Welcome to the "Come to the Table" Blog.

American Tiaramisu

gvotvo — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:47:25 +0000

I love the Italians. So tonight we are going to a dinner at a friends house where they also love the Italians, so we usually celebrate the Italians by having an Italian dish. I usually get to bring the dessert, so tonight it is Tiaramisu. Just as I finished making it, the kids, all screaming at once (there are 3 at home 5 and under) needed to eat lunch. (This is Tracies Husband and she is playing referee she gets interupted 4-5 times in the span of time it takes her to type one of these, all this and she can cook!) After heating up chicken tacos and beans, and cleaning up the mess from the tiaramisu, I couldn’t bear to throw out the kahlua, espresso and brown sugar mixture so I added some hot water and cream. 1pm isn’t too early to have a “treat” on a Friday afternoon do you think?

Tiaramisu
18 lady fingers (found at any Italian specialty store, or you can make your own by finding the recipe on line)
8oz. pkg cream cheese softened
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 T brown sugar
1/2 cup espresso
1/4 cup kahlua
cocoa powder
chopped chocolate

Lay 9 lady fingers in the bottom of an 8″ square pan. beat all of the whipping cream to stiff peaks. Remove half of the whipping cream and set aside. Add 8 oz pkg of cream cheese and whip until the mixture is fluffy. Let it sit. Now prepare the coffee by combining the espresso with the kahlua and brown sugar. brush each lady finger with the coffee. spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the lady fingers. spread the remaining lady fingers over the cream cheese and repeat with the coffee. Spread the rest of the remaining cream cheese over this second layer of lady fingers. Let it all chill until stiff 2-3 hours or over night. Now top with the remaining whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder and sprinkle with chocolate. yum – yum this is worth the wait if you enjoy cream and coffee and a hint of chocolate.

Apple chicken stir fry

gvotvo — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:23:19 +0000

I recently read in a magazine that adding fruit to stir fry adds to the flavor. I like the flavor of sweet with salty, especially in a saucy dish to go over rice. The addition of apple juice to this recipe is so subtle. It makes the dish.

You will need:
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3 chicken breasts or 5 chicken breast tenderloins
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder
2 T butter
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4-1/2 cup water
2 cups prepared brown rice

Start the rice in a rice cooker or a pan.
lightly poach the chicken in the pan you will use to make the stir fry. Dice the chicken and set aside. Drain the pan and add the butter and all of the vegetables along with the spices. Saute until the mushrooms are soft. Add the chicken and toss. Now add the apple juice and chicken broth. Let it all simmer and taste it. You may need to add salt and pepper at this time. Now you will want to thicken the sauce with the prepared cornstarch and let simmer.

An addition that is great in this is sweet chili sauce. Serves 4-6. i served this in bowls.

Man Meatballs

gvotvo — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:02:14 +0000

Yesterday was shopping day and a chance for me to get out of the house by myself. Always a welcome opportunity without all of the children in tow. He graciously offered to make dinner and called me to make sure I was bringing linguini noodles home. When I walked in the door all the boys announced that “Dad made man meatballs” What are these you ask? Hamburger cut in to bite sized chunks and well seasoned with garlic salt, pepper, and basil sizzling on the flat top. And prepared pizza sauce in the pot. After the noodles were done, he tossed the “man meatballs” into the pizza sauce and served it over the noodles. The boys loved them. and I have to admit, I thought they were great. without all of the hassle of real meatballs. Bon Appetite

Happy New Year

gvotvo — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:50:36 +0000

The holidays are over, the wrapping paper has been thrown away and it is time to think about what you will change in the New Year. I know resolutions only survive for about 1-2 weeks, but sometimes getting started can inspire life change.

I am excited about food in the New Year and am looking forward to sharing the recipes I’ve tried successfully in my family with you. (successfully means my kids ate what I made).

Here is my first entry.

Spicy Mushroom Enchiladas
You will need:
10 6 inch flour tortillas
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (sub crimini or portabellafor more flavor)
1 can diced green chilis
1 cup sour cream
2 cups grated cheddar or Jack cheese
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can green enchilada sauce

Saute mushrooms and green chilis in skillet until the mushrooms are soft. Turn the heat off and add the sour cream and spices. Set aside. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Heat tortillas so they are pliable. Fill each tortilla with a serving spoon size portion of the filling and a pinch of cheese (you determine how much you want, I do about an eighth of a cup). Roll the enchiladas and put them rolled seam down into the pan. Top with green enchilada sauce and the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly bubbly.
I serve this with rice and beans.

Come to the Table

gvotvo — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:05:10 +0000

We just had our fourth child and I am realizing more and more how great it is to have my meals planned out. When I take all of my children shopping and I follow the outline of the grocery lists from my book, I am still in and out of the grocery store in 30 minutes. My 5 year old counts the groceries as they go in to the cart and it keeps him from grabbing things that don’t belong (one time we came home with a bag of dried chili mix and some donuts). while I’m running them to and from their activites, I don’t have to call my husband to meet us out because dinner is either already prepared and in the crock pot, or it is thawed and the vegetables are cut and all are ready to be assembled. Dinner time then is peaceful.