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Fast & Easy Dinner: Baked Potatoes With Brussels Sprouts

partysugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:00:45 -0700

Although it takes an hour for a potato to bake, I still consider baked potatoes a quick and simple meal. Why? Because they require virtually no work. All you have to do is throw them in the oven and wait.

Because of the special and flavorful topping - bacon! Brussels sprouts! sour cream! - this recipe, however, involves a small amount of cooking.

It's worth the extra effort; with their veggie, pork, and dairy components, these loaded baked potatoes are a meal in themselves. To take a look at the recipe, read more.

Baked Potatoes With Brussels Sprouts
From Real Simple

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes
12 slices bacon
8 to 10 fresh sage leaves, roughly torn
3/4 cup golden raisins
2 cups Brussels sprouts
1/2 cup sour cream
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F.
Wash and dry the potatoes, then prick them all over with a fork. Set on middle rack of oven and bake 1 hour, or until the potatoes feel soft when gently squeezed and the skin is crispy.
In a medium frying pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
Discard all but 1/4 cup of the bacon fat and return the pan to the burner over medium heat. Add the sage and sauté until just sizzling. Add the raisins and Brussels sprouts and stir until warm.
Slice the top of each potato down the center lenghtwise and squeeze gently to loosen the inside. Spoon some of the Brussels sprout mixture over each potato and lay 3 slices of the bacon on top. Add a dollop of the sour cream to each and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

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Come Party With Me: Tailgate - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:30:49 -0700

No Cal-USC tailgate is complete without a sweet treat and I like to serve cookies. Specifically, classic oatmeal raisin cookies - they're chewy, not too sweet, and scream Fall.

Cookies are also perfectly portable and can be made in advance, meaning they're ideal for a tailgate. Because the finished dough needs time to chill in the fridge before being baked, this recipe must be prepared several days before the game.

To make these cookies for your friends and family, get the recipe and keep reading.

Raisins: Love Them or Hate Them?

partysugar — Sat, 23 May 2009 04:00:46 -0700

With their dark brown color and wrinkly skin, raisins have never been one of my favorite foods. When I was a kid, the little red boxes were everywhere and I quickly grew sick of them. As an adult, I won't complain if they're served to me, but I don't cook with raisins at home. How do you feel about the ingredient?

Source

Yummy Links: From Chocolate-Stuffed Bananas to Spy Chefs

partysugar — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:45:19 -0700

Chocolate-stuffed bananas make a delicious campfire dessert. - Slashfood
Although the district may be gritty, the grub in San Francisco's Tenderloin is delicious. - Chow
Would you drink a pork martini? - Serious Eats
Four chefs reveal their secrets for making the best pizza, pad thai, taco, and burger. - 7x7
Have you ever had a farm fresh egg? - The Epi-Log
Hilary Swank plans to produce a movie based on the book French Women Don't Get Fat. - BuzzSugar
How to make homemade raisins. - Baking Bites
A Wii bowling tournament is a fabulously fun party theme. - Hostess with the Mostess
Ten chefs whose culinary skills make them exceptional spies. - Best Week Ever

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Textured Side: Sautéed Spinach with Pine Nuts & Golden Raisins

YumSugar — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:28:31 -0700

Spinach is one of my favorite things to cook. Whether it's put into a salad or cooked into a casserole, I absolutely love the way it tastes. I recently came across a simple recipe for spinach sautéed with pine nuts and golden raisins. While I have put raisins in many a spinach salad, I've never put them in cooked spinach. I think the squishy texture of the raisins will go nicely with the slightly wilted spinach. To get the recipe and try it for yourself, read more.

Sauteed Spinach with Pine Nuts & Golden Raisins
From Eating Well

Ingredients

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 tablespoon pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 10-ounce bag fresh spinach, tough stems removed
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shaved Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add raisins, pine nuts and garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat; stir in vinegar and salt.
Serve immediately, sprinkled with Parmesan and pepper.

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It Only Comes Once a Year: Irish Soda Bread

partysugar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:13:31 -0700

My dad makes Irish soda bread once every year and it always appears in the kitchen around St. Patrick's Day. Irish soda bread is a dense bread that is quite simple to make. This traditional recipe - it's from my Irish-born great-grandmother - includes caraway seeds and raisins. While you could leave these ingredients out, they are surprisingly delicious in the bread. It's an exceptional breakfast treat especially when lightly toasted and generously buttered. It would make a wonderful hostess gift or an accompaniment to Irish stew. To check out the recipe, read more.

