Category Archives: Food & Recipes

Food is an important part of our family. I don’t believe in “secret recipes.” If I make it, I’ll share it. And if you like it, I hope you’ll share it, too.

May 7, 2012 · 7:20 AM

3-Step Simple Summer Salad


Pasta salad has to be among the most adaptable and forgiving side dishes of all time. You can pretty much throw anything into it and when you toss it with a simple vinaigrette, magic happens. Sunday afternoon when The Complete Package grilled chicken breasts for sandwiches, I threw together this simple but flavorful side in under 12 minutes. Here’s how I did it, in three easy steps.

Step 1: The Pasta
4 cups water
a good pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup pearl couscous or orzo pasta

In a saucepan, bring water & salt to a boil. Add the couscous and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. When done, pour into a strainer and run under cold water to chill the pasta. Drain thoroughly and pour it into a bowl.

Step 2: The Add-Ins
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of Italian parsley, minced
2-3 fresh basil leaves, minced
1 scallion, minced
1 small Roma tomato, seeded & chopped
1/4 cup Italian Olive Salad, chopped

While the pasta is cooking, chop up all the add ins and set them aside.

Step 3: The Dressing
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice and seasonings. Pour over the pasta and toss to coat. Taste just before serving and tweak the salt & pepper, as needed. Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

Substitutions or Additions:
1. No olive salad? Chop some kalamata & green olives.
2. Feel free to toss in some shaved or grated parmesan.
3. Feeling frisky? Toss in some chopped salami.
4. I hate bell peppers but if you don’t, add some.
5. Red onion, chopped finely, instead of scallions.
6. Grated lemon peel – it makes everything better.
7. If you hate olives AND bell peppers, try cucumber instead.
8. If you add feta cheese instead of parmesan, I’ll kiss you. On the mouth.

Adaptable. Versatile. Delicious. Now it’s your turn. What is your favorite pasta salad? Feel free to shout it out in the comments. If you’re a blogger, attach a link so we can all see it. With temperatures already climbing into the 90’s in Houston, I need all the light but tasty pasta salad suggestions I can get.

Ready… set… salad!

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May 3, 2012 · 7:57 AM

My Cookie Craving: Kaki’s Gingersnaps

Rich, chewy and exceptionally flavorful with a gorgeous sugar-coated crackled top. That describes my friend Kaki’s homemade gingersnaps. She made them last December for our big blow-out holiday Cookiepalooza, and I haven’t stopped thinking about them since. Yesterday morning, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I baked a double batch. And the world seemed sunnier because of it.

Kaki’s Gingersnaps:

  • ¾ cup shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tablespoons molasses
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon candied ginger, minced (optional)
  • 1/2 cup additional sugar, for coating
  • 1 package white chocolate coating, for dipping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy; add the egg and molasses and mix until well blended. In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients then add the candied ginger if you’re using it and toss to coat the ginger. Combine the dry and wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.

Shape a tablespoon of dough into a ball and roll it in sugar, setting it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Personally, I like to use a 1″ cookie scoop and drop the scoop into a small bowl of sugar. It works just as well and each cookie comes out exactly the same size as the next. I’m sort of obsessive about stuff like that, but that’s just me.  Bake each tray of cookies for 12-14 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely, then you can decide to dip or not to dip.

This is Kaki – making gingersnaps

This is Kaki making her gingersnaps. When she made them in December, we dipped them in white chocolate. And they were delicious. If you’d like to dip yours, melt a package of white chocolate or candy coating according to package instructions. Dip cookies half-way, scraping the bottom of the cookie along the edge of the bowl or pan to remove the excess. Place on parchment or wax paper and allow to set up until firm to the touch. If you’re in a pinch for time, you can pop the tray into the refrigerator or freezer for a  few minutes. Then bag and tag them. A single batch makes 24-30 cookies.

I liked them both ways – plain and dipped. But if I were to sit and eat them with a big glass of milk like The Complete Package and I did yesterday, I prefer them unadorned. Just plain, simple, powerful ginger goodness. But you try them both ways and judge for yourself. Will you be a white chocolate-dipped lover or a plain old-fashioned fan? Truthfully, I’ll take them any way I can get them.

Go on and bake some. You know you want to.

