Hope you all are slowly coming out of a nice Thanksgiving food coma (and just in time to enjoy the last of the leftovers!). Obviously, this post is too late for this year, but be sure to flag it for next year if your turkey-cooking skills could use a little work. As some of you may know, we have crowded, rowdy Thanksgiving every year at my parents’ house in Tucson—complete with tequila shots and sports gambling. The food is always amazing, but the birds don’t get as much love as they should. The 50 or so lbs of turkey are my dad’s job, and suffice to say he’s more of…
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The one day a year when bingeing is socially acceptable …
… is nearly upon us!! Hip-hip-hooray!!! As far as food goes, holidays don’t get much better than Thanksgiving. Last year’s Thanksgiving post pretty much covers things so I’m posting the link again (hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it). There’s also my Southwest Thanksgiving post and the Paula Deen post to give you a little turkey-day inspiration. Also keep an eye out for a special Thanksgiving Day post. Happy gorging!
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Blushing bride
No not me, the drink: For Valentine’s Day I cooked dinner. It was good, but this is really the only thing worth posting about, if you ask me. Even Dave, not a big fan of sweet, girly drinks, loved it. I told you about my excuse to use my frozen pomegranate. Well, as it turns out, I got lazy, and ended up taking the easy route and using them as a garnish in this drink. Just as well, because I used them straight out of the freezer to act as the ice cubes, and I found myself munching on them as I sipped. Plus, they float at the top so…
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PAMAphrodisiac
I have a bad habit of throwing things into the abyss that is my freezer and forgetting they exist down there. Then I wonder where all my tupperware went … … hmmm, oh yeah! It’s holding three gallons of freezer-burned chili … Then there’s my two plastic bags full of frozen pomegranate seeds from these gorgeous pomegranates I picked up this past fall: So imagine my excitement when I got an excuse to use these little gems this Valentine’s Day. The folks at PAMA liqueur sent me some samples, along with recipes and news about a local cupcake shop that I may just have to visit for these little beauties.…
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The lazy girl’s guide latkes and matzo ball soup and a giveaway
It’s Hanukkah and Dave’s been seriously cashing in on his first year celebrating the festival of lights. He still can’t get over the whole presents-for-eight-nights-in-a-row thing; he hustled me for 20 bucks in his first game of dreidel (beginner’s luck); and he enjoyed a couple of the best dishes Judaism has to offer: Latkes and matzo ball soup. It’s been a lazy couple of weeks for me and the thought of shredding four pounds of Russets gave me a headache. Lucky for me, I had this fabulous Progresso package from MyBlogSpark (Which one lucky commenter will also win, courtesy of Progresso via MyBlogSpark) … … and some frozen hash browns. Soooooo,…
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Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Giving gracias
I’m still recovering from the 48-hour cooking marathon, gluttonous spread and absolute debauchery that is our misfit-full, southwestern Thanksgiving celebration. Let me paint the scene: Colorful characters mingling over excessive amounts of tequila, criminal quantities of turkey (2, 15-pounders and a 20-pounder to be exact), all the trimmings with a southwestern flair, ridiculously perfect, sun-shiny, 75-degree weather, football broadcast on a backyard pool-side cabana bar TV… … and me slaving away in a hot kitchen. I kid, I kid. I have to admit I enjoy it. Besides, if I didn’t cook, we’d be eating pies from Costco (no offense Don) and canned cranberry sauce. OK, so we ate those things…
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Channeling Sandra and Paula
These recipes are actually Paula’s own, but if Sandra Lee and Paula Deen had culinary love children, they’d look something like these. If this sounds appealing to you, read on. If the thought of Sandra and Paula joining forces makes you want to tear your hair out, don’t close that window just yet. Yes, I’ll admit it’s slightly shameful that two of my favorites Thanksgiving dishes involve canned cream corn, frozen hash browns, dehydrated potato flakes and french-fried onions. But I have a sneaking suspicion that you’ll love these recipes too—even if you won’t admit it and have to sneak bites of leftovers by the light of the fridge while everyone…
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Preparing for Thanksgiving
Preparing for Thanksgiving is like getting ready for a big game. You can’t successfully execute without a solid game plan. So huddle up! OK, enough with the bad sports analogies. Let’s get started. Week before Thanksgiving Order your turkey/s—figure about 1-1.5 pounds per person, but if you like leftovers as much as my family, you’ll buy an entire extra turkey Start thinking about your menu. Technically, you don’t have to commit until your grocery store trip, but it helps to have time to brainstorm and not feel rushed Give guests ideas for dishes they can bring Week of Thanksgiving Take inventory—make sure you have the items you need in your…
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Happy Halloween
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. But things have been busy the last few weeks, and I haven’t had time for any Halloween-themed cooking. Thanks to Dave’s mom, though, I’m still able to leave you with some creepy culinary inspiration. We got into the spirit with some SPOOOghetti and meatballs, and garlic bread with extra garlic to ward off the vampires. You really can’t be too careful these days with this whole Twilight/True Blood/Vampire Diaries craze. Then we feasted on this brain with some fava beans and a nice bottle of Chianti. Relax, it’s just jello. And these cookies were really finger-licking good … Then it was pumpkin-carving time.…