'd like to receive this cookbook called Kitchen Sense by Mitchell Davis to check out and review on my blog.. how exciting! I received my book a few days later and couldn't wait to see what it contained. I was happily surprised to see that it contained over 600 recipes and many, many tips for the home cook. Mitchell says that he wanted to write a book for the home cook - basic recipes that could be transformed into your own creations (along with many variations of his own), tips on just about anything food related such as how to buy a good piece of meat, cleaning your leafy vegetables when you bring them home, creating perfect pan sauces and much, much more. To be honest, my first impression of the book wasn't all that spectacular. I'm one of those people who purchases a cookbook that has pictures showing what a recipe looks like. This book is pictureless. But the more I delved into it's pages, the more I ended up liking it - as it truly is a great book to have for the lessons and tips to help make the average home cook more knowledgeable. You'd think that with over 600 recipes, I'd be able to find one right off the bat that struck my fancy.. but it took me a while to decide which one I wanted to try first. I ended up going with Mitchell's Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese, because please.. who doesn't love a fantastic macaroni and cheese dish?? I've been trying recipes for years to find that one perfect mac & cheese recipe that will stop me in my tracks and have me swooning after one bite of it's creamy, cheesy goodness. When looking at his ingredient list, I thought this might be a major contender for the title, so off I went to the grocery store to get my supplies. What I liked about this recipe the most was his use of cream cheese and aged cheddar & gouda.. I'd never used gouda in a mac & cheese recipe and was amazed at how I never thought of it myself - the creamy goodness of gouda by itself was a winner - so melted over some curly pasta had to be the bomb, yes?? Well, unfortunately, this dish didn't end up being the "ultimate" for us. The flavor was right on.. the cream cheese and gouda, along with the sharp aged cheddar lent a magnificent savory flavor that reminded me of macaroni and cheese dishes I'd had a restaurants.. but the texture of the dish was not creamy at all, actually it ended up quite dry. I don't consider this a failure though. The spirit of the book is not one where the author is pushing his recipes, but showing you the basics and allowing you to build off from there. So, I will make this macaroni and cheese again one day - but I will tweak it with the knowledge I've accumulated over the years and with the tips Mitchell has taught me to quite possibly create my own "Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese". =) Mitchell Davis' The Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese *Note: I served this with Broiled Parmigiano Tilapia fillets, which I'll post later :D

Craving Mom's cooking

Sunday already.. Happy Easter everyone! It was a very uneventful week in my little kitchen. I was so happy for the nice weather that I spent most evenings after work outside with the dogs. By the time we came in, I had about enough energy to open up a bag of seasoned noodles or a package of hotdogs :) Friday it was my linguine & clam sauce again (I really think I could live off that dish). Saturday I woke up with lots of energy.. I had cleaned my house and did my laundry all before 9 am! That doesn't happen often lol I also woke up with a HUGE craving for some of my mom's cooking. I thought about calling her and asking her if she'd cook for her favorite daughter, but we were having my neices and their parents over, so I knew we'd go out for lunch and she would not feel like cooking later. *sigh* I guess if I wanted to satisfy this craving, I'd have to cook it myself. My absolute favorite dishes she made me as I was growing up were Linguine and Clam Sauce (imagine that!!) paired with slow cooked BBQ ribs. Quite a combo, eh? But, gawd I loved it and always asked for that on my birthday. Next in line, was her fried chicken wings with macaroni and cheese.. and that's what I was jonesin' for Saturday morning. The wings are super simple.. just flour, salt & pepper. She throws all that with the wings in a big bag, shakes it up and then fries the wings to a goldeny brown perfection. Yum! Hubbs had never had fried wings before I had met him.. he thought wings were only made with buffalo sauce and served with blue cheese dressing and celery. He's now addicted too and asks for these quite often. My mom's mac & cheese? Well that's a different story.. she adds tomatoes to it and he just doesn't like that (so he says, but on the rare occasions that I'll make it he ALWAYS goes back for seconds - sometimes thirds, go figure). I don't know where my mom got this recipe or if she was just experimenting one day, but it was a huge hit with the family. Three ingredients is all it takes. One of which is Velveeta processed cheese. This recipe is the only way I'll eat Velveeta.. just not a huge fan of the stuff, but I keep in on hand as Hubbs loves his Velveeta and green pepper sandwiches. (ugh) Mom's Mac and Cheese 1 lb. medium shell shaped pasta (I used Radiatore for something different this time) 3/4 of a "loaf" of Velveeta cheese, diced 2 (14.5 oz.) cans of whole tomatoes broken up in blender - not pureed (I didn't have whole tomatoes so I used crushed tomatoes and they worked fine) Preheat oven to 350º F. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil, then season with salt. Cook the pasta until al dente, you don't want to overcook the pasta as it will go into the oven and continue cooking. In a 3 quart casserole dish, combine the cooked pasta, Velveeta and tomatoes, then cover. Place in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes to melt the cheese. Stir before serving.