Category Archives: All Recipes

Mother’s Day: How to Make Breakfast in Bed for Mom

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Liz King | Leave a comment

There are a few secrets to giving mom a great breakfast in bed. First, don’t make it too complicated. A simple breakfast is better than a fancy one that’s difficult to do and risks not being all you (or Mom) hoped. This is especially true if the kids in the house are making the meal.

Second, know what mom wants. If she loves the cranberry orange scones from a neighborhood bakery, head out early and pick one up rather than try to make one yourself (scones especially have a dangerous tendency to get rock-like if you don’t have much practice).

Third, nail the garnishes! Put a single lily, Gerber daisy or Mom’s favorite flower in a bud vase. Arrange everything on a pretty breakfast tray. Maybe even put her orange juice in a wine glass, just for looks.

And, don’t forget the hand-made Mother’s Day card from the kids. It will make Mom’s day, no matter how breakfast turns out.

Finally, try one of these fun recipes for Mother’s Day brunch this year. They’re all simple and delicious, and at least one of them should hit the sweet spot between decadence (for her) and ease (for you).

Sumptuous Smoothies

There is a secret in these not-too-sweet, sophisticated smoothies from Joy the Baker. They’re actually pretty healthy (!) – but don’t tell the kids. A regular size pineapple smoothie from Jamba Juice will set you back more than 400 calories, which doesn’t leave much room for bacon (or Mother’s Day dessert).

But try the vanilla, blackberry, oat and almond milk smoothie from Joy. Almond milk is the healthiest alternative to cow’s milk (60 calories per cup, versus 86 for skim), but it’s full of flavor; sweet, lightly nutty and perfect for smoothies. You’ll want to keep making these all year-long.

Wonderful Waffles

Waffles are such wonderful weekend food. If you do them up sweet, they can almost be like dessert for breakfast.

Photo by Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen

Mom would probably love these whole wheat Belgian waffles with mascarpone, thyme and fresh strawberries from the blog Happyolks. If you’re feeling ambitious, try them.

But if you don’t have yeast lying around, Deb Perelman’s recipe from Smitten Kitchen (above) made with buttermilk and vanilla extract should do the trick. Just make sure to top with powdered sugar and fresh fruit.

Perfect Pancakes

If hauling out the blender and/or the waffle maker on a Sunday morning seems like just too much effort for early in the day, pancakes are the perfect fallback. Fancy enough for a special occasion but easy enough that your six-year-old can help, “flapjacks” can be sweet (chocolate-pecan pancakes from Martha Stewart Living), savory (butternut squash pancakes or sweet potato and kimchi pancakes from Lantern Restaurant via Epicurious.com) or somewhere in between (lemon-ricotta pancakes from CHOW).

There’s nothing better for breakfast than a stack of golden brown silver dollar pancakes with good maple syrup drizzled on them. Sprinkle in a few dark chocolate chips while they’re cooking, and it’s really a holiday.

Mom will be delighted! So have fun and keep it simple. For more recipes and other Mother’s Day ideas – please check out our post: The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift!

Happy Mother’s Day!

About gThankYou, LLC

Turkey Gift Certificates and Turkey Or Ham Gift Certificates by gThankYou! are two of America’s favorite employee gifts and can be redeemed for any Brand (Turkey or Turkey Or Ham), at virtually any Grocery Store in the U.S.

gThankYou, LLC provides company leaders with a variety of easy, meaningful and affordable ways to recognize and reward employees, holiday time or anytime. gThankYou! Certificates of Gratitude and our free Enclosure Cards are personalizable including incorporating your company logo. And, nearly all orders ship same day.

gThankYou, LLC (www.gthankyou.com) is based in Madison, Wisconsin. Contact: Rick Kiley, Chief ThankYou! Officer, gThankYou, LLC at info@gthankyou.com or 888-484-1658.
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Posted in All Recipes, Fun with Gratitude, Gratitude, Thank You

Tagged Chow, Epicurious, Happyolks, Joy the Baker, Lantern Restaurant, Martha Stewart Living, Mother's Day, pancakes, Smitten Kitchen, smoothies, waffles

One Ham Bone, Three Great Soup Recipes

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Liz King | 1 Comment

Just like I’ll fight (nicely, of course) the other cooks at the Thanksgiving table for possession of that flavorful turkey carcass — such a great way to make stock — I do the same at Easter for the ham bone.

