a new nothing with a speckled handle

this recipe comes from this dandy cookbook: Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips .  i was lucky enough to see ina garten (the barefoot contessa) in person here in kansas city when she came for a book signing.  she is as cute as a button.  she really does laugh a lot.  she really does entertain as much as it seems.  she is for real.  the entire hour with her was filled with questions and answers.  many people asked her questions like, "if you could give someone ONE recipe, what would it be?" or "what is your easiest dinner recipe?" or "what is the best recipe to entertain with?"...and always the answer was her perfect roast chicken (similar to this .)  it really is a great recipe.  EVERY recipe i try of hers is great, in fact.  so, the other day (at 4pm) in a moment of complete laziness, i realized i needed to make something for dinner in the next hour.  i carefully opened my (signed...

during a recent trip to costco, i purchased a box of the most delicious looking blackberries. i haven't cooked a lot with blackberries because, you see, i was so spoiled for the majority of my life that i just couldn't bring myself to buy blackberries. why was i spoiled, you ask? well, let me tell you, my grandma lived in southern california and had a row of beautiful boysenberry bushes. she'd make the most fantastic things with those boysenberries. when she moved to utah she brought as much as she could freeze but we still missed those boysenberry bushes. and since her passing a few years ago, we miss much much more than just those boysenberries. but i would bet you if you were to look somewhere within the depths of my mother's freezer, you'd still find some boysenberry juice packaged away just for nostalgia's sake. and i would keep it too because it's like gold to me. so back to blackberries...after making this tart i can't wait to try out mor...

i first got the idea for this dish from everyday food and i have been using my version for a long time. although, i'll be completely honest (come on, would i ever lie to you?), my version changes a lot. each time i make them i dump in a little of this or a little of that. that's what i love about this recipe...it's so versatile. and it's a great way to use leftover vegetables or the ones getting smushy in your fridge. i always use ground turkey because, well, i am just not a ground beef kinda gal (do you hate the word gal? cuz i kinda do, but i used it anyway). i never use ground beef except for the occasional hamburger and i usually try to fool the mr. by using ground turkey instead and until recently he had no idea. if you like ground beef then you could easily use it instead of ground turkey! cut up all your veggies about the same size and they blend right into the meat and your kids will never even see them! i think i got pretty lucky, though, because my ...

i'm getting my corned beef ready right now, are you? if you didn't get one, it's not too late. i just got mine yesterday because for some odd reason, even though i knew it was the 15th, i didn't think the 17th was until next week. doesn't make sense to you? me neither. a so i ran to the store (thanks to my sweet and fun mother) and bought a delicious looking corned beef and here's how i'm cooking it. 1 corned beef (any size) packet of pickling spices included in package (seriously, that's all i use) place corned beef in large cooking pot. add enough water to cover beef by about 1 inch. bring to a simmer and allow to cook for about 1 hour. remove from heat and discard cooking liquid. change beef over to a crockpot and add enough water to cover beef by about 1 inch. sprinkle pickling spices on top. If desired, add carrots or any other root vegetables to the top of the beef. cook on low heat for about 8-9 hours. (or if you are in a hur...

I love homemade bread. i actually make it quite often and i have a lot of different recipes that i use depending on the time i have. i like bread in just about any form or flavor! i also really like cooking shows. imagine that! we switched our tv programming a while ago and had a short few months of the cooking channel. it's so fantastic and i fell in love with a bunch of shows just in time for the channel to be cut! i was lucky to be able to catch a few of kelsey nixon's shows " kelsey's essentials " and i really love her recipes. one of those recipes is this quick and easy bread recipe. when i first read it over after watching the show i couldn't believe the amount of yeast! it seemed like too much, so i cut it way back. the rolls were still delicious, but they didn't rise fast like they're supposed to. so my advice would be to use the exact recipe, yeast and all! and enjoy some for dinner tonight. or use the recipe for cinnamon rolls!...

i feel like i need to redeem myself with a healthy recipe so you know that sometimes i do eat healthy foods. sometimes. i'm trying really hard right now to eat better foods. i work out a lot and i love it, but i have felt so sluggish lately! is that from all the coconut brownies and magic cookie bars i eat? hmmmm. probably. its funny that i actually have a degree in exercise physiology and still struggle with eating right and feeling healthy! i like to pretend that i can eat what i want all day long and still feel fantastic. maybe it's my aging body, maybe it really is the fact that eating THAT many empty calories just simply doesn't fuel your body! anyway, can you say tangent? so i eat this salad almost every day. whether it's for lunch or dinner, it tastes really good and is very satisfying. and i always have the ingredients on hand for a quick bite when the kids are eating delicious looking pizza. don't worry, i'll be out of this healthy mood pr...

here we go again.  i told you i love curry.  when i first saw this recipe on mad hungry , i knew that i would love it.  let me be completely honest, though.  i really didn't like it when i made it for dinner.  i didn't let it simmer long enough for the squash to break down and mingle with the other flavors.  the next day, however, and for the rest of the days to follow until the leftovers ran out, it was fantastic!  so, i would advise you to make this ahead of time, seal it up and put it in your fridge for another night.  i have changed it just a bit from the original recipe, but i'm sure the original way would be fantastic, too.  it's extremely easy to make, full of flavor and my kids loved it (leftover, that is.)   pumpkin vegetable curry stew 3 Tbsp canola oil 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1-2 Tbsp curry powder (start with 1 and add more later, if needed) 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 2 tsp...

I found this recipe while browsing around on foodbuzz.com and i was instantly intrigued. i love baked goods. seriously. in fact, it's becoming a real problem. anyway, when i saw this recipe i knew it was something i would eventually try. eventually. but eventually turned into immediately pretty quickly and here they are. to be completely honest, i didn't love the way these turned out. i made them yesterday and decided i would not post about them. they were very buttery and custardy coming right out of the oven and it was just not what i was expecting. but today i decided to give them another try and wow. they're the perfect texture and flavor. they're so delicious! and, as it turns out, it's the perfect bake-ahead recipe! fancy that! recipe from browneyedbaker via foodbuzz.com 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 11 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces 1½ cups granulated sugar ½ cup p...

i have a friend who served me this salad.  it was love at first taste.  i think i could spend the rest of my life with that dressing.  i found myself wanting to eat it so often, i had to find something else to pair it with (just plain drinking it was not an option, although, it did cross my mind.)  it actually happened by accident.  i added pears to my salad one day and loved it so much, the next day i decided to leave out the lettuce/spinach altogether.  the result:  a fantastic and easy salad that just may make your lips pucker up and make your heart skip a beat. 2 fresh pears, peel on and diced grated parmesan, or any other sharp cheese almonds, chopped or slivered (the original recipe calls for crumbled bacon, which would be fantastic even in this salad!) lemon-garlic vinaigrette juice of one lemon small clove of garlic, minced 2/3 cup canola oil salt and pepper to taste combine in a jar and shake to emulsify (or you can whis...