#11. Chocolate Strawberry Panini

When I saw Giada did
this
one day on TV,
I knew I have to try it.
This is so simple to make,
no written recipe is needed.
But if you insist,
you can find it
on the Food Network website.
I did change it up a bit..
by using butter instead of a butter cooking spray
-I'm too lazy to get one..
and of course,
powdered sugar is always welcome
on a dessert.

I started off with 2 slices
of pound cake.
You can make your own...
like the honey vanilla pound cake recipe
I posted,
or use ready made ones...
like Sara Lee.
Spread some hazelnut chocolate spread...
Nutella is the best!!!
And add on the thinly sliced strawberries.
If you dont have a panini maker,
dont sweat.
You can use a grill pan
or even a regular ol' pan.

Spread a bit of room temperature butter
on the grill side of the pound cake.
Grill the panini
and sprinkle some powdered sugar on it
when you are done.
Voila!!
Delicious!

#10. Szechuan Chicken & Bok Choy Stir Fry

As I mentioned earlier,
one of my New Year's resolutions
is to cook healthier
as I'm trying to lose some weight.
And be healthy
of course.
As you can tell from
my honey vanilla pound cake,
that's not the case so far.
But I tried.
That counts, right?

So,
in attempt to be healthier,
I bought 2 cookbooks.
Weight Watchers in 20 minutes,
and the New Complete Weight Watchers book.
In my opinion,
the later is the better book.
But who can resist cooking in 20 minutes?

The first recipe
I tried from
Weight watchers in 20 minutes
is their Szechuan chicken and bok choy stir fry.
I love chicken.
Love bok choy.
Stir fry?
I'm there.
In 20 minutes?
Where's the recipe?

The first thing I noticed
from the recipe is there's no salt and pepper.
Whaaaat!!!!
No garlic??
Whaaaat!!!!
So, I added them.
And no,
it didnt take me 20 minutes to get
this recipe done.
Trimming the fats off the chicken thighs,
took me a good 10 minutes!!!

The dish is a bit spicy,
and good.
It doesnt wow me though.
But hey,
no complaints.
For 394 calories per serving,
(including 1/2 cup of rice)
I shouldnt complain much.

Recipe taken and adapted from Weight Watchers in 20 mintues

1 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs, trimmed
and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 pound baby bok choy
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 scallions, cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup Szechuan stir fry
1/3 cup orange juice
Salt
Pepper

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a nonstick wok or
large deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat.
When the oil is hot, add in the chicken and stir fry
until just cooked through, about 6 minutes.
Transfer to a plate, set aside.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the wok
and set over high heat.
Add the bok choy, garlic, bell pepper and scallions;
stir fry until the boy choy is crisp tender,
4-5 minutes.
Return the chicken to the pan, and add the stir fry sauce
and orange juice;
stir fry until heated through, about 1 minute.
Serve with rice.

Failed Recipes

I started this blog to record
and share recipes that
I tried.
Most turned out pretty good
and
were successful.
Some,
not many,
failed me.
And
I will try to "fix" it
as best as I could.
But as you all know,
a bad recipe
sometimes,
can't be fixed.

One of the recipes that failed
was
Rachael Ray's Oven Baked Corn Dogs.
I should've read the reviews online
before attempting them.
Unfortunately,
I have her cookbook
and wanted to give the recipe a go,
without doing any online research.

On paper,
oven baked sounds fabulous.
I should've known better
that it won't work.
The batter literally slips off the dogs.
I even dip them in flour first,
but alas,
FLUKE!
It's delicious but a corn dog is not a corn dog
without a crisp batter around it.
Sorry.

The next one,
I tried...again from Rachael Ray,
is her Sloppy Hot Wing Joes.
Now,
I love Sloppy Joes.
I love Hot Wings.
I love blue cheese.
That's why I thought I gave this recipe a shot.
Now,
the sauce is delicious
and some people might find this awesome.
But I can't get over
the taste of ground chicken,
with hot sauce and blue cheese.
It's not for me.
It probably be better if ground chicken
is substitute it with skinless chicken breasts,
breaded in bread crumbs.
Maybe.
I have to experiment and try that instead.


And lastly,
samosas.
I know.
I know.
It doesnt look like one.
That's where I failed.
The filling is DELICIOUS
but I didnt understand Rachael's instructions
on how to fold the samosas.
I should've done it my way
but since I didnt want to waste an otherwise great recipe,
I turned my samosas
into some sort of empanadas/epok-epok.
It works.
And they are divine.
Not to mention, healthier than the fried ones.

