Cooking Light

The 1st Annual Musing Awards

1 Comment
The first Foodie Buddy

The first Foodie Buddy

It’s coming up on a year of blogging. It’s been such a hoot for me and I intend to continue and I hope you’ll stick with me! I’m going to wrap up my first 12 months of blogging by bestowing the much coveted (not) Musing Awards to some of my favorite persons, places and things I experienced for the FIRST time this past year.

The results are in and the “Musee” (patent pending) goes to……..

Favorite Prepared Foods and Beverages:

Savory: Blue Hill Butternut Yogurt-this stuff is the bomb! Currently, the only place around me where it’s available is Wegman’s and it’s a bit pricey but worth every penny. Check out Blue Hill’s website for locations, other fun products and recipes. My own concoction is the yogurt, hot sauce, and almonds…a perfect at the office breakfast yum. http://bluehillyogurt.com

My fav is the Butternut Squash, but there's beet and Sweet Potato at Wegman's as well

My fav is the Butternut Squash, but there’s beet and Sweet Potato at Wegman’s as well

Sweet: Garden Lites Carrot Berry Muffins– found in the freezer in the Organic Foods Section (at Giant at least) these muffins are just a moist 4-bite piece of Carrot Cake only nutritious too. I swear spread some cream cheese on the top and you have dessert! 35 seconds in the microwave from the freezer and you’ll be in guilt free heaven.

Marvelously delicious with no effort

Beverage: American Harvest Vodka- When I’m not drinking tea, I’m drinking wine. When I’m not drinking wine, I’m drinking Vodka (I think in that order…sometimes I forget). A mid=priced Vodka this Organic-American made Vodka has a wonderfully crisp, clean flavor that in my opinion stands up to being “dirtied” or sipped straight (very chilled of course).

http://americanharvestspirit.com/

Favorite “New to Me” Chef: Chef David Schmidt of Enchantment Resort in Sedona Arizona- I mentioned Chef Schmidt in my post “Northern Neck Paradise”. I met him while vacationing this summer and became enchanted…..with the chef and the resort where he is the executive chef. Check out the website to learn about the Resort and David Schmidt (Chef also has a facebook and twitter page). http://www.enchantmentresort.com/

As a side note, I made the Granola Recipe on the resort website as Christmas gifts to my Office employees at my real job this year.

Granola Gifts for my Office. Double the recipe made 20 bags!

Granola Gifts for my Office. Double the recipe made 20 bags!

Favorite “New to Me” Winery:first ever tie. First Colony Winery, Charlottesville VA and Old House Vineyards, Culpeper VA. I go to lots of wineries, especially in Virginia. Out of a dozen or so that were new to me this year, these two stand out as favorites-great venues, good wines and personable staff! I truly find something to like at every winery I go to (sometimes it just the Corgi!), but at times I find a winery that has it all…go to these two when in VA. http://www.firstcolonywinery.com and http://www.oldhousevineyards.com

 

Marigolds used keep pests away from the grapes at Old House Vineyards

Marigolds used keep pests away from the grapes at Old House Vineyards

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Thatched Roof of First Colony

The Thatched Roof of First Colony

 

 

 

Favorite “New to Me” Restaurants:

Upscale to the Max- Te at the Inn at Leola Village-If you happen to be in the Lancaster PA area and you want to indulge in an award winning meal go to Te. Matter of fact, stay over night in the lovely accommodations available at the Inn at Leola Village. Our meal at Te was exquisite and I hope to go again sometime soon! http://www.theinnatleolavillage.com

In the Windy City- The Purple Pig-this was tough. I realize we didn’t even scratch the surface of all the fabulous restaurants in Chicago and literally ALL of the places we went to had merit. The Pig though has a certain flair that I found interesting, comforting and just darn tasty. It’s not everywhere you can order bones filled with fat and consider it delicious….you can at The Purple Pig!

Roasted Bone Marrow was just one of the exciting choices at the Purple Pig

Roasted Bone Marrow was just one of the exciting choices at the Purple Pig

Just Plain Delicious-Restaurant Sidney (Willoughby Run in Gettysburg or the Original in East Berlin PA)- Love, Love, Love my Sidney. Great Food, relaxing atmosphere at both locations and a Chef and servers who try to please. http://restaurantsidney.com/#!/main

Classic Sidney Pate

Classic Sidney Pate

Favorite “New to Me” recipe to me- Easy Cioppino- the recipe is found in a previous post titled “Easy Peasy”. I swear, I must try 100 different recipes each year (have I mentioned that I love to cook?). This particular recipe is very easy, very delicious and quite healthy.

This is my adaptation of the recipe found Better Homes and Garden Special Interest Publication "30-Minute Dinners"

This is my adaptation of the recipe found Better Homes and Garden Special Interest Publication “30-Minute Dinners”

Life Time Achievement Award: Gazebo Room Salad Dressing-This is a no-brainer for the first award of this kind. Please refer to the previous post titled “Location, Location, Location”. GRSD is a must-have for all household that are lucky enough to live in a State that stocks the dressing at local grocers.

Photo (3)

Unlike the Oscars, winners don’t go home with gift bags. Instead, I’ve tried to supply contact info when possible so do me a favor and click on a couple of sites that interest you. It’ll show the winners you care and I get a kick out of seeing the number of “clicks” I get on my stats page (anonymous of course)

It’s been a fun year. I look forward to testing out next year’s winners for the next 12 months…stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A “Sweet” Heart Supper

Leave a comment

“This year, Valentine’s Day was a celebration of the heart in the truest sense. With bypass surgery behind and my husband’s continued speedy recovery, I was in the perfect position to go all in with the meal prep.

