August 31, 2007
My dear food-loving friends, I'm taking a break next week and wanted you all to know that you may not see fresh blog entries every day.
If, during my adventures of being off work, I come across something spectacularly tasty (or revolting), I'll be sure to check in!
Also, please feel free to leave comments and discuss good eatin' among yourselves. Someone, if not I, will approve comments regularly until I return.
Happy cooking!
I've been working all this week on an article about chile peppers-- what's hot, what's not, what can you find around Roanoke and what can be done with them.
The column comes out on Sept. 12 and includes some fun facts about chile peppers as well as a recipe for "Habanero Hellfire Chili." You chile heads watch out-- that one's for you.
But as I described all the wonderful varieties I found at grocery stores and markets around Roanoke, I came to the lovely poblano, a nice dark green chile with just a hint of sweet and spice. And thinking about the poblano makes me think of chiles rellenos, that delicious Mexican dish of stuffed chile peppers.
Continue reading "Chiles rellenos, anyone?" »
August 30, 2007
Down at the corner of Campbell Avenue and Jefferson Street, in the old Rabbit Patch Cafe location, there's a new international food market that specializes in Thai and Chinese food by the pound.
The owner is the man who opened the first Thai restaurant on Salem Avenue several years ago.
On our way back from an assignment today, my buddy Pete and I loaded up our to-go boxes with lo mein, spicy tofu, hunan chicken, pad thai and a couple of other dishes. In addition, this spot has a medium-sized salad bar and a cold bar with fruit and cold salads like pasta salad and chicken salad.
The buffet does include a couple of items that seem slightly out of place, including spaghetti with meatballs and grilled salmon. But hey, this is an international cuisine spot so I guess they can get away with just about anything!
The price per pound is $4.99, and a pound adds up pretty quickly. My total came to about $7.25, a little more than I wanted to spend for lunch, but that's my own fault. Next time, I think I'll build a nice salad and then grab just a taste of the best-looking hot dishes.
The restaurant has a window bar with stools, but it isn't air-conditioned so there was no way I would eat in there on a day like today. Perhaps as the weather cools down, those stools will be more inviting.
My very first, drive-by impression of the food is that it is of the same quality you would find on a lot of Chinese buffets around town. A little on the oily side, but still very tasty. It's the concept that appeals to me the most-- a very fast, serve yourself kind of place where you are in control of exactly how much food you get and how long you spend on your lunch break.
August 29, 2007
If you have no plans on this lovely Wednesday night, consider heading out to Trio Bistro Bar Bottle in downtown Roanoke for "Cocktails for a Cause." A percentage of the price you pay for your delicious dirty martini (or whatever your poison) will go to St. Francis of Assisi service dog foundation.
Trio owner Sands Woody says he started doing "Cocktails for a Cause" on Wednesday nights in June and plans to continue the event through the end of the year. Each week, Woody will donate 20 percent of the proceeds from the bar between 5 and 8 p.m. to a different charity.
Woody is going to send me a list of the charities they have booked through October. I'll be sure to either post that list on the blog or in the newspaper so you can see if there's one you are particularly interested in supporting.
There's no cover charge to get through the door at Trio on Wednesdays and if you decide to stay for dinner, the restaurant will donate 20 percent of your meal costs, too!
St. Francis of Assisi will spend the donated money training puppies to become faithful service dogs to disabled citizens, so it's a good cause. And if you head down tonight, you might even get to pet one of those fine pups yourself.
Several months back, I blogged about Cooking Light magazine's 20th Anniversary Ultimate Reader Recipe Contest. I don't know if any of you entered the contest, but if you did, I'm afraid you didn't win. Still, I thought it would be interesting to see who did:
Grand Prize Winner: Katherine Hinrichs; West Boothbay Harbor, ME; Caribbean Shrimp Salad with Lime Vinaigrette.
Starters and Drinks Winner: Mollie Lee; San Jose, CA; Korean Spiced Mini Runzas.
Salads and Sides Winner: Melissa Hinrichs; Omaha, NE; Oatmeal Knots.
Entrées Winner: Katherine Hinrichs; West Boothbay Harbor, ME; Caribbean Shrimp Salad with Lime Vinaigrette.
