Shelly & Chad hosted the family for a great evening of crab, kids, and a sighting of Santa! Chris, Liz, Sammia and Isabella came down from Chico. Grandmama Meena and Papa Ray were surrounded by all their kids and grandkids. We shared special Christmas memories around the table, and made a new one in the process. View the photos on Flickr.
Category: food
Michael Bauer writes: “It was 20 years ago when The Chronicle gathered one of the largest food staffs of any newspaper in the United States, developed a free-standing section and made a conscious effort to focus on the Bay Area food scene. We’ve produced more than 1,000 sections and more than 15,000 recipes since May 21, 1986.”
With recipes like Thai Shrimp in Curried Coconut Sauce, Sicilian Chicken with Lemon, Mint & Almonds, and Summer Tomato Tart, this article is not to be missed!
I started using SparkPeople when my friend Serrina emailed me about it… I just finished my first week, and I have lost 4 pounds in 7 days. Here is my “summary” of my food tracking for my first full week:
click the image to enlarge
It really, really makes you think twice about all the stuff you put into your mouth when you know you are going to write it all down!
Visit Sparkpeople.com if you want to check it out. Here is a snippet from their “About Us” section of their website:
SparkPeople Inc. is a leading online preventive health company. Our goal is to help as many people as possible reach their goals and lead meaningful lives. All of our programs and services are medically sound, completely free of charge, community-based and accessible. In the areas of health, fitness, goal-setting and leadership, we help people discover what will truly motivate them to reach their goals.
My favorite cooking blog: 101 Cookbooks
Triple Chocolate Espresso Bean Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground espresso powder
- 3/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- 1/2 cup natural cocoa or cacao powder (Scharffen B or Dagoba), not dutched
- 1 cup organic unsalted butter, room temperature (soft to the touch)
- 2 cups fine-grained natural granulated sugar (evaporated cane sugar) – for example, I love alter-eco brand, OR do 1 1/2 cups sugar + 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 large organic eggs
- 3 teaspoons high-quality vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup cup organic semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 8 ounces chocolate covered espresso beans
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Assemble dry ingredients: In a medium bowl whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cacao powder. Set aside.
Assemble the wet ingredients: In a big bowl or with an electric mixer beat the butter until it is fluffy and lightens a bit in color. Now beat in the sugar – it should have a thick frosting-like consistency. Mix in the eggs one at a time, making sure the first egg gets incorporated before adding the next. You will need to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice as well. Add the vanilla and mix until it is incorporated.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients: Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix in about four waves. Stir a bit between each addition until the flour is just incorporated. You could add all the flour at once, but it tends to explode up and out of the mixing bowl and all over me every time I do that. At this point you should have a moist, brown dough that is uniform in color. Stir in the espresso beans and chocolate chips by hand and mix only until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Drop the cookies onto baking sheets: I like to make these cookies medium in size (they are rich!) – and use roughly one heaping tablespoons of dough for each one. I leave the dough balls rough and raggy looking – I never roll them into perfect balls or anything like that – this way each cookie will have a bit of unique personality.
Place the cookies in the oven: Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes on the middle rack. You don’t want to over bake these cookies at all or they will really dry out. If anything, under bake them just a bit. When they are done, pull them out to cool.
Tip: If you don’t want to bake all the cookies at one once you can freeze some of the dough for quick cookies later. Instead of placing the cookies in the oven put the cookie dough balls into a freezer-quality plastic bag and toss them in the freezer. You can bake straight from the freezer at a later date, up the baking time by a couple minutes to compensate for the frozen dough.
Big Batch: 2-3 dozen chunky, medium cookies.
I can’t wait to try this recipe… it sounds so interesting and tasty!
Lifted from NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6354859
For centuries, an evening of dinner and the opera formed a winning combo. Food historian Francine Segan celebrates the dynamic duo with a new book of musical meals: The Opera Lover’s Cookbook. She pairs recipes and menus with beloved arias and overtures and pays tribute to some of the great composers through dinners and desserts.
RECIPE
Just like Puccini’s Il Trittico this marvelously unusual dish is made of three main parts. Cointreau-spiked caramelized onions and sweet oranges are complemented by the slightly tart dried apricots to create a multilayered flavor.
You and your guests will love this dish, which is based on an Italian Renaissance recipe.
Linguine ‘Il Trittico’
- 1 pound linguine
- 1 large purple onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup, 1stick, unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup Cointreau
- 1 1/4 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
- 8 to 10 fresh or dried apricots, sliced
- 1 tablespoon light brown granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons minced best quality candied orange peel, optional
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup almond slivers
- Zest of 1 orange
Cook the linguine in plenty of salted water according to package directions.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Carefully add the Cointreau and simmer until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the orange juice, the apricots and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Slowly add the remaining orange juice and simmer until the sauce turns golden, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the candied orange peel, if using, and generously season to taste with black pepper.
Toss the sauce with the drained linguine and top with nutmeg, Parmesan, and almonds. Garnish with the zest.
Bob and Aimee Westbrook invited us over for dinner at their home in Mill Valley.
Jackson and Nora got along swimmingly, and Grace played along with them after she did her long wakeup from her nap. Baby Spencer (4 months) is as cute as a button, and was a smiley, mellow presence while we sat around the dinner table reminiscing over our ten year friendship.
Bob grilled up some awesome lamb chops, tasty green beans and couscous. They are the hosts with the most — especially their generous sharing of a bottle of port from 1977! Delish!
Thompson Family Blog 