These rainy April days are the perfect time to take that ham bone out of the freezer and put it to good use for some great tasting and heart warming comfort food.

Bean soups especially benefit from a long simmer with a ham bone, whether or not there’s much meat left on it. If there is, that’s just a bonus; slice it off at the end and add it to the soup.

Allow at least two hours for each of these soups, and know that they’re just as good reheated for lunch.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

One of my favorite spring soups is split pea, that hearty staple, even better when it’s studded with bits of ham. Ina Garten’s recipe for split pea soup, taken from the original Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, is a simple and delicious way to start.

To use your ham bone in this recipe, submerge it in the soup during the last 40 minutes of cooking. Depending how much meat comes off the bone, you may be able to reuse it if you refrigerate it between uses.

NEW ORLEANS RED BEANS AND RICE

John Besh’s beautiful, coffee table-worthy cookbook, “My New Orleans,” is 384 engaging pages of stories, recipes and Southern inspiration.

I first made this fragrant pot of red beans and rice on Super Bowl Sunday, with the justification that the game was being played in New Orleans, and so red beans and rice were perfectly appropriate.

This simple recipe starts with the trinity (green pepper, celery, onion) and gets flavor not only from smoked ham hocks, but also from bacon fat, cayenne pepper and, of course, Louisiana-made Tabasco sauce. The red beans freeze well, too.

HAM BONE SOUP

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Everything is better with bacon, and that includes Melissa Clark’s simple ham bone soup, adapted from an old Junior League cookbook. According to Clark’s piece in The New York Times, “The soup was simple: boil a bone with beans and a bay leaf, and dinner was done.”

Add a green salad and some crusty bread and you have a wonderful meal to share and savor!

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Posted in All Recipes, Ham Gift Certificates, Ham Recipes, Ham Soups, Soup

Tagged Andrew Scrivani, Comfort Food, comfort soup, Food Network, Ham bone, Ham bone soup, ham leftovers, Ham soup, Ina Garten, John Besh, Melissa Clark, My New Orleans, New Orleans Red Beans and Rice, new york times, red beans and rice, soup, split pea, split pea soup, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, The New York Times

3 Fantastic Food Blogs | gThankYou! Favorites

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Liz King | Leave a comment

As winter weather drags on, finding inspiration in the kitchen can get a little harder.

Sweet potatoes, again?

On one hand, in my kitchen is often where I most want to be, next to the heat of the stove and a ready pot of tea. I’m the hunkering-down sort. I tend to bake too much, drink too much hot chocolate, and make endless variations on roast chicken and risotto.

On the other hand, winter in colder climates is one of the most discouraging times for produce. By March, I am tired of winter squash and potatoes. I have no more ideas for kale. I want something new.

That is where these food blogs come in. Visit any of these websites and let Deb Perelman, Heidi Swanson and Joy Wilson inspire and engage you with their vivid photographs and active imaginations.

I became a fan of Smitten Kitchen in a backwards way. I had heard of Deb Perelman, the New York-based author of the popular tiny kitchen blog, in passing via recipes from friends. But it wasn’t until I read about (and subsequently cooked) her lasagna bolognese in Best Food Writing 2012 and then impulsively bought her gorgeous new cookbook that I became a true SK convert.

A great blog is a combination of look and voice. Perelman takes all her own photos, and they’re beautiful, from a colorful mixed citrus salad with feta and mint to the French onion tart posted just this month. Her tone is self-deprecating and funny.

Her husband is “such a tidy eater … I comparatively eat with the grace of a Hoover.” She has a category on the blog called “disasters,” and writes about one set of them, “They’re not inedible. … They’re just not wonderful or magical or seriously, why have you not dropped everything yet and run to your kitchen to get this started?“

Smitten Kitchen is organized for maximum ease — recipes are grouped by season, as well as by type (pancakes, dumplings), ingredient (eggs, apples) and cuisine (Indian, Italian). Now is the perfect time to try pancetta, white bean and chard pot pies, or “hibernation fare,” pasta with sausage, tomatoes and mushrooms.

