Pistachio/Cranberry Cookies

These cookies are fabulous whenever you make them, but they're especially festive in the fall and through the holiday season!

I resisted making them forever.  My mom makes these cookies and several times a year she brings us a batch.  They're so GOOD.  They disappear in no time.

I asked her for the recipe a few years ago, and to my horror there is packaged pudding in them.  The snob in me simply refused to make them.

I didn't refuse to eat them, however.  Every time my mom brings us a batch, I definitely eat my fair share.

Perhaps more than my fair share.

Don't be like me, stubbornly refusing to make these cookies.  Make them today!

Cooking Show...Tailgating, Part III !

I can't believe we just filmed our third annual tailgating show!

I was once again joined by Maureen, the tailgating maven.  I don't know anyone who is more of a tailgating expert than she is.

Last month, it was my good luck to join in on one of her legendary tailgates, and I snapped a few photos.

Here they are:

Here's a photo of her table with appetizers and main dishes.

I think the two people that you see in the photo may be having a spirited discussion regarding whether the buffalo chicken dip tastes better with nachos or veggie sticks.

It's hard to see what was way down the other end of the table, so here's a picture of Maureen's fabulous tortellini/pasta salad and pulled pork sandwiches with vinegar slaw.

And we can't forget the dessert & drink table, featuring pomegranate mojitos and pumpkin whoopie pies, both of which we replicated for the show.

Here's what we made on the show:

Maureen thought it would be nice to have a signature cocktail for her tailgate.  

I decided that it should feature pomegranate juice, to match the colors of her alma mater.  Hence, Pomegranate Mojitos were born!  

Here's the printable recipe.

Then we moved on to Fall Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette.  Click here for the printable recipe.

In the upper left corner of the above photo, you can partially see the Brie & Jam Phyllo tarts that we made.  I wish I took a picture of them; I promise to update this post as soon as possible with a picture!  

In the meantime, if you want to make them, you will need a package of frozen phyllo tarts, a wedge of brie and a jar of jam.  Place a small (3/4-inch) piece of brie and 1/2 teaspoon of jam in each tart.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

For the record, I used roasted garlic & onion jam which lent the perfect amount of savory sweetness to these tarts!

Our menu would not be complete without Slow Cooker Pulled Pork sandwiches!  Here's the printable recipe.

And for a sweet finish to our show, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.  If you want to see a plate of treats disappear, make these.

During the show, someone asked me how long these will keep.  I had to answer that I didn't know, they are always gone by the next day!

Pomegranate Mojitos

I've been taking a lot of liberties with mojitos recently.

If there are mojito purists out there, I'm sure that my attempts at creating fun & fruity mojitos are a form of blasphemy in their eyes.

A friend of mine asked me to create a signature cocktail for her tailgate.  The school color is maroon, which made me think of pomegranate juice.  Before I could stop myself I was traveling down the fruity mojito road.

And there you go.  By the time we were finished, we had ourselves a menu for the next cooking show! (More tailgate pics & cooking show info in the next post.  Stay tuned!)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I can't help it.

Now that autumn has arrived I want to make pumpkin everything!

We're barely two weeks into the fall season and I've already made five batches of pumpkin whoopie pies.  Seven batches, if you take into consideration that two of those batches were double!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

It just doesn't get any easier than this.

Three ingredients!

Throw it into your crock pot, forget about it for 12 hours while you go about your day.

As usual, I had to dress it up a bit by adding some spice; but if you want to keep it simple and omit that step I promise you that your pulled pork will still be out-of-this-world yummy!

Fall Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

I've received a few emails recently, asking about my dogs and why I haven't been posting much about them.

I guess I've been too focused on recipes!

Last week was Clyde's birthday, however, so I guess this is a good time for a Clyde-pic.

Here he is, November 2012, the day I brought him home.

And here he is last week on his birthday!  I snapped this photo right after he chased a squirrel under the fence.  That's the look he gives whenever the animal he's chasing disappears under the fence.

I don't know whether that look means "Did you SEE that?!" or "Aren't you going to HELP me?" --but I'm always relieved that he's so slow and dopey when he gives chase, because I don't ever want to deal with a look of victory on his face!

Temperatures have dipped recently; I'm not really in that fall-comfort-food mode yet, but I'm ready to embrace the fruits of the season!  When I was at the supermarket a couple of weeks ago and I saw fresh cranberries, I think I might have exclaimed, "YES!!" out loud.  With a little fist pump.

What did I do with them?  I made a vinaigrette.

Isn't it pretty?!

You can prepare it in less than 10 minutes.  Make it in advance because it needs time to chill.  Then throw together this very simple salad (greens, a sliced pear or two, glazed pecans, dried cranberries and crumbled feta)!

Our Latest Cooking Show: Cocktails & Tapas!

We filmed another episode of the cooking show last week.

My friend, Trish, cooked with me.  Trish and I went out to dinner last month along with another friend, Gayle.  We ordered our usual Lemon Drop Martini, and as we were toasting our friendship Trish suggested that I should do a cocktail-themed cooking show.

