(Literally) Garden Fresh Salsa

With the garden in full swing, we have an abundance of produce on hand. For a mid-afternoon snack to go along with the Phillies game we made up a bowl of fresh salsa. ((Everything but the onion and garlic came from the garden))



6 tomatoes (including one yellow)
1 medium red onion
2 jalepeno peppers
1 habenaro pepper (the ones from our garden aren't especially hot)
1 clove garlic
fresh cilantro
1/8 cup vinegar
to taste: salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder

- Mince/chop/grind to your liking and season to taste

Stuffed Artichokes

While wondering through the supermarket pondering side dishes to go with leg of lamb, I saw a pile of artichokes. Not the healthiest of vegetable dishes, but tasty nonetheless.

Click Here for Printable Version



2 artichokes
Stuffing:
½ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 T grated romano cheese
2 t garlic, minced
1 T onion, minced
minced fresh parsley
olive oil
lemon juice
salt & pepper

Prepare Stuffing
- Heat some olive oil in a fry pan. Soften onion and garlic (do not brown). Turn off heat. Add breadcrumbs, mix well, and allow to cool.
- Once cool, add romano cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice and additional olive oil (if needed) until most

Prepare Artichokes
- Cut off the stems of each artichoke at the base, and with scissors snip off the tips of the leaves.

- Dip cut end in lemon water to prevent from turning brown.
- Gently open the artichoke by spreading its leaves apart.
- With a spoon, remove the inner choke
- Working over the pan, with one artichoke at a time, pack the stuffing between the leaves.
- Transfer the artichokes to a pot or casserole dish. To the pan add 1½ inches of water. Braise, covered, over low heat for approximately 45 minutes (or until tender)

- Transfer the chokes to a baking dish and broil (or grill) until golden brown.

Raspberry Sorbet

We've been battling the birds all spring, but with the raspberries we were able harvest we made sorbet.

Click Here for Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
16 oz raspberries (fresh or frozen)
2 Cups sugar
¼ Cup Lime Juice
2¼ Cups Water
¼ Cup Grand Marnier
¼ Cup Chambord

DIRECTIONS
- Combine raspberries, sugar, lime juice, and water in a medium saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.



- Remove from heat and add Grand Marnier and Chambord. Stir well and then let steep for 30 minutes
- Strain mixture to remove seeds and then refrigerate until cold (approx. 2 hours)
- Process sorbet mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
- Scoop sorbet into container and freeze.

Vegetable Garden Update

ONE MONTH LATER...




Italian Frying Peppers


Zucchini Blossoms

eggs "with stuff"

Although I am a morning person, I am not really a breakfast food person. Here is one of the few breakfast dishes I do make. I warn you - it's not pretty! In this house it's officially called "Eggs with stuff"... in other words, scrambled eggs mixed with whatevers in the fridge.

Mince and saute whatever you have on hand... this morning we used onions, peppers, and garlic. Whip eggs with a fork and pour on top of softened veggies and cook as you would scrambled eggs. When eggs are almost done, add any last minute additions (i.e. diced tomato, fresh herbs, kalamata olives, etc)




... and if you aren't artery or waistline challenged (like my lovely husband), cover with freshly grated cheddar

Garden Preview

Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Italian Frying Peppers, Zucchini & Cucumbers


More tomatoes, jalapenos, habenaros, watermelon & cantaloupe

Already harvesting strawberries


Hopefully blueberries soon too!

Terra, West Columbia

100 State Street
West Columbia, SC

The night before Craig left for his business trip to Atlanta, we decided to try a new-ish restaurant downtown - Terra. It probably sounds sad, but in an effort to get home in time to watch the Phillies, we made a reservation for as soon as they opened at 5pm.

We ordered a bottle of Le Volte and were pleasantly surprised to have our waiter Robert decant it table side. A note on the wine ... a nice/affordable super tuscan - we both thought it benefited from decanting.

While waited for our appetizers we were served some hot-crusty bread and butter - yum.

