Strawberry Shortcakes

If someone were to ask me what my absolute favorite dessert is I would probably reply Strawberry Shortcake. There is something classic about the combination of slightly sweet cake, strawberries and sweetened whipped cream - or if you prefer, ice cream. If it is on the menu, you can bet I'll order it. I always anxiously await strawberry season, not only for the delicious berries; but it also brings promises of Summer.

Growing up, we would sometimes use the dreaded store bought sponge cakes - you know the kind. But most times, my father preferred a simple pound cake with a scoop of Breyer's vanilla ice cream and macerated strawberries. I found this recipe in Everyday Food's May 2005 edition and have since preferred this when the need arises. I am not plagued tempted with a bunch of leftover pound cake once the berries run out. These shortcakes are biscuit-like, delicate, crumbly and just slightly sweet. Top with sweetened whipped cream and macerated berries. Perfection.

Recipe may be found here.

Greek Pasta Salad

Now that Spring is well underway(finally!) we tend to go to the park late afternoon and do not get home until dinner time. Not to mention, it stays daylight outside until nearly 10 at night. So, our schedules are somewhat thrown off and of course, my kids do not want to go to bed because "it's still light outside, mommy!" There have been nights we eat dinner at 8 p.m.

There are also nights where I throw together something incredibly quick and fresh; like this salad. If your chicken is already cooked it takes just minutes. It is a perfect way to use up any leftover cooked chicken you may have lingering in the fridge. Quick cooking shrimp would also work as well. Either way, whatever your poison; it is easy and delicious. I served it with a side of simple roasted asparagus, but really, it is satisfying all on it's own.

Recipe may be found here.

Cherry Clafouti

If I could pick any career to train for, with no strings attached(money, daycare, etc.) it would probably be a pastry chef. I really love the creativity in this profession. However, culinary school is the price of a small mortgage and I have babies to raise, for a few more years at least. Not that I am complaining - please don't get me wrong. I love my life right now, but a girl can dream, right? I have freedom in my kitchen to do whatever I please. So I am kind of like a pastry chef - only, with no demands on me, so it's better, right?



All that said, Gale Gand is my absolute favorite pastry chef. She is an absolute rock star. I love her whimsical playfulness and creativity. I have never eaten a Tru, but would love to one day. I hope to make a trip to Illinois just to do so.

For now, I do have the privilege of owning two of her cookbooks, which oddly, I have not blogged enough? I should use these more often. One of my top favorite baking books is Short + Sweet . Time and time again I have turned to this book when I needed an impressive and reliable dessert last minute. Pressed for time, but having the boss over? This is your book!

This clafouti was so easy to put together and tasted great! I have never made a clafouti before, but if this is any indication - I will be making this again. I really love fruity desserts. This batter reminds me of a crepe batter. You simply stir the ingredients together and let them sit for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle the top with frozen cherries and bake! It really could not get any easier. I started this at 7 in the evening and was eating it by 9:30 PM. I can not wait to play around with different fruit options. Speaking of running short on time, I will have to post the recipe later; I need to get dinner started.

Updated to add recipe here.

Chicken Biryani

Guam was a pretty culturally diverse place. Whatever you craved, typically, you could find a restaurant for - except Mexican. But really, there were no complaints there because we had so much to choose from. Moving to Guam was great because it forced us to get out of our comfort zone in so many ways and also introduced us to a plethora of foods. Many of which, are now favorites in our home. There was a little ethnic/Middle Eastern sort of restaurant located downtown that sadly, closed before we left there. This is not uncommon really though, as there was so many restaurants you really have to stand out in order to survive. I really thought this place had what it took, but, often, I am wrong(don't tell the Hub).

Anyway, it was there that I first had Chicken Biryani. I instantly fell in love with the dish. I am not sure why or what it was? Maybe the complexity of flavors. This is a chicken and rice dish - but not as we know it in America[Campbell's soup, anyone!?]. It has a mixture of spices - typically cinnamon, ginger, curry, as well as whatever else the particular cook deems and makes for a very warm, fragrant dish. Also thrown in are some raisins, to add a little sweetness, and cashews for crunch.



