tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25184642392782997242012-02-12T03:50:26.698-05:00Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.comBlogger4601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-32280404382771456792012-02-10T18:53:00.000-05:002012-02-10T18:53:16.858-05:00

I just got an email that has to be shared with all of you.  Now, for those of you who don't know, my two eldest cats are named George and Gracie.  Not only was my grandfather's name George but I think George Burns was one of the funniest men I've ever heard in my life.  Ergo the names.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.  Here's the text of the message from my friend Judy: Gracie Allen: 

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-32130608102096424532012-02-09T20:04:00.000-05:002012-02-09T20:04:41.580-05:00

We like The Cooking Channel and Food Network.  We often will turn the TV on and leave one of those on as the background noise.  We don't watch much else on TV except sports and the occasional HGTV.  One of our favorite programs happens to be Guy Fieri and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Now, that we'll sit down and actually watch. We're not exactly Guy Fieri groupies, but we have hit a few

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-25010315520533864112012-02-09T19:51:00.000-05:002012-02-09T19:51:33.789-05:00

One of the worst things about being a foodie and having the flu is that the list of dining possibilities goes from virtually unlimited to umm, about nil.  Last week I was really, really tired.  Like, bone tired.  I attributed it to working too hard.  There were twice as many appointments on my calendar as there would be in a perfect world.  That can be attributed to the fact that Amber's back and

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-28756679835884619872012-01-30T22:16:00.000-05:002012-01-30T22:16:49.629-05:00

It's Super Bowl week here in Indianapolis.  Early Sunday morning, Connie and I took a drive downtown to see what's going on.  It's impressive.  When I was growing up this city was India-no-place to a lot of folks.  Now, there's a LOT to do.  There have already been articles in major magazines saying that all of the naysayers will be very pleasantly surprised.  I do believe that's true.  Our

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-30356626599341034892012-01-29T21:14:00.000-05:002012-01-29T21:14:34.055-05:00

Do you believe it!  We're still on the Entertaining with Booze book!  Percentage-wise I've made more recipes from this cookbook than I've ever made from another cookbook.  I turned the preparation of this recipe over to my inestimable sous-chef, Connie, to prepare.  We thought that this sounded good so, one day, we stopped by Kahn's, our local liquor super store.  This is the weirdest liquor

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-52129733161040926982012-01-25T21:59:00.001-05:002012-01-26T08:36:55.160-05:00

Tonight I thought I'd have a fantastic new fish recipe for you.  It didn't happen.  We didn't like the dish.  You know, that happens.  It's tough though when you're blogging and busier than a one-armed paper hanger in a windstorm.  We made it through the party the 6th of January.  Then, we were off to client meetings and a board meeting in Orlando.  We finally got back and it was time to prep

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-17041945741358080892012-01-20T22:03:00.002-05:002012-01-21T11:18:36.522-05:00

One of my favorite tv chefs premiered his new cooking show last night - Michael Symon's Symon's Suppers.  We've loved watching him on Iron Chef and pretty much anything else he's on.  Not only does he cook like we do - lots of flavor - but he's got such a fantastic personality.  Connie and I were both exhausted and staying up until 10:00 was a major effort.  I know, what babies!  Let me tell

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-32167967148302293752012-01-15T21:21:00.001-05:002012-01-16T16:18:17.579-05:00

A few minutes ago I saved a document I'd gotten attached to an email.  Typically by this time of year I've learned it's a NEW year and I'm pretty good at typing in the correct info.  Unfortunately, it's the 15th of January and I've actually been in the office for about a day and a half this year so it really hasn't sunk in that it's 2012.  Not that I was goofing off, mind you.  The first week was

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-22150659061971147742012-01-09T21:58:00.000-05:002012-01-09T21:58:30.946-05:00

My buddies from Girls Night Out.  We've been together for somewhere around 20-25 years! Last year we had miserable weather.  Cold, icy, slip and fall and break your tookus weather. Somewhere between 125 and 150 people attended our annual open house.  It started years ago when Connie said, "Let's have a party."  I said, "Sure."  Did you expect anything different?  We had the party in Connie's old

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-68232266726304565132012-01-01T20:39:00.001-05:002012-01-01T22:21:59.901-05:00

New Year's Eve.  Seafood and seduction.  Connie's a New England boy.  He grew up downtown Boston.  As in right downtown.  By the Bunker Hill Monument.  He went to Boston Latin School.  Worked for the Bank of New England while he worked on his college degree.  Grew up on fresh seafood.  Needless to say, he doesn't find the same in Indianapolis.   We met in 2004 and pretty quickly we knew we

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-38991868413508126492011-12-31T08:50:00.000-05:002011-12-31T08:50:26.192-05:00

Did you know there used to be a law regulating the maximum number of times a week servants could be served lobster?  It was such a cheap food that many folks overdid it so they regulated it to a maximum of two times a week.  From junk to dear.  When I found out that I was one of the 24 bloggers chosen by Foodbuzz to do a New Year's Eve dinner, I knew lobster was going to be on the menu.  You see

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-47276176760362920562011-12-29T22:26:00.000-05:002011-12-29T22:26:15.122-05:00

I had a date tonight.  With my favorite boyfriend.  Well, ok, he's my hubby too.  We went to see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at Civic Theatre.  What a production.  We loved it.  It's fun when you've attended enough theatre that you recognize some of the actors.  Tonight we got to see Jim Trofatter who is the playwright for the Benjamin Harrison House and their mystery theatre.  And,

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-72090680944132190432011-12-28T08:45:00.001-05:002011-12-28T08:45:36.435-05:00

The week before Christmas was one of those incredibly busy weeks.  There was a lot of cooking going on at our house.  Tuesday was probably the craziest day.  I had a couple of new recipes chosen for dinner - chicken crusted with pecans and drizzled with a white wine maple reduction and a salad with baked goat cheese and rosemary infused honey.  Only problem was the fact that I also had to broil

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-6372833637284366612011-12-22T22:16:00.000-05:002011-12-22T22:16:43.476-05:00

We had a rack of lamb in the freezer awaiting a special occasion.  Christmas is with Connie's family.  New Year's is a seafood fest.  Our anniversary is a couple of days after our big holiday party and we'll be eating leftovers.  Time to create a special occasion!  So, we invited Mom over for dinner. Please allow me to introduce you to my mom.  She's 86 years young and is an absolute hoot. 