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April 23, 2012 · 8:59 AM

OXO Scale is a Must / Recipe is a Bust

Update: The giveaway featured in this blog is now closed. Congratulations to Allison from Arizona. It’s time to break out that Bavarian magazine you mentioned. I’d love it if you’d let me know what you make first with your new OXO Five Pound Food Scale… once you finish weighing everything you own just for fun. Congrats & happy weighing! -NB

When it comes to finding new recipes on the internet, I have this little problem. Some of the recipes that catch my attention are published in weight, not measurement. Ounces, not cups. Grams, not ounces. This poses a dilemma for me. I have no scale. I could just find a website that would do the conversion, but that could take a while. And I could just learn to do the math in my head, but that would take even longer. I was never very good at math. I helped My Baby with her 6th grade math homework years ago when The Complete Package was out of town on a business trip. She got an F. It’s a sad tale, but it’s true.

Fresh outta' the box & ready to roll - the OXO 5-Pound Food Scale


Enter the OXO 5-Pound Food Scale, part of OXO’s Healthy Eating Tools collection. Or as I call it – the scale that launched a thousand recipes. My key to unlocking weight-based recipes from around the world. The scale that converts US to metric, ounces to grams, with the touch of a button. Literally. As a brand new member of the OXO Blogger Outreach Program, OXO generously offered to send me their digital food scale. I immediately jumped for joy and here’s why:

1. the product is sent at no cost to the blogger
2. the blogger agrees to try the product at home
3. the blogger agrees to give their HONEST opinion
4. the blogger gets to keep the product, again at no cost
5. the blogger fully discloses participation in the program
6. the company provides a second unit for one lucky reader
7. there are no downsides to this program; not one!

To take this puppy out for a spin, I intentionally went back to my favorite recipe site, Tasty Kitchen, and dug up one of the recipes I shelved due to odd measurements. One that was so specifically strange it made my head spin. The recipe was for a plum cake. Since I had fresh strawberries and a new batch of homemade strawberry jam, I decided to go that route instead. It started with butter. I bake in tablespoons of butter, or sticks and half-sticks. This one called for 5 3/8 ounces of butter. Seriously. Five and 3/8 ounces. Can you grab a stick of butter and measure that without scratching your head? I can’t.


I started with one stick of butter. As you can clearly see, one stick equals 4 1/8 ounces. So I cut a little off of another stick and added it to the scale.


Presto. 5 3/8 ounces of butter at your service. Next up, sugar. I place a glass on the scale. A glass that evidently weighs 5 3/4 ounces.


No problem. Just hit the ‘zero’ button to the right of the display, and the scale resets to cancel out the weight of the container. Love that.


With the scale zeroed out, I was free to measure the required 6 ounces of sugar.


Six ounces on the button. No leveling. No guessing. Just straight up six ounces. You may be thinking, “Hold up, NanaBread. What’s with the battery symbol to the right of the 6?” That’s not a battery indicator, my friends. Let me show you.


That indicator shows the maximum range of the five pound scale. As you continue to add ingredients to your bowl, the indicator shows you how close you’re getting to the maximum limit of five pounds. Pretty convenient.


Next up was flour, so I switched to a bigger bowl. I also used a heavy bowl so I could see how the scale would react. This ceramic bowl weighs one pound, 10 ounces and change. Before adding the flour, I hit the ‘zero’ button again.


Did you notice that? The scale is reset to zero so my flour measurement is accurate, but the 5-pound scale on the right still shows the total weight so I can tell when I’m getting close to five pounds. The scale keeps track for you.


I love that I can just grab my flour canister and start dumping flour into the bowl now. No measuring cups, no concern over whether I should shake it or scrape it to level the cup. I can just dump it in until the scale hits the magic number.


Fourteen and 1/8th ounces. See what I mean about just how specific this recipe was? I’m not kidding. It said to add 14 and 1/8th ounces of flour. So I did. What I ended up with is a thick batter that looked more like cookie dough than cake batter. It tasted like cookie dough, too. Yes, I eat raw cookie dough. Don’t you?


I pressed it into a 9″x9″ square pan lined with parchment and started adding fruit. Instead of plums, I used ten ounces of fresh berries and half a pint of jam.


The strawberries were washed, hulled and chopped and scattered over the top.


The jam was spooned over the berries. Such a pretty shade of red.


Next, a crumb topping was applied about 1/2″ thick over the entire cake.


The cake was baked at 350F for about 35 minutes, until it was golden brown.


Breakfast or dessert? What would NanaBread do? She’d go with ice cream.


Now here’s a dirty little secret about food blogging. As good as this cake looked, it was as dry as sand. So dry, I think I’m calling this The Sahara Dessert. Not even ice cream could re-hydrate it. It looks fabulous, but it was almost inedible. How bad was it? The Complete Package thought that maybe we could buy a poultry injector and pump it full of vanilla pudding to moisten it up. Seriously. You know a recipe failed when the solution involves a poultry injection kit.