For healthier, I’m-sticking-to-my-New-Year’s-resolutions dishes, my absolute favorite blog is Heidi Swanson’s 101 Cookbooks. Swanson is the essence of inspirational, raving about her farmer’s market finds and offering simple substitutions for almost everything she makes.

Because of Swanson’s blog (and her two cookbooks, Super Natural Cooking and Super Natural Every Day), orzo has become a pantry staple, for potluck salads and easy weeknight dinners. I am no longer afraid of tofu, and I am shamelessly addicted to kale.

Following 101 Cookbooks is a great way to incorporate more grains into your diet in interesting, easy ways, from scones to warm noodle bowls. Start reading before spring, and you’ll be ready for every peapod and asparagus spear that crosses your path.

On the opposite end of the “virtuous” spectrum is Joy the Baker, a delightfully hedonistic blog full of cupcakes, cookies and lots of dark chocolate. Ina Garten is her kindred. (And yes, Joy has a cookbook too. It’s lovely.)

Photo from Joy the Baker

The site’s author, Joy Wilson, is perhaps best known for her sweets, but the first thing I made from her website was savory: this creme fraiche/bacon/gruyere quiche with a puff pastry crust, which simultaneously satisfied my craving for creme fraiche (like a mild sour cream) and something different to make with eggs.

I am intrigued by Wilson’s dark chocolate, pistachio and smoked sea salt cookies, the oatmeal sandwich cookies with creamy peanut butter filling and her roasted strawberry buttermilk cake, which transforms strawberries “from summer fruit to warm, soft candy.”

Maybe strawberries aren’t quite in season yet, but that sounds like the perfect cake to snap me out of my winter funk.

A few other food blogs to try and enjoy:

Wishing you spring weather soon!

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Tagged 101 Cookbooks, Best Food Blogs, Best Food Writing 2012, Deb Perelman, Dinner: A Love Story, food blogs, Heidi Swanson, Holly Hughes, Ina Garten, Joy the Baker, Joy Wilson, Orangette, recipes, Smitten Kitchen, Super Natural Cooking, Super Natural Every Day, The Amateur Gourmet, The Bitten Word, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

A Vegetarian Easter Holiday Dinner

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Liz King | Leave a comment

Most people think of Easter dinner and imagine something heavy and carnivorous at the center of the table — a spiral-cut ham, a rack of lamb, a thick pork tenderloin.

But no one wants to leave vegetarian family and friends out of the loop, and even for the meat-eaters things can get pretty heavy. Change up your 2013 Easter menu with these simple, savvy veggie-centric options from some of the web’s best recipe sites.

Pear and Pecan Salad

This simple starter salad from Betty Crocker could be made with any variety of nuts — pecans, walnuts or even pine nuts. Whisk together a quick dressing of Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, maple sugar, salt and pepper. Make sure your pears are nice and ripe, and everything else takes care of itself.

Spring Pizza

Asparagus is like an announcement in vegetable form: it’s finally spring! Perk up the Easter table with this pretty, bright spring pizza, topped with asparagus, garlic, chives and a mozzarella/fontina cheese blend.

Reviewers on Eating Well note that you can substitute green onions for the chives and feta for one of the cheeses. If the asparagus stalks are a little thicker, be sure to peel the ends.

Risotto Primavera

This risotto primavera from Bon Appetit is perfect for Easter dinner for so many reasons. It’s rich and warm, perfect if the late-March weather is still snowy. And it’s endlessly adaptable based on what you find at the grocery store, from edamame and spring peas from the freezer to carrots, spring onions and leeks. Top it with an over-easy egg if you’re feeling decadent.

Scalloped Potatoes with Creme Fraiche

Scalloped potatoes always feel so wonderfully holiday-worthy. These are especially good, containing creme fraiche (similar to sour cream, but milder), half and half, fresh thyme, garlic and chives.

According to one cook on the Food Network website, “I made this wonderful recipe for Easter and it was a HUGE success!! The potatoes came out beautifully creamy and the flavor was just amazing.”

