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…
I’m mildly obsessed with superfruits, which are basically the health super heroes of the fruit world. They provide so many valuable nutrients like antioxidants and just taste so good too. Really, I can’t get enough of pomegranates, adore blueberries and crave cranberries (which are huge here in New England). Recently, I got to try another superfruit — tart cherries.
Are you familiar with tart cherries? I wasn’t until a big ol’ package of them arrived in my mailbox recently courtesy of the Cherry Marketing Institute and Kitchen PLAY. But after one sweet-and-sour taste I realized two things: I’ve had them before, and the tangy flavor is slightly addictive. They are available all year in frozen, dried or juice form. The dried are my fave and make a great addition to salads, cookies and trail mixes. But the frozen ones are delicious too and they can be used in sweet or savory dishes.
So, what about these healthy attributes to the tart cherry? According to the Cherry Marketing Institute, more than 50 studies on tart cherries linked it to anti-inflammatory benefits, arthritis pain reduction and heart health benefits. It might even be helpful for post-workout recovery.
Honey-Tart Cherry Glazed Salmon with Rustic Tart Cherry Salsa is a great way to get some tart cherries into your diet (Psst! February is National Cherry Month). For this recipe, I used frozen tart cherries to make a slightly spicy and very zesty salsa that goes so well with the sweet Honey-Tart Cherry Glazed Salmon. The contrast of zesty spiciness and sweetness is irresistible. It’s the kind of thing that could lead to licking the plate clean … if no one is looking, of course. Read the rest of this entry…
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These eggs remind me of summer. Sweet fresh tomatoes are encircled with the brilliant flavor of fresh basil. There’s slightly sweet roasted garlic, which I have been obsessed with lately, blended with rich heavy cream — a nod to winter. And the warmth of the baked dish make it perfect for a chilly morning. Or dinner.
I feel in love with baked eggs in tomato-based concoctions last winter. Runny yolks are always a favorite of mine, but even more so when they are paired with flavors that compare, contrast and compliment them. And it’s a great bonus that there are so many possibilities for flavor combinations. This seemed like the perfect dish to make when Betty Crocker and Land O’Lakes recently asked me to create something with Land O’Lakes eggs.
This version is a favorite since it uses so many fresh ingredients (and, of course, fresh flavors). There is just no contest when you start with ingredients in as close to a natural state as you can get. I bet this would be even more amazing in fall, when fresh tomatoes and basil from local farms are available and the air just starts to take on that crisp coolness.
But for now, hothouse tomatoes do the job just fine.
Want to try this for yourself? It’s easy. Read the rest of this entry…
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Paige had preschool homework this week: decorate a paper ornament for school and (with my help) write about a favorite holiday tradition in class. (Yes, she’s barely 4 … don’t get me started.) When I asked her what tradition she wanted to put on her index card, I already had in the back of my mind that I would suggest baking if she wasn’t sure. But I didn’t need to suggest anything. Paige immediately answered “Baking and decorating cookies.”
I was excited. No, make that elated. Read the rest of this entry…
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There are no less than six kinds of salad dressing in my fridge right now. We love salad (my six-year-old son took it to school today for lunch happily – it’s his favorite). They range from creamy ones that my kids adore to four kinds of vinaigrette, which I love. The problem is finding ones that taste the way I want them to. I am notoriously picky about salad dressing flavors, so I’m on a constant hunt for ones that I love and fit my wants (pronounceable ingredients, for instance). It’s hard.
Recently, I was asked to try and review Marzetti’s new Simply Dressed salad dressing here on Sarah’s Cucina Bella. I am familiar with the Marzetti brand — my husband loves their jars of blue cheese. But this new line seems tailor made for me: simple ingredients, good flavors … and fresh. But would I like it? Read the rest of this entry…
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Chocolate + Peppermint = Big, Mega, Super Love for me. Maybe that’s why I use the combination in everything from truffles to pretzels to cookies during the holiday season. Actually, let’s be real. That’s definitely why.
Still, despite one attempt at putting it in a cake (it was okay, but not good enough for the blog), I have largely skipped over the chocolate cake + peppermint variation. Until now, that is.
Meet Chocolate Peppermint Cake in a Jar. It’s a moist, airy cake with a secret layer of peppermint cream near the bottom. And it’s topped with a rich dark chocolate ganache and a sprinkle of crushed candy cane. And yes, it’s absolutely delicious. If you love these flavors, you will be in heaven with this cake. Read the rest of this entry…
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I was one of the bloggers selected by T. Marzetti Company and Clever Girls Collective to host a Marzetti Otria Greek Yogurt Veggie Dip review. They provided me with product to test and compensation for my time. However, my opinions are entirely my own.
