April 6, 2025

Tonya hosted Angelica, Mary and Angie. 

Angelica started us off with a summery shrimp ceviche. The shrimp are both poached and "cooked" in the citrus juice. It was a beautiful presentation in martini glasses and served along side tortilla chips.

We sipped on these pretty cocktails featuring prickly pear juice.  The Prickly Paloma was as delicious as beautiful. 

For our main dish we had stuffed poblano peppers. These were so good!  All the components of a meal - beef, rice, beans, vegetables - in one place. We added the extra poblano parts into the filling so nothing went to waste.  The filling is started on the stove and the peppers are finished in the oven.

Southwest Salad is what I made to accompany the stuffed peppers.  The dressing is very thick and I tossed it with the greens like you would a Cesar salad. I love a salad with corn and beans plus creamy avocado.  If making ahead, add the avocado and dressing at the last minute.

Mary brought a beautiful Berry Chantilly Cake from Whole Foods (due to a baking fail). It was wonderful and a great substitute to homemade.

I wanted to try out boozy pudding shots, as I had one recently at a friend's house, so I whipped up these banana split pudding shots.  NEXT TIME I will use half the amount of banana liqueur and taste test before adding anymore. I purchased the cute cups and spoons off of Amazon.

March 2, 2025

Carol hosted a Mardis Gras theme and her friend Yvonne and dog Jack joined us.  Laissez les bons temps rouler at Carol's!

Tonya brought a most delicious cream cheese dip. Her French Quarter Cheese Spread was both sweet with the topping and savory with garlic and onion mixed with the cheese. We could not stop eating it and I plan on serving this at my next party.

Carol served Pimm's Cup cocktails with beautiful garnish both on and in the glass.  She also had her home decorated for Mardi Gras. The cocktail was so refreshing and went down smoothly.  Beware or you'll spend the night in the cul de sac!

For our salad Angelica sliced and seasoned cucumbers for Cajun Marinated Cucumbers. I love a cucumber salad and this will be great for summer. 

Our main dish was Shrimp Creole. We served it with rice and Mary's corn cakes. Mary made two different versions and I really liked the one with the coarse ground cornmeal.

The shrimp creole was very good and tastes even better the next day. We added some Tony's seasoning for more of a kick.

To complete our meal we had two cakes:  Angie made rum cake and Yvonne's cream cheese king cake.

The rum cake was a doctored up cake mix which makes it easy breezy and bakes up to a moist pound cake like consistency.  There was also a boozy rum caramel sauce.

The king cake is a classic; cinnamon roll like with cream cheese filling and covered in a sweet glaze. It is finished with colorful sugar matching the colors of the celebration! 

January 19, 2025

Angelica hosted us on this cold, winter, day!  Carol was unable to join. However she did send a delicious cheeseball served with Triscuits! The worchestershire sauce was a star in this savory appetizer.

We shared strawberry mimosas from Aldi and J. Lohr Estates Riverstone Chardonnay.

For this cold winter day I made soup and along side I baked salted rosemary shortbreads.  I had these at a ladies lunch recently and they were addicting.  I found other recipes for these, some using only all purpose flour and some with addition of lemon, however this is the recipe I used.  I did add some ice water to help the dough come completely together.

Salted Rosemary Shortbread

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup bread flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary leaves

flaky salt for topping

Whisk flour and salt together, set aside. Cream butter, powdered sugar and rosemary together for 3 minutes. Add flour mixture and mix thoroughly, careful to not overmix.

Form dough into a log, adding ice water if needed, using plastic wrap and tap/shape into a square or rectangle while pliable.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. After 2 hours, heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice chilled dough into 1/3 inch slices and place on baking sheet lined with parchment.  Top with salt.  Cookie do not spread so can place closely. Bake 12 minutes, turning pan half way through to ensure equal browning.  Bake until lightly brown.

The carrot apple soup features roasted vegetables and sauteed onions and is blended to a smooth consistency.

Our salad, prepared by Mary, had flavors of winter with cinnamon in the dressing. Mary suggested in the future, that the balsamic should have been white (to keep from discoloring the salad) and the addition of nuts - almonds or pecans - would have added a nice crunch.

Angelica picked the most perfect comfort food dish, chicken pot pie.  Short cuts were frozen peas and carrots and a rotisserie chicken. We doubled the recipe and used all of the chicken.  Most, not me, were skeptical that the potatoes would cook to softness in the oven only and not on the stove BUT THEY DID!  Secret is to dice to the size of a pea or carrot. The crust only goes on the top and it was perfectly flaky, and Tonya did a great job making this part of the recipe. The egg wash makes the crust shiny and beautiful.

Tonya baked a pecan cobbler.  It was like a warm pillow of pecan pie.  Follow the recipe... there is lots of sprinkling and DO NOT STIR directions.  Trust the process. Served with a side of vanilla ice cream, this dessert was a perfect conclusion to our comfort food supper.

October 13, 2024

Mary hosted with a theme of "Chill of an early fall".  The queen of cocktails, Mary, started us off with spiced pear martinis.  So delicious, creative and beautiful with sugar rimmed glasses and cinnamon sticks. 

I brought an appetizer of butternut squash and mushroom tart.  I "tried" to make it healthier by serving on pita rather than buttery puff pastry and the delivery was a fail.  I realized the butter of the puff pastry probably is important to hold the toppings on. The flavors were fall with the squash and fresh rosemary and thyme.

Tonya prepared a fall salad with apples and feta.  I love the flavor combination of sweet (apples and maple syrup) and salty (feta).  I could eat this salad as a main course because it has everything and is very satisfying.

For our side was another great salad, mixed by Carol. This Pioneer Woman three bean salad is the perfect epitome of a 3 bean salad.  I know because I made one recently and it was not good. Three types of beans and a simple vinaigrette is all you need. 

