by TT on January 9th, 2012 | Recipes, Spreads & Sauces
Moving backward through our Christmas Eve dinner, we finally have arrived at the first course I made, the appetizer. With five courses following this, I wanted it to be light. The appetizer consisted of lavash crackers topped with goat cheese and cranberry-pear chutney. The chutney has a hint of sweetness, which awakens the palate, and also provides a nice contrast to the tang of the goat cheese.
The chutney is versatile and could be used as an accoutrement to many dishes. Not only does it pair well with crackers and cheese, it could be used in place of cranberry sauce
by TT on January 3rd, 2012 | Recipes, Spreads & Sauces
Although most of the gifts that I give are store-bought, I do love making some of the presents I give. Over the years these gifts have included numerous food and beverage items: cookies, fudge, bread, infused vodka. This year I decided to try my hand at something new: infused salt.
One of my best friends loves the combination of sweet and salty, such as chips and soda. When going out for munchies, she has been known to request some tortilla chips after an especially sweet dessert. Over time I have come to appreciate the way in which these two opposites
by TT on December 29th, 2011 | Desserts, Recipes, Spreads & Sauces
On Monday, I shared my ridiculously easy recipe for
Eggnog Ice Cream. While the ice cream is delicious in its own right, a simple ice cream such as this really begs for toppings. Of course, my kids would prefer to top their ice cream with hot fudge, but that is not something either my husband or I enjoy. So, the decision of what to use as our topping began.
Some toppings were quickly discarded, such as caramel because it seemed too sweet. Macerated strawberries were considered, but I wasn't sure how well strawberries and eggnog would pair. Then it
by TT on October 19th, 2011 | Recipes, Spreads & Sauces
Out of our four children, our oldest is the least picky. In our house, that is saying a lot, for none of our kids are truly picky. Having the
"no thank you" serving really has helped with that. However, if I had to choose one that I could offer almost any food and expect that it should be liked, it would have to be our 15 year old.
He always has been a fairly adventurous eater. As a toddler he requested pasta, like all toddlers, but he liked it best with spinach sauce. While a little face covered with green
by TT on October 12th, 2011 | Recipes, Simple Solutions, Spreads & Sauces
It's been a month since I shared a Simple Solution. This recipe fits perfectly within this category. It requires two ingredients and takes about 5 seconds to make. However, the flavor that it imparts is so much greater than would seem possible.
So, how did Asian Ketchup come to be? As I've written, our 13 year old is a vegetarian. Vegetarianism is something I have dabbled with throughout my life, so quite frequently I opt to eat the same dish as her while other family members have a meat-based dish. Sometimes we make dishes from scratch, but other times we used
by TT on July 11th, 2011 | Recipes, Simple Solutions, Spreads & Sauces
After ten days on the road (with a quick 12-hour stop at home in the middle), it is good to be home again. Don't get me wrong, the holiday weekend exploring New Brunswick was wonderful. I also enjoyed a week of business travel in Manhattan, but being home is refreshing. I don't think we could have planned our return better, as our first full day at home is Tapas Monday. As I was thinking about tonight's menu I realized that I still had a recipe from a previous Monday to share.
The menu from two weeks ago was filled with new
by TT on April 30th, 2010 | Recipes, Spreads & Sauces
It's April vacation week in our state, so the kids have had a relaxing week. With no school there also has been no gymnastics, no track practice, no conditioning sessions, no dinner has to be served at an exact time to meet our schedules' needs. Of course, that doesn't mean that it was a quiet week here. When you have a teen and almost teen in your house, time off from school equals time spent with friends. So, for three of the four weeknights there were sleepovers either at our house, a friend's house, or both.
On the fourth night, in
by TT on April 28th, 2010 | Equipment Reviews
Most mornings I am a creature of habit. Without the aid of an alarm, I am awake at 6:00. By 6:15 I am starting that day's workout. Some time after cooling down, I make my breakfast. Typically, this breakfast is an egg white wrap or a fruit smoothie. The egg white wrap never was a problem; cook a few eggs in the skillet, throw them in a wrap, and add some spinach or veggie sausage and cheese, and breakfast is ready. The smoothie, however, was a bit of a problem.
I've owned a few blenders, and all of them have
by TT on April 21st, 2010 | Main Dishes, Recipes
One of the great things about having access to a grocery store with a fabulous butcher is the amazing variety of meats we can purchase. When we first visited this grocery store, we were excited to see sections for lamb and veal, each of which were as big as the chicken section in a typical store. With a department this big and only two freezers in which to store our purchases, we experimented with new cuts, seasonings, and meats in each shopping expedition.
The variety of sausages available there is just as amazing as the rest of the butcher department. They
