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~ My love of gardening, making home comfortable and entertaining friends and family.

Garden, Home & Party

Tag Archives: recipes

{Party} Some seasonal finds via blog land

16 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Fall Entertaining and Decorations, Food, Holiday/Seasonal cooking, Recipes, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

recipes, Table Settings

I believe autumn is at least partly responsible for the extra enthusiasm I experience during this time of year, that or the cooler weather which aids with slumber and allows me to stay more energized.  Therefore I feel like cooking more, trying new recipes.  Does this happen to you?

~I hope you aren’t sick of my speaking of Autumn and the seasonal traditions and go along with it~

And George blog, 9.25.12{via}

Blog land is bursting at the seams with great ideas and inspiration for all things fall, but there have been a few recipes that were so tempting I thought I’d share them with you.

If you’re going to eat, you know you’ll have to set the table so I’m including some nice table settings too.  [I’m a full-service blogger]

Party Resources, 9.20.12{via Party Resources}

We don’t have maple trees in our area but we do have a tree (Liquid Amber) that gives us a show of color, but the branches are very high and it’s not on our property so you can see my dilemma.  I wonder if the branches (above) are real or faux?

Let’s start with this delicious Skinny Spiced Latte Recipe from Yummy Mummy Kitchen.  Marina nearly ruined my day when she mentioned that the Spiced Pumpkin Latte you get at most coffee houses was 390 calories!  It’s not that I have them that often but I didn’t know this calorie fact,  they might as well be considered meal-replacement at 390 calories.  I know, I know, just order it with non-fat milk.  Ugh, not nearly as tasty.  So, maybe you will find this to be a delicious, low calorie replacement…I’m going to try them.

{via Yummy Mummy Kitchen}

Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte :: by Yummy Mummy Kitchen, Marina

Pumpkin Whipped Cream:
makes about 25 (2.5 tablespoon servings)

1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
10 ounces TruWhip (available at many grocery stores including Ralphs and Whole Foods)
sprinkles or additional pumpkin pie spice for garnish, optional

Place pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until combined and smooth. My organic canned pumpkin was quite hard and this beating helps it smooth out. Add the whipped topping and beat in just until combined. Transfer to a 11×7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Alternatively an 8-inch or 9×13-inch baking dish could be used. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the freezer until ready to use.

To make lattes:
8 ounces brewed coffee
1/4 cup warmed low-fat milk (or however much milk you like)
Stevia to taste

Add milk to your coffee and sweeten to taste with Stevia or your favorite sweetener. Top with pumpkin whipped topping from the freezer.  Sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice or sprinkles, if desired.

Country Living MagazineEveryday Occasions by Jenny Steffens Hobick had a soul-warming soup recipe that was hard for me to pass up.  She has some delicious soup recipes, and for me, this time of year is ideal for soup and crusty bread and maybe a salad.

Everyday Occasions by Jenny Steffens HobickChorizo & Vegetable Cream Soup | Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato & Basil Grilled Cheese

1 pound of chorizo sausage
3 carrots, diced
1 cup of mushrooms, sliced
1/2 small white onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes, hand crushed with juice
4 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup of cream
4 cups of fresh spinach

fresh mozzarella
tomato, sliced
fresh basil
baguette, sliced
olive oil
1 clove of garlic, whole

Remove the sausage from its casing and break it up into small/medium pieces.  Cook it in a sauté pan on a medium/high heat, rendering some of the fat.  Add the carrot, mushrooms and onion and cook until soft, approx. 5-7 minutes.  Add garlic.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes by squeezing them in one at a time.  Continue to break them into bite size pieces with the spoon.  Add the juice from the can of tomatoes.

Add the chicken broth and cream.  Add spinach.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Slice the baguette, pile with mozzarella, tomato and basil and top with a second piece of bread.  In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Cook sandwiches for 3-4 minutes just until they start to brown.  Flip and repeat.  Rub a raw clove of garlic on the crusty sides of bread.

ƒ  ƒ  ƒ

I really like the simplicity of the table setting below.  The array of interesting colors that pumpkins come in work with almost any decor.  I especially like the white baby boo pumpkins.

