A is for Apron

My birthday is dia de los muertos. Growing up, I was dragged to Church to pray for dead people. After church one year, I was serenaded by a group of missionaries to "las mañanitas." Most years, I woke up to pan de muerto for breakfast. Some may find these rituals a bit weird, but for me, it is all in celebration of my birthday. Recently, my mom made me an apron with dia de los muertos fabric. On the backside of the apron is cute paisley fabric for the rest of the year.

My mother is the Queen of sewing. I would bet all the money in the world that if you walked into her home at any given time this upcoming year, you'll find at least 3 or more sewing projects scattered around the house. There was not a time from my childhood that I can remember that my mother wasn't holding a needle and thread. Here is a link to my mom's quilt blog. When I got married and bought my own home, my mom gifted me with a sewing machine. Now, my mother and I both know that I don't use this machine. I can't even thread it. But she gave it to me none-the-less, probably hoping that one day I would plug it in and sew something. Perhaps she would even be happy if I just hemmed a hole in a shirt, or something. (I must add that for the past 5 years I've brought all clothes that needed mending to her house.)

To get into the Christmas spirit, today I decided to give sewing a try and make my own apron. Tonight, my mother met me at Jo-Ann fabrics and helped me pick out matching fabric. I guess she was pretty excited that I was finally going to sew something, because she brought me a cutting board, ruler, and a rotary cutter. The entire project took me over four hours, but don't let my mom know since it probably is supposed to be a 15 minute project. And I finally know how to thread my machine. In fact, I was so proud of myself for learning how, I used three colors of thread for my apron. The front of the apron is a fabric called "Candy Cane Dots." The back of the apron are cupcakes. While this story isn't followed with a recipe tonight, you can be assured that I will wear this apron as I cook new meals for your reading pleasure!

Cream Cheese Filled Cupcakes

Cream Cheese Filled Cupcakes

I love-love-love the cupcake craze. Everyone these days makes cupcakes, and I love looking at photos of the imaginative treats my friends have created. It is so fun to bake and eat cupcakes, so I decided to give it a try. The only thing I cannot figure out is a great frosting recipe, so if you have one, please share! If you are worried about making cupcakes, a word of advice: it doesn't matter if you're good or bad at making cupcakes, as long as you have a little bit of fun in the process!

As a side note, I would like to put a link to my cousin's blog: Lauren's Blog Check it out to see some beautiful, creative, and imaginative cupcakes!

I have heard that boxed cake mixes are just as good as home-made cake recipes, so I always use boxed cake mixes when making cupcakes. Once I pull them out of the oven, I cut out the middles and fill them with my Cream Cheese Filling. Once filled, I top them, and then frost them! See my photos below on how to fill a cupcake.
-Sarah

 Step 1:

Angle your knife and cut a cone from the top of the cupcake

Step 2:

Cut the point off the cone so the top is a flat disk

Step 3:

Fill each cupcake with your favorite filling

Step 4:

Place the disk back onto the top of the cupcake, then frost the top.

The end result:

Couscous and Vegetables, Breaded Asparagus, Cumin Rice & Tomatoes

I like to joke that I grew up a vegetarian. I remember eating vegetables stews, beans, and pastas. On occasion we would get bagged frozen chicken, but that was the extent of the meat I ate growing up. It was a real treat when once a year I would get to eat steak at my Uncle's house. But since I didn't eat a lot of meat as a child, it isn't hard for me to embrace vegetarian eating. While I don't think I'll go completely vegetarian, I think I can easily go a few weeks without eating meat with all these great vegetarian recipes! Below are a few meals that Michael and I thought looked good and tried this week.

The Cumin Rice With Tomatoes was a good meal, and I had a ton of left-overs that tasted great as well. The only thing I would caution you is that I ended up with a lot of excess water after boiling the rice, so I ended up draining the excess water, which isn't called for in the recipe.

The Breaded Asparagus recipe calls for a mint dip, which I didn't try, so I omitted it from the recipe below.

