 Mayonnaise is one of those foods that polarizes people. You either love it or you're absolutely so detested by the sight of it that it makes you gag. 🙅🏻♀️I suspect that whichever side of the mayonnaise fence you're on - may be directly related to where you grew up. I grew up in the mid west and we put mayonnaise on, in and around EVERYTHING. (Apple, raisin, celery and walnuts with a spoonful of mayonnaise was a staple salad in our house.) I spent a few years living in Texas and in my experiences there, I ran across far fewer mayonnaise lovers like myself, in that region of the country. Have you ever met someone who detests mayonnaise but still eats foods that contain the offensive substance? Mayonnaise is the secret to making potato casseroles so creamy and vegetable dips so tangy. I don't want to say that the mayonnaise haters are wrong but .... you might just be missing out on some seriously delicious food by avoiding mayonnaise all together.  This Spinach Artichoke Dip is seriously delicious and even though the mayonnaise isn't the star of the show here, it certainly plays an important role in making this dip creamy and delicious. I feel like this dip falls into one of those categories of foods that non-mayonnaise eaters consume unknowingly. The taste and flavor of the mayonnaise is somewhat masked by the more prominent cheese and artichoke flavors but its still important. My advice to you is this, if you decide to make this Spinach and Artichoke Dip, just don't disclose the fact that it contains mayonnaise to your dinner guests. (Unless there's an allergy, of course.) No one will be the wiser and everyone will love it.
Spinach Artichoke Dip 1 Tablespoon olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 11 ounces (or cups) baby spinach, chopped 8 ounces cream cheese 6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) gouda cheese, shredded 3 ounces (1 1/2 cups) parmesan cheese, grated 1 1/3 cups marinated artichoke hearts, chopped 1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
 The Superbowl is Sunday. 😉 If you're still looking for a great snack to munch on during the game - look no further. This Spinach and Artichoke dip is amazing. Enjoy and Go Chiefs. 🏈
Ciao!
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 When I travel, I don't blend in. There's no hiding the fact that I'm a tourist. I walk around with a giant camera around my neck. 😂📷 On our trip through Switzerland last Fall, we certainly didn't look or sound like locals but we did do our best to eat like locals. We sampled cheese fondue, weiner snitzel, bratwurst, bone broth, streusel and lots and lots of Swiss hot chocolate. Let's just call it Switzerland research. While we were in Switzweland, we had our very first taste of Rosti. If you've never had Rosti before - think hash browned potatoes fried in butter. I had never heard of it before going to Switzerland but trust me - it's as delicious as it sounds. It's not just a breakfast food like the American hash browns either. It's kind of like the American french fry. It's such a popular dish that we found a version of rosti in almost every restaurant the we visited.
Ben tried Rosti with cheese, sausage and a fried egg for lunch one afternoon. I tried Rosti served alongside a salad trio for dinner one evening. (Pretty much describes our individual eating habits.) 🤣 I honestly never much cared for hash browns until I tried the Rosti in Switzerland. Now I have a new appreciation for the fried shredded potatoes that pretty much goes with everything from sausage to smoked salmon. Since rediscovering this versatile dish, I thought I would try my hand at good old American hash browns before I tackle the Swiss Rosti. I found this recipe in a Cook's Country magazine and I was super excited to give it a try. Our trip to Switzerland has opened up the possibilities for serving hash browns. It's not just a breakfast food anymore.  Sheet Pan Hash Browns 3 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, unpeeled 6 Tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper
 Return to oven and bake 6-8 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.
