Stuff It (Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken)

I have been eating in three very distinct ways for the past week or so: 1. Like Buddy the Elf-eating sugar, sugar and sugar. 2. Like a drunk at a cocktail party-tiny cheeses, dips, fizzy drinks, and chips. And... 3. Like the Italian Stallion-heavy pasta with extra sauce, meat and cheese. As delicious as all of this has been I am really ready for something different tonight. I bought some thinly sliced chicken cutlet and my husband suggested some sort of stuffed roll...And that is how we end up with Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken. chicken & stuffing: 6 thin chicken cutlets (or pound them) 1/2 box frozen spinach defrosted and all liquid squeezed out 1/2 cup roasted peppers or peppadews (or whatever pepper looks good on the olive bar at the grocery store)-diced 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese 2 tablespoons dried oregano cracked black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste topping: 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs 1 teaspoon each garlic powder and dried oregano 2 teaspoons olive oil Preheat oven for 350 degrees and spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Mix together all the stuffing ingredients, spoon about 1 tablespoon into the middle of each piece of chicken and roll. You can secure with a toothpick and put seam side down in prepared pan. I stuffed extra stuffing into the sides of each piece after placing them in the pan. Mix together all topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of chicken. Bake chicken for 20-25 minutes. I am serving mine with orzo drizzled with a touch of olive oil and mixed with the leftover stuffing filling! :)

Adult Candy Bars (aka Salted Caramel Cookie Bars)

Salted caramel is all the rage. Everyone is eating it as a cupcake, a sauce on something and I just received a candle that is salted caramel scented. That candle sat on my desk all of last week burning and making me hungry. All I wanted to eat were Twix bars and those tiny Brach's caramel squares. By end of the week I had enough of the smelling but not eating caramel, and I decided a Twix Bar was not going to cut it-the caramel had to be salted. A bunch of research led me to chocolate salted caramel cookie bars, which everyone said were grown up Twix bars. The recipe as is was fine, but I decided it needed some tweaking. The results have been hugely successful and several people have asked for the recipe. Here you go... Cookie Layer 2 sticks room temp unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 Tbl vanilla extract 1/2 tea salt 2 cups flour Caramel Layer 10 oz carmel candies-unwrap, use your kitchen shears to cut up 2-3 Tbl heavy cream Chocolate Layer 10 oz dark chocolate chips 1 cup heavy cream Decent quality flakey salt of your choosing Preheat your oven to 325, generously grease your 13x9 glass baking dish. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and salt, then add flour and mix to combine. Press this into bottom of prepared dish and dock the dough-meaning-pierce dough with a fork all over to keep it from bubbling up. Bake this for up to 35 minutes until it is set and begins to get golden brown. Set aside to cool. Once cooled slightly turn it out onto a baking sheet/cutting board lined with foil. Fold the edges of the foil up around the cookie to make a lip-this will help keep caramel goodness from oozing off the top of the cookie. Put your caramels and 2 tbl heavy cream into small sauce pan and heat over low heat, if you have chopped them up well with your scissors they should begin to melt quickly-keep stirring. If it isn't getting that cream caramel sauce thickness add a touch more cream. Once completely melted pour over the cookie crust. Let this set up for a few minutes before adding the hot chocolately layer-this will help keep the layers neat and distinct. Heat your 1 cup of cream in a pot, stir in the chips, remove from heat and stir til the chips melt. You can jazz this up with a tablespoon of your favorite extract or liquer. Once completely smooth pour onto the caramel layer. Immediately sprinkle with salt-to your taste-I used less. I also bought a decent salt for this in a grocery store. You don't need to buy a $30 salt that you may never use again, but don't go with kosher or table salt either. Heat your knive with hot water and cut into bars-keep the knife hot and clean for easier and cleaner cuts. It is hard to cut into but completely worth the effort.

