Do You Like to Cook?

I really like to cook.  I love to watch Top Chef (which really helped me improve my knife skills) and Food Network.  Worker Bee and I love to go out for a good meal - not just okay - but an I'm dreaming of that carrot-blood orange-sunchoke soup after eating it last year-----again. (Can't get that one out of my mind.)

I'm definitely not a chef.  But I like to try new recipes.

The question I always ask, "Is it a make again?"  To me that's the ultimate compliment and what I want to hear from Worker Bee.  I think that's why I experiment with new recipes so much 'cause I'm always wanting to know if my dear one would like to try this again.  He never asks me to make anything for him (he is really a very low-key, non-demanding individual), so I keep trying to find that dish that will spark that desire in him.  After 21 years of marriage, I'm still trying.

So, I probably went on a bit too long about my honey, but I wanted to let you know why I'm always trying new dishes.

One of my favorite magazines for good recipes is Cooking Light.  It is filled with recipes that call for good, fresh ingredients, cooked in a healthy way.

Since my dad passed away, we have my mom over for dinner every Sunday night and I try to make something really good to send everybody off to a good week.   

Now what was I saying?

Ah yes....my new recipes I tried Sunday night.

We grilled a pork tenderloin, had some delicious fresh blackberries, and had Pappardelle with Baby Spinach, Herbs, and Ricotta.  

This was yummy!  Baby spinach, ricotta cheese, fresh chives and flat-leaf parsley (from the kitchen garden), fresh dill (snails ate my dill so I had to buy some - stinkin' snails), pecorino Romano cheese, a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Perfect for a lovely spring evening.  It was so nice outside we ate under the trees in our backyard.  

For dessert I tried a recipe I got in my e-mail box from Real Simple.

Chocolate Panini!

I love my panini machine!  But I've never made dessert with it.

Doesn't that look yummy?

It's just semi-sweet chocolate that I chopped up and white bread.  (I cut off the crusts to make it a little fancier.)  Just put the chocolate between the bread and heat in the panini maker.

Well, it looked a lot better than it actually was.  It was okay.  Worker Bee suggested I put a layer of peanut butter on it.  I'll try that and let you know how it was.

So, do you like to cook?

Do you like to try new recipes?

Well, I'll cook something tasty for you when you can pop over for a visit.  We can just chat and chat out on our backyard patio.  Doesn't that sound nice?

Thanks for buzzin' by!  

 

Thanks to Runner Bee, we will probably have some cake balls for dessert when you come over.  She has convinced me I need to try these.  Have you made 'em?