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Healthy Dog Biscuits to make at home

September 10, 2011

Now that the “dog days” of summer are over, I find myself baking treats for my canine companion. She loves sweet potatoes almost more than any other thing on earth, so it was essential to incorporate them into her treats.

For those of us that love our pets like we gave birth to them, making something special for them is not out of the ordinary… but for those of you that may not be pet-lovers I suppose it may seem a bit odd.

Our dog Cleo used to love these treats when my Mom would make them for her, so she sent me the recipe so I could make them for my little one. They are pretty quick to get together and not complicated at all, so the whole process is pretty painless.

Considering all of the unconditional love they give us and never ask for anything in return, making our beloved pets a special treat every now and then is a pretty good trade-off.

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From Market to Mouth

September 5, 2011

Every summer when I see zucchini blossoms at the farmer’s market, I have an uncontrollable desire to make this dish. The flowers are so beautiful that I just can’t resist them.

The finished plate is quite striking and it works perfectly for a dinner party or special occasion at home.

The biggest decision you have to make really is which cheeses to use. Buy the best quality cheese that you can afford. If there is one particular cheese you love, make that the star of the show, but remember it is all about balance.

Each cheese brings something special to the plate:different textures, different levels of salt, one might melt better than anotherwhile a different one will help bind everything together.

Sadly, summer is coming to a close so get these while you still can.

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Pan Seared Scallops with Pea Puree and Mint Oil

August 13, 2011

Do you ever feel like you go through the same dozen or so recipes over and over? Sometimes we all just get into a bit of a rut with dinner, even me. One of the wonderful things about writing this blog is that it forces me out of it. Adding this pan seared scallops with pea puree recipe and a refreshing burst of mint oil is sure to inspire you to get into the kitchen, even when you don’t feel like cooking. This dish can be served as an appetizer or as an entree.

Back in my restaurant kitchen days, I’d work 14 hour days and the last thing I wanted to do at 2 a.m. was fire up the stove and cook for myself. Most of us went to a diner after work or made a PB & J when we got home.

Sometimes I miss those days, believe it or not. Not quite enough to do it all over again, but the rush of a restaurant kitchen is pretty seductive. The sound of ticket after ticket spitting out in front you, giving you all of your orders… you start calculating in your head just how people are out there waiting for your food!

A professional kitchen is like a well choreographed dance.

Everyone moves within inches of one another, speaking to each other every few minutes communicating your expected time to the pass. There is a camaraderie unlike any other environment out there if you’re lucky.

I have told this story many times to people over the years… there was a single moment early in my kitchen days when all of us working at a certain well-known restaurant stopped what we were doing and looked up at each other.

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Ice Cream Social

August 9, 2011

Every summer when I was a kid, our church held an ice-cream social. I know it may sound a bit “Little House on the Prairie”, but it really was fun and coincidentally since L.H. is my favorite show of all time, quite fitting I suppose.

It was worth sitting outside in the sweltering heat and oppressive humidity of Midwestern summers… ice cream melting down my hand, a sweet & sticky mess and completely content.

In the fall, it was fresh-pressed hot apple cider and cake donuts which were also swoon-worthy, but more on that another time.

The ice cream socials were the highlight of the summer church events. We would eat as much ice cream as we could get away with until we were nearly in a sugar coma. If given the opportunity, I could would still eat ice cream ad nauseam.

I don’t just have a sweet tooth, I have an entire set.

Strangely I don’t normally like desserts that are cloyingly sweet, I like them to bring a little something else to the table beyond pure sugar.

While I do border on needing a program for my insatiable sweet tooth (Hello. My name is Cheryl. I have a problem with sugar…) My Achilles heal is ice cream.

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Ginger Lemon Fizz

August 3, 2011

I am starting to think I missed my calling as a mixologist… I enjoy coming up with new drinks and playing around with flavors to see what the end result is and there is no pressure to get it right because I’m just having fun. Luckily there have been no casualties as of yet and surprisingly no bad drinks either.
The “Thai One On” post featured the flavors of Thailand and I adore those flavors. They are complex yet so clean and they hit every part of your palate. I thought “Why not make a drink with that flavor profile?”

Ginger lemon fizz cocktail with lemongrass straw

Lemongrass drinks with fresh lemon in background

So I started thinking of what goes together and what flavors I enjoy… It is fairly straight forward, nothing too complicated, yet unusual.

This is a drink I plan to break out when I want to impress. It is light and goes down quite easily… perhaps a little too easily.

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Frozen Blue Raspberry Berry Slushy

July 23, 2011

This berry slushy is made from 4 ingredients and comes together in about 5 minutes.

With a majority of the country suffering from a blistering heat wave, the thought of turning on the stove is honestly nauseating. I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but when it is this hot I can barely stand the thought of eating anything warm so I decided to raid the freezer to see what I could make that did not involve cooking.

Luckily for me, I had stored a few pints of summer berries at their peak and I had some left-over simple syrup from the Summer Sangria so I was in business.

When I was younger, a slurpie was one of my favorite summer treats. However, knowing what I know now I realize that perhaps all that sugar isn’t the best thing for me so I’ve started making my own version of a “slurpie”. (I still get a frozen coke when I’m visiting home, it’s just a food memory that I can’t go without, but more on that another time)

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Viva Espana!

July 9, 2011

I love Spain. I love almost everything about it. The energy, the food, the language, flamenco, the art, architecture, the history, the culture, the TAPAS, etc… I have had a near obsession with all things Spanish for a very long time. The first time I set foot on Spanish soil, it almost seemed like I was home. I know that is an odd statement, but it is honestly how I felt. It was as if I belonged there. From that moment on, it has been a long-distance love affair. Spain is where I truly fell in love with food.

I remember vividly the first time I had tapas. I was at an outdoor restaurant/tapas bar called Qu-Qu in Barcelona next to one of the main roads. I still have a paper-wrapped toothpick from there that I keep in my jewelry box. It’s been 12 or 13 years since that first trip and it left an impression on my soul that I still feel today. I had never tasted anything like the food I had on that trip and it resonated with me in a way I had never experienced before. The food was completely foreign to a Midwestern girl from a small town, but reading the menu and ordering things I had never seen or tasted before was exhilarating to me. I almost felt like I had never really tasted food before. I remember exactly what I had that day.

Patatas Bravas
Croquetas de jamon
Mahon & Manchego cheeses
Jamon Iberico
Tortilla Espanola

(I can’t figure out how to add the proper accents/tildes here, sorry!)

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Thai One On…

July 3, 2011

Salty, sweet, hot & sour. These four words describe the flavors of Thai food. Thai food is all about balance and that is one of the things I love most about it. The flavors hit your tongue on every level. There is an element of all of these tastes in every bite. The beauty of Thai food is that none of the flavors overpower the others, they all exist harmoniously on your palate and it is some of the most unique food you will ever have.

One of my favorite things to have in warmer weather are summer rolls. They are light and refreshing with a nice bit of crunch to satisfy the need for some texture. The ingredients can be anything you want them to be, so if you are in the mood for these but need to use what is already on hand, no worries.
From traditional summer rolls to the ones I’ll be making today; which are a bit of a twist on tradition, they are a great summer meal and best of all, they are easy on the wallet and on the waist.

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Channel your Inner Fat Kid

June 19, 2011

Consider yourself warned: This recipe is not for the faint of heart. It is not low-fat, low in calories, low in sugar OR low in taste. Once in a while, we need a splurge and this is a really good one.

If we’re being perfectly honest here, my “inner fat kid” doesn’t exactly need to be channeled. She happily resides within & unfortunately can be pretty demanding most of the time.
I have had a love affair with Nutella for as long as I can remember. There is just something about that smooth, chocolately, nutty yumminess that makes me smile whenever I have it and luckily for me there is usually a jar in the cupboard.

My favorite combination of flavors is salty & sweet, so when I was thinking about doing a dessert, I wanted to add in a salty element somewhere and the crust just seemed the natural way to go. Pretzels are my go-to snack so they are always on hand and thus, a dessert was born…

The slight saltiness and crunch of the crust balances out the smooth richness of the filling and it all works very nicely together.

Note: this tart is so decadently delicious, you may want to consider turning the lights down low and putting on some Barry White before eating it…

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Watermelon Mojito with Mint

June 11, 2011

If you are anything like most of the people I know, you enjoy the occasional libation… I bought a watermelon a few days ago and my first thought aside from devouring that ice cold coral flesh (with a little sprinkle of kosher salt) was cocktails! A watermelon mojito is the perfect thing to have in hand when it is blazing hot outside. It is fruity, light and refreshing.

For my watermelon mojito I use a watermelon rum, but if you can’t find that just use a plain light rum or experiment with whatever sounds good to you. (try a red peach rum or a dragonfruit rum).
What’s the worst thing that can happen? If you don’t like it, pour it out and crack open a beer…

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