Cooking Show: Holiday Treats!

We filmed an episode of the cooking show last week.  'Tis the season, so I tried to feature recipes that are special enough for the holidays, but I didn't want them to scream, "CHRISTMAS!!" 

You can confidently prepare these recipes for a special occasion, yet they are easy enough to make that you may want to add them to your usual rotation!

 Cranberry-Pistachio Cake Bars

Fresh cranberries and whole pistachios add festive pops of red and green. There is no leavening agent in these bars (whipping the eggs provides the volume), and the combination of the dense texture, tart cranberries and crunchy sugar on top is a winning combination!

Click here for the printable recipe.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Martini

So simple to make: equal parts chocolate liqueur, salted caramel Baileys®, light cream and milk. 

You can prepare one or two in a cocktail shaker or make 'em by the pitcher like we did!  Dip the rims of the glasses into caramel syrup and toffee bits, add a swirl of chocolate syrup on the bottom of the glass. Don't forget the whipped cream on top!

I was sort of debating whether or not to use the toffee bits on the rims...the toffee has a tendency to slowly slide down the side of the glass.  Each and every one of us licked our glasses clean, however!

I may have used a spoon to fish out the bits that sank into the syrup in the bottom of the glass.

 Snow-Capped Molasses Cookies

This is one of those recipes where the results are so much more spectacular than the effort you put in!  

The batter doesn't require any chill time--just mix, scoop and bake. They are crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside and sweet with a hint of spice.  Dip them into white chocolate after they've cooled.  Cookie perfection!

Click here for the printable recipe.

 Gingerbread Dutch Baby Pancake

Incredibly easy and quick.  You will have the ingredients mixed and ready to go while your oven is still heating up.

 Festive Fruit Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

Such a fabulous contradiction of flavors!  Sweet, sour, minty and a tiny drizzle of the vinaigrette really puts it over the top.

Cooking Show: Oatmeal is NOT Boring!!

We recently filmed a cooking show with an oatmeal theme.  Good old-fashioned oats!

It seems like refrigerated oats have been an overnight sensation (see what I did there? tee-hee) for the past few years.

I simply can not reconcile cold, chalky refrigerated oats with the warm, creamy oats that I love. Don't even try to convert me. You may have managed to convince yourself that your overnight refrigerated oats are creamy, but if I truly want something cold and creamy I will reach for yogurt, thank you very much.

I've tried to embrace overnight refrigerated oats but I had to finally jump off of that bandwagon because one person's creamy is another person's chalky (hint: that other person is ME).  

Overnight oats in a slow-cooker, however?  Yes, please!!

Slow Cooker Apple/Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oats

Chop a couple of apples (no peeling necessary!), toss them into your slow cooker, measure in the remaining ingredients (no further prep work required) and stir.  Set your slow cooker to LOW and when you wake up your breakfast will be warm and waiting for you!  Give it another quick stir then add some nuts, raisins and a swirl of maple syrup.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Spice Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Same minimal prep as the Apple/Cinnamon oats, but rather than chopping apples you need the special skill of opening up a can of pumpkin puree. Measure all of the ingredients into the slow cooker, stir, and let it cook while you sleep.

All that is required of you when you wake up is to stir it again...

...and add a few toppings.  Chopped nuts and raisins add nice texture!  Stir in a bit of brown sugar for sweetness, or add a swirl of maple syrup.

If you prefer your oats in the form of a muffin instead, we've got you covered!

If you're like me, you probably don't have time in the morning to bake a batch of muffins for breakfast.  I bake these muffins whenever my schedule allows and freeze them!  Pull them out of your freezer as needed, defrost them in your microwave (it only takes less than a minute), and now you have another quick (and warm!) breakfast item to add to your repertoire.

Chocolate-Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Packed with protein (thanks to peanut butter), these muffins get their sweetness from bananas and honey and are free of processed sugars. They can be gluten-free as well if you use gluten-free oats!

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

These are my favorite muffins!  Oats, applesauce, raisins...so much yumminess in one muffin.  Click here for the printable recipe.

Our Latest Cooking Show: Soup's On!!

My summer cooking involves a lot of grilling!  I'll do anything to avoid spending time in the kitchen when it's hot outside.

However, now that the temperature is dropping, I've been making up for lost time by cooking all of the things I've been avoiding during the warmer weather.

Here's a dinner photo from earlier this month.  I was so excited when the temperature dipped and I was finally able to spend time in the kitchen without worrying about how hot and steamy it would get.  Three soups at once, I may have gone a little overboard...

