All Posts By:

Sherry

Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart

Chocolate and peanut butter, what more to say.

So you have match ups like Tom & Jerry (if you are old enough), Batman and Robin, Macaroni & Cheese, Micky and Minny, Romeo and Juliet, Bacon & Eggs; need I go any further before adding peanut butter and chocolate.

I’ve never been a peanut butter and jelly person (don’t think I have ever eaten it); but I can’t imagine peanut butter in a sentence without adding chocolate along with the description of a yummy, sweet, chocolatey, peanut buttery dessert.

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Salads

Trofie Pasta Salad with Bacon and Avocado

Is macaroni pasta or not?

Who doesn’t love a good pasta/macaroni salad and this one made an appearance at our annual fall craft circle potluck.

I love potlucks because it gives me a chance to try out some different recipes knowing that there will be a lot of ladies there and I won’t be bringing much home, if anything?

This recipe I saw over at Damn Delicious website. I love her recipes and they are always so beautiful. I’ve tried quite a few of them and posted some on this site. Sometimes I will mess with a recipe and sometimes I just leave it alone and maybe tweak it a little next time I make it.

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Entree/ Side dish

Sweet Corn Risotto with Goat Cheese

Michigan corn!

On a recent, very long, road trip (3,500 miles) to see our son and family in Chicago I bought corn.

So the trip started from Texas and stopping in Missouri for a few days and Chicago for a few days we made our way north around the lake. Did you know that it is 1,000 miles around Lake Michigan?

We had to deal with 4 hours of rain leaving Texas, then another 4 hours the day we left Missouri and guess what, another 4 hours of rain driving up the Wisconsin side of the lake before getting to our final destination (almost) on Mackinac Island where we stayed a couple of days, enjoyed biking around the island and tea at the Grand Hotel. Leaving there we headed towards Traverse City visiting a lot of little lake towns along the way; and no rain!

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Entree/ Poultry

Forbidden Rice Bowl

Not forbidden anymore!

A few weeks ago I was in Austin staying with my daughter and we had lunch (and shopped) one day during her lunch break. There’s nothing more fun than lunching with a daughter (or son) and shopping.

We had lunch at the Flower Child Restaurant which is in the Domaine in Austin. They have quite a few locations in AZ, CA, GA, MD, NV, TX, and CO; so if there is one in your area you have to try this dish; you will love it.

FC makes everything from scratch and they cover most diets like paleo, vegetarian, vegan and can even do sugar-free. The Forbidden Rice bowl is one of the favorites on their menu and was a favorite of mine from the first bite. So after picking through the bowl and looking at the menu description I decided to make my own version. How hard could that be; all I had to do was come up with the red chili hoisin sauce which I managed pretty easy.

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Entree/ Morning Foods/ Pork

Jalapeño Gravy with Chicken Fried Pork Tenderloin

Jalalpeno Gravy, love at first bite.

On the way to Big Bend National Park back in the Spring we stopped at the Holland Hotel in Alpine, Tx one night and I had chicken fried wild boar with a jalapeño gravy. After arriving in Big Bend we had chicken fried something again. More chicken fried anything than I had eaten in a year. The jalapeño gravy was the best part of the dish and was worth every bite because I knew I’d be making it once we returned home.

So when I called this post Jalapeño Gravy WITH Chicken Fried Pork Tenderloin that is because I love the gravy and you can literally put it on anything chicken fried. I made this when the kids were visiting one weekend and I served it for brunch; but it could easily be a dinner entree with or without the biscuit supporting the pork tenderloin which is pounded out flat, egged, floured and fried and smothered with this wonderful gravy.

The Century restaurant at the hotel had a beautiful little courtyard where we dined. And as usual, I quizzed the waiter about the jalapeño gravy. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the gravy was milk gravy with some jalapeños and a little chili powder to turn it a pinkish color. Anyone who is a fan of milk gravy and know how to make it could figure the recipe out in a minute.

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Entree/ Fish/Seafood

Redfish with Crab Maque Choux

Love at first bite! Sadness at last!

What I remember about this dish the first time I tasted it; well it was love at first bite. My son, Paul, made it one weekend when they were visiting The Woodlands. Anything he cooks is always delicious. But this particular dish brought sadness too.

The sadness from eating this dish came when there was one bite left on my plate and I knew that was going to be the last. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way about anything I’ve eaten before but the redfish along with the corn maque choux and topped with lump crab meat was just so good and it’s always such a memorable experience watching/helping/being a sous chef to him.

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Entree/ Poultry

Chicken Fried Rice with Vegetables

An easy dish to make with your leftovers.

Recently when our son Paul and his family were visiting we went to our favorite sushi restaurant and had dinner at the hibachi tables. Milo and Donovan (2 of our 6 grandsons) had never had rice thrown at their faces, watched a volcano of onion rings shoot flames out the top or see the chef twirl knives around.

