Cook. Craft. Enjoy.

Computer Woes Again

Unfortunately my iMac has decided to die on me so it'll be probably a week before I can update the blog again.  (I can always post w/out pictures, but what fun is that?)  Anyway, I didn't want anyone to think I've given up on posting .. just we're having "issues".

PPN: Orecchiette Carbonara

Honestly I've been meaning to get this post up since Thursday.  For some reason every time I sit down to post something else comes up and it doesn't get done.   However, I'm glad to be able to share this for next week's Presto Pasta Night over at Ruth's Once Upon a Feast.  (Good thing she does this every week!)

I have such a huge stack of cooking magazines that lately I've been trying to go through them and actually mark recipes to be used (or get rid of the magazines that have nothing in them I'm interested in).  This one is for orecchiette pasta in a carbonara sauce with leeks and comes from April's issue of Bon Appetit.

What do I have to say about it?  It was delicious.  I loved the flavor of the leeks and I loved that it's healthier than our usual carbonara.   (Okay, so it's still not a healthy meal but it's not too bad.)  Unfortunately I was the only one that really liked it so I'm not sure how often I'll get to have it.  Darn.

Beef Stew

Before it gets too terribly hot here I decided to go with one last "cold weather" dish:  Beef Stew.  It's not something I make often (honestly I'm not a big fan of soups and stews almost fit into that category), but it just sounded right for last night.  This is a recipe that came through on one of my mailing lists over a year ago and I've made it several times.  I always forget that you should add more beef than the recipe calls for -- or cut down on the other ingredients.  Served with a salad and some crusty bread, though, it's a great, easy family meal.

Happy Birthday, Travis!

Hard to believe that 16 years ago today Travis was born.  He's grown up into such a wonderful young man and I'm very proud to say that he's my son.  May the future hold nothing but brightness for him.

For his "actual" birthday today we're having Subway for dinner (don't ask -- he loves sandwiches) and I'm sure he'll play Warcraft.  We still have leftover cake from Saturday so we'll do another round of singing as well.

This cake comes from AllRecipes and starts with a box mix ... it tastes great but I had a problem with the center falling (you can kind of tell from the photo).  Guess that really doesn't matter too much -- just add more frosting to the middle.  :)

Week In Review

Since I haven't posted since Tuesday I thought I'd do a quick "week in review".

We've had a pretty busy week -- Liam was sick again with his allergies so back on breathing treatments he went.  The good news is I think we caught it early enough that he won't end up with pneumonia yet again this year.  Adrienne had a big project due this week in math -- a 5 paragraph essay and accompanying charts about a stock market project they've been working on (which you know is just as big of a job for mom as it is for her).

Travis hasn't had as much homework as he usually does so he's been working on his Warcraft character and getting his tailoring level up.  As for my Warcraft "career", I'm trying to decide exactly how I should spec my Paladin -- I was holy/ret for so long then last night switched to protection/holy and really didn't like it so back this morning to holy/ret I am.  (I know most of you have NO clue what I'm talking about so you can skip this ..oops, too late.)  For those of you "in the know", here's a screenshot I took last week of one of my guildies and I after we'd cleared Stratholme.  Gotta love that instance.   :)

Tomorrow is Travis' 16th birthday so last night we celebrated a little early with my brother -- I made ribs, some yucky broccoli salad (packaged from Costco -- it wasn't good AT ALL), garlic french fries and then a coconut cake.  So I'll have something to share tomorrow on his actual birthday, I'll share the rib recipe with you now and the cake tomorrow.

This recipe was originally from a post on rec.food.recipes many years ago (like, um, 15) and I wouldn't make them any other way.

PPN: Another Kugel

It has become a weekly tradition that my brother joins us for dinner one night over the weekend (and we play Rock Band).  This past weekend he and I decided I would try a new brisket recipe from my Hadassah cookbook.  While I love, love, love Ina Garten's brisket recipe I'm always on the lookout for the possibility of "something better".

This new recipe was good but doesn't beat out Ina.  In essence, you mix 1/2 cup ketchup and 1/2 cup Concord wine (the kosher sweet wine) together, pour it over the brisket with some onion, celery and carrots and let it go for several hours.  I was afraid the liquid would evaporate and burn so I doubled the sauce and added a can of beef broth.  Good thing I did because at the end there wasn't a whole lot of liquid left.  The one thing I did really like about this one, though, is the addition of mushrooms about 1/2 hour before the meat is done cooking.  I'll be using that tip in Ina's recipe as well.

As for my PPN part of this post, I can't seem to make brisket lately without some sort of kugel.  My brother had made mention in the past that he loves ricotta cheese so when I saw this recipe I knew it was the one I had to try.  It also comes from The Hadassah Jewish Holiday Cookbook -- it was a fund raiser for the Hadassah organization and I'm glad I have a copy.

I halved the recipe to fit into a 8x8-inch pan because only serving 6 I didn't need a full 9x13 pan.  It halved beautifully and the flavor was great -- not real sweet and just enough of a fruit flavor to carry it all the way through.  I think my next kugel I'll substitute dried cranberries for the golden raisins and see how that turns out.

Friday head over to Ruth's Once Upon a Feast and check out the other entries into this week's Presto Pasta Night.  I'm so sad that I haven't participated lately and really miss hanging out with everyone.  I know I can't wait for the round-up this week.

Scrappin' Sunday: Everything's Working

I finally figured out the problem with my computer (had to do with USB hubs and a problem program loading on start-up) so everything's back to normal now.  Having the computer not working right is irritating but gave me a chance to get my projects done for stamp camp this week.

My to-do list this week?  To get my swaps finished up for the month so I don't have to scramble at the end of the month.

Go check out the round up over at Amy's Sunday Scrappin' meme and see what everyone else was up to this week!

Quick Update (kind of)

Sorry there's been no updating on the blog this week .. for some reason I've had some issues with my computer and connecting my memory card from my camera (and a couple other things) -- hopefully it'll get squared away soon and I'll be back to posting this weekend.

Hope all is well with everyone.  :)

Soccer Season Begins

Ugly but Good

I belong to several email recipe lists and though I love to look through the recipes that come through there aren't that many that I choose to make.  Earlier this week a recipe came through for Banana-Coconut Pound Cake that looked so good I had to try it.

The batter came together well -- and took about an hour and a half in the oven to cook.  As usual I sprayed the cake pan with Williams-Sonoma nonstick baking spray.  I have always had good luck with it and never had anything stick (even those fancy patterned cake pans).   I guess there's a first for everything, though, and man did it stick.

I scraped the stuck part out and just placed it on top, so while it looks horrible, the taste is good.