This is no rosti but it's the best recipe for hash browns that I've ever made. (or tasted) It's the perfect compliment to my scrambled eggs, my turkey burgers and even my salads. 😂 Ciao!  Ben and I have been married for 26 years and we've certainly had our share of disagreements - usually over something extremely important like the proper way to cut a bell pepper. I actually think that the root of most of our conflicts can be traced back to the food that we eat and how it's prepared. 😂 Our food preferences couldn't be any more different. While I crave fresh fish and vegetables from the garden - the love of my life prefers red meat and carbohydrates. Our diverse tastes aren't really an issue when we go out to eat because we're both pretty adventurous eaters and we can find something to eat on almost any restaurant menu but preparing meals at home is a whole different story.  How do you prepare 1 meal for a meat and potato loving carnivore and a healthy, calorie conscious, non-red meat eater? I've tried serving different grilled chicken recipes for weeks at a time but it didn't take long for my beloved to catch on to my chicken games. Despite by best intentions, he was not thrilled about eating smoked chicken, chicken tacos, chicken soup, chicken salad and shredded chicken sandwiches all in the same week. 🍗 I don't know why? Who wouldn't love 6 straight chicken meals in a row? 😂 I can't guarantee that my sweet husband and I will ever agree about how to properly julienne a carrot but I over the past 26 years, I have been able to prepare more meals at home that we both enjoy. The trick is to fix meals loaded with vegetables AND lean proteins. We both agree that this Coconut, Cashew, Chicken and Cabbage Salad is the perfect combination of healthy, filling and delicious. It's a meal for me and a perfect compliment to a thick, juicy steak for him.  Coconut, Cashew, Chicken Cabbage Salad 1/3 cup flake coconut 1 jalapeno 2 cloves garlic 1/3 cup lime juice 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar 2 shallots, thinly sliced 3 cups shredded cooked chicken 2 cups napa cabbage, shredded 1/2 cup chopped cashews 2 cups fresh basil 2 cups cilantro
 The jalapeno, garlic, lime and soy dressing on this salad is AMAZING. You will want to eat it on all of your cabbage salads from now on. Take my word for it - you'll want to make extra.
Ciao!  I'm not sure who is in charge of naming squash varieties but kudos to whoever it is. Names like butternut, honeynut, spaghetti, gold nugget, banana, sweet dumpling or sunburst make it sound like I'm consuming something way more decadent than a nutrient rich gourd. On the other hand maybe someone should tell the tomato namers that eating something called Mr. Stripey, a Hillbilly or a Moneymaker diminishes my eating experience. 🍅 🤷🏻♀️ Just a thought. The honeynut squash can best be described as the "mini me" of butternut squash. It's a smaller, more flavorful and more nutrient rich version of the butternut - but it's also somewhat illusive. I searched for this squash in the supermarkets where I normally shop, in my local Trader Joes and pretty much everywhere that they sell food within a 50 mile radius but with no avail. There was not a honeynut to be found in all of east Atlanta. So if you can't find honeynut squash - substitute a butternut in this recipe, like me.  I used to serve roasted squash as a side dish but it's really become the star of a lot of our meals. I throw together a green salad and put out a couple of whole grain rolls to round out our squash dinners. If you haven't jumped on the squash bandwagon - you need to give it a try. It's more filling and satisfying than you might think. This squash is really different than the squash recipes that I've made in the past. I was intrigued by the sweet, nutty flavor of the squash paired with the heat of the serrano and the acidy of the vinegar. My go-to squash is spaghetti squash so I was anxious to try out a new variety on my somewhat gourd hesitant family.  Roasted Honeynut Squash 1 honeynut squash, cut in half 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/2 onion, chopped 1/2 serrano pepper, thinly sliced 1/3 cup cider vinegar 3 Tablespoons chopped dried apricots 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar 2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted
 Serve with toasted walnuts.
I'm not going to try and sugar coat my review of this recipe or try and spin it so that you're left wondering how I really feel about this dish. I was NOT a fan. I thought that the squash had a nice texture but the apricot compote was way to vinegary. Maybe I should have waited until I could find a true honeynut squash.
Ciao!
I typed "peanut butter cookie recipes" into the search bar of my web browser and I got 66,800,000 results! 🥜 THAT is a lot of peanut butter cookie recipes. I dove right into that peanut butter cookie recipe rabbit trail and I discovered everything from 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies to flourless versions of the sweet treat to cookies stuffed with snickers and pretzels. 😳I've got to say - they ALL sounded pretty amazing. If you like sugar dusted, crispy peanut butter cookies or buttery soft and chewy peanut butter cookies - you're sure to find one that fits your needs.  Well google, get ready because I'm about to submit Peanut Butter Cookie recipe number 66,800,001. I figured, why not throw one more buttery, soft, packed with peanut butter cookie recipe in with the rest? 😋This recipe came from Cook's Illustrated so you know it's been tested and perfected.  Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies 1 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1 cup creamy peanut butter 2 eggs 4 Tablespoons butter, melted 2 Tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/3 cup peanuts, chopped fine
 Roll dough into balls and place on on silpat lined baking sheets. Bake 12 minutes at 350.  Let cookies cool 6 minutes on baking sheets before moving to a wire rack.
 You probably noticed that my peanut butter cookies don't have the trademark criss cross fork marks on the top. I have no idea where that tradition started or why in the world people still add a hash tag. My guess is that it's just for nostalgic purposes but I really don't see any added benefit so I usually don't add it. What do you think? Is a peanut butter cookie without the criss cross, still a peanut butter cookie?
Ciao! |
