Category — Recipes

Sunday was baptism day for Peggy’s grandson, Cruz. Cruz is the cutest baby boy there ever was! I swear, he is a little chub of pure joy and his grandma is head over heels in love! I don’t blame her one little bit!

Darling Cruz is held by his godfather, along with his godmother, proud daddy Stevo (Peggy’s son), and beautiful mommy Keegan.

The baptism was held during the 10:30 mass at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and the lunch was at Cruz’s great-uncle’s home.

Peggy was responsible for dessert and she did herself proud! She made the most adorable and delicious little lemon cupcakes with lemon curd, lemon frosting, and lemon sugar. I held myself back and only had two. It was a test of control and strength!

I just noticed that the cupcake liners match her dress. What did I tell you? Adorable!

[Read more →]

Pork + Slower Cooker = Perfect Match

Honestly, when I lay my eyes on a large cut of pork, I always think of the slow cooker. With very little initial effort, the cooker turns the meat into the most tender and moist meat there is.

In these parts, it’s a family favorite, no matter how I fix it.

This recipe, in particular, using a few key spices, Coke and salsa, is one of Connor’s favorites. So much so, that he insisted I take a photo of his “clean plate” which was clean before the rest of us even finished on a taco. Growing boys… always a pleasure to feed!

[Read more →]

We all know that I don’t bake.

Yet I did, voluntarily, on Sunday.

Weird, I know!

It all had to do with the blueberries that were on sale at Fry’s.

I bought them, only because they were on sale, then I didn’t know what to do with them … so I baked. The result was pretty darn fantastic! (Oh, I bought the pork loin on sale too… that recipe will follow soon.)

I used Meyer lemons because I have them, but regular Lisbon lemons would be just as delicious.

If you need either, and you are in my neighborhood … contact me and you can pick as many as your heart desires.

I do not charge $46 (plus $10 for shipping) for 3 pounds as they do on Food52/Provisions!!! In fact, I don’t charge anything, they are free for the picking. Meyer or Lisbon! And yes, both are organic!

Before we get to the recipe, a few notes:

I love to use a longer and thinner loaf pan for bread. There are more slices and they are a nicer size. A 12″ long by 4 1/2″ wide by 2 1/2″ deep loaf pan is my favorite size to use.

When you use a glaze on baked goods, the glaze drips. Many recipes call for you to place the baked item on a rack – over waxed paper or such.

Don’t bother with the wax paper, just place it on a rack – on a clean counter. It is much easier to pick up the excess glaze drips with a pastry scraper and drizzle over the bread a second or even a third time this way.

When making the glaze, start with the juice from 1/2 a lemon and add more as needed. Powdered sugar soaks up liquid like a sponge, so start with a little and add more as needed, instead of adding too much liquid at the start and having to add more and more sugar to get the consistency you want.

[Read more →]

The recipe that follows, along with these easy kabobs (dressed with purchased balsamic vinaigrette) are last of the dishes that I served at my niece’s bridal party lunch.

I must say, it was the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever been to. Congratulations Maureen and Brandon! xoxo

Photo

[Read more →]

The only hot dish I made for the bridal party lunch was these muffin-size frittatas. And, truth be told, they were not hot but served at room temperature.

The reason is that I prepped and cooked all the food at the bride’s apartment and transferred it to the hotel…in freezing cold Chicago weather.

Actually, cooking in the apartment was a joy. The view was amazing!

Yes, that is the Sear’s Tower, also known as the Willis Tower! Pretty Cool!

[Read more →]

This is another of the recipes I made for the bridal party lunch on my niece’s wedding day. The lunch was served in the Presidential Suite at the Hyatt Magnificent Mile, which is where we all stayed in downtown Chicago. Maureen and her bridesmaids were in the suite having their hair and make-up done. The girls had been there since 9:15 and the wedding was at 4:00, so they needed nourishment in the middle of that time.

Photo

How beautiful is she?!?

[Read more →]

Serendipity is one of the coolest things!

I was honored to be asked to provide the wedding day bridal party lunch for my niece, Maureen. Actually, this was the second time I had such an honor, I provided the bridal brunch for Mo’s older sister, Katie, who was married in 2010.

The serendipitous part has to do with a certain cheese ball I served at the lunch…

A week or so before Christmas I had seen an image of a cheese ball, decorated with whole almonds, created to resemble a pine cone. I intended to make it on Christmas day. I had all the ingredients but simply ran out of time.

When I was planning the menu for the bridal lunch, I thought the pine cone cheese ball might be a nice addition.

A few days before we left for Chicago, I received an invitation to the rehearsal dinner. I didn’t make the connection when I saw the pine cones on the invite.

At the rehearsal dinner, I thought the place cards were really cute but still didn’t put two and two together, even though I’d begun to put together the cheese ball earlier that same afternoon.

I loved how the cheese ball turned out and as I was setting up the lunch buffet it finally dawned on me just how perfectly it fits in with the theme.

Later that afternoon, at the wedding, when I looked at the wedding program, I just had to smile.  Pine cones were everywhere.

[Read more →]

Crust

• 1  1/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
• 1/4 cup plain, vanilla, or honey yogurt

• 2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick (I used 4 Granny Smith and  1 Honey Crisp)
• 1  1/4 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
•  1  1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Vanilla ice cream

[Read more →]

I baked a couple of dozen cookies on Friday and the kids (OK, they are adults, but they are my kids!) and I decorated them on Sunday. A beloved and time-honored Christmas tradition.

[Read more →]

This is the salmon and spinach recipe that I was talking about in yesterday’s post. I’ve corrected two items from the original recipe – which I enjoyed at the Ballymaloe Cookery School. The first change was the enormous amount of spinach the recipe called for. I’ve reduced it from 2-pounds to 8 ounces. If you make this dish you will be amazed to think that 2 pounds could have ever been used!

The second major change was the shape and size of the parchment. The original recipe called for a 10-inch circle. I’ve made Fish en Papillote (in parchment) several times before, so I should have known better. The traditional shape is a heart, not a circle. Even if a circle is used, 10-inches is in no way large enough, as you can see from the photos above and below.

I’d already cut out the 16 parchment circles I needed for a cooking class, so I went ahead a struggled through by using them … along with about 60 paper clips to hold the parcels together!

I don’t mean to make it sound as though the recipes from Ballymaloe were bad. There were 14 recipes from that wonderful day of cooking and this is the only one I’ve had to correct or modify.

The thing I like best about this recipe is the fact that the parcels are steamed – not baked. Fish en Papillote is traditionally baked, I love this extra-moist alternate way of cooking so much, that I think I’ll steam instead of bake from here on out.

This is the very definition of healthy and delicious!

[Read more →]