http://meredithandcarla.com/pages Just another WordPress weblog Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:04:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en "It isn't often that the words "roll" and "thigh" combine to such harmonious delight. Envision juicy dark meat wrapped in creamy slices of fat streaked bacon. Once browned in a blazing hot pan the bacon tightens to hold the meat snugly. Then comes a steamy bath in sherry-scented barley risotto, ... http://meredithandcarla.com/pages/2011/03/bacon-rolled-chicken-thighs-with-barley-risotto/     I've always been a voyeur of sorts. As a child, I loved to ride in the back seat of the car at night peering into brightly lit homes while making up stories about the lives of the people who lived there. I'd wonder if those bright yellow walls in the living ... http://meredithandcarla.com/pages/2011/02/kitchen-tour/ I don't miss summer, but I do miss summer fruit. It's not that I don't appreciate the mounds of apples and pears in all their glorious colors and shapes, but the winter is long and options for seasonal fruit forward desserts can become kind of ho hum. The solution: If ... http://meredithandcarla.com/pages/2011/02/quince-pound-cake-with-ginger/ I think I'm on to something here. I've found an easy way to cook a complete meal that virtually eliminates the pot and pan cleanup. And to top it off, it's delicious enough to serve to company. This sort of discovery fosters images of Rumpelstiltskin spinning straw into gold but it isn't magic that I use ... http://meredithandcarla.com/pages/2011/02/hobo-halibut-dinner-with-fennel-zucchini-and-olives/ I've recently experienced an epiphany. I love cooking for two. After so many years of cooking for a houseful, I'm enjoying cooking for only two with no leftovers to wrap up and refrigerate. You know the drill. Despite your best intentions, those guilty leftovers in the back of your fridge are ... http://meredithandcarla.com/pages/2011/01/one-pan-pasta-carbonara/ So sorry to be tardy in getting another post out. The good news is that I've been busy meeting deadlines for an e-book, a couple of magazine articles and finishing the editing on a book to be released in spring 2011.  I hope to get a post online next week, ... http://meredithandcarla.com/pages/2010/12/happy-holidays/   In an effort to eat more healthfully, we've tried to cut back on processed carbs and saturated fats. Most nights a few locally grown vegetables, a chicken breast and salad constitute dinner with very few sightings of steak, potatoes, bread or white rice. I don't generally miss those white calories, ... http://meredithandcarla.com/pages/2010/10/butternut-and-sausage-cellentani-with-sage/ Last week I made the Chocolate Malt Cake from Momofuku Milk Bar for my mother-in-law's birthday. While it might have been a little more sophisticated than the usual birthday cake, it was worth the effort.  You should have seen the delight on her face when we fired the topping of mini marshmallows and lit the candles with ... http://meredithandcarla.com/pages/2010/10/whopper-brownies/ It's already beginning. That subtle yet noticeable change is in the air. Summer is waning and fall is moving in to take its place. By about this time I've usually grown bored with summer meals of cookouts and salads. I actually look forward to fall because now is the time ... http://meredithandcarla.com/pages/2010/09/corn-and-zucchini-chowder-with-ham-and-fresh-thyme/   "Too few people understand a really good sandwich." James Beard Ask me how many sandwiches I've made in my life and I couldn't tell you. As a mother of three (two of them very large boys), I admit to a chronic case of sandwich boredom. Though I do always spread the mayo, ... http://meredithandcarla.com/pages/2010/09/the-perfect-bblta/