Italian Cherry Cream Sodas (Guest Post by Cravings of a Lunatic)

Hello Hungry Couple fans. I'm so thrilled to be here today. I adore Anita and am wicked excited she is handing me the keys to the castle today. To be here guest posting for the Cocktail Queen is an absolute honour. I shall try to fill her shoes as I best I can in her absence. 

Life in the Big City - Road Tripping

The Hungry Couple and their furry sous chef are hitting the road!  This will be the third summer that we've vacationed on the coast of Maine and our second time staying in the same gorgeous lakeside cottage.  I look forward to it all year and it is definitely one of the biggest highlights on our calendar.  I love road trips no matter what and I always pack us a fun picnic lunch.  This year I have an idea for an interesting sandwich and I'll share it with you when we get back.

Deep Dish Cherry Crumb Pie

So, I've saved the best for last.  Day three of the cherry-palooza going on in my kitchen has to mean pie.  When the folks at OXO and North West Cherry Growers issued their cherry challenge and sent us a bounty of ripe fruit, it was fun to think creatively about cherry recipes.  And the brandied cherries I made on Wednesday are definitely fun.  Yesterday's cherry preserves might be more typical but they sure are tasting good slathered on pretty much everything!  Is a pie, then, too normal, too expected?  The truth is, I didn't really care because I absolutely had to have it.  There needed to be pie!

Homemade Cherry Preserves

Yesterday I told you about the cherry challenge issued by the folks at OXO and North West Cherry Growers.  And part of the bounty of cherries they sent me went toward creating some brandied cherries.  The next recipe I had planned was for one of my favorite treats.  Every single day I look forward to my afternoon snack of Greek yogurt with a dollop of sweet cherry preserves.  So, why not make my own?

Brandied Cherries

What would be the correct term to describe what happens in your kitchen when someone sends you 10 lbs. of sweet, ripe cherries?  Cherry-palooza, maybe?  My benefactors, in this case, are the fine folks at OXO and North West Cherry Growers and their gift came with a challenge.  Create one or more great cherry dishes that will be featured on their Facebook album for people to vote on.  Well, getting votes would be fun but getting to experiment in my kitchen with such a bounty was even more so!

Lemon and Blueberry Cornmeal Scones

You'd be hard pressed to find a scone flavor we don't like but that doesn't mean we don't have a few favorites.  And, at the top of that list, you'd probably find a pint of fresh blueberries and some fragrant fresh lemon zest.  We both love how some of the blueberries burst during baking and their sweet juice flavors the only slightly sweet scones.  And lemon and blueberries are a perfect match.  So why then did I mess with scone perfection and introduce another element?  Because it's so good!

Peachy Buttermilk Bundt

This month's bundt cake theme is peaches and our group founders, Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess, chose perfectly.  August is National Peach Month for good reason and Brian and I can hardly walk past a fruit stand these days without being drawn in by their intoxicating smell.  Peach daiquiris and peach pies and popular items on our August menu.  So, a peach bundt cake?  Absolutely!  Coming right up.

The Month in Review - July 2013

So long, July, I'll miss you.  You brought us warmth (sometimes a little too much but I still prefer it to winter), long summer weekends away, an online bake sale to benefit a sweet abused doggie and my birthday.  What's not to love about a month like that?!  Not to mention that we started the month off with a s'mores martini.  A s'mores martini, people!!  But, as great a month as July is, I love August more...less humid, big vacation plans...but I tried hard to not rush ahead and enjoy every precious summer day.

So before I swoon all over August and its peaches and our lakeside cottage rental, let's take a look back at the summery tastiness of July.  Enjoy!

Birthday Time at Thyme!

Thyme Restaurant, 8 Tower Place, Roslyn, NY 11576, 516-625-2566 thymenewyork.com

Thyme Restaurant on Long Island

A while back I found a website called dininglongisland and they have a section on waterfront restaurants.  Since then, it's been my go-to resource when choosing where to eat out there.  I love dining by the water!  We considered selecting a place on the 'nautical mile,' a stretch of waterfront in Freeport that's home to dozens of casual bars and eateries on the water.  But, ultimately an amazing menu on a lake won out over clams and beer on the ocean.  The food offerings at Thyme were too good to pass up!