The table is set at Hodge Podge Lodge The table is set at Hodge Podge Lodge

“Cooking is at once child’s play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love”- Craig Claiborne

The lady’s cocktail for the evening was a French 75 with a welcome twist…..made with Vodka instead Gin. Fresh squeezed lemon juice is a must as far as I’m concerned and only the tiniest bit of superfine sugar. I used Prosecco as the bubbly but Cava works just as well.

I love my French 75 Cocktail I love my French 75 Cocktail

The Salad I chose to make is called Italian Salad. Recipe can be found at one of my favorite sites: http://fandw.me/1A0v840.

So easy and very delicious So easy and very delicious

The Main Course: Filet Mignon with Peppercorn-Mustard Sauce (p 29 of “Special Edition: The Best of Cooking Light” published in 2000), Poached Mahi-Mahi with Lemon-Herb Sauce (p 34 of “Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2012”) on a bed of Jasmine Rice and Haricot Vert.

The published fish recipe calls for Halibut. The Mahi-Mahi worked just as well...I've tried both. The published fish recipe calls for Halibut. The Mahi-Mahi worked just as well…I’ve tried both.

The Dessert: A Sampler from the local bakery with a Red Velvet Whoopie Pie as the highlight.

No credit to me here. I just did the plating. No credit to me here. I just did the plating.

The first anniversary of “Musing about Eating and Boozing” is fast approaching in April. I appreciate all your support these past months and look forward to taking the blog back on the road once Spring is in the air. I’d love it if you’d browse through my previous posts and I’d be especially interested in feedback. If you’re interested in short snippets about food and a sundry of other things please visit my facebook page “Mygro Tips” once in a while.   Ta-Ta for now.

 

If You Can’t Eat the Dish You Love, Love the Dish You Make!

Leave a comment

Chicken Vegetable Soup ala Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009

Chicken Vegetable Soup ala Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009

My family has been struck with Heart Disease which has necessitated a rather slight change in meal prep for me. Typically, sodium has not been a nutrition factoid that I’ve dwelled on when choosing recipes to try or adapt, but that changed after bypass surgery for my love became a reality. Being relegated as a caregiver for the week or two after surgery was nothing new for me and the idea of having all day to make meals was almost exciting. I love to cook (have I said that before?)! With a new focus on low sodium, I set out on my familiar exercise of pouring through Cooking Light Annual Recipe Cookbooks to find the perfect recipe. As usual CL did not disappoint. I found perfection in nutrition, taste and presentation. Behold….Chicken Vegetable Soup from Cooking Light 2009 page 27.
Simmered a whole chicken skinned myself then cut in half

Simmered a whole chicken skinned myself then cut in half


I say the key was the addition of parsnip and turnip.

I say the key was the addition of parsnip and turnip.


This recipe is readily available on line. In order to get a beautifully clear broth, cook the noodles separately and add to the bowl when serving.

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all”-Harriet van Horne

Thanksgiving at Vintage

Leave a comment
The stone fireplace in the Great Room at Vintage The stone fireplace in the Great Room at Vintage

This year marked thirty-three straight years of enjoying my Thanksgiving feast at Vintage and I can’t imagine a more lovely place to spend a holiday that is wholly based on preparing a meal to share with family and friends as a way to give thanks and count our blessings. Although Vintage is my parents home that wasn’t purchased until I had already graduated from college, I like to think I was instrumental in persuading (actually it was full out coercion) my folks to see this beautiful piece of property as the perfect place to spend their retirement years and to hold our most momentous family occasions.
The Thanksgiving guests at Vintage have changed through the years but four of us have remained constant…my mom and dad, my husband (only fiancé the 1st year) and I. We’ve had as many as 12 around the table, but this year it was limited to the four of us and our daughter and son. Regardless of the numbers of attendees, the menu planning remains the same with very little deviation- my dad takes care of the turkey, my mom decorates the table and does the stuffing and makes the family shrimp spread recipe while I scour through all my Cookbooks and Magazines to come up with sundry recipes I want to try. My daughter has taken over the Mashed Potato prep and this year made two fabulous desserts. Get a load of this……

While the menu may be extensive, for me it’s a perfect testament of my many blessings to share the fruits of the effort with my family who have always appreciated and supported (and in many ways inherited) my culinary obsession. Likewise, the warm and welcoming atmosphere maintained by my mom and dad that Vintage holds enables us to put our significant areas of concern aside for just one day of the year. I truly hope you all have a “Vintage” in your life as well.

Sherry Creamed Mushrooms, Pimento Cheese Creamed Spinach, Asparagus with Crispy Pancetta and Apple Cider Glazed Root Vegetables adorn the Sideboard. Sherry Creamed Mushrooms, Pimento Cheese Creamed Spinach, Asparagus with Crispy Pancetta and Apple Cider Glazed Root Vegetables adorn the Sideboard.

5 Stars are awarded to the Pimento Cheese Creamed Spinach, the Apple Cider Glazed Root Vegetables, the Salted-Butter Apple Galette and Marbled Gingersnap Pumpkin Tart (both desserts made lovingly by my daughter). The Sherry Creamed Mushrooms have always been to die for and “our” Shrimp Spread is legendary.

The Great Room of Vintage The Great Room of Vintage

“Food, in the end, in our tradition, is something holy. It’s not about nutrients and calories. It’s about sharing. It’s about honesty. It’s about identity.”- Louise Fresco