In Rachael Ray's defense,
most of her recipes are simple, fast,
casual, delicious
and great for the home cooks.
But some,
needs some fine tuning.


Here's the recipe for the samosas...
Maybe you understand her instructions better.

Recipe taken and adapted from The Big Orange Book.

Ingredients
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
Salt
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 - 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and stem removed, finely chopped
1/2 inch peeled and grated fresh gingerroot
1 garlic clove, grated or minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds or ground coriander
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Black Pepper
1 plum tomato, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable stock
All purpose flour, for rolling dough
1 package (2 9 inch rounds) refrigerated ready made pie dough
1 egg, beaten with a splash of water

Preheat oven to 400F.

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender,
about 5-7 minutes.
Drain and reserve in the same pot you cooked them in.

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Then add the jalapeno, ginger, garlic, coriander, curry powder, cumin,
allspice, cinnamon, and salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes longer.
Stir in the drained potatoes, tomato and peas and cook for another minute.
Stir in enough of the stock to moisten the mixture, then remove it from the heat
and let cool.

On a lightly floured surface, unroll the pie dough.
Cut each dough round into 8 equal wedges, like a pizza.
Spoon 1 tablespoon of the potato filling onto the middle of each wedge.
Brush the edges of the dough with the egg wash, and fold up,
bringing the 3 points together over the filling, then pinching at
the seams to form a small pyramid.
Transfer to a baking sheet and brush the samosas with the egg wash.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Restaurant Review: Bali Cafe

My friend, Shelly
and I
went to an Indonesian restaurant
down in Miami
on Friday nite.
This restaurant was recommended by
another friend of mine,
Zee,
and as far as we know,
it's the only Indonesian food
available in South Florida.

Now,
growing up in a Malay home (from Singapore),
our cuisine
is almost similar to Indonesian cuisine.
We might call it by different
names
by it's almost the same.
The restaurant that we went to
was called
Bali Cafe.
It' a small restaurant,
something like a little hole
in a corner,
and sits only about 30 people.

Shelly had never tasted Indonesian cuisine,
so I thought
for our night out,
we went to this restaurant.
It's easy to find,
for those living in South Florida.
Surprisingly,
the restaurant wasn't crowded at all,
considering
it's a Friday night.
I was expecting more people
and had made reservations.

Anyway,
we ordered the
rijsttafel,
which for US$17.95 per person was a pretty
good price
for loads of food for 2 people.
We started off with miso soup.
Why miso soup in an Indonesian restaurant?
I dont know.
I dont like it.
Shelly did.
Then, followed by a superb salad,
comprises of shredded lettuce, beets, carrots, tofu
all tossed in a sesame dressing
and topped with peanuts.
YUMMY!
The vegetables are so fresh.
I usually dont eat salads in restaurants
(I dived straight into my entrees).
BUT, their salad is to die for.
After we had our salad,
the waitress brought us
chicken spring rolls and steamed shrimp cakes,
dipped in satay peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce.
HEAVENLY!

For our entrees,
we had beef rendang,
fish (looks like snapper) in some coconut milk gravy (lemak),
ayam opok (I think that's what it's called),
chap chye,
sambal ikan bilis (chilli anchovies) with peanuts,
pickled vegetables
and shrimp crackers (keropok).
It was DELICIOUS.
Now, the fish was kinda bland,
but the coconut milk gravy helps the dish.
Having not eaten beef rendang
since the last time I went back to Singapore (2007),
it was pretty good.
I wish that it's spicier
but overall, really good.
We were happy with our foods.
It was a lot of food
and we had to unbutton our pants,
but gosh...
divine.
Reminds me of home.

I dont have a lot of gripes or
critics about this place.
I dont enjoy the miso soup.
They could go away with that.
And the dessert too,
which was es campur...
lychee and some green gel-o.
Not my fave.
And I wish they have unlimited rice.
Our dinner came with a bowl of rice each.
Now,
for 2 greedy Asian girls,
this is not enough.
We had to ask for extra bowls
and that cost us about US$3 each.

And the other thing I'm not pleased about,
but I understand they did it
to attract more customers who may not be familiar with their cuisine,
is they serve sushi.
Seriously!
Sushi in an Indonesian restaurant?
It's quite sad that they had to do
that to attract customers.
And yeah,
the American customers sitting next to our table,
ordered sushi.
Bali Cafe might have the best sushi
around,
but you dont go to an Indonesian restaurant
to experience sushi.
You go there to experience
Indonesian cuisine.
There are a lot of sushi places here in South Florida
and only
1 Indonesian restaurant.
Go figure.
I wish more Americans are adventurous enough
and step out of their comfort zones
and try this little restaurant,
which received a lot of good reviews.