Life in the Big City - Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday.  It's one of those 'big" birthdays that causes people to give you cards that say "you're blah, blah years old now" and buy you gag age gifts and arrange for waiters to sing to you in restaurants where waiters shouldn't be singing to you.  I don't know about the cards and gags but I've already warned those closest to me that, if I'm accosted by any musical waiters, they will swiftly find themselves divorced, de-friended and disowned.

Tomato, Goat Cheese and Basil Galette

Last Sunday Brian and I were meeting a good friend for brunch and I knew we'd linger a long time, sipping mimosas and bloody Mary's and catching up.  And I knew we wouldn't be that hungry come dinner time.  A salad, perhaps and something else.  I had some nice looking tomatoes in the house and some very fresh basil.  No mozzarella but goat cheese and ricotta.  Hmm.  Something sort of pizza like but not exactly.

Chicken Souvlaki

When I'm not creating my own recipes, I'm usually trying out other people's.  But, even when I really like someone else's recipe, chances are I'm going to play around with it and change it up to suit our tastes.  But today, I'm bringing you a recipe that I could barely mess with.  Brian and I are both big fans of chicken souvlaki and it's practically our regular order at our favorite Greek diner.  But I'd never tried making it at home.  I make the cucumber and yogurt sauce (tzatziki) all the time but wasn't sure how to approach the chicken.

Double Chocolate Chip Cake with Salted Peanut Butter Glaze

If this cake looks familiar, it's because it was my offering for the Muffins for Muffin online bake sale last week.  A big thank you to everyone who bid, bought or donated because the sale raised a lot of money for Muffin's medical needs.  And a personal thank you from me to the many of you who bid on my cake and particularly to the winning bidder, Arturo, for his extraordinary generosity.  I sincerely hope that you enjoyed your sweet treat.

Corn, Zucchini and Quinoa Cakes

I think you've all learned by now that I'm a little quinoa obsessed these days.  OK, maybe a lot obsessed.  I probably make myself a bowl of quinoa, in one form or another, more often than any other side dish lately and I'm always trying different combinations of ingredients.  I've definitely learned that corn and zucchini are perfect matches to the naturally nutty flavor of quinoa.

Muffins for Muffin Online Bake Sale!

Welcome to the bake sale.  My fellow bloggers and I are contributing our baking skills in order to raise money for the medical care of a sweet, abused dog named Muffin.  I told you her story in my post yesterday so now it's time to dive into the indulgence!

Sneak Preview: Muffins for Muffin Online Bake Sale!

Have you ever stared longingly at a photo of a dessert on a recipe site and wished you could just order it instead of having to make it?  If so, it's your lucky day!  Well, actually, tomorrow is your lucky day but I wanted to give you some notice.  A group of my fellow bloggers and I will be offering our baked goods in an auction to help a sweet doggie named Muffin.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Parfaits

Those of you who grew up in the US probably saw your fair share of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grape jelly in my case.  And for all our sophisticated, complex, gourmet sandwiches with the fancy crusty bread, I'll bet a whole lot of us still find occasional comfort in a pb & j on soft white bread...peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth...  I've been told that most of the rest of the world doesn't understand the allure of peanut butter but that just means more for me us!

Life in the Big City - East End Style

Montauk

Wow, it's been over a month since my last installment of Life in the Big City.  I guess we're on slow summer time around here.  Once again, the "big city" was abandoned over the long 4th of July weekend as we headed out east.  For those of you not familiar with New York, the eastern tip of Long Island is sometimes referred to as the east end or the south fork and encompasses the Hamptons and Montauk.  And Brian and I set aside one of the weekend days for a little road trip.

White and Wild Rice Bake

There's something very comforting for me about a bowl of rice.  My favorite is jasmine, a big portion, piled high, with a bit of butter stirred in and I don't even need any meat to go with it.  Pure comfort.  But also a little boring.  Comfortably boring but, boring nevertheless.  Wild rice, on the other hand, doesn't scream comfort to me but I do like the nutty flavor and texture in salads.  So I decided to combine the two in a light sauce and a crunchy topping for a comforting and interesting side dish.

Salted Caramel Mini Apple Cake Bundts

As you all know, the bundt bakers group has a different theme each month and July's was caramel.  When our group founders, Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess, announced it, my first thought was that apples go well with caramel and my second thought was that I don't know how to make caramel.  I knew it involved sugar and heavy cream and butter and violent looking bubbling in a pot.  I flashed back to all those Challenge shows on Food Network where they try to make sugar sculptures and the announcers warn that a hot sugar burn is incapacitating.  Um...maybe I'll sit this month out?

