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I love to both cook and eat! My morning breakfast consists of low-fat Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries or blueberries and granola. Sometimes I munch on the granola when I’m hungry; this isn’t good. I store my Christmas cookies in our front storage attic where its dry and cold, thereby keeping them fresh longer. If you want a cookie, you’ll have to work for it. As of this week, I finished the granola. Breakfast will either be cereal or yogurt with fruit. I have reduced my cookie intake to one, or sometimes two cookies per day. I snacking on Honeycrisp apples when I desire something sweet.
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This past weekend I had a craving for risotto and recently caught an episode of America’s Test Kitchen where Elle Simone Scott demonstrated an easier method for making shrimp risotto; constant stirring wasn’t required.
 
For the recipe you’ll need 1-pound extra-large shrimp, table salt, vegetable oil, water, whole black peppercorns, bay leaves, unsalted butter, an onion, a fennel bulb, baking soda, minced fresh garlic, Arborio rice, dry white wine, Parmesan cheese, minced fresh chives, lemon zest and lemon juice. ​

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A few weeks ago on public broadcasting, 177 Milk Street aired an episode on focaccia. What is focaccia? In Italy it’s considered a street food, a flat bread made with a dough similar to pizza. Focaccia can either be sweet or savory. The version Milk Street demonstrated was savory. The focaccia was topped with green Castelvetrano and grape tomatoes. The dough has a high ratio of water to flour, which makes the focaccia light and airy.
 
For the recipe you will need bread flour, yeast, granulated sugar, water, olive oil, grape tomatoes, Castelvetrano olives, dried oregano, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. You will also need an extra-large bowl in which the dough will rise.
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This past week, I made several wonderful recipes. Prep times ranged from a quick 15 minutes, an hour and one recipe that took over 5 hours. More about the last one later this week.
 
I already have a few beef stir fry recipes, however, in the September 2022 issue of “Southern Living Magazine,” they offered an easy to prepare Beef-and-Broccoli Stir-Fry that took approximately 15 minutes. For the recipe you’ll need beef broth, soy sauce, light brown sugar, sesame oil, cornstarch, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, canola or neutral oil, fresh broccoli florets, boneless sirloin and cooked hot white rice.
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​The year ended on a flavorful note. A neighbor shared some Ruby Red grapefruits he received as a gift. While you can eat the grapefruits as is, my husband found an interesting recipe in the December 2022/January 2023 issue of “Garden and Gun Magazine” for Easy Winter Grapefruit Salad. It’s from Chef Aaron Bludorn of Houston, Texas of the restaurant Bludorn. For the recipe you’ll need one fennel bulb, sea salt, olive oil, one lemon, 2 grapefruits, capers, oil-cured black olives, fresh parsley, mint leaves, fennel pollen and bottarga.
 
Unfortunately, I was unable to located the fennel pollen or bottarga. The recipe suggested substituting ground fennel seed in place. I also left the mint out as a taste preference. Overall, the salad was quite easy to prepare. The grapefruit needs to be peeled and segmented. I recommend a sharp knife for this task. 
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​Sometimes I prepare so many new and exciting recipes, that we never have them twice.
 
As it’s been so cold the past few days, I would like to suggest a Broccoli and Arugula Soup. This recipe was found in the January 2022 issue of “Charleston Magazine.” The soup was thick and creamy despite there being no cream in the soup. Both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
 
Some of the best recipes from 2022 came from The New York Times/NYT Cooking. One such recipe is Kay Chun’s Korean Cheeseburgers with Sesame-Cucumber Pickles. These are not your parents’ cheeseburgers. The burgers are flavored with soy sauce, scallions, garlic, pepper and sugar. They’re served with a mayonnaise dressing flavored with the same ingredients as the burgers plus toasted sesame oil. These burgers were incredible. I also made Ali Slagle’s Chicken Parm Burgers that were fabulous. Between the aromatic basil, the intensity of the tomato paste, these burgers were packed with flavor. 
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I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa holiday. I’m late with this post, however, I feel with New Year’s Eve on the heel of Christmas these two recipes will be great for the upcoming weekend.
 
After baking numerous batches of Christmas cookies, I had the desire to try a recipe that I’ve had in my possession for years from the Penzeys Spice catalogue, Crispy Cheese Crackers. I wasn’t in charge of Christmas dinner, but my son-in-law requested that I bring appetizers and a salad. I thought these crackers would be a wonderful to nibble on.​
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UPDATE December 17, 2022 -
I just baked off my Gingerbread Latte Cookies, what a delicious cookie. I loved the coffee/gingerbread flavor. They are a little chewy, but I'm curious to see how they taste tomorrow.

I followed the directions in Vreeland Vaughn's recipe and they came out just as he described. I only prepared half the amount of sugar coating, which was sufficient. I also, used my cookie scooper, which was not a full two tablespoons as he suggested, but the size was perfect. This is a wonderful recipe and a delightful change. A wonderful accompaniment with your favorite hot beverage.
 
I am a subscriber to The New York Times and part of that subscription give me access to their webpage NYT Cooking. I love the variety of contributors to their website as well as the variety of recipes that they showcase.


One of their contributors is Eric Kim, who is a NYT staff writer. One of his recent recipes that caught my eye was for Gochujang Caramel Cookies. It just so happened I had gochujang in my refrigerator and was curious as to what they would taste like. For the recipe you’ll need unsalted butter, dark brown sugar, gochujang, granulated sugar, an egg, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, baking soda and all-purpose flour. Just a suggestion, I recommend that you click here for a video demonstration by Eric Kim as I found it helpful in making the cookies.
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​Chicken Stroganoff
By Ham El-Waylly
The New York Times/NYT Cooking
 
Serves: 4
Time: 35 minutes
 
“This Brazilian stroganoff is a riff on the classic Russian-American beef, mushroom and sour cream stew that was considered peak haute cuisine in the United States during the 1950s. In Brazil, stroganoff is often made with beef, chicken or shrimp, but with a tomato base and heavy cream instead of sour cream. The biggest difference is in the accompaniments: The stew is served with rice and topped with crispy potato sticks. Do not omit the crunchy potato; it may be a garnish, but it is essential. If sticks are hard to find, replace them with lightly crushed chips.”
 
Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound button mushrooms, wiped clean and cut into quarters
Kosher salt
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
1 cup heavy cream
1-pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 cup tomato purée or passata
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For my birthday one year, my daughter gave me a tee shirt that read on the back “Sheet Pan Everything;” I still do. Recently, I found on the website Half-Baked Harvest a recipe for Sheet Pan Sticky Ginger Soy Chicken and Broccoli. This was a perfect meal for me to prepare on Saturday evening as we were babysitting our 1-year-old grandson. I was able to get everything on the sheet pan before he arrived and just pop it in the oven.
 
For the recipe you’ll need chicken breasts or thighs, broccoli florets, honey, ketchup, tamari or soy sauce, pomegranate juice (or orange juice), fresh garlic, fresh ginger, chili flakes, jasmine rice for serving and for optional garnishing, sliced green onion and pomegranate.


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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