Better Homes and Gardens, fall tableFor our main course, this recipe is from my good friend, Jean.  She prepared this dish for a ladies’ luncheon years ago and it continues to be a seasonal favorite.  Super easy too.  I do not have a photograph of the dish but I promise, it’s really pretty.

Chicken/Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients

  • 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 2 packages Uncle Ben’s White & Wild rice, cooked*
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
  • ¾ cup Craisins
  • 1 cup cashews

Preparation Instructions

Shred cooked chicken breasts, set aside.  Melt butter in skillet and cook mushrooms until most of the liquid is absorbed.

*Cook rice according to package directions [omitting the spice packages]  using 2 cups of chicken broth and 1 cup water.

Combine soup, sour cream, cashews and Craisins with chicken and rice.  Spread in 9” x 13” baking dish and bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or until hot.

Stone Gable{via Stone Gable}

and finally, for dessert…

A site I’ve only recently discovered is one that is guaranteed to provide constant entertainment…talk of the house is written by Kelly.  A wife, mother and school teacher, Kelly lives in Georgia and her posts are always informative and fun.  She recently posted her family recipe for Apple Cake.  I plan to bake it this weekend but visit HERE for some mouth-watering pictures to entice.  {I cannot figure out how to copy a picture from her site so you’ll have to visit, but you won’t regret it}.

Fresh Apple Cake:

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 ¼ c. oil

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. sugar

1 c. chopped pecans

3 c. freshly shredded apples

Grease and flour a tube or Bundt cake pan.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Sift together the flour, soda, salt, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl.  In a small bowl whisk the eggs together.  Then whisk the oil in with the eggs.  Pour the eggs and oil mixture into the sifted flour mix.  Beat to mix well.  Beat in the sugar and the vanilla.  Stir in the apples and the pecans.  Pour all into the greased pan, and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Cool only a few minutes, then turn out on your cake stand.

Icing:

½ stick butter

2 Tbsp. milk

½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

Place all ingredients in a medium pot on the stove.  Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes.  Brush, or pour, on to the warm cake.

Serve with whipped cream.

Party Resources{via Party Resources}

Those of you who can’t quite give up summer could set the table with a nautical theme and sunflowers.  A great blending of a season ending (the nautical) and a season that’s arriving (the fall colors of a sunflower).

Hampton Hostess, 8.27.12{via Hampton Hostess}

Are you cooking more now that the weather has cooled?  Share any easy recipes you have tried with me, I’d love to hear from you.

I’m joining the party over at Centsational Girl, seasonal foods, yummy.

Olive love…a couple of easy appetizer recipes

11 Friday Feb 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Food, Recipes, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

recipes

Ever since I was a little girl I have loved olives.  My mom always had a platter of nibbles out during family holiday feasts.  The platter included cut celery, carrots, gherkins and olives.  I would eat green olives with pimento and black olives until my mom would have to remind me to save some for our guests.  I used to put the black olives on my fingers…did you ever do that?

Image via French Essence

Anyway, here are a couple of recipes that I recently used as an appetizer and I thought I’d share them because a) they are super simple and b) because if you love olives, like me, you will love the taste of these heavenly olive-based hors d’ oeuvres.

The tapenade recipe is in this book, or you can cut and paste the recipe I’ve posted below.

I don’t think my olives came from Italy, maybe Spain, but these images of olive groves were too pretty to pass up.

Silver Palate’s Tapenade

  • 1/2 cup imported black kalamata olive, pitted, can use Alfonso
  • 1/4 cup imported green Sicilian olives, pitted
  • 4 anchovy fillets
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tablespoons capers, drained
  • 2 tablespoons tuna packed in oil, drained
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaf, rinsed and patted dry
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise (optional)

Directions:

  1. Combine black and green olives, anchovy fillets, garlic, capers, tuna, lemon juice and basil in bowl of a food processor fitted with steel blade. Process until smooth.
  2. With motor running, dribble in the oil to make a thick, fluffy sauce. For a lighter sauce, blend in the mayonnaise.
  3. Taste, and correct seasoning. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Will keep, refrigerated, for 1 week.

AND

Italian Guacamole (Funny name for a delicious spread)

Ingredients:

  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
  • 1-15 ounce can artichoke hearts (in water), drained and quartered
  • 3 ounces *large green olives (about 10-11)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt & 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Place garlic in bowl of food processor along with artichoke hearts and olives.  Pulse until chopped well.  Then with processor on drizzle olive oil into mixture until assimilated.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Before serving mix in chopped parsley.  Serve with pita chips or crackers or sliced, fresh baguette.