So, after the restaurant closed down, I unsuccessfully scoured the internet for a recipe that sounded right. Imagine my surprise, when many months and one move over the ocean later, I bumped into the following recipe and it sounded just about perfect.

This made for a really nice, not too complicated weeknight dinner. On the side, I served Orangette's Spiced Eggplant with Yogurt and Peas. Perfect!

Recipes may be found here and here.

Brownie Sundaes

Sometimes, okay, let's be honest, most of the time a desire for something hits me and I can not get it off my mind until I have it. Brownies have plagued me for the past few weeks and I knew I would not be happy until I had some. Not just brownies, but brownies topped with ice cream, and maybe a little chocolate on top for good measure. So I finally broke down and went to the store for walnuts, which was the only ingredient coming between me and my craving.

Everyone has different ideas of what the perfect brownie contains. I like them fudgey, but slightly cakey with walnuts. The Hub, who I have mentioned in previous posts, had tendencies to be picky. Most of my marriage proclaiming he does not like nuts in brownies. He would not have it - not in his home. Well, just recently, he finally revealed to me, maybe he does like nuts in his brownies? But only walnuts, because apparently, he loves walnuts and really respects them as a nut. News to me. Maybe he could have shared this earlier. For years, I have been making nut-free brownies. Oh well, we can only move forward.

This recipe has been a tried and true that never seems to fail. I have tried countless recipes, but this one seems to be my favorite. Maybe because I can keep all ingredients in my pantry at all times for when such a craving hits. Or, maybe because they seem to have the right balance of cake and fudgeyness(I know, not a real word). This recipe comes from a Hershey's cook booklet that I have acquired along the way somehow and do not plan to give up.

Recipe can be found here.

Lemon Panna Cotta

I can not remember the first place or time I had Panna Cotta. Maybe it was somewhere on Guam? Ah, yes... now I remember. It was Sam Choy's - a Hawaiian restaurant chain. Either way, Panna Cotta is definitely on my top 10 list of favorite desserts. How can you hate a silky smooth mixture that goes down perfectly with a heavier meal? It leaves you satisfied, but not over stuffed. I have always favored custards, puddings, and the like over cakes and heavier desserts.

Imagine to my delight, when I found not only is it good - it is also SO easy to make!? Really, there are no more steps than making Jello; maybe just a bit more measuring. It is perfect for a last minute dessert if you have guests coming over and do not know what to make. All you need to do is simply unmold and throw a few berries on top and voila! you have an easy impressive dessert.

I was rediscovering past issues of Cooking Light when making meal plans and came across a feature on citrus fruits. I do not know why I did not see this before; but, this time this recipe jumped out at me. It took no more than a few minutes to assemble and sat in the fridge while we ate. Afterwards, dessert was ready!

You can really taste the lemon in this, it has a pretty near perfect balance of sweet and tart. I am not entirely sure why the vanilla bean had to be added because I could not detect it. I may just substitute extract next time as to not waste precious beans. Typically, when I serve this to my family I do not fuss with the unmolding, etc. After all, it does not take much to please toddlers.

Recipe may be found here.

Lime and Honey Glazed Salmon with Warm Black Bean and Corn Salad

Salmon is probably one of my favorite types of fish. While it is not as fresh as Guam, I can get an okay quality for an arm and a leg - which is better than none. As I have mentioned, we don't like meat much at all. Plus, fish is so healthy and my kids love it - so who am I to cut it out of our diet?

This recipe comes from Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats. This is probably one of my favorite cookbooks of hers. Not all of the recipes have been winners and I often wonder if all were tested. However, there a many good tried and true recipes that make it worthwhile and indispensable in my home.

