by TT Jr. on May 14th, 2012 | Recipes, Spreads & Sauces
I love bagels. I just love them, specifically toasted. And with cream cheese. They are so delicious when they are still hot and the cream cheese starts to melt on them. My favorite flavor is salt bagels, and they are delicious with plain cream cheese, but sometimes that gets a little boring. So, I decided to make a vegetable cream cheese to see how it tasted with my mom's yummy salt bagels. It tasted like heaven on a hot bagel. The sweet crunchy carrots with the tangy, slightly spicy chives against the salty, hot, soft, crunchy bagel is incredible.
A
by TT on April 26th, 2012 | Recipes, Spreads & Sauces
In an attempt to broaden my 14 year old's seafood palate, I decided to cook tuna last week. Unfortunately, the fish counter that I visited had none available, so I went with her current favorite fish, salmon, and jumbo shrimp. Shrimp is a type of seafood that she doesn't like, but the rest of us do. I figured if I got her to try it again, it may start to be a seafood item that she likes. She adores coconut, so I thought some
coconut shrimp might do the trick.
Apparently, the lure of a coconut coating isn't enough
by TT on May 28th, 2009 | Main Dishes, Recipes
As I was thinking about dinners for this week, I knew that I wanted one of the dishes to include steak. With a multi-day stretch of rain forecast, grilling was a less desirable option. Panfrying the steaks seemed like a simple way to make dinner on an evening that was most likely to be filled with taking children to and from practices.
Although panfrying on its own would have been okay, I wanted to make a dinner with a bit more flavor. Searching through my cookbooks, I found several different recipes for Steak au Poivre. This dish seemed to have a
by TT on May 26th, 2009 | Appetizers, Healthy Cooking, Recipes, Side Dishes
A while ago we purchased lamb shanks while grocery shopping. We put them in our freezer, saving them for a special "dinner for two" night. Last Sunday seemed the perfect day for cooking them. After defrosting them overnight, we slowly braised them with red wine and an assortment of spices and vegetables.
Unfortunately, while they were cooking, it seemed that fate had other plans, and the shanks were put aside until Monday. However, there was a hidden benefit to that. I hadn't planned an interesting side dish for Sunday, but with dinner delayed a day I decided to go to the
by TT on May 20th, 2009 | Appetizers, Recipes
Lazy Sundays are wonderful. With four children, these don't happen all that often. However, this past Sunday was a free day without a schedule.
We started our day by savoring several cups of coffee, watching food shows, and making a little breakfast. This relaxing start was followed by shopping for new kitchen decor. I am very lucky in that my husband enjoys shopping with me. We went to a couple stores, found a few chicken pieces for our kitchen, and then headed to the grocery store.
As we were braising and roasting lamb shanks for dinner, we decided to make an afternoon
by TT on May 18th, 2009 | Healthy Cooking, Recipes, Spreads & Sauces
Last week, there was no Tapas Monday. My husband was traveling for business and there's no joy in candlelight tapas alone, so it was a regular dinner at a normal time last Monday. However, as my husband was returning from the trip on Friday morning and we had an evening softball game to attend, it seemed like the perfect reason to have tapas on Friday.
With the softball game ending at 8 and a jet-lagged husband, I knew we would want a dinner that was ready shortly after we returned home. Therefore, I needed dishes that either needed little preparation or
by TT on May 14th, 2009 | Desserts, Recipes
I have to start by confessing that I was late in giving my mom her birthday gift this year. Yes, I did send a card on time, and I did call her on her special day, but I didn't send a present. To be honest, I was stumped as to what she would need or want. So, I pondered for a while. . .
As Mother's Day drew near, I decided the best option would be to give her a two-for-one gift, which meant now I needed a bigger and better idea than the lack of idea that I already had.