For all the detail in measurements, this recipe goes in the Fail Log. The most surprising part of the failure was that I added 2 ounces of orange juice that wasn’t even called for and STILL it was dry. From the berries up, it was lovely. That’s hardly a ringing endorsement. But at least I came out of this knowing that it wasn’t due to my lack of diligence in following the recipe. By golly, it called for 14 1/8 ounces, and it got it. Sometimes recipes just don’t work.

This recipe may have tanked, but the OXO scale was right on the money. I would never have attempted such a fussy recipe without it. Which is where my ray of hope springs eternal, and my new OXO scale becomes my saving grace. A few months ago, I grabbed this book off the clearance rack at a bookstore.


I was so excited. Baking is my therapy of choice. In all honesty, I gave it a quick flip-through on the way to the register, just glancing quickly at photos like this.


If you know me, you’ll understand why I couldn’t resist. I have a thing for cherries. When I got home, I sat down to peruse my $3 gem and noticed this:


Grams and ounces. Crap. Every recipe in the book is formatted just like this one. See where I’m going with this? Now that I have a new OXO food scale, I can finally tackle my baking book without reservation. A whole new collection of fabulous baked goods just opened up for me. And now it can for you, too.

OXO has generously provided a second OXO Five Pound Food Scale for one lucky reader. All you have to do is leave a comment, and this little lightweight beauty could be yours. If you’re like me, you’ll be weighing everything in your kitchen or pantry just so you can play with it. Things like this:


That’s not a tiny scale, it’s a huge tomato. And this:


Yes, it’s an orange the size of a grapefruit. This is Texas. And even this:


Yes, that’s my Pioneer Woman Cookbook. But wait! I can’t see how much Ree weighs! (Don’t you know she’d have a nervous breakdown if she heard we were weighing her on the internet?) It’s okay, Ree. It’s just the cookbook. But here’s the kicker – the OXO Five Pound Food Scale has one hidden feature I haven’t shown you yet. Are you ready for this?


The digital display pulls out so you can still read it, even when using larger bowls, platters or cookbooks. Can you believe it? I’m telling you, OXO really did think of everything. It’s why I own an entire collection of their products, all of which (with the exception of this scale) I have gladly paid for. Their stuff rocks.


When you’re done, just slide the display back in the dock and two small magnets lock it into place. A quick swipe of a Clorox wipe, and it’s ready to store.


This scale is extremely lightweight at 16 ounces and has a slim profile, so you can easily store it anywhere. Mine is resting to top of my spice bin. And because it runs on two AAA batteries (included), you can literally use it anywhere. The Complete Package has already used it to weigh envelopes so he no longer has to guess how many stamps to use. Fabulous!

Now leave a comment and tell me what recipe you’d tackle first if you had an OXO Five Pound Food Scale of your very own. If it’s one you found on the internet, feel free to share the hyperlink so we can see what inspires you. Participants must be residents of the United States due to shipping concerns. One name will be drawn at random at 12:00 Noon CST next Sunday, April 29th, 2012. That person will be notified by e-mail and will have 24 hours to respond before another name is chosen. Once a winner is confirmed, I’ll update this post.

As stated before, both scales were provided by the OXO Bloggers Outreach Program absolutely free of charge. The scale offered in this giveaway is identical to the one reviewed. OXO even included a shipping label for the winner. All they asked in return was my honest opinion, which I provided.

Now it’s time for you to weigh in. Good luck!

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April 14, 2012 · 5:00 AM

Salad Week: Creole Potato Salad


This is Creole Potato Salad. She may look all smooth and creamy and unassuming, but don’t let her beguiling looks fool you. This salad is a spicy little wench. It’s that Creole mustard she’s sporting. It brings the heat, and that leaves her fanning herself so she doesn’t get ‘dewy’ because we all know Southern women don’t sweat – they mist. And she’s going to need a handkerchief.

Now that we’ve got the bodice-ripping intro out of the way, let’s make some potato salad! I first threw this together for a family barbecue after I fell in love with Zatarain’s Creole mustard. It has a spicy blast of heat from those coarsely ground mustard seeds and a bracing twang of vinegar for balance. It’s a party in a mustard bottle, that’s what it is. And that is what makes this recipe special. It brings tremendous flavor to a few simple ingredients.

