It's a Wrap!

"Another turkey sandwich" they all yell from the other room in exaggerated disgust.  With that sort of response I tried to mix it up a bit.  So instead of our regular turkey on wheat with cheese I have come up with our new standard.  If you too are tired of your everyday sandwiches you can give this new favorites a try.

The New Turkey wrap.
tortilla wrap
sliced turkey
provolone cheese slice (or your favorite cheese)
avocado slices
cranberries
lettuce or spinach
Layer all ingredients on the wrap, roll and enjoy!
Depending on the state of your avocado you can use that instead of any mayo.

Or

Quick Turkey Quesadilla
2 tortilla wrap
cheese
turkey

Layer ingredients in heated pan, fry until tortillas brown slightly, cut like a pizza enjoy!
You can dress this up any way you like, but we like ours with a dollop of sour cream and slices of avocados.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Homemade of course.  This meal, with the exception of the spaghetti, was homemade.   The bread was a great foccacia bread from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day.  I used a little rosemary and sea salt rather than his exact recipe, and it turned out great.  The meatball recipe included peppers from the garden, and of course, bacon!  Who can eat meatballs without a fantastic tomato sauce.  Even though I am not one to eat tomato sauce on a regular basis, I did enjoy this one.  I took 8 tomatoes from the garden, peeled and de-seeded them, and cooked them on the stove for at least 40 minutes, then added a peeper, and some basil still warm from the Florida sun, and cooked it some more.  I added some garlic, and a little oregano, and yes, cooked it some more.  When I was sure that everything was done, and the liquid had cooked down I took it off the stove to cool.  Once it was cool, I pureed the mixture.  Then I just had to wait until dinner time!  It was worth the wait, everything was so wonderful!  I love having the great veggies from the garden to work into our dinners they are delicious!!!!

Are you a Pastry Chef?

I am not a pastry chef, but I do love fresh made cheese danish. I wanted to try and make a few of these for a fun breakfast treat. I searched the Internet and found and easy to do recipe for great tasting cheese danish. Much to my surprise, with the help of some frozen pastry dough, they were really simple to make. The name says it all Easy Cheese Danish recipe.



I picked up the needed supplies at the store on Friday so that we could have just out of the oven delights on Saturday.
I followed the recipe as written on the food network, but I did put the cheese filling in the frig for about 20 minutes since I forgot to thaw the pastry dough. Once the dough was warm enough to unfold, I continued with the recipe as written. I cut the dough into quarters and filled like this.




By this time I was getting too hungry. I skipped the step that says chill for 20 minutes once the pastry is filled. I just could not wait any longer. So into the oven went the pan, and 20 minutes later I had warm cheese danish. I added a little icing just like my favorite bakery. It is just a quarter cup of confectioners' sugar and a teaspoon of water, but it is so so good.
For a twist you can add a little jam just before baking, and that would be really great too! Next time I will give that a try.

Dinner Reviews

Last night we tried a new side dish. I found it in a cookbook no less! I rarely crack the covers on the cookbooks now that I can find any recipe at my fingertips on the computer. This was a good one though. The book was Healthy Cooking for Two and it shows you how to make smaller portions just for the two of you. So you don't end up wasting a ton of food. The recipe we tried was a Sweet Potato Bake. I only had to use one sweet potato, and you bake it up in a small souffle dish, so that the portion size is much more manageable.
We usually split a steak, since we try to only eat a fist size portion of protein and increase our veggies a little.
The meal consisted of the sweet potato bake, corn and the half portion of delicious steak!

Replacing Kitchen Essentials

Having unpacked about 19 kitchen boxes in our move I realized that I have enough dinnerware to have dinner for 50 or so people. The plates that I have range from old fiestaware to new plates from Crate and Barrel. I thought I had everything one would need for the kitchen, but it turns out that sometimes those things need replacing. One of the items that sorely needs to go is the blender. We were told in no uncertain terms that our blender is junk. After trying to prepare several appetizers in it for a party for 50 people, we realized it was true! The blender is on the list of things to buy.
The food processor is another item that is essential for the kitchen, and we seem to be without! They make the prep work a breeze when preparing a gourmet meal. Perhaps that will go on to the buying list as well. I love being able to shop and compare online. You get such a better selection and all of your questions can be answered quickly. Shopping smarter!