But all that soup-making was the inspiration for our recent cooking show!

My friend, Lisa, cooked alongside me.  We started with a cocktail.  Why settle for an apple martini when you can add caramel vodka and turn it into a Caramel Apple-Tini?

Creamy Chicken Soup

This soup would be right at the top of my list of comfort foods.

Loaded with shredded veggies & chicken, a touch of cream and an assortment of herbs, I suggest making a double batch so that you have lots of leftovers.  This is one of those soups that is even better the next day!  Sitting in your fridge overnight gives the herbs (and fennel seed!) time to infuse even more flavor.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasting the tomatoes really deepens their flavor.  There's really not a lot of work involved with this recipe! After halving and roasting the tomatoes along with onions & garlic, you throw everything into your blender and then simmer it with herbs.

These Ham and Cheese Puff Pinwheels were a big hit.

The contrast between the flaky puff pastry, the crispy ham and melting cheese make them a perfect accompaniment for tomato soup!

Pumpkin Spice Cooking Show

I can't say that I enjoy the pumpkin spice EVERYTHING assault that occurs as September rolls around. I grudgingly have to admit, however, that I do look forward to cooking pumpkin recipes--and to the yummy smell of pumpkin/cinnamon wafting through my house!

We filmed a cooking show last week which featured pumpkin spice recipes. 

My friend, Lisa, cooked with me.  We both agreed that this pumpkin craziness is a 21st century creation.  

My only childhood memory of pumpkin food is pumpkin pie...displayed on the dessert table at Thanksgiving, 40-50 family members digging into blueberry or apple or pecan or lemon meringue or chocolate pie.  Tradition called for pumpkin pie, however. Year after year, my aunt would dutifully bake pumpkin pie (and mincemeat.  What the heck is mincemeat?  I digress...) and there it would sit, forlorn and unloved while all of the tastier pies were snarfed down.  The memory of untouched pumpkin pies remains seared in my memory!

Lisa and I cooked up a bunch of pumpkin recipes...NONE of which remained untouched!

We started with Pumpkin Waffles.  Topped with warm maple syrup, whipped cream, raisins...I may have served these for dinner on a recent chilly night...they're not only for breakfast!

Pumpkin Muffins with Raisins & Pecans

These are so good.  

Make extra and freeze them.  So easy to pop into your microwave to defrost and heat!  Trust me on this.  Cold, dark, dreary mornings are fast approaching and you'll be grateful to have a stash of these muffins in your freezer to quickly warm up and nibble on while you sip your morning brew.

Click here for the printable recipe.

Pumpkin Martini

We've featured this drink on a previous cooking show, but it bears repeating!  Garnish with a cinnamon stick and marshmallows.  Don't forget the marshmallows!  They get all soft and squishy and yummy in the bottom of the glass.  

Click here for the printable recipe.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse Parfaits

Lisa and I had fun layering bits of cookies, brownies, graham crackers...but when all is said and done, it is the mousse that is the star of this recipe.

You may just want to serve 'em up straight!

Cooking with Kids! Taco Boats, Muffin Tin Pizzas, Apple Faux-nuts, and Mason Jar Lid Blueberry Pies

Our most recent cooking show featured kid-friendly recipes.  Recipes that were fun to prepare, and fun to eat!

I was joined by Emily and Lily, two 10-year-olds who happily assembled our recipes with very little assistance.

We started with Taco Boats.  We layered cooked rice and seasoned chicken into tortilla "boats," then popped them into the oven for a few minutes to heat them up.   After removing them from the oven we topped them with chopped avocado, tomatoes and a sprinkling of cilantro.

Hmm...I wrote "we" but it would have been more truthful to say "Emily and Lily."  I stood and watched while they did all of the assembling! 

The only prep that I did was to cook the rice in advance and prep the chicken (which means I removed and chopped up the meat from a cooked rotisserie chicken).  So easy!

Next up were Muffin Tin Mini Pizzas.  

I used a cookie cutter to cut mini "crusts" from flour tortillas, then placed them into a muffin tin.  

I then took a step back and watched as Lily and Emily took over and filled them up with their favorite toppings!

Football season is finally here, and these mini-pizzas are a great appetizer to serve when you're watching the game.  Go Patriots!

Mason Jar Lid Blueberry Pies

Yes, we baked these pies inside mason jar lids!  Emily and Lily cut the mini-crusts from ready-made pie crusts. 

I'm glad I remembered to snap a few photos because after they cooled down they were the first thing to disappear!