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-59156608799892207862011-12-20T05:13:00.000-05:002011-12-20T05:13:00.305-05:00

This is from Pat and Gina Neely’s wonderful cookbook, The Neely’s Celebration Cookbook. We have had a few recipes from the book and everything so far has been a winner. This particular recipe is a little different from the Love Potion versions we have seen in our drinks book, but it is also a fabulous drink. Not sweet, not sour, just pleasantly tart. We bought some pomegranate arils at Sam’

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-70467037436993426582011-12-19T07:00:00.003-05:002011-12-19T09:15:08.327-05:00

Once again, it's Secret Recipe Club time.  This was a total first for me.  Usually, I browse my assigned blog for an hour or more trying to find the perfect recipe.  This time I found my recipe when I first logged on.  I logged on a couple  more times hunting for something else that sounded better.  But, this one stuck in my mind.  I kept talking about making these carrots.  I was hooked.  And,

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-21323517872248558532011-12-18T08:19:00.001-05:002011-12-18T08:19:00.537-05:00

I'm filing this under salads.  And, I'm laughing while doing so.  It has lettuce.  And dressing.  Oh, and a mountain of fried cheese.  So, maybe if I take a nice, big ribeye and slice it and load a couple of lettuce leaves up with steak and dressing I could call that a salad too?  I didn't think so.  Well, call it what you will, this is a five on a scale of one to five.  OPA!  We've had

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-79934522895388038712011-12-17T23:17:00.001-05:002011-12-17T23:17:25.156-05:00

The title kinda knocks your socks off, doesn't it?  It certainly did mine.  Connie and I were doing our Christmas shopping and he was on the phone with middle son, Greg, trying to find out what to get youngest son, Matt.  No, Matt we are not getting you a year's supply of socks.  Yes, we considered that because you have yet to give us any hints.  So, guess what I did while Connie was chatting?

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-15027366841524815802011-12-15T21:40:00.001-05:002011-12-15T21:42:38.522-05:00

My throat's sore.  I feel miserable.  And, I'm trying my best to keep going.  Not terribly successfully, mind you.  Some of my appointments will have to be rescheduled because it's impossible to prep for them or have them while asleep in the big comfy chairs in front of my desk.  You thought those were for clients???  Think again, my friends.  They're recliners.  For me.  But, they're still big

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-11885663188026872122011-12-13T20:47:00.000-05:002011-12-13T20:47:36.337-05:00

Friday night at home.  With Connie.  Now, to most of you that doesn't sound like anything spectacular.  Just an evening at home.  Except for the fact that for the last six years he's played bridge almost every Friday night.  On occasion we've had a Friday evening together but there've not been too many that we could just goof off.  And, I'd not been home for several evenings.  Our original plan

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-17878943608331855402011-12-10T08:52:00.001-05:002011-12-10T09:04:23.059-05:00

How to tell it's been a busy week around our house.  There are three cat food bowls in the sink and two wine glasses in the dish drainer.  Otherwise, the kitchen appears to be unused.  Lunch is what we can find from the freezer because there are no leftovers.  The mail is stacked neatly in the mail cubby.  And, on the desk because the cubby is full.  There's a stack of current papers on my

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-13106687273019049112011-12-09T06:52:00.000-05:002011-12-09T06:52:05.618-05:00

We're going to start here with a visualization exercise.   Ready?  Let's go.  Picture a cheese ball.  You know the kind rolled in chopped pecans?  Full of yummy cheddar cheese or some other kind of cheese.  Surrounded on the plate by crackers.  Now, let's twist this a bit.  Picture the crackers morphing into animal crackers.  You cut into the cheese ball and there are little brown specks.  The

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-46161689687367439602011-12-03T14:18:00.000-05:002011-12-03T14:18:43.839-05:00

Don't you love, love, love that sense of accomplishment when you get a big project done?  Then, you look around at what DIDN'T get done while you were working on the big project and that love gets deflated a bit.  That's rather how I feel this morning.  Many years ago, I got a call from another financial planner who needed help on a group major medical case.  She didn't do any insurance work

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-55031485050109996802011-11-29T19:52:00.000-05:002011-11-29T19:52:07.556-05:00

This recipe has been in my to-try for the party for several months.  I collect recipes during the year then try them in the fall and come up with a final party menu by the end of November.  Over the years we've made many different crab dips.  You might think that we just love to test crabmeat recipes.  Hmmm.  Guilty as charged :-) We made this for our dinner party for our football friends. 

