Derby-Pie… Or Not

When many people think of traditional, nostalgic fare to enjoy at a Kentucky Derby celebration, two things come to mind: Mint Juleps and Derby-Pie®.

The original Derby-Pie® was created by the Kerns family as the specialty dessert for the Melrose Inn in Prospect, Kentucky, in the early 1950’s. Famous for its sumptuous combination of chocolate chips, walnut pieces, and secret filling inside a delicate pastry crust, Derby-Pie® soon garnered so much attention that its makers registered the name with the U.S. Patent Office and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The Melrose Inn closed in 2000, but you can still buy authentic Derby-Pie® at more than 100 restaurants and retail establishments located in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, or you can have one delivered to your door.

Of course, imitations abound. One clever variation, which is known as Not Derby Pie, was developed by blogger Rivka Friedman’s mother. The name Not Derby Pie refers to the fact that the original confection’s name is registered, so Friedman’s mother wanted to make sure the distinction was clear. You can find the recipe on Friedman’s blog, which is also named Not Derby Pie in honor of her mother’s special creation.

A Treat, Dear Valentine

This year a combination of sick children and difficulty finding a babysitter have put an end to any thoughts we may have had about going out to dinner for Valentine’s Day. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t still have an intimate celebration at home. Maybe it’s actually better. Now we will be celebrating with our three little people, and after all, they’re a big part of our love story.

To cap off our dinner tonight, I made one of our favorite desserts.  After all, what better way to celebrate the joy of love than with a decadent treat?

Mrs. Salter’s Peanut Butter Pie (recipe from the Food Network, courtesy of Paula Deen)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 8 ounces cream cheese

• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter (I substitute creamy peanut butter.)

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

• 1 graham cracker crust, store-bought or premade ( I make my own using the recipe on the box of graham cracker crumbs. Experience tells me that it makes a difference.)

Directions:

Whip cream with 1/4 cup sugar. Mix all other ingredients until smooth and fold in whipped cream until well blended. Pour mixture into a graham cracker crust and chill for several hours before serving.
I like to serve it with a little chocolate syrup drizzled over the top.

Photos Copyright Tara Saunders.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A Super Bowl Supper

With the Super Bowl just one week away, I’m sure you’re thinking about what to fix for your Super Bowl Party. I thought I would share this wonderful recipe for Turkey Chili made in the Crockpot, which is one of my Super Bowl Sunday favorites. (O.K., who are we kidding? This is one of my favorites any time!) And the best part? It’s supremely easy.

Crockpot Turkey Chili (I’ve always made this in a 6 to 6.5 qt. slow cooker.)

2 lbs. ground turkey (I use the 93% lean turkey.)
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1- 16oz. can of diced tomatoes
2- 14.5 oz cans of tomato sauce
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cans kidney beans
1 bay leaf

Brown the ground turkey, diced green peppers, and onion. (Season with some salt and pepper while browning.) Drain the fat. Add to the crock pot, along with the rest of the ingredients and stir. (Leave the Bay Leaf near the top so you can fish it out at the end.) Cook on low for 7 hours. Remove the Bay Leaf and serve!

(Note: I like to serve it with extra bowls of shredded cheese and diced onion for people to top their chili, but that’s a personal preference. )

Photo courtesy of McCormick

Enjoy!

Long Time, No See

O.K., so I took a little unannounced leave of absence from writing this blog. Who am I kidding? It was a rather long leave of absence. Life simply got in the way for a while. Do you forgive me?

So much has happened over the last few months. I have been making some progress in decorating my house. And my twins turned one year old a few weeks ago! I want to share it all with you, my friends.

So without further adieu, here are some photos from my twins’ first party, which had a duck theme.

The party favors were sugar cookies in the shape of ducks. I used my mom’s favorite butter icing recipe, which is so very yummy, but it makes a thick icing that is very hard to smooth out. Midway through, I realized the error of my ways and regretted that I had not followed the cookie and icing tutorials on the Pink Martinis and Pearls Blog. (If you have not seen Pink Martini’s gorgeous creations, you really must head over there right now.) Next time, I will know better!

Bake for the Cure

One of my favorite foodie bloggers, Jessica at Kitchen Belleicious, is participating in Bake for the Cure to help raise awareness of breast cancer. The participating blogger with the most comments on her Bake for the Cure posts wins a gift card to a kitchen store, which is a great reward for a hard working blogger! Please support her efforts by stopping by Kitchen Belleicious and commenting on her six Bake for the Cure posts!

