tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48806032955070704792009-11-22T07:38:39.079-06:00Notes from a Minneapolis couple who love to eat & cookkathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.comBlogger682125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-31833432034330595762009-11-21T07:00:00.001-06:002009-11-21T07:00:00.867-06:00

I have to admit we didn't do very well with box #14 especially since we headed to San Francisco the day after we go it. Basically we used an onion here, some garlic here, a little spinach here, but we have a lot left. Luckily much of it will last.& what's in box #15....Cabbage - Matt is joking we need to make saurkraut, I'm serious about it!CarrotsFestival Squash - One of these makes a perfect

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-69575630401321930892009-11-20T07:00:00.002-06:002009-11-20T08:34:31.588-06:00

I love shortbread! I think it could be tied with snickerdoodles for my favorite cookie. So, when I saw this cookie in the December issue of Bon Appetit, it went on my list for this year's holiday cookies.This is a super easy cookie to prepare & the results will make a pretty addition to the holiday cookie tray. Matt & I both really liked the flavor & he commented that he liked the fact they

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-13035157935018472782009-11-19T07:00:00.002-06:002009-11-19T07:15:44.610-06:00

I came home from working at the library last night & was greeted with the smell of chiles, cinnamon, pumpkin & a just a hint of chocolate, amazing. Nothing like coming home to a dinner cooked by your husband, especially one that smelled & tasted as good as this one.We picked up some baking pumpkins earlier this fall at the farmers' market & Matt said he wanted to use one to make chili. He took

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-44615366726179857702009-11-18T07:00:00.000-06:002009-11-18T07:00:04.050-06:00

You might think from reading this blog that every dish we make is a tasty success but let me tell you right now that isn't the truth. Take last night's dinner for instance.This dish wasn't a total failure, the stuffing was actually pretty good, the problem was the squash. We decided to try a variety that was new to us called Buttercup & its flavor did not blend well with the stuffing at all. I

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-327956506216284732009-11-17T07:00:00.001-06:002009-11-18T12:51:13.913-06:00

I knew I wanted to make a bean soup this week but the type of soup would be decided by the beans we chose to go in it. We went through all the new varieties of beans we had picked up from Rancho Gordo in San Francisco & decided on the Sangre de Toro beans. According to the Rancho Gordo website these beans are great for red beans & rice so I went with that idea for the soup.I spiced the soup up a

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-25190750222242067172009-11-16T09:27:00.000-06:002009-11-16T11:01:07.157-06:00

Not much exciting to write about from this weekend. I spent my time filling a large order for gnome Christmas ornaments on my Etsy shop.While Matt had the fun of cleaning out the gutters before winter, what an icky job. Too bad I have vertigo & can't get up the ladder to help, yup, too bad ;)Menu Planning Monday....Since Matt is back from San Francisco the two of us are back in the kitchen

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-44873578114020927802009-11-14T07:00:00.002-06:002009-11-14T08:24:00.902-06:00

The winner in the Singing Dog Vanilla contest is #31 Carol in Indian Springs Village. Carol, I don't have your email so email me at katbaro at yahoo dot com with your mailing address.If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-35474990436293079812009-11-13T07:00:00.001-06:002009-11-13T09:27:14.139-06:00

It's hard to find a candy I like more than chocolate covered salted caramels. (If you live in MN you have to try the Byerley/Lund's brand, they are to die for.) It's probably because I am such a fan of salty & sweet together (remember I'm the girl who put bacon on cupcakes & ice cream twice.) Then Ino at Kitchen 22 started talking about making cookies with this flavor on Twitter so I had to try

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-60629181192581076562009-11-12T10:28:00.000-06:002009-11-12T10:28:32.916-06:00

So, even though I'm back home in Minneapolis Matt is still working in San Francisco for the rest of the week which leaves me to create some single girl meals. I'm feeling a little lazy after the busy weekend so decided to see what I could make up based on what I had on hand instead of going to the grocery store. I had a little pasta, some Fontina cheese and some cream so mac & cheese made perfect

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-11906820333044040672009-11-11T11:20:00.001-06:002009-11-11T11:21:57.418-06:00

