Food Minia

You can enjoy this classic Sunday supper with almost no effort. This moist and tender  pot roast couldn't be any easier. I've made this with any size chuck roast. The first was a small one and the next is a  larger one that gave us leftovers for  another dinner.  It uses very basic pantry ingredients.  Salt, pepper, onion and one unexpected  ingredient; apple cider vinegar.  Salt and pepper all sides of the meat  g enerously. Put into a foil lined metal roasting pan. Top with sliced onion. Pour the ¼ C of apple cider vinegar around the roast.  Seal all the seams of the foil tightly. Pour water into the bottom of the roasting  pan until it's halfway up the sides of the  meat packet. Replenish the water as  needed, about 2 more times.  Roast at 400º for 3-½ hours  Remove the roast to a serving platter.  It will be fork-tender.  Pour the meat juices into a gravy boat. Serve over the beef as a natural au jus. with natural au jus You can also thicken the juices and make a  trad

It's the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S., and hopefully you've got some good soup stock  simmering on the stove, made with the leftover carcass from all that turkey you gobbled down yesterday.   This recipe, from Domenica Marchetti's "Rustic Italian" cookbook, is just the antidote for turkey overload. These garlicky-lemony pork chops are so succulent, you'll be tempted to gnaw the bones down to the last morsel -- not to mention swiping and swishing some crusty bread through that luscious sauce in the pan. I can't blame you since that's just what we did. Start by sautéing thinly sliced garlic and fresh bay leaves (or dried) in olive oil. Remove them and set aside, then brown some lemon slices in the oil. Then remove the lemon slices while you put in the pork chops. Season and brown the pork chops, then put the garlic, lemon and bay leaves back in. Add a splash of white wine and lemon juice and cook until done. A lot of people complain that pork chop

Sometimes you get an idea in your head that you just need to make a reality.  This was one of those times.  I already had alphabet cookie cutters from another project  and a good slab pie recipe .  I didn't have any leaf cookie cutters, but those were easy enough to freehand cut out of the dough. For the filling I used up fruits that had been accumulating from my Boston Organics deliveries and ended up using 3 pears, 2 apples, and 4 oz. of cranberries, which I think ended up being about 5-6 cups of chopped fruit.  I liked how the cranberries added a little tartness and color to the otherwise simply sweet filling.  (If you want to add more than 4 oz. of cranberries, I would also up the amount of sugar to account for the additional tartness.) I cheated a little and didn't make a bottom crust, but in the end I think that was a good call because it saved a lot of time and aggravation and really, no one likes the soggy bottom crust right?  That meant I could make the top crust a lit

Loafing around .....with a loaf of Cranberry Nut Bread and a cup of coffee. It's that time of year when it's always nice  to have a sweet homemade treat in the house.     Cranberries are plentiful in the grocery store  right now and that got me in the mood  for this classic quick bread. In a large bowl whisk to combine the dry  ingredients. Toss the cranberries and nuts  into the flour mixture. You can also add  them at the end as I did this time. Next,  melt the butter in a glass cup then add it  to the orange juice. Then use that cup to  whisk the egg lightly with a fork and add  that to the orange juice and butter mixture.   Whisk that all together and add to the  bowl with the dry ingredients.  Stir just to combine.  Add the nuts and cranberries if you didn't  already toss them in with the flour mixture. I don't cut the cranberries in half as in so many recipes. Too much trouble and they  bleed into the batter. It also saves me a step!    Put into a greased 9x5 loaf

It's no secret that I hate winter, mainly because I really dislike being cold. If I had unlimited resources, I'd keep my house at a balmy 73 degrees all season long. In fact, I have fond memories of the apartment we had before we bought our house. Our rent included heat and air conditioning and since the buildings were old they required us to keep the heat at 72 or higher in the winter so the pipes didn't freeze. We used to walk around the apartment in shorts and t-shirts. It was glorious. But I digress. This recipe for No Peek Beef Tips has been on my radar for a while now, but I kept putting off making it due to the ingredients. Yes, I'm a bit of an ingredient snob and the various powders and cream of soup didn't sound appealing. The weather finally took a nosedive this weekend and the cold and wind had me craving comfort food. I also needed something easy for Sunday dinner with my parents. I didn't tell them what was in this until after they'd tried it.

This is a blog post from five years ago, but with Thanksgiving on Thursday, many of you might need a refresher on how to brine and roast a turkey: It's almost that time folks. Are you ready to roast that big bird or are you running from the task quicker than you can say turkey trot?  To all of you with trepidation in your soul at the thought of tackling this job, fear not -- I have one word to help you achieve success -- and it rhymes with  fine . No, it's not  wine  -- although a glass of chardonnay or pinot noir for the cook never hurts. The word folks is  brine . Since the first time I brined a turkey years ago, I have never looked back. It's a fail-proof way to ensure a moist, flavorful turkey, even if you forget to baste it and even if you roast it a little longer than required.   Mix salt, sugar, herbs and spices with water and bring to a boil. Place a thawed turkey into a 5-gallon container that's been lined with a plastic bag. Dump the brining mixture over the

This Asian Chicken Noodle Soup reminds me a little of Pho.  We love Pho! Our favorite place to get Pho in Madison is Siagon Noodles .  If you don't know, Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, rice noodles a few herbs, and either beef or chicken.  When I'm in the mood for Pho and can't get to Siagon Noodles ,  I'll be making this soup.  The broth has similar flavors, garlic and ginger.  It's a bit spicy with the chili-garlic sauce added but very flavorful.  I really like that it only makes 4 servings but it would be very easy to double. Yield: 4 servings Ingredients: 6 cups chicken broth 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons mirin 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger  1 tablespoons Asian  chili-garlic sauce 12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast *see note below 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 1-6oz bag baby spinach 2 scallions sliced thin 2- 3oz pkgs of ramen noodles (season packets discarded) *see note below if only making 2 servings  garnish with c

A quick note to my sweet customers who have stitched more than one pattern. You can easily group the patterns together on a wall or a shelf for maximum impact.  If you're an embroidery fan interested in learning to cross stitch, check out my stitching tutorial:  Ombre Hearts        Please visit the shop to view more of my for sale patterns and freebies.     Happy Stitching! xx ~ Jilly 

This has to be one of the easiest, most delicious and most colorful side dishes you can make for your Thanksgiving table - or for any fall or winter meal, really. Acorn squash, aside from its rich taste and nutritious qualities, has the added benefit of thin, edible skin - no peeling necessary. The hardest part is cutting the slices -- you need a sturdy knife and steady hand. But once that's done, you simply roast the slices in the oven, then sprinkle some pomegranate seeds on top, with a drizzle of balsamic syrup, and a scattering of fresh herbs. I've used parsley and lemon balm, but if you're a cilantro fan, that would be welcome too. Roasted Acorn Squash  printable recipe here Wash the squash thoroughly, then cut in half. Remove seeds, then cut into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Coat each side of the slices with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper and herbs. I use a homemade herb salt, but you can mince some fresh or dry herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sprinkle on