Venetian Carrot Cake

For dessert, conclude with one of the Easter Bunny’s favorites — carrots, cleverly disguised and sweetened up in this beautiful Venetian carrot cake by Food Network chef Nigella Lawson. Amped up with pine nuts, golden sultana raisins, vanilla, almond flour, nutmeg, lemon and (of course!) rum, this lovely cake will please everyone at the table, vegetarians and carnivores alike.

We wish you the best for a wonderful holiday with family and friends. We hope these recipes help you to make it a delicious event too. Bon Appetit!

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Posted in All Recipes, Fruits & Vegetables Gift Certificates, Grocery Gift Certificates, Vegetable Recipes

Tagged Betty Crocker, Bon Appetit, Carrot cake, Easter, Eating Well, Epicurious, Food Network, Nigella Lawson, pear and pecan salad, pizza, risotto primavera, scalloped potatoes, simple, spring pizza, vegan, vegetarian, Venetian carrot cake

Sweet and Savory Pies for Pi Day!

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Liz King | Leave a comment

Happy International Pi Day!

Diagram from 314 Solutions, Inc.

Around the world, people celebrate mathematics on March 14. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter; which is approximately 3.14159 but can be calculated out to about a trillion decimal places!

Here at gThankYou! we take the liberal view of Pi – in order to celebrate gThankYou! Pie Gift Certificates and delicious pies of course!

Deep Dish Winter Fruit Pie with Walnut Crumb

Pi Day comes at a rather inconvenient time for pie bakers, when the fruits of summer are still a long way off. Solve that problem with this deep dish beauty, which combines dried figs, fresh apples and pears, and either fresh or frozen cranberries for a pie tasters describe as “amazing” and winning “rave reviews” from “gaga” guests.

photo by Sara Remington via Epicurious.com

Find the recipe, taken from “Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More” by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson, on Epicurious.

Pear and Almond Tart

photo by Yasmine Abdullah via Flickr.com

The difference between a pie and a tart is really very minor. According to The Kitchn, a pie is “a sweet or savory dish with a crust and a filling. The sides of a pie dish or pan are sloped,” unlike a tart pan, which has straight sides. A pie “can have a just a bottom, just a top, or both a bottom and a top crust,” while tarts are open face. And pie crust, made from flour, salt, butter or lard and cold water, can go either sweet or savory, while a tart crust often contains sugar.

No matter how you define it, this pear and almond tart is a keeper. The recipe, published in the February 2005 issue of Bon Appetit, comes from Paule Caillat. Feel free to adapt the recipe using canned pears: just drain them, “dry them very well and carry on.”

Double Crust Apple Pie

photo by Edward Kimuk via Flickr.com

For one entire summer, Evan Kleiman, the host of KCRW’s popular radio show “Good Food,” made a pie every single day.

Serious Eats reports that after all the variations on “shepherd’s pie, ice cream pies, cream pies, fried pies, gallettes, crostadas, small French tarts, and bastillas,” her favorite pie was this one — the double crust apple pie.

“It has everything,” she wrote. “The yielding sweetness of fruit cooked in sugar with a hint of cinnamon. If I were an apple, it’s how I’d like to go.”

Savory Pork and Peas Pie

Nicole Mourian won four ribbons at the Fourth Annual Good Food Pie Contest in 2012, at least one of them for her humble-sounding pork and peas pie.

photo by LA I’m Yours via the Good Food blog

The secret to this recipe is twofold: controlling the temperature, and high quality ingredients. According to the Good Food blog, “It’s a combination of slow roasted Niman Ranch pork shoulder, pork belly, carrots, chopped Gravenstein apples and peas that she had shucked and frozen last spring.

“She combined the braising liquid from the pork belly with a little flour and rosemary to form a gravy. And as if that weren’t enough, her pie crust is made with the unctuous European Style Butter from Straus Family Creamery in Northern California.”

Still, there’s little doubt those of us without access to Niman Ranch and Strauss Family products can still come up with something pretty amazing for a chilly March night. Who says pie has to be sweet to be delicious?

We hope we have given you plenty of reasons to celebrate Pi(e) day tomorrow! Brighten someone’s day with a pie. You’ll be glad you did.

