Sure you can buy a bottle of Catalina Salad Dressing, but why? I bet you have all the ingredients on hand and I promise you'll spend more time questioning "why" than it will take you to blend up a jar of this delicious dressing. With one taste and in less than five minutes you'll make a savory trip down memory lane. The dressing is good on any tossed salad, but it's a MUST for Fiesta Bean Salad. Yep, just like your grandmother used ...
Big Time BBQ Dry Rub
Grilling is synonymous with Father's Day and we are grilling it up Big Time this weekend to celebrate. I bought Husband a Big Green Egg for Father's Day this year and for the love of the grill I can't believe we waited so long. We've been eggsperimenting all weekend. I sure hope y'all like to grill because I've got some winner recipes coming up. You don't need a Big Green Egg for the recipes, of course, but if you were already ...
How to make butter
I know you are probably wondering, 'why make homemade butter?' Really the question should be, 'why not?' Making homemade butter is simple and everyone should try it at least once. There isn't really a recipe, but we've come a long way from an old wooden butter churn! These photos will show you the process of how to turn one cup of heavy cream into delightfully delicious butter. To make butter you will need: 1 cup organic ...
Creamy Blue-Cheese Dressing for Chopped Salad
These are my Christmas boots. They weren't a Christmas gift, I actually bought them in a pregnancy related shopping spree. I was a gazillion months pregnant with Littlest and boots were the only thing that fit, so naturally I needed them. In hindsight it was a little foolish to listen to my hormones. The boots are bright and have gorgeous blue flowers, but they don't really go with much. So I call them my Christmas boots because they ...
Easy Oriental Salad {and dancing at camp}
Thirty days. We dropped her off the first day of June. My heart aches for her every day, but seeing her fishing, climbing and dancing the days away makes it all bearable. She'll be performing a dance for us tonight on the banks of the Guadalupe River. I've seen glimpses of the performance since I stalk the photographs posted on the camp website hourly daily. She writes they've practiced hard on the dance which is to her favorite song ...
Dos Chelas (y Salsa con Crema)
This is the first post in the new series Cooking con Chelita. If you missed the announcement, be sure to read about the exciting things happening at The Schell Cafe. I'm grateful you are at the table! Forty-five years ago, two young love birds flew the coup and headed to South America to serve in the Peace Corps. Happily married in Caracas, Venezuela the husband and wife learned they were in the family way and decided to make plans to ...
Mirepoix puree
Leave it to the French to take three basic kitchen staples and make them seem way more glamorous, not to mention complicated, than they really are. Such is the case of the mirepoix. Chances are you've made a mirepoix a dozen times, but perhaps you just didn't realize how glamorous and chic you were as you chopped and diced the three humble ingredients. If you've ever chopped onions, celery, and carrots, added them to the same pot, then ...
Friday Fried Fish & Cilantro-Lime Tartar Sauce
Husband is a fisherman. Not by trade, but definitely by passion. He grew up fishing creeks and ponds within walking distance of his childhood home dropping fresh caught minnows on a cheap rod from the five-and-dime. His waters and gear have grown more sophisticated over the decades and I've learned that a day or two pursuing the elusive catch yields weeks of subsequent bliss. When he fishes the Texas coast Husband's fly ...
Peach Salad with Hill Country Wine Dressing
It's peak peach time here in central Texas. Husband & I were in the Hill Country last weekend and picked up a flat of freestone peaches in Fredericksburg. I tweeked a recipe I found from Cooking Light and came up with a delicious, summer salad. It's a great way to enjoy the bounty of peaches before they're all gone. For the dressing I used a sweet wine ('08 Muscat Canelli) we picked up at Santa Maria Cellars in Fredericksburg. ...
A Bushel & A Peck…(Green Garlic Champagne Vinaigrette)
I've been waiting (and waiting) for my name to inch to the top of the list at Tecolote Farm. I'm finally in! An official basketeer. Tecolote Farm is our local CSA and today the first basket of the season arrived at our doorstep. I can hardly contain myself. Seriously, I've been singing A Bushel & A Peck all morning. Mia's father used to sing the Guys & Dolls show tune to her and now she sings it to the Littles. I love you ...