Just a little note to say that 'The Rainy Day Cafe' blog is on a bit of a hiatus right now...since my little girl turned one and became a VERY busy and VERY mobile little toddler, cooking fancy meals has gone by the wayside in our household. Add in a five and a seven year old little boy and all of their sports, schooling, and activities, and I'm lucky to get chicken nuggets on the table at night. By eight. So...I hope to get back to my love of cooking again soon, but for the moment, I have to give it a rest.
Thanks!
Shan
I've had this recipe that I'd torn from a magazine sitting in my 'must try' pile for quite some time, and I finally got around to giving it a whirl this week. It is a decidedly 'autumn appropriate' meal, so I wanted to make it before fall got away from me. It definitely did not disappoint! The pumpkin grits were so easy, and the cinnamon chicken was a wonderful combo of sweet and savory. Less than 30 minutes to prepare from start to finish, it made for a wonderful November comfort meal, even on a busy weeknight.
This is a scrumptious version of 'french toast'...cream cheese is baked right in to make it extra sinful, and like a bread pudding, you can make it the night before...just pop it in the oven the next morning, and breakfast is served!
This was the second 'tester' recipe in a row that turned out much better than I expected...I've had a stash of 'must-try-this-sometime' recipes cut out from magazines, and I ripped this savory autumn tart one out of a recent copy of Country Living Magazine. I added some fresh thyme, but other than that: simple, elegant perfection! And so easy, too.
Once in awhile I make a dish that really WOWS me...one that exceeds my expectations and turns out to be so much tastier than I imagined. THIS was that dish for me this month. It is absolutely fantastic. Flavorful and fairly easy, it makes a beautiful presentation and would be perfect for company. I tore it out of the Williams Sonoma catalog many years ago...I'm so glad that I hung on to it and finally gave it a spin!
Ahh, fall. My favorite season for so many reasons, with delicious autumn recipes being one of them! Here is my own recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto. The touch of cayenne cuts through the sweetness of the ginger and cinnamon. This is wonderful with just a green salad and some crusty buttered bread. So cook up a batch and savor the taste of autumn in every bite!
If you like bagels with cream cheese and lox, you'll love this pasta dish. It's delicious and easy, and you'll probably want to double it to have enough for leftovers!
This delicious, rich recipe was yanked out of an old WS catalog. Granted, a box of semi-instant gratin potatos are much easier to throw together than this (and while not exactly chic, the yummy box kind SO reminds me of Mom's dinners during the 80s!), but these *are* actually worth all of the time and trouble. I think they might be even better if you added in crumbled bacon...what isn't?
I was a very picky eater growing up...for some reason I wouldn't even drink milk at other kid's houses. But when I met my best friend Roz in my teens, that all changed. Roz's family is from Iran, and I fell head over heels in love with Persian food. My absolute favorite dish is Lubia Polow (a saffron spiked rice dish with ground beef and green beans), but this one hits the spot, too. You really need a rice cooker to make it authentically Persian, especially if you want to create the scrumptious tadeegh (crusty fried rice) at the bottom of the pan.
I was one of Rachael Ray's biggest fans when she first hit the broadcast cooking scene: her fresh and kicky spirit matched the colorful, quick and healthy dishes she seemed to turn out with little effort but loads of personality! This was one of the first recipes I tried from her ever-expanding collection, and it's still my 'go-to' version for delicious ahi at home. Her on-air presentation taught me how to cook it correctly (fast and hot!) so that it will be rare on the inside but seared brown and crisp on the outside. This recipe looks long and complicated, but it's so fast and easy...perfect for a busy weeknight. As she would say: DELISH!
My cooking (and blogging!) has gone by the wayside with three kids home for the summer...it was a very busy couple of months around our house! Now that the kids are back in school, it's time to get back to business in the kitchen. But...now it's too hot to cook! With summer suddenly making a sizzling comeback this September, who wants to slave over a hot stove right now?
Many were worried that the cool summer we DID have going would result in buckets of green tomatoes, but the mid-September heat has allowed for them to ripen beautifully. And this recipe is so fast and simple, you won't be in the hot kitchen preparing it long. I add a bit of fresh lemon juice (that's the 'twist') to really bring out the flavors.
I first saw this recipe taped up on my Mother-In-Law's refrigerator many years ago...I think she'd printed it out in hopes of trying it out with future grandchildren one day. A decade (and then some) later, and that time has come...my kids (6 and 4) are the perfect age for enjoying this food 'experiment', and we gave it a whirl during a trip to her house in Spokane last week. They had just as much fun MAKING it as they did EATING it, and it's a wonderful cure for boredom on a hot summer day.