Jessica's Pink Ribbon Cookies

Photo courtesy of Kitchen Belleicious

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



What’s in it for you? In addition to supporting a wonderful cause, each comment you leave on a Bake for the Cure post enters you in a giveaway contest. One lucky commenter will win a Bake for the Cure prize pack, which includes some wonderful baking ingredients and pink kitchen goodies! Please stop by and support Jessica today!

http://www.kitchenbelleicious.com/

A Trip to the Texas Shore

It’s time I admit the truth. In the year and a half that we’ve lived in Texas, we really haven’t explored much beyond our own backyard. As you know, we found out we were expecting the twins shortly after we arrived here. Between bedrest, the babies’ stay in the NICU, and getting adjusted to parenting three children instead of just one, we haven’t had it in us to do a lot of travelling. Last week we decided to change that and, on the recommendation of a few friends, we headed for the Texas coast. Port Aransas to be exact.

In our previous East Coast existence, we vacationed in places like Cape May, New Jersey; Sea Island, Georgia; and Bermuda. Port Aransas, Texas, felt a little quieter and more secluded than any of those vacation spots. It’s quite a small town, and provided a nice respite from our daily lives.

The Port Aransas Beach

Relaxing on Our Balcony

One of our priorities on this trip was to locate some wonderful restaurants.  (Isn't great food always a priority?) Towards the end of the trip, we discovered two that definitely rate a mention.

My favorite dining experience in Port Aransas was Roosevelt’s at the Tarpon Inn.

The inn is a historic site that previously served as a civil war barracks prior to being converted into The Tarpon Inn in 1886. Its 24 rooms are decorated with antiques and are known for their lack of telephones and TV. I’m told that it’s truly a place to relax and leave your cares behind.

Roosevelt’s is The Tarpon Inn’s small fine dining establishment.




The Chefs in Action at Roosevelt's























Anticipating A Great Meal



Pan Seared Snapper with Shrimp and Ricotta Ravioli

After much debate, I settled on the Pan Seared Snapper with Shrimp and Ricotta Ravioli, and I could not have been happier. The flavor combinations were absolutely divine. My husband and I also thoroughly enjoyed our appetizer of crabcakes, which were reminiscent of some of the best crabcakes we ever had in Maryland. In addition to being the best meal I enjoyed on this trip, this was easily the best meal I’ve had in Texas.

The next night we dined next door to the Tarpon Inn at Lisa Bella’s Bistro, which I would also recommend.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more details of our trip!

Pumpkin Patch

Although the temperature here is still hovering around 84 degrees, I’m in the mood for fall.


What better way to acknowledge my longing for a change of season than to indulge in one of my favorite autumn flavors: pumpkin. I adore anything made with pumpkin and spice. (Anything, that is, but the old standby, pumpkin pie. Strange, I know.)

A recent trip to World Market yielded some fabulous pumpkin flavored goodies.

Today I am enjoying some Pumpkin Spice Coffee. With a little milk, sugar, and an extra dash of cinnamon, it is absolute heaven. (If I had some whip cream, I would add a little on top.  Hey, as long as I'm indulging, I might as well, right?)

This Pumpkin Ale also intrigues me. It's next on my list of things to try.

And last, but not least, some Pumpkin Bark. Chocolate and pumpkin? Sounds like a winning combination to me!

Do you enjoy pumpkin? If so, what are your favorite products?

Kitchen Savvy

Over the years I’ve become a bit of a foodie. (Living in the D.C. area for a while with access to fabulous restaurants tends to have that effect on a person.) I understand the importance of slicing and dicing foods into equal pieces so they will cook evenly, not to mention look gorgeous on the plate. But I often have trouble accomplishing that task easily at home without spending a ton of time. To put it bluntly, my knife skills could use a little work.

A few days ago, I discovered a wonderful series of free how-to videos available at http://www.kitchendaily.com/how-to/. Many of the tutorials were created by the Culinary Institute of America. Do you want to know the best way to slice an onion, peel and cut a mango, or de-shell a lobster? It’s all there.

Enjoy!

Still shot from the tutorial, “How to Cut Watermelon.”

Another Year Come and Gone...

Today is my birthday, but my big celebration was last weekend. On Sunday, my husband and I left the children with a babysitter and went to Wildfish, which is a fabulous restaurant. You must visit if you happen to find yourself in San Antonio. We started with their famous calamari (in an asian-inspired sauce) and for the main course I ordered salmon served with a pineapple salsa that was heavenly. And don’t even get me started on the stuffed potato. It was the size of a football! (No kidding. I should have taken a photo to share with you. Maybe next time.)