*I used the large green olives from Trader Joe’s that are stuffed with jalapeno.  I took the jalapeno out of about half of the olives and left it in for the half…this gave the spread a tiny kick.

Thanksgiving planning and menu 2010

24 Wednesday Nov 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Dessert, Entertaining, Food, Party Planning

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

recipes, Thanksgiving

Cayley and I met the other night and went over our menu ideas for Thanksgiving Day.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, we’ve cooked together on this holiday in years past with great success.  Cayley has saved the menu that I usually print on fall paper each year so we used the 2009 menu as a guide.

I like the fresh produce mixed with flowers for a fall table---bountiful!

We will both prepare an appetizer—to be determined.  Additionally, Cayley will buy some mixed nuts for munching.  I lean towards an appetizer that isn’t too filing for obvious reasons.

I appreciate the mix of silver and pewter and the black furniture piece make the vignette pop.

We’ll salt the turkey per the Los Angeles Times Food feature of November 19, 2008.  This, for scientific reasons I don’t fully understand, works better than brining, see recipe HERE.  We tried the method in 2009 and the bird was moist and delicious.  I’ll be responsible for make-ahead Creamy Mashed Potatoes and I’ll use Pioneer Woman’s recipe HERE.  I’ll also prepare Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes (recipe HERE).  We’ll buy Costco’s pre-made gravy—don’t judge, it just keeps stress out of the kitchen on a food/recipe intensive day!  I’ll also prepare a recipe for Gulliver’s Cream Corn (I promise to post this recipe before Christmas because it’s a favorite and pretty easy).

I'm loving the white with natural accents, its great that pumpkins come in so many colors!

{the above picture via Slim Paley’s recent post, “Forget the Turkey, What about the Table?” HERE}

Dessert will consist of pecan pie (thanks to Cayley) and *pumpkin pie and Dreamy Apple Pie, recipe HERE with Hard Sauce from Pioneer Woman HERE.

Another great example of a fall table setting sans orange.

{the above image via French Kissed.  There are lots of ideas for setting a beautiful Thanksgiving table  in her post, “Imperfect Perfection”

*I use the Libby pumpkin pie recipe off the can—family traditions die hard.  I found the recipe at All Recipes.com HERE.

Pumpkin soup, anyone?

Cayley is preparing (in addition to her appetizer) the turkey, stuffing, green salad, green beans, cranberries and pecan pie…oh, AND all the other work and shopping involved in having a dinner for 10-12 guests!  I’m sure she will share the recipes with me and I’ll post links as I find them.

This post is making me hungry.

Have a Thanksgiving filled with love, gratitude and lots and lots of good food and football!

Table settings and a good recipe

22 Friday Oct 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Food, Party Planning

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Entertaining, recipes, Table setting

As I’ve mentioned before, I love to entertain and for me one of the best parts is setting the table.  I enjoy the process of deciding which dishes suit the occasion and often the ‘simple white dishes’ (Villeroy & Boch ‘Chardonnay’) are my go-to pattern (or lack thereof).  But sometimes, as in the case of a birthday dinner we hosted that took place shortly after I inherited my Grandma’s china, I used her pretty dishes and dressed the table accordingly.

My friend, Gretchen, found this fabric and then made my runner...it has violets that match the dinner plates.

For me it is more about a comfortable, casual feel to the table.  I really don’t use my crystal anymore but instead opt for a stemware pattern that has been discontinued by Mikasa—it’s simple and can be put in the dishwasher.  What could be better, right?  I’ve gotten very un-stuffy with entertaining—it suits my lifestyle and our home.  I realize trends in entertaining, much like fashion, come and go.  The main thing is making our guests feel welcome and comfortable.

This was the blue and white table setting for my birthday group.

I love the green and white plates off-set by the green flowers. {"Flair" by Joe Nye}

Joe Nye’s new book, “Flair” is a fun read if you enjoy entertaining and like setting the table.  He exhibits a flair (no pun intended) and creativity.