Everybody Walk The Dinosaur (A second look at Dinosaur BBQ)

When the Troy branch of Dinosaur BBQ opened a few years ago I am positive I did a brief write up of the joint. Time has passed and more foods have been tried and it is just time to remind you all of how much I still love it there! Last night my family offered to take me out to a pre-birthday dinner and allowed me to pick my restaurant. Having decided that I really wanted the Dino, I was worried that at 5:45 on a Friday we would not get seated. The Dino gets so busy on weekends that a 2 hour wait is not uncommon. Other BBQ places were suggested and I declined, because I didn't want BBQ, I wanted Dino BBQ. It isn't the same as the other local joints-it is so specific that nothing else would do for me last night. So we took our chances and hopped in the car. The Dino birthday gods were looking down on us as we got one of the last open tables. We started with a round of beverages-they have a great beer selection featuring local, craft and national brands both on tap and in bottles. My husband opted for something dark and involving cherries which he declared great. I went for an Arnold Palmer-half sweet tea/half lemonade and all refreshing. They serve Boylans rootbeers/birch beers etc which was a great option for the child. The Swag Sampler Platter for two was next up-their version of a sampler platter one would find at any chain. This one comes with Fried Green Tomatoes, Creole Deviled Eggs, Cajun Shrimp, Wings. We passed on the shrimp and got more eggs. You get enough for everyone to have one of everything (except shrimp-you get two shrimp a piece...in our case we got 2 egg halves a piece). The tomatoes are green, fried crispy and have a bit of a tang to them. I have no other green tomato experience to compare them to but the soft tangy inside with the crispy outside and the cool creamy dipping sauce makes them the gold standard for any future fried greens I try. The wings can come in a variety of sauces, and we went for a medium one. Well cooked-no flabby skin on these boys! And sauced enough but not too much. Perfect amount of flavor, with mild heat. And the eggs....if I have a last supper those eggs are going to be part of it. Creole deviled eggs that make me swoon. I have tried to recreate the creamy spicy flavor of the yolk at home with no success. I could literally eat a dozen of them. For dinner we decided the bird is in fact the word. Daughter ordered from the kids menu-and I have to say at $5.99 for choice of entrees and 2 sides that is an amazing value. Her entree and side choices are all right from the adult menu and there is no skimping on quality for kids. Husband ordered the 1/2 chicken dinner with mashed potato and chopped salad. Perfectly smoky sticky bbq chicken. The gravy was slightly spicy but meaty. And salad was fresh looking with romaine, carrots and cukes. I went for the Jerked Chicken Sandwich with a side of mac n cheese. Oh yes, the Dino Mac n Cheese would also be on my last supper plate. Cheesey, creamy and a kick of spice to it there is nothing else equal to it in my eyes. The jerk chicken comes with jerk seasoned shredded chicken along with pickled onion and pepper on a sub roll. Actually not a messy sandwich to eat and full of flavor from jerk season, chicken and some mild crunch and tang from the pickled veg. Service was great, as usual. (Although I have friends who do not like the service there...) I personally would walk the Dinosaur any day of the week.

Thai one on (A Review of Sweet Basil -Delaware Ave)

My 'hood The Delaware Ave neigborhood has really been booming with deliciousness the past few years-Mingle, Emack, New World, Ultra Violet, Andy's, Carndona's and the new cheese shop are all making my belly very happy and my runs a little more difficult each morning. The newest addition to this great food line up is Sweet Basil located right next door to Emack & Bolio at 370 Delaware Ave.

The restaurant is a former hot dog joint, sushi place and a hibachi restaurant. None of those places lasted long and none were all that awesome on quality of food. Sweet Basil is a clear step above those and I hope that as it is less than a five minute walk from my house it doesn't go any place!

Daughter and I settled on some take out for tonight and took a walk down as we didn't have a menu. The interior has about 6 tables-mostly 4 tops as the spot is tiny. It is clean, softly lit, elegantly and sparsely decorated and has linen tablecloths and napkins. Nice enough for a dinner date, comfy enough for family night.

We ordered Chicken Satay ($6), Potstickers ($6), Spicy Sweet Basil w/Chicken ($12) and I just had to have the mango with sticky rice ($5).

