My Madison Bistro
Jul 13 2010
My mom and I can happily bond by sitting and “reading” cooking magazines or cookbooks. Okay, I admit, when pictures are involved, there’s both reading and gazing (sometimes longingly) involved, but if you’re reading this blog, I’m guessing you already understand how that goes.
Jul 11 2010
We recently experienced a cool spell, allowing me to escape the grill for a few days and stay inside with my oven. I’ve never really been able to figure out why I like to crank up the oven on a cool summer day, or fire up the grill in the middle of winter…but sometimes you just want a little bit of a change.
Jul 06 2010
One of my favorite things about pizza is the endless combinations, though I generally don’t step outside the box when it comes to toppings. This particular pizza is no exception.
I first made this recipe several years ago after I saw a variation of this pizza in the June 2007 issue of Bon Appetit. I’ve made it several times since then, using whatever mushrooms I had on hand. I usually like to throw in some minced garlic when the mushrooms are sautéing, but unfortunately, today I was out of garlic.
 |
 |
I always use some shiitake mushrooms when making this pizza, and I usually add some cremini or buttons as well. The more variety in mushrooms, the more complex the flavor, but you’ll still get a great pizza if you just use one kind, like the shiitakes I used for this particular pie.
Jul 04 2010
Happy 4th of July! I already saw fireworks on Friday – thankfully, our Elver Park fireworks were saved this year by Woodman’s Grocery Stores, who have committed to sponsoring the event for the next several years. Yay! They aren’t the big area display (that’s Rhythm and Booms, the largest fireworks display in the Midwest), but it doesn’t take hours to leave the park, either, so they are my display of choice.
One of my favorite recipes to take along to 4th of July parties has to be red velvet cupcakes. Because this year I opted for a version of my Simple Fruit Salad instead, made with peaches, plums, blueberries, green grapes, and strawberries, I thought I would repost my favorite recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes – instead of decorating with ganache, I would go with red, white, and blue sprinkles for the fourth, or even blueberries and raspberries or strawberries.