One item that I would never get rid of is my kitchen aide stand mixer which is still in perfect health thankfully. I use it for pretty much everything. If it ever dies it will be on the replace list too!

The "to buy" list is short, but today we are going to look at a bookcase at the antique shop to house all my favorite cookbooks. I have so many, and I would love for them to be close by so that I can just grab it and get those pots and pans flying!
Cooking is so fun, when you have the right tools and a wonderful recipe! Enjoy your kitchen!

Delicious Dessert

Last night we decided to make a great dessert from our Bon Appetit magazine. Each month I get the magazine delivered, and each month we make a few recipes from it. I figure, I have the subscription, I might as well try as many new recipes as possible. We made the blueberry shortcakes with lemon thyme biscuits. They were so good, and perfect for warm weather, since you can serve them with ice cream.
The preparation was super easy, and quick too. The blueberry mix could have been made a few days before, but since we were not pressed for time we made it all at once. I also cut the recipe in half since it was just two of us eating, and it worked out fine.
We sat on the front porch, and enjoyed our delicious dessert.

Salsa Supply

I just found a great giveaway over on How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, it is a case of Zukay Probiotic Salsa and Relish. You have to check it out. The pictures make it look so delicious, it is making me hungry! There is a great review of the products, and the chance to win a case of different salsas and relishes.
This salsa is different than your average processed supermarket brand. This is actually good for you and 100% natural.
I hope that I am the winner, if not I might have to buy a few bottles to try it for myself. To enter the contest is easy, just go to How to Cook Like Your Grandmother to get the details!

What's In Your Bag

I went to the grocery store today with a menu for the week in mind. With my list in hand I gathered all the ingredients for a weeks worth of dinners for two.
The Challenge use only TWO bags.

The Menu
Monday: Potato wrapped halibut with spinach. Straight from this months issue of Bon Appetite
Tuesday: Roasted Potato soup (husbands favorite)
Wednesday: Roasted Turkey Breast with potatoes and salad
Thursday: Turkey tetrazzini (onion and sour cream with peas) served over pasta.
Friday: Turkey Sandwiches

The List:
broccoli
milk
peas
turkey
pasta
halibut
sour cream
potatoes
extras: milk, fruit, cereal
on hand: spinach, onion, bread



The grocery bagger today was great. He took the bags and stuffed everything in without squeezing or smashing anything.
I had two bags and everything fit except for the potatoes, but who would need a bag for that, they are already in a bag.

So what is in your bag? If you are using plastic I can guarantee it is a lot less than a cloth bag can hold.
A plastic bag would have ripped under the pressure of all that food. Not my reusable bags, they never let me down!

Valentine Dinner

No work yesterday, no call, no pager, it was a perfect day. My hubby finally had a weekend off, it has been awhile, so we took advantage of the off call day to play. We went out for lunch with some friends at a great local resturant called Fresh Starts.
After we indulged in the food, we headed back to the house for wine, a red no less, appropriate for Valentine's Day. It was a bottle we had received as a gift, and we always love to share a good bottle with good friends. It was Domaine de la Charbonniere Vacqueyras vintage 2005, smooth, crisp and full bodied.

This year we choose three resturants, and we tried to replicate our favorite dishes from each.
The appetizer was the wonderful creamy artichoke dip with my homemade baguettes.

Main course: Crab Legs (W G Shuckers in Savannah, Georgia).
They came out great, it was the first time I had made them at home, so imagine my delight with the first bite.

We went through the pile of crab legs in very short time. They remind me of warmer days. They were fantastic.

Last but certainly not least dessert: It is called Morton's Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake and it calls for 15 eggs! Yikes, that is a lot of eggs. Well worth it though. This dessert was so rich, dense, and delicious. We served it with raspberries.

What a wonderful day, wonderful food, and wonderful company! Who could ask for anything more.

Delicious Dinner

Silly me, forgot to take pictures when the pork tenderlion was done. Tonight we shared a wonderful dinner of Pork Tenderlion with apricot and mustard, balsamic carrots, and corn bread.
Everything was delicious. The recipes for the pork tenderloin and the carrots are on epicurious.com
I found the recipe while I was browsing the site trying to make the weekly menu.

