Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Red Onions, Rosemary, and Parmesan

I got this recipe (and photo) from Kalyn's Kitchen and adapted it to fit my circumstances. I used 1 golden potato, 1 red, and 2 sweet potatoes, dried rosemary and parsley, and regular parmesan from the canister and I put all the spices on before baking. Also, I found out afterwards that I would have preferred to cover the potatoes with foil for 1/2 the baking time and let them crisp up in the 2nd half. The onions were charred and the potatoes were a little crispier than I like.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Red Onions, Rosemary, and Parmesan
(Makes 4 servings, slightly adapted from Bon Appetit, November 2002)

4 large or 6 medium tan-fleshed sweet potatoes (white skin)
3 medium red onions
3 T olive oil
2 T finely chopped fresh rosemary, divided (I used my frozen rosemary, if you only have dried rosemary use less and make sure it's finely chopped)
1 tsp. salt (I used McCormicks Mediterranean Spiced Sea Salt, which was great in this)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
2-3 T chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F and cover a flat roasting pan with foil, then spray foil with non-stick spray or mist with olive oil.

Peel potatoes and remove skin from onions. (Sweet potatoes could also probably be left unpeeled, but I did peel them.) Cut sweet potatoes and onions into same-size pieces about 1 inch square. Place in plastic bowl and toss with olive oil, 1 T chopped rosemary, salt or sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Arrange in single layer on roasting pan and roast until vegetables are cooked through and slightly browned, about 45 minutes or longer. (I actually roasted my sweet potatoes and onions in the photo for about exactly an hour, but I like them a little crisp and well-browned.)

Combine fresh-grated parmesan and finely chopped rosemary in small bowl. Remove vegetables from oven and toss with parmesan-rosemary mixture. Serve hot, sprinkled with fresh parsley if desired.

Baby Shower Cookies

After my Christmas Snowflakes came out so good I wanted to try making pretty cookies for my baby shower. I thought they might come out even better if I used a pastry bag to apply the icing. Well, all I can say is that I was less than satisfied with the result. The first handful were experimental as I tried to get the technique down and decide on a design. They look like I 4th grader did them. Then I tried to write "Its a Girl" on them, but it came out pretty smudgy. After that I just went with the most natural motion for my hand to make. They're kind of...Jackson Pollack meets the Easter Bunny. I guess I need more practice with this kind of thing.

Piece of Cake!

I decided to make cupcakes to bring to work for Valentine's Day....nothing special, just a Devil's Food cake mix in a box and a tub of Chocolate Fudge frosting. But I wanted to try using a pastry bag to frost them since so many times before I've been frustrated with the way my cupcakes looked in the end. I'd never done this before. So, I tried the bag and found it to be surprisingly easy to use and not nearly as messy as I'd expected. I quickly ran out of chocolate frosting so I improvised and just scooped another tub of frosting I had into the pastry bag. It happened to be buttercream. The result was a beautiful swirl of chocolate buttercream that tasted delicious! Add some pink sprinkles and...Voila!

Cool Christmas Cookies

I wish I'd taken pictures of the cookies we made this year. They were very tasty and I got rave reviews for my artistic frosting design. The snowflakes were beautiful! I was sinpired by the Better Homes & Gardens Glistening Snowflakes and I found this stuff called pearl powder at the craft store (in the baking section) that made the frosting sparkle and shimmer. Everyone was surprised to see this effect and thought they were great! I'm definitely going to do this again. But frosting sugar cookies is very time consuming, especially when you're making it into an art project. So, I'll have to allow extra time for decorating if I'm going to plan to give them as gifts next year.

Dinner for the Eyes

I think I'm really getting the hang of this cooking thing. Of course, I can bake. But now I'm finally learning how to cook for myself...and not just frozen dinners or cans of soup. I'm making meals that would win the heart (and stomach) of any man. Last night's dinner? Baked chicken seasoned with Sun Dried Tomatoes stuffed with garlic and Romano cheese, atop a bed of whole wheat linguine in a creamy garlic tomato sauce.

(I have to stop taking camera pics of my food and use my Powershot)

To accompany the dish: a salad of spring greens and romaine, red onion, tomato, cucumber & parsley with red wine viniagrette dressing and a miniature loaf of 9-grain bread with butter in between the slices (picture is not actual size,hence it being a mini loaf). Served with a glass of 2002 Bonny Doon Syrah-Sirrah, a bottle I'd been saving for my collection based on the label art.

Well as asthetically pleasing as this meal may have been, the chicken turned out to be slightly dry, not as tender as I would have liked it to be and didn't hold in any of the flavor piled on the outside of it. Besides that the pasta was on the mushy side, there was barely enough sauce for 2 people and the wine was spicy. I've never had Syrah before, so perhaps its supposed to be spicy. But the only thing it really went well with was the bread. So, I got an A for presentation but the rest was more of a learning experience. I may not be a gourmet chef, but I'm getting there.

I <3 *$ Doubleshot!

Ok, so I tried the new Doubleshot+Energy drink at Starbucks this morning. I wasn't sure how to ask for it, so I picked up one of the canned on-the-go version and asked a barista. "Do you guys make these or do I just give you the can and you'll pour it over ice and shake it?" The lovely young lady behind the counter answered with a slightly confused look on her face, "We can make it, yeah. But that one is a Mocha. The regular one might be more bitter than that." So, I ordered it, "Ok, I'll have one of them... a Venti. No, a Grande! It'll probably have more caffeine right? So, I better start with a Grande." It was obvious that the Bean Crew was still pretty unfamiliar with the new drink, but they were very helpful in answering my questions and filling me in. Miss Barista made my drink in a Venti cup to allow extra room for stirring and shaking, then added extra ice. I asked her what to call it when I ordered next time and she laughed, "um...I don't know. A doubleshot + Mocha... + Energy?" Well, that works for me. I believe my new favorite drink this Summer is an Iced Mocha Doubleshot with Energy! (in a Venti Cup). It tastes just like an Iced Mocha but with 100 less calories! Why didn't I discover this sooner? Want something with even less calories? You can opt for sugar-free syrups and nonfat milk. I think that would be called an Iced Skinny Mocha Doubleshot with Energy. Mmm... bravvisimo!

Heirloom Recipes

I have wanted to put together a family heirloom cookbook for some time now. If anyone has recipes that they'd like to donate, please do! One of my favorites is Grandma's Banana Cake. Anyone else have a family favorite? Post your comments below!