Pomegranate Season

My kids LOVE pomegranates.  They look forward to pomegranate season with great anticipation and as soon as they appear in grocery stores, they are asking me to buy them.  They eat the tiny, juicy red seeds as fast as I can pull them out of the fruit. 

One of the great things about being a food blogger is participating in the Foodbuzz tastemakers program.  I get to sample all kinds of new and different foods.  As part of the program, I recently received a free bottle of Marzetti's Simply Dressed salad dressing.  There are 10 different Simply Dressed dressings to choose from and naturally I chose Pomegranate flavor.

I made a simple spinach salad with mandarin oranges, toasted almonds, pomegranate seeds and crumbled feta.  I drizzled the Pomegranate dressing over the salad and it was delicious.

I also decided to marinate some red snapper in the Pomegranate dressing.  I whisked together 1/4 cup dressing, 2 Tablespoons lime juice and 2 teaspoons of soy sauce.








I poured the marinade over the fish and topped each filet with a sprig of fresh thyme.  I let the fish marinate in the refrigerator for an hour and then baked it for 20 minutes at 375.










The fish recieved mixed reviews from my family.  I liked the subtle sweetness that the dressing gave to the snapper.  My mom thought it took something away from the fish flavor and my dad commented that it needed even more of the pomegranate sauce.   How's that for a broad range of opinions?

So bottom line - I really liked this salad dressing and I'm adding it to my grocery list for next week.  (I want to try the balsamic vinaigrette flavor too.)  I would never have guessed that it only has 60 calories and 4 1/2 grams of fat per serving.  It is full of body and flavor and left me wanting more.  Maybe it will even get my kids to eat more salads - you never know.  

I couldn't let the day go by without sharing a few more pictures of our weekend.   We had a picnic in Amacalola park yesterday with my parents and Ben's parents.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day.

Have a great Monday.
Bon Appetit!

Super sized muffins

 

This weekend we managed to fit a whole lot of activities into two and a half super jam packed, fun- filled days.  Among our Saturday activities was a trip to the pumpkin patch.   Even though it was nearly dark when we arrived, we were determined to find "the great pumpkin."

 

After much searching we came home with two beautiful pumpkins.   I can hardly wait to carve them.

I have another great pumpkin recipe for you today.
Jumbo Pumpkin Pecan Muffins from the Taste of Home Fall Baking magazine.





Jumbo Pumpkin Pecan Muffins
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cold butter


Combine first 7 ingredients. 










Combine pumpkin, eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. 

Stir into dry ingredients.  Fold in pecans.  Fill 9 jumbo paper lined muffin cups.

Combine topping ingredients with a pastry cutter.  Sprinkle over batter.  Bake 25 minutes at 375. 

 

These muffins were really tasty.  We ate some warm out of the oven and then again for breakfast on Saturday morning.  They were super moist but not at all greasy.  With all the pumpkin we've been eating lately, we are loaded up on vitamins A and C.

Before we made it to the pumpkin patch yesterday we had been to Eggotberfest and to my daughter's soccer game. 

Her team won their game 3-2 in a very tight match.  She scored 2 goals - way to go thunder foot!  After the game, we all went out for frozen custard. 

Bon Appetit!

 

Asparagus makeover

I had a request to add more side dish recipes to my blog so here is my favorite asparagus recipe.

I love asparagus but I am pretty much the only person in my house who will eat it.

Most of the time, I drizzle it with olive oil and roast it on the grill or in the oven for a few minutes.  I like my asparagus simple.




If I want to dress it up a little, I make asparagus gratin.  I served this dish to my friends along with the glazed roast chicken last Saturday. 

Asparagus Gratin
2 pounds thin asparagus       
2 Tablespoon flour
2 1/2 cups water           
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons butter           
1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese





Trim 1 1/2” from ends of asparagus.  Bring water to a boil in skillet.  Add asparagus ends and 1/4. t. salt.  Cook, covered for 5 min.

Remove asparagus ends and add asparagus to skillet.

Cover and cook 2-4 min.










Transfer to a paper towel lined baking sheet.  Pour asparagus liquid into measuring cup and reserve 1 cup.










Melt butter in skillet and add flour.

Cook 1 min.  Add reserved liquid and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 min. until thickened.  Remove from heat and whisk in 1/2 c. Parmesan and monterey jack.






Cover and let stand 5 min.  Place asparagus in baking dish and drizzle with sauce and top with remaining cheese.  Broil 6 min. until browned.

Okay, confession time - I took all of these pictures of the process of making the asparagus gratin and I FORGOT to take a picture of the finished product.  (Sometimes, I don't know what I'm thinking.)  So sorry.  You will have to imagine that the cheese gets nice and browned on top to make it look like it's a really rich and creamy gratin.  Truth is, it doesn't have the calories and fat that most gratin recipes do.  If you're a fan of asparagus, this is a great way to eat it.