On to what we ordered...

Appetizers

Jamison Farms BBQ Lamb Stuffed Mac & Cheese Gratin with Poblano Peppers, Fontina, Goat Cheese. This was FANTASTIC! I'm already debating what I will order the next time we are there and I think this may have to be on the list.


Braised Rabbit Leg Risotto with Marsala Braised Rabbit Leg, Artichoke, Asparagus
Another winner. Rebecca & Ed ... we thought of you while savoring this dish!


Entrees
Braised Beef Short Ribs with Mascarpone Polenta & Haricots Vert


Steak Frites with House Made French Fries, Simple Salad, Blue Cheese Butter
(Sorry no photo ... too busy eating!)

At this point, we had been at the restaurant for over 2 hours. We finished up with a beautiful fruit/cheese plate (which I will probably detail in other entry). Tasty. Some restaurants make you feel like you wouldn't want to see them in bright daylight, but the decor here is beautiful... I especially loved the large skylight near the bar that let in wonderful natural light. Overall, a fantastic meal - pleasant service, a beautiful space & food, and a decent winelist. We will definitely be back.

Grilled Butterflied Chicken

I'm proud to say that I make a mean roasted chicken, but tonight I decided to try my hand at GRILLING a whole chicken. Cleaver (and camera) in hand I decided to give it a try. I'm happy to say it was a great success... so successful that we were too busy EATING the chicken to take some pretty after photos. The chicken was extremely juicy and Craig praised the super crispy skin.

Click Here for Printable Instructions
(Not much of a recipe here, more of just a grilling technique.)

Prepare Chicken (3-4lb bird)
Place the chicken breast side down on a cutting board. Using a knife or poultry shears, cut along one side of the backbone and then down the other. Discard the backbone – remove ribs if desired.



Turn the chicken breast side up. Cut a small hole through the skin between the bottom point of the breast and the thigh. Push the tip of the leg through the hole. Repeat with the other leg.



Rub skin with olive oil and seasoning of your choice(here I used minced garlic, fresh thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and cayenne)



Grill Chicken
- Place the chicken, breast-side-up, on the grill. If you have more than one burner, turn off the burner directly below the chicken. Grill the chicken with the grill covered for 45 minutes.
- Check the grill temperature frequently to ensure that its temperature is staying around 350-400°
- Using tongs, carefully turn the chicken breast-side-down. Re-ignite the burner directly below the chicken (if turned off) and set it at its lowest level. Grill for another 15 minutes, until the breast skin is deeply browned and the internal temperature of the chicken is about 170°.

Weekend Food Pics

As I was browsing some of the food photos from over the weekend I realized that I didn't once use a recipe. Move over Iron Chef... hehehe. A few pics to share.

Ricotta Quiche

This experiment was a mix between a quiche and easter meat pie... ingredients similar to a quiche, but the texture of the meat pie. If anyone is interested I can try and put a recipe together, but it used a little of everything I had in the fridge - ricotta, eggs, spinach, baby bella mushrooms, garlic, provolone, grated romano cheese, sliced salami & pepperoni.

Mango & Cantaloupe Fruit Salad
Craig and I are both a fan of fruit with breakfast. Originally wanted honeydew and cantaloupe, but when the store wanted $5 for a honeydew we grabbed a few mangos instead. Nice combination of flavors.


Baby Back Ribs
We slow cooked the ribs in the oven for a few hours the night before the bbq, then threw them on the grill to finish them off.


Something wrong with the picture?

Yep, there's wine left in there. We had heard all good things about Napanook and looked forward to opening this bottle, but unfortunately it didn't live up to the hype. A beautiful deep red color and a pleasant nose, but that's where the beauty ended. There was just not much to it. Lacked structure. Overall, it just isn't an impressive California meritage given the price.

frozen dinner

I had forgotten about the extra lasagna rolls I made about two months ago and put in the freezer. I feared they may have been freezer burned, but I popped them in the oven last night and they were still great! Wish I always had homemade frozen dinners on hand!

