Just a quick note to let you know that my blog has a new home: My Madison Bistro. For an index of recipes, simply click on this link: Recipes
Here is just a sampling of the recipes on the new site – click on any of the links to take you directly to the blog post and recipe.
Weekends with Julia: Brown-Braised Onions
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream, aka the best cupcake I’ve ever had in my life!
Weekends with Julia: Beef Braised in Red Wine
Categories: Breakfast · Dessert · Holiday · Low-Carb · Main Course · Side Dish · Vegetarian
Tagged: Barefoot Contessa, blackberries, blueberries, braised onions, cake, Cheese, chocolate, comfort food, cupcakes, Julia Child, kiwi, lemon, lime, mushrooms, pasta, pastry cream, peanut butter, pot roast, pudding, raspberries, rice, strawberries, tomatoes, Vegetables
I have a confession. I pretty much refused to eat mac and cheese until I got to college. Yes, I was such a picky eater when I was young that I refused to eat what was a staple to most kids. And when I say mac and cheese, I refer to the stuff that comes out of a box labeled Kraft.
My love of cheese took me beyond the box of Kraft, though Kraft still has its place every now and then. This particular Barefoot Contessa recipe is excellent, though you may want to ignore the “serves 2″ part of the recipe, or you will likely be clutching your stomach in pain after dinner. However, for presentation purposes, I do still love to make it in the individual gratin dishes.
Categories: Main Course · Vegetarian
Tagged: Barefoot Contessa, Cheese, comfort food, pasta
I have somewhat of a fascination with French bistro cooking, which may have been obvious considering the name of this blog. Perhaps it’s the thought of eating in a cozy little bistro, the idea of getting a homey meal when eating out, or simply that it’s far removed from the perceived glamour of French cooking. It’s likely a combination of all three, and perhaps a little something more.
To me, bistro cooking is really the perfect Sunday lunch. On a rainy day like today, what better to soothe you than a steaming bowl of soup topped with toasted bread and melted cheese? Now, imagine this soup has taken three hours to cook, you’ve deglazed the pan not once, not twice, but three times, and you’ve taken the time to search out imported Swiss Gruyère and a freshly made baguette. Doesn’t this labor of love sound like heaven? Okay, I admit, it’s heaven after the first hour or so. The first hour that the onions are in the oven, my nostrils stung and my eyes watered, and I feared my home would never smell the same.
But after that first hour, as the slices started to turn golden in my oven, a sweet aroma filled the air. As my onions were about to come out of the oven for the first time, both my giddiness and trepidation grew. Would this soup meet my high expectations? Would it be worth the time and effort? At that point, I could still only wonder, and continue to cook.
Categories: Soup
Tagged: Cheese, comfort food, Vegetables
Fettucine Alfredo is one of those dishes that is very simple to make, yet it doesn’t always turn out quite the way I want it to. So I decided to follow a recipe.
What a mistake!
There are apparently people out there who do enjoy lemon cream pasta (which is what this dish tasted like), but I am not one of them. At first I wasn’t sure how this recipe could garner 4 stars, but then I thought back to some other ratings I’ve seen on Food Network’s website. Let’s see, a number of people have given a recipe five stars without ever having made it (because it looked good!), others completely change the recipe and like the results (five stars for the chef’s version!), and I’m pretty sure at some point someone gave the recipe five stars because they liked her hair that day.
Categories: Main Course · Quick Meal · Vegetarian
Tagged: Cheese, lemon, pasta
Last night, I had a lovely dinner planned. It would be simple, fast, and delicious, a toned-down version of another dish I love. It’s one of those dishes that has few ingredients, but they all just blend so well together…the sum of the components is so far superior to the individual ingredients.
So what happened, you ask? Well, allow me to back up a step. I was out of town this weekend, and I didn’t restock my kitchen when I got back. I thought the food I had remaining from last week would still be fine…but it wasn’t. I came home to moldy grape tomatoes and spotted basil. ONE leaf of basil looked good yet, so I tore off that leaf and thought about what I could do with it, given what I had to work with.
Categories: Appetizer · Quick Meal · Vegetarian
Tagged: Cheese, pesto, pita, Pizza
If you keep a stash of cheese and crackers or good bread in your house, you will always have an easy lunch or dinner option. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a meal consist of cheese, whole grain crackers or bread, and some fruit or a salad. When it’s dinner, I’ll throw in a glass of wine.
Today, I really, really wanted salt. Needed salt. Usually I’m a sugar kind of girl, but about once every month or two the salt craving hits me over the head. I’ve found it’s easiest to simply indulge it right away, before it’s done too much damage: think going through the drive-thru for some fries or picking up fish and chips for dinner. Yes, cheese and crackers seems like a much safer option.
Categories: Appetizer · Quick Meal · Salad · Vegetarian
Tagged: Cheese, Crackers, Vegetables
