Mother's Day

Needless to say Mother's Day has arrived. Talked to my son yesterday, who is laid up with a broken ankle. Seems he missed the last step while moving into his newly acquired home and really did some bad damage to the ankle. It hurts to even think about it.
Anyway I have read all the different blogs about what to do on this great day. No, I am not cooking as I deserve a treat. The local restaurants and casinos will all have great menus to entice me. So I will have a great choice whether to go with buffets or be waited upon which I do like the latter best. We have one particular place that serves excellent catfish like I have never had elsewhere. It is here in Ocean Springs so I may head that way. Or go to a casino for their buffet with Alaskan king crab. Oh such a decision. They do have excellent desserts, tho.
I do wish, however, that my son and family were here to go with me but that's life. I am not one to back off from going it alone. Sobeit.
A Happy Mother's Day to all those who celebrate.

Find good eating in Chicago

I was reading quite a discussion on Chicago and its notable foods. Very interesting being as I lived there for most of my early life. Hot dogs and deep-dish pizza are the in-foods today but I feel this might be for those visiting the city. Another additon is the Italian beef sandwich. We are such a diverse city it really is too bad to limit food selections. When I visit I certainly do not limit to these 2 selections. Being from the South Side I have such a variety to choose from like Italian, German, Greek, Polish, Chinese, really anything. This is true anywhere you are in the city. My family has lived there so long they have their favorites when it comes to going out for a meal. One for bbq ribs, pizza or a good steak. I usually check with them as to the latest find. If I have time I like german food at Ann Sather's. The bbq rib places are all good but I like The Patio and Luther's. I have noticed that buffet restaurants are not as plentiful. There is a good beef sandwich at Gyro's in Tinley and a great ice cream place at 193rd and Harlem. Check around before you end up at a fast food place. If you want to find a good place to eat, just ask one of the local folks.

May has finally arrived

So glad that May has finally arrived. Except now we are getting some high heat which is really early. Oh yes, Mother's Day is in 2 weeks. So I hope you are thinking already how and what you are going to do to make Mom's Day.

If she likes chocolate, I found a fantastic site on BHG with lots of chocolate recipes. Now the one I gave you is a slideshow for brownies. Surely you should be able to find something here that Mom would just love to eat. I was amazed as to how many variations they came up with. Somewhere in this maze they also have recipes for cakes and other sweets.
If you like to watch the Food Network, try to catch the Barefoot Contessa. She cooks down home style like Paula Deen with foods you may just already have in the house. I am interested in one of her books called "Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again". It came out last October and the title alone intrigued me.
Do you like fresh, baked bread? The aroma is terrific. If you said yes, HERE is a step by step process. Once you start making this bread, you won't even want everyday white bread. I guar-an-tee it.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE

Just browsing today and found a few recipes for Easter morning breakfast. At CRISCO.COM they had a braided, bread roll which looked really good. You would probably want to make it today as it used yeast. At TASTE OF HOME there was sticky buns or hot cross buns using a can of biscuits as the base. A quicky recipe without using yeast. As far as preparing Easter dinner, ham and lamb is the fare with asparagus on the side. I picked up my asparagus yesterday, so I am ready. Go to all your favorite food sites and you can find many great ideas. I got most of my ideas at MOM'S MENU mainly because the recipes are so homey(just like MOM used to make.) One idea I found there was for a CARROT CAKE which is one of my favorites. I decided to make cupcakes from the recipe. That way I can freeze them and have them as a treat now and them.
Happy Easter and enjoy your day where ever you spend your meal.

DON'T MESS WITH OUR CHOCOLATE

I am a chocoholic, I admit it and like it just the way it is. But it looks like the FDA is trying to make changes in the definition of Chocolate according to info at the Candy Blog. Check it out and see what you can do to let the FDA know how you feel. You can link to the dontmesswithourchocolate site to spread the word.

HOLY WEEK STARTS SOON LIKE TOMORROW

I have been looking at many food blogs for a few weeks now and so much is centered around Easter. I am not into coloring eggs, peeps, chocolate bunnies, etc. but I love the candies that are available. Naturally I love all chocolate but I dearly love the malted milk balls with their candy coatings. So I got two bags this year one with minis and then the bigger Whopper. Yummy is a good word for them. I really need to get another bag before Easter is over and they pull them off the shelves.
All the standard food sites like BHG, Sunset, Bisquick, Pillsbury, Martha White, etc. have interesting menus mostly using lamb and ham as the main course with fresh green asparagus spears.
MW had Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings, The Crescent City Skillet, Buttermilk Chess Pound Cake, and Mom's Apple Cobbler.
One interesting site is Mom's Menu Kitchen that covers various cooking ideas from the main meal to desserts. Sign up for her weekly newsletter email which always has interesting choices and Easter will be just as enjoyable. You can find a good Carrot Cake here with cream cheese frosting.
I have been looking for a recipe for a Lamb or Bunny Cake which usually is a pound cake made in a mold but have not found anything yet. If anyone has something like that, I would love to hear from you. Next week I am going to search out the food blogs for what they have to offer for Easter. If you have some favorites, email me and I will add them to my blog. Thanks for coming.

MARCH CAME IN LIKE A LION

Woke up this morning with a really bad sinus infection and am prepared from last time. Only bad thing is my right ear is really hurting. Oh well, just deal with it.
Came across an interesting recipe on Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies. Quite a title! Not sure if she made these herself(which I doubt). There are two sites that carry the recipe whereby the ingredients are very different and naturally the taste is different. Check out the two--recipesfrom4everykitchen and cdkitchen . The former calls for cinnamon and instant coffee and the latter does not. Very unusual to say the least. I am just wondering where the tribute part comes in to play here. Brownies are my favorite to make and eat so I will let you know what I find out.
I did order a new cookbook on baking. The name is Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I read about her background and the recipes in this book and figured it would be a great addition to my books. The recipes are not overwhelming as to ingredients and easy to prepare. You can read more about this book, the author and recipes at the blog iliketocook I thought it very interesting how many of the recipes were farmed out to various cooks to test.
We are going to treat ourselves in 2007. Yes, a few of us are going to Emeril's restaurant in New Orleans. I checked out the menu(no prices) and it is has a good variety. Seems his Signature Dishes are recommended-- the New Orleans BBQ Shrimp — and Banana Cream Pie with Banana Crust and Caramel drizzles for dessert. Both items appealed to me, so we shall see.