The Satay was 4 plump skewers of juicy chicken with a cup of mildly spiced and peanutty sauce. My daughter declared them among the best she ever had and ate all 4 of them! The Potstickers were a veggie and chicken variety with standard dumpling sauce on the side. Our bad for not specifying steamed/fried etc so we got boiled and didn't love them. A little mushy and lacking in flavor for us. I may reheat them in a frying pan tomorrow and give them another whirl. They were the only thing we didn't really enjoy. The Spicy Sweet Basil with Chicken was everything that I associate with Thai-crispy lightly sauteed fresh veggies like red pepper, mushroom and zucchini, an abundance of sliced white meat chicken, LOTS of Thai Basil to add a fragrant taste and a mildly spiced sauce-with a side of white rice. The portion size was perfect for one meal. The sweet rice with mango which is one of my favorite desserts anyplace was a hit. Sweet rice shaped into a heart cookie cutter, topped with a sweet coconut syrup and a few black sesame seeds ins paired with a full half of sliced mango. Amazing...and I have never seen that much mango with a single portion.

You should know that parking is on the street but generally easy to come by, it is very kid friendly, they do not have a website or menu online...yet. They told me 15 minutes for our togo order and it was done in about 7. It was neatly packaged and stacked in a bag to bring home.

Make Ahead Magic-in the form of turkey lasagna rolls

School will be starting for our family in just 9 days. That means homework, girl scouts, sticking to routines that were abandoned for summer fun. Since my husband is a teacher that means early morning out the door for him and endless meetings for him after work. Oh, and dance and piano lessons thrown in for good measure.

None of this is unique to our family-I have friends that hold multiple jobs, work weekends or have boatloads of children...In honor of all of us and how easy it is to grab takeout I am going to try to focus some effort on providing some make ahead deliciousness that goes beyond the standard baked ziti or mac & cheese. Something you can pull together on the weekend and enjoy it during the week.

Tonight I was inspired by my friend who is making lasagna...something I don't do well. I keep seeing lasagna roll ups and that seems a little more my speed...With that I give you Turkey Lasagna Rolls....

Turkey Lasagna Rolls

1 lb Ground Turkey
1 clove crushed garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

8 lasagna noodles (not the "no need to boil" style-get old fashion boil ones)
1 15oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 egg
1 tablespoon shredded fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
Dash of black pepper
1 jar of your fave spaghetti sauce

1. As your water boils for the noodles brown the turkey. Mixing in the garlic and Italian seasoning.

2. Coat bottom of 13x9 baking dish with thin layer of sauce.

3. Cook noodles in boiling water-under cook them. Mine called for 10 mins and I took them out at 8-you want them to roll easily.

4. Mix ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, egg, basil, 1/4 cup pecorino and black pepper to combine.

5. Remove noodles from water, place on a board, patting dry. Spoon a little sauce along the length of each one, then ricotta mixture and finally ground turkey. Remember, you need to roll these so don't overfill or the filling will all ooze out the side. Roll each noodle and place seam side down in prepared baking dish.

6. Cover the dish with remaining pecorino and mozzarella. Cover dish with foil and refrigerate up to 2 days. Bake at 350 degrees until hot and cheese bubbles-about 25 minutes.

Leftovers will keep 2-3 days....This recipe doubles/triples easily and is open to all sorts of variations-beef, veggie, alfredo sauce etc...

