Grapefruit Pound Cake

I have been lacking motivation to get into the kitchen a bake for a long while. I'm not sure why that is, since the inspiration has been there.

Yet whenever I got around to executing, something always distracted me. Then the January 2012 issue of Cooking Light arrived and I couldn't get the grapefruit pound cake recipe out of my head.

It's a simple enough recipe that packs the perfect punch of grapefruit. However, on my first attempt the cake fell apart while I was trying to remove it from the pan. But the cake was so good (and devoured so quickly) that I decided to give the recipe a second try with much better success.

The second poundcake. This one held together.

Still up for debate in our house is whether or not the cake needs the frosting made of grapefruit juice that has been reduced and powdered sugar. I love the cake on its own, while Dan likes the extra punch of citrus the frosting imparts. No matter, with or without frosting this recipe is a winner.

It has also helped me get back into the baking spirit so that I can take advantage of the winter citrus that is in abundance. Expect to see a few more blog posts on citrus posts in the near future.

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

Dan has talked about our addiction to Pinterest before, and here's another recipe based off of a pin I discovered.

Often when I find an interesting recipe on Pinterest, I'll take a look at the ingredients to get a general idea of how it's made and then I go into the recipe and make it my own way based off the flavors I like or what I have in my cupboards. That's exactly what I did with this Loaded Baked Potato Dip.

The original recipe appeared in the January 2011 Southern Living. While their recipe was good, I always like to add a little mayo to a sour cream-based dip to help enhance the tangy aspects of sour cream. I also added a bit of garlic powder because I'm a huge fan of a little garlic on my baked potatoes.

We served our dip with Alexia waffle fries, which are pre-seasoned with a little seasoned salt. I also purposefully did not add salt to the dip knowing there would be a fair amount of salt on the fries, which I turned out to be right.

The combination of the dip and the seasoning on the fries was perfect and tasted like the best loaded baked potato I've ever had. We will definitely be making this one again.

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

16 ounces light sour cream
1/4 cup light mayo
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
5 bacon strips, crumbled
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
hot sauce to taste

1. Combine ingredients in large bowl. Suggested served with waffle fries.

Wisconsin Maple Cheddar and Breakfast Sausage Frittata

Meal ideas can come from many places. Sometimes it's from a craving, sometimes it's from cookbook.

In this case, it's from an ingredient.

One of the Christmas presents we got this year was a Brennan's Market gift card from my mom. Melissa went one day to the store and bough several items, Wisconsin maple cheddar cheese among them.

This cheese is enticing: A deep maple aroma assaults your senses, but when you bite into it, the maple is far more subtle and the cheddar takes precedence.

We wondered how we could use the cheese in a meal, and Melissa thought to make a frittata. So we bought some breakfast sausage, rummaged through our freezer and found hashbrowns and proceded to build from there.

The perfect bite was a balance of the sausage and the cheese and egg, with the scent of maple thrown in.

Wisconsin Maple Cheddar and Breakfast Sausage Frittata
6 servings

1 tablespoon butter, enough to coat pan
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 cups hashbrowns
6 breakfast sausages, removed from casings
4 eggs
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons milk
salt to taste
pepper to taste
chives to taste
3/4 to 1 cup maple cheddar, shredded

1. Saute onions in butter in large skillet. When translucent, add hashbrowns. Make sure the hashbrowns are dry so they brown quicker.

2. In another skillet, cook the breakfast sausages until heated through. Remove sausage from skillet.

3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, egg whites, milk, salt, pepper, chives and maple cheddar.

4. In the large skillet, combine onion, hashbrowns and sausage. Add egg mixture and cook for a couple of minutes, pulling cooked eggs from the side of the skillet and allowing more of the eggs to cook.

5. Broil until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

Chicken: It's been what's for dinner for quite a few meals for us recently. Part of that is that we had some frozen chicken breasts sitting in our chest freezer for quite some time.

And we're as much of fans of Caesar salads as Annie is. That's why we had to try out her Chicken Caesar Sandwiches recipe.

We opted for ciabatta rolls to make the meal a bit smaller, but even so it was filling. You can stuff a lot of chicken onto that roll, folks. We also simplified it -- we wanted to save on time and money -- so we left out the anchovy paste and parsley. Still, the flavors combined wonderfully, with the creaminess of the dijon and mayo playing against the smokiness of the bacon. Delicious.

One more thing: We didn't toast our rolls, but I'd say it is imperative if yours are as chewy as ours were. It's a bit easier to bite into when it's toasted.

Herb-Seasoned Snack Crackers

Melissa was exploring Pinterest recently when she came across a recipe from The Finer Things in Life.

The recipe reminded her of snacks her mom used to make when she was growing up, so she decided to try the recipe out, only she made a ranch seasoning from scratch. That recipe was based off of one from AllRecipes.com for Dry Ranch Style Seasoning for Dip or Dressing. Melissa adds 2 tablespoons of buttermilk powder to hers.

Now I'm a big fan of these snack crackers; I pile them into my soup like there's no tomorrow. It's the salt. They're usually slightly oversalted for a normal person's palate, but they're perfectly salted for me.

Anyway, the herb-seasoned version is better. A hint of richness from the oil with pops of spring-fresh herbs. From soups to salads to just plain snacks, these crackers offer a delectable combo.

Our 10 Favorite Recipes from 2011

2011 was quite a year for us: We welcomed a new Westie puppy into our household as well as expanded our garden and tried our hands at canning for the first time. And those are just the major points that we covered on our blog.

Of course there was more happiness, sadness, anger and frustration. But through it all, we cooked; we might not have done as much as we would have liked, but we cooked.

And those efforts have led to this list, a compilation of our 10 favorite recipes from 2011, listed in order of publication date.

We would love to hear from you. What was your favorite recipe of ours in 2011? What would you like to see more of in 2012?


Wisconsin-Cheesed Baked Frito Pie

Open-Faced Pinto Bean Tortas

Summer Bread Salad

Steamed Corn with Lime-Jalapeno Mayo, and Panko-Topped Heirloom Tomato

Pickled Jalapeno and Cheese Crescent Poppers

Chocolate-Covered Brandied Cherry Ice Cream

Baked Potato Deep Dish Pizza

Toasted Pecan Waffles with Cinnamon-Butter Glaze

Breakfast Pizza

Vegetable Fried Rice

A Duo of Chefs Best of 2011

I noticed something interesting when I sat down with Google Analytics to see what our most-viewed stories of 2011 were. The top 4 posts viewed in 2011 were among the top 10 viewed in 2010 -- and some were published in 2009.

Clearly, this reinforces something Melissa and I thought: 2011 was a lackluster year for us in the kitchen. Part of it was we were devoid of inspiration, but another part was that we were busy and settled for simple meals.

That's because we bought our second dog, Ollie, and introduced him into the family in spring, and in late summer, we spend our weekends canning and opted for easy meals.

But that doesn't lessen the posts below. Enjoy!


Homemade Crunch-Wrap Supreme

Homemade Sour Cream & Onion Chip Dip

Homemade Baked Corn Dogs

Baked Panko-Crusted Zucchini

Wisconsin-Cheesed Baked Frito Pie

Vegetable Enchiladas

Throw Together Guacamole

Summer Bread Salad

Panko-Breaded Chicken Piccata

Crave Brothers Chocolate Mascarpone Pie

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