We will definately go there again.
Have to.
To satisfy my Beef Rendang cravings.
:D

#7. Honey Vanilla Pound Cake

I LOVE pound cakes.
I think it reminds me of
growing up
in Singapore.
My parents used to buy
Sara Lee's pound cakes
for us to eat
as desserts or snacks.
We love the chocolate one,
the swirl
and of course,
the plain ol' pound cake.
There's always a foil pan of
Sara Lee's cakes in our refrigerator.
And mom would always
sliced them in the pan,
so that we could get it
ourselves
when we want one.

Now
that I'm all grown up,
I made my own pound cake.
Trust me,
homemade pound cake
always taste better than Sara Lee's.
I've always used
Paula Deen's
Grandma Paul's Sour Cream Pound Cake recipe
for years.
It's divine.
However,
that all changed.
I discovered Ina Garten's
Honey Vanilla Pound Cake recipe.
Which one reigns supreme?
Well,
I love these 2 ladies
but I have to say,
Ina's is so much better.
It doesnt taste as rich as Paula's.
And I think the lemon zest
just perk the flavors of the pound cake
up.
Delicious!
I almost lick the batter off the bowl.
Sickening, eh?

I will still make Paula's pound cake now and again.
But I'm happy with Ina's now.

A few notes:
Ina loves to use extra large eggs in her baking recipes.
Extra large eggs weigh about 27oz per dozen.
Read this
if you want to know how many large eggs are needed
to substitute for extra large eggs.
In this case, it's 5 large eggs.

Cool room temperature butter -
sit the butter out at room temperature
for one hour to achieve
cool room temperature.

My pound cake didnt set
at the required baking time.
So, at the 55th minute
I put foil on top of my pan,
and bake it for 15 minutes longer.
In total, it took my cake 70 minutes
to be ready and done.

And if your cake cracks,
dont panic.
It's ok.
Ina's pound cake cracks too (from her cookbook pictures).


Recipe taken from Back to Basics.

1/2 pound(2 sticks) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 extra large eggs; at room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease the bottom of an 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 inch loaf pan.
Line the bottom with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,
cream the btuter and sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until light.
Meanwhile, put the eggs, honey, vanilla and lemon zest in a glass
measuring cup but do not combine.
With the mixer on medium low speed, add the egg mixture,
one egg at a time, scraping down the bowl and allowing each egg to
become incorporated before adding the next egg.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder.
With the mixer on low speed, add it slowly to the batter
until just combined.
Finish mixing the batter with a rubber spatula and pour it into the
prepared pan. Smooth the top.
Bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool for 15 minutes, turn out onto a baking rack,
and cool completely.

#6. Aglio Olio

I LOVE Aglio Olio.
I can eat this dish
for months,
as is.
However,
most restaurants that
I've been to
always make it too bland.
Not enough garlic.
Not enough seasoning.
Just some pasta
toss in olive oil,
with very little garlic or seasoning..
if any.
Uhmm...
Yikes!

I love my aglio olio
with tons of garlic.
Lots of chilli flakes,
although at times,
I have to tone that down
so that my kids wont burn their tongues
from the heat.
And the secret ingredient?
Anchovies.
Yum!
Anchovy fillets gave the dish
the saltiness it needed.
It's divine.
That's the only way I'll eat my
Aglio Olio now.
Without it,
it just tastes like pasta
toss in
olive oil.

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray.

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more...according to your taste)
1/4 - 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 anchovy fillets
A handful fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cook pasta until it's al dente. Drain.
In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil.
Cook garlic and pepper in until it speaks.
Add anchovies and stir them in oil with a wooden spoon until it disappears.
Toss drained pasta into the pan.
Coat the pasta evenly with the garlic, oil and anchovies.
Add parsley and black pepper.
Toss and taste.
Adjust salt and pepper, according to your taste.

#5. Honey Mustard Chicken Pockets

This recipe came about
one day,
when I was trying to figure out
what to cook.
Initially,
I wanted to make taco pockets
but
I ran out of ground beef
and was too lazy
to run to the store.

So,
I took a look in my fridge
to see what I got
and
voila!

For this recipe,
I used leftover roasted chicken.
You can use grilled chicken breast,
rotisserie chicken...
whatever you got in hand.


