Shiny New Toy!!!!!

tony has decided to overhaul all of the large kitchen appliances......all of which has made my playground more of a delight!

we have a shiny new dishwasher (that sings when the cycle is over)

we have a beautiful refrigerator with adjustable shelves, a freezer on the bottom, and much more room for the copious amount of leftovers we always seem to have.

and......A NEW STOVE WITH A DOUBLE OVEN!!!!!!!!

isn't it gorgeous? all shiny and silver and fancy. seriously, it's like christmas came early for me. i love this guy.

finally.....i can roast a turkey and bake a macaroni and cheese at the same time! thanksgiving this year will be a-frickin-mazing. and yes, yes that bottom oven does have convection settings. so i can make ALL THE COOKIES.

last saturday we had a few friends over for an informal (but delicious) whisky tasting. it was the perfect opportunity to break in the new pretties. i made scotch eggs and pigs in a blanket and mini cupcakes and shortbread. ALL AT THE SAME TIME. mind. blown.

if you've never had a scotch egg before, think breakfast in one bite. a hardboiled egg wrapped in sausage and then rolled in breadcrumbs.  the british fry them, but i baked mine. they are the perfect "bar food" for soaking up whisky in the stomach.  and they were fantastic the next morning with coffee!

i also made these little guys. they're my go-to to set out at parties. brie and raspberry jam baked in pre-made phyllo dough shells. stupid easy, and people go nuts for them. sort of like the cupcakes, they're individual bites that are easy to grab and snack on.

and grapes, dipped into softened bleu cheese and rolled in pistachios. i'm a big fan of the sweet/savory. it sounds like an odd combination of flavors, but i promise they all blend in really well together. these plus the brie bites are a nice addition to a cheese plate.

do i need to say how wonderful pigs in a blanket are? no....i think we all know. they are magic. 

what can i say? i go a little overboard with the snacks. mostly because i know the next day i get to reap the benefits of snacking on all those leftovers!!!!

now i have to decide what's next to bake/roast/broil.....

Do You Know the Muffin Tin?

i mentioned in my "favorite things" that i love cupcakes. i love that they give everyone an individual serving. that nobody has to fight for who gets the biggest piece.

actually my love of the cupcakes is more broad than that. i love anything that can be made in a muffin tin. beyond the standard sweet baked goods. i love making savory things in muffin form as well. mini-meatloafs, mini-quiches, mini pot pies.

this morning for breakfast i made baked eggs in a cheesy-hashbrown shell. formed in (of course) muffin tins. sometimes i'll do eggs baked in canadian bacon, sometimes in bread, but today i had a hankering for potatoes.

i made a little "basket" of shredded cheddar and hash browns (i cheated....and bought the pre made kind). baked those for about 20 minutes at 350 to get them where they were almost toasty brown.

then i took them out, cracked an egg into each, and topped them with crumbled (already cooked) bacon, scallion, and a little dash of hot sauce. back in the oven for another 16 minutes and they came out beautifully.

*let them sit for about five minutes before you try to take them out of the muffin tin....or they will fall apart!

the best part of these beauties is how easily they can be a grab-and-go breakfast for the next few days. pop two in the microwave for about a minute an voila. warm hearty breakfast! i served these guys with some avocado...because bacon + avocado=deliciousness.

these are always a hit when we have guests over for brunch. nobody has to feel awkward about cutting into a giant casserole or quiche. nobody is feeling self conscious that their piece is "too big". they're all formed just right. and...they're cute too!

i'm sure as i continue to post you will see many more entries that start with....a muffin tin.

Phatters!!!!!!!

we have a house guest this holiday weekend......our friends jeff and shanda are out of town, and they have left their ward in our care.

his true name is Pharaoh.  but he is affectionately known as "the phat man". he is an 18 year old hairless sphinx. yes, he does resemble a pre-cooked thanksgiving turkey. and not unlike golem from lord of the rings. his "precious" is apparently tony's pillow. he keeps trying to burrow into it at night.

but......he absolutely melts my heart.  he is a little snuggle bug. and i fully intend to spend the majority of the weekend on the couch watching cooking shows with him curled up in my lap. he seems to like the show "good eats" best. he's an alton brown fan.

i may also spend a few hours recreating scenes from harry potter with him....."master gave phatters a sock? master presented phatters clothing? phatters is free!!!!!!!"

also scenes from star wars "strike me down with all of your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete"

happy long weekend to all!

NUTR 295

it's back to school for me!

no, not full time. i've got my terminal degree. and am still suffering PTSD from the experience.

but i do miss higher learning and structured education. what can i say? i'm a sucker for matriculation. and for years i've been stalking george mason and its program in nutritional studies. 

i've had a casual interest in nutrition for years. i try to make sure that the food i eat...and the food i make for others to eat....is more than just tasty. i want to know what foods are beneficial in what ways. if a person is ailing, how can i help their healing? 

so this semester i'm enrolled in NUTR 295-Intro To Nutrition Concepts and Controversies. thursday nights i'll be sitting in a lecture hall learning all about amino acids and anti oxidants, vitamins and minerals, proteins and carbohydrates.  

don't worry, i'm not going to go crazy-super-vegan. i'll still use bacon. and cheese. and chocolate. i do think that taste and texture are just as important as vitamins and minerals in a meal. what's the point in having a meal that's good for you, if you have no desire to eat it? 

my hope is that this class will give me some solid ideas on how to make the meals i prepare well balanced. that i can look at a week's menu and see that all essential needs are being met. that my household and those at my table will be happy and healthy.

tonight we learned about casimir funk....the man who isolated and named "vitamin B1" or "thiamine". i am just enough of a nerd that i was really enjoying hearing about his studies of rice bran. and...i feel very much validated in my preference of brown rice over white rice. for me it was always about preferred texture. but apparently it's keeping me safe from beriberi disease too!

we also discussed the necessity of variety in a diet to ensure that all micro/macro nutrient needs are adequately met. which further validates my plans for next year! say whatever you want about me, i am not "routine" in my meals.  

should be an interested course, and hopefully the start of more in-depth study!