Cooking
When it comes to food, I don't believe in secrets. Secret restaurants, secret menu items, or secret recipes are all bad ideas. Food should be enjoyed and keeping it secret just gets in the way of that. I used to work with a Southern gal who told me her aunt made the best biscuits but she wouldn't share the recipe. Someday that aunt will die and the recipe will too. That's a shame. Sharing that recipe would be creating a legacy for herself instead of just memories that one day will die too.
So I would like to share with you a little secret of sorts. It's a book I've been inspired by quite a bit lately but I've kept the relationship to myself, until now. When I got a copy of Sara Foster's Casual Cooking I had never heard of Sara Foster. It turns out she has two other cookbooks and been featured in a number of national magazines. She started her culinary career as a chef for Martha Stewart's catering company and now runs a take-out business in Durham, North Carolina. Her cooking is casual, and the book is filled with main dish salads, quesadillas, pasta and even egg dishes. The recipes are not fancy, but great and sometimes healthy twists on the classics like a creamed corn that has no cream in it.
My copy of her book is filled with little sticky notes and while I may not be following her recipes exactly, they have been inspiring and intriguing me. I have played around with a couple of recipes, starting with Ricotta Tartlets with Spring Greens and Sauteed Onions. I experimented with my own version of this and it came out great! Mixing ricotta with a little egg and baking it turns it into a lovely starter. I used a muffin pan instead of tart pans and I flavored mine with green onions. Her recipe for Grilled Shrimp and Goat Cheese Tostada with a drizzle of cilantro chimichurri sauce was the impetus for my post on unorthodox quesadilla combos.
Here are the recipes I've bookmarked but haven't tried yet. The first recipe is Rigatoni with Sausage, Cannellini Bean and Swiss Chard Ragu. I have been looking for something new to do with Swiss chard for a long time and the picture of this dish is mouthwatering. Another recipe I have yet to tackle is Warm Sourdough Bread Salad with Chicken and Pine Nuts. This salad is like an Italian bread salad but with peppery watercress, golden raisins and pine nuts. Genius! Next time I have leftover chicken I am sure I will make a version of it. You can follow the recipes to the letter or just be inspired by them, either way, this book is a keeper.
FOOD
- The Good Home Cookbook: Giveaway!
Some time ago I mentioned that the publishers of The Good Home Cookbook were looking for recipe testers. In addition to getting a first crack at the recipes, testers also got their names in the book and a copy of the book. Now the book is out and for...
- Cooking School Secrets: Book Review
A friend once told me the best way to sell a book is to put "secret" in the title. He's probably right, I have two cookbooks with secret in the titles and they are both terrific. One is Michael Bauer's Secrets of Success Cookbook: Signature Recipes...
- Cookbook Spotlight #3: Ships Of The Great Lakes
Marinated Focaccia Bread Sandwich I was so happy when contacted by breadchick for the latest Cookbook Spotlight; I am constantly amazed at what high-quality books I'm given the chance to try out. This time, it was Ships of the Great Lakes, filled...
- Chicken Salad Recipes
We will be talking about a salad again, only this time we won't be talking about a potato salad recipes but chicken salad recipes. There are more chicken salad recipes out there than you could possibly imagine. I have tried quite a few of them, but...
- The Banana Bread Story
I love banana bread and I keep it on top of my list as one of my favorite dishes. I just love the way it tastes, the smell and everything else about it, I just cannot resist to it, it's so good. Banana bread was and still is one of the most wanted...
Cooking
Sara Foster's Casual Cooking: Cookbook
When it comes to food, I don't believe in secrets. Secret restaurants, secret menu items, or secret recipes are all bad ideas. Food should be enjoyed and keeping it secret just gets in the way of that. I used to work with a Southern gal who told me her aunt made the best biscuits but she wouldn't share the recipe. Someday that aunt will die and the recipe will too. That's a shame. Sharing that recipe would be creating a legacy for herself instead of just memories that one day will die too.
So I would like to share with you a little secret of sorts. It's a book I've been inspired by quite a bit lately but I've kept the relationship to myself, until now. When I got a copy of Sara Foster's Casual Cooking I had never heard of Sara Foster. It turns out she has two other cookbooks and been featured in a number of national magazines. She started her culinary career as a chef for Martha Stewart's catering company and now runs a take-out business in Durham, North Carolina. Her cooking is casual, and the book is filled with main dish salads, quesadillas, pasta and even egg dishes. The recipes are not fancy, but great and sometimes healthy twists on the classics like a creamed corn that has no cream in it.
My copy of her book is filled with little sticky notes and while I may not be following her recipes exactly, they have been inspiring and intriguing me. I have played around with a couple of recipes, starting with Ricotta Tartlets with Spring Greens and Sauteed Onions. I experimented with my own version of this and it came out great! Mixing ricotta with a little egg and baking it turns it into a lovely starter. I used a muffin pan instead of tart pans and I flavored mine with green onions. Her recipe for Grilled Shrimp and Goat Cheese Tostada with a drizzle of cilantro chimichurri sauce was the impetus for my post on unorthodox quesadilla combos.
Here are the recipes I've bookmarked but haven't tried yet. The first recipe is Rigatoni with Sausage, Cannellini Bean and Swiss Chard Ragu. I have been looking for something new to do with Swiss chard for a long time and the picture of this dish is mouthwatering. Another recipe I have yet to tackle is Warm Sourdough Bread Salad with Chicken and Pine Nuts. This salad is like an Italian bread salad but with peppery watercress, golden raisins and pine nuts. Genius! Next time I have leftover chicken I am sure I will make a version of it. You can follow the recipes to the letter or just be inspired by them, either way, this book is a keeper.
FOOD
- The Good Home Cookbook: Giveaway!
Some time ago I mentioned that the publishers of The Good Home Cookbook were looking for recipe testers. In addition to getting a first crack at the recipes, testers also got their names in the book and a copy of the book. Now the book is out and for...
- Cooking School Secrets: Book Review
A friend once told me the best way to sell a book is to put "secret" in the title. He's probably right, I have two cookbooks with secret in the titles and they are both terrific. One is Michael Bauer's Secrets of Success Cookbook: Signature Recipes...
- Cookbook Spotlight #3: Ships Of The Great Lakes
Marinated Focaccia Bread Sandwich I was so happy when contacted by breadchick for the latest Cookbook Spotlight; I am constantly amazed at what high-quality books I'm given the chance to try out. This time, it was Ships of the Great Lakes, filled...
- Chicken Salad Recipes
We will be talking about a salad again, only this time we won't be talking about a potato salad recipes but chicken salad recipes. There are more chicken salad recipes out there than you could possibly imagine. I have tried quite a few of them, but...
- The Banana Bread Story
I love banana bread and I keep it on top of my list as one of my favorite dishes. I just love the way it tastes, the smell and everything else about it, I just cannot resist to it, it's so good. Banana bread was and still is one of the most wanted...