A Slow Braise for a Lazy Day {Wine Braised Short Ribs}

Braised Short Ribs a la Tom

Planning ahead?  Then this is a great recipe... but you need to be planning.  I made this for dinner last Sunday, I spend probably an hour on Saturday PRE-marinade and then another hour on Sunday.... and that was just active time.  Was it worth it? I'd say yes.  BUT everyone [including me] thought MINE were better but these were good and I would make them again as an alternate to my beer braised short ribs... OH and did I mention these are my guy TOM's ribs? Well they are.... king of braised meat.... my hero :)


find his recipe here, but I changed very little

HAPPY FEATURED 5! {& yes, we have a WINNER! }

WELL, Before I get to business.... I had 82 entries to May's giveaway and ONE LUCKY Sea Salt Collection WINNER! Congrats to CUCINA49!!! please email me at heidisuewebb@yahoo.com and I'll get it on it's way to you PRONTO! And then I'll look forward to hearing about how it has changed your life! 


I'll be announcing JUNE's giveaway this weekend so keep your eyes peeled.... I had a tie on votes for what it should be so I had to "randomize" that too! 

 



Happy June!

Happy Friday!

HAPPY FEATURED 5!

My first post is incredible looking but to me of course it's more than that.... it's my namesake in a dessert GRASSHOPPER PIE! Thanks for sharing Pass The Sushi, Ruthie would've approved!
p.s. I hope I won the book... sorry my 5 came out too late to pimp :(

Alex at Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Foodiness 

was mortified by the title of her post.... 

Presto Pesto.  

Cheesy ole me though....

 yup, I adored it. 

And that Pesto looks stunning

 and OMG it was made with

 a Magic Bullet.  

She was channeling her inner Grasshopper.... 

it's the celebration of the Grasshopper week.

what is that? THAT is Brown Risotto.  

Yes, Shut. The. Front. Door.  Who knew?  

Jessica at Oh Cake knew.... that's who.

I am finding this and making it!  

Thank you Jessica for posting 

Brown Butter Carrot & Walnut Integrale Risotto

I know I'm definitely more DINNER oriented this week.... possibly because it's been kinda crazy & I've made a bunch of quick "clean out my fridge" meals so I'm coveting this yummy food.... Lauren at Part Time Housewife {canNOT imagine what she'd cook up if she was FULLtime!} grilled up some Grilled Black & Bleu NY Strips.... YUM.  They looked awesome.... and now I'm just waiting for the recipe for the Bacon Slaw also in this picture.... give it up LAUREN!!!

O.K. enough dinner.  

Cookie & Kate were flipping some

Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Pancakes 

over in their neck of the woods... and I was like

WTH, I'll be wrestling alligators

 in the Everglades this weekend

 when I could be making these

 >>>>>>>

WAHHHHH! 

Make some for me and report back!

& there's always one for good luck. 

 This week it's from my first Blog love... 

Marina at the Yummy Mummy Kitchen.  

I adore her blog and all her awesome treats.  

This morning she featured an awesome seasonal salad, 

I can't wait to try it! 

Grilled Apricot, Gorgonzola, and Candied Walnut Arugula Salad... 

for the candied nuts check out my recipe HERE.

****ALL PHOTO CREDITS TO THE POST REFERENCED,

HUGE Thank you to all for letting me repost****

As usual I have a couple housekeeping matters :)

You may recall that 2 weeks ago I was over at Wilde In The Kitchen participating in her bake sale to raise money for Relay for Life!  WELL, not only did I get to send MY cookies of to my lucky winner {XXOO MOLLY} but I also received {and you know it really is better to RECEIVE than to GIVE ....is she kidding? you'll never know} but OMGoodness did I receive some YUMMINESS!

I'm still bitter at some chick Marisa who outbid me all over the place but boy did SHE miss out.... I received some Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles from Heather at Bake, Run, Live that my family fought over AND an out of this world loaf of Povitica Bread from Mrs. Wilde herself, Vicki.  SO YUM.  It was such an awesome cause & such an awesome treat to receive my goodies... hope you'll all join in next time!

In closing.... HAPPY NATIONAL DONUT DAY!

Particularly to my David & my friends Kathy & Kevin <3

I wonder what CJ @ Food Stories will cook up?

GINSANITY CHAPTER VIII: This'll Cherry, I mean Cheer, You up! {Cherry Gin Fizz}

Cherry Gin Fizz

DONE.

J'ai fini.

Stick a fork in me.

oh? it's only Thursday?
GEEZ.
Oh wait!
It's THIRSTY Thursday.
and this is my new little friend the Cherry Gin Fizz
It's easy like Sunday morning....
hehe, I know, that was cheesy.
I'm tired.

