Don't judge a dish by its appearance (unless you're a judge on a cooking show, then by all means, judge away)

Well, thank you Ben for making me feel more confused than usual last week. I think this proves that I need to solve more riddles so I can be in good mental shape when another one comes my way.

Last week when I was snowed in during the winter blizzard of 2011, it seemed like the perfect time to try out a new recipe. I leafed through my Cuisine at Home Magazine and was immediately drawn to the Pork and Mushroom Stew because:

A) It's winter and that's when you eat stew
B) There was a pretty picture next to the recipe


Thanks to David, I had state of the art cookware to use : ) Browning the pork

"Ooooo, Lisa! Please put us in the pot so we can be Pork and Mushroom Stew!"

Although this finished product may bear a striking resemblance to dog poop sauce, I assure you it tasted amazing. I followed the recipe's suggestion and made apple-potato mash; boiling a granny smith apple with the potatoes and mashing it all together. It was surprisingly good! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go check my koolaid brussel sprouts.

A Little Food Challenge

The long, dark January nights have left me thinking about food challenges, and I think I've come up with a pretty good food riddle.

Guess the food or beverage whose name consists of two words where neither word is actually in the food or beverage. So, it's a thing that has two food/drink words in its name, but neither word is in the thing itself. Give up? If people haven't guessed it in a week, I'll update with a hint.

Frutti Tutti

In an unprecedented show of pizzaz, I am offering back-to-back posts on your favorite subject...food! Enjoy.

Just Another Pizza Pie

Apple green-chili pie

I'm not sure how we got a post on this blog about hypothetical cupcakes, but I'd like to bring us back to the world of actual food with a post about an apple pie that I made for Thanksgiving. It's a twist on the traditional apple pie—this one has shredded cheddar cheese in the crust and roasted green chilies mixed in with the filling. I found the recipe here, and I was mostly happy with the way it turned out.

Strangely, I couldn't really taste the cheddar cheese in the crust (even though I used a really sharp cheddar), and the green chilies were pretty mild too. Also, the crust turned out pretty tough, which makes me think I overworked it or didn't cut the butter small enough. I could use a pastry blender, I guess. Still, I'll give this one another shot some day.








And here's a traditional apple pie, for people who dislike either cheddar or chili peppers in their pie.

Hazel's first cupcake?

Ok, it's been four days already. Has Hazel completed her very first baking project yet? If not, what's the holdup? Doesn't she have an Easy-Bake Oven? Or doesn't she like to bake? Maybe she prefers grilling. Questioning culinary minds want to know.

Sometimes when I'm supposed to be working....

I just decide to bake instead. At 9:30 pm. When it would probably be better to finish writing my thank you notes. Or go to bed.

But....

They are pumpkin, and I couldn't resist. And surprisingly, only took 25 minutes to put together, including clean up. So while they baked, I did what I was supposed to be doing before, with the promise of a pumpkin muffin as a reward. :)