About gThankYou, LLC

Turkey Gift Certificates and Turkey Or Ham Gift Certificates by gThankYou! are two of America’s favorite employee gifts and can be redeemed for any Brand (Turkey or Turkey Or Ham), at virtually any Grocery Store in the U.S.

“G” logo and “Certificates of Gratitude” are trademarks and “gThankYou” is a registered trademark of gThankYou, LLC.

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Tagged "Good Food" Radio Show, "Rustic Fruit Desserts", 314 Solutions Inc., apple pie, Bon Appetit, Cory Schreiber & Julie Richardson, Double Crust Apple Pie, Edward Kimuk, Epicurious, Evan Kleiman, Fourth Annual Good Food Pie Contest, fruit pie, KCRW, LA I'm Yours, March 14 - Pi Day, Nicole Mourian, Paule Caillat, pear and almond tart, Pi Day, Pie, pork and peas pie, Sara Remington, savory pie, Serious Eats, The Kitchn, winter pie, Yasmine Abdullah

Ham FREE eBook: Spring Ham Primer

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Liz King | Leave a comment

gThankYou! is excited to announce our free eBook,
“A Spring Ham Primer”.

Click Image to Download!

We believe a glazed ham is the perfect centerpiece for a spring party or holiday celebration. If you’ve never cooked one before, gThankYou! is here to help with this quick step-by-step guide on how to cook your ham, as well as suggestions for side dishes and additional places to look for great recipes.

Novice or seasoned pro, you’ll find useful tips and resources in this handy Ham Primer. gThankYou! Ham Gift Certificates are a popular employee gift this time of year. Share this free Primer with recipients, include one of our free personalizable spring-themed enclosure cards and make your Certificate of Gratitude gift truly special!

Here’s a peek at our “A Spring Ham Primer” Table of Contents:

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. How to Choose and Cook a Spring Holiday Ham
2. Great Ways to Glaze
3. Recipes
4. Super Side Dishes for Spring Ham
5. Resources

Download your free copy now by clicking this link:
“Spring Ham Primer”

For more recipes and “how to” posts about Ham, be sure to check out the links to these popular gThankYou! posts. More posts are available under the “Ham Recipes” category so check them out and let us know what you like!

Bon Appétit !

The gThankYou! Team

About gThankYou, LLC

Turkey Gift Certificates and Turkey Or Ham Gift Certificates by gThankYou! are two of America’s favorite employee gifts and can be redeemed for any Brand (Turkey, or Turkey Or Ham), at virtually any Grocery Store in the U.S.

“G” logo and “Certificates of Gratitude” are trademarks and “gThankYou” is a registered trademark of gThankYou, LLC.

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Tagged Bon Appetit, bruce aidells, Cook's Country, Cook's Illustrated, Cooking Light, Easter Ham, Epicurious, Free eBook, Good Eats - Alton Brown, Ham Glazes, Ham Recipes, How to Cook a Spring Ham, How to Coose a Ham, Huffington Post, Martha Stewart, Nancy Oakes, Nigelia Lawson, Paula Deen, Real Simple, Saveur, Serious Eats, Side Dishes for Easter Ham, The Food Network, The New York Times Dining Section

Simple Valentine’s Day Dinners for Two | Favorite Recipes

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Liz King | 1 Comment

Going out on Valentine’s Day sounds romantic — wine service, beautifully composed courses, flowers on white tablecloths. But in execution, it’s often less than perfect. Expensive. Crowded. Babysitters are booked, servers are stressed, and if you didn’t plan ahead, you may not get a reservation at your favorite place before 9 pm.

This year, make it a simple romantic dinner for two with one of these easy main course ideas. Pair one of these with a simple salad (such as Boston bibb with radishes and buttermilk dressing, citrus, celery and fennel, or Lidia’s radicchio, goat cheese and raisin salad), a bottle of sparkling wine and a purchased pastry dessert.

Now that’s romantic.

Asian Marinated Pork Chops
These beautiful chops have as much going for them as a delightful first date. Marinated with brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, Sriracha, sesame oil, garlic and orange, these chops are rich and flavorful, but inexpensive enough to allow for a box of artisan chocolates for dessert.

