Sandie's Turtle Cheesecake

Sandie's Turtle Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Cheesecake
1¾ c chocolate graham cracker crumbs
5T unsalted butter- melted
½t salt (divided)
3 (8oz) packages cream cheese
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1c sugar
3 large eggs
3 T. lime juice
1T. Vanilla extract
1½ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
½t cinnamon
½t nutmeg

Note; have all items at room temperature this includes eggs and cream cheese.

Topping:
2T chocolate syrup
2T caramel syrup
½c coarsely chopped pecans OR chopped toffee pieces
¼c semi-sweet mini chocolate chips


Directions: preheat oven to 300º Use a 9 inch nonstick spring form pan. Place large pan of hot water in oven while preheating to create a humid environment for your cheesecake while baking. This helps to avoid or reduce cracking while baking.
Crust: combine crumbs, ½c sugar, and cinnamon, nutmeg and ¼ t salt, and melted butter mix well. Place in spring form pan and press onto bottom and 1 inch up the side of pan.

Filling: In a large mixer beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Add sugar eggs, lime juice and vanilla extract, and beat until combined. Microwave chocolate chips in medium bowl on HIGH for 1-2 minutes; stir if necessary, microwave at additional 10-15 second intervals, stirring just until chocolate chips are melted.
Stir 2c of cheesecake batter into melted chocolate chips; mix well. Alternately spoon batters into crust, beginning and ending with yellow batter. Bake for 1 hour and 15 -20 minutes or until edge I set and center moved slightly. Cool in oven with door open for 1 hour then remove to rack to continue cooling. Once cheesecake is completely cooled, drizzle with chocolate and caramel syrup, sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, pecan or toffee bits. Refrigerate several hours or over night. Remove side of pan before serving.

Making a recipe your own...

I find it interesting that most people I know don't know how to go beyond making a recipe other than by the exact instructions. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it just seems odd to not want to be more creative (or at least to me it seems odd). By adding little touches here and there we can fine tune a recipe, make it more savory, tart, sweet or whatever.

I made a Turtle Cheesecake...I changed the recipe, added little things here and there to make it my own. Since my family likes nuts but does not like them in their sweet treats I omitted them and added something else. Oh my gosh right there about sent us over the moon! So I've made my own Turtle Cheesecake Recipe and for mew...it rocks! I'm sharing the recipe and the cheesecake with some girlfriends tomorrow. I've combined my 2 passions and have made a recipe scrapbook page. Tomorrow my girlfriends and I will makes recipe pages of what we eat for lunch. I've also got baked potato soup on the menu. Again I took a basic recipe and tweaked it a bit and made it into my own. I will share that recipe as well. I just have to design a layout to highlight it, LOL! I do find it rather funny how I have all of my prep work done in the kitchen for 2 recipes and have yet to get the design nailed down for the soup page, LOL!!!

Now once I have this 2nd page design done I'll make a prototype and then I'm off to refine it and then is when I will make the page kits. This is just tooooo much fun!

Cheesecake Recipes

Did you know that there are web sites out there totally devoted to CHEESECAKES??? OH yeah! So with that in mind here are some links...


http://www.cheesecake-recipes.net/
http://www.cooksrecipes.com/desserts/cheesecake-recipes.html
http://www.cheesecake-recipes.com/
www.thatsmyhome.com/cheesecake/

Using common sense...

As I am picking out fresh fruits and vegetables I observe others that just grab any old onion or potato and toss it into their shopping cart. Myself, I like to "feel" my produce for soft spots, look for mold or rotten spots. I noticed that people pay more attention to picking out bananas than anything else. I had to laugh because this one woman looked at every single banana but then walked up and without a second glance grabbed a bag of potatoes and flung it into her cart. Hmmm, I like to inspect my produce before I buy it. Every time I buy a bag of potatoes I'd say that at least half of that bag is not usable. Maybe it's just me, but I never seem to have any luck with that 5 or 10 pound bag of spuds. So I buy what I know I am going use and I check them over.

So I'm walking around the grocery store and I see people just flinging cans, boxes and frozen food items on top of their produce. Yikes! So now you're mashing your veggies before you even get home. How long do you think that they're going to last? Use common sense when choosing your produce, and treat them with care when in your shopping cart!

