Having a New Year's Party??

This would be a wonderful meal to cook for a dinner party over the holidays! The cut of meat is a little pricey, but is well worth the work is does FOR you. . .prepare the marinade (it's really a rub) a day ahead and put it into the fridge overnight to work the magic. (This requires little or no raw meat handling if you ask the butcher to trim & tie it for you. . .which they will gladly do!) Do it without the confit (not hard but takes awhile) and buy a mustard or horseradish-based pre-made "gourmet" sauce to serve on the side. Do some roasted potatoes & a greeen salad. . .

Found this recipe at epicurious.com

For beef
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
2 tablespoons finely chopped thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 (4- to 4 1/2-pound) trimmed beef tenderloin roast, tied

For tomato madeira confit
8 large garlic cloves
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1/2 California or 1 Turkish bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 cup Madeira (preferably Verdelho), divided
1/4 cup water

Preparation
Marinate beef:Stir together garlic, shallot, herbs, oil, kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper, then rub all over beef. Marinate in a sealed large bag, chilled, 1 day.
Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before roasting.
Make confit:Cook garlic in oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon table salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 cup Madeira and briskly simmer, stirring frequently and crushing tomatoes with a heatproof rubber spatula, until tomatoes start to break down and oil separates slightly, about 1 hour.
Mash garlic into tomatoes with spatula, then stir in 1/4 cup Madeira. Discard bay leaf.
Roast beef:Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Roast beef in a 17- by 11-inch shallow heavy baking pan until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of thickest part of meat registers 120°F, 35 to 45 minutes.
Transfer to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 to 20 minutes (temperature of meat will rise to about 130°F, for medium-rare).
Meanwhile, add water and remaining 1/4 cup Madeira to baking pan and deglaze over medium-low heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Stir into tomato confit.
Cut off and discard string from beef, then cut meat into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Serve with confit.

Santa Has Left the Building!

The fuzzy bunny slippers were a big HIT!

Where was THIS picture a month ago when we were doing the Christmas Cards!!


Hard to imagine another Christmas past! The kids had a wonderful Christmas. . .we ALL did, thanks to my own personal Santa! He has to be the absolute BEST gift-giver I know. He always puts a lot of thought and effort into his gifts! My "theme" this year was. . .yep, you guessed it. . .FOOD! I got a beautiful journal to hand-write my family recipes. . .A Dell Mini to store them all and watch straming video while cooking. . .also to take along on my "cooking classes" as well as a new flat-screen for the ktichen so I can watch cooking while I'm cooking! I also recieved a cookbook holder and a couple of new cookbooks that I can't wait to delve into! We are very blessed. . .take a look. . .and this was BEFORE Santa even got there!

No Time For Dinner - Oh Yes There Is!

Here's a quicky, yummy weeknight dinner. . .

The chicken part of this is optional. . .you can cut up boneless breasts and brown in EVOO (That's a Rachel Ray-ism for Extra Virgin Olive Oil), s&p (I don't really have to explain that one, do I???)
Or, you could use chicken strips & brown them the same way.
Or, you can use chicken cutlets, bread & brown them.
You don't have to cook it all the way through because you are going to finish it off in the oven.

Choose your poison. . .THEN
In a saucepan, mix together 1 can of GOLDEN Mushroom Soup (NOT Cream of Mushroom) with 1/2 can of cookin sherry & 1/2 can of water.
Bring to a boil and pour over the chicken (which you have already placed in a cooking dish) & put into a 350 degree oven for about 1/2 hour or until chicken is done. . .that's an internal temp of 165, ladies!
This makes a very good "sauce" and goes well over any kind of noodle/rice or again, good crusty bread.

I RARELY use soup in recipes. . .this is about the only exception. Because it's not a soup you would have usually eaten on it's own. . .& the fact that you mix it with alcohol (how can that be bad??). . .I let this one slide.

How Many Days Left??

The coutdown is certainly on! What do YOUR kids want for Christmas??? Would Best Buy be your one-stop-shop this year like it would be for me??? A DS is what Chunky Monkey wants. . .can't decide if it's because Soy Boy has one and she wants whatever he has or if she really wants it. Soy Boy wants I Coaster. . .have to admit, I didn't really know what that was. I caught myself standing in the aisle at Target actually considering buying Lincoln Logs. . .then I came to my senses.