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-51350171241201083522011-11-25T21:19:00.000-05:002011-11-25T21:19:23.346-05:00

Connie and I are absolutely in the minority on Black Friday.  We don't even attempt to go to the grocery store.  Neither of us has the shopping gene.  And, we particularly don't have the crowded shopping gene.  My favorite trips to the store involve a list and a plan and a no lines.  Well, unless there's a rack of cookbooks.  Then, you'll find me browsing.  But, you knew that :-) On

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-80882966618825101342011-11-23T22:55:00.000-05:002011-11-23T22:55:15.030-05:00

CVS, H.H. Gregg, Menards, Sams Club, Kroger.  Calcium carbonate for George food (aka cat food) Check.  Freezer shopping.  Check.  Ingredients for George food.  Check.  Weird shopping list (full flavor molasses, parsnips, cheesecloth, apples, cucumber, red wine vinegar - see what I mean!) Check.  All done in two and a half hours.  Home at 8:30.  Blast.  Never thought about dinner.  Well, that's

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-77842971564666991722011-11-21T07:00:00.003-05:002011-11-21T07:00:03.911-05:00

It's Secret Recipe Club time again!  And, I was assigned a gem of a blog.  Josie's Kitchen.  Josie oozes enthusiasm for life and is a delight to read.  Most months I print a dozen recipes and debate what I'm going to try.  This time, I found MY recipe in a few minutes.  Irish Pancakes.  Something I've never had.  You see, when I've been to Ireland, I've focused on oatmeal or a traditional Irish

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-37540015908511339362011-11-20T20:33:00.000-05:002011-11-20T20:33:20.842-05:00

I am so far behind on posting some of the wonderful dishes we've tried.  Then, we went and had a dinner party and tried a bunch of new dishes.  And, all of them were wonderful.  That's on top of the party food testing I did last weekend at Donna and Phil's.  And, the new dishes I tried last week.  And, the 30 or so recipes I've got on the list to blog about.  And, the new recipes I've got on

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-13771712436608763862011-11-19T11:30:00.000-05:002011-11-19T11:30:27.975-05:00

Friday night was shopping night.  I know.  What an exciting date, huh?  Actually, truth be told, Connie and I just like being around each other.  So, grocery shopping is a fine date for us.  We're having company for dinner on Saturday so we had to get the provisions for that.  And, while we were doing that it made sense to buy a turkey on sale ($13.71 for a 26 pound turkey!!) along with green

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-18856312326666905232011-11-16T18:56:00.001-05:002011-11-16T18:56:52.466-05:00

It's apple season!  I love being able to get fresh apples.  Not the almost crispy ones they sell in the stores in June, the ones that are truly crisp and juicy and you just know they were picked that day.  Yum!  Not far from our home there's a place called Lilly Orchard.  Now, when I was a kid it was really an orchard.  Then, an exclusive private school bought the land and built, yup, a school.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-52064311728732954682011-11-14T20:47:00.000-05:002011-11-14T20:47:09.891-05:00

My friend the MomChef is a master at finding wonderful recipes.  I really don't want to count the number of recipes I have to try.  Nor do I want to know the number that are from her blog.  If I've not said it before, here it is:  I could pretty much just cook from her blog.  It's that good.  The other day, she posted this incredibly easy recipe.  It reminded me of two things.  First was

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-48652950849433859182011-11-11T05:46:00.003-05:002011-11-11T05:46:00.800-05:00

This recipe has been in my Try NOW pile for a couple of weeks.  It's just been awaiting the right time to make it.  Sunday morning felt like the right time.  Saturday evening we went to Civic Theatre to see Amadeus.  Connie said he knew I wanted to leave asap the third time I put my head on his shoulder.  I did NOT like the play.  Not that it was poorly acted or that the set was bad.  I just

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-85330311324755841962011-11-10T05:35:00.004-05:002011-11-10T05:35:00.870-05:00

Do you ever get all the ingredients assembled for a recipe THEN read the instructions.  I know.  We're not supposed to do that.  We're supposed to read the ENTIRE recipe first.  Then, assemble the ingredients in their mis en place.  Unfortunately, my life doesn't always work that way.  Particularly when a recipe is for lunch.  I receive the magazine and read some of the articles.  As I go, I

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-28240170108587600372011-11-09T06:01:00.002-05:002011-11-09T06:01:00.971-05:00

Last but certainly not least.  Do you do that too?  Rank your favorite places you saw and favorite things you did while you were on vacation?  If this wasn't our favorite, it was very, very close.  I'm going to let the photos do the talking here:  Thousands of hyacinth bulbs going in.  Can you see this in the spring???  This is a whispering bench.  Let's just say it's a lot of fun to use!

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-82813842574799870892011-11-08T05:16:00.002-05:002011-11-08T05:16:01.043-05:00

While we were in Philly, we indulged in a taste test.  Geno's or Pat's?  For those of you not familiar with those names, let me say Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich.  Ah, you say.  That makes sense.  We drove into Philly and found Broad Street.  From there, Connie knew kind of how to find Geno's and Pat's.  Streets barely wide enough for one car, let alone two.  Lots and lots of stop signs.  And

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-59542440678919846282011-11-07T05:10:00.001-05:002011-11-07T05:10:01.054-05:00

On the road again...  Indy to Columbus to Niagara Falls to Cape Cod - all in the space of three days.  Then two days on Cape Cod.  Some fun time.  Some not.  But at least we have the ex out of our lives.  Wednesday, October 26th we left Cape Cod - headed toward Philly.  The last time I was there was with my real father in about 1965.  A couple of days ago - LOL.  Connie'd been there on business

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-30040766631231340062011-11-04T07:00:00.000-04:002011-11-04T07:00:53.003-04:00

Ahhh, Cape Cod - one of my favorite places in the world. My sister-in-law Barb's is kind enough to let us use her Cape house when we're there. We drove across upstate New York then across Massachusetts. The trees were beautiful. We probably missed the best color by a couple of weeks but nonetheless it was glorious. On Cape just in time to stop and get some lobster for dinner. We found

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-82611909869742643402011-11-03T22:00:00.000-04:002011-11-03T22:00:53.263-04:00