Desserts Winner: Christine Dohlmar; Valrico, FL; Carrot Cake with Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting.
Apparently Ms. Hinrichs' shrimp salad was pretty darn good because it won for entrees and grand prize. That means she took home $25,000-- $5,000 for entrees and $20,000 for grand prize. The magazine will also donate $5,000 to her favorite charity.
Unfortunately, I can't find these recipes anywhere! I think we have to wait until the January/February issue of Cooking Light magazine comes out. I e-mailed their PR people so we shall see what they say when they reply.
Personally, I could go for some of that carrot cake right about now.
August 28, 2007
Someone out there has unbelievable talent. He or she (and I'm pretty sure it's a he, because his e-mail address includes "Irish lad") created these magnificent magnets for me. They are hand made out of wood and include that image of bizarro Lindsey that has lately been spotted on billboards and newspaper boxes and such. Since I'm sure you can't tell, the scrap of paper that came with them says "Fridge Magnets. Enjoy!"
And that's the only thing that came with them.
Who are you, most clever reader? I have seen your e-mail address before, but now I cannot for the life of me remember when. Show yourself and more of your unbelievable talent!
Blog reader Henry and I have been having a hot little side conversation about chile peppers, and I think it's time to invite the rest of you to chime in.
Cooking can be a complex task even with a detailed recipe to follow. But let's say your recipe calls for a jalapeno, which varies in score on the Scoville Heat Units Scale from 4,000 to 50,000 units. That could be the difference between a pleasant tingle and a real scorcher!
I recently tried two different recipes that called for jalapenos. Granted, I didn't really follow any recipe to the T or anything. Why would I do something so smart?
Continue reading "Feel the burn!" »
August 27, 2007
In case you guys didn't notice, I did score a tiny bit of face-to-face, one-on-one time with Paula Deen after all my whining and bellyaching about not being able to get in to her demonstration. I never did get into the demonstration, but I did weasel my way in to see her between television interviews, hauling my tiny newspaper video camera. The result, combined with a few other interviews with fans and bystanders (including Paula's husband, Michael Groover) is here.
August 24, 2007
I get so many recipes in the mail that I could practically spend every waking minute typing up recipes to share.
When I received a letter from the USA Rice Federation the other day, however, I just couldn't help but pay attention to a few of the delicious-sounding recipes it contained.
Rice is incredibly versatile, as we all well know. But have any of you ever considered making rice cakes as a side dish? This recipe for Prosciutto and Asiago Rice Cakes reminds me of a potato cake recipe, and it is served with pesto aioli.
I'm a sucker for anything that contains coconut milk, too, so I'm going to pass along the recipe for Red Curry Coconut Rice, as well. Just last weekend, I fixed a pot of green curry, my favorite Thai dish, for dinner.
If I may step off subject for a moment, I'll tell you about the slight mishap that occurred.
At the Oriental Market on Williamson Road last Saturday, I shopped for the coconut milk to go in my curry dish. I already had some scallops and baby eggplant, but I wanted a few other ingredients, too. So I picked up a can of straw mushrooms and headed to the cooler to check out the hot peppers. Besides an overly large bag of what looked like authentic Thai chiles, they also had some jalapenos. Not what you would typically put in Thai food, but I picked up a red one anyway thinking it might be on the milder side. And I just didn't want to buy all those chiles and have them go to waste.
I put the whole jalapeno in my green curry and almost burned everyone's face off. I love spicy food, but we sweated through the entire meal and guzzled water, although it's pretty well known that water doesn't help much. After dinner, we had to pile into the car and go to 7-11 for ice cream cones.
So, as a side topic, I'm very interested to hear about others' experiences cooking with hot peppers. I have always been under the impression that red jalapenos are a bit more mellow than the green ones. Maybe they are milder, but I don't know if I'd use the word "mellow."
Next month is Rice Month, so now's a good time to whip up these dishes. Have a great weekend!
Continue reading "New twists on an old side" »
August 23, 2007
I have broken my cardinal rule of blogging by not blogging until almost the end of the day today.