Last night was homecoming. Unfortunately the football team lost but it didn't seem to put a damper on the school spirit from these two. 

Bon Appetit!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

I always find the best recipes when I'm brousing through magazines in the waiting room at the doctor's office.  I picked up the current issue of Ladies Home Journal this week when I was in the doctor's office with Ben.  There was an advertisement for McCormick spices with a recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes that looked absolutely delicious.  (I used Ben's iPhone to take a picture of the recipe so I didn't have to ask if I could take the magazine home.)  When I got home, I whipped up a batch of these cupcakes and sent them to school with my daughter.  They were REALLY easy and super scrumptious.  They weren't greasy or oily - just super moist and delicious.

Pumpkin Cupcakes
1 package yellow cake mix                                     Spiced Cream Cheese
4 serving size vanilla instant pudding                16 ounces cream cheese
1 cup canned pumpkin                                           1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup oil                                                                 2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup water                                                           1/4 teaspoon cloves
3 eggs                                                                         4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients on low until well mixed.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Spoon batter into 24 muffin cups.  Bake 20 minutes at 350.

Beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla and cloves until creamy.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar.  Frost cupcakes and decorate with candy corn.

I love the whole experience of choosing pumpkins, bringing them home, carving out faces and roasting the seeds.  Taking the kids to the pumpkin patch to choose pumpkins was on my list of things to accomplish on our Fall stay-cation last week.  Unfortunately, we never made it to the pumpkin farm - we just got too busy with other activities.   I don't think my kids get nearly as excited about choosing pumpkins as I do but they're good sports about going to the pumpkin farm anyway.  I'm hoping that we'll have some time to pick out pumpkins this weekend. 

   

Bon Appetit!

Welcome to the bar (Potato bar that is)

Every Wednesday night for the past couple of years,  I have had the privilege of spending a couple of hours with these middle and high school girls.  They're are an awesome group of teenage girls.  They are beautiful incredible girls that live out their faith everyday.  They challenge and inspire me every week. 






Wednesday night church with these girls is so much fun.  There's even a life size version of angry birds.

Since we travel 40 minutes to get to church each week, Wednesday night dinner has to be really easy to prepare and clean up so we can be there on time.  Last night's dinner - a baked potato bar! 

For some reason I always forget how much fun it is to have a potato bar when I am planning menus.  My family loves building their own potato creation for dinner. 






 I baked the potatoes in the oven for an hour. 

Then came the toppings:
shredded cheddar cheese,

broccoli,

crumbled bacon,

 green onions,

and sour cream.

This is one of the potato masterpieces.

I wish that I had some leftover turkey chili to add to the potatoes but they turned out pretty yummy anyway.  Got any great ideas for more potato toppings?  Send me a comment. 

Bon Appetit!

Wicked and a restaurant review

Have you ever been given a gift that you felt was completely undeserved?  Last week some good friends of ours, treated my daughter and I to tickets to the musical Wicked.  I was totally overwhelmed by their generous gift.  Neither one of us had seen the show and we absolutely loved it. 

As if theater tickets weren't enough, they also treated us to dinner before the show.  We ate at Baraonda in Midtown Atlanta.  (It's just a short walk from the Fox Theater.)  Dinner was fabulous. We sat outside on the patio.  It reminded me of some of the places we ate in Italy last May. 






We shared a plate of deep fried calamari with marinara sauce for an appetizer.  I ordered Fusilli Zucca for my entree.  (Butternut squash, mozzarella, amaretti and sage)  It was really good but it was very rich.  I couldn't eat very much of it because it was so rich but it was super tasty.  Butternut squash and pasta is one of my favorite combinations.








My daughter had a side of spaghetti with marinara.  A simple plate of spaghetti can really be extraordinary if the pasta is cooked well and if it's served with a truly exceptional marinara sauce.  My daughter was kind enough to let me share her spaghetti so I can honestly say that it was delicious.  The sauce was similar to the spaghetti sauce that I had in Italy, very simple and without a lot of spices. 

 





Our friends ordered a Gorgonzola salad with apples, walnuts, cranberries and lemon walnut dressing, and a plate of linguini pescatore.  They both looked fabulous.  The linguini had shrimp, clams, white wine, garlic, red chilis and cherry tomatoes.  How could you go wrong with those ingredients?







I tried to resist ordering dessert but ultimately, I gave into temptation and ordered a chocolate almond cake with a scoop of vanilla gelato.   My daughter ordered an apple tart that was also served with a scoop of gelato.  Of course I sampled mine AND hers - they were both fabulous.  Our friends ordered a tiramisu to share.  I still can't believe that I even had room for dessert but I am glad that I didn't pass it up because it was delicious. 

Thanks Ben and Tracy for dinner and the tickets. (and for photographing our dinner - you've got what it takes to be a food blogger Ben.)


Bon Appetit!