To start, grab 6-8 medium size white potatoes (the kind with thin skin) or 10-12 red new potatoes (about golf-ball size). I usually cover them with water in a saucepan and let them simmer until fork tender, but this week I had leftover roasted potatoes from Easter so I chopped those up. Either way works, so use whichever works best for you. Once your potatoes are fully cooked, let them cool then chop them into bite-size pieces and toss them into a mixing bowl.


Next, you’ll need two ribs (stalks) of celery. Cut off the tops and bottoms, wash them thoroughly, then cut them into thin sticks and chop into small pieces. We all know celery brings no real nutritional value, but what it does bring is crunch.

Grab 4-6 green onions (also called scallions) and lop off the tops & roots, then thinly slice them and toss them into the potatoes with the celery.

That’s it for chunks – just potatoes, celery and scallions. And now, we add the first secret ingredient – the Creole mustard. Really, people. You have to find a bottle of this stuff. When you’re not making this potato salad, it totally rocks on sausages grilled over an open flame. Really and truly.


Measure out 1/4 cup of mustard and dump it into the bowl with your veg. Then measure 1/4 cup of mayonnaise and throw it in with the mustard. {And now a word from NanaBread: do not substitute Miracle Whip in this recipe. I know some of you are mayonnaise adverse, but Miracle Whip is not acceptable here. It’s far too sweet. Just trust me and grab a small jar of mayo. Please. Pretty please. I’m begging you. I’ll buy you a pony. I’m just kidding about the pony.}

Next up, secret ingredient #2 – Morton’s Nature’s Seasons Salt. I’ve mentioned this stuff on the blog before. It’s my go-to season salt of choice. My right arm. My left foot. My everything. I can’t cook without it. I wish I was kidding.

Measure 1/2 teaspoon of this magical stuff and throw it on top of your salad stuff, then throw in 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper just for giggles.

Toss it all together until well blended then pop it into the fridge for at least one hour to give the potatoes time to soak up all the flavor of the mustard and seasonings. Before serving, taste it and tweak the seasonings, adding more season salt or pepper as needed. And now you’ve got a big beautiful bowl of creamy, crunchy, zesty Creole Potato Salad. She’s lovely, isn’t she?

If this isn’t your new favorite potato salad, I’ll be stunned. It is a crowd pleaser. A show stopper. An attention grabber. And it plays well in Austin. The kids made a batch of this for a cook-out with friends, and now it’s on their ‘must haves’ list. Whip it up for your next picnic and just wait for the ‘wows’ to roll in. As for me, I’m plating it up with pulled pork sandwiches and my favorite spicy Wickles pickles. Because that’s how I roll.

Get it? Roll. Sandwich on a roll. Okay, I’ll let you go now.

NanaBread’s Creole Potato Salad:
6-8 medium white potatoes OR 10-12 small red potatoes
6 scallions
2 ribs of celery
1/4 cup Zatarain’s Creole Mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
1/2 teaspoon Morton’s Nature’s Seasons Salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Scrub the potatoes and place them in a saucepan; cover with water and simmer until fork tender. Remove from the heat and allow them to cool completely, then drain and chop into bite-size pieces. Place the chopped potatoes in a mixing bowl. Cut the scallions and celery into small pieces and throw them in with the potatoes. Add the mustard & mayonnaise, salt & pepper. Toss to combine and refrigerate at least one hour before serving. Taste before serving and tweak the salt and pepper, if needed. Serves 6-8.

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Hey! Don’t forget to visit my Salad Week co-conspirators to see what salads they posted this week. Today is our big Salad Week Extravaganza – much like the grand finale of a fireworks display, we’re all posting a barrage of salads. There’s also a linky party over at Allison’s place so you can not only see all of our salads from the week, but you can add your own favorites, as well.

Special thanks to these Salad Week bloggers:
Allison – Decadent Philistines Save the World
Jeanne – Inside NanaBread’s Head (hey, that’s me!)
Lauren – Climbing Grier Mountain
Kat – Tenaciously Yours
Kirsten – Comfortably Domestic
Megan – Wanna Be A Country Cleaver
Madelyn – La Petite Pancake
Monica – The Grommom
Carrie – Bakeaholic Mama

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April 13, 2012 · 5:04 PM

Salad Week: Quite Possibly the Strangest Salad You May Never Eat

I’ll be honest. The reaction I usually get when I talk about this salad is “ewww!” I get it. It’s weird. But oddly enough, it’s really delicious. Especially if you love cauliflower. Now, I’m not going to beat you over the head and tell you how you just HAVE to try this one. But if you’re adventurous, and if you love cauliflower, then at least promise me that you’ll consider giving it a try. I would hope that you would trust me by now. It’s not like I’m asking you to eat a bug, after all.

