Delicious Summer Pasta
It’s true, I eat a lot of pasta. But can you really ever eat too much pasta? The other day, I found myself with a great mix of flavors and textures to make a typical bowl of pasta feel gussied up. This could easily be …
Tag: Recipes
Near Riot Chocolate Almond Whiskey Truffles
Have you ever made chocolate truffles from scratch? If you’ve followed my previous blogs, you know I make them pretty often for parties (they’re especially great for vegetarians and those on gluten-free diets, don’t need their own plates or utensils, are so rich and decadent …
Goddess Dressing in a Snap
I love this salad dressing so much, I would marry it if I could (but others should get priority ahead of me on that waiting list).
But seriously, this is great for so many reasons- it’s thick and creamy, it has a little more substance than vinaigrette, but isn’t as heavy as caesar. And the best part? It’s vegetarian and vegan, so it makes the perfect addition to vegetable dips and salads for those finicky dinner guests (you know who you are).
It’s also incredibly easy to make- barely 5 minutes to throw together in a blender. And it tastes as good as Annie’s! I got this recipe from Jolinda Hackett- but here’s the direct link.
Tahini “Goddess” Dressing
By
My version of the tahini-based “goddess” dressing found in many health food stores and restaurants. If you like the store-bought goddess dressings, you’ll love this easy homemade goddess salad dressing made with tahini, lemon juice and parsley. You might also want to try this recipe for goddess dressing with ginger.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (I use a little worcestershire or fish sauce to make it tastier, but then it’s not vegetarian!)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp dried parsley (Oregano also works well)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup oil
Preparation:
Add all the ingredients, except for the oil to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth and creamy.
Slowly add oil until well mixed. Dressing will be thick, but you can always add a bit more water if you prefer a thinner consistency.
food52 Love
I am not sure what has taken me so long to join the food52 community. (For you, Pop, it’s like Facebook for foodies.) I’ve been following Amanda Hesser ever since she inspired me to write a book about staging. She was a fellow trainee in …
Limoncello for Slackers
There are few ingredients that delight me as much as Meyer lemons. Their zest has a more pungent aroma, but the juice is less acidic. Their sweet, fragrant quality makes them versatile for recipes both on the hot and cold side- and let’s not forget, …
Jucy Lucys
And what exactly is a Jucy Lucy? I’m glad you asked.
It’s probably one of the most genius burgers I’ve encountered in a long time, a specialty of the Twin Cities.
At Matt’s Bar in Minneapolis, hundreds if not thousands of these juicy gems get churned out from a griddle the width of a kitchen sink. Two patties are sealed together around some kind of amazing cheese mixture that melts into a glorious liquid once it’s grilled. (The “i” is deliberately omitted, since the veteran employee who posted the sign back in 1950 wasn’t the greatest speller, if not in a huge hurry to get back to the griddle.
Here, my friend’s husband dresses his Lucy with the biggest helping of ketchup I’ve ever seen.
Mitch enjoys her first, if not slightly painful bite. By the way, we were amazed to immediately get a table, since there’s usually a line out the door for these babies.
I approach mine gingerly so I don’t destroy the roof of my mouth. The element of surprise is akin to Chicken Kiev, but it’s best to anticipate it so no one gets hurt.
An interior view of the splendor, adorned with pickles and grilled onions.
Matt’s has a friendly feud with another joint who also claims to have the best Lucy. Mitch is confident that Matt’s is the champion.
I found a recipe for it here, and will definitely be trying to recreate this Midwestern masterpiece when I return home.
Happiest gals in the Midwest? You betcha.
Making Spring Rolls
Here’s a little video of my friend Chuck teaching us how to make her vegan spring rolls. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVGMLakSJN0?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata&w=320&h=266] Thanks, Chuck!
Bacon and Blue Cheese Meatloaf
The week before I hurt my arm, I had a hankering for a burger. I had some leftover bacon, blue cheese and ground chuck. I decided I didn’t need to eat three hamburgers, so I switched gears and made meatloaf instead. Besides the cheese and …
How to Eat a Pomegranate
My roommate brought home the most wonderful pomegranates from her friend’s tree. Sadly, many of them sat unnoticed in our decorative fruit basket and eventually got fed to the chickens.
Three of them were left, begging to be eaten. It’s not often that I eat pomegranate, which is a shame because they are such a delightful fruit. They have a slightly bitter taste similar to cranberries, but are much sweeter and full of antioxidants. They are quite simple to eat.
First, cut into quarters. The seeds are what we’re after, since they’re the edible part.
That’s also where all the juice is stored.
Peel back the skin like an orange, and separate the seeds from the pith. If you drag your fingers across the seeds gently, they will just fall out.
Collect them in a bowl. It’s surprising how quickly they add up.
Look how much you get from just a couple!
Now here’s what you can do with them.
-sprinkle to the tops of salads (goes great with bitter greens, blue cheese, walnuts and bacon)
-put into a blender to make juice for a super dose of daily vitamins
-reduce over medium heat with a little sugar for an amazing fruit sauce or reduction (great on desserts, salad, pork, poultry and game meat)
-eat with a spoon and pretend it’s cereal (your friends will think you’re weird, but you’ll outlive them all)
-put a few in a glass of champagne or prosecco (this is my favorite!)
Have you ever had those wonderful chocolate-covered pomegranate candies? They are small, so would work best in chocolate molds or a liquidy couverture like Scharffen Berger.
If you’ve never had a pomegranate, make it your impulse buy at the store for something new and different. Sorry, chickens, you got lucky but we can’t waste any more of these beauties on you.
Another Great Mini Pumpkin Idea
My roommate Sugar always comes up with the best cooking ideas. Here, she’s cooked mini quiches, individual sized in mini pumpkins. Just mix your favorite quiche, sprinkle cheese on top and bake as normal. Best part is this bypasses the tedious crust!