I was in L.A. last week and hit the road to report on some great street food places, including my new favorite Kogi BBQ. A truck that sells korean food in non traditional forms like these short rib tacos and sliders. So good! Lots more pics and info here!

Unfortunately I didn't get pix of the ones I made for Christmas Eve Hors D’Oeuvres, but these look close enough.

Tasty and easy recipe

Ingredients

* 12 Medjool dates
* 12 1 1/2x1/4x1/4-inch pieces Asiago, Manchego, or pecorino cheese
* 4 slices applewood-smoked bacon, each cut crosswise into 3 pieces
* Smoked paprika

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F. Using small knife, make small cut in side of each date; remove pit. Insert 1 piece of cheese into each date. Brush bacon slices generously on 1 side with smoked paprika. Wrap each date with 1 piece of bacon, with paprika side against date. Secure bacon with toothpick. Arrange dates on rimmed baking sheet. Roast until bacon is browned on bottom, about 6 minutes. Turn dates; roast until bacon is cooked, about 6 minutes longer. Transfer to plate; cool slightly. Remove toothpicks.

miniature gingerbread house mug decoration from Not Martha. aren't they adorable? I have to make these at some point, not sure when I'll have an excuse.

Boredom with turkey sandwiches+new dslr for Christmas=my first foodporn post!

I know chicken is fairly common with Fettuccine Alfredo, but using some leftover turkey, I made a new post-Thanksgiving/Christmas favorite. I can offer some semblance of a recipe, but the essence of it is cream, turkey, pasta, and tons of garlic. Oh, and a good wine accompaniment (seen in top right) is a must.

Enjoy!

Fettuccine Alfurkey? Fetturkey Alfredo? Fettuccine Turkedo? Really, the possibilities are endless.

i've been spending a lot of time packing up my house, getting ready to move. which means i've been spending a lot of time thinking about my soon-to-be-new-home, and about the tasty treats waiting for me there.


(deja vu? some of these photos appeared in picturing_food earlier this year, but i wanted to share some of the highlights with this fab community also)

( let's trade in our portillo's dog for a lakeside thuringer )

It's been pouring buckets this Christmas, but NORMALLY it's crazy hot in the summer in Australia and I just wanted to share a typical summer dinner / lunch / snack with you - steak with cherry tomato and bean salad.

To say I had... issues... with the recipe I chose to use (Y's Scandinavian one) would be a huge understatement.



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More at my food blog HERE

I guess this is a mean way to make my first post...seafood off my grill while half the country is buried in snow...



Lobster tail & white shrimp marinated in 100% Florida Orange Juice (but of course!), soy sauce, oyster sauce, and garlic and then grilled on a marble stone that's been seasoned with olive oil.

Snow peas and broccoli stir fried in a wok on the side burner.

And since we're experiencing frigid 54 degree weather tonight, a glass of Tower of London Mead with Scotch Whiskey.

And yeah...it was good.

After going to a couple of grocery stores in the area and not being able to buy a duck this year, we decided to give Turducken a go... I've always heard such nice things about it.

It was... alright. As with most processed and boxed foods, the seasoned skin was a little on the salty side to us, but not completely out of control. I think my husband summed it up thusly... "Well, I wouldn't not do it again, but your roasted ducks are better. Maybe if we got an unseasoned one and you had more to do with that." All in all, that's high praise from my husband for both me and the Turducken.

I'd give it 7 or 8 out of 10 forks.

But the Farnum Hills Cider was amazing.

Made these today for Christmas and used the book Hello, Cupcake! by Alan Richardson for the idea! I love this book, a lot of cute and easy ideas!



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My husband and I have four children and are on a somewhat tight budget, so "date night" doesn't happen very often. I was driving with him this evening and decided that on New Year's Eve, I'd like to try to get the kids to bed on time and ring in the new year with my husband. I've got one remaining bottle of bubbly mead that I brewed for my sister's wedding nearly five years ago. I'm trying to think of some relatively low effort, not too expensive vegetarian treats to go alongside. I had been thinking of making baked brie, but he asked me to make that to bring to his parents' house on Friday, so I'd rather not eat that twice in one week. The only reason I mention it is that this sort of thing -- gooey, rich and hot -- is the sort of thing I think he'd enjoy. Advance preparation would be a BIG bonus since I had back surgery this month and tend to be in more pain at night.

While I think of it, here's a photo of the baked brie that I will be making for his parents:




The original recipe, posted on Crockpot 365, calls for a 13 ounce piece of brie in a small ceramic dish to be placed at the bottom of a crock pot. I made some modifications in the photo, using dried cranberries instead of apricots, dropping the sugar altogether, and quadrupling the cheese without scaling the topping up. I used the crock pot without a ceramic dish, so the cheese cooked more quickly than the original recipe despite being a much larger amount.

This Friday, however, I'm considering working fresh cranberries into the topping also, since it was still sweeter than I prefer and unsweetened dried cranberries are impossible to find. I'm concerned that they might not be fully cooked before the cheese is done, though, so I might precook the dried and fresh berries together on the stove before assembling the dish. Has anybody done anything like that?

Is there any place open for ice skating tomorrow during the day? between like 10/11am and 3pm?

Two cookie recipes, one post! Mexican Wedding Cookies and Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. For recipe and pictures visit FotoCuisine.com


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The very best holiday greetings to all of you.

Cheers.

Mikey Mo

I went on a bit of a cookie baking binge today for Christmas presents.  The thing I love about these cookies is that they all came from the same dough then I just divided it into 1/4 and went in different directions for each person's fave flavours.  These are Fakewell Cookies (sort of but not quite a Bakewell), Ginger and Chilli cookies and Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies.  I also made Choc Chip and Hazelnut cookies but they got eaten before I could get a picture!  So simple to make and such diverse results, I'm in love with this cookie recipe!

Find the recipes over at AnnaintheKitchen.   Merry Christmas!

One of my favorite snacks. In this one, I grew the tomatoes & basil, and used buffalo mozzarella. Yum!

Russian cusine but known in Europe and ex-USSR countries.



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