I was kept busy by my continuing efforts to weasel my way into the Paula Deen appearance. I've pretty much given up now, don't worry. I will not become a stalker.
When I finally checked comments again this evening and saw all the wonderful stuff from readers, I was inspired to continue our discussion of breakfast. To some, the most perfect meal of the day.
My speculation that many folks do not like sweets for breakfast was confirmed by a few of you. But even those who do like sugar for breakfast occasionally partake of something.... well...WEIRD instead.
Here's a sampling:
Continue reading "Breakfast ALL DAY LONG!" »
August 22, 2007
Well, my Q&A with Paula Deen ran in this morning's Extra section and I've already received a number of calls and e-mails from readers who want to know if they can still get tickets.
They missed the fact that Kroger ran a contest for a couple of weeks and already notified the 35 winners last week. So I've had to inform a few disappointed people that there's no way in the hot underworld that they're getting in to see Paula at Hotel Roanoke on Friday.
But they shouldn't feel too bad, I said, because I'm not getting in to see her, either. I think I've tried just about every possible angle to get in (her PR folks, the Kroger PR folks, a few insiders). I offered to stand the entire time so they wouldn't have to provide me with a chair. And just now, in true last-ditch form, I called back the only number I've got and tried to reach her at home. Anything, I pleaded, to see and hear Paula so I can try to recreate the scene for all the many fans who won't be there themselves.
No public allowed, I was told, and therefore no media allowed. Oh well. I tried for you guys, I really did.
I guess I can't complain too much, however, because I did get the chance to talk to her for about 20-25 minutes on the phone for the Q&A. That was a highly entertaining experience because Paula really is as friendly and funny as she appears on television.
Continue reading "No more Paula for me" »
August 21, 2007
In the spirit of choosing what looks fresh and delicious at the market and then deciding what to create with it, I give you this recipe.
While perusing the Roanoke farmer's market last week before lunch, I spied some pretty little baby eggplants. I purchased four or five and incorporated them into some green curry with scallops on Saturday night. They were delicious.
Tomorrow, I'm going to see if I can find some more and try this side dish:
Continue reading "Random recipe: eggplant with sesame-ginger glaze" »
Randomness: that is the theme of today's blog entry.
I took inspiration from the delightful randomness of the chicken and waffles combination, which you can now experience for yourself at Thelma's Chicken & Waffles at Orange Avenue and Williamson Road in Roanoke.
We're talking about it enough here in the Features department that music writer Ralph Berrier has made up a silly little song: "Chicken 'n' waffles, chicken 'n' waffles. Sounds God awful, but it's not unlawful."
It isn't God awful at all. That just rhymes. It's rockin' good.
My co-worker, Tad, recommended the place last week, so my husband and I headed over for breakfast on Saturday morning. Now, Tad said we HAD to order the house specialty of chicken and waffles, which consists of a deep fried chicken breast (your choice of bone-in or bone-out) and a big ole waffle.
But we were feeling a little cheap. At $8.50, it was more than we were thinking of spending for breakfast. I'm sorry, Tad. However, my husband did get the chicken and eggs breakfast, choosing a bone-in breast and two eggs over medium. I had a veggie omelet with home fries and a biscuit. Both ran us around $5.
The omelet was a teensy bit on the greasy side, probably because it was stuffed with real cheddar. But that was my only complaint about the whole breakfast. The service was excellent, the place was clean and best of all, that was the most awesome fried chicken I've had in years.
If you go, let me know what you think.
Continue reading "A chicken & waffles sort of post" »
August 20, 2007
I just received an e-mail from the 100-Mile Diet Society, which contained these interesting notices:
"The third annual Eat Local Challenge begins September 1, when thousands of people will commit to eat local for 30 days. Let's put the power of the 100-mile community—did you know that 10,000 people are now signed up to the site?—behind this year's effort."
AND
"Then, start preparing for the biggest local-eating day of the year: 100-Mile Thanksgiving, a one-day flashpoint to take back the Thanksgiving tradition as a celebration of the local harvest. If you only eat one 100-mile dinner this year, make it 100-Mile Thanksgiving!"
I did pretty much nothing useful all weekend except cook and eat. Oh, I cleaned a little house, too. Then I washed my hands and went back to cooking.