Up and at 'em early on Saturday morning. Heading east to Niagara Falls. First though, we wanted to stop and get some Barberton chicken. Supposedly the best fried chicken in Ohio. In our opinion, don't waste your money, time or calories. It was greasy, flavorless and pretty awful. Fortunately, that wasn't the case for most of the food we had on our vacation. Several years ago, Connie was

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-38518826198932402992011-11-03T11:25:00.009-04:002011-11-03T11:41:02.846-04:00

What a week it was. We left Friday October 21st to head to Cape Cod via a somewhat circuitous route. We got home this past Saturday, October 30th. Nine days away. I missed my furry critters and was tired of all of the riding in a car. But, I got a lot of cooking magazines read and a lot of recipe clipping done. We got to see our grandkids twice and visited some cool places. Plus, the biggest

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-84750431083453210232011-10-31T21:15:00.000-04:002011-10-31T21:18:02.065-04:00

Sadly, I'm not posting yet about Strawberry Torte. Or any of the other wonderful dishes or adventures from the last week. You see, I left my good camera at my step-son's house. He sent it to me today so shortly I'll be able to share some wonderful photos. For now, though, let's chat about Peanut Noodle Salad. My menu said we were going to have Pork Normandy tonight. Pork with pears in

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-72280641960330678312011-10-24T07:00:00.003-04:002011-10-24T07:00:02.021-04:00

It's that time again!  What time?  Secret Recipe Club time.  Each month the participants in the Secret Recipe Club are assigned a blog.  It's up to us to read through it and choose a recipe to try.  We don't have to make it exactly as it's written on the blog but can make it our own.  If you'd like to see all the posts from each week, you can go to Secret Recipe Club.  This month I was assigned

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-86346629108665685042011-10-19T21:53:00.000-04:002011-10-19T21:53:36.782-04:00

The folks at Marzetti were kind enough to send me a coupon good for a bottle of their Simply Dressed salad dressing.  I'm typically a make your own kinda gal.  But, free is free.  And, I loved the idea that these weren't loaded with preservatives like most of them.  We headed to the grocery on the way home from work to figure out what kind of dressing appealed to us.  Then, I'd figure out a

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-30711214716230398732011-10-18T04:46:00.007-04:002011-10-18T04:46:00.201-04:00

Saturday was one of those days.  I worked and worked and worked and barely made a dent.  We're going to be fighting the forces of evil in a week so I had that to contend with in addition to all of the other work.  There were two highlights to the day.  First was a visit with Duane and Becky in the morning.  Second was a visit to the Benjamin Harrison House for the latest version of Victorian

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-47392106664037751892011-10-17T05:18:00.002-04:002011-10-17T05:18:00.311-04:00

We all have our idiosyncrasies, preferences and quirks. Some of them can be traced back to an old family story, or a vague memory. But, did you ever see one unfold in front of you and know that the child will be scarred for life (even if in a good way)? Connie’s eldest, David, came for a surprise visit - well, a surprise for Connie. David had the idea and I happily joined in. Connie and I had

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-48730027995050302582011-10-16T08:46:00.001-04:002011-10-16T08:49:20.702-04:00

One of the disadvantages of shopping at Sam's Club is the massive quantities of food you get.  Take the ground turkey, for example.  Two containers with over two pounds of turkey in each.  You're pretty much committed to eating ground turkey for the week.  Or freezing some of the turkey.  Now, if I can figure out dishes that are different enough, I'm happy to eat the same protein several times

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-49583526554290251622011-10-10T05:46:00.002-04:002011-10-10T11:35:41.066-04:00

Well, one good thing came from going to the theatre this last weekend.  That would be these canapes.  We budget our entertainment dollars pretty darned well and passed up a couple of shows at Theatre on the Square (sorry Ron!) to see I Love to Eat at the Indiana Repertory Theatre.  It was a one-man show about James Beard.  While the fellow who played James Beard did a good job, neither of us

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-837075425970531992011-10-09T11:28:00.000-04:002011-10-09T11:28:39.354-04:00

My guess is that this weekend will be the best weather of the fall in Indianapolis.  The sky has been that gorgeous clear blue you only seem to get in the fall.  And, the temperature has been perfect.  Warm during the day and a tad brisk at night.  I suppose I'd get tired of "perfect" weather all the time, but I'd like to try it for a month or two :-)  Saturday morning we went to the farmer's

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-48859080220280468632011-10-06T21:11:00.000-04:002011-10-06T21:11:49.043-04:00

Ah, that is the question, isn't it.  Pot Pie has a crust on top, Shepherd's Pie has mashed potatoes on top.  So, do hash browns qualify it as one or the other?  Hmmm.  Whatever response you give is correct.  You could call this strawberry ice cream and I'd still think it was wonderful.  Cuisine at Home certainly hit a home run with this dish.  That's one magazine I'll bet most of you haven't

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-91270834288723937012011-10-03T21:18:00.001-04:002011-10-03T21:22:51.411-04:00

Let's chat for a bit about making a recipe the first time exactly as it's written versus adapting it to your taste and ingredient availability.  You can probably tell which side of the argument I fall on just from that comment.  There are those who believe it is insulting to the writer of the recipe to make changes the first time through. Then, there are those of us who believe a recipe is a

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-34919094938538227662011-09-27T21:04:00.000-04:002011-09-27T21:04:34.529-04:00

Birthday dinner.  As an adult it just isn't the same.  But, that's just fine because so many wonderful birthday memories are made in kidhood.  Mom always let us choose what we wanted.  Flank steak with caper sauce was always my choice.  You know how the steakhouses typically top their beautiful steaks with a pat of butter?  Well, this lovingly coats thin slices of rare flank steak with butter