Raw Cauliflower Salad:
1 medium head of cauliflower
1 small can of chopped black olives
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup mayonnaise
a pinch each of salt & pepper

Remove the leaves and stems from the cauliflower, leaving just the florets. Chop the florets into 1/2″ pieces and toss them into a mixing bowl. Add the olives, scallions, mayonnaise, salt & pepper and stir to combine. Place into an air-tight container with a tight-fitting lid and place in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers. This dish is best if eaten within 48 hours since the raw cauliflower will start to discolor and soften over time.

Note: I first tried this recipe almost 30 years ago, when The Complete Package and I were first married. It’s another one of my mother-in-law’s retro classics. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. It’s a fresh, crunchy side for any picnic and pairs perfectly with grilled meats and a bottle of Beano. Yes, Beano; not vino. And I think you all know where I’m going with that. Although, now that I think about it, I’m sure it would also be lovely with a cold, crisp white like a Riesling. Cheers, adventurous salad lovers!

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Speaking of adventurous salad lovers, check out these lovely salads already posted for Salad Week and be sure to tell these ladies I said hello!

Chicken Mole Salad – by Megan at Wanna Be A Country Cleaver
Simple Caesar Salad – by Kirsten at Comfortably Domestic
Party Salad – by Kat at Tenaciously Yours
Parmesan Salad Cups – by Lauren at Climbing Grier Mountain
Tabbouleh Salad That Made Me Cry – by Allison at Decadent Philistines

Check in Saturday when all of our Salad Week bloggers post additional salads in a big Salad Week Grand Finale. There will also be a linky party at Allison’s place starting Saturday morning. You’ll not only see all of our salads from the past week, but you’ll also be able to link up your own favorites.

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April 12, 2012 · 1:22 PM

Salad Week: My knock-off version of Whole Foods Market’s Rice Salad

Let’s start this post with an apology. I’m sorry for using such a crummy photo of this dish. This was a pre-blog salad; one that I posted on the Tasty Kitchen portion of The Pioneer Woman website. Before I got my big girl camera. And while I apologize for the photo, I make no apologies for the recipe. It rocks.

We first tried this salad when My Baby was in the hospital, having just given birth to Lilly Bug. Finally able to consume real food and starving to death, she sent The Complete Package out to pick up lunch. He went to a nearby Whole Foods Market and stocked up on sandwiches and salads from their fabulous deli.

One of those salads was a wild rice, citrus, and dried fruit concoction that knocked our socks off. So much so, that I kept the label from the container with the ingredients, conveniently listed from most prevalent to least. And that’s where I started when I got home and decided to recreate it.

Now before you freak out… yes, there is a long list of ingredients, but there’s a good chance you already have most of them in your pantry. And yes, you’ll have to cook rice (unless you decide to buy the kind in a pouch that you can microwave). But don’t let that cause you grief. I promise once you try this, you’ll understand that it’s totally worth the effort. And, as a bonus, it keeps well in the fridge and is easily transportable for lunches on the go. And it’s so delicious, you’ll find yourself sneaking back to the fridge over and over again to sneak another bite. Pinky swear.

NanaBread’s Knock-Off Whole Foods Market Rice Salad:
1 cup wild/brown rice mix
1 cup white basmati rice
1 cup soft wheatberries
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 cup dried cranberries (I use Craisins)
1/2 cup dates, pitted & chopped
1/2 cup raisins
2 small lemons, zested & juiced
1 orange, zested & juiced
4 ozs. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
honey or agave nectar, as needed (optional)

Cook each type of rice according to package directions; cool to room temperature or slightly warm to the touch. Note: wheatberries can be added to the basmati rice so they cook together. While the rice cooks, toast the almonds in a skillet. Toss the dried cranberries, dates, raisins, toasted almonds and zest of the lemons and orange into a mixing bowl and stir to combine.

In a large mixing bowl, toss all of the cooled rice together; add the melted butter and toss again. Dump the small bowl of fruits and almonds into the rice and toss.

In another small bowl, combine the canola and olive oils, lemon and orange juice, rice wine vinegar, salt and peppers. Whisk until well blended; pour over the rice mixture. Toss until well blended and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Taste to see if it needs more salt, vinegar, etc. If it’s too tart, add a little honey or agave nectar to balance it out. Keep in mind that this tastes better after it sits for a while, so don’t tweak your seasonings too soon!