In response to our discussion last week about making homemade tomato sauce, I decided to whip up a big spaghetti dinner last night to see if it would change my opinion in any way about spaghetti.
That's right, I am actually not a big fan of spaghetti. That drives my husband nuts because it's such a quick and easy go-to meal, especially on a week night when we both get home late from work. I don't know why I have such an aversion to it. I love manicotti, lasagna, ravioli, fettucini alfredo and a few other Italian dishes. Baked ziti or baked spaghetti is pretty good, too.
But spaghetti...just doesn't get me excited.
However, yesterday I started cooking at about 3 p.m.
In front of me, I had a Betty Crocker recipe for homemade meatballs and a few cobbled-together instructions for tomato sauce, which I stubbornly planned to make mostly freestyle, or without a recipe.
I started by blanching and peeling about 3 pounds of tomatoes, then cutting out the stem end. I then threw the tomatoes in a big bowl and crushed them up with my hands. The soft, squishy feel of them between my fingers was almost therapeutic.
I then sauteed a medium, diced Vidalia onion and four thinly sliced cloves of garlic in 1/4 cup of good olive oil. When they were lightly brown, I added about 2 Tbsp. fresh, chopped basil and 1 Tbsp. dried thyme. After that, I dumped in the tomatoes, a small handful of kosher salt, a little pepper, and two tablespoons of real butter.
As I said the other day, the thought of butter in tomato sauce really intrigues me. So, yes, I went whole hog and used both olive oil AND butter.
Continue reading "On top of spagheeettiii...." »
August 17, 2007
Ew. Just....ew.
Thanks to my eagle-eyed co-worker, Pete, I saw this article in The New York Times. Apparently, down around Greenville, Miss., everyone is going sweet on dill pickles soaked in double-strength Kool-Aid.
Yes, that's what I wrote.
The result are some really wrong-looking bright red and Kelly green things.
Here's what one kid had to say about the Kool-Aid pickle: “I like it the same as dipping hot Cheetos in ice cream.”
Well, now. What better endorsement can you get?
This morning, a close friend e-mailed me with complaints about a restaurant I recently covered in my Front Burner column. She said the food was so-so and the service (and I'm using her all-caps delivery style) SUCKED.
I cannot tell you how irritated I get when readers or acquaintances tell me they visited a restaurant that I wrote about positively and had a very negative experience. I'm not irritated with the messenger, of course, but with the restaurant staff.
I've said before that I think service stands for 50 percent of a dining experience. Consistency is key. But a whole lot of restaurants apparently have not found that key.
All of this comes on the heels of my post one week ago about the quality of service in local restaurants. I asked you to write in with kudos for restaurants that are doing it right and complaints if you've had a truly bad experience.
The response has been awesome, and I'd like to summarize some of that here:
Continue reading "More-- nay, MUCH more-- on service" »
August 16, 2007
Adam Roberts, The Amateur Gourmet, has a new book that I started reading last night. The book, which is so far quite humorous and well-written, makes me feel exceptionally knowledgable about food during some chapters and sadly ignorant during others.
For example, the one recipe that Adam says beginning cooks should be able to master first is one that I have admittedly never even attempted. There, I said it. I have never been compelled to try tomato sauce from scratch-- until now.
The first recipe that Adam offers really got my mouth watering-- it consists very simply of a can of tomatoes, a tablespoon of butter and half an onion. The second comes from Mario Batali's Babbo Cookbook and calls for extra-virgin olive oil, Spanish onion, garlic, dried or fresh thyme, grated carrot, peeled tomatoes and kosher salt.
Still pretty simple, don't you think?
Continue reading "Mastering tomato sauce-- or not" »
August 15, 2007
Dan is sad.
I got an e-mail last week from my co-worker, Dan Casey, and the subject line immediately caught my attention: "Minor tip (but a major gastronomic loss for the workingman.)"
It turns out that Dan, who is probably one of the Coffee Pot's biggest fans, had gone down there for the Wednesday night BBQ buffet and was shocked and disappointed to find that after all these years, he could no longer get all-you-can-eat pulled pork, chicken and pickled slaw for just $7.
