I’m excited to write this post today and tell you about this amazing cookbook collection.

For a limited time, I am offering 20 cookbooks on a CD-Rom with
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Every order also includes some exciting bonuses.

For only $20, I will ship you a CD with 20 cookbooks including:

Amazing Appetizers, 300 Chicken Recipes, Tried & True Beef Recipes,
Cakes +, Chili Cookbook, Chinese Style Cooking, Ultimate Salad
Recipe Collection, Cookies & Bars, Dessert Recipes, 101 Deep Fryer
Recipes, Marinade Recipes, Mexican Recipes, Pressure Cooker Recipes,
Quick & Easy Recipes, Complete Soup Cookbook, Thanksgiving Recipes,
Low Fat Recipes, Vodka Drink Recipes, Cranberry Cookbook, 21 Summer
Drink Recipes

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***I must warn you, these will sell out quickly. I only have
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Kind Regards,

Tom

This weekend, Katie and I had a wonderful tropical cocktail down at the beach hut by our apartment. A perfect drink for sitting in the sun on these last Summer days we have left. The lava flow is a combination of fresh strawberry puree, fresh banana, pineapple juice and rum.

1 1/2oz. Light Rum
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 Banana
1/4 cup Strawberry Puree (recipe below)
1/2 cup crushed ice

Combine all ingredients in an electric blender with the a cup ice. Blend 20 – 30 seconds. Pour strawberry puree into a hurricane or Tom Collins glass. Top with the blended mixture.

Serves 1

Strawberry Puree

2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
water as needed

Mash strawberries and sugar together and heat in a sauce pan over medium heat. stir until blended and syrupy, add water if it is too stiff. Let cool.

1 (3-4 lb.) whole chicken
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
salt
pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon honey

Gravy:
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons Wondra Flour
1/2 cup water

Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes
6 red potatoes, peeled and cubed
8 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt
pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup cream

To prepare the chicken, first rinse the chicken inside and out and pat it dry. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper. In the bottom of a roasting pan, add the onion, celery, carrots and 1/2 cup chicken stock. Place the chicken on a rack over the vegetables in the roasting pan. Place in a 350 degrees F oven. Cook for about an hour or until cooked through. While the chicken is cooking, baste it with the pan juices periodically. During the last 20 minutes of cooking, take the other 1/2 cup of chicken broth and mix it with the honey and brush it over the chicken. When cooked through, remove from oven, let stand a few minutes before carving and serving.

To prepare the gravy, place the roasting pan over a burner set to medium heat. Add one cup chicken stock and deglaze the pan. Strain the liquid into a saucepan and discard the veggies. Mix together the water and Wondra flour in a separate bowl, then add it to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes until the gravy thickens.

To prepare the potatoes, start by boiling the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, take the garlic cloves and toss them with the olive oil then wrap them in foil. Place the foil packet in the oven to roast for about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Add the butter, cream, salt, pepper and roasted garlic and then smash the potatoes with a potato masher or large fork/spoon. You want it to be smooth but with some chunks in it still.

Serves 6

It has been awhile since I ran a giveaway on here and since I was recently given a few non-stick skillets to try out, I figured I would offer it to my readers. I have been using one of these skillets for the past week and I have been very happy with how my food doesn’t stick which allows me to use less butter and oil. The non-stick pan also makes for easy clean up.

It is super easy to enter into this giveaway. Just visit the contest page.

One lucky winner will receive a 10-inch Non-Stick Teflon Skillet.

The winner will be selected at random on Monday, September 6, 2010.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER NOW

Katie gave me the night off on Tuesday and she prepared a delicious tortellini salad. It came out perfect! While I do love to cook, it’s always nice to sit back now and again and enjoy someone else cooking.

12 oz frozen tri-color cheese tortellini
6 oz tri-color Fiori pasta
1 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 red onion, diced fine
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups diced Jarlsberg cheese
1/2 cup Good Seasons Italian Dressing

Cook the pastas according to package directions. Drain and rinse to cool off. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well until evenly coated with the dressing. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 8-10

Last Friday after work, Katie and I decided to make a batch of Hummus with pita bread. As we got to work we decided to add a couple twists to the standard recipe. We ended up with 3 different kinds of hummus along with fried and un-fried pita wedges.

4 garlic cloves, minced
2 (15-oz) cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2/3 cup of tahini
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Variations:
1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts
or
1/2 cup roasted red pepper

Pita bread
oil, for frying

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. If it is too thick, you can add a little extra water. You can also add in artichokes or roasted red pepper for even more flavor.

We made the whole batch and then divided it into 3. We then blended roasted red pepper into one and then the artichokes in another. We left the third one plain.

To make the pita wedges, take a round pita and use a knife to cut them into wedges. Place half of the wedges on a serving dish. The other half, fry in oil for about 30-40 seconds on each side or until lightly browned. Let drain on paper towels and then add them to the serving dish.