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-74277856508893971372011-09-26T07:00:00.003-04:002011-09-26T10:43:26.405-04:00

I love the Secret Recipe Club.  It's such a fantastic opportunity to get acquainted with a blog I'd probably never have found on my own.  It's tough to find new blogs when life is so busy that getting posts on my own blog is a problem.  From after Labor Day until tax season is over, I barely have time to breathe.  That's why I so enjoy browsing through another blog searching for just the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-7975301664421828632011-09-25T10:21:00.000-04:002011-09-25T10:21:49.030-04:00

$6.72.  That's what I spent on a new cookbook called Simple Suppers.  I told myself I have enough cookbooks and didn't need to buy one when we were at Sam's Club today.  But, I browsed through this one and found several good ideas and thought what the heck.  Let me digress by saying it's been a crazy week and weekend so simple and flavorful ideas really appealed to me Saturday afternoon. 

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-37505258185446851882011-09-19T21:35:00.000-04:002011-09-19T21:35:31.366-04:00

Ah, just the name conjours up wonderful kidhood memories.  Growing up it was Campbell's Tomato Soup and Cracker Barrel Cheddar Cheese on good white bread.  Nowadays, we eat bread with rocks.  Or at least whole grains.  And, the kinds of cheese vary with what's at the front of the cheese drawer.  It was a busy day today.  Very busy.  I got home well after 7:00 and started in on my recipe for

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-44668923758906899922011-09-18T10:38:00.000-04:002011-09-18T10:38:37.404-04:00

It's official.  Urban chicken coops are now the hot topic.  It used to be that you'd read about them in Mother Earth News.  Now, it's the Indianapolis Star.  And, they're having a chicken coop tour here in Indy.  No, I'm not sure when because I'm not going.  As usual, I'll be working on Saturdays.   But, I am feeling very left behind on this trend.  We have a great garden.  And, a dog who hunts

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-7673443597146172882011-09-15T17:30:00.001-04:002011-09-15T17:38:10.521-04:00

Have you ever had an experience at a restaurant where the food was really, really good but the overall experience was so bad that you really don't want to go back in spite of the fact you'd like to try one of everything on the menu? About a year ago, a place called the Indigo Duck opened in a small town about half an hour south of Indianapolis.  Franklin is halfway between Indianapolis and

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-71306252088974803402011-09-11T21:48:00.000-04:002011-09-11T21:48:38.953-04:00

I'm blessed and privileged to work with some of the most incredible people in the world.  This past weekend we went up to Chicago so I could attend a meeting with my colleagues.  Friday evening we gathered for cocktails before dinner.  Connie and I were thrilled to find an Erath Pinot Noir on the wine list in the bar.  It's one of our favorites.  Then, I found a Chappellet Cuvee on the wine

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-64577078301427236202011-09-07T20:47:00.000-04:002011-09-07T20:47:26.761-04:00

First off, please accept my apology for the lousy photo above.  I did not do justice to this incredible burger.  We were in a rush to eat and get to a game and I quickly snapped a photo and chowed down...  My bad. All of my friends who particpate in French Fridays with Dorie did the Cafe Salle Pleyel Burgers.  They looked wonderful.  But, I've been wanting to do a hamburger with bacon in it.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-64216298756567151832011-09-04T21:08:00.001-04:002011-09-04T21:10:11.258-04:00

Risotto is one of our favorite meals.  Absolutely comfort food.  And, it's so incredibly versatile.  We've made it with about as many meats and vegetables and cheeses as you an name.  And, they've almost all been great.  This one was no exception.  My friends John and Jackie gave me a bag of shitakes that they'd grown.  Aren't those gorgeous mushrooms?  And, that's only part of them. 

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-69541231739319062992011-09-02T07:57:00.001-04:002011-09-02T07:59:11.051-04:00

We regularly eat vegetarian meals.  But, my friends, you don't hear about them too often because we tend to repeat those we love.  Risotto, eggplant involtini, pasta with garlic or vegetables, grilled cheese...  I had three little eggplants from our CSA (community supported agriculture) basket.  My first inclination was to make eggplant involtini.  I mean how in the world can you go wrong with

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-54941437608522212472011-08-31T12:44:00.000-04:002011-08-31T12:44:37.646-04:00

This was the side dish that got kicked to the curb by the crab boil potato salad. No longer is it at the curb. Late in the week, I had another long day in a week of long days. Late afternoon, two of my intrepid employees and I headed for my home. One had brought her truck and the other was "furniture shopping." She was thrilled with my old family room furniture so we loaded what we could in the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-40442811110935367222011-08-30T06:10:00.002-04:002011-08-30T06:10:00.514-04:00

Life is a series of adventures, isn't it?  And, I love the way the pieces and parts of life weave together.  Way back in 4th grade, I was put into the beta test group of advanced kids.  I was lucky enough to spend the balance of my grade school, junior high school and high school years with a lot of those folks.  Along the way, other grade schools fed into the junior high then other junior

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-51746269886993821872011-08-29T07:00:00.003-04:002011-08-29T09:54:33.575-04:00

Good Morning!  Today's the Secret Recipe Club.  It's a really fun group of bloggers.  And, it's grown so much that they've divided us into three groups.  Three Mondays of the month, a group reveals a recipe from the blog we've been assigned.  The blogger doesn't know who's going to post one of their recipes so it's fun to go through the list and find which of your recipes has been posted. 