Mingle Albany

Mingle opened on Delaware Ave about 6 months ago in the former home of The Bagel Bite (yes, I know other eateries have been there in between...but Bagel Bite was longest). I checked their menu out ages ago and was a little on the fence as it was heavily a Korean menu. Korean is not one of my favorites so I wasn't sure....I was happy that a new restaurant had opened though so to show my support of a new locally owned joint I "liked" them on Facebook. Glad I did, I saw their menu grow and evolve into one that still has a long list of Korean specialities but also has daily specials, southern fare and has made a committment to source as much food as they can locally. Tonight along with Michael and some friends we finally checked it out...and....we loved it! and c They redid the interior with sage colored walls and a few well chosen art pieces. The booths are gone and the far wall is one large comfy polished wooden bench seat. The bar is still there and apparently there is a backroom for seating, but I never made it beyond the main room which must easily seat 40+ people. We began with drinks-Sangrias and beers for the rest. I went with the Strawberry Basil Lemonade. The drink was made with rum and went down like a virgin cocktail-sweet with a mild spice from the basil. I could have drank several more of these! For apps Michael and I shared the jerk wings and the cheese pate plate. The jerk wings are spicy and come with homemade blue cheese. They are baked not fried. My only (minor) complaint was that the skin wasn't too crispy on them...The flavor won me over though. The cheese pate is a mix of several cheeses from The Cheese Traveller next door. It is served with bread from All Good Bakery and an assortment of fruit. The cheese had a slight horseradish tang. We ordered the small size and it was too much! (Leftovers...) I had a hard time picking an entree, but settled on the smaller portion of the chicken and chorizo creole over rice. Fresh veggies, chicken and chorizo mounded over rice with a mildly spicy sauce. Fantastic flavor, hand cut veggies, perfectly moist chicken.. The rest of my table loved their food as well, and we did a good job sampling the menu-Lamb, Korean tacos, kimchi miso soup etc... Our bill for 4 including 4 beers, 2 sangrias and 1 mixed drink was about $200 w/tip. Notes-many dishes come in half portions....some dishes come spicy or "chef spicy" so you can select your degree of heat...they have a great craft beer and wine menu...the service was fantastic. Go Mingle!

The Devil Inside

Summer is here, we have already had some 95 degree+ days. I have a rule that from June thru Mid-September I don't turn my oven on too often. Lots of grilling, pan frying and cold sides like pasta and potato salad. Oh, and deviled eggs. I could eat an entire dozen deviled eggs (yes, 24 halves) all by myself. I don't, as my cardiologist will kill me before the eggs do, but I could. The deviled egg is completely underrated and not given due respect. Ann Burrell said, it is always the first platter emptied at the picnic. My friends Meredith and Sara both upon hearing my blog topic expressed their deviled love. We all adore them, so let's boil our eggs properly and fill them with our favorite fillings (I like a little zip and tang to mine). Boil 1 dozen eggs. To properly boil eggs, put eggs in large pot with water to cover by over an inch. Bring to boil uncovered, let boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat, cover and let stand 20 minutes. Immediately immerse in icy water to chill. Peel those devils. Half the eggs, scoop yolk into boil. Mash yolk with fork until you get a nice fluffy texture. Mix in: 3 tablespoons of your favorite mustard 3 "shakes" of worcestshire sauce 1 "shake" of Frank's Red Hot Sauce 1/2-3/4 cup of mayo Salt and Pepper to taste Continue mixing with a fork til combined and fluffy. Taste to see if seasoning is right, correct as needed. Pipe or spoon into shells. Call me and invite me over to eat them. Variations *Use a flavored salt *Pickle relish *Chopped fresh herbs *Cajun or creole seasoning

We be jammin'

Monica had "the jam plan". If you don't know what I am talking about, I am referencing the episode of Friends when Monica has lost her job and decides she can make enough homemade jam to pay her bills. Joey eats all of her jam.

Last summer my aunt had a jam plan. Her plan included picking the freshest sweetest raspberries and turning them into jars of jam and raspberry sauce to serve over ice cream.

I was the lucky recipient of one of those jam plan jars. I have never tasted anything so freshly picked; meaning every spoonful tasted like berries I had just picked myself! I began to stuff the jar in the back of the fridge and bought Smuckers for my husband to eat and horded it for myself.

This summer my aunt has promised she will teach me how to make jam because it sounds a little scary to me (and I don't want to fight with my uncle for extra jars of the sweet stuff). I am generally worried about the process of canning more than mixing up a tasty spread for my toast. Germs and bacteria can not only ruin the jam but send you to the hospital. But today was the first day of raspberry season at my favorite orchard and she isn't coming for a few more weeks...

