Book Review: Food Lovers’ Guide to Raleigh, Durham & Chapel Hill

Posted on November 12, 2012 by kelleychisholm

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon the “Food Lovers’ Guide to Raleigh, Durham & Chapel Hill” (Globe Pequot Press, c2012) by Johanna Kramer. I am so thrilled that I did — what a great guide to some of the Triangle’s best restaurants, markets and local culinary offerings (which happens to be the subtitle of this book.)

I started following Johanna on Twitter a couple of weeks ago and decided to check out her blog, Durham Foodie (http://johannakramer.com/), where I first learned about this book. I immediately went and ordered it from Amazon, where I wound up paying $14.90, including shipping. Definitely worth it!

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Restaurant Review: Taverna Agora, Raleigh, N.C.

Posted on November 8, 2012 by kelleychisholm

I was craving Greek food the other night, so Brad and I headed over to Taverna Agora (6101 Glenwood Avenue Raleigh, NC 27612), our favorite Greek restaurant in Raleigh. I love the “rustic ambience” of this place – it is so warm and inviting. There’s a great outdoors patio that is open most of the year, weather permitting. I’ve never sat outside since I like the atmosphere of indoors dining room (sorry for the dark pic), but maybe next time.

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Ham, Potato and Corn Chowder, Ninja Style

Posted on November 5, 2012 by kelleychisholm

The first dish I made in my new Ninja® 3-in-1 Cooking System that I blogged about last week was a wonderful ham, potato and corn chowder. I wanted to use the Ninja’s stovetop and slow cooker modes, and since the weather had turned a bit chilly, a chowder seemed to fit the bill. And, as luck would have it, I found ham potatoes and red bell peppers on sale at the grocery store. I love when things come together like that!

This is a hearty soup that will warm your insides. It is so creamy and the ham, potatoes, corn and red pepper taste great together. You will probably come back for seconds! Continue reading →

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Product Review: Ninja® 3-in-1 Cooking System

Posted on November 1, 2012 by kelleychisholm

It’s been several weeks since I got my Ninja® 3-in-1 Cooking System and I’ve been quite happy with it so far. Before I begin this review, a couple of things: First, I am not affiliated with Ninja in any way. Second, I did receive this product for free, as some of you may remember from my recent blog on Portland. I attended the International Food Bloggers Conference in late August and one of the luncheons was hosted by Ninja. I didn’t realize beforehand that I would be receiving the Ninja just for attending the lunch (nor did most of the people in the room, judging by the excited reactions I heard when it was announced that the system would be shipped to us, free of charge.) That being said, I promise to give the most unbiased and honest review that I can.

According to one of the booklets that came with the system, the Ninja, with its “triple fusion heat technology, combines oven, stovetop, slow cooking and revolutionary steam infused roasting and baking to create delicious and healthier meals, faster and with true convenience.” I like to describe it as a slow-cooker on steroids, plus more.

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Happy Halloween, Y’all!

Posted on October 31, 2012 by kelleychisholm

 

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Kel’s Easy and Festive Halloween Treats

Posted on October 28, 2012 by kelleychisholm

I decided to make some easy Halloween treats this year and wanted to move away from sweets, especially since I caved in and bought Gabe and Lexi a Halloween cookie cake plus some orange and black cupcakes earlier in the week. I am such a softie whenever I take those two grocery shopping with me and I need to remember to leave them at home.

Anyway, I’ve recently seen a number of Halloween treats online and on TV and decided to make Hot Dog Mummies, Cracker Spiders and Cheese Ball Pumpkins. All are so easy, easy, easy to make and Gabe had fun helping me put together the cracker spiders. My favorite of the three was definitely the cheese ball pumpkins – so festive and so good! If you have to bring treats for a party this Halloween, consider making any of these.

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Food of the Month, October 2012: Potatoes

Posted on October 25, 2012 by kelleychisholm

National Potato Day is October 27th, and I could celebrate it in so many ways. What a versatile food – potatoes can be baked, fried, boiled, roasted, grilled or sautéed. You can use them in casseroles, soups, stews, hashes, chowders, salads, etc. Some of my favorite potato dishes include potato chips, baked potatoes, stuffed potatoes, hash browns, potato skins, potato pancakes, gnocchi, tater tots, potato salad, mashed potatoes with gravy, scalloped potatoes, French fries – the list goes on and on and on!

I decided to make scalloped potatoes with onions and three cheeses to celebrate National Potato Day. As usual, sharp cheddar and Parmesan cheese were part of the dish, but this time I also added some Asiago cheese to give it some zing. Brad called these scalloped potatoes decadent and I definitely agreed – they were rich, creamy and cheesy – the perfect comfort food!

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Country-Style Steak With Magical Mushroom Gravy

Posted on October 18, 2012 by kelleychisholm

I love gravy, oh yes I do. Chicken gravy, turkey gravy, sausage gravy, red-eye gravy and, of course, mushroom gravy. Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that I adore mushrooms, so adding them to gravy is just natural. Plus you may recall that I recently bought a dehydrator, mainly to make jerky treats for my sweet dog Lillie. In addition to jerky, I’ve also been drying fruits, herbs and yes, mushrooms. I read somewhere that when rehydrated, dehydrated mushrooms pack a ton of flavor.

I decided to make some gravy with rehydrated mushrooms and thought what better way to try it out than on country-style steak, a guilty pleasure that I only allow myself to enjoy a few times a year at most. I served it with yummy Yukon gold mashed potatoes and topped all of it with the mushroom gravy. Enter comfort-food paradise.

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Drink of the Month, October 2012 – Liqueurs

Posted on October 15, 2012 by kelleychisholm

In honor of National Liqueur Day, which is October 16th, I decided to look in my liquor cabinet to see what I had on hand to make a celebratory drink. Oh my, I had no idea I had so many different types of liqueurs. I guess I will blame (or, should I say, thank) this blog – over the past year I’ve collected quite a few bottles.

I think Brad was surprised about all of the liqueurs we have as well. Bless his heart, he decided to take one for the blog and try out all of them so he would have an informed opinion on what he liked the best. Thank you, honey, although I had a feeling which liqueur was his favorite* before he even started (it’s one of mine as well.)

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Love A Fair

Posted on October 14, 2012 by kelleychisholm

The North Carolina State Fair is in town until next Sunday. I went yesterday, for a couple of reasons, but the main one was that I had entered the “Anything but Ordinary” sweet potato cooking contest. The other was to eat that not-so-healthy but oh-so-good fair food. While I did not win a cooking title or any ribbons for that matter, I’m sure I gained a few pounds. But overall, it was a good day and a beautiful one,  too.

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