I could really appreciate John’s post (from the Bartolini kitchens) about grilling swordfish knee deep in snow. As a life long New Englander, a little snow doesn’t stop me my husband from grilling when I’ve got a craving for a juicy barbecued steak. You all heard about Nemo, “the big one” that hit us a month ago but you probably didn’t hear about the 6″ that dropped a week later. You most likely weren’t paying attention either when our forecasters went nuts screaming about a huge storm last week. It was supposed to start Wednesday night and continue on all day Thursday. Sigh…I changed an appointment from Thursday to Friday assuming everything would be cleared by then. I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or mad when I woke up to a pathetic snow flurry that just spit all day leaving not much of anything. Assuming we’d dodged our final winter bullet, I wanted to cry when I got up to this on FRIDAY morning:
Yes, that would be another foot plus of snow. It looks pretty (for a couple of hours) until you get that barbecued steak craving that I was talking about. At which point you let the dog make a path to the grill, and like John, put a hat on yourself (and your dog if you’re getting a little cabin fever)….
And grill up a steak, then smother it in mushrooms sauteed in butter (I know it’s hard to see but there is a steak under there):
Not a great picture and certainly not “the money shot” that Trixfred30 over at Happiness Stan is always looking for, buy hey it was a cold dash from the grill to the house and you can’t let a good steak get cold.
Putting aside the winter blues , two wonderful blogging friends have nominated “The Table” for more awards and I want to thank them for lifting my spirits. I hope that you all to stop by their blogs to appreciate real talent.
For a truly enjoyable and inspirational food journey, swing by to say hi to Mandy at The Complete Cookbook – she not only has many interesting food ideas and beautiful photography but very handy conversion information that I use when I try recipes from other countries. Of course I still adore Mandy even though it’s summer in South Africa…I’m not resenting that at all…really. Mandy, thank you for the lovely Reader Appreciation Award, I’ll take roses any day!
A big thank you to While He Was Out for nominating me for the Liebster Award.
Just take a look at this link for No Bake Mulberry Cheesecake for inspiration. I feel sorry for her co-workers who missed their birthday celebration.
I truly thank the above people for thinking enough of my blog to express their appreciation and thank all readers for stopping by to read and hopefully chat. I feel that I have friends all over the world and, since I just found out what a bucket list is, would add a visit to all of you to my list. Until then, this is my appreciation and award list to those fellow bloggers who brighten my day and always inspire me with new ideas. I know that some of you don’t participate in awards, but I would still like to thank you all and steer others to your blogs so that they may enjoy them as much as I do. May I recommend the following blogs:
* Bam’s Kitchen is now at a new address…nah, she’s still personally in Hong Kong but take a look at her beautiful new site. As a matter of fact I’m going to give her South African Bobotie a try in a few minutes.
* World traveler and avid cook, Susan at Our Kitchen Inventions is enjoying her Atlanta spring while I’m still shoveling but she does meet some interesting characters in her travels. This guy might lose his chestnuts but he’s definitely not stressed when he goes home.
* If you have a sweet tooth as I do, take a look at the creations on Butter, Sugar, Flowers – I only wish that I had the talent to make something look this beautiful…Buttermilk Rosewater Cupcakes. No matter what your personal preferences, you’ll always get some alternative suggestions for her ideas.
* I always enjoy stopping by Danny’s at 1227 Foster but take a look at his Creamy Prosciutto Pasta. I’ll say it one more time – check out all of his Mac & Cheese variations – the man is a genius.
* Russian Mom Cooks…While Chasing Kids is a fantastic place to stop for very unique, Russian inspired cooking ideas. I’m not sure how Anastasia does this while chasing kids, but somehow she manages to keep it all together.
* If you love a great laugh, well researched food info as well as some excellent down home cooking, be sure to tell Adam at The Unorthodox Epicure that I said hello. I can’t guarantee what he might be writing about on any given day – you might hear about his former Cruella DeVille boss, food labels, or shoppers in pajamas – but you’ll always get a solid meal idea.
Photographs and recipes 