I gave her my standard reply, "only if you'll cook with me!"

Ply Trish with lemon drop martinis and she will agree to anything.  We decided on a theme of Cocktails & Tapas, because Trish has a love of deep-fried food. I knew I would need to use the deep fryer to keep her happy, and since there is no deep-fried cocktail in my recipe repertoire it only seemed fitting to mix a few tapas into our cocktail show.

We started off with Blueberry-Peach Sangria.  This is my go-to sangria recipe.  And as you can tell by the nearly-empty pitcher in the background, it was a hit with everyone at the taping.

Click here to be taken to the printable recipe.

Then we mixed up a few Blackberry-Ginger Mojitos, inspired by my friend, Gayle, who confided that her recent trip to Puerto Rico sparked a love of mojitos.

Here's the printable recipe.

After we had the drinks prepared, we moved onto the tapas.

First up were the Stuffed Cucumbers with Feta.  

They're so quick and easy to prepare, and can be kept in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve them.    Here's the printable recipe.

Then we moved onto Bruschetta with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes.

Slow-roasting the tomatoes helps to concentrate their flavor, and they're especially good this time of year when you can still get your hands on tomatoes at the Farmers Market!  Or better yet, pick them from your garden (lucky you).

Next on the menu: Baked Chicken Taquitos.  Yummy, cheesy, fast & easy to prepare if you use a store-bought rotisserie chicken.  

Here's the printable recipe.

Then it was time to drag out the deep fryer, for our Fingerling Papas Fritas with Lemon Garlic Aioli.

Out of all of the dishes that we prepared, these were Trish's favorite.  I think they may have been the favorite of a few of the people at the taping, because at the end of the night, this was the dish that disappeared in a snap.  Here's the printable recipe.

While the first batch of potatoes was frying, we quickly prepared our Shrimp, Scallops & Arugula with Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette.

Click here for the printable recipe.

And finally, while the second batch of potatoes was frying, we made Shisito Peppers and Prosciutto.

Shisito peppers are not hot peppers.  Not usually. About one in ten shisito peppers will be hot.  On the Scoville pepper scale, they range from 100 to 1000 heat units.  By comparison, jalapeño peppers range from 2500 to 8000 heat units.

This is my favorite dish that we prepared.  It did not disappear as quickly as the potatoes did, so I had leftovers the next day!

Here is the printable recipe.

We spent about two hours preparing eight recipes...and then proceeded to demolish just about everything you see here!

Stuffed Cucumber with Feta

When you're making appetizers, do you try to strike a balance between decadent (fried and cheesy) and relatively healthy?

Unfortunately, ho-hum crudités make me feel deprived, which only increases the chance that I'm going to put too many high-calorie appetizers on my plate!

These little cucumber bites are a nice balance between healthy and indulgent, and they're quick and easy to prepare!

Bruschetta with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

Imagine a sliced baguette, the slices rubbed with garlic and lightly brushed with olive oil, toasted for a minute under the broiler and then topped with roasted tomatoes.  Tomatoes that have been slow roasted.  Slow roasted so that they are slightly dehydrated, the better to concentrate the sweet flavor of fresh-off-the-vine summer tomatoes.

You have been looking for something to do with the abundance of tomatoes from your garden, right?

Or the abundance of tomatoes that your neighbor (who is a gardening fiend) is begging you to take off her hands, PLEASE?  

You need to make this bruschetta.  Crunchy, yet chewy.  Savory, yet sweet--thanks to the garden tomatoes.

I hope that I've convinced you to make this.

Okay, there is a tiny caveat:  it takes two hours to roast the tomatoes.

But it's mostly hands-off time!

You can prep the tomatoes in 5 minutes, then stick them in your oven for two hours. The only moment that requires your attention is at the halfway-mark when you lower your oven temp from 250 degrees to 200 degrees.  You don't even need to open the door to do that.

After you've roasted the tomatoes you can either immediately assemble and broil the bruschetta (another 5 minute ordeal), or you can refrigerate the roasted tomatoes and wait until you're ready to spend 5 minutes assembling and broiling!

Blackberry-Ginger Mojitos

It all started with these blackberries that I bought last week at the farmers market.  They were so fresh and plump and juicy and sweet and I just had to come up with a plan for them.

I didn't want to spend too much time thinking about what to do with them, I just wanted to do something uncomplicated.  Something that we could all enjoy in a matter of minutes.

I recently went out to dinner with some friends. My friend, Gayle, was telling us about her recent trip to Puerto Rico, and how she got so used to drinking mojitos that now her husband has been making them for her.  

I don't know why Gayle's description of muddling mint leaves popped into my head when I was trying to figure out what to do with my blackberries, but muddling blackberries suddenly became my mission.

I don't know if this is truly a mojito-- the only classic mojito ingredients I used are mint leaves and rum.  And lots of ice.  I decided to skip the soda water and sugar and just use ginger ale.  And then instead of lime I added a little bit of fresh ginger to give some zing...but the incredibly sweet, juicy blackberries still shone through!