She told me it would be fine for me to pick and freeze the berries until she comes to visit as we are just going to mash them anyways. Most of them will go in the freezer for her expert advice but I decided I had to make something with some of these berries so I decided to experiment a little on some jam and see how it went.

I picked raspberries and bought a few quarts of the very last local strawberries of the season. The raspberries are fairly tart and I thought mixed with the strawberries and some sugar we could have something tasty. My end result was good, not great. I think I used too much sugar so the jam is a little on the sweet side-an extra dollop of peanut butter will probably even that sweetness out though. (Oh, and I did use less sugar than the recipe called for...) And yes, all of the jars set with the lids sealed.

Strawberry Raspberry Jam

(Makes 4 16 oz canning jars with a little left over for breakfast tomorrow)

3 cups ea of Strawberries and Raspberries
Up to 7 cups sugar
1 box Sure Jell Pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter

Wash your jars, lids and rims in hot soapy water. Set into a hot water bath until you are ready to use.

Mash all of the berries in batches and place into a large sauce pot or dutch oven. Mix in the pectin and butter and stir cooking over med-high heat. Continue stirring while this cooks. Cook until it reaches a rolling boil. Add HALF the sugar and keep stirring. Give it a taste and add more sugar to taste as you like. Once it has reached your desired level of sweetness cook until it reaches a rolling boil again (keep stirring...) and after it reaches a rolling boil cook for exactly 1 more minute.

Immediately ladle into the prepared jars that have been waiting in the hot water bath. Make sure jar rims are clean and there are no pockets of air in jars, cover with lids and screw on rims. Place back into water bath 10 more minutes and boil.

Remove from water bath to cook. To check to see if the lid sealed properly press down in center of lid-it should not have any give. If it does, just use this first (within 2 weeks) and use what does work within a year.

Of course you can mix this recipe up anyway you want-just make sure it is 6 cups of fruit. Maybe some citrus zest would give it some brightness too?

Enjoy!

Viva Las Vegas Foods!

My husband and I spent last week in Las Vegas. Neither one of us are big gamblers, but the idea of a day at The Grand Canyon and access to restaurants by many of this countries top chefs all in one spot was too appealing to pass up. If you find yourself in Sin City you may want to check out some or all of these spots!

Max Brenner (The Forum, Caesar's Palace)-Hands down the very best milkshake I have ever drank. The 80's shake for $7-served in an Alice in Wonderland "Drink Me" cup is vanilla ice cream blended with chocolate fondue, topped with another scoop of vanilla and then homemade magic shell. It was rich and chocolately without sending us into a diabetic coma. The best part? There is a MB in NYC so I will be having more of these shakes!

The Wicked Spoon (The Cosmopolitan Hotel)-The Vegas buffet that all the other buffets wish they were sofisticated enough to be! For $35/pp (includes soda/juice/coffee/tea) you can enjoy literally hundreds of freshly prepared buffet items. The best part is the presentation. Gone are the chaffing dishes that allow food to dry out or become mush. Think tiny paella pans filled with the rice mixture, or mini dutch ovens with individual chicken pot pies. Even cuter are toddler size fry baskets with a freshly fried piece of fish. Mussels prepared to order or hand carved rotisseirie pork tenderloin and chinese takeout boxes of rice. My personal faves at this locale were the aforementioned pot pie, a simple salad dressed with a spicy sweet chili dressing and a lemon coconut parfait of creamy goodness. Oh, and did I mention the gelato bar....?

Pinks Hot Dog (Planet Hollywood-entrance on Strip only)-If you can't make it to the original in LA give this one a try. No line and having had both thought this was almost as good. Go for the Brooklyn-dog with pastrami, kraut and swiss.

Fleur (Mandalay Bay)-Top Chef Master Hubert Keller's Vegas foray. I have to say dinner was "eh" so I won't waste time on it. Dessert was memorable. Husband ordered the tableside Baileys ice cream topped with espresso. To clarify, they made his ice cream by whisking homemade ice cream base in a metal bowl with liquid nitrogen. It smoked and with each whisk in that bowl became a creamy frozen confection and was topped with a shot of freshly brewed espresso.