Raspberry Crumb Bars

I hope you all enjoyed the long Independence Day weekend.  A few work and personal commitments kept us in the city on the 4th and we didn't head out to our Long Island house until after the fireworks.  No matter though, because we still held our annual cook out over the long weekend and nobody seemed to mind that it was a couple of days late.  We also wanted to head out to Montauk and I'll fill you in on our time out there next weekend in an installment of Life in the Big City.  But today, let's talk about one of the easiest baked desserts I've ever made.

S'mores Martini

The hungry couple will be heading out soon for an extended holiday weekend of grilling and chilling.  We've been having a lot of weather lately so fingers crossed for lots of sun.  Before we leave, though, we wanted to present you with this very adult version of a summer picnic classic.

The Month in Review - June 2013

Before we get into a discussion of where did spring go and who turned on summer with such a vengeance, let's get a little blog business out of the way.  Those of you that like to follow our blog through Google Reader probably know that the service has been discontinued.  If you've not already chosen a new reader, you can check out Bloglovin and Feedly as possible options and just add Hungry Couple to your list.  The other thing you may have noticed is the Pin It button which now appears on every photo.  Hopefully that will make it easier for you to pin your favorite recipes quickly.

Berry Cheesecake Crumb Tart

I just looked at the calendar today and realized the July 4th holiday was a week away.  Eek, where does the time go?  But, the occasion also means another gathering of the Holiday Food Party Bloggers, creating some tasty, picnic themed recipes to celebrate.  I first saw this recipe on Brown Eyed Baker and immediately pinned it.  I didn't know when I'd get to it but I knew for sure that I would.  Then a few weeks ago, when I started thinking about my summer holiday desserts, I decided that one would be perfect.  The original recipe only included strawberries but I added blueberries, too, because I love the two fruits together and both go so well with cheesecake.

Fresh Summer Quinoa Salad

You might recall me telling you how obsessed I am with quinoa these days.  I've given you a couple of my favorite recipes for Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing and Cheesy Quinoa & Asparagus Bake but what doesn't come across is how often I eat those.  Honestly, I can't even recall the last time I ate potatoes and I love potatoes.  But the quinoa obsession keeps winning when I'm deciding what to make for dinner.  The fact that it cooks so quickly doesn't hurt either!

Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tart (with Flaky Cream Cheese Pastry)

We're fortunate to have asparagus in our market pretty much year round and we do love to eat it.  But the best flavor comes from the locally grown bundles that arrive in late spring.  We roast them, grill them, slice them raw into salads, saute them with a fried egg on top or add them to omelets.  But I couldn't let the growing season go without also baking them into a savory tart.

Frozen Mango Daiquiri

Last summer I discovered a passion for mangoes after having a mango cocktail at a restaurant to celebrate our anniversary.  I also quickly discovered that I hated cutting into the things.  My first attempt yielded more fruit on the counter, the floor, my hands and the dog than in the bowl.  I eventually managed to handle the unusual fruit, but only just.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Over the weekend I was faced with that age old dilemma of what to make for dinner.  What...this surprises you?  I wish that, because I write a food blog, I could just pull a crown rack of lamb out of the drawer!  When I do make something more involved I usually plan ahead for it.  But most nights, dinner needs to be easy to make and involve ingredients that I either have in the house or are easily obtainable.

Honey Beer Bread

I have a lot of business to discuss with you all today in this very special group post.  I have a great recipe and yes, we have a fantastic giveaway.  Today's event is being hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Jen of Juanita's Cocina. They teamed up with their blogger friends to help raise awareness and support for Cancer and Hospice today in memory of Kim's dad. We encourage everyone to read the posts and share their own experiences with cancer. We also would like to encourage everyone to donate to the Canadian Cancer Society, the American Cancer Society and also to the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. Hospice was a key element during Kim's father's battle with cancer. They made it possible for Kim to care for him at home. So please show your support and donate if you can. You can also contact your local Hospice and donate directly to them if you wish. A little goes a long way!

Ice Cream and Berries and Cake, Oh, My!

There are a number of things that happen around here that I file under the category of Being a Food Blogger Does Not Suck.  Samples of fun new kitchen tools for me to play with and review.  Boxes that arrive with free cookies, bottles of liquor and all kinds of other tasty samples.  Coupons.  And the occasional really cool invitation.