The Couscous with Seven Vegetables was difficult for me to actually start, because I couldn't find fava beans. After trying multiple grocery stores, I opted for edamame instead. Also, if you don't have Saffron and don't have $20 to spend on a jar of spice, you could opt out of using it. It tasted good, but you can add extra flavor to the vegetables and leave the couscous plain if you wish.

-Sarah

Cumin Rice With Tomatoes

From "Vegetarian: Create Great-Tasting Dishes through the Seasons" by Ting Morris, Rachel Lane and Carla Bardi

Ingredients:

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

6 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 1/2 cups long grain rice

4 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley + extra sprigs to garnish

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tomato, thinly sliced, to garnish

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the onion, cumin seeds, and garlic and saute until the garlic turns pale gold, 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes.

Stir in the rice and pour in the water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and has absorbed all of the liquid, 10-15 minutes.

Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with slices of tomato and the sprigs of parsley. Serve hot.

Breaded Asparagus

From "Vegetarian: Create Great-Tasting Dishes through the Seasons" by Ting Morris, Rachel Lane and Carla Bardi

Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 cups vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup fine, dry bread crumbs

Directions:
Cook the asparagus in a large pot of salted boiling water until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well and dry carefully on a clean towel.
Beat the eggs and Parmesan in a small bowl.
Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or deep saucepan. Test the oil temperature by dropping in a small piece of bread. If it immediately bubbles to the surface and begins to turn golden, the oil is ready.
Dip the asparagus in the beaten eggs and then in the bread crumbs, making sure they are well coated.
Fry the asparagus in small batches until golden brown, 3-4 minutes each batch.
Drain on paper towels.

Couscous With Seven Vegetables

From "Vegetarian: Create Great-Tasting Dishes through the Seasons" by Ting Morris, Rachel Lane and Carla Bardi

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups water

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

2 cups couscous

1/8 teaspoon saffron threads

2 tablespoons butter

2 large onions, finely chopped

3 carrots, thinly sliced

1 yellow summer squash, thinly sliced

1 cup fresh fava beans

2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1/2 medium green or white cabbage, finely shredded

1 (14-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

1/4 cup raisins

Fresh cilantro to garnish

Directions:

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil and salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon).

Stir in the couscous and saffron and mix well.

Remove from the heat, cover, and keep warm.

Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until softened, 3-4 minutes.

Add the carrots, squash, zucchini, fava beans, tomatoes, and cabbage and simmer over medium-low heat until the vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes.

Stir in the garbanzo beans and raisins and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Spoon over the couscous and serve hot, garnished with cilantro.

A birthday gift to me

For as long as I can remember, I've always attended school. There is not a point in my life where I wasn't stressed about homework, classes, and teachers; until about 8 months ago. Since then, I have spent relentless hours attempting to find a hobby. Friends, family, co-workers, and strangers alike gave me their two-cents on which hobby would be the best at filling my new-found free time. But as much as I tried to find a hobby, I quickly learned that nothing feeds my soul like school did... until now. Apparently my new hobby is cooking. A few days ago, I decided to buy myself a birthday gift: some new cookbooks. Typically books are not something I'd enjoy for my birthday, but I know that they equate to good food and a happy belly, so I went ahead with the purchase anyway. Below are a few of the recipes that I found in these new books, and a few of my own in addition.

My first meal is loosely based on meals I had in Italy. The pasta was cooked as directed on the package, then cooked a few minutes more in olive oil, then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. The salad included cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice. The potato recipe is listed below, although I didn't use capers in my meal.

The second meal is a leek pizza. I added more than the recipe called for, including mushrooms, and would consider adding artichokes the next time I make this recipe.

-Sarah

Pan-Fried Potatoes with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
From, "Vegetarian: Create Great-Tasting Dishes through the Seasons" by Ting Morris, Rachel Lane and Carla Bardi.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds whole small new potatoes
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
Salt
6 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Recipe:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the potatoes, and cook until almost tender, about 10 minutes (depending on their size).
Drain well and cut in half.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the potatoes and saute for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with the paprika and season with salt. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and capers. Sprinkle with the oregano and saute for 1 minute more.
Serve hot.