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-55022789463663966362011-08-28T20:16:00.001-04:002011-08-28T20:17:49.694-04:00

Have you ever felt like you never will need to eat again?  I know, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  But, in the summer there aren't any holidays like that.  Unless, of course, you were lucky enough to snag some tickets to Dig-IN.  Connie and I were among the lucky ones.  I found half off tickets from an email called Green Clipping.  That's an offshoot of Green Piece Indy which is a wonderful green

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-49873749440467276892011-08-27T14:11:00.001-04:002011-08-27T14:14:48.918-04:00

The week of no kitchen is almost at an end!  I'm not quite sure what I'll do if I win the lottery and can actually have my kitchen remodeled.  Wait, I'm a financial planner.  Winning the lottery is NOT a plan.  And, you've got to buy tickets anyway - lol.  Why did I have no kitchen?  Well, first off, no kitchen is an exaggeration.  Almost all the furniture had been moved out of the kitchen.  And,

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-74242100519773423982011-08-24T13:23:00.000-04:002011-08-24T13:23:58.816-04:00

Connie and I had a difference of opinion on the best dish of Sunday night's dinner.  He voted for this potato salad.  I voted for the kicked up baked beans.  But, when push came to shove and we had 25 points to allocate among crab boil potato salad, kicked up baked beans, esssence corn, essence chicken and essence + Alabama sauce chicken, we both came up with 6-5-5-5-4 points.  And, really I

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-15502249136284325162011-08-22T08:15:00.000-04:002011-08-22T08:15:36.561-04:00

Indianapolis is frequently a test market for new grocery products.  That means all too often I find something wonderful and use the heck out of it and then poof, it's gone.  Another test that didn't work out.  Mushroom risotto in a bag was one of the more notable items.  When Bush's came out with their Grilling Beans, I thought here we go again.  A test product that I'll love and it'll go away.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-81496071867456131212011-08-21T14:10:00.000-04:002011-08-21T14:10:30.108-04:00

I'm itching to cook.  It's been a week of mostly quick and freezer meals and I'm just about over them.  I really don't understand how so many folks are content to heat up a can of something and call it dinner.  Guess that's why I'm a foodie, eh?  The good news is that Friday night while Connie played bridge, I finally got the little guest room put together.  My last task was the dressing table.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-12369367894740369022011-08-20T06:45:00.000-04:002011-08-20T06:45:13.057-04:00

Growing up we had our fair share of meals made with Campbell's Soup.  Mom was a very good cook.  But Campbell's Soup frequently makes for a quicker meal.  And, that's important when you're working and still trying to get a good meal on the table for a family.  Some of my favorite dishes like Chicken Green Bean Casserole and Chicken Elegante have Cream of Chicken Soup in them.  But, this is the

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-19305126580892740872011-08-18T17:42:00.000-04:002011-08-18T17:42:37.352-04:00

The first time my youngest stepson had this salad he about swooned.  Now, swoon probably isn't a great word to apply to a mid-20's young man.  But, it's the closest description I can come up with.  I'll never again have a spinach salad without thinking about Matt.  He's the kid who'll eat anything but beans.  The first time we took him to a restaurant after I'd started dating his dad, he

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-64802122250984561002011-08-17T08:33:00.000-04:002011-08-17T08:33:47.144-04:00

I saw a recipe that was very similar to our family favorite - Glop.  We're always open to trying a twist on an old favorite so I put it on the menu.  I made my own taco seasoning - thanks to a bit of guidance from Annie's Eats.  I didn't follow Annie's recipe exactly but was still very pleased with the results.  Now, when it came to the Chili Mac and Cheese Recipe from Gooseberry Patch 5

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-14200804509728402012011-08-15T21:28:00.000-04:002011-08-15T21:28:35.726-04:00

Yes, I've been MIA on my blog.  It's because I really wanted to take a whole day off and go play.  To do that meant putting every ounce of energy into the office.  Weekends are normally my clean up from the last week and prep for the next week time.  I wanted to take Saturday and spend it with three of my closest friends.  After all, I was going up to Lafayette on business on Friday so I'd

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-68066872618431200042011-08-10T05:31:00.001-04:002011-08-10T05:31:03.345-04:00

This was the entree for Sunday evening.  We had it with the Creamy Italian Noodles from yesterday's blog and the Crispy Sesame Salad Stackers which you'll read about later.  Yet another chicken recipe from the McCormick 3-Step Cooking with Flavor cookbook.  It felt really good to actually put a real meal on the table.  I'm hoping to be able to do the same thing agin a couple of times this

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-26903706890446124112011-08-09T05:25:00.000-04:002011-08-09T05:25:01.062-04:00

Not too long ago, I bought a five ingredient cookbook. Not my typical cookbook. I know exactly why, though. There’s a recipe for mini sour cream biscuits. They sounded wonderful. As did several of the other recipes. So, what the heck. Then, on the way home from a trip to Columbus, OH to see our grandkids, I read the whole cookbook. Not bad at all. And, there are a lot of quick and easy

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-61935995186849842682011-08-08T08:24:00.001-04:002011-08-08T08:42:02.861-04:00

Wooo Hooo!  I finally got into my kitchen for one evening at least.  The dining room trim is next so that means that everything from the dining room will now be going into the kitchen and living room.  So, that's the good news.  The bad news is that after six hours at the office and several hours trying to put some of the upstairs back together, I was way too tired to really cook.  Donato's or

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-90837403966736842232011-08-07T16:42:00.000-04:002011-08-07T16:42:50.642-04:00

Please remind me the next time I have a brilliant idea that involves painting that I am nuts.  Seriously, please do.  It all started when the paint failed on the exterior of the house.  Turned out the previous owners didn't use oil based primer and the wood was soaked and had to be replaced.  Of course, we didn't know that until the guys were up on the ladders scraping said wood.  Because there

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-32284495845111468072011-08-03T19:08:00.000-04:002011-08-03T19:08:20.200-04:00