2 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1.5 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt
Pepper

2 lettuce leaves shredded
4 Tortilla Wraps

Combine the chicken, cranberries and pecans. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine the mayonnaise, honey, mustard and lemon juice. Whisk them together.
Toss the dressing with the chicken mixture until evenly combined.
Season with salt and pepper.

Warm up your tortilla wraps in the microwave for about 20-25 seconds.
Put some of the lettuce leaves in the middle of the tortilla,
followed by about 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken.
Fold the bottom part of the tortilla wrap around the chicken,
followed by the left and right sides of the tortilla.
Finish it off by folding the tortilla towards the upper part.
You'll now have a somewhat "square pocket".
Using a knife, cut the pocket diagonally,
creating 2 triangle pockets.

Recipe #4: Popiah Kentang (Potato Spring Roll)

I dedicate this recipe
to my high school friends
from Singapore,
Crescent Girls' School.
For
because of them,
I'd made close to 800 of
these spring rolls
during my 4 years
there.
Yes.
800.
I'm not kidding.
I rolled everyone of these
suckers.

Every year,
at my school,
we had class parties
for Teachers' Day
and Children's Day.
And every time,
I was the designated spring roll
maker.
What food can Sri bring to the parties?
Popiah kentang, of course!
100 of them each time.
So much so that,
I can be called the Popiah girl.

Now,
I dont know how this popiah came about.
I remembered the first year we
had a class party,
I asked my mom what she could make
for me to take to class.
And she suggested making these spring rolls.
I never had them before.
Nor seen my mom made it.
But I trusted her.
And boy,
was it a success!
It was really good.
Where she got the recipe,
I didnt know.
Like I said earlier,
I hadn't had it anywhere else.
This could be one of her concoctions.

I remembered waking up at 5 in the morning,
to make these for school.
Growing up,
I didn't cook AT ALL.
But I dutily wake up at 5
to help her peel the spring roll wrappers
and roll them.
I became really good at it.
The first couple of times,
mom was enthusiastic.
But after that,
she got quite annoyed.
"WHAT!!! Spring rolls AGAIN???
Is there nothing else we can do??"
*nag, nag, grumble, grumble*
But she still did it.

After I graduated from Crescent,
I never made these EVER AGAIN.
Neither did my mom.
I think 800 of these are enough to last
a lifetime.

So,
to my friends,
thanks for the memories.

This makes about 24 pieces.

Ingredients:
2.5-3 pounds Russet or Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 garlic cloves, grated
3/4 cup fried onions *I used French's. Mom used fried shallots.*
3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
Salt
Pepper

1 egg, beaten
A 50 sheets pack of 4-5 inch spring roll wrappers.
(If you could only find the big sheets, you could use them,
but you'll yield lesser spring rolls.)

Canola oil, for frying.

Place the potatoes in a large pot of salted water,
and boil them till fork tender.
Drained water and return the potatoes to the hot pot.

Now, you can mashed the potatoes with a masher but
I use a food processor instead.
Add in the garlic, the fried onions and parsley.
And season it with salt and pepper, according to your taste.

Let the potato mix cool a bit before rolling it
in the spring roll wrappers.
Put about a teaspoon (more if you are using the big spring roll wrappers)
onto the wrapper and roll it according to the package.
Brush a bit of the egg at the ends of the wrapper to seal it.

Fry the spring rolls for about 2-3 minutes.

Recipe #3: Beef Ghoulash

I've made beef ghoulash several
times before.
Mostly with a tomato sauce based.
Beef ghoulash to me,
is basically beef
tossed with different kinds of veggies
and pasta or noodles.
In Singapore,
we just call it
beef macaroni.
Or something like that.
It's the same thing actually.

This recipe uses sour cream instead.
And since I'm curious on how
it tasted like,
I gave it a shot.

It's smoky
because of the cumin
in the recipe.
Creamy
but still delicious.
I like it.
So did my family.
Recipe taken and adapted from Rachel Ray's 365 No Repeats.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground sirloin beef
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
black pepper
salt
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
3 celery, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound macaroni, cooked al dente

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.
Add the extra virgin olive oil, then add the ground sirloin
and break it up with a wooden spoon.
Season the beef with paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and thyme.
When the beef is browned, add the onions, carrots and celery.
Season the veggies with a bit of salt and pepper.
Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the red bell peppers
and cook for another 2 minutes.
Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the stock and combine.
Stir in the sour cream and simmer mixture over low heat.

Toss together with the macaroni.

Recipe #2. Chicken Shepherd's Pie

Brrr...
What's the use of doing
365 recipes
when I can't even update my
blog regularly.
365 recipes means
365 days of blogging.
Eeeek...

