Jun 12
As you know we are focused this week on those wonderful people we will celebrate this coming Sunday…Dads:) They come in all shapes and sizes and have all different opinions and tastes. But it has been my experience over the years that one universal quality about fathers is that they all love comfort food….well for that matter who doesn’t? !!!
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Jun 1
“Put another one on the barbie” is a familiar phrase that we have come to expect to be spoken by someone sporting a distinctively Aussie accent when referring to shrimp. We are putting a little twist on that phrase.
May 11
As we’ve discussed before, every mother knows, those three words, “What’s for dinner?”, can be a horror on the days when you just can’t think of a thing to cook and if you ever see another chicken strip, or bowl of mac and cheese, or pizza, it will be too soon. You really want your family to have healthy home cooked meals, if only there was a cook at home to make them!
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Apr 3
It is always interesting to me when something you are trying to do doesn’t work out the way you thought it would, but what comes about instead is so much better. It is such a pleasant surprise when that happens don’t you agree?
Feb 27
Last night was one of my favorite of the year. It was Oscar night, or as my husband refers to it, “the super bowl for women”. He isn’t much interested in all the Red Carpet interviews with the stars and the clothes and jewelry, some of the things I LOVE about this event, but he participates because he enjoys movies almost as much as I do, and besides, he knows there will be food involved. Every year there is a small group of us who watch the Oscars together and the entree is themed around one of the Best Picture nominees. Read more
Feb 24
When food can be considered simple enough to be comfort food and be sophisticated enough to be served at smart cocktail parties, it isn’t hard to understand why we would want to share it with you. Tomato Bisque and Toasted Cheese Squares are really dressed up names for tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.
When I was in college I spent a summer in England, mostly in the north in a little town called Burrough-in-Furness. There was a little sandwich shop that made the best cheese sandwiches I had ever tasted. They were a cousin of the grilled cheese sandwich I was used to from home, but MUCH better because they were not grilled in a pan but instead they were toasted.
Feb 20
Today as a nation we celebrate Presidents’ Day, which is basically a combined celebration of the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. When I was a child Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays were separate holidays and celebrated on their actual birthdays, which meant we had two days off of school unless, of course, one of them fell on a weekend. Read more
Feb 13
Love is the air or, at least the SMELL of love is in the air!
Nothing smells more like love and comfort than the aroma of fresh bread and we have a wonderful, easy, foolproof recipe for French bread. If you have not had a love affair with yeast, but, in fact, have had what a psychologist would call “an avoidance issue”, now is your chance for some therapeutic intervention. This recipe has all the makings of a great love story: it’s warm, inviting, and oh so steamy! Whether you are cooking tomorrow or not, try this bread. You will LOVE it and will be loved every time you make it. We guarantee it.
Feb 10
This is the story of how I came to have a recipe for THE PERFECT CHOCOLATE CAKE.
I am blessed with a husband who is extremely easy to please, at least as far as food is concerned. We will have been married 36 years on the 28th of this month, and in all that time he has never complained or had a negative comment about anything I have made for him. Anything, that is, except chocolate cake.
I love to bake (probably because I love to eat, but that’s another story) and I learned early on in our relationship that chocolate cake is Randy’s favorite. So, since I love to bake and I love Randy, I wanted to make him the best chocolate cake he had ever eaten on the first Valentine’s Day after we were married. I used a delicious sounding Bon Appetit recipe I had been saving and was thrilled at how it turned out. But to my dismay, when I served him my masterpiece, he was underwhelmed to say the least. I was sooooo disappointed because I wanted badly to make him happy and knowing that he was so easy to please about everything else, I was perplexed as to why he wasn’t delighted with the cake I had made especially for him.
Feb 6
When a friend passed out this recipe many, many years ago, we did not realize what a journey it would take. Its presentation is quite beautiful and people rave about how it tastes. We have used and used and used it and, every time we do, we realize, once again, that it is a very easy, amazingly pleasing dessert. We have offered it on countless dessert bars, as the finishing morsel at elegant dinner parties, as a wonderful companion to a good cup of tea and, on many occasions, as a birthday cake.
The meringue is best baked the night before you want to serve it, and then left in the oven (having not opened the oven door), overnight. It has NEVER failed us and we feel sure that it will never fail you. Enjoy!
{photos by Natalia Chydzik}
Feb 2
Photo by Natalia Chydzik
Over the years we have found that one of the most versatile and fun meals, for both host or hostess and guest, is brunch. And one of our favorite brunch foods is Classic Quiche. This is another “go to” recipe for the Two Chums because it is easy and delicious and can be made well ahead of time and re-warmed or served at room temperature.
This recipe is not for those who are on a perpetual diet or who like to modify original recipes to be more low calorie and then proclaim “You’ll never taste the difference”. Unless your taste buds have been very seriously altered, we can promise you WILL taste the difference if you skimp on ingredients or use low fat anything. If you only eat this once in a while, make and eat it the way it is supposed to be made or we would have to say it is better to find another dish to serve. We sound pretty emphatic about this but once you’ve tasted it you will know why. Enjoy!
Jan 29