Herbed Leek Tart
From: Better Homes and Gardens Garden Fresh Meals
Ingredients:
9 medium leeks, thinly sliced (3 cups)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red sweet pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence or dried basil, crushed
1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese or Swiss chese (6 ounces)
1 15-ounce package rolled refrigerated unbaked piecrust (2 crusts)
2 tablespoons chopped almonds or walnuts

Recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 375*F. For filling, in a large skillet cook leeks and garlic in hot oil about 5 minutes until tender. Remove from heat; stir in sweet pepper, mustard, and herbes de Provence. Cool slightly; stir in shredded cheese. Set filling aside.
2. Unroll piecrust according to package directions. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piecrust into a 12-inch circle. Transfer piecrust to a baking sheet. Spread half the filling into the center of the crust, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border. Fold border up and over filling, pleating to build up a crust. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the nuts over the filling. Repeat with remaining piecrust, filling, and nuts.
3. Bake about 25 minutes or until crusts are golden. Cool for 10 minutes on baking sheets. Cut each tart into 12 wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Vegan for a day

Michael and I recently watched a documentary called "Forks Over Knives." It was more of a horror flick than a documentary! I am now afraid to eat meat, drink milk, or eat any sort of dairy products! Apparently if you eat anything besides plant-based-foods, it leads to cancer. So after watching this show I decided to go Vegan. After work, I called Michael and told him that he had to look for 1 vegan recipe, and I would look for 1 vegan recipe, and we'd go from there. He found a recipe online, and my guess is, he picked the first one he found. All jokes aside, it was a really good meal. I however, had to rely upon whatever New Seasons had to offer. I looked around for a cookbook and apparently New Seasons doesn't sell cookbooks. Wandering around aimlessly not knowing what exactly Vegan was, I found myself in the magazine aisle. I immediately spotted a magazine with a bunch of carrots on the front - definitely a vegan magazine! I flipped through the pages until I came across a photo of a meal that looked meat-like, and walked back and forth through the store until I gathered all of the ingredients for this new adventure.
Below are three recipes that I gathered on my one-day Vegan endeavor. It was fun to try some new recipes, but I don't think I can go vegan - like my mom said, "It is sacrilegious to be vegan if you are a Schoonover!"
-Sarah

Gobi Manchurian
From page 64 of the September+October 2011 edition of VegNews
With a one-two punch of cayenne and hot sauce, this is pretty spicy stuff. Make it milder without sacrificing flavor by backing off on the cayenne.
1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into 1/2-inch slices
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground coriander, divided
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon  vegetable oil, plus more for frying
1 small bunch scallions, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons Asian hot sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup tomato puree
1/4 up minced fresh cilantro, divided

Cauliflower cuts: The easiest and best way to cut a head of cauliflower for roasting is to slice it like a loaf of bread. To do this, first use a sharp knife to remove the center core and leaves from the bottom of the cauliflower, then set the cauliflower on a work surface, cut side down. Use a large, serrated bread knife to cut the cauliflower into 1/2-inch thick slices.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On an oiled baking sheet, arrange cauliflower, season with salt and pepper to taste, and roast for about 15 minutes, turning once. Remove from oven and set aside. reduce temperature to 300 degrees.
2. In a bowl, combine chickpea flour, cornstarch, and flour. Add 1/2 teaspoon coriander, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, and black pepper. Stir in 2 tablespoons soy sauce and water and mix well.
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat a thin layer of oil. Working in batches, dip cauliflower in batter, then transfer to hot skillet. Fry until golden brown, turning once, about 5 minutes total. Transfer cooked cauliflower to the baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm.
4. In the same skillet over medium-high heat, heat remaining oil. Add scallions and cook until softened. Add garlic, ginger, salt, remaining coriander, and remaining cayenne, and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in remaining soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and tomato puree. Add 3 tablespoons cilantro and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup of water if the sauce is too thick.
5. Return fried cauliflower to pan and spoon on sauce to coat, turning the cauliflower gently. Serve immediately, garnished with remaining cilantro.