Better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?

Makin meatballs...

Almost Famous?

I was surprised last night to find a message that one of my photos was selected to be included on Wikipedia. Since it's a free online encyclopedia I don't get anything except glory out of the deal, but I think its pretty neat.
Eating-In has the official photo of French Toast!

I can't take credit for MAKING the french toast - that was Craig, the breakfast master. I was just the photographer.

Here is the link to the Wikipedia page...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_toast

This is the one they chose:

cake & coffee

Angel Food Cake + Buttercream Icing = Sugary Goodness



Cake:
1 Box Duncan Hines Angel Food Cake Mix

Buttercream Icing:
Mix 4 Tablespoons very very soft or melted butter with 2 Cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and enough milk to make smooth.

Italian Soda Bread

For St Patty's day I planned on making and blogging about Irish Soda Bread, but then I remembered... I don't really like Irish Soda Bread! Sooo, I decided to switch gears and make ITALIAN SODA BREAD! As I'm blogging this, I'm sitting here eating a piece of still warm bread - not bad if I do say so myself!



Click Here for Printable Version

Onion & Fontina Italian Soda Bread

Ingredients:
1½ Cups all-purpose flour
1 Cup whole wheat flour
5oz fontina cheese, grated
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons dehydrated onion pieces
3 Tablespoons cold butter, diced
1 Cup Sour Cream
¼ Cup milk

Topping:
1 egg white, slightly beaten
Coarse sea salt

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, cheese, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, and onion in large bowl. Cut in 3 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in sour cream and milk just until moistened.

Turn dough onto lightly floured bowl; knead until smooth (1 minute?). Divide dough in half; shape each half into 5-inch round loaf. Place onto greased baking sheet. Brush tops of loaves with egg white; sprinkle with sea salt. Cut an X about 1/2-inch through top of each loaf. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown.

Beer Update

We bottled the latest brew last weekend - with Mom & Dads help. Nothing like having company for the weekend and then putting them to work!

Lenten Friday

Today is the second Friday of Lent, which means for Catholics, you are not allowed to eat meat. Lent is a time of sacrifice and I would agree that abstaining from something helps us to refocus on what is important and what may have just seemed important.

Now while I did notice that McDonalds is now offering a DOUBLE Filet-O-Fish sandwich, I decided to just stick with a safe vegetarian route and make Quiche - two to be exact.



I didn't write up a recipe card since to me quiche is one of those things that just gets thrown together with what you have on hand, but if anyone really wants me to try and put it on paper, just leave a comment or send me an email and I will give it a go.

Quiche # 1 ~ Broccoli, Garlic & Feta with tomato slices on top


Quiche # 2 ~ Mushroom, Leek & Fontina

Fusion

Sometimes the strangest combinations turn out to be great meals. Last nights dinner ~ korean short ribs with mac and cheese!

Movie Time

I found yet another fantastic use for the giant Le Creuset dutch oven I got for Christmas - Popcorn!

Glazed-Crumb Topped-Banana Bread

Yes, more banana bread. I just can't seem to eat all the bananas before they get over ripe! This time I made a crumble and then for kicks a vanilla-sugar glaze (spiked with butterscotch schnapps).



Click Here for Printable Version

Bread Batter.
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
dash of ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

Crumble Topping.
2 Tablespoons slivered almonds
2 Tablespoons macadamia nuts, chopped
2 Tablespoons oatmeal
1 graham cracker, crushed
1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon butter

Glaze.
Powdered Sugar
Cinnamon
Milk or Half & Half
butterscotch schapps (options)



Prepare Bread Batter
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Stir in vanilla and banana.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Blend the banana mixture into the flour mixture; stir just to combine. Fold in walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan and evenly sprinkle crumble over the top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

Crumble Topping
- In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, oats, and nuts. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Glaze
- Combine sugar with a few drops vanilla and enough of the liquid of your choice for a drizzling consistency.