Wedding Registry : For the Foodie Bride and Groom

Calling all future foodie brides!

Having just gotten married this past August, I can relate to having to create a wedding registry. You go to places like Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, Bed Bath & Beyond and other local boutiques in your hometown, and you add anything and everything you think you might need during your 50+ years of marriage. The one thing that you don't get to register for is a meal! What a brilliant concept -with every restaurant you register for you are simply helping to keep the romance alive (post marriage) by registering for date nights in advance - what could be better that that?

Foodieregistry just launched and it is a wedding registry for restaurant gift certificates. You create your registry, customize your registry and pick your restaurants! Your friends and family can go to this website and search the restaurants that you have registered for (currently it is available in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Denver).

The site was created by a bride and groom who, just like most of us, didn't want to register for superfluous gifts. The bride decided to bail on the traditional registry and instead made a list of their favorite Chicago eats. They ended up receiving over 75% of the restaurant gift certificates that they had asked for and thus, what they coined the "Free Dinner Date Night" was born.

ps: this would also be great when registering for all of your baby gear!

Happy Feasting!

Chile - Glazed Shrimp

I was looking at my recipe index last week and realized that the only seafood listed was the cucumber and dill salmon. We eat a fair amount of seafood (or so I thought we did), so I was trying to think of what to cook next. Tuna, rockfish or maybe some sort of fish tacos? Well, while I was perusing the Internet I came across this recipe for Chile - Glazed Shrimp and I knew this would hit the spot. I also loved that the ingredient list was rather simple, and all I needed to buy was the sesame oil and the sambal oelek (both of which can be found on the international isle at any major grocery store). These shrimp are packed with a little heat and are great served over brown rice or brown rice noodles (pictured above).

Sourced from Cooking Light, June 2004

You Will Need:

• 2 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)

Here We Go:

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat
• Add oil to pan
• Add garlic and shrimp, and stir-fry 2 minutes
• Add the onions, soy sauce, honey, and sambal oelek; stir-fry 3 minutes or until shrimp are done
• Serve over brown rice or rice noodles

Serves 4 (3/4 cup each)
Happy Feasting!

Meaty Meatloaf

It is technically spring and we got snow in Charlottesville yesterday! With temperatures back in the 30's, I was feeling like I needed to make something warm and filling so I decided on Ina's meatloaf (can you tell I am loving her right now?). I love meatloaf. A meal doesn't get much better than a delish meatloaf, mac & cheese and coleslaw. I didn't change a thing about this recipe except that I added green peppers and I thought that it was a nice flavor addition with the yellow onions. Not a meatloaf fan? Don't say that yet because you might be after making this!

Sourced from Ina Garten

You Will Need:

• 1 Tbsp good olive oil
• 3 cups chopped yellow onions (3 onions)
• 2 cups green peppers, diced
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme eaves
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/3 cup canned chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 1/2 pounds ground chuck (81 percent lean)
• 1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
• 2 extra-large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup ketchup

Here We Go:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
• Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan
• Add the onions, green peppers, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not brown
• Off the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and allow to cool slightly
• In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, onion mixture, bread crumbs, and eggs, and mix lightly with a fork
• Don't mash or the meat loaf will be dense
• Shape the mixture into a rectangular loaf on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper
• Spread the ketchup evenly on top and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F and the meat loaf is cooked through (A pan of hot water in the oven, under the meat loaf, will keep the top from cracking.) Serve hot.

Serves 6
Happy Feasting!

T.C's Coleslaw

My grandmother was a phenomenal cook. I still dream of her homemade apple cakes with caramel butterscotch icing, fresh strawberry cakes, Santa Claus whisker cookies, old fashioned green beans, spaghetti sauce with cloves (who knew?) - the list goes on and on. She was one of those women who was a chef before her time and should have opened a restaurant with all of her "good eats" but never had the chance to. This homemade coleslaw recipe is made with just a few simple ingredients and yet it is so much better than those soupy coleslaw containers that you find at most grocery stores. It can be served with mac & cheese or atop a BBQ sandwich - either way it has just the right amount of vinegar and just enough mayonnaise that you can actually taste the cabbage and carrots.

You Will Need:

• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 head of cabbage
• 2 Tbsp light mayonaise (my gramma definitely did not use light mayo but I did)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Salt & pepper to taste

Here We Go:

• Grate carrot over medium sized bowl using a microplane (pictured here) or box grater

• Grate cabbage over bowl and mix ingredients together



• Add mayonaise, sugar, apple cider vinegar and salt & pepper
• Stir all ingredients together



Serves 2-4 as a side
Happy Feasting!

Spring Green Risotto

My new obsession is a cookbook. It's not a new cookbook that has just hit shelves, but it is fairly new to me and I am in love. It is Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients". I have yet to make a recipe from this book and be disappointed with the outcome. Her risotto is no exception. The title says it all. This cookbook produces the most wonderful, distinct flavors from everyday ingredients. And now that spring has finally arrived, why not celebrate the season with this! You will love this spring risotto, I promise.

ps: I know this looks like a long process but this can be made in about 30 minutes!

You Will Need:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
• 1 cup chopped fennel
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 4 to 5 cups simmering chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 pound thin asparagus
• 10 ounces frozen peas, defrosted, or 1 1/2 cups shelled fresh peas
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, preferably Italian
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus extra for serving

Here We Go:

• Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat
• Add the leeks and fennel and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender
• Add the rice and stir for a minute to coat with the vegetables, oil, and butter
• Add the white wine and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the wine has been absorbed
• Add the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring almost constantly and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more ( This process should take 25 to 30 minutes)
• Meanwhile, cut the asparagus diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths and discard the tough ends
• Blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, until al dente
• Drain and cool immediately in ice water
• When the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, drain the asparagus and add it to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper
• Continue cooking and adding stock, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is tender but still firm
• Whisk the lemon juice and mascarpone together in a small bowl
• When the risotto is done, turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone mixture plus the Parmesan cheese and chives
• Set aside, off the heat, for a few minutes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve hot with a sprinkling of chives and more Parmesan cheese

Serves 4 as main course or 6 as side
Happy Feasting!