Johnny Smalls (Hard Rock Hotel & Casino)-Tapas style dining. Go for the All You Can Eat option for $24.95 if you plan to order more than 2 items it is worth it. Deep fried green beans-perfectly crisp served with a sweet chili sauce, "smalls balls" are risotto filled with short rib, breaded and fried. Oh and covered with a cheese fondue sauce.

The honorable mentions list includes Otto (The Venetian) for the delish thin crust mushroom pizza, Payard (The Forum at Caesars) for the homemade marshmallows and chocolate biscuit clusters and to Bouchon Bakery (The Venetian) for caramel macaroons.

My cardiologist is going to kill me, but we did walk at least 5 or 6 miles each day so I do have that going for me. However, this week I think I will stick to celery and carrot sticks! :)

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time

Two weeks ago marked the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting. I was a scout and my daughter is a scout (I happen to be her troop leader...), and I wanted to do something fun for the girls and decided we would have an anniversary party at our next meeting. What is a party without a cake? In honor of scouting I decided to make a cake using some of their most iconic flavors-Thin Mint Cookies. This cake is super easy to make and I hope you will give it a whirl some time your self.

Thin Mint Cake

Cake:
1 box of chocolate cake mix (or your favorite homemade chocolate cake recipe)
*Follow box instructions to prepare cake, bake in 2 8 or 9 inch rounds, cool and remove from pans. May bake up to 2 days ahead just wrap tightly to keep moist and fresh.

Filling:
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Tablespoon Mint Extract
3 Tablespoons Confectioners Sugar
8 Crushed Thin Mint Cookies (optional)

Chill your bowl and beaters in the fridge for 1 hour. Then with mixer on medium high whip the heavy cream until it stiffens. Add mint and confectioner's sugar, mix to incorporate. Taste to ensure minty/sweetness.

Chocolate Ganache
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
9 Oz Chocolate Chips
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Heat Cream over low heat in saucepan stirring to keep from burning. Once cream is hot (not simmering or boiling!) remove from heat stir in chips and vanilla. Stir til smooth. Chill for 5-10 minutes.

Assembly:

Put one cake layer on cake platter, spoon mint cream over the top in a thick layer. Scatter crushed mint cookies on top of cream layer. Top with second cake layer and starting in the middle of the cake pour ganache over cake. The Ganache will run over cake and down the sides.

Chill cake in fridge to set up ganache and keep cream intact.

Enjoy!

Variations-mix the cookies into the whipped cream, leave out the cookies all together, use a different cookie that is choco-mint, color the cream green....

Happy Anniversary Girl Scouts and please don't forget to support scouting in any way that you can-volunteer your time as a troop leader, buy a box of cookies, agree to speak/teach a class to a troop on something!

Eating With Your Eyes

Since it is super convenient I often just check online at one of my fave websites for a recipe these days. I can do it right in the grocery store if I am shopping for ingredients and that is a huge help as I am always trying to do 9 things and never just focus on one, with the result being not quite on the ball. However, in the not to distant past aside from foodie mags the only thing I had to rely on was cookbooks.

I actually have quite a number of cookbooks-at least 25 or 30. The funny part is I have pared this down a bit-passing along the ones that I never really meshed with. I thought since I had burgers and pasta salad for dinner tonight and you probably all know how to make that it would be fun to share some of my personal fave cookbooks.

I can read cookbooks like a novel. I love to look at the photos (especially in baking books), and check out menu suggestions. I even read the sections about what kind of cookware to buy or the explanation of couscous-none of which I really need. But I so enjoy picking up a tidbit here and there and folding down a page that I MUST go back to so I can make the dish.

