February 13, 2010

Custard Filled Corn Bread

I just finished reading A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table, by Molly Wizenburg. Wow…just wow! What a lovely food memoir. I devoured it whole and it’s haunted me in such a good way. Every recipe has a story behind it. A tradition. It makes me think of all of the recipes that I hold so dear. The ones that came from the women of my family…and the ones that I hope to impart on my children some day. Food has the power to bring people closer together and because I am half Italian I live by that.

I had a good laugh at the tale of her husband and his maple syrup loving habits. Mine looooves anything maple syrup related. You would be surprised at how fast he can polish off a box of maple candies. It’s the New England gene in him. He was born to love it. He doesn’t go as far as Buddy the Elf…but if I was gone for the weekend, I am pretty sure he’d be putting syrup on everything. CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

February 10, 2010

Nutty Cranberry Granola

Every time I make granola I think “Why did I ever buy this at the store?” It’s insanely simple to make at home and it is amazingly rewarding. I have to mention the smell that fills your house. Oh wow!! Casey asked me if I was making cinnamon rolls (which I wasn’t…but I will soon!). It’s ridiculously addictive to eat and totally therapeutic to make. I find so much comfort in the process of making granola. It’s something I enjoy doing at night when the house is nice and quiet. CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

February 7, 2010

Basil Apple Cucumber Juice

My brother and I made this juice last week.

It’s a great juice if you are on a cleanse! Your taste buds will be awakened and your tummy will be satisfied. The basil in the juice adds a nice depth to the sweetness of the apple and cucumber. It makes it more of a grown-up drink in my opinion. CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

February 4, 2010

Spinach Feta Pocket Pies

Awhile back I made these Chicken Pocket Pies and they were fabulous. The dough worked out perfectly, angels sang, and we left nothing but pie dust in the kitchen. Remember?

I’ve been “trying” to bring spinach back into Cooper’s diet so I thought these Spinach Feta Pocket Pies might do the trick! Plus this momma loves spanakopita, and these are pretty similar (except they’re made with cream cheese pastry instead of phillo dough).

I whipped up the pastry dough the night before using light cream cheese instead of full fat. I am soo happy to report that it tastes just fine! A bullet has been dodged, people. We can have a tasty lower fat pie crust and eat it too!

The spinach pockets were super. I was delighted every time I got a chunk of feta in a bite. Next time I am going to add a little more cheese to the filling. Oh man do I love feta! The pies totally satisfied my spanakopita cravings!

around the home, Uncategorized

February 3, 2010

A sweet 16 months

Cooper turned 16 months old yesterday.

A sweet 16…although he was Mr. Grumps. All 4 canines are coming in at once.

The words he says:

Car, dada, shoes, ball, hat, cat, cracker, please, pretty, cracker, bread, dis & dat (this and that)

They don’t sound exactly how they are supposed to…we still find it super adorable.

He has said mama a few times…but prefers to call both Casey and I “dada.”

He LOOOVES watching cars outside. Seeing the garbage truck makes his day.

recipes, Uncategorized

February 2, 2010

Corn Fritters

Flashback!!

Three years ago, I spied this recipe in an issue of a Rachael Ray magazine.

Dick Clark’s Corn Fritters.

Whoa! He made them for his family every year on NYE before he went to the Times-Square Studio.

Isn’t that super sweet and cute?

recipes, Uncategorized

January 30, 2010

Everyday Crêpes

I made crêpes once and it was a disaster. Total FAIL. I didn’t let the batter rest long enough.

Damn you impatient girl!

For the past few evenings I’ve been scouring my old Jan/Feb issues of Everyday Food magazine to get some new recipe ideas.
I kept seeing recipes for crêpes!

Were they just recycling the recipe, or is this a really good time of year to make crêpes?

They looked incredibly simple to make. I whipped up the batter right before we went to bed last night so I wouldn’t be tempted to use it immediately and have another failed attempt at crêpe making.

How did it go?