Honey Wheat Bread
I have been baking my own bread for awhile, and I’ll be sharing recipes later, but I thought I’d share the reasons.
Homemade bread tastes and smells wonderful. There is nothing like the smell of bread baking in the oven – it just says “home“. And the taste of homemade bread is nothing like storebought bread – even fresh-from-the-supermarket’s-oven bakery bread. (And if you want the smell later in the week, just toast a piece! Mmm…)
I can pronounce everything I put into my bread. I find it really
[Continue reading Why I bake my own bread from scratch]
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Using lots of water and stirring pasta frequently while it’s boiling are the traditional ways to keep pasta from sticking to itself. But while I use lots of water, I am usually doing a zillion things at once while the pasta boils — making a sauce, answering the phone, helping the kids — so pasta would end up sticking together anyway.
Recently, I read a tip in a Cook’s Illustrated magazine. If you add an acid (vinegar, lemon juice) to
[Continue reading Pasta that doesn’t stick]
Chicken with Shallots and Buttered Noodles
This is one of our favorite dinners around here. The sauce is so silky and rich and decadent. The whole dinner is really quick to make, and affordable, but tastes like something I spent hours on.
Chicken with Shallots
4 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
[Continue reading Chicken with Shallots and Buttered Noodles Recipes]
I didn’t garden this year, and I am so missing it. Yesterday, I bought some zucchini at a natural foods store not too far from my house so I could enjoy one of the quintessential flavors of summer – zucchini bread. I followed a new recipe, and changed it up to add some extra nutrition. I also found out the pan size this recipe specified, 8×4½”, was way too small. I will be spending tomorrow cleaning my oven.
Here’s a tip I usually follow, but didn’t today: If there’s any chance that your batter may overflow the pan, always put a
[Continue reading Zucchini Bread Recipe]
I had planned on having all the party recipes on here by now, but I have been distracted.
My fifteen year-old daughter came home from camp with an ear infection, and on Monday, her eardrum ruptured. After several days on the amoxicillin for that, she suddenly broke out in an itchy rash all over – it turns out she’s allergic to amoxicillin. We stopped the amoxicillin and went back to the doctor, who informed us that her infection had moved to her outer ear, and things were so swollen that he couldn’t see how the eardrum was doing, so we had
[Continue reading Scary sick]
This is the easiest reciep ever. And it’s just incredibly flavorful, and it’s gorgeous – a rich orange-y red and velvety.
Roasted Red Pepper Dip
You need:
Two 10-oz. jars of roasted red peppers
A couple teaspoons olive oil (optional)
Here’s all there is to it:
Drain the peppers and whiz them in the food processor until it makes a smooth sauce. Dip a finger in (with the processor OFF, of course. Heh.) and taste it. If it doesn’t feel velvety enough, drizzle in a little olive oil. If it doesn’t taste salty enough, add a little salt. (Sorry to be a little vague on these
[Continue reading Roasted Red Pepper Dip Recipe]
I wanted to serve pita chips with the roasted red pepper dip, but the store-bought ones were exhorbitant! We’re talking almost $4 for a 6-ounce bag. So I bought two 12-ounce packages of pitas for $1.53 each and made my own chips.
 I just stacked one package of pitas and cut them in half, and then in half again, then twice more across, so that each pita made eight chips. Like this:  Then I scattered them on a baking sheet (I didn’t grease
[Continue reading Pita Chips Recipe]
Bruschetta
Baguette
One clove of garlic
Olive oil
Slice the bread into 1/2″ slices and toast. We tried toasting them on the grill, and unless you are a grill expert, I suggest using an oven. After they are toasted, cut the garlic clove in half and rub the cut edge on the toast, and then drizzle the toast with olive oil. You can serve them plain, or top them. If you aren’t going to serve them immediately, though, I suggest setting out a tray of the bruschetta with bowls of the toppings, or else they will get soggy.
Cannellini Bruschetta Topping
Two cans of cannellini, drained
[Continue reading Bruschetta Two Ways – Recipes]
I co-hosted a party last night. My role was to prepare the food, and my co-host provided the venue. Perfect!
I decided on a Mediterranean theme. Here’s the menu:
Spanakopita triangles
Roasted red pepper dip with pita chips and new potatoes
Bruschetta two ways
Baklava
Mocha shortbread with sweetened ricotta
The food was all fabulous, and over the next few days, I’ll share the recipes. I forgot to take pictures of anything but the pita chips, though!
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August 31st, 2009 | 
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