The funny things people say about cooking

I had a conversation with my mother in law the other day that really made me laugh. She told me that the only reason she cooks is because they (she and my father in law) have to eat. I got such a chuckle out of what she said and it has stuck with me.  I keep reflecting upon it and thinking to myself wondering how many other people that I know feel that very same way? I know that not everyone was meant to be nor wants to be a gourmet cook. Not everyone appreciates the efforts that are put into making a delicious meal. Others are perfectly content with a bowl of ramen noodles.  Take my younger sister for instance, that woman couldn’t cook a meal from scratch to save her soul from the devil (and I mean that in the nicest way). Unless it comes straight of a box my sister won’t have anything to do with it. Some people are just that way….they would rather be anywhere else than in the kitchen.

 

For me, The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home.  It’s a wonderful place where people gather around and chat while someone (usually myself) is preparing a meal. I love to enlist the help of willing participants to chop or stir something that’s bubbling away in a pot. But usually I just want company in the kitchen, friends and family to talk and laugh with. What I really like help with is in the cleaning up later on after we’ve all gobbled up a terrific meal.

 

 

 

Kitchen Appliances

What a work of art they are these days. No longer are they ugly looking appliances that you hide underneath of your counter when you’re done using them. Nowadays they are available in a multitude of colors and styles. Take my can opener for instance, it’s by Black and Decker but it looks like a can of Campbell’s soup. Some people like to have everything match a particular color scheme that they have going on in their kitchen…then there’s me. My Kitchen is like a rainbow, with my Fiesta Ware pottery in the cupboards and Fiesta Ware trivets hanging on the walls, well it should be no surprise that my kitchen appliances are different colors too. From my stand mixer in Emerald Green, to my blender being Tangerine Orange to my food processor being Empire Red and a Black Coffee Maker…color is everywhere!

So now to what kinds of appliances I’ve got in my kitchen…

* Bread Machine - I used to use it more often but with the limited amount of counter space that I have, well it’s lucky if it sees daylight every 2 to 3 months.

*Rice Cooker – This little gem gets used at 2 to 3 times a week!

*4 Slice Toaster – we use it every single day.

*Coffee Maker – Used on a daily basis

*George Foreman Grill – known around here as the char-b-cue. Used a few times a month

*Can Open – used near daily, couldn’t live without one!
*Ice Cream Maker – Used greatly during the warmer months
*Stand Mixer – used several times weekly, I don’t know how I got along before without it!
*Hand Mixer- haven’t used it in ages
*Blender – don’t know how I could do without one of these!
*Food Processor – Used all of the time around here!
*Emersion Blender – have it, use it once in a while…I wish that I had a better quality one but can’t justify that purchase
*Espresso Coffee Maker – love this little coffee pot, makes enough just for me!

*Waffle Maker- OOOh Whee do we love to use this here at our house!

*Crock Pot- every household needs one of these!
*Electric Tea Kettle – used daily!
* Coffee Bean Grinder – I use it at least once or twice a month
*Knife Sharpener – this baby see action every three or four months
*Deep Fryer – I used to use this all of the time. I can’t tell you when I used it last though

*Microwave Oven – Our house does not have a built in so we had to buy on that sits on the counter top. I don’t know many people that don’t have one of these in their homes.

I think that this is it for my kitchen appliances. I must say, that is quite the list!

Corned Beef Trivia

* Everyone knows about St. Patrick and the snakes of Ireland, but did you know that St. Patrick lived to the ripe age of 106?

* The first time corned beef showed up was in a 12th century poem, "Vision of MacConglinne", where it was described as a delicacy given to a king to conjure the "the demon of gluttony" from his belly.

* In these early times, the Celts didn't eat cattle; they ate pork. Cattle was for accumulating wealth and status. A head of cattle was only killed when it no longer gave milk or was beyond being bred.

* One of the greatest ancient wars was the over cattle rustling...the Cattle Raid of Cooley.

* Wealth, power and status through cows. Killing a cow when it could still give milk would be like lighting a Macanudo cigar with a hundred dollar bill...only for the truly rich.

* Corned beef doesn't show up in writings again until the 1600's as a specialty dish for Easter. Cattle that had to be slaughtered in the winter were preserved with salt and eaten after the long meatless Lenten fast at Easter dinner!

