Pillsbury Bake-off: I'm a Semifinalist!

Yes, it's true, and I am so excited! You can log onto bakeoff.com through noon central time and vote for my recipe. The top 33 vote-getters get to go to the actual Bake-Off contest this November in Las Vegas! Winning this would be completely life-changing for me. Please vote! Thanks!
 
My recipe is BALSAMIC CHICKEN CRANBERRY PANZANELLA. Here's a photo, and you can get the recipe on the BakeOff.com website. Go vote now! :-)

D&S Wedding

 After many years of dating, all the pieces and circumstances of life finally fell into place and my good friend D married her sweetheart S this past fall. Oh was this a happy couple and a beautiful day!! 

D asked me to make her wedding cake and prepare side dishes for her dinner buffet. Everything was put together on rather short notice but it ended up being an awesome event and everyone had a great time! The couple's love of Hawaii inspired a bit of a tropical theme for the day. Food included two kinds of grilled meats, curry rice, several side salads, and a large assortment of fresh fruit. The cake was a moist and delightful pineapple-coconut, with some other goodies on the side (chocolate & lemon bundt cakes and krispy kreme donut holes - yum!) for the non-coconut lovers in the crowd. Here are some photos of the cake, taken by D's awesome daughter. Thanks friends for letting me be a part of your special day! Until next time...

Carrot Ginger Soup

Well. It's been a long time since I've posted a recipe. Life is busy, and while I have not been here lately that does not mean that I've not been cooking! This winter has been an especially chilly one here in NorCal, and we've been eating lots of soup. Ah, nothing warms the body and soul quite like a pot of delicious and hearty home-made soup. Yummm. Here's a new one that we tried a couple of weeks ago. The carrots are sweet, the potatoes add body, and the ginger adds that special something to make this an extra tasty dish. Enjoy!

CARROT GINGER SOUP

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
8 to 10 medium carrots, peeled and diced
salt and pepper to taste
four cups vegetable stock or chicken broth

Place a large soup pot over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When butter is melted, add garlic and ginger. Saute for three or four minutes. Add potatoes, carrots, salt and pepper. Stir and continue cooking for about five more minutes. Add broth, stir and cover pot. Let simmer until vegetables are very tender. Using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth. Adjust seasoning as needed and serve. Garnish with sour cream or yogurt if desired.

No-Recipe BBQ Chicken Sandwich

You may have read on my other blog that I had some surgery about a month ago to remove a large cyst from my jaw bone. It's been about as fun as it sounds... As a result of that I have been on a "soft food" diet for some time now, and still will be for some time to come (boooo). In my quest for soft things that I can eat (pudding, I love ya, but come on!) I decided last night to brave a pulled-chicken bbq sandwich. Rich loved his — I had to cut mine into tiny pieces to get it into my pie hole, but I have to say it went down pretty easily. Here's what I did... no real recipe, and you can tweak it to your liking:

Place 6 to 8 boneless/skinless chicken breast tenderloin strips into a large skillet that's been drizzled with a little olive oil. Peel, halve, and thinly slice a medium-sized yellow or white onion and put it into the skillet with the chicken. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of your favorite prepared bbq sauce (mine's Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ), two to three tablespoons each of brown sugar and ketchup, and a nice heaping teaspoon of chili powder. Stir to combine, put the skillet on the heat, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the chicken and onions are tender and some of the liquid has evaporated. Shred chicken. Serve warm on rolls of your choice (we used King's Hawaiian 'cuz they're nice and soft for my sore mouth, but a crusty ciabatta would probably be my preference if I was not post-surgery). Top the sandwiches with sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and diced or mashed avocado. Have yourself a sit and chow down. I have to say, it was tasty. Go make yourself some now!

Until next time...

Backyard Reception for E&A

Whew - long time no post. What a crazy summer it has been. Lots going on around here! I did a fruit & dessert buffet along with FIVE —count them — FIVE different punches as well as water for my young friends E & A's wedding reception recently. It was a lovely backyard event on a VERY warm evening, so the beverages were flowing. Here's a list of the libations we offered:

*Creamy Lemonade

*Berry Bliss

*Sherbet Sparkler

*Lime Cooler

*Raspberry Lemonade (sugar-free)

We also made custom labels for mini water bottles, which we put on ice in big white enamel tubs. They were a huge hit on such a a hot day! Many thanks to my good friend Sharlie Z for the photos. This was a fun evening!

In other food news, last night I stayed up late making lots of strawberry jam. Our house smelled heavenly! Gonna stir up some strawberry lemonade tonight with the left-overs. Can't wait for that! Yummmm. Until next time...

Sunday Dinner: Meatloaf

How about a comfort food Sunday dinner of meatloaf, baked potatoes (both russet and sweet potatoes), and grilled asparagus? I added a green salad on the side, and of course I roasted some onions along with the potatoes because I could not help myself. Yummmmm. grab a fork. It's so good!

CLASSIC MEAT LOAF

1 pound lean ground beef

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup dry breadcrumbs

½ cup plus ¼ cup ketchup, divided

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for final ¼ cup ketchup. Mix well. Form into a loaf shape and place in center of a 9x13-inch glass baking pan. Spread remaining ketchup on top of loaf.

Bake for approximately one hour. Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Summer is Here!

Goodness, how the year is flying by. It's summertime already and I swear it feels like we just had Christmas. But life is good, and we're trying to savor the moments as we rush through life...

Thought I'd share a lovely cool salad recipe today. This Asian Cucumber Salad is the perfect accompaniment to grilled chicken or fish, or as a side to a sandwich. Or maybe by itself... it's lovely anytime! Just grab a fork and try a bite. You'll thank me later!

I hope that you all are having a wonderful summer with lots of good times with those you love. Enjoy! Until next time...

ASIAN CUCUMBER SALAD

 3 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded* and thinly sliced

1 small (or ½ medium) sweet yellow onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons

1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Peel cucumbers. To remove seeds: cut cucumbers in half lengthwise, then remove seeds from center of cucumbers using a spoon or the back of a vegetable peeler. Cut into thin slices.

Combine cucumbers and onions in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over cucumbers and onions, stirring well to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds if desired.