Last week I picked up a large bag of cherries at the farmers’ market. As much as I love to just stand over the sink and spit pits as I eat, I have managed to hold off on demolishing the bag (read: I only eat every third cherry while I’m pitting them) long enough to make this simple, delicious dessert.

Balsamic Cherries over Ice Cream

This is an adaptation of a healthy dessert idea from Ellie Krieger. Unfortunately, it does not include ice cream in its original form. To practice portion control, I use the small party cups of vanilla ice cream I used to eat at birthdays. The balsamic cherries lend a slightly sweet and tart topping, and making them is a snap.
Read the rest of this entry »

Artichokes are scary. They’re spiny, difficult to break down, and it seems like you toss more than you eat. Artichokes are also delicious. Which led me to face my fear of swollen, artichoke-stabbed hands, and try making Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe for baked artichokes:

Baked Artichoke

I won’t say that my first time prepping an artichoke was easy, but it was doable. The instructions from the recipe and my copy of Joy of Cooking helped a lot. I also found this lovely instructional video for those of you who are feeling adventurous also.
Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t eat a lot of eggs. And I know I totally should, but aside from scrambling them or making an omelette, I never really know what to do. Recently though, I bought a carton of eggs to bake with and decided to try my hand at making a frittata (basically a baked omelette) with the leftovers. I found a recipe for one combining some flavors I like and jumped in:

Goat Cheese, Prosciutto, and Caramelized Onion Frittata

My frittata came out thinner than I was expecting (I was expecting something like a layer cake), but this was likely just due to the size of my pan. And who cares about the thickness when it’s delicious??
Read the rest of this entry »

I had a few leftover tilapia filets in my freezer and was looking for a way to use them in a non-boring way (as I mentioned on my parmesean-crusted tilapia post, I typically find tilapia pretty bland). This lovely recipe from Cooked from the Heart for pastry-wrapped tilapia came to the rescue. Excuse my messy wrapping, I didn’t have as much puff pastry on hand as I thought

Pastry Wrapped Tilapia

Tilapia has grown in popularity as of late because it has virtually no fat or cals and is cheap and sustainable. Aside from some butter used to sauté onions, which could easily be replaced with olive oil, this recipe doesn’t add much to the low-fat nature of the fish (except for the puff pastry of course…). Poaching the fish keeps it moist and the simple filling is tasty and hearty.

Recipe after the jump:
Read the rest of this entry »

The sweet potato soup I stole off Mario at Craftbar a few posts down was so yummy I was inspired to find a recipe and make it myself (also, I finally got myself an immersion blender and have been itching to use it).

Sweet Potato Soup

This came out sooo well! I know it’s hot now and no one really wants soup, but you must make this ASAP! The texture was fabulously smooth; if velvet could melt in your mouth, it would feel like this soup.

Recipe and tips after the jump:
Read the rest of this entry »

To any of you who, like me, enjoy breaking out one of those blue boxes of cornbread muffin mix to accompany a nice homemade dinner: After you try this recipe, you will never feel the need to buy another box of mix again. I was surfing the web for a cornbread muffin recipe and somehow ended up with another nugget from the Neelys. These cornbread muffins are just as easy as fixing up the boxed muffins, and are easily more delicious:

Honey Cornbread Muffins

I actually made these as part of Mario’s birthday dinner Pt. 1, and he had a hard time believing they were made from scratch. These came out moist but still a tad crumbly with a kiss of honey goodness.
Read the rest of this entry »

Lately, I’ve been trying to act like the grad student that I am and respect the fact that I should be living and eating on a budget. This means more cooking at home…for now anyway. In addition to being a budget-friendly meal, this is also my “meatless” Lent post for the week. These shrimp tacos were very quick and easy to put together and also crazy good:

Shrimp Tacos

I was purposely looking for a taco recipe with a mango accoutrement after my successful foray into avocado salsa, and these did not disappoint.
Read the rest of this entry »

While I’m talking about New Orleans, I suppose I should mention what was served at my Saintsbowl party on February 7, 2010, the day the SAINTS won the Superbowl!! Yeah, I was excited. Anyway, my New Orleans-themed party was complete with jambalaya, king cake, and hurricanes for sippin’. I tried to keep my prep simple and my cooking to a minimum so I could fully enjoy the game, so one of the few “from scratch” items I made was meatball sliders:

Meatball Slider

These were quite easy to make, and more important, quite delicious.
Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s Lenten fish dish is a flavor-boosted version of one of my least favorite fish. I’ve always found tilapia bland and sometimes dry, but I guess that was the fault of the cooking method and not necessarily the fish itself. This baked tilapia has a yummy Parmesan topping which keeps the fish moist and flaky. I baked some frozen mixed veggies in a foil packet along with the fish to round out the meal:

Baked Tilapia + Veggies

It’s Lenten season, and I told myself I would try to do a fish series for any readers looking for ways to spice up their meatless existence. Plus, I need to eat more fish myself. It’s brain food after all! So, I’m going to try to have a new fish recipe up every week. First up, Honey-Balsamic Glazed Salmon:

Honey-Balsamic Glazed Salmon

Typically, I like my salmon pretty naked: simply seasoned and pan-seared in olive oil. But for something to spice up its rotation during the next 40 39 days, this glaze offers a nice change of pace.
Read the rest of this entry »