* Corned beef has absolutely nothing to to with corn at all. It's all about salt. Salt was a very expensive thing until modern times thereby adding to the dearness of the dish.

* The name comes from the salt itself. The granules were so large...as large as a kernel of corn...that they called them salt corns...hence, corned beef!

* Corned beef is synonymous with salt cured...either dry rubbed with salt or wet in a brine.

* It's a boneless brisket that is the cut for corned beef; usually the whole brisket weighs between 12-13 pounds.

* Then the brisket is divided into two distinct cuts...flat and point. The names tell the tale. The flat cut is precisely that, the lean rectangular cut of the brisket; while the point is the end cut, thicker and fattier. It is generally more flavorful and tender. Both cuts range in size from 3 to 6 pounds each.

* You may see on the label or from the butcher either "gray" or "regular". If the corned beef has had sodium nitrite added to the brine the meat will be a rosy color or what is referred to as regular. The nitrites react to the purple color pigments in the meat retaining the high pink color. Some people notice a chalky flavor. Without the nitrites, the beef lacks the bright color we are familiar with; hence, "gray". If you are opposed to nitrites, or allergic...get the "gray" corned beef.

Spode Christmas Tree

I know that not very many people have Christmas dishes. Mine happen to have a story behind them...I remember the first time I ever saw a table set with Christmas Dishes, it was at a Weinstock's (a department store much like Macy's and May Co.). I was 8 years old and I was doing holiday shopping with my Mom and Grandparent's. My Grandpa George loved to go to Weinstock's department store during the Holiday's, he said that they put on the best Holiday dress up from all of the department stores in the area (he was right). I loved how each department would dress up and entire room. The dining room was fabulous! The Spode Christmas Tree dishes were so lovely to look at and it was something that left an impression upon me from then on. I never really told anyone of my desire of having special Christmas Dishes until years later. Now fast forward to 1995, it's June and we are at Ed (my DH's brother) and Lori's wedding and I'm about 8 months pregnant with our 2nd child (Hannah). My husband's Uncle Eddie (mother in laws older brother) realizes that he never gave us a wedding gift or even an engagement gift (no big deal, we never expected him to). So he asks what kind of house we have, I say Country Style (my decorating style that is). So after the wedding this lovely figurine arrives from Scotland...it's broken. I contact my mother in law and we send it back to Scotland and another one arrives...it too is broken. Did I mention that these are numbered figurines? They were done by a local Scottish artist and were highly valued (I find this out later). So my Mother in law takes a trip to Scotland to visit her brother just after Hannah is born. She calls me from the store where the figurine was purchased...they don't want to send another one ( I can understand that). She asks me if there was anything else that I would like instead...I ask her what kind of place/shop is it and she tells me it's a fancy one that sells jewelry, china, figurines etc. I ask her is they carry/sell the Spode Christmas Tree pattern and she tells the ladies in the shop what I said...they all started laughing really loudly. I took that as a "yes". So I told her my deepest desire, that of all things I ever wanted since I was a little girl, it was to have my own Spode Christmas Tree dinnerware. I had no idea how much the figurine was worth, I had no idea if I would get just a bowl or a plate or just a teacup and saucer. I left it all to my mother in law to work it out for me. A while later a couple of rather large boxes arrive at my door step. They're from Scotland. I looked at it and said...What the heck did she (my mil) send. Just having had a baby a few weeks earlier it could have been things for the kids, I didn't really know. I opened up the boxes and immediately started to cry. I couldn't believe my eyes. Plates and teacups, soup bowls, saucer, salad plates and bread plates, serving bowls and more! I not only had a complete 5 piece dinnerware service for 4, I also had serving pieces like platters and bowls, creamer and sugar bowl salt and pepper. I could set a formal table, I was floored! Those dishes (as silly as it sounds) mean the world to me! They are something that I will pass on to my own children! Since then, I've managed to add to the place settings here and there and am now up to a service for 12. I will continue to get more as the years go by (and as I find a good sale on them). My hearts soars every time I display them in my China Hutch. From the love of an Uncle for his Nephew and his pregnant wife, my holiday wishes from my childhood came true. I could have never have dreamt of something so wonderful. I don't know if I would ever of had bought these dishes on my own without the "boost" from Uncle Eddie. To him I will always be thankful! I tell my children the story of our Christmas Dishes every year as I put them out on display. This year I'm actually going to take pictures of the table all dressed up and make a scrapbook layout and tell Uncle Eddies story so everyone who looks through the scrapbook can read it!

