RECIPE: Glazed Pecans

Every year at Thanksgiving it is a requirement that we bring "The Salad": a spring mix with thinly sliced red onion, crumbled feta, dried cranberries, balsamic vinaigrette and glazed pecans.

And every year the day before Thanksgiving I remember that I have to run out and buy the glazed pecans. And every year I think to myself that I really should try glazing my own pecans. (Plus, they're darn expensive... and I HATE the crowds during the holidays!)

Let it be known... I finally remembered to plan ahead and "just do it!"


And now I'm kicking myself... 'cuz it really was THIS easy!



Hot pan, melt, bubble, toss... cool.



Yes, it's THAT easy! (kicking myself again!)













Aren't those simply beautiful?! And they taste sooooo good!

Here's the all-important recipe...


Glazed Pecans
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup pecan halves
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions
Prep baking sheet with a layer of aluminum foil, sprayed with non-stick spray.

In a large heavy-bottom skillet stir sugar, olive oil and balsamic vinegar; stir over medium heat until sugar melts and syrup bubbles. Mix in pecans and kosher salt. Stir until nuts are slightly toasted and well-coated. Stir continually for 4-6 minutes.

Transfer nuts to baking sheet, separately nuts with tines of the fork and cool completely. Store glazed nuts in air tight container. Consume within 3-4 weeks.





enjoy your time in the kitchen...

RECIPE: Taboule salad

The weather is starting to warm up around here... and it's almost like summer already. If you know me at all you know I'm not very happy about that. My perfect temperature is about 65 degrees F. Yes, that's cold... just like I like it!

Because of that slightly odd peculiarity about this California native... I am already making cool salads to enjoy for the early onset summer.

And yes, I'm cheating slightly on this recipe... (using a boxed mix which includes dried herbs) instead of buying several bunches of fresh herbs.

And below you'll see what bulgur wheat looks like (right out of the box)...



It's rather small... put it in a bowl and follow the instructions on the box. Quick run through of those instructions: add wheat and seasoning packet in a heat-safe bowl and pour 1 cup of boiling water over the top. Stir briefly and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes...











While that steeps, prepare the rest of the salad ingredients. Starting with olive oil...



Lemon juice...



and give it a quick whisk...



Let's get to chopping... cucumber first...





Cherry tomatoes (rather "grape tomatoes" in this instance)...





When your 30 minutes are up fluff the wheat with the tines of a fork. This prevents the small clumps of wheat from sticking together too much and makes it light and fluffy. A spoon won't work, a spatula won't work... just trust me on this one and put that fork to use...





While the bulgur wheat is still somewhat warm add the olive oil/lemon juice and stir slowly until all the liquid is absorbed.





And this is where it all starts to come together rather quickly.

But first do me a favor... pretend that I already told you about the green onion, ok?

And now that that's behind us...



Let's start piling it all on...





And the last and most important ingredient... some REALLY great feta cheese. Chop it up rather small... a little smaller than the cucumber/tomato pieces.





Another quick toss...



And a nice little plate... where did that fork go?!



Enjoy this quick and easy salad this summer... and this salad is great stuffed in a pita!



Taboule Salad
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
1 box Near East Taboule, prepared according to directions on box
¼ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (approx 2 lemons)
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup green onions, minced
1 hothouse cucumber, halved and sliced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
¾ pound feta cheese

Instructions
Prepare taboule according to package instructions. As soon as the rice is done fluff with a fork and add lemon juice, olive oil and pepper. Fluff again with a fork and allow to stand at room temperature for about an hour. Add green onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Fluff again before serving.

If it’s dry, drizzle a little bit more olive oil over the top. Serve with shards of feta on top or stuffed into a pita.



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Made-To-Order Roast Beef Sandwiches (and Josie's Potato salad)

Around here we love our roast beef! In fact, my hero-of-a-hubby demands it quite often. He's not much of a white meat guy (unless it's lobster of course). But how do I get his veggies in him? With this sandwich (ok, so it's only onion and green peppers - who cares?!)...

The onion is sliced... like this...



The pepper is sliced... like this...



And then I set aside hubby's ingredients while I work on mine (I don't like peppers in my sandwich). This is how we do made-to-order in our house. Yes, it's that simple. DON'T add what you don't like. DO add what you do like!



The crimini mushrooms (baby portobellos) are sliced... like this...



And then I get my own bowl of yummy ingredients...



Then? Get out the saute pans... add a little olive oil and butter and turn on the heat! (The butter adds great flavor while the olive oil has a higher burn temperature and mixed with the butter allows us to saute confidently.)



Add the veggies and toss every minute or so...





Add a little salt... to pull out the natural juices of the veggies so they can saute.





Saute and toss for several minutes until the veggies have softened... tossing every minute or so...



And add your sliced roast beef. (Our deli actually had onion-flavored london broil on sale - so that's what we have this time around!)



It's already cooked, so you only toss the meat with the hot veggies for about 30 seconds.



Turn on your broiler, lay out your bread... and toast your buns!





Once toasted, top your buns with the appropriate mix of ingredients and a few slices of provolone. (Yes, this means the hubby is having two sandwiches tonight! He played golf today and worked up an appetitte while walking about 5 miles on the course... can you blame the guy?!)



Slide your cookie sheet under the broiler and watch closely. You don't want to waste these goods! About 2-3 minutes later you have this...



If you like mayo, slather some on your sandwich lid. And you know where to go from here... really, I've been typing descriptions to all of these pictures just for fun. They are rather self-explanatory. Right?!



Cut your sandwich in half...



And my hero-of-a-hubby recommends you serve it up with some of Josie's Potato Salad. It's our favorite!



Josie's Potato Salad
Recipe courtesy my friend Josie

4 large baking potatoes (Russets work everytime)
3 – 4 boiled eggs, diced
½ cup light mayonnaise
Dab mustard, just a touch
1-3 tablespoons relish (optional)
Salt/pepper to taste

Wash and dice potatoes (keep skin on) – after boiling, allow to cool. (Some people like the potatoes a bit crunchy; Jossie and I like them soft.) Place diced potatoes and eggs in large bowl.
In small bowl - combine mayo, mustard and relish and mix together well. Add small amount of milk for thinning, if desired. Pour over potato mixture, stir until well-mixed.

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.



enjoy your time in the kitchen...