Day 18 of 365-Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies (WOW, that's a mouthful) & SUSHI!

The boys were off of school today for MLK day and it was extraordinarily windy and rainy so we decided just to hunker down for the day!  I was asked to make cookies for the rugby club to bring as thank you gifts for their host families in San Diego this coming weekend so I thought that today was as good a day as any to get started!  Fourteen dozen down so far!  Quite a lot of work!

One of the many dozen made today!

They wanted one of their faves for dinner...French toast.  I made some simple sushi rolls for Dan and I with what I had in the house...yummy!

Inside-Out Philly Roll with Avocado and Cucumber

California Roll

Philly Roll

Day 17 of 365-Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Ice Cream/Sunday Football Snacks & The BEST Roasted Chicken Ever!

Sunday Football Snacks- I couldn't resist!  Avocados were 2 for $1 at Safeway and the Roma tomatoes were $0.47/pound!  Made for yummy guac and pico de gallo...and of course you can't have that without a cold Corona and a lime!

Made some delicious Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream for dessert!!

This is the best and easiest roasted chicken ever!  It's a recipe from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, and it comes out perfect and juicy and tender everytime!  Definitely one of my go-to's!

Day 16 of 365-New York Style Bagels...in Cali!

The family had eaten me out of bagels since last weekend...they were super yummy!  I decided to make another couple of batches this morning while still in my bathrobe...they are so good and the process seems to get easier each time I do it!

I think that this may be the most beautiful piece of dough that I've ever seen!

Still working on the best way to shape these little guys...

The secret to the crusty outside and chewy inside...boiling in water, salt and malt syrup

The finished product...this salt one didn't last long...I threw it in the toaster as soon as the shutter clicked on this photo!

Day 15 of 365-**LATE AGAIN AND NOTHING**

Well...late again on the blog post!  Oooops!  I think that I may have been fighting something off today...I was FREEZING all day and fell asleep at 7:30 PM!  Must've needing a good night's sleep!  I made NOTHING today...first time in a LONG time!  A neighbor gave us an extra Papa Murphy's Take 'n' Bake and the boys ate Annie's Mac & Cheese!  That almost never happens in our house!

Day 14 of 365-**LATE AGAIN!**

I don't know what is up with me lately but I keep falling asleep on the couch before I get my daily blog in!  Sorry!  Today was a crazy day of run, run, running boys from practice to practice, to sports fundraisers, etc.!  We did manage to get a yummy dinner in, though.  London broil again (this time with everyone here to enjoy it!) and homemade boule bread!  I am liking the recipes from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day so far!

Marinated London Broil with Herbed Compound Butter

(I marinated it in beer this time and it was actually quite yummy!)

Homemade Boule

Day 13 of 365-**LATE!**

Oooops!  I fell asleep on the couch watching American Idol last night before my daily blog post!  It must have been a homemade Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream-induced coma!  LOL

YUMMY!

Day 12 of 365

Today ending up being a very busy cooking day for me...lots of things that I wanted to experiment with so....here it goes!

MORNING

I had two bananas that were starting to go bad so I thought I would make one of the boys' favorite snacks...banana bread with chocolate chips...it's more than half gone tonight (and this was just half of the loaf in the picture)!

MIDDAY

I found a book yesterday at the library called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day.  The whole premise behind it is that artisan-sytle bread dough can be made in larger batches, on the wetter side, without kneading and kept in the refrigerator for up to TWO weeks!  When you want to bake a loaf or rolls, you just cut off a portion of the dough and "cloak" it, let it rise for about 40 minutes and bake.  It was actually quite good...the crust was a little off...I'm going to have to work on that portion a little more but on the whole the taste was great!

EVENING

I fed the boys their favorite of "breakfast-for-dinner" so that Dan and I could try a new recipe I saw on Giada the other day...California Chopped Salad.  It was pretty good but I think that I would play around with the recipe a bit next time

Grilled romaine lettuce, grilled fresh corn, grilled zucchini, grilled green pepper, fresh Roma tomatoes, avocado and grilled shrimp with a light citrus/honey vinaigrette

Day 11 of 365

Today was the boys' first day back to school for over 3 weeks!  Hooray for "mommy" time!  I made sure that I got the entire house clean over the weekend so I could have today all to myself...ahhhhh  First stop was the public library...so many great books to choose from...could've stayed there ALL day!

Next...off to the local Border's Books to thumb through more great books with a mocha...pure BLISS!

Here's my take from the library...I've gotten really frugal with buying books lately...especially cookbooks!  I feel like you can pretty much find whatever it is you're looking for online nowadays!  It is great to look, though!

Day 10 of 365

From this...

To this!

I finally got the ice cream maker attachment for my new Kitchenaid!  I asked Sam for his favorite kind of ice cream this morning and ran to the store to get the makings for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough!  Found a super easy recipe online...from Ben & Jerry's Cookbook...I need to go to the library tomorrow and borrow that book!

And of course, what is ice cream without Mommy Jay's Hot Fudge Sauce?  It was DELISH!

Day 9 of 365-The Bagel Factory!

So...I spent the whole day yesterday making bagels...4 dozen to be exact!  I was so busy rolling and shaping and topping that I didn't get a chance to take any photos...

Day 8 of 365-Homemade Focaccia Bread

I attempted homemade Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia tonight to accompany our dinner of Garlic and Rosemary Encrusted Pork Loin...not too bad for my first try but I do think that I will hunt around a bit for some different recipes to try.  The dough was a little on the dry side I thought.

Also made chocolate mousse for the kiddos for dessert...their FAVE!  I wasn't able to get pictures of that because it was wolfed down before I got a chance...surprise, surprise!