This recipe was kind of in between for me. It was great and all the flavors combined well. However, the glaze was not so much a glaze as a recipe. I had a rather large lime, so maybe I should have upped the honey a bit to thicken it. Something told me I should have while making it - but, I did not listen to myself. This meal comes together very quickly and is perfect for a weeknight. Fish is very quick cooking and there is little chopping required. You start the salad in one skillet and while that is working, simply sear the salmon until done. It also makes for easy clean up with just to pans to clean. It is actually a very pretty, colorful meal, plates nicely, and would be good for company. I will probably tweak the "glaze" a bit; but, overall, this recipe is a keeper.

Recipe can be found here.

Crab and Avocado "sandwiches" with Mango Coulis

Don't you love when you see a recipe and are filled with enough confidence thinking "I can do that" and then it flops. This was not fully the case with this recipe, only partly so. Remember this is not a five star restaurant kitchen with [nearly]unlimited ingredients and funds. I only have one chance to make it right - if not, you eat as is or grab a bowl of cereal.

I have never made any of Cat Cora's recipes. I am familiar with her, mainly from Iron Chef America, and have caught old reruns of some of her older shows. Obviously, I am not about to attempt anything from Iron Chef. So when I found a copy of Cat Cora's Kitchen for $3, I was pretty excited.

Upon skimming through the book, the first thing that caught my eye were the Crab and Avocado Sandwiches, the picture was gorgeous. I knew I'd be making these very soon since our family loves crab cakes.

Everything was great, except I had trouble getting the crab cakes to stay together. I had 3 or 4 successes, then they turned into crab...hash? They tasted awesome though and I plan to try again. Typically, when I have made crab cakes in the past they have some sort of binder like egg, is this correct? Any suggestions to improve them next time? Either way, by the time I was finished, I really did not want to mess with slicing them in half to make a "sandwich".

Loaded with awesome fruits and veggies such as mango and avocado I figure this is a perfect entry for Cate's ARF/5-a-day event. I always plan to participate in this event, but seem to forget. I blame it on weekend brain. Go visit her site for other great recipes and occasional funny stories.

Recipe can be found here.

Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake

Let me preface this by stating I am NOT a cake decorator. I would love to learn, but it has not been in the cards for me so far. So, I do the best I can. Sadly, I am so far behind that I made this a few weeks ago the day before St. Patrick's Day. Not even realizing I was doing so - it fit perfectly. Really, I was just wanting something rich and a way to use up some Guinness since I do not enjoy drinking it.


I have never had a Guinness cake before, but had seen various versions in cookbooks and while surfing the net. It sounded interesting, but I could never justify the expense. The Hub, however, decided it would be worth it. This makes for a very rich cake. It has slight coffee and almost, licorice-y undertones. While it was good, I do not see myself making this again. Please do not get me wrong, it was not a bad recipe, very good in fact. It just did not overly impress me; I believe it is more of a novelty. I also am not the hugest fan of chocolaty desserts. The Hub, however, is another story. He loved it.

Recipe can be found here.

I'm back!

Well, we're finally out of our "funk" that lingered for so long. Our flu progressed into colds...it seems it never ends. It took me forever to get my appetite back and motivation to do anything more than lay around in my pajamas. The Hub has been on leave this week, so we're taking it easy. It has been nice. Spring is possibly pushing it's way through. We will have days of 40 degree weather - but then randomly, it will snow. What's with that?

I am starting to get the itch to pull out my grill and eat outdoors more. We are sick of heavy, comfort foods and ready for summer. Change is good. I'm sure you've also noticed I'm sporting a different look. Photoshop finally came in the mail! Go easy on me - I am still learning. It's pretty intimidating, but I am having fun. I have also decided to create a separate blog specifically for recipes only to reduce clutter on here; as well as allowing easier access if you want to find only a recipe. This is all, of course, a work in progress. So, please, bear with me!

Pictured above is a very simple, tasty salad that can be thrown together in minutes. I don't know why I overlooked this before. This is from Rachael Ray's book 30-Minute Get Real Meals. I believe this was the first book of her's I purchased. Sadly, I have not used it that much. This really stuck out to me as a fun twist on salad; and it sure was! Packed with tons of veggies, you can feel really good about eating this.

Recipe can be found here.