Classic Quiche Lorraine

Posted on May 19, 2012 by kelleychisholm

National Quiche Lorraine Day is May 20, which is cool on a couple of levels. First, May is National Egg Month, so of course you want to celebrate by eating a quiche of some sort, and this one is a classic. Plus, besides the obligatory eggs, my Quiche Lorraine has tons of bacon and lots of yummy cheese – need I say more?

My brother-in-law’s brother owns the Sumner-Byrd Farm and Hatchery in Holly Springs. I recently took the kids there to visit Roy and David and to check out all of the cool birds and other creatures they have. What a cool place! In addition to being treated to a great tour of the farm, we graciously were sent home with two dozen fresh chicken eggs as well as a dozen fresh quail eggs (more about that in an upcoming post.)

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Raleigh’s Best Chunky Chicken Salads

Posted on May 15, 2012 by kelleychisholm

Raleigh’s Best Chunky Chicken Salads

Ahhhh – good old chicken salad, a true comfort food. Whenever I can’t decide what to order for lunch, it is one of my go-to meals. I see chicken salad falling into two categories: chunky and creamy. I love both of them. I prefer chunky chicken salad on a bed of fresh salad greens, with crackers or even on its own, although I occasionally will have it on bread. On the other hand, creamy chicken salad belongs on some sort of good, artisan bread or else maybe as a dip for celery and carrot sticks.

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Carnitas Soft Tacos

Posted on May 10, 2012 by kelleychisholm

Harris Teeter had Boston butts on sale the other day, so I picked one up, not really sure how I was going to prepare it. Since Cinco de Mayo was approaching, I decided to try my hand at carnitas soft tacos, which I’ve been ordering quite a bit lately whenever we go out for Mexican food. Carnitas is Mexican for “little meats” and is simply small bits or shreds of well browned pork used as snacks or fillings for tacos or burritos.

For my carnitas, I pulled ingredients from a handful of recipes, plus took the advice of a server in one local restaurant who suggested I slow cook the pork in cola, which acts as a great meat tenderizer. I am glad I did because it was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. This is so easy to make and the only thing I will do different next time is to double the amount of jalapeños and garlic.

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Drink of the Month, May, 2012: Orange Juice

Posted on May 3, 2012 by kelleychisholm

“Take another shot of courage”  The Eagles, Tequila Sunrise

May 4 is my brother Joe’s birthday, so here’s a warm and happy, happy shout out to him – I hope it’s a great one! It’s also National Orange Juice Day, so now I have two things to celebrate – lucky me! Orange juice is like liquid sunshine, especially when it’s squeezed fresh with just the right amount of pulp.

Those of you who are close to me know that mimosas are one of my all-time favorite drinks – champagne mixed with fresh orange juice is so hard to beat! But for this post, I decided to make a cocktail to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, which of course is the day after National Orange Juice Day. What perfect timing! And that probably means the drink has tequila in it – yaaaay!

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Food of the Month, April 2012: Shrimp Scampi

Posted on April 29, 2012 by kelleychisholm

Shrimp scampi is one of my favorite ways to prepare and enjoy shrimp, so naturally I wanted to make some to celebrate National Shrimp Scampi Day, which is April 29. This is so easy to make and even better to eat! And I lucked out – Fresh Market had peeled and deveined shrimp on sale, which eliminated some of the prep work. We like a lot of garlic in our shrimp scampi, but feel free to use just a couple of cloves if you’re not into scaring off vampires.

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Angus Barn Pavilions – What a Treat!

Posted on April 23, 2012 by kelleychisholm

My company just had its picnic at Angus Barn’s Pavilions and until I got the invitation in the mail, I didn’t even know it existed. I’m so glad that I know about it now! To be honest, I had no intention of blogging about this, especially since it was a rainy and untypically cool day for a late April day and, well, it was a company picnic. That is, until about 10 minutes after we got there. What a great place to hold an event, either corporate or private. Beautiful setting, superb service, excellent food. It’s a well-hidden gem behind the famous “barn” that houses the main restaurant, and I would jump at the chance to go back!

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Drink of the Month, April 2012: Amaretto

Posted on April 19, 2012 by kelleychisholm

For those of you who love almonds, you’re in luck – April 19 is National Amaretto Day. Amaretto is a sweet, almond-flavored Italian liqueur, made from almond pits or apricots, sometimes both. It is normally used in mixed drinks, but also can be found in a variety of recipes, especially desserts such as cookies, tiramisu and cake glazes. Perhaps the most well-known amaretto is Disaronno Originale, which actually does not contain almonds or nuts.

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Kel’s Homemade Creamy Chicken Salad

Posted on April 15, 2012 by kelleychisholm

Chicken salad is one of my favorite sandwich fillings, and luckily there are a number of places in Raleigh that get it right (I will blog about those soon.) I recently posted my recipe for chunky curried chicken salad, which is a great change of pace from what you normally get in restaurants/stores in the area. However, not everyone likes curry (hard to believe, isn’t it), so here is my recipe for a more traditional chicken salad. The good thing about this is you can control the calories by using light or fat free mayonnaise and by not adding too much of it, without sacrificing the taste.

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Cutting Carbs? Make Spaghetti Squash Instead of Traditional Noodles

Posted on April 8, 2012 by kelleychisholm

If you are one of the gazillion people who need to watch your carbohydrates intake, here’s a great alternative to carb-laden spaghetti noodles: Spaghetti squash. That’s right, squash.

The other night Lexi wanted spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner. It had been a while since I’ve made it since Brad has been watching his carbs lately. I suggested we feed the kids regular noodles and that we have spaghetti squash instead. He was game, as we both had eaten this before when we tried the Atkin’s diet years ago. (Disclaimer – I am by no means advocating Atkin’s plan – always check with a health professional before starting any diet.)

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Restaurant Review: Neomonde Bakery and Deli, Raleigh, N.C.

Posted on April 3, 2012 by kelleychisholm

I was introduced to Neomonde Bakery and Deli (3817 Beryl Road, Raleigh, N.C. 27607), a great place that specializes in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes, in the early 1990s by John, my then fiancé. John is of Lebanese descent and tried to teach me how to make tabouli and stuffed grape leaves. I have the tabouli down pat, but I have to admit his grape leaves were the best I’ve ever tasted. However, he rarely bothered to make his own hummus because he loved Neomonde’s so much (as well as its pita bread) and almost always had both on hand. John and I parted ways many years ago; luckily I cannot say the same of my relationship with Neomonde – it’s still going strong!

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