Greek yogurt in a dip? Um … That’s exactly what I thought when I first heard about Marzetti Otria Greek Yogurt Veggie Dip. While lots of people have fallen in love with tangy Greek yogurt, I haven’t. It’s just not something I enjoy.
Still, when I was a to review this new veggie dip from T. Marzetti Company, makers of those jars of salad dressing found near the lettuce at the grocery store, I was intrigued. The company happens to make my husband’s favorite blue cheese dressing and the Otria Greek Yogurt Spinach Artichoke Dip sounded like something I might actually enjoy, so I said yes. Honestly, since I always tell my kids that they can’t judge a food until they’ve tried it, I had to give it a shot.
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When Will and Paige tried these cookies, it was supposed to be a single cookie for dessert one evening. But then Will finished his and looked wistfully at the other cookies sitting on the table. I saw him, but didn’t let on. Then he made his eyes big as saucers and wildly licked his lips. When neither wistful nor obviously wanting worked, he finally said,”Mommy, can I have one more?”
I said yes. It was just so cute.
These Chocolate Pretzel Cookies are crisp rounds of sugar cookie, dusted with pretzels and drizzled with sweet milk chocolate. It ends up with this amazing texture. And the flavor? It’s divine — a little savory, a hint of salty and perfectly sweet. No wonder Will wanted seconds so much.
General Mills recently contacted me about creating a holiday cookie recipe using their chubs cookie dough (apparently the official name for the rolls of dough is “chub” – who knew?). This idea came to me right away since it combines some favorites: chocolate covered pretzels and cookies in an all-new and delicious way. Also, this is a super easy recipe that only requires three ingredients — perfect for whipping up at the last minute, or just because.
To make these cookies, you start by scooping out balls of dough using a medium cookie scoop. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, I highly recommend getting one. It makes cookie making a breeze.
Once you have your dough balls, you roll them in crushed pretzels, coating them all over.
Then you arrange the cookies on a baking sheet, leaving at least two inches between them. This is important because these cookies will spread a lot as they cook. Bake ‘em up and let them cool on a wire rack.
Set the wire rack on a baking sheet lined with something like waxed paper or aluminum foil. This will make cleanup so simple.
Drizzle the cookies with melted milk chocolate. I use a spoon and carefully drizzle it onto all the cookies. Once the chocolate hardens, they are ready to devour.
See, I told you! Ultra simple.
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When I look at this photo, all I can think is good morning. It’s so inviting. All the contrasting textures and flavors … Wait. Let me tell you about it. Looking is one thing, but hearing is a whole other.
The simple roasted potatoes — both russet and sweet varieties — seasoned only with a little salt and pepper have a slightly crispy outside and silky inside. They’re mixed with rounds of sweet-slightly savory chicken apple sausage, which has such a warm flavor. Then it’s all bound together by the perfect runny poached egg — the kind that has a velvety ooze of yolk that spills out when you dig your fork into it.
I love poached eggs. They are blissful, compact, perfect lumps of egg that spill over so willingly when you dig in. Oh, the joy.
And it was the thought of poached eggs and roasted potatoes – no two kinds of roasted potatoes – and chicken sausage that got me so excited to get to work. In fact, I was so busy mentally calculating the recipe that I nearly missed the exit I needed to take on the highway. Yes, really. But it was totally worth it. It’s the kind of dish that wraps its arms around you and makes everything okay again.
This dish seemed perfect for a blogging gig I was recently given. My friends at Betty Crocker asked me to create an eggy recipe using Land O’Lakes eggs, and I jumped at it. Eggs are huge in our house — a favorite of my breakfast-devoted daughter. We go through about two dozen eggs every week in my house.
Breakfast in our house is kind of a big deal. I mean it should be, being the most important meal of the day and all. But it is really something in our house. Epic, at times, which is surprising since I was a reluctant breakfast convert. Will started the breakfast change in our house — but it was Paige who brought a deep breakfast devotion to the house.
She loved this one, by the way.
Having breakfast has become so important, so crafting balanced meals like this is a must for me. This one is best for weekends (it takes about 40 minutes), and is worth every cooking second.
Do you love breakfast? How do you take your eggs?