Anyway,
my second recipe is
Chicken Shepherd's Pie.
Now,
this is a twist of Shepherd's Pie
and I honestly,
like this one better.


This is also the first time
I'm using boursin cheese,
and it's absolutely
delicious.
If you can't find boursin cheese,
season the mashed potatoes
with garlic and herbs.
And probably add some
cream cheese or sour cream.
Enjoy!
This is absolutely delicious.

*I substitute the white wine in the recipe
with extra chicken stock.
I also didnt add any tarragon leaves coz
I couldnt find any at the store.
I also added mozarella cheese on top of the
potatoes.


Recipe taken from Rachael Ray's Orange Book.

2 1/2 to 3 pounds Idaho potatoes,
peeled and cut into chunks
Salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 pounds chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch dice
Black Pepper
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1 small bunch scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 sprigs tarragon leaves, removed and chopped,
about 2 tablespoons
1 5oz package soft and garlic herb cheese, such as Boursin
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup milk or chicken stock, enough to loosen the potatoes
Paprika for garnish

Preheat the broiler, place an oven rack at the center of the oven.

Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water.
Bring to a boil, salt the water and cook until tender; 12-15 minutes
While the potatoes are cooking, place a skillet over medium high heat
with about 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
Add the chicken, season it with salt and pepper and cook until golden brown
and cooked through, about 6-7 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pan to a casserole dish,
add a drizzle of oil to the pan, then add the carrots, peas and scallions.
Season the veggies with salt and pepper and cook until tender, about 2 minutes.
Scoot the vegetables over one side and melt in the butter.
Sprinkle the flour over the butter and cook for about 1 minute, stirring.
Whisk in the white wine, cook 1 minute, then whisk in the chicken stock
and cook for 1 minute to thicken.
Season the sauce with mustard and tarragon the salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the sauce and vegetables over the chicken in the casserole and
combine.

Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot, then mash with the herb
and cheese, egg yolks, parsley,milk or chicken stock; salt and epper.
Spread the potatoes over the chicken in the casserole dish.

Put the dish under your broiler until the top is golden brown, 3-5 minutes.
Garnish with paprika.

Recipe #1: Falafel

I promised to try out
1 recipe a day.
And as expected,
I'm already behind.
No worries.
I'll try to catch up.
*yeah right!*

I made these a few days ago.
Never made them before
in my life
but hey,
this recipe by Guy Fieri,
seems easy enough.
And boy,
was it good.
I did make a few mistakes.
Instead of grinding the ingredients
coarsley,
I accidentally grind them too fine,
and it became mushy.
However,
I added a bit more flour,
and chilled the mixture overnite
and it improved slightly.
Next time,
I know better!

It was still awesome though.
The outside was crusty and crunchy,
and the inside of the falafel,
is soft and melts right in my mouth.
Yum!

Anyway,
I did make a few changes
to the recipe.
I omitted the cilantro
in the falafel and yogurt sauce
as I'm not
too fond of cilantro.
And added about 1 tablespoon of honey
to the yogurt sauce,
to make it sweeter.
Hey,
dont question me.
That's how I roll!

Enjoy!!

The Best of 2008

As you all know,
I'm always trying to find
the perfect recipe.
Well,
not anymore
for foods
like macaroni and cheese
and
green beans.
I've tried many different
recipes
and I think
I find the best one
suited for my liking.

For macaroni and cheese,
I LOVE chef Joe's
Baked Macaroni and Cheese.
I dont know why it doesnt make the cut
on the Food Network top recipes
for the year
coz it's definately better than
Paula's Macaroni and Cheese
or Giada's.
I have to admit that I haven't try
Alton Brown's Baked Macaroni and Cheese,
voted the best recipe for the year.
I'm not too sure about the onions in that recipe.
Hmmm..
I might have to try it one day!!

And since the hubby loves
green beans,
let me assure you that I have tried
many, many different kinds of beans
and they always fall short
to his liking.
Except for
Rachael Ray's Green beans with fried onions
and almonds.
That's our favorite.
THE BEST!
However,
it has to be eaten fresh
coz it'll turn soggy and all messy.
Not good.

And if you are looking for the best
carrot salad,
look no further than
Ina Garten's Carrot Salad.
Hers is so good.
I dont like to eat my carrots raw
however,
this is the only dish
that I actually eat them raw.
Delicious!


Anyway,
my challenge for 2009
is to try 365 new recipes.
Possible you think?
I'm gonna give a shot.
Wish me luck!