Grilled Flank Steak with Watercress, Blue Cheese and Tomato

This simple flank steak becomes more tender with a lengthy marinade, at least eight hours (but overnight is fine too). The ingredients in the marinade, including rosemary, garlic, balsamic vinegar and red wine, are usually on hand.

Recipe writer EmilyC writes on Food52, “When you cut your steak into bite-sized pieces, a little juice spills out and creates a delicious, impromptu salad dressing. Plan to buy extra steak and salad ingredients when you make this dish — leftovers make a fabulous steak sandwich on toasted ciabatta.”

Mussels, Clams and Shrimp Saffron Risotto

Photo by Noel Barnhurst

Seafood is a classic for a romantic dinner. This lovely recipe from Epicurious resembles paella, with lovely mussels, clams and shrimp. Even a simple risotto with just shrimp would be a lovely weeknight dinner, made with whatever wine you’re pouring (ideally a dry white).

Posters rave about the olive relish, and though it’s technically a one-pot dish, recipe testers recommend cooking the seafood separately from the rice to make sure everything comes out right.

Photo by James Ransom

Melissa Clark’s Really Easy Duck Confit

Duck is a bit of a splurge, but it’s worth it for a special occasion. This recipe from Food52 takes the French bistro classic, duck confit, and simplifies it for an easy weeknight meal.

“This is not the confit they teach in cooking school, or the kind served at restaurants,” writes the editor who adapted the recipe from Clark’s “In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite.” “It’s the kind you can make any time — all you need are a few good duck legs, a skillet and some very basic spices. And it’s just as good.”

So find a plan for the kids and take the time to enjoy your own special Valentine’s meal at home. We hope you enjoy these simple yet special recipes. All the best for a Happy Valentine’s Day!

“G” logo and “Certificates of Gratitude” are trademarks and “gThankYou” is a registered trademark of gThankYou, LLC.

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Super Bowl Pizza | Team Themed Toppings by gThankYou!

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Liz King | 1 Comment

With a solid TV signal and the right group of friends, Super Bowl parties can be a blast. After-all, here in Wisconsin, it’s hard not to be a football fan…But who wants to spend all weekend wrapping water chestnuts in bacon or building elaborate gold-dusted 49ers cakes?

It’s faster and easier to pick up a variety of frozen pizzas for the Super Bowl and pop them in the oven just before the game. Take the party one step further and make these fun themed pies, and you’re just a few toppings away from an epic Niners-versus-Ravens themed bash.

Start each recipe with a quality frozen cheese pizza, such as Amy’s or California Pizza Kitchen.

For the San Francisco 49ers

From What’s Cooking, Love?

Crab rangoon started in San Francisco, and Dungeness crab is a classic San Francisco treat. Take a cue from this crab pizza and pair crab meat with bacon, tomatoes, garlic and Old Bay seasoning.

Figs are a favorite with San Francisco chefs (they even sparked a cross-coastal spat). Use them to top your pizza, combined with bacon or prosciutto, goat cheese (the Laura Chenel brand was born in the bay area) and fresh arugula.

For the Baltimore Ravens

Matthew's pizza. [Photograph: Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Matthew’s pizza in Baltimore. [Photograph: Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Maryland, known for flaky, luscious crab cakes, is slightly harder to translate into a pizza topping.

No one wants to eat crow (literally or figuratively), so approximate it with a chicken-topped pizza and add tangy hot sauce, juicy cubed tomatoes and blue cheese. Or nod to Baltimore’s pit beef legacy with a roast beef pizza, combined with sweet bell peppers, onion and sliced mushrooms.

For New Orleans, the host city

The World is My Oysetr pizza with brie, spinach and an apple and fennel salad

The World is My Oyster pizza with brie, spinach and an apple and fennel salad

Oysters are as much a part of New Orleans, this year’s Super Bowl host city, as jazz on Bourbon Street. If you can find some fat mollusks and you’re not afraid to husk them, combine them on top of a pizza with spinach, brie and an apple/fennel salad. (Or if you like them, canned and/or smoked oysters would be even simpler.)

The New Orleans Creole trinity is onions, green pepper and celery, all of which are good on pizza with some fat peeled shrimp. And whatever you do, don’t forget the Louisiana hot sauce America loves best: Tabasco.

May the best team win and here’s hoping for a great game!

