A few years ago, an acquaintance brought an appetizer like this to a cookout at my friend’s house. I can remember being awestruck over how beautiful it was. I could only assume that she had spent a great deal of time putting it together.

As it turns out, this Greek cheese torta is actually quite simple to prepare. I recently found a similar recipe in some Pampered Chef literature that might even be easier than the original version I had.

The white cheeses, green spinach and pistachios and bright red sun-dried tomatoes make for a lovely, colorful dish (Sorry I don’t have a picture). And of course, with all those ingredients, the flavor just explodes in your mouth.

If you’re heading to a cookout this weekend or next and you want to bring something a little different than the usual deviled eggs (not that I don’t adore deviled eggs), check out this recipe.

I always recommend that folks read recipes all the way through before they begin. With this one, you’ll see when you read it that the ingredients are going to be packed into a small to medium glass bowl, then inverted onto a platter to form a nice, round mound. You could make the torta ahead of time and leave it in the bowl until you’re ready to invert and serve.

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Take a gander at that lovely white chocolate cheesecake with strawberry swirl. It was prepared by none other than faithful Fridge Magnet reader Deb.

And unlike the rest of us, Deb actually thought to take a picture of the cake before digging into it. I probably would’ve sent in a picture of a half-gnawed piece!

Not only did Deb send the pic, she also snail mailed the recipe to me so I could share it with the rest of you! If you happen to have any fresh strawberries left over, this might be the perfect use for them.

Update: I just got four gorgeous food pics from blog reader Mandy. To see her swan eclairs, lemon-raspberry tartlets and more, head to the Fridge Magnet Flickr group.

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It’s Nona again. Lindsey will be back tomorrow.

Some of my favorite dishes are the simplest to make. And as much as I like to cook and bake, I also take a little store-bought help wherever I can find it.

I made one of my favorite desserts Sunday night. I started with a chocolate angel food cake from the Kroger bakery. I put the cake on a plate, poked holes in it with a fork and drizzled a big shot of Kahlua over it. I let the cake sit for an hour so it can soak up all the liquid. After about a half hour, I set two 8-ounce containers of mascarpone cheese out on the counter to get to room temperature.

To the softened cheese, I added another shot of Kahula, a quarter cup of powdered sugar and a couple of tablespoons of Hershey’s syrup. I whipped that all together into a smooth frosting and covered the cake with it. Then I put the cake in the fridge to chill until after dinner.

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It’s less than two weeks before Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 11), which means some of us need to start thinking about the best way to treat one of the special women in our lives.

As an adult, it’s fairly easy to send a card or flowers, call mom or take her out to a nice lunch or dinner. But as a child, it’s a little bit harder to plan a wonderful day for Mom without a little help from Dad or another adult.

And sometimes Dad might be a little short on ideas.

For that reason, I was delighted to receive an e-mail lately from the Fruit and Veggie Guru that included simple recipes for delicious breakfast treats that kids can prepare for their mother on Mother’s Day.

It makes me wish I had made breakfast in bed for my mother at least once.

I’m going to attach a recipe for strawberry breakfast pizzas. I’d love to hear from anyone out there who has a special food-related memory from Mother’s Day, whether you were on the giving or the receiving end!

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Correction: The Spinach-Artichoke Casserole should’ve included one large clove of garlic and two green onion tops, minced and sauteed in a dab of olive oil. It makes all the difference in the world.

***

I’ve been so busy cooking, eating and writing that I never even noticed when the Fridge Magnet’s first birthday came and went.

March 26 was the big day. Happy birthday to the Fridge Magnet blog!

Of course, I couldn’t have made this little blog into anything without all the wonderful comments and advice from readers. We have some very talented home cooks and chefs in Southwest Virginia and I’m happy to provide at least one place for socializing and sharing.

Some days have been better than others. While I’ve had my share of groggy Monday mornings with no motivation to write fresh, daily material on this blog (hence the random recipes), we’ve also fired up some great discussions on everything from buffalo wings to top restaurants to grilled cheese sandwiches.

One thing is certain: I’ve learned a heck of a lot from you guys. I hope you’ve learned as much from me and your fellow blog readers.

In honor of the one year anniversary, I’ll share a quick, easy, delicious side dish recipe that I created last night to go with some barbecued country-style pork ribs.

Did you cook up anything noteworthy this past weekend? If so, do share.

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Our tantalizing food photo of the week was submitted by blog reader Sean, who wrote:

“This is how I like to eat my Lox. In this version of the Lox I have a toasted bagel, cream cheese, capers and smoked salmon, of course. Then I add a little red onion, Tabasco, boiled egg and garnished with dill. Before I put everything together I sprinkle lemon on the salmon.”

Yummelicious. To see the Fridge Magnet’s fine collection of food photos, hit the Flickr site.
Please contribute your own photos! If you’d rather not join Flickr (it’s free), feel free to send them to me at lindsey.nair@roanoke.com.

Have a tasty weekend!

After last week’s entry about National Banana Bread Day, one reader made this scrumptious recipe and said it turned out killer good.
I just had to have the recipe and thought you all would appreciate it, too. It came from Southern Living.
It’s after the jump. Enjoy!

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I admit that after weeks of baking and cooking for the holidays, I didn’t feel like cooking a darn thing this weekend. It didn’t help that the hubby is out of town on business, freeing me up to live shamelessly off leftover ham biscuits, frozen egg rolls and cereal.
Saturday, I finally headed to Fresh Market for a few prepared items, but the only cooking I accomplished was a portobello mushroom stuffed with creamed spinach from the deli case.
Sunday was even worse– a bad meal at a chain restaurant near the mall, where the service was so poor I felt like getting up and leaving.
But now it’s New Year’s Eve and it feels like time to get those creative juices flowing in the kitchen again.

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If you’re like me, you can’t go Christmas shopping without finding at least a half-dozen “toys” you want to buy for yourself. Most of my wish list, of course, includes kitchen gadgets or food items.

Fortunately, I can satisfy my urge to buy those things by getting them for the other foodies in my family. If you still need to buy a gift for someone like that or you’re looking for gift ideas for yourself, check out these nifty products I found online.

If you’ve got any other ideas or would like to tell us what you wish Santa would bring for your kitchen, do tell!

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