Zinfandel Braised Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms and Polenta
I am something of a comfort food junkie. I have discovered, over the last year, the delightful bliss that is polenta. I have also discovered that I am passionately in love with chicken thighs. So, when I was craving something rich, creamy, and comforting the other night I decided to take my two new comfort food favorites and combine them into one dish. The braise for the chicken thighs is rather short, but chicken cooks fairly...
‘Big Evil’ Cheeseburger
I have fond memories of fast food from childhood. I did not get fast food all that often (thanks mom for always cooking for us!!) so I remember it being a special treat, or something we had when we were short on time. When I was very small I would get kids meals, the happy kind, but when I grew older I would get the burger that sported two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese … you know the one? I was enamored of...
Blueberry Lime Fromage Blanc Tart
Ahhh, fresh blueberries! One of the best parts of spring is the arrival in the markets of fresh, plump berries. I always get the itch to make a tart or pie with fresh berries at this time of year, and while shopping I also sampled some excellent fromage blanc. I decided instantly that they would be perfect in a dessert together. This tart is the perfect blend of mouthwatering tang from the cheese, bright citrus flavor from the lime,...
Egg Salad
If you are anything like me, you have a few left-over eggs from Easter. When I was growing up we never had egg salad. Maybe it was because my parents did not care for it, or maybe they never thought of it, but we never had it. Once I struck out on my own I decided to give it a try, but I found a lot of the recipes I tried were either too bland or had too much onion or sweet relish, which overpowered the other flavors. So, I...
Peanut Butter Cream Pie with Chocolate Whipped Cream
I am a sucker for peanut butter desserts. I love peanut butter cookies, peanut butter fudge, hot peanut butter poured over ice cream, spicy peanut sauce … you name a culinary application for peanut butter and I most likely love it. So, it should come as no great surprise that, while I found myself whisking a chocolate filling for a chocolate cream pie, I decided to see how I could incorporate peanut butter into a cream pie. A...
Cream of Chicken Soup
I always forget how easy soups are to make. One of my favorite soups is cream of chicken. For the longest time I would buy the soup from the deli of the grocery store because I quite simply never thought to make it myself. I am kicking myself about it now because not only is it dead simple, it tastes far better than anything I have purchased. What I like is that I control the content of the soup, so if I want more carrots or...
