Five Acres with a View » food

Irish-American Soda Bread

Elaine — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:19:51 +0000

I made soda bread today using this recipe from Simply Recipes. The article suggested using a cast iron skillet to bake it in the oven, which worked very well. I followed the recipe except for substituting currents for raisins. It was quite yummy.

Irish Soda Bread

Elaine — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:48:19 +0000

An Irish Chef talks about Irish Soda Bread at Irish soda bread: Not actually Irish? – TODAY Food and wine.

Waffle Maker

Elaine — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:30:47 +0000

We’ve recently discovered that our waffle maker does a good job of cooking thick cut bacon as well. (This is yet another Alton Brown suggestion.) Our maker turns out flat, crispy bacon in about six minutes. If you want more ways to use your waffle maker, go to the Waffleizer, a weblog devoted to alternate uses for a waffle iron.

Shades of Paula Dean

Elaine — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:50:32 +0000

This weekend, Jack made an Alton Brown pasta recipe, Cracker Noodle Do, that incorporated two of Paula Deans four food groups: crackers and butter. It was very tasty with a little grated parmesan added. Jack has started watching Alton Brown’s show on the Food Network. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Good Eats – The Early Years

Elaine — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:59:13 +0000

Jack received a copy of Alton Brown’s Good Eats – The Early Years from my sister for Christmas. The poor guy didn’t even know who Alton Brown is. We also received some Omaha Steaks from a friend. So New Year’s Eve Jack prepared the first application in the book: Pan Seared Rib Eye Recipe : Alton Brown : Food Network. The steak was wonderful. (I plan on reading the cookbook myself when Jack stops fondling it.)

What’s Cooking on Thanksgiving

Elaine — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:47:48 +0000

In a series of graphs, The New York Times shows the frequency of requests of various recipes in various parts of the United States at Allrecipes.com: What’s Cooking on Thanksgiving.

A Year of Slow Cooking

Elaine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:26:37 +0000

Stephanie, at A Year of Slow Cooking, has an unnatural obsession with her slow cooker. She’s okay with that.

Making Fast Food Look Edible

Elaine — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:17:16 +0000

Upscale restaurants are known for their beautiful presentation of food. Fancy Fast Food is a web log that applies these techniques to present fast food. The Colonel’s Chicken Corn Chowder looks pretty good to me. The sidebar explains:

These photographs show extreme makeovers of actual fast food items purchased at popular fast food restaurants. No additional ingredients have been added except for an occasional simple garnish.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Elaine — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:52:08 +0000

Jack made this recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Stew IV that he found at Allrecipes. I don’t usually care for stew made in a slow cooker, but this turned out very well, even without the wine.

Black Bear Restaurant

Elaine — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:19:52 +0000

June 13, 2008 – Click on image for higher resolution version.

While I was looking for a place for us to celebrate our 30th anniversary as well as Jack’s birthday, I came across the website for the The Black Bear Restaurant, a four-star restaurant a short distance from Colorado Springs of which I had never heard. The Chef’s Table (a fixed price meal) seemed interesting, so Jack made reservations.

I thought it slightly odd that there was no photo of the restaurant building on the website, and when we made the drive to Green Mountain Falls, I could see why: it certainly didn’t look like any four star restaurant I had ever seen before. Stated bluntly, it looked like a dive.

Appearances are deceptive. We chose the six course meal, and it was some of the best food I have ever had. We had fennel salad, which was very spicy; bison stew; caramelized onion frittata; a creamy pasta dish; Limousin steak and potatoes; and chocolate. I think it may have been the best steak I’ve ever had. The portion sizes were quite restrained, so we were full when we left, without being stuffed.