October 12, 2017, posted by Gina – This Walnut and Roquefort Salad combines crisp romaine lettuce with creamy avocado, crunchy, rich walnuts and roquefort cheese (a sheep’s milk blue cheese). Top it with a fresh vinaigrette and you have a salad with the perfect combination of ingredients. This recipe is from the Come On In cookbook from the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi.
October 11, 2017, posted by Gina – We love pork tenderloin any time of year but this stuffed version seems to be the perfect offering for a Fall menu. It combines fresh spinach with sweet apricots for a very moist filling for the meat. Finish it off with a wine and beef stock sauce and you are sure to make your family or guests very happy. This recipe is from the Come On In cookbook from the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi.
We are providing a bit of a tutorial as you will need to butterfly the tenderloin. We promise it is not hard and all you need is a sharp knife. Truly, good knives are the key to ease in the kitchen.
October 10, 2017, posted by Gina – We are sharing two favorite crowd pleasing appetizers that are perfect for Fall. Brie with Cranberry Marmalade is a delicious combination of sweet and savory. The sweet and tart cranberry marmalade provides a delicious contrast to the melty, nutty, creamy brie. The Apple and Harvarti Quesadilla combines a simple quesadilla with tart apples and melted Havarti cheese. The bell peppers and green onion add crunchiness while the cayenne pepper, cider vinegar and brown sugar mixture perfectly compliments the apples and cheese. Both recipes are from Come On In from the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi.
September 27, 2017, posted by Gina – There are as many different recipes for Eggplant Parmesan as there are stars in the sky, well, maybe not that many but there are a lot. First, Eggplant Parmesan is said to have originated in Southern Italy. As you can imagine a dish this delicious was tried in many kitchens and so it spread through Italy with various versions. And then there is American Eggplant Parmesan. It turns out that the main difference between American and Italian is that Americans fry the eggplant. Figures! Here, I am sharing an American version with a twist but I think you will really enjoy it. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
Enjoy!
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August 9, 2017, posted by Gina -At long last I have the Peach Hand Pie recipe to share! I think I mentioned that I am not that fond of fruit desserts but these little pies are delicious. This recipe came from a chef and I feel fortunate that it was shared with me. You could use just about any fruit in this recipe but peaches are in season right now so it seems we should enjoy their bounty while we can. Let’s get started.
PEACH FILLING
3 ripe peaches, sliced very thin
1 cup water
¾ cup sugar
½ cup orange juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Combine peaches and all remaining ingredients in saucepan and cook on low for 1 hour. Cool. Place in refrigerator until ready to prepare pies.
PIE DOUGH
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. sugar
9 tbsp. frozen unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup vodka
¼ cup cold water
Combine flour, salt and sugar in food processor and pulse 10 times. Add frozen butter and process until mixture resembles cornmeal. Combine water and vodka. With food processor on, let liquid stream into dough mixture until combined. Place food processor bowl in freezer for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, divide dough into 12 equal portions. Shape each dough portion into a ball. Roll each portion to a 5-inch circle. Cut dough with a 3-inch biscuit cutter.
To assemble, top one of the 3-inch circles with the peach filling then top with another 3-inch circle of dough. Press edges together with a fork to seal. Place 3 – 4 slits in each pie.
EGG WASH
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk
Combine egg and milk and brush over tops of pies.
SUGAR TOPPING
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over each pie.
Bake at 425 degrees for 18 minutes or until lightly browned (this was at 12 minutes in my oven).
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July 26, 2017, posted by Gina – For this week’s What to Cook Wednesday I’m sharing a very easy snack recipe for Spicy Ranch Pretzels. The recipe calls for Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn oil but I used the store brand. I also threw in a bit more dill and red pepper flakes. So, feel free to adjust this one according to your taste and enjoy!
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July 19, 2017, posted by Gina – I don’t know about where you are, but where I am it is HOT! When it is this hot, I make meals on the lighter side. Also, my basil is growing like crazy so I’m trying to think of ways to use it. Enter the Wedge Salad with Basil Green Goddess Dressing. The dressing recipe is from none other than Ina Garten. What would I do without her? I love her recipes because they are easy to follow and always fabulous.
While the dressing is Ina’s, I decided to take a slight departure from the bibb lettuce she suggests using. I love iceberg lettuce and the wedge it makes. On top of the iceberg I put tomatoes, green onions and crumbled bacon. So simple but oh so good.
The first time I made this for my family my younger son absolutely loved it and asked why I had never made it and when would I make it again. My older son did not like it because in his mind lettuce in a salad should always be chopped. I would love to hear about reactions from your family if you serve this to them. Let us know what they think of this. In the meantime, enjoy!
July 12, 2017, Posted by Gina – It’s another Wednesday and that means we are sharing one of our favorite recipes. Looking for a delicious dish that everyone in your family will love? Then try this parmesan chicken. The chicken is moist and the flavor is outstanding. Just about any vegetable goes well along side this winning meal. This recipe calls for thinly sliced chicken breast. You can use regular sliced chicken breasts but you will need to pound them until very thin. So, if you can find the thinly sliced ones, it saves you a bit of time and effort. We like to serve this alongside fresh vegetables and salad. We hope this becomes a recipe your family enjoys as much as ours does.
July 5, 2017, posted by Gina – It’s BBQ season and with that all types of baked bean recipes come to mind. Over the years my taste buds have changed a bit. While I used to love baked beans with lots of mustard and ketchup and a little brown sugar baked in, I now have a new favorite and it’s a savory cannellini bean recipe.
My family loves these and they truly are a perfect, healthy addition to any meal. The starch in the beans combined with the other ingredients makes for a bit of a saucy, brothy texture adding to the great taste.
I served these with BBQ chicken and my family and I decided that that the savory taste was a great compliment to the sweet BBQ. Give these a try! They are easy, healthy and delicious.
June 28, 2017, posted by Gina – Over the years I have tried several recipes for French Potato Salad. I created this one using certain ingredients from a few other versions. I absolutely love it because the flavors are so wonderful and it does not contain mayonnaise. Don’t get me wrong, I love mayonnaise but this recipe takes away some calorie worries as well as concerns about serving it outdoors. Since the 4th of July is right around the corner, I thought this recipe would be timely. You should give this a try and if you do, make sure to tell us how you like it.
Start with a 3-pound bag of red new potatoes and a vegetable scrubber. Clean the potatoes.
Place the potatoes in a pan of water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 25 minutes or until tender. Don’t boil them too long or the potatoes will turn to mush. Turn them into a colander and place on a cutting board.
Once cooked, cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces. Return the potatoes to the pan and toss with the cooking wine and beef broth. Let them sit for a few minutes allowing the potatoes to soak the wine and broth in and to cool off.
Make the dressing by whisking the remainder of the ingredients together.
Pour the dressing over the potatoes and toss.
Place the potatoes in a serving dish and top with fresh basil or whatever fresh herbs you have on hand. Enjoy!
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