The night before, my boys gave me a Lilly Pulitzer gift card, which my husband encouraged me to spend right away. I’m sure you’ll be surprised by what I got, because it’s not an item I’ve mentioned before.

It’s the Iris Skort in Hotty Pink Full Sun, which is a great gift from my children since I can wear it with a cute T-shirt or tank during the day. (It also looks adorable with the sweater shown above, but let’s face it – sweater weather is a distant memory here in San Antonio.) Technically, this skort was intended for golfing, but as a mom I love skorts for everyday wear because they look like skirts, but have shorts underneath to give me a little discretion as I bend, reach and run after my kids. I have a number of Prussia Skorts from previous years that are among my go-to items.

In addition to the Lilly gift card, my husband gave me something else I’ve been wanting for a while – an Amazon Kindle. (He actually gave this to me a few weeks ago. He has a really tough time keeping a secret.) I am thrilled with the Kindle, as is my husband, because now when we travel I can tuck it into my handbag and not have to lug a stack of books with me. (Yes, I am one of THOSE PEOPLE. I always want to make sure I have all the reading material I could possibly want when I travel, so I take tons of books. And I usually end up stopping at the airport bookstore and buying something anyway. My husband finds these habits maddening!) The Kindle makes this drama unnecessary because I can keep all of my books right at my fingertips and I can order new books and newspapers at the moment I want them and they are delivered wirelessly to the device.

For those of you who are dying to know what’s on my Kindle, here you go:

The very first book I ordered was Social Climbers by the lovely Mrs. Beth Dunn. What a fun read! If you have not read it yet, I have one question for you: What are you waiting for? And if you have not yet checked out Beth Dunn's adorable blog, make sure you pay her a visit. One thing I know for sure is that this girl LOVES fashion and she has a to-die-for wardrobe to prove it.

Well that is all I have for you right now. My children are napping, so I think it is time for me to go curl up with my Kindle and enjoy the rest of my birthday!

Sugar Rush

Here's the thing: I have a little sweet tooth.  (O.K., if we're really being honest "little" should be replaced by "massive".)  I think I may have mentioned this before.  And since my birthday is coming up in a few short weeks, I'm toying with the idea of asking Hubby to order me a fabulous cake.

Here are a few of the lovely confections I've been eyeing:

Strawberry Layer Cake from Very Vera

Bailey's Irish Cream Layer Cake from Very Vera

Lemon Blossom Cake from Black Hound New York

Don't these look delicious?  If you were going to order a special dessert, what would you get?

The Flavor of Summer

Photo Copyright © 2010, Tara Saunders

One of the great pleasures of summer for me is fresh Pico de Gallo. In previous years, I have bought it by the tub at the grocery store. This summer, our Earthbox is overflowing with Serrano peppers (which I previously mentioned here), so I decided to make my own. I used a recipe from my newest cookbook, Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast, which is from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living. (Honestly, what would a girl do without a little Martha in her life?)

It is so yummy! I will be making this all summer long, as well as other Martha-approved delights, because this cookbook is fabulous. (Are you getting the feeling that I love getting new cookbooks? Anything that mentions fresh ingredients and fast preparation definitely catches my attention! If you missed my previous post about cookbooks for summer, catch up here.)

Now I know some of you may be laughing that I used a recipe for Pico de Gallo – just like I was looking for a recipe for pesto – but unfortunately I am not one of those people who can guess on amounts and have a dish turn out well. So I’m always glad to have a little help from my friends (and a few fabulous cookbooks).

What are your favorite dishes for summer?

Let Them Eat Cake

How cute are these buttercup cakelets? These darling confections would be absolutely perfect for a bridal shower, a garden party, or even a little girl’s birthday. Or maybe… just because. (Made in the USA by NordicWare, the Buttercup Cakelet Pan is available from Williams-Sonoma.)

How Does My Herb Garden Grow?

If you think growing your own produce is too difficult or time consuming, think again. In addition to shopping at the farmer’s markets, I decided to try my hand at growing herbs and peppers this year. After reading about the success others were enjoying with the EarthBox, I really wanted to test it myself.

Seven weeks ago, I planted six seedlings: three basil, one rosemary, one jalapeno pepper and one serrano pepper. As you can see from the photos below, we now have more basil than I ever imagined. And my rosemary, jalapenos and serranos are thriving. I’m thrilled!

My Earthbox today

Basil

Rosemary

Jalapeno Pepper

















The beauty of the Earthbox is in its simplicity. It comes with instructions on layering the soil and fertilizer, and details about the number of seedlings to plant. In addition, it features a water reservoir that allows the plants to absorb exactly the amount of water they need. It’s the perfect solution if you have limited space or challenging soil (like we have in my corner of the earth).