Vegan Tofu and Vegetable Pot PieFrom: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/vegan/recipe-vegan-tofu-and-vegetable-pot-pie-134550

Serves 2
Crust
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 stick or 1/2 cup frozen Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
Ice water
Filling
8 ounces super or extra firm tofu
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Russet potato, diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 teaspoon finely chopped sage
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
Salt and pepper
Special Equipment
2 (12-ounce) ramekins or other oven-safe dishes
For the Crust (Part 1)
The secret to this crust is chilling the ingredients and tools. Place the flour in a mixing bowl and chill in the freezer while you are preparing the filling. Also place a pastry blender or fork in the freezer.
For the Filling
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Cut tofu into 1/3-inch dice and press between clean kitchen towels or paper towels to rid of excess water.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook tofu until golden on all, or most, sides. Remove tofu from skillet and set aside.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same skillet. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent.
Add potato to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until tender but not mushy.
Add flour, nutritional yeast, and soy sauce to the skillet and stir into the vegetables.
Add vegetable broth and stir until combined, scraping all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add tofu, peas, sage, and thyme and stir until combined.
Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the Crust (Part 2)
Take the supplies out of the freezer.
Cut the Earth Balance into smaller cubes or slices and add to the flour. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Then, using your hands, quickly rub the mixture together so that the Earth Balance is absorbed into the flour.
Gradually drizzle ice water into the bowl, mixing with the pastry blender or fork until the dough just comes together.
Quickly shape the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Place on a floured surface a roll out to 1/8 inch thick.
Place the ramekins upside-down over the dough and use a paring knife to cut out circles about 1/2 inch larger on all sides.
Assemble and Bake
Divide the tofu and vegetable mixture between the ramekins.
Place a dough round over each ramekin and tuck the sides under to form a thicker crust around the edge. Press to seal around the edges of the dishes and crimp with a fork. Cut a slit in the middle.
Bake in the oven until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.
Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Italian Quinoa Delight

from: http://plant-based.blogspot.com/2006/11/italian-quinoa-delight.html

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

2 cans diced tomatos with chili peppers

2 peppers chopped(I used Orange because they were on sale)

1 onion chopped

1 clove garlic minced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 zucchini sliced

1/4 cup freshly diced basil

2-3 TB dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

First things first- always rinse quinoa in a sieve prior to cooking

In large pot combine water and quinoa and cook on high until boiling.

Turn down heat, cover and simmer.

Meanwhile, sautee chopped onions, mushrooms and garlic for 2 minutes, then add canned tomatoes, chopped peppers, zucchini, half the basil, and half the oregano. cook on med-high until veggies are tender. Then combine the veggies with the quinoa and cook together until the quinoa is done (it should be light and fluffy- an outer shell will be present. Add the rest of the spices and salt and pepper as you wish.

Quinoa is a wonderful and tasty protein rich grain with a full compliment of amino acids.

Maple Chicken & Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I absolutely love sweet potatoes. Like, I really like them. Whenever I have sweet potatoes around the house, I skip my Captain Crunch breakfast for a bowl of warm sweet potatoes. I'll then proceed to skip a sandwich during lunch in exchange for a bowl of sweet potatoes. Dinner will accompany sweet potatoes. For desert? Not ice cream... sweet potatoes! If I'm lucky I'll get a chance to steal a bite of sweet potatoes for snacks in between as well. This is why Michael doesn't allow me to have sweet potatoes around the house very often. 

This meal is the perfect combination of all the flavors that remind me of autumn, combined in one. Don't let the ingredients scare you off - I understand that maple cooked with green onions and glazed over chicken smothered in steak seasoning doesn't sound appetizing. Then combine that with mashed sweet potatoes filled with onions - definitely not something you'd find in a restaurant. But once your taste buds meet with the creamy potatoes and the sugary yet spicy chicken, you'll fall in love!

