Did you tune in for the Cooking Connections class last Thursday? We talked game day food and using the slow cooker — something that is quickly becoming a favorite small appliance in my house. What I loved about the class was that host Chef George Duran prepared a recipe live via a video feed and answered our questions too, which truly made it feel like a cooking class. Read the rest of this entry…

Sometimes you need a hands-free dinner. Like when the kids have activities after school that keep you running. Like when you know you’ll be home just in time to sit down to eat. Like when you want to be spontaneous and don’t want to have to cook when you get back.

Whether you love to cook or tolerate it, sometimes you just need dinner to make itself.

Slow cookers are great for that. When the kids and I recently took advantage of an unseasonably warm day to picnic at the beach and take a bike ride, having a meal in the slow cooker was a godsend. It meant that we could take our time, enjoy ourselves and when we arrived home, dinner was waiting.

Are you a slow cooker fan? I didn’t use one for years, but I’ve become a convert — it’s just so easy, convenient and handy to make a good dinner without a good deal of time in the kitchen. Mine makes an appearance two to three times a month. How about you?

If you aren’t using one, I urge you to give it another try. Coming home to a fresh dinner bubbling away in a slow cooker is such a treat.

Also, I wanted to invite you to a fun slow cooker event that I am co-hosting on Thursday with nine other bloggers. It’s virtual cooking class on The Motherhood hosted by Chef George Duran. The topic is Game Day and Slow Cooker Recipes. With the Super Bowl this Sunday, there couldn’t be a better time for it. Read the rest of this entry…

Tasting cups ... different brew methods.

Coffee and I? We’re old buddies. I grew up in a coffee-drinking family, who gathered every weekend day for a leisurely cup. In summer, we’d all sit on the sun porch — even before I started drinking coffee myself — and chat, sometimes inviting neighbors in with a friendly call out the window. Sometimes, we still do that.

My first cup of coffee was had at age 10. We were in Florida for Thanksgiving, and my vacation friend (she and I were always there at the same time every year) and I decided to be a little rebellious and have a cup from the free coffee bar. My family didn’t bat an eye, and I’ve been drinking coffee ever since. By the time I hit sophomore year of high school, I had my own gigantic travel mug that accompanied me to school every morning until I lost it in college.

Eventually, I cut back on my consumption. I mean, really, brewing a whole pot just for me? That’s a little too much. These days, I usually have one to two cups a day. Sometimes I have three, if I end up at the coffee shop to get some work done. Turns out, all the coffee drinking is a healthy move. My husband is now up to two to three cups a day himself, something supported by recent research that drinking a couple cups a day can lower the risk of prostate cancer in men. (Ladies, good news for you too: female coffee drinkers also have a lowered risk of developing breast cancer.)

A Starbucks in Seattle

But coffee drinking is more than a health move or a morning ritual: it’s a social thing. Coffee brings people together — neighbors over a morning cup, spouses at the kitchen table, co-workers in the latte line. There’s no secret why the term coffee klatch came into existence. Coffee is naturally friendly. Read the rest of this entry…

Homemade pasta with pesto

If there was just one carb to darken my doorway for the rest of eternity, it would be pasta. My kids request it nightly. I like it. My husband likes it. And there are endless ways to flavor and dress it. As far as versatile ingredients go, pasta is right up there.

Typically, we eat dried pasta. Heck, if you were to open my kitchen cabinets, you would find no less than five boxes of dried pasta. Go down to my basement and there is a whole tote of pasta (I stocked up during a great sale). It’s easy, and we like it.

But lately, homemade pasta has been on my brain. When I recently went to Minneapolis, I ate a delicate, tender housemade pasta that was out of this world. Every bite was creamy, silky bliss. Ever since then, I have been toying with the idea of making pasta again. The last time I made pasta was years ago, and I didn’t feel like the results were better than my favorite dried pasta, so I swore it off. But things change — skill levels, interests, desires … so this weekend, I did it again. Read the rest of this entry…

Easy Low-Fat Salt and Pepper Chicken, Take Two

If you are a longtime reader of Sarah’s Cucina Bella, you might remember my recipes for Easy Low-Fat Salt and Pepper Chicken Breasts. It was a long post with adorable pictures of the kids, and a bad picture of the chicken. On Tuesday, I had the chance to reshoot this recipe with the help of professionals to figure out how to take something basic like this and make it look fabulous. The photo above is the result.

