Blueberry Cream Pie

By Caroline, July 30, 2010

I have no excuse for this pie. Absolutely none. I could maybe defend it by pointing out the use of fresh fruit, but I’m aware that this is just not something I should be showing you in the dead of summer, also known as Bathing Suit Season.  Maybe I can place the blame elsewhere…specifically, to Saluda Grade Café, the restaurant that I worked at in high school, and the place that gave me the inspiration for this recipe.

The funny thing is, this was not a popular dessert there. It only  showed up for maybe 2 months out of the year, and when it did those pies would sit and sell so slowly that eventually I would take some home to keep it from going to waste. Not that I ever once complained about this. Except when I had to put on a bathing suit. Damn those pies.

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Roasted Red Pepper Risotto Cakes

By Caroline, July 26, 2010

I’m realizing that a lot of my daily life is a simple series of action and reaction. For instance,  I recently read, well, more like devoured, the book “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and after reading something that good there are two logical actions that must be taken: 1) watch the movie on Netflix, 2) order the follow-up book immediately on Amazon.

Another instance is when Lindsay Lohan went to jail, and I the immediate action of people unhealthily obsessed with celebrities everyone was to look up her mug shot.  I would like to tell you that I don’t often follow celebrity gossip news, but my grandmother would disapprove of me to lying to this many people at once.

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Gajar Halwa, AKA Carrot Pudding

By Caroline, July 20, 2010

I am a huge fan of Looney Tunes. Note: I’m not saying that I was a huge fan as a child, I’m still maintaining my super-fan status now as an adult. I even bought tickets to see Bugs Bunny at the Hollywood Bowl, which means I spent 2 hours watching cartoons on big screens while the LA Philharmonic played the music live. I was happier than a five year old on Christmas morning.

I’m sure that my mom was at least a little happy about my love of Looney Tunes, not because she wanted me watching TV, which she normally didn’t, but because those clever cartoonists were smart enough to have the loveable Bugs always munching on carrots. Which meant that I, in an effort to be just like Bugs, also wanted to always be munching on carrots. I can even remember my mother once telling me to stop eating carrots or I would spoil my dinner.

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Cucumber Juice

By Caroline, July 13, 2010

I don’t know who decided that cucumbers were especially cool vegetables, but I suspect he/she may have coined the phrase “cool as a cucumber” after drinking some cucumber juice. This stuff is by far the best way to eat a cucumber. Granted, it takes a little more effort than just dunking slices in salad dressing, but the extra work most definitely pays off.  And over ice, this drink finally gives meaning to the expression “cool as a cucumber.”

While we’re finding meaning in expressions, can I discuss a few others with you?

Dollars to Donuts – I heard this for the first time about a week ago, and I am already looking for every opportunity available to work it into conversation. Is it bad that I might actually be happier winning donuts instead of dollars? I wonder in that case if I can still use the phrase…

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Peach-Almond Cobbler

By Caroline, July 6, 2010

There are a lot of remakes going on in Hollywood right now. Every week there’s a movie coming out either based on a book, or a remake of a classic older film, which isn’t exactly my favorite thing. I am definitely the girl that will read a book, go to see the movie, and spend the entire time making a mental list of everything that they changed. When I saw the movie version of “The Phantom of the Opera” I could even tell you when they had changed individual words in the songs. Yes, it bothers me. If something is good, just leave it alone. I see no reason why some snotty director or writer needs to come along and “make their mark” on a classic. Basically, I’m a big fan of the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Therefore it surprised even me when I decided to change up what is considered a Southern classic – peach cobbler. If you live in the South and manage to go an entire summer without eating a gallon of this, then you obviously live in some sad, dark cave and you have my sympathy.

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Kale Chips

By Caroline, June 29, 2010

So, I’m not exactly a trend-setter. I’m more of what you might call a trend-copier. And really, I’m not even good at that. I tend to catch onto really hot trends right as they’re on the way out the door, and then I hang onto them long after they’re considered cool. Yeah, I’m that girl.  This would all work out find if I could hang onto my clothes long enough for them to come back in style and be considered “vintage,” but I every few years I have a serious Feng Shui attack and empty my wardrobe of everything I haven’t worn in the last 6 months.