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Tagged Amy's Pizza, Baltimore Ravens, California Pizza Kitchen, Consumersearch.com, CooksCountry.com, Creole pizza, frozen pizza, Grub Street San Francisco, Kenji Lopez-Alt, Mathew's Pizza in Baltimore, My World is My Oyster Pizza, new orleans, pizza, ravens, san francisco, San Francisco 49ers, super bowl, Super Bowl Party, Super Bowl Pizza, Superbowl 2013 themed pizza toppings, TasteofHome.com, What's Cooking Love?

Comfort Winter Soups | Recipes for Recovering

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Liz King | Leave a comment

Something has been going around my office, church and social circles, and it’s not a funny Facebook meme. Everyone seems to be coming down with a strange cold-flu hybrid, an exhausting, hacking, miserable illness that takes a good week to work its way out.

When you’re sick, the last thing you might feel like doing is cooking. But if you happen to be the healthy one — or if, like me, you’ve already recovered from the plague and are ready to help your sniffling family or even your coworkers — one of these soups should do the trick.

1. Chicken Noodle Soup

This is the soup I made two weeks ago when I was guzzling NyQuil at night and curling up with tea during the day. Alton Brown uses chicken stock (homemade if you’ve got it), a few savory elements (onion, celery, garlic) and relatively quick-cooking egg noodles for a quick and easy pot of healing goodness. It’s so simple, I’ll repost the recipe right here.

Note: If you don’t want to cook the noodles in advance, they cook right in the broth if you let it simmer for about 6-8 minutes.

4 cups chicken stock, home-made or store-bought
3/4 cup diced onion
3/4 cup diced celery
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 ounces dried egg noodles, cooked to al dente
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Lemon halves, for serving

Bring stock to boil for 2 minutes in a large, non-reactive stockpot with lid on, over high heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Lower heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add noodles and cook 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and add herbs and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with lemon halves and add squeeze of lemon juice if desired.

2. Kabocha Squash and Celery Root Soup with maple syrup and browned butter

Squash celery root soup

My all-time favorite soup tome is Anna Thomas’ “Love Soup,” a 2009 James Beard Award-winning cookbook with some 160 recipes for green soups, bean soups, squash purees and more.

This lovely blend can be altered by using butternut or acorn instead of kabocha squash, and carrots in place of turnips. The brown butter gives it a wonderful depth, and an immersion blender makes quick work of the finishing steps.

3. Basic Green Soup

One more from Anna Thomas — and this one takes awhile, but it’s worth it. Her green soups begin with caramelized onions, which themselves can take 30-45 minutes to fully brown into a sweet “onion jam.”

In the meantime, stem and chop a few bunches of greens, like dinosaur (lacinato) kale, spinach and chard. Cook arborio rice to give the soup heft, and finish with a swirl of fresh “green” olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

4. Pasta Soup with Potatoes and Pancetta

photo by Kate Whitaker

Recipe writer Gino D’Acampo puts this soup under the heading “Craving Comfort” on the blog Leite’s Culinaria, and it’s certainly hearty enough to warrant the name.

“Many people would never associate pasta and potato, but in this case, you’re really going to have to trust me,” she writes. “This recipe has been in my family for more than 50 years, and considering that so far there’ve been two chefs in the family, it must be fantastico!”

Pancetta is important in this one; find it at Whole Foods or specialty markets.

5. Hearty Tomato Soup with Lemon and Rosemary

I love this rich tomato soup from Giada De Laurentiis for several reasons. First, the addition of cannellini beans pureed into the soup gives it both texture and hidden protein.

Second, the creme fraiche and lemon zest give it a zing! of tanginess, offsetting the sweetness of the tomatoes. And I love how streamlined it is, starting with veggies I always have around in winter (onion, carrot, garlic) and building with pantry staples, like crushed tomatoes.

What are your favorite comfort soups? We hope you stay well this flu season.