I realize most of us don't entertain the masses but I love the use of these lanterns and I think they would look good with only 6 guests and maybe 3 or 4 lanterns down the middle of the table.

{image by Salis Studio}

Ohhh, toile table cloth, I love it! {"Flair" by Joe Nye}

Fabric can be expensive but if you search you can find some great buys on decorative fabrics at JoAnns (where they have a weekly coupon for 40% off) and even Big Lots.

Beach Bungalow 8 featured this table setting recently. I love the use of greens.

What is it about white? I love it. I believe the table cloth is an off-white or even oatmeal. Subtle contrast but beautiful.

{Image via Country Living}

So simple, so lovely!

{Image via Country Living}

And to serve on these lovely plates…this super simple, but so yummy chicken dish.  My friend Carla first served this recipe some years ago at a birthday party—I request it whenever she hosts my birthday.

Carla’s Parmesan Chicken

Chicken  (serves 6)

—————————————————————————————————————————————-

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs

6 chicken boneless, skinless breasts

6 ounces grated mozzarella cheese

Olive oil

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

6 ounces Parmesan, grated

1 tablespoon parsley

2 cups heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

Dip chicken in egg, then seasoned crumbs.  Brown chicken in olive oil over medium high heat.  Place in 9 x 13 baking dish.  Cover with grated mozzarella, set aside.

Heat cream and Parmesan until cheese is melted and sauce is slightly thickened.

Bake at 350° uncovered for 30 minutes.

Great with white and wild rice.


Easy Barefoot Contessa pasta night

20 Wednesday Oct 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Food, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Back to Basics, Barefoot Contessa, cooking, recipes

In my quest to prepare several new (to me) recipes out of Ina Garten’s “Back to Basics” cookbook before the October 26 release of her new cookbook, “How easy is that?” I have been trying a few of the easier recipes.  I work full time and sometimes when I get home from work I don’t feel like cooking a multi-stepped, overly involved recipe…you understand, right?

Since my photography lessons (self taught) aren't up to speed just yet, I borrowed this from Google. It's not what the pasta the recipe calls for looks like but you get the jest of the overall image.

So…I made Pasta with Pecorino and Pepper last week.  Wow, is it delicious and super easy.  I confess I took the time to pick up an Italian ‘tagliarelle’ pasta…they carry this at most specialty markets and even had a version at Trader Joe’s.  I also bought the Pecorino cheese at Trader Joe’s.  I grow fresh parsley almost year round so I had that on hand.

This recipe has a fresh herb taste and is very delicious, in my humble opinion.

(Could this picture be any smaller?)

To go with this I prepared Garlic Ciabatta Bread (from the same book).  I personally loved this bread, hubby thought it was good but not his favorite accompaniment to a pasta dish.  I usually make a basic sour dough bread with butter, Lawry’s garlic salt and Parmesan cheese (brown under the broiler) bread. I thought the Garlic Ciabatta Bread was so fresh and flavorful, it’s a winner in my book.

This really is a great book and the recipes are pretty easy.

PASTA WITH PECORINO & PEPPER

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon whole black Tellicherry peppercorns

* Kosher salt

* 1/2 pound dried Italian egg pasta, such as tagliarelle

* 1 cup freshly grated aged Pecorino cheese (4 ounces), plus extra for serving

* 2 tablespoons heavy cream

* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

* 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Place the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle and crush them until you have a mixture of coarse and fine bits. (You can also grind them in a small food mill or coffee grinder.) Set aside.

Fill a large, heavy-bottomed pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package until al dente. Ladle 1 cup of the pasta cooking water into a glass measuring cup and reserve it. Drain the pasta quickly in a colander and return the pasta to the pot with a lot of the pasta water still dripping.

Working quickly, with the heat on very low, toss the pasta with 1/2 cup of the grated Pecorino, the crushed peppercorns, cream, butter, parsley, and 1 teaspoon salt, tossing constantly. If the pasta seems dry, add some of the reserved cooking water. Off the heat, toss in the remaining 1/2 cup Pecorino. Serve immediately with a big bowl of extra grated Pecorino for sprinkling.