The pork was so tender and flavorful. The mustard and apricot balanced well. The meat went under the broiler for a short 15 minutes or so, making this dish quick and easy for a midweek meal! It got rave reviews here, my husband said it was the best pork he had ever had!
I hope the steak fajitas go over just as well tomorrow!

As Nature Intended

Eating foods that are good for you, is as easy as a quick salad. As I was searching the internet for some healthy foods, I ran across this webpage PhytoLife. The page introduces a new buzz word for healthy foods, phytonutrients. Maybe this will become one of the "IT" words of 2009. What they are referring to is plants as food, and they are naturally good for you. We may know this already, but this site presents it in a new way that was very interesting. They have many articles about healthy food, and the article on wine pairing is a must read. Ever wonder what wine you should drink with your rutabagas?


You may know that I like to cook, from previous entries, I find most of my recipes online. It is just easy to search and find an abundance of recipes. On PhytoLife, they have a recipe section, that has a few really interesting dishes. I can't wait to try the Ruby Reds, Feta and Watermelon. The recipe sounds intriguing with some great flavors and phytonutrients to keep you eating healthy. Eating healthy while running around can be hard, but armed with knowledge, it becomes so much easier. I am bookmarking PhytoLife so that I can follow the news on eating fresh, as nature intended.
Thanks PhytoLife

Best Pizza In Chicago

We were up by O'hare airport when we decided to grab some pizza. Thanks to my ipod touch we were able to find a place near by. We choose Caponies Trattoria on North Harlem. They had been reviewed by the TV show Check Please. Two of the three on the show agreed that they had good pizza. Ever since we left the small town of Mt. Dora, Florida, we have been looking for a small pizza joint to replace our favorite pizza. Mt. Dora Pizza, in Florida is still our top choice, but Caponies in Chicago is a close second, or maybe a tie.

Caponiesmenu is great. The wood burning oven is what makes their pizza superior, and the fresh ingredients. We got there early around 4:30 on Saturday, and ordered the calamari. It was great, big pieces, with a great breading that was light and crisp. We looked over all the pizzas on the menu and found the Suprema loaded with Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers. I was having trouble deciding on which one I wanted, I asked the attentive waiter which he would recommend, and he said the White Pizza. The White pizza had mozzarella, fontina, ricotta, parmesan and percorino romano cheeses with fresh sauteed spinach and garlic.

As we waited we took it the small local flair, decorated with The Sopranos memorabilia it was the perfect setting. I love the small town feel when you walk in. It was a cold day, and with the wood-burning oven reaching degrees near 1000, it warmed the entire space. When the pizza got to the table we were so hungry, without a moments hesitation we dug in. The crust was crisp on the outside and perfect in the middle, the ingredients were piled on, but not overwhelming, and the flavor was out of this world. My favorite of the two was the white pizza I really enjoyed it, and would go back just to have it! So if you are ever near O'Hare airport in Chicago, take the 15 minute trip to 3350 N. Harlem and get some great pizza at a great price at Caponies Trattoria!

Brownies, Cookies and Cakes, Oh My!

I won a contest the other day from Steel City Bakery blog. She has a great etsy shop, and the prize that I won was out of this world. I had two kinds of cookies, delicious brownies, mini bundt cakes, and two kinds of cupcakes! My favorite was the cookies named Down on the Bog. They were so great, with plump cranberries and white chocolate chips the combo was sinful! I ate most of those myself. I did share the cupcakes with my coworkers who had never tried red velvet cake before, and she wanted to have more!

I took pictures of the cookies before I ate them. I would recommend them to cookie lovers everywhere! Try these fantastic handmade cookies from Steel City Bakery!

Buy them for yourself or a friend that loves cookies. It will be their new favorite! They would make great holiday gifts for the office, too!

Thank you to Steel City Bakery for the great giveaway and fantastic treats!

Potato Soup

Last nights dinner experiment was a great success. I could not keep this recipe a secret... Not after the rave review. My DH said it was the best soup he had ever eaten!!!
The roasted garlic and potato soup is going to be one of our staples this winter.