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Posted in All Recipes, Fruits & Vegetables Gift Certificates, Soup, Trends, Vegetable Recipes

Tagged Alton Brown, Anna Thomas's "Love Soup", Chicken Noodle Soup, Comfort Food, Flu season, Forkful of News, Giada De Laurentiis, Gino D'Acampo, Green Soup, Hearty Tomato Soup, Kate Whitaker, Leite's Culinaria Blog, Pasta Soup with Potatoes and Pancetta, Squash Soup, The Food Network, The Splendid Table, Winter Soups

Five Great Ham Recipes for Breakfast

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Liz King | 2 Comments

Or, what to do with all your wonderful leftover holiday ham!

I know I’m not the only one with a Tupperware taking up half of my fridge’s bottom shelf, stuffed with leftover glazed ham. Use those leftovers as inspiration and get a little protein into your morning with these five breakfasts. (Some of them are make-ahead, but all are simple.)

1. Ham and Fontina Frittata

tm1b08_frittata2_lg

Easier than an omelet but with all the same ingredients, a frittata is as simple as whisk, pour, bake. Rachael Ray keeps it simple in this recipe, which has just a few ingredients: eggs, milk, ham, cheese, and a little butter and oil for cooking.

It’s simple to add veg, too — try New York Times’ Mark Bittman’s “more vegetable less egg” frittata, which can be adapted to whatever’s in your fridge/pantry: onion, broccoli, asparagus, snap peas, tomatoes, mushrooms and more.

2. Ham and Asparagus Quiche

Photo credit: Charles Masters

Quiche is such a grand breakfast food, probably more suited to brunch than a quick run-out-the-door weekday. Started on a premade pie crust, this ham and asparagus quiche from Real Simple uses Gruyère (and four large eggs) to bring all the flavors together.

Quiche is infinitely adaptable, too, though as with the frittata, parboil or sauté the vegetables that won’t cook through in the oven. The recommendation to serve each wedge of quiche with a green salad dressed with bright vinaigrette is a smart one — the tartness of the dressing cuts through the relative heaviness of the quiche.

3. Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata

Strata is like a ham and cheese sandwich saw a tray of lasagna and decided that a casserole pan held its destiny. The sandwich ingredients (bread, ham, cheese, mustard) get bound together with eggs and a few flourishes, like rosemary and roasted red peppers.

This version, from Eating Well, gives a nod to January as get-back-on-the-treadmill month by using skim milk and fewer egg whites for “plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.”

4. Honey-glazed Ham on Sweet Potato Biscuits with Blackberry Balsamic Drizzle

Most breakfast dishes that incorporate ham into the mix use eggs as the glue. But this morning dish, from Food Network “sandwich king” Jeff Mauro, skips them in favor of buttermilk sweet potato biscuits, crunchy arugula and a sweet-spicy drizzle made with fruit preserves, serrano chile, basil and balsamic vinegar.

5. Ham, Artichoke and Potato Gratin

Making a gratin is a little like making lasagna (and both take a long time to cook, so make this one the night before). But the end result, with its lovely layers of thinly sliced potato, ham, artichokes and Comté cheese, is well worth the effort. Bruce Aidells created this recipe, using leftover or good-quality deli ham.

We wish you the best for a healthy, happy and inspired New Year!

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Posted in All Recipes, Ham Recipes

Tagged Bon Appetit, breakfast, Breakfast Strata, bruce aidells, EatingWell, Epicurious, Food Network, Ham Frittata, Ham Quiche, Ham Recipes, Jeff Mauro "Sandwich King", Mark Bittman, New York Times "Dining & Wine", Rachael Ray, Real Simple

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Five Great Ham Recipes for Breakfast

1. Ham and Fontina Frittata

2. Ham and Asparagus Quiche

3. Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata

4. Honey-glazed Ham on Sweet Potato Biscuits with Blackberry Balsamic Drizzle

5. Ham, Artichoke and Potato Gratin

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1. Ham and Fontina Frittata

2. Ham and Asparagus Quiche

3. Ham and Cheese Breakfast Strata

4. Honey-glazed Ham on Sweet Potato Biscuits with Blackberry Balsamic Drizzle

5. Ham, Artichoke and Potato Gratin

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Like this:

To Learn More or Buy…

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Follow “gThankYou! | Celebrating Work”

gThankYou! is excited to announce our free eBook,
“A Spring Ham Primer”.

Download your free copy now by clicking this link:
“Spring Ham Primer”