Sauteed Red Cabbage

It's Leap Day.  I think you owe it to yourself to try something new.  Something different.  Out of the ordinary, mundane normalcy that make up the other 365 days of the year.  How about a side of Sauteed Red Cabbage for dinner?  I know, you've never bought cabbage before.  Even the word makes you feel like you live on a prairie in Ireland.  Does Ireland have prairies?  Anyway, you won't be disappointed, especially if you like bold flavors and a sweet and savory combination.  Recipe here.  

Pancakes for dinner anyone?

It's National Pancake Day!

I would like to make the following recipes as soon as humanly possible...

puffed pancake

lemon ricotta pancakes

smashed raspberry chocolate chunk pancakes

*I'm usually a savory breakfast girl but I want these so bad right now I'm twitching.

Parmesan and Herb Cheese Straws

Dear Puff Pastry,

Is there anything you cannot do?

Whether it's a bite-sized appetizer or a gigantic meaty entree or a sweet dessert, you nail it every time.

When you are not in my freezer (like right now because I used you up making these delicious cheese straws), I feel like something is missing inside.  Inside of my freezer.  I worry that an impromptu party may break out at any time and I will be left without your go-to convenience and deliciousness.  

So off to the store I go, to get you.

And other things like Fresca, hummus, butter, and shallots, because I forgot to get those things yesterday.  

Recipe HERE.  

Orange Sugar Cookies with Orange Icing

Here's how conversations work in my house...

Me: I'm making Oscar cookies.

Carson: Why?  We're not having a party.

Me: I know. 

Carson: Please don't make them.

Me: I will.

And I do.  And I did.  But I had these edible glitter stars which were just perfectly festive and appropriate and begging to be used.  I don't need to justify myself to you, right?  You get me, don't you?  Also, when you get it in your head that a fresh orange sugar cookie with zest and juice and extract might be marvelous, you owe it to yourself to find out.  It was.  

Orange Sugar Cookies with Orange Icing

(Makes 18 cookies)

Printable recipe

Cookies:

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp orange extract

1/2 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups flour

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until combined.  Add egg yolks, orange extract and orange zest and mix until smooth.  Add baking powder, salt and flour, and mix until a dough forms.  It might look crumbly, but it will come together with your hands.  Form into a ball and cover in plastic wrap.  Let cool in fridge for 15 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350.  Take chilled dough and form balls (roughly 2 tsp in size), place onto parchment-lined baking sheet.  Gently press down with thumb to flatten cookies.  Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.  Let cool completely before applying icing.    

I used this recipe for the icing and only changed it up by adding 1/4 tsp of orange extract. 

Frosting...

Festive...

Aaaaaaaaaand...

...once again the Internet makes me feel like a failure.  So damn cute.

If I let myself, I could develop a truly unhealthy hoarding addiction to cookie cutters.  

By the way, I will be tweeting my way through the Oscars tomorrow, in case you care to join me: @siriouslydelish.

Baked Chicken Meatballs

Can't stop making meatballs.  Sorry about it.  

No, you know what, I'm not sorry, because at least I'm trying out a new recipe each time and in this occasion, a new kind of ground meat.  Chicken Meatballs, you see!

Variety.  The spice of life.    

Oscar-themed Menu

If you're like me, you enjoy any excuse to make a themed dish.  Well the Oscars are this Sunday, and if you're planning on attending a party or hosting one yourself, here are some fun ideas to keep your snack foods and drinks festive and appropriately THEMED.  Themes are fun.  

The Descendants - The Corpse Reviver

Get it?  What, insensitive of me?  The film makes light of her coma, so why can't I?  And that was no spoiler, you find out George's wife is a vegetable within the first 15 seconds of the movie.  So if anything is going to revive a corpse, or a snoring group of Oscar party attendees, it's gin, lillet and absinthe.

The Help - Fried Chicken Bites

I mean, you knew I was going to say fried chicken, right?  But bites!  Finger food!  Genius!  

Or you can serve little spoonfuls of Crisco.  

The Artist - Black and White Cookies

I was trying to think of something that makes absolutely no sound when you eat it, like an oyster slithering down your throat, but then if you're like me that's always accompanied by a loud "HOLY F THAT WAS GOOD!"  I know, I'm classy.  So I thought (Carson thought) of these - vintage, elegant, classic. 

Moneyball - Mini Pretzel Dogs  

What better way to celebrate a baseball film than by combining two ballpark staples: pretzels and dogs.  Please make these and tell me all about them in detail.  

So, anyone have any ideas for the rest of the films?  

Hugo, The Tree of Life, War- don't you dare suggest we cook horses.  

homemade chocolate ice cream...

...sans an ice cream maker???????

Yes.  I will make you.

Eating Well: Shrimp Stir Fry

I have made plenty of Shrimp Stir Fry recipes on this site (seen here, here and here - sorry for the teeny, tiny pictures), and despite the name, this one is really no healthier than the rest.  I adapted the recipe from Eating Well, that's all, hence the name.  Are we cool?  Super. 

But here's what I did differently...  

First, I always roast my shrimp in the oven.  Toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper, place on a baking sheet, and roast for exactly 5 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  Perfect every time.  

Second, I came up with my own selection of vegetables: mushrooms, snow peas, red pepper, carrots, yellow cauliflower and bok choy.  