Apple Faux-Nuts

I sliced a few apples into rings, and then Lily and Emily took over and frosted and decorated the "donuts." This was my favorite recipe of the night...I managed to snag one that had berry cream cheese topped with blueberries and coconut chips.  A winning combo!

It also gave us the chance to use marshmallows, which are always a hit when cooking with kids!

Cooking Show: Recipes with Lots of Fruits and Veggies!

My friend, Kerry, joined me for the latest episode of the cooking show.  The recipes we prepared were loaded with fruits & veggies.

Recipes that are perfect for this hot summer weather, when you're looking for something refreshing and not heavy!

We started with Tropical Mimosas.  

Okay, they're nothing like mimosas, there is neither orange juice nor champagne in these drinks.  I just thought it was a nice name for a light, fruity drink.

They're sort of a riff on Pina Coladas, but I swapped out the coconut creme (which has lots of calories) for coconut seltzer (no-calorie seltzer for the win)!

Next up was Brussels Sprouts Salad with Buttermilk Dressing.

Why bother with store-bought dressing when you can whip up buttermilk dressing of your own? If you don't have buttermilk on hand you can make your own substitute--for the 1/3 cup that is called for in this recipe, simply put 1 teaspoon of white vinegar into your measuring cup and then add milk to the 1/3-cup mark.  Stir and let it sit for five minutes.  Voilá, buttermilk substitute!

Arrange the salad ingredients in rows so that your family can easily spoon out their favorite combination...or avoid the ingredient that they don't want, as the case may be.  There are a few members of this household who avoid the gorgonzola!

We also used brussels sprouts in our Ginger/Honey/Soy Chicken Stir Fry.

If I had to to come up with a nickname for this recipe, I would call it Egg Roll Stir Fry.  With the shaved brussels sprouts and shredded carrots, the flavor is reminiscent of an egg roll, but without the calories of the deep-fried egg roll wrap.  Score!

Finally, we ended with Nectarine Crisp.

Similar to apple crisp, but it takes less time to prepare because unlike apples you don't need to peel the nectarines!

Cooking Show: Lemons!!

My friend, Gayle, recently told me that she lived in California when she was a child and there was a lemon tree in her yard.  My reaction was like, GET OUT!!!

It was fitting that Gayle should join me for our recent cooking show!  Lemons were the featured ingredient in each recipe that we prepared.

Gayle also told me that they had an avocado tree as well.  Mental note: future show.

Okay, back to lemons.  We started with Limoncello & Raspberry Fizz.  So refreshing!

Next, we prepared salad with grilled lemon chicken and lemon vinaigrette.

Click here for the printable recipe for the vinaigrette.  It's loaded with fresh herbs and a little goes a long way!

Toss together a salad using your favorite fresh salad ingredients.  We used 4 cups of romaine, 1/2 English cuke (chopped), 1 cup of grape tomatoes, 1 avocado (sliced) and 1/4 cup of kalamata olives.

We also used my favorite Grilled Lemon Chicken in this salad. It's one of my summer staples!  I like to prepare a large batch of this chicken at the beginning of the week and use it in weeknight dinners.

It's a great addition to salads, sandwiches, pasta and as you're about to see--pizza!!

Yes, PIZZA. Specifically, Chicken & Broccoli Pizza with Lemon Cream Sauce.   All the recipes you need--pizza dough, grilled chicken, cream sauce--are included in the link!

If you like Bertucci's Silano pizza, this is my attempt to replicate it.  It disappeared quickly when we finished filming the show...I think it was a hit!

Finally, we finished up with a Lemon/Almond Tart.  Sooo good, and also gluten-free.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cooking Show: Strawberries!

Strawberry season is here!

When I was a kid, I never knew how lucky I was to grow up in the vicinity of so many strawberry farms.  

My mom always picked more than we knew what to do with.  I'll be honest, my favorite strawberry recipe isn't a recipe at all.  It goes like this: pick them, wash them, eat them!  Supermarket strawberries just can't compare to sweet, juicy, fresh-picked strawberries!

If you find yourself with an abundance of strawberries and are searching for a few good recipes, look no further.  Here are a few recipes from our recent, strawberry-themed cooking show!

Strawberry Lemonade!

For the adult version, top it off with a shot of limoncello.  Click here for the printable recipe.

Baked Strawberry Oatmeal Crumble

This makes a great breakfast!  Or dessert, topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Chicken and Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

This salad is my go-to summer salad.  It's so quick and easy to prepare!  You can also throw it into a wrap.  Click here for the printable recipe.

And finally, Strawberry Galette with Chocolate Crust.  Serve this warm, topped with whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream!