My first cooking blog!

I have been wanting to do this for a long time...but there are so many cooking blogs out there. I decided to do this for friends and family who are always asking me for recipes. I will update this blog with yummy recipes I have made during the week. I am NOT a Chef, just a good cook (or so they say), so I will share my recipes and where they came from.

I guess last night is a good place to start! We had hot dogs, potato salad and pound cake. Real healthy, eh? Actually, besides the cake, the meal was not too bad.


Hot Dogs with Grilled Cole Slaw
Food and Wine magazine

One 3-pound head of green cabbage, cut through the core into 8 wedges
Vegetable oil, for brushing
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 pickled jalapeños, seeded and minced, plus 2 teaspoons pickling liquid from the jar
10 hot dog buns, split
10 hot dogs


Light a grill. Brush the cabbage wedges with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the cabbage over high heat until charred, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a work surface. When the cabbage is cool enough to handle, finely slice it crosswise with a sharp knife.
In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the cider vinegar, jalapeños and pickling liquid. Add the shredded cabbage and toss well. Season the grilled coleslaw with salt and pepper and toss again.
Grill the hot dog buns over high heat until crisp, about 30 seconds. Grill the hot dogs over high heat, turning several times, until lightly charred and heated through, about 4 minutes. Place the hot dogs in the toasted buns, top with the grilled coleslaw and serve.

***I used light mayonnaise in this recipe and it turned out GREAT!! Very spicy, but it had a great, smoky flavor.

And who says wine does not go well with hot dogs!? A light, crisp white definitely fits the bill for these.

Warm Potato Salad with Arugula
Food and Wine Magazine

3 pounds white potatoes, scrubbed
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
5 ounces baby arugula (6 cups)

Preheat the oven to 425°. Cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch wedges. Scatter the potato wedges on 2 large rimmed baking sheets, drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss until coated. Season with salt and pepper and roast for about 25 minutes, until browned and crisp. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil with the mustard and vinegar and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the onion and arugula. Top with the dressing, toss again and serve right away.

***I added feta to this recipe, and also a little more oil, vinegar and salt because I thought it needed a little something extra. It was delicious!!

Almond Sour Cream Pound Cake
Paula Deen

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan
3 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Almond Buttercream Frosting, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a tube pan and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and sugar together and then add sour cream. Sift flour and baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture, alternately with eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add extracts and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool cake in pan for about 10 minutes and then unmold and cool completely on a wire rack. Frost cake when completely cooled.

Almond Buttercream Frosting:
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
3 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

With an electric mixer, cream butter in a large mixing bowl. Slowly beat in the sugar until smooth and creamy and sweetened to your liking (about 2 minutes). Add almond extract and stir to blend. Frost cake when fully cooled. If you are not using the frosting immediately, store it, covered, in the refrigerator and then bring it to room temperature just prior to using.

Yield: 3 cups

***I did not use the frosting for this cake. I don't like the idea of frosting with pound cake, so I made a simple glaze to go over the top. You can make a simple glaze by adding 2 C. of powdered sugar to 1/2 stick melted butter. Add 2 T. milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Add more milk if the texture is not 'pourable' over the top. Pour right on top and it will drizzle down the sides on it's own. YUMMY!!

So my first food blog DONE! YAY! Now you can see what I am cooking and if I had to add things here and there. I try new recipes all the time and I don't always like them. I will only post the recipes I *do* like. Why waste time typing out the bad ones? I will try to add pictures in the future. Bon Appetit!!