174 bottles of wine on the wall

June 26th, 2009

Wine bottles

174 bottles of wine…

We’ve started on the second, and final, phase of our kitchen expansion and remodeling project. Goodbye 1970’s bar complete with smokey mirrors. Hello huge eat-in kitchen complete with cabinet space! We’ll be back later this summer!

-XOXO

Wine bottles

Blast from the past

June 20th, 2009

Pulled Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches

Growing up, one of my very favorite dishes was Hawaiian Chicken. I remembered the sauce on the chicken to be sort of a sweet-and-sour type sauce… a sauce that I could happily eat by the bowlful. It goes to show you how much attention I paid while Mom was cooking because when I tried to run through the dish for my mental shopping list, the description came out something like this:
Read the rest of this entry »

For the love of yeast

June 13th, 2009

Sourdough Bread

Love sometimes makes you do crazy things. Like making a corner of your kitchen smell like someone poured a beer over a pair of old running shoes. On purpose.

My husband’s sandwich bread of choice is sourdough. I’m pretty fond of it myself - the tangy loaf can make any sandwich better. It’s also the only bread that we’re still buying at the store because, well… when it comes to sourdough, I suck. I am a sourdough killer.

And since we’re confessing, I’ve never owned a house plant for more than 3 weeks either… (and I think I just heard the bell pepper plants in my garden wail).
Read the rest of this entry »

Teamwork

June 6th, 2009

Cabernet Burgers on Rosemary Focaccia

It’s the cornerstone of a good partnership. He grills. I bake. I fetch the utensils from the kitchen. He keeps a watchful eye over dinner, spatula in one hand, a cold bottle of his home brew beer in the other. We make a good team. And he makes a damn good burger.
Read the rest of this entry »

I ♥ NY (strip)

May 27th, 2009

New York Strip with Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa

On the way to meet the family for lunch one weekend, Jason asked what I loved most about cooking. It’s simple. I love to make a mess. I love prep. Chopping, cutting, mashing, processing. If I could get paid to chop herbs all day, I’d be in heaven.

And for the record: I hate cleaning up with the fire of a hundred thousand suns.
Read the rest of this entry »

Brought to you by the letter “K”

May 22nd, 2009

Beef Teriyaki Kebabs

Back in my single days, I attended a large bible study class at a local mega-church. We met twice a week - once for business and once for play. Most of our play revolved around eating. Actually, I think all of our play revolved around eating.

Beef Teriyaki Kebabs

Once, we threw a large themed potluck with the assignment: Bring a dish that starts with the first letter of your last name. Damn. Could Mom and Dad have made this any more difficult on me? I could only think of two items that started with “K.” Ketchup and Kebabs. Since I didn’t think I could get away with bringing a bottle of Heinz, I settled on Kebabs :)
Read the rest of this entry »

My Mother’s Daughter

May 17th, 2009

Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie

My Mother’s Day dilemma: Tres Leches Cake or Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie? Which dessert should compliment the Tex-Mex feast? So I posed the question in email to the guest of honor:

The cake sounds really good but anything with Margarita in the name has to be really good!!

And I could not agree more :)
Read the rest of this entry »