"I was absolutely crushed," Dan wrote. "It's a place where you could get a lot of great food, have three beers, leave the waitress a decent tip, and get out of there for $20."
Not to mention the fact that the BBQ buffet was always accompanied by some free, live bluegrass music. What better partnership is there?
Well, I called up the Coffee Pot to investigate this new development and had a nice conversation with bartender and waitress Missy Clark. According to Missy, they weren't selling that many buffets on Wednesday nights anymore.
"It was a waste of food," she said.
So they decided to go to a soup and salad bar with just menu orders on Wednesdays.
But there is a little sweet news mixed in with this vinegar-sour situation: Missy says they WILL occasionally still offer the buffet on nights when they expect a big crowd. That mainly means that when they have more than just one bluegrass band scheduled to play and they think lots of fans will turn out to listen, they will have the buffet. There's really no other way to find out when the buffet is scheduled than to give them a call on Wednesday afternoon and ask, Missy said.
I'll bet they will be getting a call from Dan on occasion. Or he'll be swinging his bicycle by just to stick his head in and see if he spies a BBQ buffet.
The only way to change this situation, I guess, is for lovers of the now defunct buffet to add their warm bodies to the crowd on Wednesdays and crow for some all-you-can-eat meat.
August 14, 2007
*According to a study commissioned by Green Giant called "The Green Giant Vegetable Habits Survey," that is.
Isn't that kind of like saying kids aren't eating enough cottage cheese, according to the Cottage Cheese Avocation Society of North America? I just made that up; there really is no such society. If there were, however, I would definitely be a member.
Anyway, according to this survey by Kelton Research, almost one in three parents think it is more likely that their child will be elected president than that he or she will get the recommended five to nine servings of fruits or vegetables in a day.
Now that's just sad.
As a result, Green Giant is launching an educational initiative for kids that includes putting pictures of Spongebob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and Diego from "Go, Diego, Go!" on some of their products. The products include frozen green beans and butter sauce and broccoli, corn and butter sauce. I like those. They're tasty. Some canned veggies like corn and green beans will get the characters, too.
I don't have children, so I can't sit here and claim to know exactly how to get kids to eat their vegetables. To me, it seems so typical for young children to want to avoid vegetables that it's become a cliche. I also can't say with any authority that kids don't eat veggies because they aren't offered enough of them or they get too many packaged, convenience foods. I happen to know that a lot of kids just won't eat the stuff.
I can remember eating many different vegetables myself, but also being forced to sit at the dinner table and eat an awful lot of foods (mostly meats) that I DID NOT want to eat. That's how I figured out that my dog, Molly, was a terrific ally and we had a little, hidden shelf under our dining room table.
I'll bet almost every parent has a little trick. One mom told me she incorporates pasta sauces into meals so her children will get the vitamins from tomatoes. A dad said he makes his children try just one bite of every food on her plate and then she get to refuse it after that.
If any other 'rents out there have an idea, I'm sure their peers would love to hear it. Otherwise, we're just going to have to rely on Spongebob to do all the work.
Well, the much-anticipated Paula Deen appearance is looming before us with less than two weeks to wait. In fact, ticket winners should be notified by Kroger officials this Friday, August 17.
Yesterday, I was told that a local public relations firm is handling some press for Deen and there's a possibility I will get a chance to interview her. Here's the thing: I like Paula's show, but I'm not a Deen maniac like a lot of folks out there. I can ask her a few questions of my own choosing (and I'm betting that's about all the time I'll get, too) but I'd MUCH rather ask her what her biggest fans are dying to know.
If you send me some great questions, I will probably use them. And, if you send me your real name at lindsey.nair@roanoke.com, I may even tell Paula that you're the one who wants to know.
Hey, this is all dependent on me actually getting the interview, but why not plan ahead? Send those questions on!!
August 13, 2007
I'm taking a field trip up to Bath County today for a story assignment, so I won't be able to blog until late afternoon or evening. We shall see what kinds of culinary adventures I can get into up around the Homestead today!