I’m definitely the same way when it comes to food. You’re all probably tired of seeing recipes for kale chips, since they’ve show up here, here and here and I’m sure plenty of other places as well. Heck, you can even find these at your local grocery store now. But even then, I still had to try them out for myself. I was incredibly skeptical that something so simple could really be as delicious of a snack as everyone raved.

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Bubble Gum Vodka Ice Cream Float

By Caroline, June 23, 2010

Remember bubble gum ice cream? You know, vanilla ice cream that has bits of bubble gum scattered inside it? Chances are that you have a distinct memory of either loving or hating this as a kid. As I asked people about it in preparation for this recipe, I found that everyone had an incredibly strong opinion to offer. Me? I LOVED it.

The trick to eating ice cream that had bubble gum in it was trying to manage the gum as you ate. As every kid knows, if you swallow a piece of gum it will stay inside you for 100 years, so it’s best if you avoid having this happen. Therefore, as you ate the ice cream you had to save the bits of gum in your mouth. This gets a little tricky toward the end when you have a big wad of gum on one side of your mouth and you’re trying to get the last bites of ice cream through the other.

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Bubble Gum Vodka

By Caroline, June 18, 2010

Before we go any further, I need to be clear: this is not a child-friendly recipe. Specifically, it should be prepared by those that are 21 years of age or older.

Sorry for the obvious stipulation, but when I originally saw this recipe on this blog, I noticed that an irate parent had commented that she didn’t think it was wise to be making vodka with a kid-friendly ingredient. I don’t mean to be rude, but sometimes common sense just doesn’t seem to come naturally to people.

So please parents, don’t give this vodka to your five year old, okay?

Good, glad we got that settled.


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Coconut Chocolate Pudding

By Caroline, June 14, 2010

I have a distinct memory from my childhood of my mother and I buying a coconut with the intention of eating the flesh and coconut milk inside. However, we got it home and sort of looked at each other to see who would make the first move to open it. I assumed that since she was my mother she of course knew all the secrets of the universe and was utterly shocked to discover that neither she nor my step-dad knew what to do. My stepfather, who flew jet planes in Vietnam and assembled my bike on Christmas day, was stumped by this little brown ball in our shopping bag.

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Walnut Pesto

By Caroline, June 7, 2010

Sometimes things don’t always go as we planned. I had planned to watch “The Wizard of Oz” at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. I had even called all my friends, cooked up some recipes, scheduled a time to meet, loaded up the car and driven all the way to Hollywood just to have a picnic in the cemetery. However, when we turned the corner and were preparing to enter, we were met by this:

The photo doesn’t really do it justice, but basically the entire city of Los Angeles had the same thoughts that we had. And unfortunately for us, they had the idea about an hour sooner, and we didn’t make it inside. Yeah, it was a bummer. There are few things sadder than having a picnic meal and nowhere to picnic.

Luckily, I’m blessed to have flexible and endlessly enthusiastic friends. We took our picnic dinner and headed to a teeny tiny park in Universal City. We sat on blankets and drank wine, ate our food and watched the sunset go down. It was good, even without the red slippers or munchkins.


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Potato and Arugula Pizza

By Caroline, June 1, 2010

I have to confess that I was once a bit of a pizza purist. To me, pizza meant crust, sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. As a kid I was incredibly stringent on this rule. It was a huge step when I finally began to eat sausage on my pizza, but no one was crazy enough to think I might try green peppers or mushrooms.

Nowadays I tend to be much more adventurous. I like pizzas with different sauces like pesto, or even those that don’t have sauce like a classic Margherita pizza. This however, might be the biggest leap I’ve ever made. There isn’t any sauce, just a drizzle of olive oil. You won’t find mozzarella but instead a mild Fontina cheese. Oh yeah, and there’s also the potato and arugula. I was stunned to learn how amazing arugula could be on a pizza when I went to Pitfire, but potato? On a pizza? My adult self wanted to try this, but I could hear the little kid in me screaming “Gross! I’m not tasting it!” Continue reading 'Potato and Arugula Pizza'»

Jicama and Avocado Citrus Salad & Seared Tuna Wontons

By Caroline, May 26, 2010

I think that it’s time you planned a barbecue. Or a picnic. Anything that involves the outdoors, friends and good food. Seriously, it’s almost June, things are starting to warm up and we all have a three day weekend coming so now is the perfect time. And btw – there is NEVER a bad time to have a barbecue. Or a picnic.

