For the Love of Food

Now, eggplant parmesan sandwiches are a lot more “trouble” to make than a ham and cheese sandwich, but they also taste that much better.

So, here’s to complicated sandwich making! Continue Reading »

Sometimes the simplest meals are the most flavorful. I’m always surprised when I can find something “new” at my local butcher that has been staring me in the face for the last 5 years. How could I have missed out on this perfectly thin-cut fennel salami for so long???

I layered it on a mixture of spicy tomato paste and cream cheese.

This is a remake of a classic. This time I tried baking it and it tastes even better than with the fresh ingredients, but doesn’t photograph as nicely. Continue Reading »

As I hinted at in the last post, my father-in-law visits cooking classes at his local Williams-Sonoma that they offer for free on Sundays to anyone who wishes to attend.

While were were visiting, my husband and I had the opportunity to visit a class with him in north Austin.

I found the set-up quite nice. They had a large angled mirror on the ceiling so that we could see what they were cooking. We were able to taste-test everything and it was quite tasty. I was, however, disappointed that they were using mainly ingredients that you could only buy in their stores – like their roasted version of Ro-Tel for $12!!!

My father-in-law mentioned that they have different cooks for the different classes, and that this lady is the one who plugs their products. Other cooks cook from scratch and give tips as to where the correct ingredients can be found at other locations around town.

So, what did we eat while we were there?? Continue Reading »

At the end of last month I participated in Foodbuzz’s 24,24,24 event. Among many other dishes, we grilled a whole suckling pig. Having some meat left over, I was sent home with some leftovers. So, I took the opportunity to make some bbq pulled pork that my husband had been begging me to make for a while.

I didn’t follow a recipe, I just put in the ingredients that I felt would be right. Luckily, I measured everything out and wrote it all down so that I could share with you.

I also made a less traditional addition to the pulled pork by adding a can of some Heinz Baked Beans in tomato sauce that we had bought to try. They added some nice substance to the meat and next time I will double the amount of beans in the recipe. And, next time I will also just use navy beans instead of baked beans in tomato sauce. I found that the baked beans sauce didn’t add (or take away) from the recipe. So, since baked beans are more expensive than plain old navy beans, I will go with the cheaper alternative.

I served these over homemade buttermilk biscuits and with steamed corn. However, because bbq pulled pork is gooey and messy we ate it with a fork a nice and cut the biscuit into it as well. It was absolutely delicious! Continue Reading »

I have finally made a spaghetti sauce that’s worth talking about.  It’s easy, tasty, and done in an hour. Continue Reading »

*Here is another blog post I found in my Drafts folder from August 2007!! It’s not only cheap, but delicious, filling, and very easy to make.  Because I do not own a grill, I broiled the skewers in my oven.*

Usually my husband and I usually reserve Greek dining for special occasions since Greek restaurants can be a bit pricey (in our town). Then I got to thinking, I can cook Greek too…and it’s amazing how simple and inexpensive it is!

Here I have made Suvlaki, Tzatziki, and Salad and I served it with some döner bread that I bought at my local Turkish store. The souvlaki recipe is based on Suvlaki Hoirino on About.com.

Continue Reading »

Back in March I was asked to host another brunch at the preschool where my son attends mother’s-day-out. I came up with a simple spread that I could make ahead of time because of time constraints.

In search of a really creamy egg salad sandwich, I set to the web to see what I could find. And, while I didn’t find 1 single recipe that appealed to me, I cut and pasted many different recipes together to come up with my own. In the end, I had a perfectly cream sandwich spread that was gobbled-up in record time.

My only personal wish was that I could have added some dill relish for a slightly tangy flavor, which is how I grew-up eating egg salad. But, not having any dill pickles or relish available at the time, I left it out. Continue Reading »

Happy 1st of May everyone!

I wanted to share these ice cream sandwiches that my husband and I made together over a week ago. They still need some tweaking before they are good enough to give you the recipe to…such as baking time and ice cream amounts, but I thought you’d enjoy some nice images today.

I haven’t blogged in what seems like forever. I have been cooking a lot more lately and taking pictures for you guys, so I hope to be sharing more recipes with you in the near future.

This is a favorite sandwich of mine: meat, vegetables, and guacamole spread. This topped with some fresh alfalfa sprouts is pure heaven…unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a hold of any or grow any in time.

Ingredients for 1 sandwich:
2 slices of Bread, toasted
2 Tablespoons Homemade Guacamole (recipe here)
Mustard
3 extra thin slices Turkey Salami
3 extra thin slices Smoked Ham
1 slice Emmentaler (Swiss) Cheese
shredded Lettuce
3-4 wedges Herb-marinated Artichoke Hearts
3-4 Garlic & Herb-marinated Kalamata Olives

Directions:
Spread the guacamole on one slice of bread and some mustard on the second slice of bread.. Top with the meats, cheese, and vegetables.

Enjoy.