Remember our blackberry drink extravaganza last summer?  We do too.  That was SO much fun.  Now, we've got another one to add to the list. The latest Rachael Ray Everyday was chock full of fun recipes.  Now, mind you, I'm not impressed with the new layout of that magazine.  Too busy.  In fact, I'd cancel my subscription if I didn't find a couple of good recipes each issue.  But, because I

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-14226544515880418822011-08-02T05:42:00.000-04:002011-08-02T05:42:00.330-04:00

For a lot of folks, chicken livers are a major EWWWW food.  Not for us.  We love them.  But, they're not exactly the best thing in the world for you - particularly after they're fried! - so we don't indulge very often.  Connie requested my stuffed lamb chops.  The stuffing recipe calls for a couple of chicken livers.  I'd have most of a container of liver left over.  What a great excuse to

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-24797789322956553722011-08-01T06:06:00.001-04:002011-08-01T06:06:00.396-04:00

I'm really good about making out a menu almost every week.  What I'm not always so good about is following it.  Life tends to interfere.  Either I get stuck at the office or it's too hot or something else happens.  I'm sure you all are the same way.  Flexibility is the key.  That and a bag of shrimp in the freezer and a box of couscous in the pantry means I'm pretty much always prepared for a

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-17248133044520818152011-07-31T05:18:00.002-04:002011-07-31T05:18:00.902-04:00

Rachael Ray has a section in her magazine that's quick ideas.  I usually find a couple of nuggets in there.  This time, though, I found solid gold.  Zucchini Carpaccio.  I know this time of year we're all looking for ways to use up zucchini.  Here's my secret - we never planted zucchini this year so we aren't buried in the stuff.  And, no, I"m not giving you my address so you can steathily

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-31245570163335995102011-07-30T06:17:00.000-04:002011-07-30T06:17:01.066-04:00

The last couple of weekends were a lot more fun than this one is going to be.  Two weeks ago, we started with Chef JJ's fabulous Local Local dinner where he has six chefs and six brewers present the courses.  We went with a colleague of mine and his wife and had a totally delightful time.  Then, of course, last weekend was the trip to Columbus to see my stepson and his wife and our grandkids. 

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-36117494323609649502011-07-29T05:34:00.000-04:002011-07-29T05:34:00.284-04:00

I am not the one you want going to the grocery store.  On the other hand, if you like fun stuff that's not on the list, then maybe you do want me going to the grocery store.  Just saying.  On Sunday, we went to Thomas' funeral.  He was Auntie Deb's fiance.  Yes, it's complicated.  As with a lot of families these days we're a rather blended family.  Deb is my sister-in-law's older sister.  As

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-13450667730812882502011-07-28T05:40:00.000-04:002011-07-28T05:40:00.513-04:00

We use more herbs in drinks these days. It seems to me that it's a rather recent trend, but maybe I've just noticed it more since Connie and I have planted so many different herbs and include them in most every meal. I saw a recipe for a Lemon Basil Margarita then found it online on a blog called Ultimate Margarita. Here's the link to the recipe as he wrote it:  Lemon Basil Margarita.  This

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-31830744574098122112011-07-27T06:01:00.004-04:002011-07-27T06:01:00.902-04:00

Have you ever noticed that sometimes things happen in bunches?  That's the way it was with Jeni's Ice Cream.  First, Gina from SPCookieQueen blogged about making sweet corn and blackberry ice cream.  (Click on the the link if you'd like to see that recipe as well as a chocolate ice cream one.)  It sounded heavenly to me.  But, Connie's not a huge corn fan so my guess was he'd not want to try

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-65230398441756184942011-07-26T05:25:00.001-04:002011-07-26T05:25:00.451-04:00

The primary benefit to being the cook is not having to do the dishes.  Well, that and the fact that I get to choose the menu.  This last weekend, we headed to Columbus, OH to see David and Kara and Bradley and Rosie.  David is my stepson, Kara is his wife and Bradley and Rosie are our grandchildren.  They are wonderful folks and the best parents around. I'd volunteered to cook - lunch and

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-59219636421332514352011-07-25T06:09:00.001-04:002011-07-25T06:09:00.171-04:00

How do you say I love you?  I'd imagine a lot of you say I love you with food.  Just like I do.  Used to be when a friend had a baby and now it's more likely when a friend has a hip replacement or other major surgery, I take over a bunch of meals.  Or, like this past week when Auntie Deb lost her fiance.  Instead of using my "spare" time blogging, it went to cooking.  Lots of cooking.  Thomas

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-84671804701366277682011-07-20T07:19:00.001-04:002011-07-19T11:08:32.584-04:00

Connie kept saying this one antique mall downtown was calling his name.  He and his ex used to shop antique malls.  Me, well, I think antique mall is another way to say high-priced junque.  But, because part of being married is humoring your partner, I went to the antique mall with him.  We left with only a cookbook:  The Best American Recipes, 2002-2003.  He shrugged his shoulders and

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-44026373039069946892011-07-19T05:32:00.001-04:002011-07-19T05:32:00.145-04:00

This entire meal was a product of happy coincidences.  First, Connie and I went to Chef JJ's Local Local dinner last Friday.  We went with a colleague and his wife and had the best seats in the house. Chef JJ had six chefs and six brewers do the dinner. One of the highlights of the evening was a beer that Clay Robinson from Sun King Brewing had put in old bourbon barrels. OMG, that was

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-29504384656011857192011-07-18T07:00:00.007-04:002011-07-18T09:39:28.801-04:00

The Secret Recipe Club is a relatively new fun way to meet new blogging friends.  Everyone is assigned a blog.  We're to choose a recipe from that blog, make it and post it at our assigned time along with a link to all the other Secret Recipe Club member's blogs.  Sounded like a lot of fun to me.  And, it was.  But, I had a heckuva time selecting a recipe.  The blog I  was assigned was