I had a very fishy weekend, though-- sushi at Ben Gui on Friday night (must bow down to the perfection and deliciousness of the salmon skin maki), a homemade shrimp taco on Saturday night (thanks to my friend Sarah, the grillmaster) and a beautiful piece of tilapia from Fresh Market last night. I dredged it in an Asian seafood sprinkle that was a gift from a friend. It consists of a blend of spices plus white and black sesame seeds. I thought it was out of this world, but hubby detected a spice he didn't care for-- said it tasted like licorice. I think we may have been dealing with some star anise. I thought it was pretty tasty.
We also picked up five coconut shrimp at the Fresh Market seafood case. All they required was about 15 minutes of baking in the oven to warm and crisp up. At 59 cents apiece for the large, butterflied babies, I think I'll purchase some of those again. Makes a great side to a nice steak or piece of fish.
Keep on posting about good or bad service experiences. We've got a good thread going there. I had excellent service from a guy named Casey up at Buffalo Wild Wings for happy hour on Friday evening. Maybe my luck is turning around!
August 10, 2007
I'm trying hard not to write a scathing blog entry about the despicable service I've experienced in several restaurants around Roanoke within the past few months. I know some of you all are thinking, "Go ahead, do it!" but I am not the restaurant critic and I know the crippling consequences of ranting about specific restaurants, so I'll just stick to what I've begun to think is an overall problem in the valley anyway: mediocre service.
Often, I wonder if it is just a coincidence that I have had repeated poor service experiences this summer. Maybe everyone else is getting great service and I am complaining unfairly. But I'll bet lots and lots of you are also wondering if it's just you, just bad timing or just your unfortunate luck.
The truly disappointing part is that the food in some of these restaurants is outstanding. Just this week, I was able to sample a spectacular dish that had no place at all on my table because neither I nor my friend had ordered it. It just showed up, by mistake. When we flagged down the waitress and told her it was the wrong dish, she said, "Oh, I know. I'm paying for it."
Poor girl. She also almost dipped her long, beautiful pigtails in our water glasses. That's a special kind of talent right there-- being able to dip BOTH pigtails in BOTH water glasses simultaneously.
Continue reading "Good service-- anyone? anywhere?" »
August 9, 2007
Maybe it was the scorching temps yesterday, but when someone sent me a recipe for salad nicoise, it really got me thinking about dinner.
When I got home, my power had been out for several hours. It had just kicked back on about 6:30 p.m., but my air conditioners were accomplishing their task at a miserably slow pace. There was no way I would cook anything on the grill, in the oven or on the stove top.
I decided to try and re-create the salad nicoise based on the ingredients I had on hand.
The term "nicoise" is a French phrase meaning "as prepared in Nice," the southern French city. Anything nicoise typically includes tomatoes, garlic, black olives and anchovies. A salad nicoise also contains boiled red potatoes, green beans, onions, tuna and boiled eggs.
Well, I didn't have all that. Instead of plain chunked, canned tuna or grilled, fresh tuna, I whipped up some tuna salad. Then I piled it on top of fresh romaine with homegrown tomatoes and some sliced cucumber. I cooked some small, red potatoes in the microwave, sliced them and tossed them in a little rice vinegar, then arranged them on the plate. After covering with some fresh Parmesan cheese and a little vinaigrette, we had one heckuva tasty summer salad.
And I think I could stand to eat cold plates for the rest of this week, if not the rest of this month!
If you'd like to make an authentic salad nicoise, I've got a couple of recipes to share. One is a Weight Watchers version that came from my friend Kim. So if you make that one, you'll feel not only cool, but trim, too!
Let's say you're not feeling like cooking at all, but a salad nicoise sounds like it would hit the spot. In that case, check out Montano's version. It's worth the trip.
Continue reading "Hot nights, cold tuna" »
August 8, 2007
Dedicated blog reader Henry posted my favorite comment of late yesterday. In response to my blog entry about stuffed chicken, he told this story of the first meal he ever made for his wife:
My first "impress the date" dinner I ever made was Chicken Cordon Blu which is almost stuffing. Hammered chicken rolled up with ham and swiss cheese inside, rolled in bread crumbs with a white sauce. It was a great success except that I let it slip that I learned it from another date. It is incredibly easy to make but I haven't made it for several decades, probably because my wife remembers where I got the recipe.