All time hands down, The Moosewood Restaurant and The Enchanted Brocoli Forest (both by Mollie Katzen) are the top of the list for me. Even though I don't eat vegetarian anymore and only did so for a bit these cookbooks are all about the process of home-made delicious foods. These means rising dough, chopping veggies, making your own crusts. The indulgent slow and often meditative process that sadly we don't have time for all that often any more. (At least I don't...) In these books you will find the basic quiche formula to take you through to enternity-no matter what flavors you want if you follow the basic principles within you will be able to make the perfect quiche. Also the most delicious honey wheat bread-complete with hand drawn instructions to walk you through bread baking.

The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer is my go to for everyday cooking principles and practices. I know we all have a fave for this-it could be Better Homes and Gardens or Julia Childs or any other number of books but this one is the book for me. Whether I need to know how to set out the silver for a lovely upscale Thanksgiving or how to make a french toast that has the perfect balance of cinnamon and vanilla I know I will find it there.

The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Nuovo Vesuvio. I know you might think this is a joke, but the recipes are actually fairly spot on for traditional Italian. I have tweaked the Sunday Gravy recipe slightly to make it my own, but it is a fairly similar recipe as my mother-in-laws. It is a great Italian cookery reference-has all the basics and a few speciality items but doesn't go to deep.

The Mesa Grill Cookbook by Bobby Flay is excellent. After eating at Mesa Grill I had to have it and I am glad I do. I can recreate his amazing steaksauce or double baked horseradish potatoes at home-saving a trip to Manhattan and about $130 in the process. The book is an upscale take on southwestern food.

Lastly, the orange Betty Crocker cookbook published most likely in the 60's. I have my grandmothers copy and some day if she wants it my daughter will have it. I used to sit at my grandmother's house reading it and looking at the pictures like it was a fairy tale. Pictures of foods I would never eat at this point in my life like bread with pimento spread cut into triangles, jello molds filled with ham and fruit and other strange concotions. The pics are super kitchsy but there are some great basic recipes in this book for breads and the best cinnamon bun recipe I have ever had along with kitchen classics like chicken kiev. I almost never open this book anymore but it is really my first cookbook and holds a special place in my heart.

Would love to hear what your faves are...Sometimes eating with your eyes is almost as much fun!

Food Coma

Food Coma, that is probably the best way I can describe my general disregard for all that is delicious and aromatic since July of last year! (Ouch, I stink!)

It is NOT for lack of anything good to say...I have had plenty to say, and eat but barely enough time to scarf it all down let alone write about it.

I mean, how could I have not told you about my first experience at Commander's Palace the quintessential New Orleans dining spot-the service, the atmosphere and oh the pork belly. I was there with co-workers and laughed til I cried and that was fine and dandy in this fancy joint-cuz in New Orleans EVERYTHING goes. And that pork belly-a glorious chunk of the best bacon I have ever eaten is really what it was...

And to not tell you about some of the very best Mexican food this side of the Rio Grande at Besito in Huntington Village on Long Island is clearly a lack of good judgement on my part. I love Mexican food. The cheapo stuff at trucks and fast food joints, the chains and their never ending chips and salsa, but the really good stuff is harder to find. I have had it though at Mexican Radio and The Border Grille and Besito is the best. Table side guac making, amazing margaritas like prickly pear and impeccable service.

And I really can't believe I didn't share my excitement for the afternoon tea at The Plaza hotel in New York with you! I used my 6 year old daughter as my excuse to go, as she is a big fan of the character Eloise who lives at The Plaza. So a trip to NYC was in order for "girls day" complete with a trip to The American Girl store and afternoon tea at The Plaza. A good friend who does not have daughters came along for the girly fun. My daughter had "The Eloise" which featured pink lemonade, pb & j finger sandwiches and other delectables. I went for something decidedly more savory and grown up and got the "New Yorker" with roast beef on pretzel bread, scones with Devon shire cream and other savories. The service was great, they brought Zoe out a little cake for her birthday and we have a photo of us in front of Eloise's portrait along with this amazing memory.

I also haven't shared my latest obsession of a soy-cola braised pork roast. Maybe I shall make that the subject of an upcoming post? I am also Las Vegas bound in a few weeks and have already been reserving tables all over town! So I have a lot to report on. Either way food coma or not I shall not abandon this blog again!

Happy Eating!