When I created my (ridiculously easy) recipe for Salt and Pepper Chicken, I was clueless how to make it look tasty in a photograph. I ended up tossing one piece on a white plate and snapping a picture.

The original photo ... Would you crave that?

And did it look irresistible? Like that special, easy recipe that everyone should have in their back pocket to make when you have no time to cook dinner or when you need a lightly seasoned chicken breast for topping a salad or drizzling with an extra special sauce? Um. No. That’s the original photo at the right … See how it looked more like a bland piece of chicken? The darkness and poor lighting didn’t help anything at all. I doubt anyone gave it a second look.

As a food writer who has had to learn to shoot photographs of the dishes and recipes I create, it’s been an uphill battle. This photograph frustrated me, but I just wasn’t sure what to do about it.

Yea.

So, when my buddies (and coworkers!) at Tablespoon asked me to choose a couple potential recipes for my photography lesson with General Mills pros on my recent trip, this one topped the list. Fortunately, they agreed. Read the rest of this entry…

I’m sitting at my desk eating a turkey sandwich on 7-grain bread with a smear of roasted red pepper hummus and a slice of Swiss cheese. It’s divine. I didn’t bother to cut it in half, though I am a devoted sandwich-cutter (as yesterday’s turkey sandwich, above, shows). The house is quiet, still even. My kids are both in school, and I am here alone, save the two crazy beagles who are taking their mid-day nap.

It’s so quiet.

I’ve worked at home for more than two years, since I left my wonderful staff job to freelance full time. And for the past two years, I have almost constantly had my kids underfoot. It was what I left my job for. But right now, I am grateful for the quiet.

Two years ago, I would rush and rush to drop Will off to school in the afternoons and hope that Paige would remain asleep long enough for me to get a little work done before she needed her afternoon dose of eat, play, diaper change, nap, repeat. Last year, we made it out on time to get to school more often than not, but after drop off would be a rush to get Paige into bed for her nap and prayers that she actually would take one.

But now it’s quiet, and I really like it — despite how unnerving it is. Today, I ate a whole turkey sandwich without anyone asking for a bite, or a glass of water, or cookies for dessert. Shortly, I might pick up and run to the store, just because I can. Or, perhaps I will clean (that doesn’t sound as fun though) or even kick back for a little relaxation. (More likely I will just keep working …)

Whatever it is, it feels so nice to have this little spot of time to myself. Although I love the happy chaos of my kids being constantly underfoot, I also need the quiet moments to recharge. That turkey sandwich was phenomenal … not necessarily because it was the best one ever (though it was really very tasty), but because it’s something I got to do on my own. And that is very good for everyone.

Read the rest of this entry…

Meet ramps …

In the bowl pictured above are some chopped ramps, a wild onion that grows in the Eastern part of the United States and Canada. Also known as a wild leek, it has a bold flavor with notes of onion and garlic. And until this past weekend, I had never had one, despite hearing raves about them. At right, you can see what they look like in their natural form.

Basically, you remove the root part and use the rest of them. Stems, leaves … it all works.

Are you familiar with ramps?

I’ve known about them for a few years, but have never been able to procure any. However recently when my Garlic Scape Carbonara recipe was featured on Saveur, I received a kind note from a new reader asking if ramps could be used in the recipe. I told him that it was possible — though I’ve never actually had ramps. He offered to send me some, and I excitedly agreed. Last week, they arrived.

Now, it’s one thing to read about the garlic-onion taste of ramps and a whole other to experience it. I sauteed a few up to get a feel for their taste and fell in love. Head over heels love. Then I whipped up a Ramp Pesto … oh my.