Ahh, the memories. I remember the first meal I ever made for my husband, too. Soon after we started dating, I invited Howard over to my apartment for a chicken pie. Mere seconds after I poured a bag of mixed, frozen vegetables into the mix, I remembered the ONE food my sweetie had told me he does not like: peas. Oh, the horror. He was due in 5 or 10 minutes and I had a bowl full of, well, peas.
When the doorbell rang, I was just feverishly picking out the last of the peas from my chicken pie filling. I think I might have missed about five in all, and they all ended up in his piece. But he sure was flattered by the gesture.
This past weekend, I entertained 7 guests in a cabin that comfortably holds 5. The prospect of getting up and cooking first bacon or sausage, then eggs, then toast and maybe some potatoes was excruciatingly unappealing considering that the tiny kitchen does not have air-conditioning or a dishwasher.
To the rescue: the one-dish breakfast, a.k.a. the breakfast casserole.
Now, I didn't think much of breakfast casseroles for most of my life. The only memory I had to go on was a dish of soggy toast and eggs brought in to a school party by some well-meaning mom in elementary school. To this day, I still tend to want to avoid breakfast casseroles that start out the ingredient list with "8 slices of white bread."
But I'm willing to be persuaded otherwise if someone out there has a killer recipe.
The one I chose last weekend came from my sister and is called, simply, "Ham and Egg Casserole." I love it because it comes out like a fritatta but can be prepared the night before and requires no stovetop cooking.
It's also a good, basic breakfast casserole recipe because you could easily substitute crumbled, cooked sausage or bacon for the ham, and so on. I added artichokes to mine and substituted Vidalia onion for the green onions and it turned out just fine.
For the recipe, see below. And if you make a great breakfast casserole, do tell!
Continue reading "Breakfast for the masses" »
August 7, 2007
If you've got a little aspiring chef in the family, you might want to consider checking out this Betty Crocker book, "Kids Cook!"
I know there are lots of children's cookbooks out there, but this 2007 edition struck me as particularly well-illustrated and organized. Like many books that aim to get children involved in the kitchen, "Kids Cook!" includes simple recipes for foods like grilled cheese sandwiches, tacos, scrambled eggs and quesadillas. But with a little help from mom or dad, kids can also whip up fresh tomato salsa, mini meatloaves, fried rice or enchiladas.
I'll tell you what, any kid who puts a plate of "berrylicious pancakes" in front of this pancake nut is earning some allowance!
Find the book here.
I've had people ask me before, "What's your specialty?" to which I replied that I don't really have a specialty. I can make a tasty pan of stuffed shells, a fiery pot of venison chili, a pretty good lasagna and lots of other random dishes, but never considered any of those a "specialty."
Last night, however, I realized that if there's one dish I can almost always prepare to the intense satisfaction of my hungry husband and/or guests, it's stuffed chicken breasts.
Sometimes I prefer to use boneless turkey cutlets instead, but no matter which bird I choose, I typically have something hanging around in my fridge, freezer or cabinets that can be transformed into a savory filling.
Continue reading "Stuff it!" »
August 6, 2007
I just found out that today is National Root Beer Float Day. What a coincidence, because I just had a root beer float last night! It was the first one I've had in quite a long time.
In my humble opinion, the best root beer floats are made with ice cream so cold that the root beer freezes to it and creates a slushy coating. Mmmmmmm. Unfortunately, my freezer was working overtime or something last night and the ice cream was a little on the soft side.
I might just have to have another one tonight.
If anyone else slurps down a tasty root beer float today, you should write in about it and describe it in torturous detail.
Even better, what is your favorite summertime dessert? Chime in!
Yes, it is Monday. Boo!
But if we can just hang on until Friday, we'll be cooling down with cocoquitos (ice cream with tropical fruit) or sipping smoothies in the shade.
This month's Taste of Cultures event is Friday at Century Plaza in downtown Roanoke. This time, the featured cuisine is Latino and will include Puerto Rican, Mexican, Columbian and Honduran food.