Basically, I only used the recipe for the sauce.  And it was delicious!

*I know it's been awhile since I've come up with my own recipe, from start to finish, but I'm working on that.  An Ultimate Oatmeal Cookie (sans the raisins, those are for toddlers) if you must know.  So look forward to that.  Also in your future: Black, White and Gold Truffles for the Oscars.  

*And this is an aside, but my son is sitting next to me writing a "blog about zoo animals" on his toy computer, he tells me.    

Mardi Gras Dinner

Spring is sneaking up on us, you guys.  Did you know this Tuesday is Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday or a Tuesday in late February ALREADY?  In case you'd like to celebrate one or all of those things, here is a themed meal I made last year at this time...

Sausage and Broccoli Gumbo

King Cake

Odds and Ends

We had a lot going on this week and a few dinners out, which means my kitchen was mostly abandoned.  So here are a few random thoughts and photos to keep the blog rolling...

Carson took me out for a Valentine's dinner at Melisse.  I died.  We both agreed it was probably the best meal that has ever passed our lips.  The photo above was just one of the many courses, a soft poached egg with caviar and puff pastry.  Paired with some ridiculous champagne to wash it down.  

Beacoup bucks, but worth it on a special, SPECIAL occasion.   

That is a picture of my mom, from back in the day, adoringly staring at a slab of meat (turkey drumstick I think).  Possibly talking to it a little bit?  I am her daughter.  

Why does it have to look like that this month?  Why why WHY?

Bought this at Williams-Sonoma this week (thanks Mom for the gift card!).  It doubles as a punch bowl!  But right now is housing leftover these.  

Getting inspired for Jack's upcoming birthday party here.  

If anyone has ideas for me I'd gladly hear them!  

Have glorious weekends.

Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies

Put the word "homemade" before a brand name cookie, candy, or really anything and I will try it.  Because the majority of the time, it will be better.  Maybe not identical, but with the same recognizable flavors on a whole new level of wonderful.  Take this peanut butter cookie, that begins with toasting oats in melted butter and fresh vanilla, beans and pod... 

Um, hi, right then and there you can claim you are better than the packaged Nutter Butters.  

You can claim you are better than anyone in the entire world.

By the by, I bought this yesterday at Williams-Sonoma and it's already changed my life. 

The first batch of cookies turned out pretty big, so I left those as plain old glorious peanut butter cookies.

I thinned out the dough for the second batch, and slathered a fat old dollop of peanut butter cream in between the cookies.  Nutter Butters, let's run away together...

You can find the recipe I used HERE.

Happy Love Day

my breakfast...

and...

I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this day, and by that I mean there is chocolate involved.

Conversation Heart Cookies

There are so many different kinds of Valentine's Days.  

There's the day where you decorate a glittery mailbox, bring it to school, and hope that everyone included candy with their letter (and secretly hope that cute boy wrote more than just his name).  There's the day where you have your first boyfriend, and you spend money you don't have on weird things like a man ring and boxer shorts from Old Navy with lips all over them.  There's the day where you're single, and you go out for dinner with all your single girlfriends and make fun of people on awkward first dates and order more than one dessert per person.  And there's the day where you and the man you love decide the most romantical thing to do would be to buy each other a new pair of sweatpants.  

What kind of day are you going to have??  

No matter what, I hope it involves treats like these.  

(I used this recipe for the cookies and this one for the icing.)  

(Like my cookie cutter?  Both Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table were sold out, so I improvised.)

Mmm, nothing better than the buttery behind of a sugar cookie.

I like to use squirt bottles to frost cakes and cookies.

My icing was a little too thin and ran a little bit.  Oh well.  OH WELL.

Minestrone Soup

Do you say "minestrone" or "minestron-eee"?  More importantly, what do you think Giada says?  You know, because she's super Italian and all and can't say the word spaghetti without morphing into Sophia Loren.  Hmmm.  It doesn't really matter to me because I love it, with or without an Italian-American accent.  

Until last night, I had never attempted to make my own.  Naturally, I used a Giada recipe which was simple yet authentic.  Pureeing some of the Cannellini beans thickens the broth nicely, and adding the rind from Parmesan cheese gives the soup a wonderful depth of flavor.

I'll leave you with this: what on earth am I doing making hot winter soup on an 80-degree day.       

Have wonderful weekends!  I'm going to make these and buy some new sweatpants for Valentine's Day (for real).  

Turkey Meatballs with Whole Wheat Spaghetti

I just wrote like 12 different beginnings to this post and erased them all.  I'm having one of those days where you feel completely unoriginal.  You know, the days when you go on Pinterest and feel like a complete, utter failure as a domestic human being.  Love that site no I don't!  

Anyway, at least I got somewhat creative with my regular old spaghetti and meatball dinner last night...  

I used this recipe, but tweaked it here and there to make it healthier.  Whole wheat pasta, egg whites only, 2% milk instead of whole, and I made my own breadcrumbs by throwing a piece of wheat toast in the food processor.  To heighten the flavor of the meatballs I added a few pinches of nutmeg, oregano and garlic powder before rolling them into balls.  Red pepper flakes on top of the finished product.  

Healthy Schmealthy.  This tasted decadent and sinful and we went back for seconds.