Oh Christmas Tree

Well, a couple of weekends ago, we took our first ever trip up to the mountains to cut down our Christmas Tree! This was all done on a recommendation by our so-called "friend". On the way there. . .we were sure that that road (I use that term loosely) that we were on was forged by horses. . .or even people. Come to find out. . .it was only recently paved and it was, in fact, a horse path!

After getting over a slight case of motion sickness. . .we had a wonderful time on the mountain. It was cold, but sunny & beautiful! We found the perfect tree(s). So. . .to our so-called "friend". . .THANKS!

What Child is this?

This past Sunday, the kids particpated in the annual Christmas Service at Church. In attendance were all the proud parents, family & friends of the kid actors!! They did such a great job. . .and leave it to the kids to drive home the real meaning of Christmas. Soy Boy was my "little angel" and Chunky Monkey got to be an usher and hand out programs. Chunky Monkey was thrilled to fulfill her duties. . .Soy Boy. . .not so much!

A Great FAST cookie recipe

Here is a great, Super-EASY NO BAKE. . .yes, I said NO BAKE. . .cookie recipe for those of you who may need to take something to the kids parties this week or give a little treat to your friends or teachers! Found this one on cooks.com! ENJOY!


NO BAKE CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES

2 cups sugar
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup Pet milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups oats

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except peanut butter and oats and cook over medium heat.
Let boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and oats.
Spoon out quickly onto wax paper or aluminum foil.
Cookies will harden as they set.

I can say with certainty, that I've probably eaten 1/2 a batch of these at one sitting before! I tried this recipe when I couldn't find the no bake chocolate cookies at my local supermarket anymore. They had some REALLY yummy ones. . .these are close!

Up Close & Personal

I think I got ahead of myself because I was soooo excited about getting this thing up & running! I should back up a little and give us all proper introductions!

Foodie Mom - age (gulp) 40

Foodie Dad - age (younger than me!)

Soy Boy - age 8 - named for his love of the "Asian gravy"

Chunky Monkey - age 5 - named for her love of just about everything!

Mediterranean Chicken

This was the recipe I made last night at our little get-together. . .everyone's main quandry with this was "do I really have to touch and cut up raw chicken?"!!!!. . . .yes.

This can’t get any easier! It was adopted from a recipe I found many years ago in a book called “The Absolute Beginners Cookbook”! I just tweaked it a little.

2 med onions, chopped
2 med potatoes, quartered
3 med carrots, sliced
1 T butter
2 T olive oil
1 pkg boneless chicken cubed
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 t oregano
Juice of 2 lemons
S&P
1 cup chicken stock

Chop the onions, quarter the potatoes & slice the carrots. Mince the garlic & juice the lemon. Cube the chicken.

In a large skillet, heat the butter & olive oil on medium. Add and sweat the onions & garlic (about 5 min) & move to the side. Add the chicken, season with s&p & oregano and brown on one side. Stir in with onions & season again. Cook until pink is gone from the chicken. Deglaze the pan with lemon juice. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cup chicken stock. Add vegetables. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. Serve over rice or with noodles or with some good crusty bread!

Welcome to My "First Ever" Blog

I can't say that I'm doing this totally willingly. . .although I've always been intrigued by the whole "blogging craze". . .I'm just a stay at home Mom & have been for the past 8 years. . .that likes to COOK!

It all started a few weeks ago when 8 of us headed to a beautiful mountain resort for some fun, relaxation and rejuvination. . .at 40 the rejunivation part becomes very important! I couldn't believe how many of my girlfriends didn't cook. . .and I mean AT ALL! I was amazed! The idea of having a cooking "class" came up and we had our first meeting last night. We cooked and drank wine. . .well I should say "I" cooked . . .and drank wine. There was supposed to be a movie in there somewhere, but we never got to it.

Then the idea of starting a blog came up and here I am. . .an authentic "blogger"! I intend to share recipes. . .food experiences. . .as well as some of the usual family stuff that I'm acustomed to reading on these things.

I'll introduce you to the cast. . .I'm Foodie Mom. I'm 40 and the mother of 2 children. . .Soy Boy who is 8 (aptly named due to his love of the "asian gravy") & Chunky Monkey, his younger sister, age 5 (aptly named due to her love of just about everything!). I've been happily married to Foodie Dad for almost 10 years. Now that you've met us. . .back to the food. . .!