Besides the aforementioned cool treats, you can also expect alcapurras (yucca with meat), papa relleno (stuffed potato balls), pichos (chicken or pork on a stick) and Caribbean wraps (seafood wraps with mango or papaya).
Ethnic jewelry for purchase and Latin-style dancing are also on the menu. Admission is free, so take a break between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday to enjoy a little cultural diversity.
August 3, 2007
Alright, you Deen heads, I got a press release from Kroger today with more information about the sparkling country cooking diva. Not only is she a great cook, but she can look almost painfully cheerful in photos. Take this one, for instance.
I'll bet the folks over at Kroger, who are dealing with competition from Ukrop's, are smiling just as big about getting Deen here.
Now, I know that if you are not a Paula fan, you may already be tired of reading about her. But I also know she has a number of almost rabid fans in Southwest Virginia because I've been hearing from them. "Can you get us a ticket?" "My wife loves Paula Deen, she's dying to see her!"
That sort of thing. Unfortunately, tickets are extremely limited, folks. From what I understand, Paula likes to feed the whole crowd at her cooking demonstrations, so maybe that's one reason she'd like to keep it intimate. If you call 75 people "intimate."
From what Kroger tells me, the Aug. 24 event is indeed a luncheon and cooking demonstration. Thirty-eight winners will be selected, and they will each get two tickets. That means two winners from each of the following Kroger stores: every Roanoke store, Salem, Vinton, Hardy, Daleville, Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford, Clifton Forge and Rocky Mount.
As I mentioned before, you have to buy a Smithfield product-- any Smithfield product-- using your Kroger card at one of the above stores. I suppose you could conceivably buy products at several different stores to better your odds.
In homage to all products piggy, Deen is fixing up fried pork chops. Sounds totally unhealthy and completely delicious. Just my style.
I will promise you guys this, at least: even if you don't win tickets, I'll do my best to get in there and cover the event in great detail so you can devour every last word about her visit.
August 2, 2007
Well, all this talk about Paula Deen has got the recipes flying this week. My buddy Amanda e-mailed me and said Paula's baked spaghetti recipe is, "the BEST baked spaghetti EVER."
Well, I could not stand by in ignorance of such a fabulous recipe, so I asked Amanda to pass it on. Many of you Paula lovers may be familiar with this one, but for those who are not, I attached it below.
As long as I'm sharing recipes, I feel the need to pass along a zucchini fritter recipe that I got today from one of my favorite sources, Simply Recipes.
Lord knows there are quite enough zucchinis floating around this time of year and folks are probably looking for a variety of cooking methods to get through those piles of squash. I don't know why you couldn't substitute yellow squash for the zucchini in this recipe or perhaps even use a blend of the two. Kids would probably eat these right up. Just make sure to use a healthy oil such as olive or Canola.
Speaking of zucchini and yellow squash, I've been in search of a perfect squash casserole recipe for several years now. I want one that is easy and cheesy, preferrably. But variations on that are also welcome.
If anyone has a good one, do pass it along!
Continue reading "Not-so-random recipes" »
August 1, 2007
A couple of restaurant gossip tidbits:
* Pam Martin, former owner of Bel Pasto (wine and food gourmet shop) has gone to work for Tony Pope's bistro and wine bar in Crystal Spring. So, if you missed her knowledge of fine wines and food, you know where to find her for advice.
* Marie's Caribbean Creole Cuisine is open at the corner of 5th Street and Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke. Marie Amazan, originally of Haiti, is cooking up some giant pots of delicious, authentic Haitian food like creole meatballs, red beans and rice, fried pork or beef and stewed spinach flavored with a variety of meats. If you're feeling adventurous, give it a try. Just remember that they are brand new and only have two employees. Patience would be a good thing to take with you. For more information about Marie's, look for my column in the paper next Wednesday.
* Word is that Swagat Indian restaurant on First Street in downtown Roanoke has a new owner. That's all I know at this writing, but it's on my list for further investigation.
* Finally, don't forget that Taste of Cultures is next Friday in downtown Roanoke. Local Colors diva Pearl Fu tells me the featured cuisine will be Puerto Rican, supplied by the chefs at El Coquii restaurant on Williamson Road. Reserve your lunch hour for some tasty grub!
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