Minestrone in a Bread Bowl

Perfect for a cold, rainy night. Minestrone in a Bread Bowl.

My version is very simple:
Your favorite veggies (I don't like very many so the soup is limited to):
carrots
celery
onion
garlic
a can of whole plum tomatoes, here is something interesting I read about canned tomatoes..... The article said diced tomatoes are made from the worst of the crop. If you buy whole tomatoes and chop them yourself you are getting the better part of the crop. I don't know if it's true but I followed the advice and put a large can of whole tomatoes in the food processor instead of buying the cannned diced.
a can of white cannellini beans
bay leaf
oregano
thyme
salt
pepper
chicken stock
your choice of noodles. I used the mutli-colored kind from Trader Joes.
Put everything in a pot and cook until veggies are tender.
Then ladle into a bread bowl and enjoy. I sprinkle a little parmesean on top.
YUM!

Soft, Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

I'm participating in a Blogger Baked Goods exchange and since my goodies have to make it all the way from California to New York, I needed a cookie that would keep well. I've been thinking of what to bake for days and time is running out, the package needs to be in the mail tomorrow. Tonight, I pulled out an old copy of Cook's Illustrated and made Soft, Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies. These are delicious, festive and will travel well. I really hope she likes them. I'll reveal the blogger I exchanged with next week. Happy Baking!

Here is the link for the recipe http://recipes.cooksillustrated.com/cookies,-bars,-and-brownies-recipes/southern/miscellaneous/soft-and-chewy-molasses-spice-cookies-recipe/

A "Thank You" Dinner

As any pet owner knows, whenever you leave town you have to arrange care for you animals. We have 3 cats. Yes, I managed to talk my husband into 3 cats, all adopted at different times though. And as much as he loves them, 3 is a lot and it's hard to ask anyone else to feed and clean up after so many kitties. So, when we left town we asked our friends to check on them. Thankfully, they said yes. As a thank you, I left a gift basket of goodies and then when we returned home, a nice dinner.

This is Julia Child's recipe for a cheese souffle. I don't have a souffle dish so it's a little flatter than it normally would be, but it was delicious and surprisingly, really easy to make. The cheese I used was a Gruyere/cheddar mix that it now being sold at Trader Joe's.


Pan-fried gnocchi. I know it sounds weird and I was hesitant to try it, but I saw Nigella make it on the cooking channel and I trust her recipes. It was so worth it. Deliciously crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.


Cranberry Bread from the Sister's Cafe blog. This was actually the reason I did a take on breakfast for dinner. I saw this blog post and since I had all the ingredients I knew it was meant to be. The bread is wonderful and is going to make a great addition to the baked goods I give out as presents for the holidays.
Here is a link to their blog.
http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2010/12/grandmothers-famous-cranberry-bread.html

Greek Ziti and Joe Joe's Ice Cream

Happy Friday!
I tried this recipe from Rachael Ray's magazine and it was delicious. I love greek flavors and feta cheese....so yummy.
Here is the link:
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipes/rachael-ray-30-minute-meals/Greek-Ziti-with-Lamb-Rag%C3%B9

I made a couple substitutions since Trader Joe's doesn't carry everything I needed. I used ground beef instead of lamb and a red bell pepper for the red chili. I added a little cayenne for the spice it was missing. I hope you give this dish a try.

And, I was so excited to see....Candy Cane ice cream at Trader Joes. So So YUMMY!

Bellingrath Gardens, Alabama

Bellingrath Gardens, Alabama- the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen. Sorry, I've been away from blogging for so long. I plan to catch up on your posts this week. I just got home at 1:30 this morning from a week in Alabama. A first for me, as I've never been to the South and also have never spent that much time in an airplane. Flying through storms is no fun and there were a couple scary moments I thought we were going to fall out of the sky, but we made it back home safely. We spent Thanksgiving with my husband's family and one of our many excursions included a trip to these gardens for the Christmas show. If you live within driving distance, it's so worth it. It takes some serious photography skills to really capture all the lights but we did our best. Enjoy.














I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Cupcake Camp Recap

The first of many many Cupcake Camp recaps. I took photos of so many beautiful cupcakes, but today I'm going to start with mine.
I learned so much from the bakers that were there. I definitely need to work on my presentation skills.
Everyone was so friendly and the awards definitely went to some amazing cupcakes. I was so glad to be a part of this event and I can't wait for the next one.


These were supposed to be coconut snowball cupcakes and sounded better in my head than they turned out.
Blooper, I turned my back for one second and my mischievous cat jumped into the box of 50 pink frosted cupcakes. I couldn't believe it. He looked just as shocked as I was. It was so sad watching my hard work go in the trash. I'll definitely guard them more carefully next time.


Mud pie cupcakes with gummy worms. HUGE HIT! I ran out of these. I loved seeing how excited kids were to try them.







My handsome helper. He was so patient and supportive through the whole thing. Especially during my cat/cupcake disaster meltdown. I'm a very lucky girl. Thanks honey.

Did anyone else attend Cupcake Camp?

How to Cut a Pomegranate

This was one of those "learn something new everday" moments for me. I tried to cut a pomegranate before reading the directions and it spit juice everywhere. My floors, clothes, ceiling, counters....everywhere! And then, I read the directions provided by POM Wonderful and Ta Dah! No more spitting pomegranates.
Here are the Fool-Proof Directions:


First, slice off the top.


You'll see clearly defined wedges by what I believe is called the membrane. Slice along the white for each wedge.


There will be approximately 6 wedges once you've completely slicing.


Next, under water, start to work the seeds from the shell. They'll detach easily this way and won't spit at you.


This was fun and really simple.


Brilliantly, the seeds know to sink to the bottom and the rest of the membrane or is it pith? will float to the top. Skim the white off the top and....


POMEGRANATE SEEDS! Enjoy. yum.