Oven "Fried" Falafel

My love of falafel is nearly as old as I am.  My parents enjoyed that type of cuisine so I grew up eating lots of hummus, tahini and those delicious little fried chickpea balls.  And, over the years, nothing has changed.  Well, except my resolve to not eat too many greasy little fried things.

Strawberry Shortcake Light

I've got strawberries on the brain in a big way lately.  Partly it's because it's almost summer and there are lots of lovely berries in the market that are far too tempting not to buy.  But, I was also recently chatting with a PR representative for Driscoll's Berries.  She reminded me that National Strawberry Shortcake Day is on the 14th and was also generous enough to send me some coupons for Driscoll's products.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Swirl Bundt Cake

What is it about bundts?  For me, the fun of this type of pan is the swirl you can make inside the cake.  So when the founders of our monthly bundt group, Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess, decided that our June theme would be swirly bundts, I was all in.  I've swirled before, even when it wasn't part of our challenge, but Murphy's Law stepped in this time.  My first attempt was a complete, although tasty, failure but I'll tell you about that another time.  Today let's focus on the success and complete peanut buttery deliciousness of this properly swirled cake.

Light Spaghetti Squash Gratin

I have a new love interest. He's short and squat and quite a bit yellow. He hangs around with the vegetables in the garden but, when you get him home to the privacy of your kitchen, he turns into pasta. Dreamy, forbidden, empty carbs, pasta. Yes, my new love is a veggie in a carb suit. What's not to love about that?

Tuscan Bean Salad

Have you ever eaten lunch at Costco? I don't mean that you've ordered a hot dog at their concession stand. What I mean is that, while you were pushing your shopping cart around, you stopped every few feet at the sample tables and helped yourself to whatever they were offering until you were full. Brian and I are definitely Costco diners although we rarely buy the product being sampled. We do spend quite a lot of money there, even if it's on non-sampled products, so I rather think they'd forgive us. And it's not that we don't think what we sampled tasted good. It usually does. But when we look at the nutrition panel of whatever it is, we ask each other how it's even possible to get that much fat and calories into that size container! But our dietary reluctance to buy doesn't mean we aren't inspired to cook.

Life in the Big City - Summer Style

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Life in the Big City a couple of weeks ago.  No sooner do I start bringing you along with me through my days in New York City though, when summer hits and it's time to head out of the city.  OK, so technically it's not summer yet, but Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to summer for big city folks.  For us, long summer weekends mean getting out of the hot city and heading to the south shore of Long Island.  Out there we're a couple of minutes drive from beaches and marinas but, best of all, is the nearly two acres of grass and woods right outside our door.

The Month in Review - May 2013

I really don't know where May went.  Wasn't it just yesterday that I was impatiently waiting for the start of summer weekends?  Maybe the cold temperatures threw me off because I certainly can't remember another Memorial Day weekend where we had to turn on the heat and sleep under an electric blanket.  But despite the strange weather and my apparent inability to keep track of time, we did eat quite well in May.

We kicked the month off with a lots of Mexican themed Cinco de Mayo recipes and added another entry to the bundt cake collection.  There were a few other desserts but also lots of lighter, healthier fare in anticipation of the warm weather.  We also started a new Life in the Big City feature that I hope you'll like.  So let's take a quick look back before we move forward to summer, sun and surf.  Enjoy!

Cauliflower "Fried Rice"

Cauliflower masquerading as rice?  What?  Huh?  Having recently turned cauliflower into an amazing "cream" sauce, I've come to the conclusion that it must be the most versatile veggie on the planet.  Still, when I saw this recipe on Family Fresh Meals, I worried that the cauliflower would soften too much and turn into a paste.  But I just had to try it because it was much too fascinating to pass up.

Happy Memorial Day!

Welcome to our unofficial start of summer.  The start of long weekends out east near the water.  The start of steaks grilling and frozen cocktails chilling.  The start of a happy me.  For Manhattanites, in general, Memorial Day weekend is the start of summer cottage rentals and weekend beach house shares.  Many corporations let folks out early on Fridays so they can get on jitneys and trains to start their weekends away.  The bustling city is much quieter in summer.

Roasted Beet and Herbed Goat Cheese Sandwich

The combination of roasted beets and goat cheese is pretty common and definitely one of my favorites.  I use those ingredients frequently in salads and also tend to order it when I see it on a restaurant menu.  But it never occurred to me to make a sandwich out of it until now.