I think that I will journey to the public library today to see what they have for books on bread...maybe I'll get lucky and they'll have a copy of The Bread Bible!

Day 7 of 365-I had a wonderful dinner date tonight...with my oldest son!

I ended up having a wonderful dinner date at home with my oldest son tonight...quite by accident!  I started to marinate a "family-size" London broil earlier on in the day.  No sooner did I put the steak in the marinade, Dan called to say he wouldn't be there for dinner.  I was now stuck with a 2 1/2 pound steak for just the boys and I...lots of leftovers, I thought!  Then my youngest, having run ragged this entire school break, passed out on the couch and was having no part of eating dinner!  So....it turned out being just Connor and I at the table...we had a fabulous steak, baked potatoes and fresh steamed brocolli...and most importantly GREAT conversation! 

Marinated London Broil with Herbed Butter

Cooked to perfection...for us anyway!  We love our steaks rare and this was just PERFECT!

Day 6 of 365-Part 2

So...now for the fun part for the chef!  I've really been enjoying trying different recipes so far this year!  For quite a while, I've been dying to make good New York-style bagels.  After our most recent trip to Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, my family has been on a store-bought bagel revolt!  We stopped on our way out of LA to pick up 3 dozen bagels from the Bagel Factory in Culver City and since those have gone, no one's touched a bagel in the pantry...UGH!

I found a recipe and decided to give it a whirl this morning...D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!  My oldest looked at me with the BIGGEST grin after his first bite..."That's a bagel, Mom!"  That smile on his face was worth every second of work...he's my greatest critic and my biggest fan!

Everything for Mom...YUM!

Plain for the rest of the crew!

Something tells me that I will be spending at least 1/2 of a day weekly making and prepping New York-style bagels for the freezer!

Day 6 of 365-Part 1

In my opinion, dinner was delcicious last night but a little boring for the chef!  We had farfalle pasta with fresh plum tomatoes, basil and Brie...yummy and easy but one of those "go-to" recipes for my family that I could do with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back...YAWN!

From this...fresh basil, Brie, garlic & fresh plum tomatoes

To this...Farfalle with Tomato, Basil and Brie

Day 5 of 365-It's Finally Arrived!

Well...after my post yesterday I finally had a ring at my doorbell...the postal lady with my Kitchenaid sent by my mom!  HOORRAAYY!  I could hardly wait to start playing but of course had to run the kids to a friends house, a doctor's appointment, rugby practice and basketball practice...UGH!  I did manage, however, to get a quick pizza dough made in between trips and we had FABULOUS pizza last night!  It was so yummy that I didn't get a picture because I was too excited to sit and wolf it down...sorry!  Next time, I promise!

Day 4 of 365

Last night's dinner looked tremendous but was just okay :(  I went to the public library the other day and checked out a bunch of Bon Appetit that I had missed throught this last year.  There was a great recipe for New York Strip Roast with Madeira Sauce...it looked great, was easy to prepare, smelled delicious but just tasted okay...such a bummer!  Enjoy the pictures anyway...

On a positive note...it is Monday and according to the United States Postal Service website, my Kitchenaid mixer has arrived and is currently out for delivery!  HOOORAYYY!

Day 3 of 365-Part 2-Homemade Chicken Stock

My house smells FABULOUS after making a pot of Ina Garten's Chicken Stock...yummy!

Everything into the pool...chicken, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, dill, parsley, thyme, peppercorns and salt

After simmering for over 4 hours

Ready for the fridge and then freezer!

Day 3 of 365- Hunter's Salad

Well the family was somewhat in luck last night...I finally got my creative culinary juices flowing and made a Hunter's Salad!  It really was more of a Cobb Salad with a few random additions but...  I was cleaning through the refrigerator to dump expired leftovers from the holidays and use anything else that was laying around in there before the expiration date...came up with a yummy, well-balanced salad fo mixed field greens, roasted chicken, blue cheese, avocado, jalapenos, red and yellow bell pepper and bacon.

Going to try to use the frozen chicken carcasses and random herbs and veggies I have left today and make some homemade stock...LOVE the aromas of homemade stock simmering on a chilly, foggy day!

Day 2 of 365...and I've Got NOTHING!

Uh oh!  Its Day 2 of my 365 project and I really don't have anything new to write about!  My boys were gone last night at a friend's house and I made sushi again for dinner...trying to perfect my rolling skills!  I told you that I was afraid that I'd get obsessed!  I was successful in making an inside-out roll but forgot to take any pictures!  OOPS!


I've spent the day today trying to manifest the early delivery of the Kitchenaid mixer that my mom sent from the East coast...I was sooooo wanting to play today!  Now I'm going to have to wait until at least Monday...UGH!  I'm having trouble coming up with any dinner ideas because I can't stop thinking about the homemade pizza dough I was wanting to make!  HELP!


Well...wish my family luck in dinner!

Day 1 of 365-Welcome 2010!

Happy New Year!  2010 should be a great year!  I think most people share the thought that 2009 was a tough one!  I have decided to embark on a new "365 Project" by starting this food blog...not really sure where it will lead but am looking forward to the journey!  Hope everyone has a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010!


I have been wanting to make sushi for some time now.  I thought that New Year's Eve 2009 would be a perfect time to start!  It was great!  Lots of fun to make and the rolls were beautiful...if I do say so myself!  I hope that you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed my delicious creations!

Can't have sushi without my favorite snack...edamame!

California Roll...crab, avocado, cucumber and toasted sesame seeds








Tuna Roll- fresh tuna and cucumber with spicy wasabi topped with toasted sesame seeds

Shrimp tempura roll...tempura shrimp, avocado, cucumber and green onions topped with Tobiko

Spicy Tuna Roll- fresh tuna mixed with Srirachia hot chile sauce