For maximum flavor, refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Set it out for 20 minutes before serving; it’s best at room temperature. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator; it should keep for about 5 days. It also helps to give the container a good shake before serving to help redistribute the dressing.

NOTE: if you want to go dairy-free, omit the butter. If you want to go nut-free, omit the almonds. If you live for adventure, try adding chopped dried apricots or even toasted pistachios. Crazy, right?

Click here to see the original post on the Tasty Kitchen website.

Also posted today for Salad Week:
Party Salad by Kat at Tenaciously Yours. It’s a party. In a bowl. You heard me.

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April 11, 2012 · 2:46 PM

Salad Week Tribute: Aunt Trish’s Salad Dressing from The Pioneer Woman

In honor of Salad Week, I’m re-running my review of “Aunt Trish’s Salad Dressing” from The Pioneer Woman website. It’s my favorite, and when paired with a crisp salad and grilled halloumi cheese, it is simply divine. Enjoy!

Aunt Trish's salad dressing over a green salad & grilled halloumi cheese - YUM!

It’s not often that I make my own salad dressing, as evidenced by the row of salad dressing bottles on the top shelf of my fridge. Just last week, The Complete Package found a bottle of French that expired in 2008. Oopsie. And there is ALWAYS a jar of Marzetti’s Ultimate Blue Cheese Dressing in our fridge. Always. Someone whose name I shall not mention would lose his ever-loving mind if he didn’t have his favorite creamy blue cheese dressing to put on his wedge salads or fried potatoes (hint: not Ziggy). But this past week, I was craving something new. Something light. Something lemony. And The Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Aunt Trish’s Salad Dressing looked perfect. It’s light, it’s lemony, and it also has garlic and parmesan cheese. Duh, winning!

Here’s the cast of characters:
3/4 cup of olive oil or canola oil
the juice of 2 lemons
1 clove of garlic, peeled (leave it whole)
4 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. sugar
a dash of paprika
salt & pepper to taste

It couldn’t be easier. You put everything in a jar, shake it up, and let it stew in the fridge for 24 hours, then shake it again before using. I made a tossed green salad of romaine, shredded carrots, sliced radishes, cucumber, quartered Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced purple onion, kalamata olives, pepperoncini peppers and feta cheese. Then we shook up our jar of Aunt Trish’s and poured it over the top. To say that we both loved this salad dressing would be an understatement. It was so good, we were tempted to put our faces into our bowls and lick them clean. Or grab a straw and suck up all the remnants. But instead, we used some toasted garlic bread to sop it all up. No drop was wasted. We enjoyed it so whole heartedly that we could have put our salad bowls back into the cupboard without washing them first. We didn’t, of course, but we probably could have.

Besides being knocked out by how great this was on a salad, my mind was racing through all the other things I could use it on. It would be a great marinade for grilled meats. It would be fantastic drizzled over a sandwich in place of boring old mayonnaise or mustard. This would knock your socks off as a dressing for a pasta salad. You could cube up salami, mozzarella cheese, olives and Italian peppers and make a fabulous antipasto tray for parties. Don’t get me started on using it on a cold seafood salad. This is not a salad dressing, it’s an obsession.

As always, I’m going to refer you to the source so you can see the recipe the way Ree intended – with fabulous photos and an engaging back story. Click here to be transported to salad dressing heaven at The Pioneer Woman.

Also posted for Salad Week today:
Lauren’s Parmesan Salad Cups at Climbing Grier Mountain. Click the link to see how she crafted melted parmesan cheese into crispy edible salad bowls. No more licking your salad bowl clean. This time, you can actually eat the bowl!

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April 10, 2012 · 7:02 AM

Salad Week: Toughie’s Apple Salad

It’s Salad Week! What a glorious way to celebrate Spring. Once again, my blogging partners in crime and I are co-oping a food themed week and this time salads are the stars. And honestly after a big sugar-filled holiday weekend, who couldn’t use a few new salad recipes, am I right?

In our salad week discussions, the topic of retro salads came up as well as salads made with unconventional ingredients. Examples: Twinkie Salad and aspic. Does anyone even know what aspic is anymore? The retro salads of potlucks past struck a chord with me, so today I’m featuring one of my mother-in-law’s fruit salads from the 1950’s. It has a few unexpected ingredients, but they all come together beautifully to make an old-fashioned potluck favorite.

For the record, my mother-in-law is a gem. She’s spunky and funny and I love her very much. Her nickname is Toughie, and this is Toughie’s Apple Salad.