It was a fun night and had me wanting to put fried rice on my menu for the week.

I guess my introduction into Chinese food would be eating chicken chow mein at my husbands house way back in our high school days. My mother never made anything Asian I can think of while we were growing up but she did love my mother-in-law’s chow mein. My sister and I both use to make a fried rice with crumbled bacon in it and it was/is quite good. This version has some vegetables and chicken and a few mushrooms thrown into the mix.

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Cake/ Dessert

Lemon Coconut Cake

Lemon and coconut, two of my favorite flavors.

It’s been a while since I baked something to take to my craft circle. I got busy doing other things (like walking) and baking took a back seat.

So, what’s up with the walking? I’ve never been a walker. I don’t like walking around the block — too many critters that may jump out at me, I may trip on a rock and break my foot (again) or some kid may speed around the corner on his bike and knock me on my butt and that would be embarrassing. I use to say I’d rather ride my bike ten miles than walk one mile.

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Salads

Basil Pistachio Salad Dressing

Looking for a new salad dressing?

How is your summer going? Ours is going by pretty fast. Daughter/family home for visit for Memorial day weekend, then the next weekend son from Austin came with family/friends, then next weekend daughter back for class reunion, then next weekend picked up two of the grandsons from Austin and this weekend they will swing back through The Woodlands on their way back from beach trip. They have been my guinea pigs for the past few weeks with a few new recipes I’ve been wanting to try out on someone.

Summer is the perfect season for any kind of fresh, crisp, green or pasta salad and who isn’t looking for something healthy and light for lunch/dinner. Add some roasted or grilled chicken or seafood to this salad and you have a very light, not filling dinner.

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Salads

Couscous Salad with Strawberry, Avocado and Lime Vinaigrette

Israeli couscous!

So, we’re going to Israel in October and I’m wondering how much couscous I will be eating; I’m sure it will be the Israeli variety, or I hope so anyway. I know I will be eating a lot of hummus; good thing I love the stuff. Especially love my version with white beans. Never had falafel and I guess that will be on the menu too. The only thing I have been warned not to try is “Jesus fish” and I’m kind of picky about the kinds of fish I like so I will NOT try that; I’ll let HUB try it and he can tell me how bad it is.

Back to the subject of this post — couscous. I’m not sure when couscous came on my food radar but maybe somewhere in the last 8 years or so.  I always thought it was a grain I guess because the small variety looks like it could be a grain. But couscous isn’t a grain at all it is a pasta. I’m not fond of the small variety of couscous; too many little pieces and it just doesn’t show up that well in a salad and mine tends to mush together. 

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Appetizers/ ColdApp

Redfish Spread with Toasted Crostini

A great fish spread you thought you would never like!

On a trip to New Orleans we had lunch one day at Cafe Amelia. A little restaurant in the historic 150 year old Princess of Monaco Courtyard in the French Quarter. This little cafe is a favorite of locals and tourist and has a beautiful little courtyard studded with little tables; but it was too hot when we were there so we chose to eat inside.

I knew after reading about this cafe I wanted to eat there. We split a catfish poboy and ordered this Redfish dip (I think they called it that). Normally I stay clear of fish dips. Shrimp and crab dips I like but the thought of fish in a dip/spread makes me remember my dad “canning” fish to use to make fish cake. I can’t say I ever tried those fish cakes because I didn’t like the idea of that “canned” fish being used in a wanna be salmon/crab cake recipe.

So, below is a picture of the appetizer we had at Cafe Amelia. I have to say I really like mine better; looks a little more appetizing I think. I asked the waitress what was in it and she proceeded to give me a list of ingredients and then she went and asked the chef which told her he could not give the recipe. I think she gave me everything I needed to recreate the dish; next time I may add a few drops of Tabasco sauce.

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Egg Dishes/ Morning Foods

Fancy Egg Scramble Casserole

No this isn’t just another strata it has delicious hidden ingredients.

A strata is usually loaded with a lot of bread to soak up the eggy mixture. This recipe is held together with a yummy, chees sauce with only bread crumbs added to the top for some extra crunch.

I’ve had this recipe since early 70’s; and it was a Welcome Wagon favorite served at one of the brunches we had during the year. This casserole recipe and my Frozen Fruit Salad have remained two of my favorites for over 40 years now. Boy, does that ever date me.

So, if you are looking for a different breakfast casserole when you have guests for the weekend, give this a try. I’ve always said that breakfast is my least favorite meal. But, when I look back at some of the egg dishes I’ve posted here, there are quite a few that I could eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. If you have a few minutes to spare look under “morning foods” and some of my a.m. favorites.

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