———————————————————————————————

GARLIC CIABATTA BREAD

Ingredients

* 6 large garlic cloves, chopped

* 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

* 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano leaves

* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

* Freshly ground black pepper

* 1/2 cup good olive oil

* 1 loaf ciabatta bread

* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process until minced. Add the parsley, oregano, salt and pepper and pulse twice.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan and add the garlic mixture. Remove the pan from the heat.

Slice the ciabatta bread in half horizontally, and spread the butter on 1 half. Spread the garlic mixture on the other half of the bread, and put the halves together. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil.

Place the bread in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Open the foil, and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes.

Let me know what you think.

Fall is a new beginning…

15 Friday Oct 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Food

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

cooking, recipes

Does anyone remember that little book by Joan Walsh Angland titled “Spring is a new beginning”?

This is such a sweet book!

I digress—Hubby and I are empty-nesters once again.  Son #2 has been living with us most of this past year when stability with his employer’s company seemed uncertain.  I’m happy to report the company has made a turn for the better so Son #2 is moving in with a couple of buddies he’s known since 2nd grade…history with friends is such a great thing.

Son #2 even tolerated the toile quilt, what a good sport!

Since we’ll have our Guest Room back I look forward to a good “spring fall cleaning” and a purge of unnecessary items.  I’ll also move my wrapping paper and ribbon back in that room (which will make hubby very happy since it currently sits in close proximity to his work bench)…it must be a guy thing.

I shop the after Christmas sale at Container Store every year with my friend, Debbie. I do have wrap for occasions other than Christmas.

Looks like my ribbon drawer could use some attention.

As with any new beginning—I’ve laid out plans for a few changes and I’ve decided one of those changes will be a plan to cook 1 new recipe (new to me) each week.  I’ve always thought that even if I NEVER bought another new cookbook, which isn’t going to happen, I’d never be able to cook all of the recipes I have amassed.  Besides Junior League cookbooks (which I almost always love, regular folks cooking good eats), Barefoot Contessa, Ian Garten, is probably one of my favorites!

That said, I prepared Coq a Vin from her (BC) Back to Basics last Saturday—hubby loved it.  I thought it was good but not great (my problem with it was that it tasted very much like beef stew only a little less full-bodied due to the chicken.

My walking buddies said I couldn’t post the recipe because my blog should only feature recipes that I love!  Anyway, I’m posting a recipe that I have never prepared before (how is that better you ask? Don’t know, but this recipe has been on my list for several weeks).  It was given to me by a friend who obtained it from a little inn in Italy (how romantic is that?) and she said she has prepared it for lots of dinner guests and the reviews are always wonderful.

So here goes…if you prepare this before me, please let me know what you think.  Once fall weather returns (it’s been a balmy 80+ degrees this past week) I’ll cook this…unless you tell me it’s awful (which will save me lots of time, so please report if it’s a winner! 🙂

Image via Google search for Lasagna Bolognese...looks delicious, doesn't it?

Lasagne Al Forno Recipe

From Felicita

Hotel Pasquale

Monterosso al mare

Cinque Terre, Italy

(My friend Linda’s comments are in parentheses)

Ingredients for 6 people

100 grams of flour  (3/4 cup)

100 grams butter  (4oz)

One liter milk  (4 1/3 cups)

A bit of salt

80 grams of powdered Parmesan cheese (2/3 cup, grated cheese)

In one pan put butter, flour, salt and stir together for five minutes.  Then add milk on medium heat.  It must boil until the sauce is smooth.  Remove from the heat, add powdered Parmesan cheese and mix Parmesan and sauce.

Place in one pan a first layer of besciamella sauce, then a layer of lasagna (cooked pasta sheet) and alternate lasagna and besciamella sauce for five layers.  Cover the last layer with besciamella.

Bake in the oven at 160 degrees (325 degrees F, covered with foil)

When you take off the pan from the oven you can put on the top pesto sauce or Bolognese sauce.

Have a good meal.

Felicita (the chef at the inn in Italy)

Happy Friday!

Trader Joe’s — Theo Albrecht, RIP

25 Wednesday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Food, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

recipes, Trader Joe's

As some of you may know I love Trader Joe’s.  When I posted this, I mistakenly thought the market was unique to the western United States.   As it turns out there are 340+ locations in 25 states, including Washington D.C.

