12-26-09 broccoli cranberry salad to be served with turkey pastrami roll

Once I had decided on a main dish of turkey pastrami roll, I had to find a few side dishes to prepare along with it. So I bought some dried cranberries and broccoli, knowing that with those two ingredients, nothing could go wrong!

I began searching online for a bit, and all the recipes were basically the same, with a couple minor differences, so I printed out a few different ones, and used them as a springboard: here is what I came out with.

I carefully let the fresh broccoli soak in water and vinegar. After a half hour or so I took it out and let it dry, almost completely. I added a fair share of dried cranberries and finally convinced myself to add cashews. (I usually don't like putting nuts in anything if I know I am having guests...) So I set that little mixture aside and went on to make the dressing. Annoyed, I realized I was missing some key ingredients in the kitchen, including red wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar. So I had to improvise. I mixed together some sugar, mayonnaise, and balsamic vinegar. I whisked them together quickly and refrigerated it until the next day. (You have to make quite a lot of it in order to cover the entire salad.)

The next morning, I took the dressing out of the fridge and poured it on the broccoli salad, allowing it to soak for a few hours.

Let me tell you. This salad was... SOMETHING! The sweetness of the sugar combined with the sweet-ish taste of the balsamic vinegar complemented the simple taste of the broccoli and the salty cashews. This made a crunchy mix which was a perfect side dish.

It looked much better when it was nicely presented on a dish, but these pictures are those of the food 'in the making'. The colors have a really nice effect if you are serving this dish with a simple chicken or meat. It really enhances the look of the table, which I adore playing with, and it's just SO GOOD! And it is served cold, so you don't have to worry about heating it up!

supper 12-22-09: simple vegetable pie with a side of rice

Tonight's supper was absolutely scrumptious. It was so simple, but tasted so so good! I started with a broccoli and cauliflower fresh vegetable mix. I set that aside to make our family's traditional 'white sauce'. You begin by mixing margarine and flour, making barely a cup altogether. Once that boils, add water, little by little, on a low heat, letting the mixture bubble before adding water again. As it thickens, add a few dashes of nutmeg and a bit of salt. Let this simmer for a few minutes and mix, constantly. Anyways, back to the veggies sitting in that glass bowl. I covered them with shredded mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese. I poured the white sauce over them, and watched as the cheese melted and the sauce spread. After pouring the mixture once, I proceeded to do it again, now covering all the different sides of the vegetable pie. The sauce definitely brings out the taste of the vegetables and the cheese. The oven was heated to 375 degrees F and I let it cook for about 45 minutes. I served it with a simple side dish of rice and let the family enjoy.

Dessert consisted of fruit- either grapefruit or grapes, but I am focusing on the actual meal part now, and dessert will be improved soon. Not to say that we never have good desserts, but I will enjoy making new and improved cakes and fruit platters...

I am very proud of this dinner. Simple, but sweet and really tasty and healthy. It is so simple to make, but the smiles after the meal are worth every second.

Hot chocolate

Today I got home from a late evening out, and guess what I was craving?! That's right. Chocolate. I wanted to warm up with a perfect hot chocolate and watch the snow outside. Conveniently, we just bought a coffee machine; Keurig. Anyways, a friend bought us the Green Mountain Hot Cocoa K-cups, and I used one for the first time tonight.

Now this hot chocolate is like no other I have ever tasted before. It is not the simple chocolate powder you add to hot milk. This is special. It has some serious chocolate content, and is sweet in a strange sort of way... the kind of sweetness that you can still taste on your tongue for ten minutes after you've finished your mug.

Just to clarify- I am a HUGE fan of plain hot chocolate... even cold chocolate milk, but this was some special chocolate experience. The kind that comes you from the inside and makes you, just for a moment, forget everything but the mug of chocolate in front of you.

As soon as the brown perfection they call 'chocolate' makes its way into my eyesight, my breath is simply taken away. I wish I could describe that warm sensation when you have a perfect piece of chocolate, the way your whole body is simply happier! And you know those calories were worth it. Every bite was 100 percent worth it.

Well, yesterday, I ate a chocolate cake. Calling it 'chocolate cake' though, does not do this delicacy any justice. This 'cake' was the perfect blend of soft cake-y bottom, with a heavier layer of chocolate on top, and a fudge layer perfectly spread above it. It is one of those 'melt-in-your-mouth' feelings, and it's the kind of cake you eat at midnight out of the tin foil with a fork, watching the snow fall outside.

I do not know who you are, but here is what I do know: we have one thing in common, otherwise, you would not waste your time reading this. We both love chocolate. Now isn't that enough?