new item, new recipe

I'm loving the fact that my new job allows me time to be creative in the kitchen. I don't have the stress of preparing dinner at 11 a.m. any more.

Recently I purchased a bottle of Woods' Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup for my husband to try. Everyone once in awhile he loves to have a glass of Jack Daniel's on the rocks. I thought this maple syrup would be an interesting flavoring on Sunday morning pancakes. So this past Sunday he topped his homemade buttermilk pancakes, with a side of chicken breakfast sausage, with this syrup and enjoyed his special breakfast. I tried the maple syrup later in the week, but I couldn't taste the bourbon flavoring. Perhaps, since I'm not a bourbon drinker, I may have overlooked it. Wood's also makes other flavored maple syrups such as Ghosted Maple Syrup, Smoked Syrup (with hickory and oak) and rum barrel aged syrup. These syrups may be great additions to your weekend cocktails!

I'm all caught up on reading my Southern Living Magazines. I clipped a number of new recipes from them and one of them was pork and bok choy stir-fry. I wanted to love this recipe, but it was missing something. Since I forgot to pickup a red onion, a substituted a yellow one. The balance of the items weren't out of the ordinary, but I think the order in which the recipe had some ingredients prepared, really didn't bring out their full flavor. The garlic and fresh ginger that were called for, were added at the same time as the vegetables. The next time I try this recipe I'm going to sauté  the garlic and ginger together to bring out their full flavor. The recipe called for fresh orange juice, but I'm going to also add orange zest. To bring in some heat, I'll add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the garlic and ginger mixture. I'll also make sure I have a red onion on hand. It's a 35 minute recipe, so I was hoping this dish packed some flavor. Busy families need an arsenal of quick one pan meals for the upcoming school year.