Irish Soda Bread
From PartySugar's Dad

My grandmother used to make this for me. It is really good hot out of the oven topped with butter. Great for St. Patrick's day. Very authentic.

Ingredients

cooking spray or butter for the pan
2 cups flour, plus more for the pan
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons caraway seeds (If you don't like them you can leave them out)
1/2 cup raisins
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spray pan with cooking spray or rub with butter. Dust bottom and sides of pan with flour.
In a large bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon.
Stir in seeds and raisins.
With a fork lightly beat the eggs and milk.
Gradually add eggs and milk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a sticky, thick dough.
Turn the dough into a 5 x 9 loaf pan or a round 8-inch pan. Sprinkle a little flour on the top.
Bake for 1 hour for loaf pan or 50 minutes for round.
Turn out of pan onto wire rack to cool. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Makes 1 loaf of bread.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Gemelli With Sausage and Swiss Chard

partysugar — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:03:31 -0800

Pasta is an obvious choice for a super swift yet delicious meal. Why? Because an easy and tasty sauce comes together while the pasta cooks. Sautéed Italian sausage, garlic, and swiss chard are delicious when tossed with cooked gemelli. Raisins, pine nuts, and Parmesan round out the hearty dish.

Fill free to get experimental with the recipe. Use arugula instead of chard, or dried cranberries instead of raisins. For the recipe, please read more.

Gemelli With Sausage and Swiss Chard
From Everyday Food magazine

1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed
1 pound Swiss chard, tough stems removed, leaves cut into thin strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
1 pound gemelli or other short pasta
3/4 cup raisins, plumped in boiling water and drained
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

In a large skillet, toast pine nuts over medium-high heat, shaking the pan to toast evenly, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from skillet.
In the same skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage, and cook, breaking it up with a fork, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add chard, garlic, and pepper; cook, tossing, until chard wilts, 2 to 3 minutes. Cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions, about 12 minutes.
Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Return pasta to pot.
Add sausage mixture to pasta with 1/2 cup reserved cooking water, raisins, toasted pine nuts, and Parmesan; toss to combine. Add more cooking water if pasta seems dry.
Serve with more Parmesan.

Serves 4.

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Comforting Classic: Oatmeal Cookies

partysugar — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 01:37:33 -0700

Oatmeal cookies may be old-fashioned, but their homey goodness will never grow old. Many grandmothers pass the recipes down from generation to generation, and they are fabulous chewy, crisp, fresh from the oven or a few days old. The best accompaniment to an oatmeal cookie - besides a bear hug from grandma - is a large glass of cold milk. To make these for your loved ones today, read more

Oatmeal Cookies
From Simply Recipes
Image Source

1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs well beaten
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
3 cups oats (we use Quaker Quick or Old Fashioned. Do NOT use instant.)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (use 1/2 cup if using raisins)
1 cup raisins (optional)

Cream shortening and sugars, add eggs and vanilla and beat well.
Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to first mixture and mix well. Add raisins and nuts. Add oats last.
Spoon out by rounded tablespoonfuls on to greased cookie sheets.
Bake at 350°F. Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

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Do You Like Raisins In Your Cookies?

YumSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 07:03:31 -0700

The folks at Threadless have come up with another fantastic shirt. This time it's a simple chocolate chip cookie with the words, "Stupid Raisins, Stay Out of my Cookies." Personally I have to agree. Although I like raisins, I rarely like them in my cookies. How about you? Do you like raisins in your cookies?

Secret Ingredient: Thyme

YumSugar — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:59:23 -0800

Thanks to everyone who submitted their raisin recipes to the Secret Ingredient group! There were so many tasty recipes, including a drink, but the one that made me drool the most was a Crossiant Bread Pudding with Pecan-Toffee Sauce submitted by reader luvbriere (who also took the gorgeous photos on the right).

The next secret ingredient is thyme. FitSugar recently wrote about how thyme is an amazing herb and so I thought it would make a good Secret Ingredient candidate. So dig up your best recipes featuring thyme and post them into the Secret Ingredient group. You've got until this coming Thursday, so get started!