All posts by Annie

Garlic Cheddar Polenta with Shrimp and Asparagus

Do you love asparagus?

Asparagus

Do you love it because of its sweetness? Do you love it because of it’s symbol of spring? Or are you like Nate, who just recently came to love it because of someone else’s persistence in pushing this vegetable?

I must say that I can’t think of anything that complements asparagus more than shrimp. We had yummy success in the past with our Quinoa Salad with Shrimp and Asparagus recipe. So when I came across this recipe in Fine Cooking for polenta with shrimp and asparagus, I had to try it out. Continue reading Garlic Cheddar Polenta with Shrimp and Asparagus

Corn Bread with Bacon Recipe

We made this corn bread recipe as part of our Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 Ultimate Rib Showdown meal. It was really delicious and matched well with ribs. I got the corn bread recipe from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (I love this book by the way!). I’ve used it before in a Thanksgiving meal and loved it (Peter Reinhart recommends trying to find turkey skin in place of bacon for that). But hey, bacon is always good!

Corn Bread with Bacon

Corn Bread with Bacon

What I love about this corn bread is that the flavor of corn is very evident and there’s a really wonderful mouth-feel in the texture of the corn bread. This comes from the use of polenta-grind cornmeal and the fresh corn kernels that go into the bread. The buttermilk plays nicely with the sweetness of the corn and the bacon adds a nice savoriness to counter the sweetness of the whole bread. Overall, it’s a very rich, flavorful, and toothsome corn bread.

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Japanese Oden Recipe

Easter is now behind us and we were left with lots of boiled eggs to deal with. This is what happens when you have kids and neighbor’s with kids and we end up coloring a lot of boiled eggs and then in order not to waste them, we have to find ways to eat them all up without resorting to devilled eggs or egg salad sandwiches.

Too Many Easter Eggs

Too Many Easter Eggs

This past Monday, I came up with two ideas—Oden and Thai Son-in-law Eggs. I’ll post about the latter in a future post but for today, let me talk about Oden. Oden is one of those Japanese dishes that I learned while studying in Hawaii (I tell you, that international dorm has been more successful in giving me numerous culinary experiences than actual studying experiences!).

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