WHAT YOU NEED:

{1 part = 1 ounce when drinking alone 

---although you're never drinking ALONE, I'm with you in spirit}

1 part maraschino cherry juice {I know, zero health benefits but I think they now use something besides the carcinogenic Red dye #9 or whatever it was}
1 1/2 part Gin {there's the healthy stuff}
4 parts club soda
sugar for the rim

WHAT YOU DO:
BEFORE I made the drink I put my 1 part cherry juice in a shallow bowl to dip my glass in before sugaring the rim.... not necessary but I think it sticks better with the juice than just water.
Fill shaker with ice, add ingredients, shake vigorously before straining into your prepared glass....

can you say AH? Wake me when it's Friday....

p.s.  Don't forget, MY SEA SALT GIVEAWAY ends at 11:59 EST TONIGHT.... don't miss it... share this post for 2 extra entries {we are VERY close to adding the GRILL RUB COLLECTION!}

Sometimes You NEED a cheat.... {Magical Pomi Salsa}

POMI SALSA

 No time?
This Salsa is THE best cheat ever....
less than 10 minutes prep and then IF you have time refrigerate to let it marry....
if not, seriously I would eat these ingredients out out the Pomi box.

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 box Pomi chopped
1/2 red onion chopped finely
3 tbsp fresh cilantro {chopped}
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP lime juice
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
2 TBSP canned diced green chilis

WHAT YOU DO:
Do the hokey pokey and mix it all around....

OLE!

Spicey Honey Glazed Pork Chops & My Foodie Penpals!

My VIRGINIA Swag enjoying Kyra's birthday
opening up many Coke bottles for the Birthday Girl
[and maybe a Landshark or two.... not featured!]

Gotta love the fun of sending

AND receiving your Foodie PenPal package each month!

Daytona Beach Package OUT

VIRGINIA PACKAGE IN!

Lindsay at the lean green bean introduced me to two lovey ladies this month.... Sarah from Quotidienne Moi out of NYC

and Sabrina from Fitlaughlove in VA {Sabrina be sure you show your husband the OTHER use for bottle-opener pictures!}.... check out their blogs, I subscribe to both!


I love this program.... too fun, meeting people, giving and getting great stuff... if you haven't done it you should pop over to Lindsay's site and sign up.... 


But when it's all said & done, to me it's all about the inspiration that arrives in that little box and while I ADORED the swag, devoured the pretzels & Salsa Fresca, relaxed with my tea.... I was inspired and made some INCREDIBLE porkchops featuring my VIRGINIA WILD FLOWER HONEY <3

Spicey Honey Glazed Pork Chops

thank you Recipelion for this awesome recipe!

 WHAT YOU NEED:
5 boneless pork chops
1 cup honey {I used my VA HONEY!}
1 & 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 TBSP minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
olive oil cooking spray

 WHAT YOU DO:

• Preheat oven at 325 degrees F. 
• In small skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add garlic and onions. Saute until translucent.
• Remove from heat, immediately add honey, parsley, sage and cayenne to the pan and mix well.  
• Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.  
• Dip chops in glaze and place inside dish, then pour remaining glaze over the chops.
• Bake for 1 hour and prepare to LOVE these chops.

Spicey Honey Glazed Pork Chops

Have I Mentioned We Love Coconut? {Coconut Encrusted Sea Scallops}

Coconut Encrusted Sea Scallops

I LOVE seafood.

Really ANY seafood.

But I really REALLY love scallops.

We don't have them too often as they can be pricey but when I saw these beautiful  Sea Scallops at Hulls Seafood, I had to get them.

This recipe is so simple I had to share, it's my favorite way to make scallops 

and I can't recall ever screwing it up!

A Drink & A Tripod, Life is good. {St~Germain Cocktail II}

St~Germain Cocktail II

There are so many things that bring me joy about this picture... of course the most obvious is that it's a cocktail and I drank this cocktail on Friday, which also made me giddy with joy... because I am so ready for the weekend, and it's a THREE DAY WEEKEND, can it get better?  


WOOT WOOT!


What else do I love?

• Cupcake Prosecco
• St~Germain
• Fresh Mint from Mr. Donald Kent's garden
• my new boards that Olga & Steve made for me

AND.... the sharpness that my tripod is gifting me.  OMG.  $30 and I feel like I moved ahead like 25 squares in the photography game of life.

Thank you Katherine Martinelli.  Katherine is an awesome food photographer & writer that I've followed for a while.  A month or so ago I came across an old blog she wrote called "7 Top Food Photography Tips" which I read and took to heart.  Tip #2.... GET A TRIPOD.  I operate on a delay so it took me a month but it arrived and WOW.

Now, I need to go and implement Tip#3 and so on.... I love the growth.

I love it so much that I think we should drink to that!

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:

a rocks glass packed with ice

4-5 ounces Prosecco

1 ounce St~Germain

a sprig or two of mint

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:

Fill ice packed glass with champagne, add mint and top with St~Germain.

You are welcome.