You can search their website for additional recipes and/or visit a Trader Joe's near you...no, I don't get paid to advertise. I just believe they have such good service and their products and recipes have made meals (when you don't feel like cooking) easy!

Trader Joe’s was founded in 1958 and it has an interesting history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trader_Joe’s but in 1979 Theo Albrecht purchased the chain, and as co-owner the store has grown and received a nod from Consumer Reports ranking it 2nd Best Supermarket in the U.S.  By the way, Albrecht is my maiden name; do you think Theo could be a distant cousin?

Trader Joes has new items in their store and so that you are encouraged to try them they often have a sample chef cooking and tempting shoppers.

Theo Albrecht passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 88.  I’m sure there is an excellent team of people in charge and Trader Joe’s will continue to provide delicious food that makes entertaining and meal preparation easier, but I did want to take this opportunity to share a bit of history in memory of Theo Albrecht and his involvement with Trader Joe’s as well as a copy of this easy and delicious soup.  I picked up this recipe from their sample chef and have used it many times.

Trader Joe’s Easy Vegetable Soup

Soup

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Ingredients

  • 2 onions, chopped
  • ½ bag frozen 3 pepper medley (available at TJs/frozen food)
  • 1 tablespoon Trader Joe’s crushed garlic (or substitute fresh garlic)
  • 1 package Yves veggie ground round (available at TJs or substitute ground round)
  • 1 28-ounce can red & green pepper marinara (TJs)
  • 1 can bean medley (drained and rinsed – TJs)
  • 1 32-ounce Organic veggie broth (TJs)
  • 2 tablespoons of Tomato splash seasoning (TJs
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Note that all of these items are available at Trader Joe’s but if you don’t have a TJs nearby you can substitute.

Preparation Instructions

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and simmer for 5 minutes.  When you prepare this using the TJs items it is vegetarian, vegan, low fat and low sodium…and delicious

Serves 8-10

Simple Summer Meal

20 Friday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Dessert, Entertaining, Food, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Entertaining, recipes, tablesettings

I live in Southern California and somehow we were cheated our summer!  To be perfectly honest, I don’t miss the heat, but the sunshine, which SoCal is known for, is missing as well.  We get a burst of it sometime around 1:00 PM daily but honestly, is there anything better than waking up to a sunny morning?

So, I decided I needed to move my casual dinner for good friends indoors on Saturday evening.  We enjoyed our appetizer in the atrium and found it was relaxing and comfortable—but the idea of sitting on the patio for dinner seemed out of the question.  Its August for goodness sake!  We shouldn’t have to worry about cold this time of year.

My menu was:   Appetizer:  Skewered Greek Salad by Giada De Laurentis, roasted almonds.  Dinner:  Grilled Citrus Salmon (recipe below), Roasted Baby Potatoes with Herbs (Giada De Laurentis) and Barefoot Contessa’s Panzanella (from her Parties cookbook/her 2nd) and Dessert:     Mocha Alaska Pie (recipe below).

This is delicious and easy and you can assemble the skewers the morning of the dinner. Thanks to my friend Alison at paper{whites} for introducing me to this recipe.

Sorry for the slightly blurred picture.

This picture doesn't do this recipe justice---I really have to learn to take better photographs of food.

Since dessert was my favorite part of this particular meal I thought I’d start with that recipe:  Note, I couldn’t find my pie plate (I’m wondering if I got rid of the Corning pie plate in anticipation of purchasing an Emile Henri pie dish from Williams Sonoma, and then never got around to it?!)  In any event, I prepared this recipe and put it in a glass loaf pan—it really looked nice and the taste certainly didn’t suffer.  So here goes, super easy:

Mocha Alaska Pie (Loaf)

Mix:

1 cup finely crushed chocolate cookie crumbs (I used chocolate cat cookies from Trader Joe’s in the food processor and made crumbs).

¼ cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

Press into the bottom of a 9” pie dish or a Pyrex loaf pan or  (if you use a loaf pan, generously line the bottom and side of the pan with plastic wrap so that when you are ready to remove the dessert you can get it out of the loaf pan without problem, you will not be able to bake it using this method but it didn’t seem to matter.  The crust held together perfectly and tasted delicious)

If you use a pie plate you can bake the crust for 10 minutes at 350° then cool completely.

Meanwhile, let ice cream sit on counter for about 10-15 minutes to soften slightly.

