May 27, 2008

More eating! More eating!

I'm usually not much of a breakfast eater, so when I woke up hungry as the dickens this morning with my tummy growling like thunder, I knew something was up.

That something? Probably the fact that I gorged myself on awesome food all weekend long and my stomach is thinking it's time for another dose already.

But that's what a combination holiday/birthday weekend should be all about in a foodie's universe, right? I had a huge, honkin' homemade cheeseburger with all the fixins, a chili dog and so many wonderful side dishes prepared by my friends, including Stacy's broccoli salad with raisins, craisins, sunflower seeds and bacon bits, Kenn's homemade pesto potato salad, Kathy's fruit salad (loaded, of course, with watermelon, her No. 1 pregnancy craving so far) and my own carrot-raisin salad, which I made with crushed pineapple this time around.

For dessert, it was Fresh Market carrot cake and a homemade strawberry pie that I made with frozen strawberries left over from my trip to Dansby's strawberry farm in April. Those berries were so sweet that all I added was 3/4 cup of sugar, a dash of cinnamon and about a half cup of flour to create a nice, thick juice.

And only in a food geek's world would several packages of fresh beef wrapped in freezer paper be such an exciting gift. Those came from my sister and brother-in-law, who bought a whole side of beef from Ohio and sent me a sirloin, a roast, some stew meat and a couple packages of hamburger.

The sirloin is going to go well with the bottle of Malbec my dad gave me.

But enough about MY weekend! I know everyone else out there kicked off cookout season the right way, despite last week's story about the rising price of food and fuel this summer. One of those folks was blog reader Patrick, who sent the yummy picture (above) of a friend's pizza dip.
Patrick discovered the dip this weekend at a party and was not only thoughtful enough to take a picture, but he also got the recipe, which I will share below.

I'm also going to share a recipe that came in my regular newsletter from Ladles & Linens, the downtown Roanoke kitchen shop. This is for a crunchy coleslaw with dried cranberries and almonds.

Enjoy, and tell us: What was the best thing you made or ate this past weekend?

Pizza Dip

Extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. sausage-sweet or hot
1 lb. hamburger
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 (8 oz.) cream cheese blocks, softened
1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
Pinch oregano
2 cups tomato sauce

Procedure:
Brown hamburger and sausage until done. Drain grease. Add onion & garlic and saute until tender.
Pemove pan from heat.
Preheat broiler with rack 8 to 10 inches from heat.
Combine cream cheese w/ half the mozzarella, stir in oregano then fold sausage into cheese mixture.
Spread mixture into baking dish.
Top with tomato sauce and remaining cheese.
Cover with foil and broil for 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove and uncover, return to broiler for about 5 minutes until bubbly.
Serve with either bread or crackers, or make your own bread by baking pizza dough
seasoned with butter, garlic & Parmesan cheese.

Source: Blog reader Patrick.

Crunchy Coleslaw

5 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup almonds, toasted
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup chopped green onions, white and green included
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish
1 Tbsp. honey mustard
1 Tbsp. honey
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon zest (optional)

Combine cabbage, almonds, celery, green onions and green pepper in a large plastic bowl with a snap-on lid. Combine mayo, relish, honey mustard, honey, lemon zest and salt and papper in a smaller bowl. Mix and refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, pour dressing over slaw and mix well. Add cranberries within 4 hours of serving. If you add them before that, the slaw will turn pink.

Source: Ladles & Linens

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