-Sarah

Maple-Glazed Chicken

ingredients

·   1 lb. chicken breast tenderloins

·   2 tsp. steak grilling seasoning blend, such as Montreal

·   2 Tbsp. butter

·   ¼ cup maple syrup

·   ½ cup sliced green onion (about 4)

directions

1.Prepare sweet potatoes

2.Meanwhile, lightly coat chicken with steak seasoning. Heat butter in large skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken. Cook 5 to 6 minutes until no longer pink (170 degrees F), turning once halfway through cooking. Remove from skillet; cover and keep warm. Stir maple syrup into hot skillet; cook 2 minutes. Stir in green onions.

3.Divide chicken and potatoes among 4 plates. Drizzle with maple syrup mixture. Serves 4.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Onions

ingredients

·         ½ cup unsalted butter or butter

·         2 pounds yellow onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced (7 cups)

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

·         4 pounds sweet potatoes or white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 10 cups)

·         ½ cup milk

·         1/3 cup dairy sour cream

·         Salt and ground black pepper

directions

1.To caramelize the onions, in a large skillet heat 1/4 cup of the butter. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Season with the 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Remove from the heat; set aside.

2.Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a large pot, covered, in lightly salted boiling water for 12 minutes or until tender; drain.

3.Add the remaining 1/4 cup butter to the hot pot and let melt. Add the potatoes to the pot and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in the milk, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in caramelized onions, reserving a few onions for garnish. Cook and stir over low heat until heated through. Transfer to a serving dish. Top with reserved onions. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Streusel-topped Pear Pie

The other day I was invited to a dinner party hosted by a co-worker of Michael's. This particular co-worker of his makes the most delectable dishes that make me ashamed of stepping foot in the kitchen. So, of course, I had to find a meal that not only was delicious and aesthetically pleasing, but also a meal that was as much "made-from-scratch" as possible.
Morning of the dinner party, I began preparing the pie, and was relieved when I put the pie in the oven because from that point, it is free sailing. About 30 minutes into baking, my smoke alarms suddenly began to beep. I turned around to see smoke billowing out of the oven. I immediately raced to the closest smoke alarm to stop the horrible shrill noise. Not able to reach the ceiling, I frantically scrambled to the dining room to grab a chair and stumbled back to the smoke alarm with the chair. Standing on the chair wasn't enough, and I had to practice my Michael Jordan jump-shot to the smoke alarm. Once the house was once again filled with silence, I raced to the oven to assess the damage.
The pie was perfect! No scorching or burning at all! All the smoke had been caused from overflowing pear juice from the pie.
This is a great Autumn pie, especially because of the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves used. The combination of these spices are inviting and warm. Combined with the sharp cheese and the sweet pears, this pie makes a great addition to the dinner table.

-Sarah

Streusel-topped Pear Pie
From: The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook

Ingredients:
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
salt
1 cup butter or margarine
2-1/2 to 3 tbsp cold water
5 medium pears
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I am partial to sharp Cheddar)

Preparation:

1. In medium bowl with fork, stir 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissor-fashion. cut in 3/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Measure 1 cup mixture into medium bowl; reserve.

2. To remaining flour mixture, add cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, mixing lightly with a fork after each addition until moist enough to hold together. With hands, shape pastry into a ball.

3. On lightly floured surface with lightly floured rolling pin, roll pastry into an 11-inch circle; use to line 9-inch pie plate. Trim pastry edges, leaving 1-inch overhang. Fold overhang under: bring up over pie-plate rim: pinch to form a high edge: make a fluted edge.

4. Peel, core and cut pears into thick slices to measure about 4-1/4 cups. In large bowl, toss pears with sugar, lemon juice, 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt; put in crust. Preheat oven to 425°F.

5. In medium bowl, combine reserved flour mixture, brown sugar and next 3 ingredients. With pastry blender or 2 knives used scissor-fashion. cut in cheese and 1/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs and ingredients are well blended. Sprinkle over pears. Bake 40 minutes: cover with foil and bake 20 minutes more. Serve warm or refrigerate to serve cold

Roasted Rack of Lamb

I have always been a collector of recipes. Most of them have never even been read the entire way through, but sit dusty in a drawer in my kitchen, or in a box in the garage, or in the attic closet at my mother's house. Some were cut from magazines or newspapers. Others were mailed to me from my grandmother, picked from a selection at the grocery store, or removed from the back of a box of non-perishables. I don't know why I collect them, really. I suppose I get this grand idea when I see a recipe that someday, this recipe will come in handy, and that someday I'll have a large function with many people for whom I will be cooking. But this grand event with many people never comes, so the recipes sit dusty, untouched.

