by TT on February 8th, 2012 | Desserts
With less than a week until Valentine's Day, it is time to start planning. If you're hoping to make a restaurant reservation, you probably should stop reading this article and make a few calls. When you discover that the only times available are 4:30 or 9:45, you can come back and learn how to make dessert for your at-home Valentines dinner. With a dessert such as this, ordering pizza will be forgiven.
I have to confess that this dessert is way too chocolatey for me; however, it seems incredibly romantic. Homemade truffles served with champagne sauce, the name alone screams
by TT on February 1st, 2012 | Desserts, Recipes
While it may seem silly to be planning your Valentine's Day menu so much in advance of the day, there are some definite benefits. First, there's no need for last minute panic and shopping. Second, you have the opportunity to try the recipe before the actual day, so that you are able to perfect it. Third, if you make a sample round of the dessert, you get to eat an extra dessert!
This week's dessert idea is a wonderful combination of wine, pears, almonds, and mascarpone. Not only is it a delicious dessert, but it also has a beautiful presentation.
by TT on January 30th, 2012 | Soups & Stews
Having one person that is vegetarian in our house doesn't make meal planning difficult, usually. When there are four or more of us for dinner, I simply substitute the meat item with a non-meat protein, and everyone is happy. In fact, quite often I make two of the non-meat protein, as I enjoy a good number of vegetarian items.
The tricky times are when there are only three of us dining. It feels more cumbersome to make two different entrées for a party that small. Our of deference to our vegetarian, I make a meal that is vegetarian and (hopefully)
by TT on October 30th, 2009 | Desserts, Recipes
Sometimes a Sunday just begs for lots of home cooking and meals that aren't served at their typical weekday times. This past Sunday was one of those days.
We started our laid back Sunday with a late breakfast of homemade waffles for the kids and egg white wraps for the adults. Not needing lunch, we decided to make an early dinner of slow roasted, coffee and brown sugar rubbed pork served with veggies. A baked dessert seemed to be the best way to end our day.
With our refrigerator fruit bin still full of apples from a previous picking adventure, they seemed
by TT on October 29th, 2009 | Healthy Cooking, Recipes, Side Dishes
A couple weekends ago, we had a simple version of Thanksgiving dinner. We didn't make stuffing or gravy, but we did roast a whole turkey. We also made homemade cranberry sauce, mulled cider, and two veggie dishes. With all four kids here for dinner, it was my hope that one of the two would appeal to each of them.
The two veggies I made were brussel sprouts and butternut squash. Typically, all of the kids like brussel sprouts, and half of the kids like squash. At our house, everyone receives a "no thank you" serving of every dish, but you can
by TT on October 27th, 2009 | Appetizers, Healthy Cooking, Recipes, Side Dishes
Working on dinner ideas for last week, I knew there were a few nights that my husband would be away on business. Although he is one of the most open-minded eaters I know, he doesn't eat legumes. So, when he is away, a side dish of green beans or a Mexican entree with refried beans is often part of the menu.
I had heard someone talking about black bean cakes recently and thought that would be an excellent recipe to try while my husband was away. Even though I knew that my 13 and 11 year old dinner companions would eat
by TT on October 20th, 2009 | Healthy Cooking, Recipes, Side Dishes
As I mentioned recently, this time of year I stop by local orchards on a weekly basis. When I went to an orchard a couple weeks ago, I decided to check out their winter squash offerings. With cool weather making itself permanent, I have been craving squash. However, I tend to stick with the same squash time and again: butternut or acorn. So, when I arrived at the orchard, my goal was clear- any squash but those two!
This large orchard did not disappoint me. They had quite an assortment of squash available. I immediately knew I would pass on the
by TT on October 16th, 2009 | Desserts, Recipes
While apples are available all year at the grocery store, there is nothing like freshly picked apples in the fall. Living where we do, it is a 10-minute drive to a handful of orchards. Conveniently, our 11 year old daughter takes gymnastics lessons at a studio near these orchards. With everyone in our house enjoying apples, I typically get a new bag of apples weekly.
For the first month of apple season, we enjoyed Ginger Gold apples, but as with any type of produce, their season ended. When I went to the orchard last week, I needed to choose a new
