Dinner For Friends

So, I had today (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) off from work ... and was in the mood to cook so I made dinner for a few friends.

1. Mediterranean Salad -- English Cuc's, Celery, Red Onion, Tomato (I used Cherry Tomatoes), Fresh Large Leaf Parsley, Fresh Cilantro, Olive Oil, Fresh Lemon Juice, Salt

2. Ham -- Baked

3. Scalloped Potatoes

4. Sriracha Mac-n-Cheese -- Mac-n-Cheese, Scallions, Sriracha ... bake and enjoy.

5.  Steamed Broccoli

6. Brownies ...

Yummo!!!

Veggie Casserole

Got a new recipe from my sister in law this holiday, SUPER easy, and wickedly tasty!

Veggie Casserole 

Raisin Sauce

It goes with Ham and it is amazing! (And easy to make.) 

Christmas Dinner 2014

I cooked Christmas dinner this year, and I made -for the first time ever - chicken cordon bleu, a pan of baked veg (using fresh beets for the first time ever), and Greek bread. I'll see about some pics soon.

Christmas Penguins You Can Eat!

Are these not some of the cutest things you've ever seen? And, they're edible! I mean...come on!!!  :) My Aunt Margaret gave me a cute Penguin cookie cutter so I made Gingerpenguins for Christmas ... and I made Olive, Cream Cheese, Carrot Penguins for my work Christmas party - they were a HIT!

Yay!

Spices!

As I just texted my immediate family members, I am nothing if not my father's daughter!

Not only do I love to cook with fabulous Penzys Spices ... but I appear to have begun a similar collection of them, though it does not really compare, to my father's collection ... and safely stored away - until they are used to refill my spice racks bottles - in a plastic tub in my pantry!

:o)

Better With Time

Some dishes - regardless of their awesomeness - are quite simply, even better the next day -- after they have really had a nice long "soak."  Two dishes instantly pop into my mind when ruminating on this topic ...

1. Chicken Salad (it helps that I made some chicken salad yesterday and just ate a sandwich of it for lunch) and 2. Chili

Something extra delicious happens when the different ingredients in both of these dishes are allowed to marinate together for longer periods of time.

I'm not even taking in to account the awesome marinades that exist for meats and things, even before they are cooked.

A few others I love - if it's possible - even more the day after they are made...

Tuna Fish
Hungarian Goulash
Coleslaw 
Pasta Salad
Potato Salad
BBQ Chicken - though this isn't so much for the extra time the flavors have to combine as it is the fact that I LOVE cold BBQ chicken ... hahaha

What about you???