Do you ever get included on those 'recipe exchange' email chains...the ones requesting that you jot down your favorite recipe and email it off to ten people? Several years ago I received this recipe in just that way, courtesy of my old friend Mari Stevens. I still pull it out once a year--I always bake it per the recipe, but I'll bet it would be great on the grill, too!
This was another 'test recipe' that I tried out on my girlfriends Jen and Keli the other night. This was a savory galette (essentially a rustic, folded pie) recipe featured in Sunset Magazine earlier this spring. Other than pre-cooking the potatoes just a bit, I think the recipe was perfect as is...a 'fancy' but simple appetizer or light dinner to serve any time of year. And I love that it calls for store-bought pie crust…easy as pie!
I met Jen & Keli during my first week at the UW, and we've been friends for a couple of decades now...often when we have a girls' night IN at my place, they let me try out some of my new recipes on them. After 20 years of friendship, they don't mind being my guineau pigs for new dishes! I tore this recipe for Shrimp Ceviche out of Coastal Living magazine some time back. We all agreed that it was pretty decent as is, but I feel like it needs a kick of something...perhaps some avocado next time? Or a titch of cayenne to kick up the heat? Regardless, it's super easy, and very refreshing on a warm summer's eve.
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With all of the July vacations in our Weather group this month, I've been at the station so much that my cooking has gone by the way-side! So I'm re-posting a blog from last year...with the sunny & warm weather on Sunday, this is a quick and COOL salad to throw together. If you don't have strawberries, various fruits will work in their place. Maybe even some summer watermelon!
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During my time in San Francisco, I fell in love with a wonderful little deli and bakery called Specialty's. They had the most delicious sandwiches and creative salads, plus decadent quarter-pound cookies in flavors ranging from 'black and white' to 'wheat germ chocolate chip' (my personal fave). There was a Specialty's at the base of the Transamerica Pyramid, and I would offer to go pick my husband up from work there just so I could dart into Specialty's for something yummy!
This is a great 'cheater' way to make Paella...the real deal takes much longer. This is the only recipe I've ever used, and it's wonderful!
My Grandma O'Donnell (now affectionately known as 'GiGi' to my children, standing for Great-Grandmother) started the Home Economics Department at Western Tech University in LaCrosse, Wisconsin many decades ago. At 93-years-old, she still keeps an immaculate home, tends to a beautiful garden, and whips up wonderful multi-course meals to entertain friends and family. During my recent June visit to see her, she served a very lady-like, old-fashioned Shrimp and Artichoke Salad. It appears that she'd clipped it from Southern Living magazine many years ago. It was delicious! And perfect for a hot summer's day when it's just too toasty to cook.
During her recent visit here to the Northwest, my step-Mom Annie made this herb-stuffed chicken breast course to go along with the pleated potatos (featured in the last blog). They were divine!
I love anything with pleats (skirts, jackets, cool seasonal slipcovers for my living room furniture...), so this recipe for Pleated Potatoes is right up my alley. My step-Mom Annie made them at our house during a visit last week. Delicious AND beautiful at the same time.
While attending the University of Washington, I lived in a house with about one hundred other girls. Our poor ‘house cook’ had to prepare three meals a day for that many people, and I’m sure it wasn’t an easy task! Every spring she made this salad for one of our celebrations, and it’s still one of my favorites. Whether you’re cooking for two or two hundred and two, you can’t go wrong with this colorful side dish.
I think I clipped this recipe out of Real Simple magazine about 10 years ago...still a super easy, fast and colorful side dish when you're going for Hispanic flair.
This is my favorite recipe for fish tacos--I love that it calls for fresh ahi. It's very quick and easy, plus healthy to boot. You may want to double to have enough for your family.
This is a nice little 'one pot' meal...quick and easy on a busy work night. My Mom sent it to me after seeing it on the 'Good Things Utah Show' several years ago.
In the 2000’s, my girlfriends and I went out to dinner A LOT (this was before we all had children and free time and extra money became a distant memory), and one of our favorite spots in San Francisco was Via Vie. We all loved this antipasto salad of theirs, and this is my best guess at the recipe. I remember madly scribbling down all of the obvious ingredients that I could pick out on a napkin while we were there one night. Add some crusty bread to this mixture, and you’ll have panzanella. But I like it this way with my bread on the side…
