Cook Book Review: 1000 Recipe Cook Book (1950)

The women from the 1950s television archives – Gracie Allen, Lucille Ball, Audrey Meadows and all the rest – had the best dresses to show off spectacular figures: tiny waists with flared skirts and shirt tops that allowed them to wear their most comfortable bras and hid anything else they weren’t too proud of.

Their waists were tiny, of course, because the food was horrible. Continue reading Cook Book Review: 1000 Recipe Cook Book (1950)

Cook the Books Friday: Green-as-Spring Soup

I have been eating this soup for days now: with chicken, straight from a mug over a good book, with salty Italian cheese, and as a dip for leftover roast turkey.  Any way you scoop it, it’s amazing.

Dish Count: 7

It’s creamy without cream. And it’s fresh even after nearly 14 days in my refrigerator (don’t judge). Continue reading Cook the Books Friday: Green-as-Spring Soup

Loaf-A-Roma (The Meatloaf Bakery Cookbook)

Life. Is. Good. And this meatloaf variation is proof.

When regular meatloaf is done well, it is one of my absolute favorite foods on God’s green earth.  Warm with a drizzle of ketchup across the sliced side is a little slice of heaven when life is overwhelming.

The problem is that on the days I’m most in need of comfort food, I am least inclined to put in the work to making it great. Continue reading Loaf-A-Roma (The Meatloaf Bakery Cookbook)

Cook the Books Friday: Sweet Chili Chicken Thighs

I always, always cook with the group, but rarely do I get around to posting in a timely manner. Know that this dinner was enjoyed on a really cold Saturday night when my oldest child was playing board games and eating pizza at a friend’s house, and the little one feasted on chicken nuggets and canned fruit while I hovered at the stove.

Dish Count: 13 Continue reading Cook the Books Friday: Sweet Chili Chicken Thighs

Cook the Books Fridays: Potato Chowder

I’m back to cooking the books.

I’ve been cooking throughout my blogging hiatus, but changes in my personal and professional life drove changes in the way I cook, too: more fudging of the recipe, less time shopping for expensive ingredients; more time on Pinterest in search of one meal with ingredients that all four of us will eat.

And for my own satisfaction I’ve gone back to Cook the Book Fridays. Continue reading Cook the Books Fridays: Potato Chowder

TWD: Midnight Crackles

First off, let me just say how proud I am that these cookies look like the ones online!  They crackled exactly as they were supposed to, and for the first time in a L-O-N-G time my products looks like it is ready for a photo shoot.  I can not express what this means to my ego.

 

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Now, on to the taste.  They. Are. Perfect. Continue reading TWD: Midnight Crackles

TWD: Nutty Chocolatey Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake

How many different ways can I serve a sour cream bundt cake? Breakfast in the car, after dinner on a plate with a linen napkin, after a take-out lunch of Potbelly sandwiches with the in-laws. It was THAT good. Continue reading TWD: Nutty Chocolatey Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake

TWD: Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Dorie has done it again and brought such simple joy!  These were fabulous on so many levels:

1) The crisp, tight flavor of fresh lemon was great after so many gray days of temperatures below 20 degrees, and anticipated wind chills FAR below zero.

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2) The sour cream in the better makes the muffins wonderfully moist. They popped out of the muffin tin without a crumb left behind, and the few crumbs I spied on the napkin that I ate off of at my desk this morning easily came together with my fingers as I hurried to mop up every. last. one. Seriously.

3) The smell of lemon pastry really freshened up a house that hasn’t seen an open window in months.  I should bake these weekly just for the emotional high that brought.

I thought these were wonderful, and I don’t think I’ll ever eat a lemon muffin from the office cafeteria ever again.  There must be both health and financial benefit in that. The Other Eater, on the other hand, merely thought they were “good.”

But my baking experience left me with a question for my fellow cooks. I made 6 muffins with paper muffin cups for sharing with others, and six straight in the muffin tin for eating at home.  The paperless muffins for a lot taller than the paper-wrapped muffins, and I’m wondering why. Any ideas?

In general I’m thinking that next time I’ll make 10 naked muffins for oversized indulgence, just so you know.