Here’s the way to make things really easy on yourself: invite all of your really awesome friends. That will pretty much guarantee a good time no matter what. Then, you should ask all of these awesome friends to cook something to bring to this fabulous shin-dig. If you’re a little skeptical about not making everything yourself, here are the reasons why having everyone cook is a good idea:

A)  It’s less work for you
B)  Everyone gets to feel involved in this awesome outdoor eating fest
C)  When people only have to make one component, and not an entire meal, they tend to go all out on that one thing they make.

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Smoked Gouda Croissant with Tarragon Mayonnaise

By Caroline, May 21, 2010

“When are you making that Gouda sandwich?”

This is the question that Chase has been asking me since we moved to LA. See, in my humble hometown of Hendersonville, North Carolina there is this utterly adorable sandwich place called The Pampered Palate. It’s super tasty and ridiculously cute. On the menu they have a sandwich that is deceptively simple: Smoked Gouda croissant with tarragon mayonnaise. I took Chase there once, ONCE people, and he hasn’t stopped talking about it since that happy event three years ago.

I think that my initial reason for putting off making this sandwich is that I’ve been convinced it would be a disappointment. I mean, it sounds too simple, smoked Gouda, a croissant, and mayo with tarragon added. But this thing was so freakin delicious I couldn’t help but think that there had to be some secret ingredient they weren’t mentioning. Something that made this a sandwich worth talking about three years after eating it. Turns out, it’s just further proof that amazing food doesn’t have to be complicated or use crazy ingredients. I made this in roughly 10 minutes, and after tasting it I immediately remembered  why this sandwich has been in my head all that time. Continue reading 'Smoked Gouda Croissant with Tarragon Mayonnaise'»

Strawberry Crostata

By Caroline, May 17, 2010

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Enough with the strawberries, right? Sorry folks, it has been a truly outrageous season for strawberries, and I can’t help but buy a full crate of them every week. I’ve debated as to whether it’s possible for me to be sick of strawberries, and the definite answer is that no, it isn’t. I can eat them every day, with every meal.

However, I can only cook so many recipes at a time before I start to lose my steam. My original plan with this week’s crop of berries was to bake up a strawberry pie. However, when I started thinking about making the piecrust and the pie filling on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, I lost momentum. So I made a crostata. A crostata is kind of like a lazy person’s pie, so we got along really well. It’s a simple dough that doesn’t require much kneading or shaping, and the filling is just berries tossed in a sugar and topped with a jam glaze. Seriously easy. And the best part? I prepped and baked this whole thing up in just under 2 hours and still had the rest of my Saturday afternoon to lay by the pool. Continue reading 'Strawberry Crostata'»

Fettuccine Alfredo

By Caroline, May 12, 2010

We’re friends right? I mean, I like you, and if you like me then I guess that means we’re friends. So I can tell you about my guilty pleasures. What exactly is a guilty pleasure? It’s something that you know without a shadow of a doubt is bad for you and has no business being in your life, and you still think it’s wonderful. When it comes to TV shows, I am obsessed with the Real Housewives on Bravo. Notice how I didn’t specify a specific city? That’s cause I love all of them. Regardless of how loudly Chase or my friends tell me that these shows are trash TV and are a dredge on society, I still can’t help but be enthralled with the meaningless drama that consumes these women’s lives. Go ahead and judge me, I’m used to it. (Oh, and for anyone that watches, I’m totally on Team Bethanny)

Now, my food equivalent of a guilty pleasure is fettuccine Alfredo. Maybe you’re wondering why Alfredo is a guilty pleasure and not chocolate cake? Here’s the thing about unhealthy foods, you have your items like cookies and cake, that make no pretense of what they are: sugar and fat, plain and simple. Then you have things like fettuccine Alfredo that tries to convince you that it’s dinner, perhaps even part of a well balanced diet. Don’t be fooled though, this entire meal is two things: starch and heavy cream and I LOVE it. All you health nuts can yell at me all you want, you can tell me how fattening it is, how each bite is clogging my arteries, you can give me your estimates on how long it’s going to take me to exercise off this fat, and I will smile at you over my plate of steaming pasta, complete undeterred from eating the whole thing. Continue reading 'Fettuccine Alfredo'»

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