XXOO

p.s. I'd like to shout to Zested which inspired this cocktail, I didn't have cucumber so it's not really her drink {THIS time!}.... but she inspired it this time {this isn't my 1st St~Germain cocktail} and so I want to nod her way.... she has an awesome blog.

"Once an opportunity has passed, it cannot be caught." ~Anonymous {GIVEAWAY REMINDER}

Just a quick reminder that in 6 days my SECOND GIVEAWAY closes out.... an awesome Williams~Sonoma Sea Salt Collection to one lucky U.S. Winner! 

All you need to leave a comment on this or the original post confirming that you have done EACH of the following tasks {even if you already are, confirm for an entry!}:

•     ~Followed/Joined my site
•     ~signed up to receive my emails

For THREE {3} EXTRA entries, leave EXTRA comments after you:

•     ~Like my Facebook page
•     ~follow me on Twitter
•     ~follow me on Pinterest

WANT THREE MORE ENTRIES.... PER DAY?

Share this post on your Facebook page and let me know you did by commenting here!

Every day you repost this AND comment here to let me know I will give you THREE more entries....  that's 21 possible entries if you start today!

Don't forget 150 entries and I add the Grilling Rub collection.... we are almost HALF WAY THERE!

click here to see the list and full details

BONNE CHANCE!

Featured 5

T.

G.

I.

F.

Anyone disagree?

I didn't think so...

Especially when you see what I've got ready for 

Friday's FEATURED 5!

Can you say OOEY GOOEY PEANUT BUTTER S'MORES BARS? Well, Kristina from Whipped sure can... YUM!

Kim Bee over at Cravings of a Lunatic was up to her elbows in yumminess making ice cream bites ... I'm only showing one but she made
Cocoa Pebbles Ice Cream rolled in Cocoa PebblesVanilla Ice Cream rolled in CoconutVanilla Ice Cream rolled in Pistachios

Get over there & check it out.

Did you see this? 

Well, I try not to play favorites among my favorites but this was the funniest post I saw this week.... and it ended like every joke EVERYTHING with a yummy dessert recipe. Go check out Kale at Tastes Good To Me and her Strawberry & Lemon Curd Pots.

Have you checked out Anurradha at Baker Street?
Well, you need to and if you needed a reason this is it... Cookies & Cream Pound Cake. Yup, you heard that right.

I just realized that ALL 5 of my picks this week were sweets. HOW ODD. I'm really much more of a savory girl... salty one might say. But it is what it is... look at what Anne at From My Sweet Heart made.... I can hardly type it. Biscoff White Chocolate Chip Blondies. 

MADNESS I SAY.

& My one for good luck? 

It isn't a new post but I just found it 

and I'm having one this weekend.... 

The Elderflower Champagne Cocktail posted by Zested 

...if you know me at all that choice 

requires no further explanation!

****ALL PHOTO CREDITS TO THE POST REFERENCED,

HUGE Thank you to all for letting me repost****

As usual I have a couple housekeeping matters :)

I'm very excited that I will be joining CJ at Food stories to be on a team of Judges for her new Food Stories Award.... I'm joined by some of my favorite bloggers in this honor: Jen - Juanita's Cocina, Kim - Treats & Trinkets, Jennie - The Messy Baker, Uru - Go Bake Yourself and of course CJ. Go check it out....

and of course don't forget May's GIVEAWAY is less than a week away from it's drawing.... enter to win your awesome 

Williams Sonoma Sea Salt collection 

& POSSIBLY a grilling rub collection too! 

WOOT WOOT!

THIRSTY THURSDAY {Fruit & Flowers Sparkler}

Meet my Thursday.... this is my daughter's Middle School Orchestra.  It was a field trip today.  I try not to miss because I know these days are coming to an end but this one was pretty hellish.  We had to be at the school at 7 a.m. so we could travel WITH the Chorus AND the Band to visit and perform at 4 Elementary Schools in the area.  Two school buses packed full, a U-haul full of instruments & music stands and about 80 kids all told in 90 degree heat.  Unloading, slepping, watching them perform, packing up, riding in the bus to the next school and then doing it all over {and over again}.  Don't get me wrong the kids were AWESOME.  Well mannered, helpful and performed incredibly but I'm an OLD WOMAN and I am whooped {and Rebecca forgot the flask!}.  

So, I'm THIRSTY.  But it's all good because it's Thirsty Thursday and I'm enjoying a lovely cool cocktail.  I'm calling it the Fruit & Flower Sparkler and it is YUMMY AND REFRESHING.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:

1 & 1/2 ounces St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur
1 & 1/2 ounces pomegranate juice
4 fresh strawberries sliced
4-5 ounces Brut Champagne


HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:
Add everything but the Champagne in your processor {I used my Magic Bullet of course} and puree then add to glass, fill with ice and top with Champagne.


AHHHHH, it's Friday soon but this will hold you over :)


p.s. have you gotten a Magic Bullet yet?  You deserve one.... summers here.... frozen drinks in a snap ~