Lucy the cat watches the action from her bowl

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

French Fry

Lillie's Grandmom hooked her up with this cute chef outfit. Here she is whipping up some red bliss oven fries...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Lillie Loves Mushrooms!

My kids are adventurous eaters but they still have their aversions. My proudest moment so far was when Lillie exclaimed, "I love mushrooms!"

Disney's Smoked Turkey Legs

Did you know that Disney sells 1.5 million turkey legs each year?! These 1.5 pound appendages weigh in at over 1000 calories and a days worth of fat content. Lillie has been begging to try one for a while now and today was her day.

I asked them for their best barbarian face and they did not disappoint. Look at those greasy fingers!

It was actually pretty tasty. We had a great day at Hollywood Studios and Lillie even agreed to go on Tower of Terror! Unfortunately, Sadie was a quarter inch too short...maybe next time Sadie!

BLAT: Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato Sandwich

The BLT. God's gift to sandwiches. Throw some avocado in there and go straight to heaven.

This sandwich has been a family favorite for a while now. The key is a crusty roll, crispy thick-cut bacon and fresh veggies.

The first step is to cook the bacon. I use Obi-John Cannoli's approach and bake my bacon in the oven. It cooks evenly, there's more of it and the cleanup is a piece of cake.

Drain bacon and pat dry with paper towels.

mmmm.....bacon!

Cut yourself some generous slices of beefsteak tomato and ripe avocado. Separate out the romaine lettuce leaves. Warm up the rolls in the oven for a few minutes.

Layer on a good mayo, romaine, tomato and celery salt on one side. The other sides gets mayo, bacon, avocado and cracked pepper.

Fold, slice and serve!

Butternut Squash Soup

Keri hooked me up with an immersion blender for my birthday and the first task was to whip up some butternut squash soup.

I picked the best ideas from a few cookbooks and it came out great - nice and light with some fresh herbs, lemon juice, and a little sour cream instead of heavy cream. The immersion blender whipped it up and made it velvety-smooth. I forgot how great that kitchen tool is! What else can I make with this thing?!

Sadie and I put a note in Lillie's lunchbox...

Herbed Roasted Turkey

Lillie is a turkey leg fiend!

I made an herb paste and bravely rubbed it under the skin of the turkey. It came out so flavorful and moist.

Waffle House

My first visit to a Waffle House was with Todd, Brian and Ryan after the Mofro/Galactic concert. Todd won the Customer of the Month award.

Brewing Champagne Vinegar

Happy New Year! I've wanted to make my own vinegar for some time now and the stars finally aligned. Take a recently uncorked bottle of Champagne. Lord knows we all have one of those sitting around this time of year!

Pour into a sterile container with water and the magic ingredient - a mother of vinegar.

The mother will slowly turns the alcohol into acetic acid and should produce a vinegar that is crisper and fresher tasting than a filtered, store-bought variety.

Cover with a cheese cloth and let it sit in a quiet, warm place for 2-4 months. Presto, fresh vinegar!

More to come...

Gingerbread Party

Lillie's Kindergarten class had a Gingerbread party this week filled with tons of candy, a good game of pin the nose on the gingerbread man and a gingerbread house-building contest. Sadie got to play along. Her house is in the forefront and Lillie's is in the back. They built them over recycled milk cartons. Too cute.


Bellies full of candy. Time for a rest before the sugar buzz kicks in!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Lettercakes

Buttermilk pancakes are the top requested breakfast in our house. These half-whole grain beauties are light and fluffy and the girls can't wait to eat their initials. Its the little things...Usually, I make a big batch and freeze the leftovers in ziptop bags for a fast and easy weekday morning meal. No buttermilk? Never fear! Give your pancakes some zip by adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (or even cider vinegar) to 2 cups of milk in order to bring up the acidity.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Lettercakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 egg white
Cooking spray
Maple syrup
Butter?

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and stir with a whisk. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, honey, oil, egg, and egg white. Add to flour mixture and loosely combine until moist with some lumps. An over-mixed smooth batter will make dense, hard pancakes. Keep them light and fluffy by not over-stirring.


Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet coated lightly with cooking spray over medium heat. Quickly ladle in about 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle in the shape of a letter. Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.


Serve with syrup and maybe even some butter. Take the picture quick before the crew revolts!

Lillie McShakes a Lot

Lillie won some silly glasses from the Treasure Box and wore them all afternoon. I kept telling her to put down the McDonald's milkshake so I could take a picture but she refused. I'm glad she did. I love this picture. Reminds me a the old school McDonald's characters like Mayor McCheese and the Hamburglar...


Whoa! Look at this guy! Lillie looks like the long lost daughter of Captain Crook! Nice Frisbee.

Micropopcorn

Who knew popcorn came in different sizes, shapes and colors? Each variety has a unique texture and taste. My favorite collection so far is from Crown Jewel Gourmet Popcorn. Their varieties include the world's smallest Petite Princess Amber, the crunchy and nutty Purple Amethyst, and the light and sweet hulless White Diamond. Bigger isn't always better and these tiny puffed nuggets of goodness are here to prove it. Once you try this gourmet popcorn, you will never settle for plain old microwave popcorn again.


I usually pop the corn on the stovetop using a medium-sized saucepan. Cracking the surface of my stovetop made it challenging to even boil water for a few weeks so I improvised with a stainless electric wok. The popcorn popped faster and cleanup was a piece of cake. Wok Popcorn is the way to go.


I used a 1/2 cup of Baby Yellow Topaz and a 1/2 cup of Baby Black Pearl. Heat up your pan or wok to a scorching medium high heat and put in 2 tablespoons of your favorite high smoke point oil like grapeseed or canola oil. I've also popped the corn in toasted peanut oil and coconut oil - each added another dimension of flavor from the oil that is worth trying.


Drop the kernels on top of the oil and give them a good coat. Cover and wait for the popping to start. With the wok, this should happen within 30 seconds! Once the popping starts, give it a gentle swirl every 5 seconds while holding the handles. Be careful not to shake the top off. Use the same technique if using a saucepan. Just like microwave popcorn, once the popping slows way down, you are done. Don't risk burning the puffed popcorn to save 20 unpopped kernels on the bottom.


Quickly transfer to a large bowl. If you are feeling the need for some butter, prep the bowl beforehand by laying out very thin slices of butter on the inner surface of the bowl. Fold in the warm popcorn using a large spatula or spoon.


Don't be shy with the salt.


Crack in some pepper. Mix it well. Stir, fold, stir and fold! Done!


Throw in a good movie and enjoy!

Spicy Shrimp and Smokey Sausage over Roasted Poblano Chile Grits

Chopper and I undertook our biggest culinary challenge yet. He wanted to create a New Orleans feast for the Alabama/LSU game and chose Susan Spicer's amazing cookbook as the source of inspiration. We spent half a day smoking sausage, reducing a fresh shrimp stock, roasting poblanos, perfecting the cream sauce, etc...


In the end, we had a dish with sooooo much flavor, it was just ridiculous. The effort paid off! The smokey poblano grits would have been great all by themselves. He also boiled up some spicy crabs and shrimp. Amy made some fantastic bloody mary's and Liz soaked up the whole experience. Roll Tide!

what not to do with grapes...

Two starving kids at the Plaza Restaurant, a plate of grapes and the lonely condiments for our pending burgerfest...wonder what happens?

Will They Eat it? Japanese Seaweed Snacks

I can always count on the Number 1 Oriental Market in Ocoee for a steady stream of exotic snacks, unusual vegetables and the best seafood selection around.


We were grabbing a few Strawberry Yin Yan and some Bulldog Sauce when these seaweed snacks caught my eye.


"Delicious with good nutrients from the sea." Sounds like a winner to me.


Called Tao Kae Noi, these savory snacks are paper-thin and airy - imagine a flattened seaweed-flavored Cheeto!


Dusted with wasabi powder, the heat was a little much for Sadie although she couldn't stop eating it! I wish I caught the faces she made with my camera.


Verdict? YES! Another sucessful Will They Eat It? Challenge!