Now all I need is a great recipe for pesto!

Do you grow any of your own produce? If so, please share your best gardening tip!

A Family Favorite: Lemon Ice Box Pie

This is a special weekend at our house. My mother-in-law arrived last evening and my parents are flying in tonight. This evening for dessert I served my mother-in-law’s spectacular lemon ice box pie in honor of her visit.

Lemon ice box pie is my husband’s favorite dessert. Back when we were dating, he called his mother (who is known to her grandchildren as Che Che ) and asked for the recipe, then begged me to make it for him. That’s actually how she found out he had a girlfriend. She KNEW he wasn’t making it himself.

Not to tattle, but apparently Che Che’s children were always under the impression that making this dessert took a lot of time and effort. Imagine Hubby’s surprise when he found out how simple it is! As they always say on commercials, it tastes so good they’ll never know you didn’t spend hours in the kitchen!

Che Che’s Lemon Ice Box Pie

Graham Cracker Crust (purchased or homemade)

1 small carton of whipping cream

Juice of 4 to 6 lemons (use 4 unless they are really small)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Whip the cream until it peaks. Stir in the lemon juice and can of condensed milk. Pour into crust. ( If you made the crust, it’s nice to sprinkle a few of the leftover crumbs on top.) Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. This actually tastes even better if it’s made a day ahead.

Now, if only I had remembered to take a photo of the pie tonight. Maybe next time!

Easy Entertaining: Apricot Chicken

I have been flipping through my recipe collection today in search of something to serve our guests who are flying in for the twins’ baptism this weekend. I was looking for something simple, yet impressive enough for company.

This amazing Apricot Chicken recipe was given to me by my wonderful Aunt Gloria. It is just too wonderful not to share.

(Note: The sauce can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated. Just warm it right before you use it. You can also chop the pecans the day before, significantly reducing your prep time.)

Apricot Chicken

12 oz jar apricot preserves

¼ cup Dijon mustard

1 tsp curry powder

4 skinned boned chicken breasts, cut into pieces

1 cup finely chopped pecans

For Sauce: In a small saucepan, combine preserves, mustard and curry powder. Cook on low, stirring constantly until preserves are melted. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Divide the sauce evenly into 2 containers.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9 x 13 inch dish. Dip the chicken pieces into one container of the sauce. (Be sure to discard any unused sauce in this container when you’re finished, since it touched raw chicken.) Roll chicken in the chopped pecans and place in prepared baking dish. Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes or until done. Heat remaining half of sauce to spoon over chicken when serving.

This is fabulous served with rice and perhaps some asparagus or green beans.

Enjoy!

Friday Favorites: My Top Five Cookbooks for Summer

Now that my twins are a few months old and we are finally getting into our groove as a family of five (yikes!), it is time for me to step up my game in the kitchen. I love to cook with fresh, local ingredients and create great flavor combinations. So without further adieu, here are my top cookbooks for summer.

1) Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast: Weeknight Meals: Over 280 Incredible Supper Solutions

This is the newest addition to my shelf. The recipes are incredibly simple with great flavor profiles. This will definitely be my go-to-guide for summer meals.






2) The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life

The Food Network’s star nutritionist offers up wonderful ideas for healthy, flavorful meals. We loved the Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables, the Smashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives and the Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Orange Essence. I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes, like the Soft Asian Summer Rolls.

3) Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients

Can you ever go wrong with Ina Garten? I certainly don’t think so! In this guide, she provides recipes for fabulous meals created with fresh, simple ingredients, as well as background information on her techniques. Her cocktail ideas and entertaining tips are not to be missed. I am looking forward to making the Baked Shrimp Scampi and trying the Juice of a Few Flowers cocktail.

4) Southern Living Complete Quick & Easy Cookbook

This fantasic reference showcases a host of fast and delicious recipes, including many for southern favorites like King Ranch Chicken Casserole, Shrimp and Grits and Pineapple Glazed Ham. Chapters on Slow Cooker Favorites, One-Dish Dinners, and Healthy ‘n’ Quick Recipes make this an indispensable addition to my kitchen.

5) How to Cook Everything, Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food

This is a classic that has been described as the bible of home cooking. In addition to wonderful recipes and detailed insights into ingredients and techniques, Bittman provides lists of potential variations to help you customize the recipes. Using his suggestions, I customized a recipe for a Black Bean and Corn Salad that is to die for. I can’t wait to try more!

Do you have favorite recipes from any of these cookbooks? Please share!