Fiestaware Pottery

Dishes, we all have them and use them on a daily basis. I started off with some beautiful Pfaltzgraff dishes back when we were first married. My Mother-in-law thought they were pretty and they were. But they were never anything that I picked out myself. But after 5 years they started falling apart and Pfaltzgraff would not honor their lifetime warranty on the pottery. That's when I started my Longaberger pottery collection. I loved how it shined, the basket weave on the edges of the ivory colored plates were so pretty and Longaberger stood behind their warranty 100% But after 5 years of owning my plain ivory plates, Longaberger came out with colored pottery. Oh was it ever pretty! But expensive! I was a Longaberger sales consultant in those days and I had always managed to get my personal stuff 40-50% off of retail price. But I was getting tired of plain ivory plates. A good friend of mine collected Fiesta ware Pottery. She showed me her collection and told me about the history. She also sold Longaberger Pottery and Baskets.I loved the colors, they were so much brighter than than the Longaberger pottery. I found out that I could buy 3 of the five piece place settings for the cost of 1 Longaberger 5 piece place setting. I was seriously interested.I started off small, I bought 4 luncheon plates. I had been wanting luncheon plates for a while and I just did it...ordered them on line. The price was just right for me! Every time Fiestaware went on sale I bought a place setting, all in different colors of course. So here it is 5 years later and I have oodles of Fiesta ware. It's my every day ware. What's the one thing that I like the best about them? It's the rainbow of colors that they are available in!Here's a list of the colors that I own...at present
*Peacock*Turquoise*Apricot*Scarlet*Black*White*CobaltBlue*
Juniper* Persimmon*Chartreuse*Sun Flower*Fiesta Yellow*Shamrock
*Periwinkle Blue* Sea Mist Green*Rose*Plum*Cinnabar*Pearl Gray
*Red (yes radioactive red)*Tangerine*Heather
I don't have place settings in all colors but I do in most. Some are just cups and saucers, other are sauce boats, creamers , serving dishes or sugar dishes.I can set the table and have it be fun! I love to have friends over for lunch or dinner and get their reactions from the different colored plates and serving bowls. I see the colors and they make me smile. Makes me think about rainbows and how the sun shines after it rains.

Shrimp Recipes from Paula Deen

I love the ease and simplicity of Paula Deen's recipes. Southern Hospitality was never easier!

Southern Shrimp Salad Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Ingredients
2 tablespoons shrimp boil, tied into a cheesecloth
2 pounds shrimp, cleaned, peeled, and deveined
1 cup uncooked white rice
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green olives, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
Paprika, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Tomato wedges, for garnish
Instructions
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add shrimp boil sachet. Add shrimp and boil for 4 minutes. Drain shrimp and reserve shrimp boil water. Chop shrimp into bite size chunks and place on paper towels to cool. In the reserved shrimp boil water, add the rice, and cook until tender for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain rice in colander and allow to cool. Add onion, olives, and pepper to rice, and stir in the mayonnaise. Add the cooled dry shrimp to the mixture and blend well. Sprinkle with paprika and garnish with lemon and tomato wedges.



The Lady and Sons Beer-Battered Fried Shrimp Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients
1 cup beer
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Oil, for frying 21 to 25 large shrimp, peeled with tails left on
Instructions
Preheat a fryer or a deep pot halfway filled with oil to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, combine the beer, flour, and salt, and allow to sit at room temperature for several hours. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and dip the shrimp in the batter and fry for approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Drain shrimp on paper towels.



Black Pepper Shrimp Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients
3 pounds fresh shrimp, unpeeled
8 tablespoons butter 3
tablespoons chopped garlic
4 tablespoons freshly ground pepper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Wash and drain shrimp, and place in a shallow baking pan. In a saucepan, melt the butter, add the garlic, and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the butter mixture over the shrimp and toss to coat. Pepper shrimp until shrimp are well covered. Bake until pink, approximately 5 minutes, turn, bake a few minutes longer, and pepper again. You must use a heavy hand with the pepper. Serve shrimp with warm bread and salad.

