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Monthly Archives: October 2017
Here in the greater Seattle-Tacoma area, everyone loves the scones at the Western Washington Fair. Or at least that is what I hear… because I have never had a ‘Fair Scone’. To be honest, I wasn’t interested in eating what I thought were dry, dusty, failed biscuits. But one trip to Cannon Beach Oregon and a stay at the Stephanie Inn many years ago changed all that. Each morning, there were scones available for breakfast and my companion asked if I wanted one. Seeing my nonchalance and noncommittal attitude towards enjoying these beautiful scones intrigued and irritated her. She asked what I had against scones. I remarked I had nothing against scones I just had never enjoyed them before (I am sure…
Tonight’s dish is one I have never made before but found (quite by accident) while researching a different dish. I like egg rolls and in the past had many people over to the house for my prawn or chicken egg rolls. They were big and bold, vegetable filled and flavorful. Then I just stopped making them and began to experiment with different cuisines. But egg rolls were always there – only I enjoyed them when I would go out. Well it is time to rectify my oversight of homemade egg rolls and this dish provides all the flavors of an egg roll in a bowl – how nice it that? Save Print Egg Roll Noodle Bowl Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 15 mins…
Here is a treat for Fall – pumpkin donuts. This recipe makes approximately eighteen regular size cake donuts; the perfect amount for sharing. It is simple to prepare and delivers a delicious reward when you are done. Also it gives you another reason to use that donut pan you bought after reading the Devil’s Food Donuts posting in May! These pumpkin spiced donuts are slightly sweet, slightly spiced, moist and tender and everything you want in a cake donut. As for topping, I went with half in a cinnamon sugar coating and the other half glazed. Naturally, I opted to make a bourbon glaze which added an interesting and enjoyable flavor. Bring these to share with work colleagues, friends watching football (or baseball), or just to…
Have you ever had a hankering for some food item and just had to make it? That is what happened to me this weekend. I suddenly had a desire for a fruity coffee cake. So I searched the internet for a recipe that would satisfy my hankering and this recipe is what I found. This delicious coffee cake is based on the Noble Pig’s recipe for Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake. The easy recipe and delectable pictures told me this was the one, so here is my take on it. Of course I tweaked it a little and I liked the results. Naturally, I will leave the final judging to you when you make it! Save Print Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake Prep time: 30 mins Cook…
Well, now that we are fresh off the success of last week’s menu planning, let’s keep up with this concept and put together another weekly menu. Did you see the common ingredients that were shared in last week’s menu? Did you also notice (via @cooking_4_one Instagram updates) which meals I switched during the week to show flexibility? I invite you to follow me there and see pictures of the previously posted dishes I prepare. Besides who doesn’t love the plethora of food pictures flooding social media? Anyway, this week will follow the same focus – a wide variety of meals to enjoy while optimizing ingredients to minimize waste. So if you are ready, here’s the plan! Sunday –…
Tonight’s cocktail showcases a new ingredient, amaro, and a few old favorites. I found this recipe on the Washington Post courtesy of the now closed Poste Moderne Brasserie and I have to admit I was extremely intrigued by the combination of ingredients. This recipe is my take on the original. The original recipe included brewed coffee that I substituted for Galliano Ristretto while playing with the proportions. I think I have a solid drink here – slightly bitter yet slightly sweet with a wonderful slight syrupy mouth feel. Maybe it should have been named ‘Unrequited Love’ with a description like that! Anyway, here is to your first Friday of October and let’s slide into the beginning of the holiday season with a…
Here is the recipe for last night’s dinner which used up the leftovers from the Smoked Turkey Breast I recently made. This dish is a perfect example of how to enjoy one delicious meal that is nearly impossible to scale into a single serving and use the feast’s leftovers for a second, equally delicious meal. The concept is as old as the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner that uses the leftovers for dishes like turkey pot pie and/or turkey tetrazzini and/or turkey noodle soup and others. This dish is also a fabulous comfort food experience that need not wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy. And surprisingly enough, it is not incredibly time-consuming and is quite flexible. So if you are looking to enjoy…
Here is the recipe for last night’s smoked turkey breast. I really enjoy the simplicity of this dish as a main course. I purchased a Foster Farms Turkey Breast Roast and brined it for a few hours with a simple mixture of salt and Spice Islands Smoky Mesquite Seasoning, before smoking it in my hot smoker over cherry wood chips until the internal temperature reached 165 degrees. Here is where my Loki Meat Thermometer comes in handy – it takes all the guess work out of cooking/smoking this turkey breast. And once rested and sliced, the turkey is tender and moist with a wonderfully light smoke flavor. All that is left is to enjoy this dish with whatever sides you desire. In my case, it…
In talking with followers, I regularly get two requests. Videos of the dish being prepared and the weekly menus I use. So, I think it is high time I tackle the weekly menu request. Now that there are 13 months of posts of a myriad of dishes, here is my next week’s menu using some of them and incorporating a few new dishes. As always, the concept behind the menu is to create a varied dining experience throughout the week while optimizing the ingredients without getting burned out. From this menu, I created a targeted shopping list for the ingredients needed so there would be no surprises when I am ready to cook. For those that see this level of effort as restrictive or rigid, having…