1 pint of coffee ice cream (you can substitute the coffee ice cream with chocolate if you don’t like coffee flavor)

1 pint of vanilla ice cream

1 jar of hot fudge sauce

Once the ice cream has softened spoon the coffee ice cream over the crust and press to even it out.  Then repeat with the vanilla ice cream.  Freeze.

Just before serving add hot fudge sauce over top and serve—yummy!  If you wanted to kick it up another notch you could roast almonds and sprinkle those over the top of the fudge.

Grilled Citrus Salmon (recipe from a 2004 Bon Appetit magazine)

Serves 6

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 dashes ground red pepper (cayenne)

2 dashes salt

1 teaspoon dried basil (fresh can be substituted)

2 teaspoons capers

3 pounds salmon, fresh, cut into serving size portions

In a small saute pan over medium heat, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, butter, mustard, garlic, red pepper, salt, basil and capers.  While stirring, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Place salmon pieces skin side down on a piece of heavy duty foil with the edges folded up to make a pan.  Pour the sauce evenly over the fish.

Prepare your BBQ to medium fire/heat.  Place the foil pan (with fish) on the grill and cover with a lid.  Barbecue for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of serving portions.  The fish will be light pink and flaky when cooked.

More recipes next week.

Recipe of the week: In-n-Out Burger

13 Friday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Food

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

In-N-Out Burger, recipes

If you love good burgers (and who doesn't?) this truly is delicious!

With my commitment to more recipes I am posting one that some of my more sensible friends won’t want to try—I mean, does this look healthy, low calorie or low fat?  And they (smart friends that I know) would be right, that the answer to the above questions are, no, no and no.  But I’m here to tell you, this is worth extra time on the elliptical machine or jogging track!

I prepared the recipe (link) after Son #2 requested it.  {I love it when my family requests a specific recipe!}  It later appeared on Son #1’s blog site so it must be a hot ticket item on the web.

Hubby, Son #2 and I all agree, it really does taste like In-N-Out (for those of you east of Utah, this is a small, family owned burger stand that has been around since 1948 and their burgers are legend!  They now have over 200 locations and when you drive by they always have a line at the drive-thru.

Note, it’s important (I believe) to have your butcher grind the chuck roast for these, as the recipe calls for—my market butcher was happy to accommodate my request.  Also, Ore-Ida makes some frozen fries called “Fast Food Fries” and they were a pretty good side for these delicious burgers.

So lace up your jogging shoes and once you’ve tried this recipe you can run off the calories!

More recipes please!

04 Wednesday Aug 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Dessert, Drink, Entertaining, Food, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

cooking, recipes

For those of you who have read my site, thank you Carla, Linda, Cayley, Darlene  and Helen, you may know that my inspiration for starting Garden, Home and Party was the compliment and prompting by Son #1 and the ongoing encouragement of Son #2 and hubby.

I posted this recipe for my 'favorite recipe for English Scones', but my photo doesn't do these sweet, buttery scones justice.

Best Scones recipe HERE

That said, it’s been so much fun writing about the decor of various rooms in the house (any house), the maintenance and planting of my garden and the entertaining aspect—preparing recipes and setting tables, that I guess I’ve not posted as much about cooking/recipes as I thought I would.

Rooms draw my attention, sometimes more than food!

So it was with some interest when Son #2 commented on a recent post that he thought I should blog more recipes.  It could be a ‘guy’ thing.  Food is infinitely more interesting to the men in my life than the decor of our home, or any home for that matter.  Since I take terrible food pictures he suggested that:  a) I work on my food photography and b) link to recipes that I’ve found and tried from other sites.

So here goes:

One of my favorite sites for delicious and sometimes easy recipes is Pioneer Woman.  The other day she had a recipe called Grilled Chicken with Lemon-Basil Pasta.  We had a dear friend over last evening for dinner and I prepared this recipe.  It was a hit and very easy.  I prepared warm baguette with butter and a spinach salad for the sides.  Hubby grilled the chicken and the pasta came together easy-peasy.  Please click on the link below to view the incredible pictures of each and every step of the recipe.  You will love this site and I’m sure you will enjoy this recipe.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/grilled-chicken-with-lemon-basil-pasta/

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