Our main dish was a hearty casserole made healthy with spaghetti squash. Chicken pot pie spaghetti squash casserole was really fantastic. This is a great way to use spaghetti squash and the panko topping makes this taste decadent and sinful. It reheats very well and may even taste better day 2.

Our dessert was cranberry tart with orange whipped cream. In case the whipped cream recipe is behind a paywall it's 1/4 tsp orange zest, 1 tbs powdered sugar, 1 cup heavy cream and 2 tbsp Cointreau.  Mix all.

The tart reminds me of the holidays.  I love cooking with fresh cranberries. The tart is lightly sweet and the whipped cream and candied orange were perfect toppings. 

September 22, 2024

Tonya was our host, and it was good to be back together again, sharing our love of cooking and talking about babies!  NO!  There's no talking about babies at cooking group!

Ahem.

We were welcomed with a sweet cocktail with malibu rum. It was a perfect late summer drink. Tonya mixed orange juice, fresh lime juice, a splash of grenadine and a few glugs of dark rum and Malibu rum in a pitcher. Mix and when serving top each glass with ginger ale.

Carol had appetizer course and she shared two "healthy" dips, one featuring cottage cheese and the other Greek Yogurt.  I thought the cottage cheese one had a unique flavor (I never eat cottage cheese because of its texture and in this dip it's blended and smooth) and the yogurt ranch dip was my favorite.  Using cottage cheese and yogurt add protein and a better alternative than sour cream.

Our salad was prepared by Angelica table side and was a bean salad. Another protein and vegetable packed dish! I make this salad alot in the summertime and it can also be eaten as a dip with tortilla chips.

Tonya requested coleslaw to top her pulled pork and I delivered.  I grated carrots (whole, not baby carrots) and used a mandolin for the cabbage.  In the past I also added red cabbage and that adds sweetness that is not complimentary to the pulled pork. This recipe, which only has green cabbage, even says it's "best for pulled pork". Be careful to not make too wet with the dressing as the vegetables will produce liquid as it sits. 

The main dish was instapot pulled pork with cornbread waffles.  YUM!!  The pulled pork was fork tender and flavorful.  We removed the liquid after cooking and then added BBQ sauce. The waffles were hearty and perfect for the base of the pork and coleslaw.  Note you add the spices to the pork and let it sit so plan ahead!

For the finale was Mary's Elvis Presley cake.  SO GOOD.  It reminded me of a hummingbird cake. It was very moist and decadent.  Great ending to our feast. 

June 30, 2024

We were hosted by (new member) Carol and had a wonderful evening with a theme of summer's bounty.  Guest Sarah, Angie's niece, also was present.  

Appetizers were prepared by Angelica and were two different skewers. Prosciutto wrapped melon balls and mozzarella skewers were delicious and shared the skewer theme of the main dish. Both are a perfect, light summer appetizer. The sweet melon and salty prosciutto are a tasty combination.  

Carol had a frozen cocktail for us and she said it was from her parents and they would keep it in the freezer for when guests arrived.  It has a heavenly texture like granita, a semi frozen dessert. This drink goes down very easily so beware.  The hand written recipe is included below.  Mix all, freeze, and scrap every few hours to get the slushy texture. Start off with half the sugar and add more as desired.

For the side, Tonya brought a rice dish. This Mediterranean Rice Salad recipe was her inspiration and the add ins she used were shredded carrots, diced seedless cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, roasted corn, flat leaf parsley and red onion. Who knew you could mix all these vegetables with white rice and end up with the perfect summer side?!

The main dish was chicken and vegetable skewers with a sweet sauce. The vegetables were crispy, the pineapple sweet and lightly caramelized and the chicken juicy.  Carol did a great job manning the grill for the Hawaiian skewers. You can also cook this as a one sheet pan dish in the oven. 

I prepared two salads. I had a ton of tomatoes and needed to use those up after I had already picked another recipe from my Cast Iron Magazine.  This caprese salad was made with tomatoes and basil from my garden. My second salad was predominantly corn (that I grilled) with some pan-fried okra. The okra keeps some bite and while did seem like an odd choice, somehow works with the corn and red onions to add some earthiness.  Grilled corn is my favorite summer vegetable and I eat it weekly when on sale.

Dessert was a delightful trifle in old fashion sundae glasses. Mary made these with fresh berries, cake and pastry cream.  I loved the glasses and these large portions are always welcome when the dish is so decadent. 

May 19, 2024

 Mary hosted and we were joined by neighbors Carol and Dena.  The more the merrier!

The theme was church picnic.  Or, Mississippi church picnic if we want to get specific.

No church picnic is complete without a cocktail.  Mary mixed up these bourbon and fig jam cocktails.  YOWZA.  These are strong.  We topped with some sparking soda. 

I brought two appetizers:  stuffed peppers and DEVILED EGGS.  Again, a church classic.   

The deviled eggs were mostly pickle juice and less vinegar.  

I sprinkled the top of the peppers with some Tony's which adds both salt and heat. 

Carol prepared a very delicious and unique pasta salad.  I will definitely make this again! I love the shape of pasta used and there is a sweet though not overly mayo heavy dressing.

This layered salad recipe was modified by Tonya to have spring mix for the greens, chickpeas instead of green peas, gorgonzola as the cheese and no sugar in the dressing.  We also think half of the dressing could have been put on the top and the remainder served on the side. 

Mary picked chicken cakes as our main dish.  These are much like crab cakes with canned chicken. The panko on the outside makes such a crispy cake and very little oil was used to pan fry. The cakes were finished with a remoulade sauce.

The most beautiful cupcakes were served by Angelia for dessert.  These hummingbird cakes are banana bread meets carrot cake. Very moist and with a sweet cream cheese frosting.