December 2010
21 posts
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Caramelized Pineapple
One of my favorite flavor combinations: pineapple and coconut rum. Add in some brown sugar, and it makes a killer caramel.
Slice pineapple no more than half an inch thick. Place in shallow oven-safe pan. Pour coconut rum over it, so all pieces are slightly coated, and sitting in shallow puddle of rum. Sprinkle brown sugar over each piece of pineapple.
Let it sit for 1-4 hours, so the...
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Cornish Game Hem with Blueberry Reduction & Lemon...
This one comes in three parts: the Blueberry-Balsamic Reduction, the Lemon Rosemary Couscous and the Cornish Game Hen itself. In combination, it was an awesome meal. So, first things first:
Blueberry-Balsamic Reduction
1 cup fresh blueberries (frozen can work, too)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Heat water and blueberries in a sauce pan on the stove. As the...
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Spinach Salad with Toasted Almonds, Bacon &...
I love spinach salad. It’s my favorite. And it’s just about the only way I actually like to eat spinach (can’t stand it cooked). Normally, I make spinach salad with a fruit-based vinaigrette, but because the over-all meal on Christmas had a lot of sweetness to it, I wanted a more savory approach this go around.
The most obvious ingredients:
Baby spinach
Orange wedges...
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Pumpkin Apple Ginger Soup
I always thought I hated soup as a kid. Turns out, I just hated my mother’s taste in soups. I do, however, detest pumpkin… except in soup. And this is one of the many soups that I make quick and easily, using canned pumpkin. It’s especially good when Charles is sick: he hates brothy soups, and if he’s ill, creamed soups are rarely a good idea.
So, the general recipe...
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Sweet Potato Fritters
While my recipe writing tends to suck, the gist of this one is pretty easy: mashed sweet potatoes, egg, nutmeg, ground cloves and ground allspice. Mix it all together, and then drop it by the spoonful into hot oil.
The drizzle over it is heated honey mixed with cinnamon.
Awesome.
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Mushroom Spinach Pesto
I made the most amazing mushroom spinach pesto last night for ravioli. As usual, Charles wants me to write down the recipe so I can reproduce it. And, as usual, I wasn’t paying close enough attention to be entirely sure if I can write it down, much less reproduce it.
However, since it was extremely good, I’ll jot down what I can remember:
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 stick of...
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A coffee conversion
For someone who drinks as much coffee as I do, I can’t say it’s something I really love all that much. In fact, coffee is to me what sex with a fan is to a rock star: run-of-the-mill, compulsive, expected and more unthinking habit than anything else.
And then yesterday at Sprout’s I (compulsively) grabbed a cup of their free sample… and instantly saw the culinary skies...
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Christmas Dinner Menu
I think I figured out the menu for Christmas dinner tomorrow night.
Appetizer - Sweet potato pecan fritters Soup - Pumpkin apple ginger soup Salad - Spinach salad with toasted almonds, fried rosemary and garlic-herb vinaigrette Entre - Cornish game hen with blueberry coulis over lemon rosemary couscous Dessert - Carmelized pineapple with coconut almond ice cream
The coolest part is that,...
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“See! This proves that time is irrelevant!”
– Charles about “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus”
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“I keep trying to be consistent and create systems. But then I forget what the...”
– Hubby
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“I thought I fixed it. But I may have just thought of fixing it.”
– Hubby
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“I was being funny. But if you couldn’t tell, then I was only being funny...”
– Hubby
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