Tarragon Chicken Salad Slaw

This is what happens when a chicken salad meets coleslaw with some seriously tasty results. I actually love tossing shredded cabbage in with various salads because it boosts the volume, and nutrition, without adding calories. But this past weekend was the first time I'd tried it with chicken. Yummy!

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Bread

Another sweet quick bread recipe? Oh, yeah. There's no end in sight! So easy and so good and so many variations. I mentioned on Saturday in my Life in the Big City post that I've been pinning loads of lemony bread recipes and yesterday I played around with one of them. I wasn't using anyone's particular recipe but rather borrowing the idea of including ricotta in the batter. Although it seemed a bit odd at first, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it answered one of my quick bread problems.

Life in the Big City

Today I'm starting a new feature that I hope you'll enjoy.  I always try to take you behind the scenes of how our recipes and cocktails were inspired and you've seen plenty of cameos by our furry sous chef.  But, as I'm going about my days, I always have my camera and always have the urge to bring you all along with me.  The big city, for us, is New York, specifically Manhattan.  It's a small island that's also the financial and cultural capital of the world.  The most visited, most filmed, most crowded, most populated, most crazy place on earth.  I was raised here. I hope you'll like sharing a bit more of our lives.  Weekly?  Monthly?  Don't know yet.  Life happens...  Enjoy!

The French Cosmo

A few weeks ago, when Brian and I had dinner at the Central Park Boathouse, we got to enjoy a couple of their delicious specialty cocktails.  I opted for the mango mojito and Brian was drawn to the French cosmopolitan.  He and I both like traditional cosmos although they're a bit on the strong side for me.

Creamy Lemon Dill Dressing From a Barking Dog

A couple of blocks from our apartment is a fun little cafe called The Barking Dog.  Somewhere between a diner and a cafe, they have good burgers, amazing beer battered onion rings, comfy Yankee pot roast and the best Cobb salad we've ever had.  It's huge, with lots of grilled chicken, bacon, blue cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sprouts and a whole sliced avocado.  I usually share one with Brian as a starter but I'm perfectly fine with skipping the entree and just eating this salad as my meal.  That's assuming, of course, that I can have extra dressing because I really, really love this dressing.  Really.

Chocolate Chip Bread

Do you ever find that you get into food moods?  Every once in a while I definitely do and, lately, I've been in the mood for chocolate chips.  Snacking on them, baking with them, etc.  What's odd is that there is usually a bag of them in my freezer but it's only Brian that snacks on them.  Most of the time I'm content to let them be but, these days, they seem to be calling to me.

Quinoa and Chickpea Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

Lately I seem to be a little obsessed with quinoa.  I know it's trendy now but I wasn't such a fan the first time I tried it a couple of years ago.  Somehow it grew on me, though, and now I'm constantly thinking up new ways to prepare it.  I'll be considering making a salad or a pilaf or some other traditional dish and I'll think to myself - hey, why don't I put some quinoa in there? Oh, well.  Considering how healthy quinoa is, I'm far better off with it than, say, my cheesecake obsession.

Very Berry Streusel Bundt

As I think most of you know, I participate in a monthly bundt baking group, and every month we're challenged to use a different theme or ingredient by our group founders, Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess.  May's theme was berries and I knew immediately that I would use my two favorites - blueberries and strawberries.

Individual Chocolate Pudding Cheesecake Parfaits

What do you do when you see a recipe for a dessert that you absolutely, positively want to eat but you know that, if you make it, you will end up finishing the whole big pan, mostly by yourself?  Well, first you try to forget about it but that doesn't seem to work so good.  Then you wonder if you can invite half a dozen friends over for a coffee and dessert party but it's so hard getting people together on short notice...like...in about an hour?

Cinco De Mayo Round Up

With Cinco de Mayo being celebrated this coming Sunday, I'm definitely planning on making a whole lot of Mexican food this weekend.  And while my days of clubbing and pounding down tequila shots may be over, Brian and I can still knock back some holiday appropriate cocktails to go with that food.  Enjoy!

The Month in Review - April 2013

I'm used to seeing an absolute riot of flowers and blooming trees in April but this year New York was pretty dry and much too cold.  I don't remember ever waiting this long and this longingly for spring to arrive.  But now that April is over, we're at last being treated to tulips and cherry blossoms.  We've started to spend more Sundays in the park and are beginning to think less about soup and more about salads and sweet fruit.