Here is the recipe if you want to try it out:

Threadbeaur's Potato Soup

6 regular potatoes roughly peeled (not peeled all the way) and chopped
half an onion
6 large cloves of garlic

4 cups veggie broth (homemade)
1 tablespoon celery salt
coarse ground black pepper to taste (i used about 7 cranks on the grinder)
kosher salt to taste (I used about a tablespoon or so)
1.5 cup milk

sour cream and cheddar cheese for garnish

Wash peel and chop potato and onion. Place on baking sheet with cloves of garlic (still in skin). Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 425 for about 20-30 minutes. You want the potatoes to be brown on the edges. You have wiggle room at this point, if you don't have too much time you can take them out of the oven early at the 20 minute mark or leave them in for a bit longer. While the veggies are roasting get a large pot ready with the broth and spices in it. When the potatoes are done put them in the pot with the broth and the spices. Take the garlic out of the skins and put in the pot. Simmer for about 20 minutes. At this point you need to get the blender out to puree the mix. Make sure you get some broth with the potatoes in the blender, or it will be too sticky. Work in batches until all potatoes are smooth.
When your mixture is smooth add milk. Start with 1 cup. Stir to incorporate then if the soup is too thick add the other half cup of milk. Stir over heat until soup is hot. Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.
ENJOY!


We had this with some great polish sausage. I think that the soup would be great with bacon crumbled on top. That is what we will do next time!

Favorite Food

I have several. Though my favorite thing for a snack after work is Nutella and pretzels. Nutella is a creamy spread of hazelnuts and chocolate. It is the most delicious treat around. The smooth texture with the crunch of a pretzel can't be beat. I was at the grocery store yesterday and Nutella was on sale for 2.99. Then I noticed a coupon for a $1.00 off! How great, I'll take two please! It is always good to have on hand, just incase you need a pick me up! If you have never tried Nutella, and you like hazelnut, and chocolate you should pick up a jar. I usually find it in the aisle with the jam. Yum.

What is your favorite snack?

New Deli

A new deli opened last week in Chicago Heights, a small town just down the street from us. Bergstein's NY Delicatessen serves great sandwiches and hot dogs. We went to try it out on Saturday afternoon. We walked in and the decor was nice simple and most importantly not confusing! The walls were red, with dark tables and chairs. To order you walk to the counter where the menu is posted clearly. I had a roast beef sandwich with horseradish sauce and Mr. Threadbeaur had the Chicago hot dog. Both orders were good. The hot dog was great, piled high with tomato, onions, pickle, sport peppers, and cucumber served with coleslaw and all for $3.50! A nice find in our little town.
I hope they do well and are open for years to come.

My new Favorite Italian Restaurant

Last night we braved the flooding and drove a few towns over to Orland Park for dinner. I had the task of choosing the dinner spot for us and another couple so I picked italian food, it happens to be my favorite! By chance, I found a small restaurant called Palermo's, and I am so happy that we tried it.
It was no too crowded, but I think that had to do with the weather. We walked in at 8pm and greeted by a friendly host, who showed us to our table. He took us to a table in the middle of the room, which at first I was a little unhappy with, but turned out to be just fine. I don't enjoy sitting in the center of the room, I much prefer a booth in the corner. The restaurant was small, and cozy. The ceilings were high, and the decor was fitting for italian dining.
Our waitress could not have been better, she was new, and fun. When we asked a question she did not know, she went and got the answer! Wow, that does not happen much anymore, and she did it with a smile! Once the four of us were settled in at the table we ordered some calamari, and drinks. The menu had many items to choose from. It ranged from pasta dishes, to meat, and seafood, with a section for what you might think of as your italian favorites. The menu also had a nice feature that helped you pair a wine with your dinner selection. The entrees had a number next to it that corresponded with each wine on the wine list, very helpful!
Then the food...I had the pasta carbonara, and I was not disappointed. This dish had ham, peas and an incredible creamy sauce. I did not want to stop eating it, but I did have a little left over, I can't wait for lunch today! I would have to say that it was the best italian dish I have had since my favorite italian place went out of business a year ago! My other half had a great dish too a wide noodle with crumbled italian sausage in a creamy pesto. He said it was the best dish he had ever had! That is a high praise to Palermo's. We will be going back there again and again. I highly recommend it as a great italian restaurant.