That night, the kids and I feasted on more sauteed ramps, Tortellini with Ramp Pesto and a Jamie Oliver recipe for braised cabbage (more on that tomorrow!). It was a delicious, decadent night. Will wasn’t a fan of the cabbage, but couldn’t get enough of the ramps — particularly the pesto.

Do you have a favorite ramp recipe? Share! I have a few more to play with and am trying to decide what to do with them.

A special thank you to reader Mark! And thank you to the Colrain, Massachusetts, farm where these were harvested. We LOVE them. Read the rest of this entry…

Months ago, I started doing something new every week. Every weekend, I would sit down and decide what dishes would appear here for the next week. Taking the time to plan this into my week helped me to spend less time fretting over what to make and more time on the recipe development and writing. I’ve also had more time to try recipes from books, magazines and blogs, which is always fun.

The only problem? Sometimes recipes don’t work out. Yesterday, I planned to feature an Arugula Pesto adapted from a popular food blogger’s recipe … however, even with my changes (which included cutting the amount of garlic in half), the recipe was a huge fail. The overpowering flavor was shocking.

Today, I planned to feature a recipe from my weekly meal plan: Peanut Soba with Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli, which came from the April/May 2010 issue of Fine Cooking. I followed the instructions to the letter, but the recipe just didn’t end up being something to share here. While we enjoyed the Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli, we just weren’t fans of the soba noodles or their peanut sauce. Plus, the preparation was far more involved than I like food to be. I really thrive on quick, simple and flavorful … not so much on dishes that require lots of steps.

While I love Fine Cooking, this was one instance where I didn’t love a recipe from there. That’s okay. Read the rest of this entry…

Photo - Amazon.com

Happy New Year!

This year, I plan to focus even more heavily on healthy living and raising a healthy family. If we take care of our bodies, then we can live longer and happier, and who doesn’t want that? So I am hoping you, my dear readers, will indulge me as I feature occasional tips and interview tidbits from notable health experts. Please?

First up: Advice from Dr. Oz.

I was asked recently to participate in a press conference call with Dr. Mehmet Oz (yes, that Dr. Oz. I am a big fan of his). Sure, the call was in the middle of a day when I had a bazillion deadlines, but it was a small sacrifice. The topic? New Year, New You – particularly focusing on healthy living. So, I jumped on the call and asked about healthy eating on a budget.

His response was really interesting.

Buy in Bulk as a Group – Dr. Oz suggests that families band together and shop in bulk for staples like grains. He said that people should “find a large vendor somewhere near them where they can go and buy their staples and buy them in bulk.” This strategy removes the costs of marketing and packaging that can drive consumer prices up. Read the rest of this entry…

Finally! Finally I have perfected my risotto technique. After making it twice this week with creamy, perfect results, I am feeling pretty good about the little rice dish. Unfortunately I have also learned that I am not that fond of it – I like cleaner flavors then you get with a risotto. C’est la vie! Everyone else enjoyed it. I’ll be posting my recipe for Lobster Risotto in a day or two, but in the meantime here are some ideas on how to make a flawless risotto.

DO have 6 cups of broth/stock at the ready for each 2 cups of risotto rice. You might not use it all, but in my experience the majority of the 6 cups is needed for a creamy end result.

DO heat your broth/stock in a separate pan on low for about 10 minutes before you start making the risotto. It will absorb faster since it doesn’t have to warm up and absorb at the same time.

DON’T walk away while making risotto – be sure that you have a solid block of at least 30 minutes to dedicate to stirring and adding more liquid.

DON’T forget the ancillary seasonings like salt, pepper and fresh parsley.

DO have all of the ingredients out before you start cooking.

DO know your broths: beef broth may overpower other flavors. Chicken is generally the preferred choice. Vegetable broth (or a homemade stock) can add an extra depth of flavor.

DON’T be afraid to experiment with flavors and ingredients. Just keep the liquid to rice ratio the same and things will be okay.