Toughie’s Apple Salad:
4 crisp apples, peeled & chopped
1 small can of crushed pineapple
1 small can of pineapple tidbits
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
the juice of one fresh lemon
the juice from both cans of pineapple
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

To start, peel and dice the apples and toss them into a large mixing bowl. Open the cans of pineapple and drain the juice, reserving it for the custard dressing; toss the drained pineapple into the bowl with the apples.

In a saucepan, whisk together the eggs, sugar, cornstarch, mustard, lemon juice and the juice from both cans of pineapple. Cook over medium heat, whisking often to prevent lumps, until the mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. If you’re in a hurry, pour the custard into a bowl and pop it into the fridge to chill.

Once the custard is cool, pour it over the fruit and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture into your serving dish, then sprinkle the coconut and cheese over the top. Serve cold as a dessert salad.

My thoughts: Yes, it’s weird to put a little yellow mustard in a fruit custard, but the surprising thing is you don’t taste mustard in the finished product. It gives it a bright little tang like lemon zest would. So while it sounds weird, don’t leave it out. It really adds a zing. Cheese also throws some people off when they see this fruit salad. Is it necessary? Probably not. There’s really not enough of it to have a strong impact. What it does do is give you a nice contrast between the sweet of the fruit and the sharp cheddar when you take a bite. And speaking of sweet, this custard is very sweet. I was a good girl this time and stuck to the recipe as Toughie intended it, but the next time I make it I’ll be cutting the sugar down to a 1/2 cup or maybe even a 1/4 cup. If you prefer less sugar and more natural sweetness in your fruit salad, I recommend you do the same.

Now, on to the rest of Salad Week. Don’t forget to visit my lovely friends throughout the week as they share a few introductory salads to whet your appetite. Then on Saturday April 14th, we’ll all be posting salads in a big Salad Week Extravaganza – much like the grand finale of a fireworks display. In addition, there will be a linky party over at Allison’s place so you can not only see all of our salads from the week, but you can add your own favorites, as well.

Salad Week bloggers include:
Allison – Decadent Philistines Save the World
Jeanne – Inside NanaBread’s Head (hey, that’s me!)
Lauren – Climbing Grier Mountain
Kat – Tenaciously Yours
Kirsten – Comfortably Domestic
Megan – Wanna Be A Country Cleaver
Madelyn – La Petite Pancake
Monica – The Grommom
Carrie – Bakeaholic Mama

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April 6, 2012 · 3:21 PM

Fruity Pebble Bunnies for Easter

Fruity Pebble Marshmallow Bunnies - from plain to fabulous

Surprise! I really hadn’t planned to post two stories in one day, but the kids are coming for Easter this weekend, and I wanted to share the bunny treats I made for the grandkids, Jonah Bear & Lilly Bug. These bunnies are fun and colorful and are as much (or as little) work as you want them to be.

Here’s what you’ll need:
1 13-oz. box of Fruity Pebble cereal
1 10-oz. bag of miniature marshmallows
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 bunny shaped cookie cutter
1 pkg. of white melting chocolate for coating
Various frostings & candies for decorating

To start, place the butter in a large saucepan and melt over medium-low heat; continue to cook, stirring often, until the butter just starts to brown lightly. Add the marshmallows and beat with a whisk until completely melted and smooth; whisk in the vanilla extract and remove the pan from the heat.

Pour in the cereal and using a heavy wooden spoon (because it’s sturdier), stir the cereal into the marshmallow mixture until all of the cereal is evenly coated. Pour the cereal mixture into a 13″ x 9″ baking pan that has been lined with parchment or waxed paper. Using a flat spatula, press the cereal mixture into the pan until it is an even thickness throughout. Set aside and allow to cool completely. Once set, cut into bunny shapes with the cookie cutter.

Once your bunnies are firm, melt the white candy coating over a double boiler (or place a metal mixing bowl over a saucepan of boiling water) and stir until the candy has melted. Once it is mostly melted, switch to a whisk and whisk the melted chocolate until smooth. You don’t want any lumps when you’re dipping.

Next, choose how you wish to candy coat your bunnies:

1. To drizzle, spoon the melted candy coating into a plastic bag, pressing it down into one corner. Snip the very tip off the corner with a pair of scissors, and in a back-and-forth motion, drizzle your bunnies with melted candy coating. Allow them to cool completely.

2. To coat your bunnies, place one bunny onto the center of a large fork. Hold the bunny over the bowl of melted candy coating, and using a small ladle, spoon the melted candy coating evenly over the top of the bunny, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Once the excess chocolate has stopped dripping, transfer the bunny to a sheet of waxed paper and gently slide him off the fork. Allow to cool completely.