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-78565140620340597032011-07-15T08:18:00.001-04:002011-07-15T08:22:27.873-04:00

What a week!!!  I knew it was going to be a busy one when I counted appointments and found nineteen on the calendar.  As is usual, a couple rescheduled and a couple got added.  But, I was working my tookus off just to be prepared.  Then, in walks an auditor.  In my business, audits are regular.  As well they should be.  We're working with people's money.  Surprise audits are to be expected on a

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-7912463896246369972011-07-14T06:35:00.000-04:002011-07-14T06:35:18.754-04:00

When I was a kid, one of my favorite side dishes was very fine egg noodles with butter, parmesan and parsley.  Mom made it regularly.  And, I'd have been happy with weekly.  I didn't make it for Connie for several years after we met.  It was one of those forgotten treasures.  Finally, one evening I didn't have a second side and the noodles popped into my mind.  He loved them as much as I did. 

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-5732543160902419602011-07-12T06:19:00.000-04:002011-07-12T06:19:00.415-04:00

One of the most popular items at our annual client appreciation holiday party is the beef tenderloin - go figure.  We buy the big untrimmed tenderloins at Sam's.  Not only is it FAR more cost effective, but we've got the chain left over.  Now, it takes a good bit of time to clean and trim but the chain is worth every minute.  Typically, we clean the chain and have it in a dish the night

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-19720660752611433572011-07-11T05:21:00.002-04:002011-07-11T05:21:00.953-04:00

OPA!  Don't you love going to a Greek restaurant and watching them light the halloumi cheese on fire then yell OPA?  We do too.  Last time we were at Jungle Jim's, we bought a package of halloumi cheese.  The expiration date was October of 2011, so I was in no rush to find an excuse to grill it.  Then, along came the June/July issue of Fine Cooking.  A grilling issue.  With an article about 13

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-7833544705957817832011-07-10T09:18:00.000-04:002011-07-10T09:18:39.922-04:00

I'd imagine most of you are a bit like me when it comes to cleaning out the refrigerator.  Sometimes those clean up the kitchen meals have some rather odd combinations.  Well, that might just be an understatement in my case.  Last week, though, I got lucky.  All the pieces and parts fit together very nicely, thank you.  We were celebrating our seventh anniversary of our first date and talked

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-61342468392938237052011-07-08T06:36:00.000-04:002011-07-08T06:36:00.282-04:00

Poor Connie.  I feed him a lot of fruit.  He's not terribly fond of fruit but most of the time he gamely eats it.  I'm not great at eating just a piece of fruit myself so I make sure to include it in salads on a regular basis.  This salad has been on the menu for a couple of weeks.  First the avocados weren't any good so I had to buy more and wait for them to soften.  Then, this didn't go with

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-57737332805413613232011-07-07T05:48:00.002-04:002011-07-07T05:48:00.899-04:00

We've absolutely loved our new CSA.  We've gotten really nice produce this year.  Two weeks running I got what I assumed to be a few collard green leaves.  I confess I've never seen them in their fresh form so off to the internet I went.  I'd had the caramelized cabbage rolls from Heartland on the make now list for a couple of weeks.  Wonder if I could substitute collard greens for cabbage? 

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-42046683889111395562011-07-06T06:20:00.000-04:002011-07-06T06:20:00.552-04:00

Connie, what would you like for dinner this week?  For almost the last year his response has been consistent, "That fantastic fried chicken."  He's referring to Thomas Keller's lemon brined fried chicken that I made last September.  I figured a holiday weekend was the perfect time to make it again.  Once again, I can say that's the best fried chicken I've ever had.  Moist, tender, flavorful.

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-41565413472228661222011-07-05T05:10:00.001-04:002011-07-05T05:10:00.378-04:00

No, not mine.  My friend, Kate from Diethood.  Rosemary and garlic.  It doesn't get much better than that.  I've always wanted to try making my own crackers.  Now, I had a recipe that totally captivated me AND cheese that was going to be perfect with them.  Connie and I bought some garlic herb brie at Whole Foods.  We'd gone there on a hunt for Kimberley Chardonnay vinegar.  It said on their

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-50747106012561395812011-07-04T10:08:00.001-04:002011-07-04T10:10:03.183-04:00

Sunday afternoon, I made two old faithfuls for the family party that evening.  Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl from the I Hate to Cook Book and Casa d'Angelo Salad from Just Peachy.  I thought I'd take a couple of newbies but niece Samantha was celebrating her birthday and it's her favorite and she requested it... And, I'm a sucker for those kids :-)  I told my brother, John, a couple of weeks ago

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-17895137569218215102011-07-03T06:04:00.002-04:002011-07-03T10:20:07.044-04:00

Tigelles.  A fancy name for a ham and cheese breakfast sandwich.  The cookbook says, "Traditionally tigelle are served to grape pickers working in the high mountains between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany as a fortifying snack."  Yet another really good recipe from The Best American Recipes 2005-2006.  This originally came from Bruce Aidells Complete Book of Pork. We actually had breakfast on

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2518464239278299724.post-87231679810839300292011-07-02T06:42:00.002-04:002011-07-02T06:42:00.440-04:00

All day on Thursday I was convinced it was Friday.  Normally, my days go so fast that Saturday feels like it should be Thursday...  Friday morning I was ready to go to the Farmers Market - the Saturday Farmers Market.  I guess that's what happens when a long weekend is in the works :-) Last weekend at the market I bought the first real tomato of the season.  They had little slices out for us to

Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04344806302103046159noreply@blogger.com1