By Jeanne, on September 1st, 2010
This pizza was inspired by our favorite local pizza place. They put all kinds of crazy toppings on pizza – mashed potatoes, peanut butter, pasta, cream cheese, scrambled eggs, and many more! My favorite pizza is topped with mashed potatoes, BBQ sauce, chicken, and mozzarella. Since I stopped eating industrially processed meat, I have missed eating this pizza.
Opportunities to purchase meat that satisfies my current standards (local, small scale, pasture raised, respectfully slaughtered) are few and far between. When I went on a farm tour at Quail Springs permaculture farm, I got the chance to order a couple of chickens from livestock manager Brenton Kelly.
Continue reading “BBQ Chicken Pizza” »
By Jeanne, on April 27th, 2010
The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.
This challenge put me out of my comfort zone not only with a new technique, but with a new ingredient as well: suet. I rarely eat meat, so my first thought was to forge ahead with the vegetarian suet version or to just make a sweet sponge pudding.
But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to attempt the traditional version of the challenge. I put aside my objections so that I could try an authentic dish from another culture. And then I decided to try the sweet sponge pudding as well!
Continue reading “Daring Bakers Challenge: Traditional British Puddings” »
By Jeanne, on April 5th, 2010
I’ve only had polenta once before, when my boyfriend cooked it for me. He loves a good cooking experiment just as much as I do. We had been intrigued by it in the store, not quite knowing what to make of the large yellow tube that appeared ready to burst at any moment. We decided that it was pretty tasty, and I vowed to use it again.
When I came across a recipe for polenta made from scratch, I knew I had to try it. Plus, the addition of mushrooms in this recipe forced me to push my comfort zone. I don’t like mushrooms very much. It’s definitely a texture thing, so I figured that if I chopped them finely enough (and tried not to think about it) I could enjoy this dish.
Continue reading “Sun-Dried Tomato Polenta Cutlets” »
By Jeanne, on January 4th, 2010
When we spent the weekend in Big Sur, we ate two breakfasts and one dinner at the Big Sur Bakery. I fell in love. I needed more than one weekend to try each breakfast pastry and every type of pizza.
I’ll go back someday soon, but for now I’ve got their cookbook. When I saw the potato frittata recipe I remembered seeing the frittata in the breakfast pastry case. I didn’t try it while we were there, but now I can make it at home!
Continue reading “Potato Bacon Frittata” »
By Jeanne, on November 29th, 2009
The taste of good, homemade macaroni and cheese brings me back to my childhood. One of my favorite dishes has always been mom’s macaroni and cheese. Rich, creamy, cheesy, ooey, gooey goodness. It is definitely our family tradition.
Continue reading “Flavor of the Month: Baked Mac N Cheese” »