Low Country Boil Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Ingredients
Crab boil, 2 teaspoons per quart of water
12 red new potatoes
6 (4-inch) smoked sausage link sausage
6 ears corn
3 pounds fresh shrimp, unpeeled

Instructions
Fill a large pot with enough water to cover all of the ingredients. Add the crab boil and bring to a boil. Adjust the crab boil to suit your taste. When the water boils, add the potatoes and sausage. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Add corn and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for no more than 3 minutes. Drain and serve with warm bread.

Things you didn't now about Rice...

If you're idea of rice is white, Minute Rice, it's time to try something different. Rice is a major part of the meal for two-thirds of the world's population. While we don't eat as much rice as the rest of the world, it has been grown in the United States for more than 300 years. The origins of rice have been debated for some time, but the plant is of such antiquity that the precise time and place of its first development will perhaps never be known. It is certain, however, that the domestication of rice ranks as one of the most important developments in history, for rice is the longest, continuously grown cereal crop in the world. Botanical and linguistic evidence point to the early origin of domesticated rice along a broad arc from eastern India through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, northern Vietnam, and into southern China. The earliest and most convincing evidence for domestication of rice in Southeast Asia was discovered in 1966 at Non Nok Tha in the Korat area of Thailand. These remains have been confirmed as dating from at least 4000 B.C. Most of us eat long grain rice. This is long, slender rice and when cooked the grains are separate, light and fluffy. Also in the long grain rice category are Jasmine and Basmati rice. Jasmine has a mild popcorn aroma and Basmati rice has a slightly buttery flavor. Both are more expensive than regular long grain rice, but are a nice change from the ordinary. Short grain rice has short, plump and almost round grain. It has a stickier texture and a softer grain after cooking. Arborio and Risotto are popular types of short grain rice. Brown rice has the bran layer, which gives it a light brown color. It has a nutty taste and chewy texture. The tan nutrient-rich outer layer covering a rice kernel. Rice bran has a sweet nutty flavor and is an excellent source of nutrients, minerals, and fiber. It takes longer to cook than long and short grain rice. Rice has about 100 calories per half-cup serving. Brown rice is a good source of fiber with 1.6 grams per half-cup. There are about 120,000 varieties known to exist. You can have hot, perfectly cooked rice in less than 30 minutes. Use these tips for perfect rice: Carefully measure the amounts of rice and liquid. Read the package for suggested cooking times. Long grain white rice will cook in about 20 minutes. Brown rice will take 45 minutes or more to cook. Keep the lid on tightly during cooking. At the end of cooking time, remove the lid and test for doneness by tasting or squeezing rice between your fingers. It should be soft all the way through. If rice is not quite tender or if the liquid is not absorbed, cook two to four minutes longer. When rice is cooked, fluff with a fork to allow steam to escape and to keep the grains separate. Rice triples in volume, so choose your pots and pans accordingly. Leftover rice can be frozen. To reheat, add a small amount of water and heat in the microwave until hot. How about a rice sex question? Got your attention now, don't I? You can distinguish a male from a female rice plant. Rice is naturally a self-pollinating plant. It is self- fertilizing, that is, it has both male and female organs. To cross two varieties, you must normally remove the male parts from one variety and then fertilize it with pollen from the other.

Cooking Classes

Did you know that there are restaurants that offer cooking classes with their chefs? Did you know that most independently owned restaurants are owned or co-owned by the Chef? It's true.
My favorite place to take cooking classes (locally of course) is a great little home grown store called "Someones in the Kitchen" here in Rapid City, SD. Here's a link to their store http://www.someonesinthekitchensd.com/ckshop.php
Follow their directions and you will see the Chef Bio's, pretty cook stuff! I took the Rustic Breads class because I wanted to see some hands on stuff being done. There are tips and tricks that a recipe book just does not covered...some things need to be seen in person. And just because you take a cooking class does not mean that you do not know how to cook, in fact it's just the opposite. To me it means that you want to master something and you want to get the tips and tricks of the trade from the Master Chefs themselves...or at least that's my perspective it.