This one particular recipe hails from a book called, "The Party Book." Really, it is a huge magazine full of advertisements for Macy's helping future bride-and-groom-to-be pick out table wear for their new life together. However, being the recipe-collector that I am, I immediately noticed the recipes scattered amongst the pages, so I saved the magazine. For years, it sat in the drawer in my kitchen. Every time that I couldn't decide what to cook, I'd pull this magazine out, flip through the pages drooling over the photos, and then put it back in the drawer not finding a recipe to satisfy my needs, until last April. I had a craving to make lamb.

This recipe turned out awesome, and I could probably eat it every night if it wasn't so expensive to make! I made the meal exactly as the recipe calls for, and it turned out spectacular. I definitely recommend this recipe for your next special occasion. The photo in the magazine included green beans, along with sauteed tomatoes and sauteed pearl onions. I served this meal with fresh strawberries on the side, and of course, sparkling champagne over a candlelit table.

-Sarah

Roasted Rack of Lamb
2 racks of lamb, trimmed
MUSTARD COATING:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. herbes de Provence
3 tbsp. grainy mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
6 tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 500*. Score racks of lamb, making shallow crisscross slashes in the covering fat. Mix garlic, herbes de Provence and salt together. Beat in mustard and olive oil. Brush mixture over meat. Place lamb racks in oiled roasting pan. Fold strip of foil over rib ends to prevent scorching.
Roasting: Place lamb in upper middle part of the oven; roast for 10 minutes. Remove lamb, rapidly spread a coating of bread crumbs and drizzle with melted butter. Turn oven down to 400* and roast for 15-20 minutes to an internal meat temperature of 125* for rare or 130* for medium.

Crepes with fruit-cream cheese filling.

I am not a breakfast kind of girl. Typically my breakfast consists of Pop-tarts, Captain Crunch, or Lucky Charms. I am not a fan of eggs, and I would never go out of my way to bake a breakfast... except this particular one. Ever since the sixth grade, every time I was lucky enough to be sitting in an Elmers or IHOP, I wouldn't even need to look at the menu, I knew exactly what I was getting. Crepes filled with cream cheese and topped with strawberries.

My husband is a huge breakfast fan, and eats a mixture of eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, crepes, pancakes, yogurt, fruit, oatmeal, muffins, or other breakfast foods he can get his hands on. For his birthday, I recently went to the local Powell's bookstore and headed straight to the cooking aisle and picked up as many "morning food" cookbooks that I could find. I excitedly raced to the check stand and paid for the new gift, and hurried home. I am not one for patience when it comes to giving gifts. I didn't even wrap his gift, because the first thing out of my mouth when I got home was, "do you want to open your birthday gift now?" Michael has patience and loves to drive me crazy by refusing to open his gifts until his actual birthday. However, I was able to wear him down this time and he reluctantly "opened" his un-wrapped gift a few days before the celebration. The moment he saw that I got him cookbooks, he rolled his eyes and sarcastically thanked me. What kind of person buys their husband cookbooks for his birthday? The next thing I know, he is drooling over the pictures inside of these cookbooks, and calling his mom to tell her what I got him. She had about the same reaction as he had, "she got you cookbooks?" Ever since that day, I have seen these cookbooks on the counters in the kitchen being used quite often.

