(This is NOT a photo of my macaroons.  I found this picture on Foodnetwork.com, here.  My macaroon recipe differs in that it does not call for any dairy, and it is frosted with a delicious lime icing and pistachios as well.  Pretty good stuff.  I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture. Oh, right, because my pictures rarely come out the way I want them to.) My friend Cherry is planning to have a baby in about 6 weeks, so we decided this last weekend was a good time for a baby shower.  Baby showers have come a long way from the horrid bets about how big your stomach…

(photo found at a yummy cooking blog, Kevin at Closet Cooking, along with a really yummy looking recipe for a different shrimp and pasta combination. I tried to find a picture from a cookbook or something, but none looked anything like what I made. I should have taken my own photo, clearly. This looks similar, though mine had tomatoes.) My mom gave me a great cookbook years ago, Pasta Fresca. I think that was when Ted and I first moved in together in 1990. It is one of my very favorite cookbooks, partly because I love pasta, and partly because the recipes are all delicious. When cooking with recipes, my…

(photo found here, because I’m too lazy to take a picture of my own…) I saw Giada make this recipe on TV the other day, and I decided that I wanted to try it. Fortuitously, the next day, I saw an episode of America’s Test Kitchen where they talked about the problem with recipes such as this one, and they talked about how to correct it. So I put the two together, and made a killer Super Bowl Sunday pasta for our dinner. Really, really good. (Go Saints!) So, here’s Giada’s recipe, which varies slightly but (I think) critically from her cookbook: Lamb Ragu with Mint Ingredients * 1 pound…

I have a confession to make.  I like ranch dressing.  I like it on my salad, on my pizza crusts, and on my fried zucchini or mushrooms.  Yummy.  I like to mix the powdered dry mix in with turkey to make turkey burgers, or make oven fried chicken with it. So I came across this recipe via Yahoo the other day.  One of those “5 nights of meals” articles, and this was one of the recipes.  Doesn’t it look good?  Don’t be fooled.  For one thing, the recipe they linked to doesn’t have tortilla chips, cilantro, OR sour cream, and it has red meat, not chicken or turkey or whatever…

(photo courtesy of SFGate) This week’s Sunday paper had a drool-worthy section of soup recipes, including a recipe for Ribollita, which is a Tuscan soup with bread in the bottom of the bowl, and a rind of Parmesan simmered within. It sounded perfect for a rainy evening, and I wanted to try it. But when I looked more closely at the recipe, I decided I wasn’t so sure. 3 cans of beans is a lot of beans for a soup, and I’m not that fond of kale. So I thought I’d look and see if Giada had a version I might try. What do you know, she did! So I…

(photo found here, along with quite a few stroganoff recipes, but not the one I used) When the weather turns cold, it’s easy to start thinking of yummy warm dishes like stews and roasts.  The other day I was trying to think of a beef recipe that I hadn’t made before, but might be fun to try.  I decided a nice Sunday dinner would be a good Beef Stroganoff.  Mmmm.  Beef, mushrooms, butter and cream, what’s not to like?  I found the recipe here.  Looks like it came from an old issue of Gourmet magazine.  A lot of the comments said to double the sauce.  So I did.  This is…

I found this recipe in the new Real Simple magazine, and the idea of seasoning the lamb with curry powder, and then cooking them without a sauce, intrigued me. The verdict? Three thumbs up. One from Ted, one from me, one from Maya. They were lovely, although the success of the dish probably depends on the quality of the lamb, and of the curry powder that you can find. Ted’s mom hooks us up with some amazing curry powder, and I splurged on the lamb for this one. Really good.  Also, really easy and quick, with dinner on the table within 30 minutes. Spiced Lamb Chops and Smashed Peas Ingredients…

This is the recipe for Turkey and Stuffing that I made for Canadian Thanksgiving yesterday.  The picture was found here, because I was too lazy to take a picture.  I should have done so, though, because mine looked even better than this does.  The recipe is on the same page.  I changed the recipe by being totally lazy….I made Stove Top Turkey Stuffing, and used that instead of a corn muffin.  So what I did was pound the turkey cutlets out, put some stuffing on them, then roll them up and tie them with some twine.  I put this back in the fridge to wait until I was ready.   I…

(sorry for the blurry pic…) One indulgence we have been enjoying is On Demand for our cable TV. It’s part of the cheapest package that gives us HBO, etc., and we really like it. It’s expensive, though, so who knows if we’ll keep it. On Demand allows you to watch certain TV shows whenever you want.  It feeds Ted’s True Blood and Rescue Me addictions, fills us in when we go to bed early and miss an episode of Mad Men, and allows us to find movies to watch if we’re in a TV mood but there’s nothing on.  I wish they had everything ever made, but they’re far from…

I thought I would share the recipe for Chicken Parmesan that I made with the $10 pasta sauce (on sale now at Safeway for $9!) last week, which I made again last night, because Maya wanted to try it and couldn’t last week because her teeth hurt too much after getting her braces tightened. Anyway, I made it again, and this time, I took a picture. I think this is my favorite Chicken Parmesan recipe ever. The keys are: good quality chicken, good quality sauce, Italian Parmesan, and panko rather than American breadcrumbs. They’re so nice and crispy, and give the chicken a wonderful texture. Also, of course, don’t overcook…

I came across this recipe in an old copy of Cooking Light magazine, and I thought it looked perfect for a hot summer evening.  We tried it for dinner the other night, and it was a hit with all of us.  For the chicken, instead of buying pre-cooked (which the recipe suggested, and I thought sounded like it might be pretty dry), Ted just added some chicken breasts to the grill the night before. So they were ready when I wanted them the following day.  To add flavor to the orzo, I cooked it in low sodium chicken broth instead of water.  That’s a waste of broth, but it’s such…

We found this recipe in an old Sunset Magazine. I’ll copy it as is, and then tell you the changes I made. Artichoke, Fennel, and Sausage Fusilli Ingredients: 1 head fennel (about 3-in. diameter) 4 oz. mild or hot Italian sausage, casings removed 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup slivered red bell pepper 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced 1/2 tsp fennel seeds 5 oz. frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and drained 1/3 cup fat-skimmed chicken broth 2 tablespoons dry white wine 2 tablespoons whipping cream 6 oz. fusilli pasta Grated Parmesan cheese Rinse the fennel and cut off course stalks, reserving some of the feathery green leaves.  Trim and discard…

I like cooking, but I get really tired of deciding what we’re going to have for dinner, you know? So Ted went on the Food Network website, and found this recipe on Giada’s page, and we decided to try it. Ingredients * 1 pound spaghetti pasta * 1/4 cup olive oil * 3 shallots, chopped * 3 cloves garlic, minced * 3/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes * 1 1/2 cup Pinot Grigio (or other white wine) * 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined * 2 pounds clams, washed * 1 teaspoon kosher salt * 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper * 2 cups arugula Directions Bring a large pot of…

gorgeous picture found here I saw this recipe on my current favorite cooking show, America’s Test Kitchen, and it looked so easy and delicious that I decided that I had to try it. The beginning of this week was ungodly hot, with Sunday topping out at 108, and Monday a more reasonable, but still toasty, 97 or so. So grilling is the perfect way to avoid heating up the kitchen. This recipe was truly delicious, and I suspect we’ll be having it again, especially since I still have 1/2 jar of jalapeno jelly in my fridge, and no idea what else I would use it for. I’ve grilled fish before,…