Next, decide how you wish to decorate your bunnies:

1. For chubby bunny cheeks, cut a mini-marshmallow in half forming two equal circles; attach with a small dab of melted candy coating or frosting.

2. For sweet bunny noses, attach a tic-tac candy just above the cheeks using a color coordinated frosting.

3. For pink bunny tongues, squeeze a little pink frosting from a store-bought tube of decorator frosting.

4. For the easiest eyes on the planet, buy a package of candy eyes from craft or baking stores. My sister gave me a package along with Bakarella’s Cake Pops cookbook, and I’ve been dying to use them. Hey, Sis! Look! I made bunnies!

5. For ears, you can pipe an outline using a small tube of gel frosting, or pipe a fatter line of pink frosting and use a toothpick or skewer to fill in the ears.

6. For whiskers, dip the tip of a toothpick or skewer into black gel frosting (I buy it in a small tube; Wilton brand) and simply poke the toothpick into the cheeks for whisker marks. If you want to get fancier, use dip the tip of the skewer or toothpick into the black gel frosting, lay it along the edge of the cheek, and pull outwards, drawing a whisker line as you go.

Jonah Bear & Lilly Bug are going to love these!

And there you have it. Colorful, fruity, marshmallowy bunnies – just in time for Easter. We here at Casa NanaBread wish you and your family a very Hoppy Holiday weekend. I know. That was corny. But I did it anyway.

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April 4, 2012 · 6:46 AM

My favorite new cookbook: America’s Test Kitchen’s “Pasta Revolution”

Pasta Revolution by America's Test Kitchen - it's my new favorite

Let me introduce you to my newest ATK cookbook – Pasta Revolution. I won this little beauty in a random drawing after participating in an on-line chat with Julia Collin Davison of America’s Test Kitchen. I was so excited to receive it. The book is a beautifully comprehensive collection of everything pasta. Chapters include Pasta 101, New Classics, Italy’s Greatest Hits, Pasta for Company (and my favorite – Pasta for Two), Pasta Salads, and two chapters on sauces – Pesto & No-Cook Sauces and Sauces from the Slow-Cooker.

So many choices, so little time

But wait, there’s more! You’ll also find a chapter on Whole Wheat Pasta, specialty pastas like gnocchi or tortellini, and even a chapter on Asian pasta dishes. See? I told you it was comprehensive! Here’s a sampling of what’s inside:

America’s Test Kitchen may just be my favorite series of cookbooks ever. Why? Because they take all the guess-work out of cooking. And by that, I mean you never have to worry about whether a recipe will work or not. Not when it comes from the crew at ATK. They go to great lengths to research and experiment with each recipe. They admit that they fail and tweak repeatedly to bring you the best possible version of each recipe published. I appreciate that.

What you get is a series of foolproof recipes along with a breakdown of what worked and what didn’t, tips on equipment and favorite brands, product reviews, and even shopping advice. When I make a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, I know it will be spot on every single time. When they talk, I listen.

And speaking of vodka, last night I made the Penne alla Vodka for dinner and it was incredible. Seriously scrumptious. What a gorgeous photo!

Here’s the proof. Not that you need it, but I want you to know that I’m totally putting my money where my mouth is. Or in this case, I’m putting the pasta where my mouth is. One forkful at a time. Repeatedly.

ATK's Penne alla Vodka - simple ingredients, tremendous flavor

You know what I loved about this recipe? Everything. It was easy to make. It was packed with flavor. The sauce was perfect, especially when it got trapped inside those little penne tubes. I loved the slight heat from the red pepper flakes. If the vodka is a turn off for you, I promise it does not permeate the dish. It would be fine without it, but it does add great flavor without an alcohol ‘bite’ to it if you leave it in. Which is why they give you tips about which vodka to use. I’m telling you, these guys think of everything.

My overall rating for this dish is a sold 10. I would eat this over and over again. In fact, we’re having leftovers tonight. That rumor that pasta dishes taste even better as leftovers the next day? It’s true. Especially red sauces. And this one warms up beautifully.

You want to see how it turned out, don’t you? You know you do. Here you go. You’re welcome. {wink}

NanaBread's Penne alla Vodka from ATK's Pasta Revolution

If you love pasta or know someone who does, put this one on your shopping list. It is most definitely a keeper. Special thanks to the social media group at America’s Test Kitchen and to Julia Collin Davison, my favorite contributor at ATK. I swear that girl loves bacon as much as I do. We should form a club.

I’m never going to wash my cookbook-flipping hand again.

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