Here is the recipe that is featured on the main page of Someones in the Kitchen I'm putting it here because it changes monthly and it's a great recipe that's worth sharing!

Beef Ragout Recipe from "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook"
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 lbs lean beef stew meat or beef cross rib roast, trimmed of fat, cut into 11/2-inch chunks, and blotted dry
2 medium-size onions, coarsely chopped
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or one 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with their juice
1 cup dry red wine (Chianti or Zinfandel)
1 cup baby carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 medium-size zucchini, ends trimmed, cut in half lengthwise and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch thick half-moons
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, thickly sliced
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil until very hot. Add half of the beef and brown on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to the slow cooker. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and brown the remaining beef.
Add the onions to the skillet and brown slightly over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan; pour into the cooker. Add the carrots, garlic, tapioca, and Italian herbs to the cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours.
Add the salt, pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms, cover, turn the cooker to HIGH, and cook for about 45 minutes, until the meat, mushrooms, and zucchini are tender. We love this with spaetzle dumplings, steamed white rice, or buttered egg noodles. Serves 4 to 5.

My general views on cooking...

We all have some sort of hobby that we feel passionately towards... we wouldn't be human if we didn't. Cooking isn't what most people would call a hobby per-say. I think that baking/making/creating cakes would be considered a hobby if you made the foofy nice looking ones with the fancy shaped pans and took those Wilton cake classes. But cooking food in general is something that I feel most passionately about.

As in my bio- cooking is more than about filling the stomach, it's about feeding the soul too as well. With a good meal, all of your senses should be aroused, the aroma of the food should bring a smile, the taste on the tongue, the feel of it in your mouth, the appearance should be pleasing too. Anyone can make a meal that comes frozen or out of a box but is that really considered cooking? Yes and No...when prepared just like the box? NO. Now add things to it and dress it up a bit and then I'll say yes. In case you are wondering... yes of course I bake frozen breaded chicken strips for my family, but I also like to dress them up a bit...covered in country gravy with rice (m'm this is one of my children's favorites) or smothered in home made pasta sauce with melted provolone and parmesan cheese on top with fettuccine noodles for chicken parmesan...another one of my children's favorites. Amazing things can be made with those breaded chicken breast strips, just give them a chance to be made into other things. And of course there's the old stand by...just plain chicken strips, LOL! My husband makes those for the kids when I'm out.
I plan on sharing little tips and things here at My Cookbook Nook. I hope to get others enjoying cooking as much as I do...or at least more than they do now.

Vinegar

Vinegar...do you ever wonder about it? What's it made from? How do you use it? Why are there so many different kinds?

Well I hope to clear some of this up for you and answer these questions.
Check out this site...it'll give you the history of vinegar http://www.vinegarworkswonders.com/history.asp there's stuff in here that I didn't know about until reading, it's quite informative to say the least!

Types of Vinegars...here you go with that! http://www.harvestfields.ca/CookBooks/Vin/04.htm

You will not believe how many different types of vinegars there are, yes there are many more than the ones I have pictured. Those are the ones that I have in my own kitchen...how many different kinds do you have in your kitchen?

Favorite places to go...

for shopping, recipes, cooking ideas and more are...
www.epicurious.com wonderful recipes abound here!

www.foodnetwork.com It's so easy to hunt up my favorite cooking shows here!

www.williams-sonoma.com shop shop shop, need I say more?

www.nordicware.com this place has some beautiful cakes!

http://allrecipes.com/ oodles of recipes to take for a test drive!

http://www.mccormick.com/ oh yeah every good cook needs to check in here!

http://www.someonesinthekitchensd.com/home.html this is a local store and I just LOVE IT to pieces! Wonderful ideas abound here! Awesome cooking classes too!
http://www.marthastewart.com/ this is such a cool site! Martha always has something wonderful going on!

http://www.foodreference.com/ lots of fun stuff here like food trivia!


magazines I love...
Cooking Light- what a consistently terrific magazine!

Everyday Food- the Jan/Feb issues is out of this world!

My first post

I've been thinking about creating a blog just for recipes and cooking tips...so here it is!

Stay tuned for recipes and other fun items pertaining to cooking!