Morsels of Megret

....but now I'm utterly exhausted. I created an early "Easter dinner" for my family tonight. I planned it so carefully, making sure I chose recipes from the book of all books, "Tastes of Georgia." True Southern comfort at its finest. One hot kitchen, one five-course Southern meal, and one 50s-era congealed blueberry salad later, this redheaded cook is "worn slap out." Hm. I think next week, Hamburger Helper will be calling my name?

I have come to realize that I am not a fan of French-style cooking. Whenever I see "herbes de provence" in a recipe (or bouquet d'garni, for that matter), I keep flipping the pages and pass it right by. I don't know what it is....the bland poultry, or the subtle spices that penetrate the entire house by day's end and make you sorry you even began cooking that dish. (I'm not a huge fan of thyme or rosemary.) Sunday is my day-before-grocery-shopping-day, so I haphazardly threw together all I had in the fridge and freezer and then went upstairs to browse the web for a recipe that would use them all (or most of them). I came up with a Rice-Chicken-Mushroom Casserole with true French-style seasonings. Ken gobbled it up....I pushed it around my plate with disdain. That will teach me to rearrange my menus in such a way that dishes like this one are all I have to lean back on come week's end. I think I would have rather had a McDonald's cheeseburger toda...

So, my culinary escapades have been fewer and fewer, namely due to the fact that I am in new surroundings and haven't finished getting my kitchen in working order yet. It's hard to get inspired to cook up a great meal when you're short on counter space and you have peeling wallpaper strips everywhere you look. My meals lately have consisted of tried-and-true, family-heirloomed and back-of-the-box specialties. (This also in part to the fact that all of my cookbooks are still packed up.) Nevertheless, I got the worst case of spring fever this week with temperatures hovering in the 70s, and I pulled out THE recipe, the old standby for spring weather: Key Lime Pie. This pie will make your tastebuds think it's summer already. I highly suggest you put down what you're doing right now and go buy the ingredients for it....RIGHT NOW. You can thank me (and Gayle Ortiz from "The Village Baker" ) later. THE VILLAGE BAKER'S KEY LIME PIE Graham Cracker Crust: ...

Yes, they are. These rich, fudgy brownies are totally low-fat. I will say the phrase I throw around so liberally on this blog...."Cook's Country has done it again." And have they. This recipe changed my mind back to deciding to renew my subscription for another year. These little brownies will make you double check the nutrition info as soon as you take a small bite. (Now....to continue on my quest for fudgy brownies that are bittersweet.....as much as I like these, I still think they're too sweet....although most people would probably think they're perfect. I just happen to like bittersweet chocolate more than most.) COOK'S COUNTRY'S FUDGY LOW-FAT BROWNIES 3/4 c. all-purpose flour 1/3 c. Dutch-process cocoa powder 1/2 t. baking powder 1/4 t. salt 2 oz. (1/3 c.) bittersweet chocolate, chopped 2 T. unsalted butter 2 T. low-fat sour cream 1 T. chocolate syrup 2 t. vanilla extract 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white 1 c. sugar Preheat oven to 350. Line ...

So, I attempted to fry something for the very first time in this house. Seeing as we've lived here for three years and only have 2 more weeks before we leave it, I figured it's better late than never to christen this kitchen with the smells of hot oil. For home group tapas night, I pulled up a recipe I've been wanting to try, but have not yet since it makes so much (and, did I mention, it's fried?). Southern Living published a recipe for Black-Eyed Pea Cakes....and it immediately struck me as a Southern delicacy, worthy of restaurant fare, something that'd make Paula Deen proud. They were delicious. Don't forego the toppings of sour cream and green tomato relish...that's what makes them. Here is the recipe.... BLACK-EYED PEA CAKES 1 small onion, chopped 1 T. olive oil 2 (15.5 oz.) cans black eyed peas, rinsed, drained, and divided 1 (8 oz.) container chive-and-onion-flavored cream cheese, softened 1 large egg 1/2 t. salt 1 t. hot sauce 1 (8 oz.) pkg. hus...

Let me just take a minute to brag on my dear husband . He listened to me, listened to my subtle little wishes for one last kitchen gadget to satisfy my craving for a pseudo-gourmet kitchen. There are many tools that I would never, ever have any use for....in fact, a trip to Williams-Sonoma makes me see many things which would be rendered totally useless in my opinion. Yet there was this one thing....this one thing which has been on my wish list for a long time, as well as my yard sale list (although anyone who'd let this thing for for under $5 would be totally clueless)....a slicing mandoline. Imagine my surprise when I opened my birthday gift yesterday and found this underneath the two layers of white wrapping paper (to cleverly hide the "OXO" logo...he knows me well). I haven't even opened it yet....but supposedly I can even make waffle fries with this thigamajigger. I can't wait to test it out.

Last night for chili night at Home Group, I made Rachel Ray's chili. Of course, I doubled the recipe. Yummilicious. Hardly miss the meat. I highly recommend you trying this one. Wait for a cold, overcast, drizzly day. Chili goes up ten notches on days like that. Veg-Head Three-Bean Chili (by Rachel Ray, The Food Network) 2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan) olive or vegetable oil 1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped 1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped 1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped 4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped 1 cup pale beer or vegetable stock/broth 1 (32- ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1 (14-ounce) can black beans 1 (14-ounce) can dark red kidney beans 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 tablespoon cayenne hot pepper sauce, several drops 1 teaspoon coarse salt 1 cup spicy vegetarian refried beans Toppings: 8 ounces (2 cups shredded) spicy monterey jack or smoked cheddar Chopped scallions, w...