Blue Cheese Dip

Sorry about the lack of updates. You'd think that when I had more time on my hands, I'd be posting more. Somehow the opposite ended up being true.

I have some great job prospects and should have something wrapped up by the end of next week which is awesome. Take that Georgia unemployment rate! But anyways, here's the latest thing I cooked up..a simple blue cheese dip I served with homemade potato chips.

I've been on a blue cheese kick lately, so I made a bechamel sauce with flour, butter, and scalded skim milk and let it thicken. Then I pulled it off the heat, added a container of blue cheese (I told you I've been on a blue cheese kick) and a bunch of chives and pepper.

Sliced up some potatoes on a mandolin, pressed out the water and fried them up. It was a wonderful appetizer to get us through the evening as we headed out.

By the way, I'm thinking of heading to Canoe for the first time..any suggestions?

Roasted Tomato Soup

My husband has been sick the last few days, and when he gets sick all he wants is soup. I made up some chicken and rice soup earlier in the week, but he inhaled it. So I had a bunch of stewed tomatoes in my pantry and made up some roasted tomato soup.

Recipe:
4 cans of stewed tomatoes, liquid separated
1 onion, quartered
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbs Herbes de Provence

Lay the tomatoes, onions, and garlic on a sheet pan and roast for 45 minutes at 350. Reduce the tomato liquid by half over medium high heat. Let the tomato and onion mixture cool, and blend in a blender. Add to the tomato liquid. Season with salt and pepper, and add the Herbes de Provence. Simmer for 30 minutes.

The soup came out great, and just in time. As soon as my husband got over his sinus infection, I got one. At least I have some yummy soup while I'm stuck on the couch the rest of the day.

Quick homemade pizza

So as much time as I have now that my job was eliminated last week, I was NOT in the mood to make some pizza dough. Mostly because I was hungry right then, and was not patient enough to watch it rise. So I headed to my local pizza shop and bought some dough and whipped out my cast iron griddle. I sliced up some tomato, some fresh mozzarella, some basil from my herb box on the patio, and some anchovies (ask me one day about these anchovies, they're legend in my house). I preheated the oven to 450 and cranked up my cast iron on the stove. I toasted the bottom of the dough, added the toppings, then placed the cast iron in the oven for about 7 minutes. Added some freshly grated cheese and the basil and had a wonderful meal all to myself in my big old empty home. The puppies were jealous that all they got to eat was kibble, but they'll get over it.

Someone Actually Reads This?

My site has been chosen as the site of the week over at Atlanta Dish. Please go check it out. These ladies have the best job in the world, and make me jealous every time they update their website.

Thanks ladies for the honor!

Laid-Off Eggplant Gratin

Sorry about that whole lack of posting for a week - getting your position eliminated will do that to you. Anyways, here's a big ol' updated about what I made the other evening for dinner. Sometimes I still impress myself.

I'm not a big fan of eggplant. I've really tried to like it, and every time I tried it I was just told that I'm not eating it prepared correctly. So, in my laid off glory, as I was watching Barefoot Contessa cook an eggplant gratin the other day, I figured I had to try it.

Here is the link to her recipe. The only changes I made was omitted the egg and added a pinch of nutmeg.

This came out amazing and we ate every bite. I served it with a simple romaine and celery heart salad with a lemon mustard vinaigrette and some whole wheat crusty bread with some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a dipping sauce.

For dessert, I made this yogurt cake and made a strawberry sauce with some lemon juice, lemon zest, Splenda, strawberries, and a splash of Grand Mariner.