-Sarah

The first recipe is for Crepes, and is from the book, "Crepes, Waffles & Pancakes!" by Kathryn Hawkins.
Basic Crepe Batter
This produces a smaller, more refined pancake, rich and deliciously tender. Add the sugar to the batter if serving with a sweet filling.
Makes 12 crepes.
1 cup plain flour
2 Tbsp extra-fine sugar (optional)
1 pinch salt
2 while eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Combine the flour, sugar, if using, and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center, break in the eggs, then add the extra yolks. Add half the milk and gradually work into the flour using a whisk. Beat lightly until smooth, but don't over-mix.
Add the remaining milk gradually, whisking gently until it is well combined. Transfer to a batter bowl, cover loosely, and leave in a cool place for 30 minutes. Stir 1/4 cup melted butter into the batter before using.
Lightly brush a small frying pan - 6 in base diameter- with a little of the remaining butter and heat until hot. Holding the pan, pour in about 1/4 cup batter and tilt the pan from side to side so that the batter runs into a thin, even layer across the bottom of the pan.
Place the pan over moderate heat and cook for about 1 minute, or until the crepe browns around the edges and begins to curl away from the pan. Slide a palette knife under the crepe and flip it over. Brown the underside for a further minute.

I then add the filling to each crepe made. The filling is my variation of a recipe called "Berry-filled Custard Crepes" from the recipe book, Morning Food" by Margaret S. Fox and John B. Bear. Typically I double or triple the recipe below, because I love to have leftovers. (The leftovers are great for cupcake filling). Mix the ingredients below to your preferred texture.

4 ounces whipped cream cheese
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons white sugar
A handful of fruit such as strawberries or blueberries

Top the crepes with whipped cream, fruit, powdered sugar, etc.

Mustard & Ketchup Stir-fry, Honey & Sesame Slaw

I recently spent an entire day laying on the couch, in day old sweatpants and t-shirt, sporting this new look called bed head, eating pop-tarts and fruit snacks, watching Rachael Ray reruns. On my way home from work today, I frantically called my husband and coerced him into searching her website for a recipe for stir fry that uses ketchup and mustard, and a slaw with honey and sesame seeds. The recipe was promptly emailed to my Droid and I walked through the grocery store, juggling the shopping list on my phone with produce bags and of course the infamous grocery store cart with the wobbly wheel. What? You've shopped with that cart before too? The shopping trip was pretty quick and painless overall since I had most of these ingredients in my fridge at home. My husband helped me prep everything. Without his help it would have taken well over 30 minutes to prepare this meal.

Some suggestions for next time: The ranch-flavored mashed potatoes were good, but I recommend adding more buttermilk than the recipe calls for. I also had a hard time fitting all the cabbage into the stir-fry pans. Although it condensed down at the end of the cooking time, next time I will either need larger frying pans or less cabbage overall.

I liked the meal, and it was so unique for me. I would have never tried stir-fry with mashed potatoes before. Although I was hesitant to cook with the outlandish ingredients that didn't seem to even fit into the same sentence let alone a meal, it turned out to be quite delicious.

-Sarah

Warm Sesame Slaw Salad

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2008

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or canola oil
• 1 small head red cabbage, shredded
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Directions

Heat the oil in large skillet over high heat. Stir-fry the cabbage 5 minutes then season with salt and pepper, to taste, and add vinegar and honey, sesame seeds and oil. Serve warm.

Sweet n Sour Sirloin Stir-Fry with Ranch Mashed Potatoes

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2008

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pound piece sirloin, 1-inch thick
• 2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or canola oil
• 2 large red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
• 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 bunch scallions, cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces on bias, greens and whites
• 2 cups shelled frozen edamame
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A few dashes hot sauce
• Handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Handful fresh dill, chopped
• Handful fresh chives, chopped

Directions

Pop the meat in the freezer for a few minutes to stiffen it up for slicing.

Place potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil. Salt the water and cook the potatoes until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain.

Halve the steak lengthwise then very thinly slice the meat. Heat the oil in a very large skillet over high heat. When oil wafts smoke and ripples, add the meat and stir-fry until caramelized 3 minutes. Add peppers and stir-fry 2 minutes then add in scallions and edamame for 2 minutes more. Stir together the sugar, soy, mustard and ketchup and pour over stir-fry the last minute of cooking. Season, to taste, if necessary.

Mash potatoes with buttermilk, salt and pepper, hot sauce, parsley, dill, chives, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve with stir-fry on top!