If I had a pub this is totally the type of dish I'd serve as cold weather pub grub. Hearty beef stew cooked in Guinness over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. It would be especially good if you could eat it in front of a roaring fire with a nice pint of beer to wash it all down.The stew is cooked all day in a crock pot which makes for little hands on time. I choose to sear my meat before adding it

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-4295216233986170762009-11-10T07:00:00.001-06:002009-11-10T07:00:02.319-06:00

Chili is really one of our cold weather food staples. We often make a big pot for dinner on the weekend & then eat leftovers for lunch the rest of the week.The wonderful thing about chili is you really can play with whatever ingredients you have on hand. This one was made from some left over turkey meat we had in the freezer. We keep lots of different kinds of dried beans in our pantry & like to

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-20867331044464246712009-11-09T09:19:00.004-06:002009-11-09T09:53:48.038-06:00

No weekly menu from us this week as we are in San Francisco. This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Foodbuzz Festival out here. Two-hundred and fifty food bloggers getting to try lots of food & drinks for two days, what could be more fun?! Here's some photo highlights....Friday night started with a meet & greet cocktail party of the roof of the Hotel Vitale overlooking the Bay &

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-92021381951307334052009-11-07T07:00:00.002-06:002009-11-07T07:00:01.146-06:00

1. Guinness Beef Stew 2. Pizza Bianca with Leeks & Prosciutto 3. Hearty Lentil Soup 4. Asian Stuffed Peppers 5. Peppery Olive Oil & Sweet Potato Bread 6. Lamb Patties with Fennel Tzatziki & Spinach Couscous 7. Sweet Potato Ravioli with Spinach in Cream Sauce 8. Roast Chicken with Potatos, Carrots, Parsnips, Brussel Sprouts & Fennel 9. Pork Chops with baked Squash & sautéed KaleWhat's in box

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-30692308084563744512009-11-06T06:44:00.001-06:002009-11-12T12:49:55.087-06:00

It's that time of year again...time to start the holiday baking! Last year I baked a batch of cookies for each of the eight weeks leading up to Christmas. It was a really good way for me to have a nice varied cookie tray yet not feel overwhelmed with making a lot of cookies at one time.My first batch, on Matt's request, are these chocolate & hazelnut biscotti. Now, biscotti aren't something I

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-45330322101660287082009-11-05T09:31:00.001-06:002009-11-05T10:54:23.230-06:00

When it comes to apple season we are lucky to live in Minnesota, especially the Twin Cities area. So many wonderful varieties of apples are grown here and, thanks to the University of Minnesota, so many varieties are also developed here. They developed the very popular Honeycrisp & this year's starlet, the Sweet Tango.We like to go out to the University's Apple House to get our apples each fall.

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-38780413416552523402009-11-04T07:00:00.002-06:002009-11-04T09:41:50.580-06:00

Matt told me he wanted to make our soup for lunch this week & oh, did he come up with a winner. This could seriously be my new favorite soup. Even better its full of stuff that's good for you like kale, carrots, leeks & lentils. I even like the dark color the kale gives the soup. If this soup doesn't warm you up on a cold day I don't know what will.I tried another bread from Healthy Bread in Five

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-73197831416719888952009-11-03T07:08:00.000-06:002009-11-03T07:09:05.437-06:00

On Saturday or Sunday morning each week, Matt & I spend some time brainstorming about what we want to cook for the week ahead. We try to plan things based on what produce we currently have from our CSA & recently, what cuts of meat we have in the freezer.This week we had some mini sweet peppers that either needed to be used or chopped & frozen. Matt was going to be grinding a pork shoulder for

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-2499898744283816522009-11-02T08:51:00.000-06:002009-11-02T08:51:58.258-06:00

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween. We had much more trick or treaters than in the past which was fun & also means less leftover candy that HAS to be eaten.We had a lovely dry, sunny weekend so we spent it getting things ready around Chez Good Appetite for winter. I raked 16 bags of leaves from the yard, fingers-crossed that's it for the year (especially since this was already the second time I

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-70031391180750796222009-11-01T07:00:00.000-06:002009-11-01T07:00:06.081-06:00

This month for Recipes to Rival Sara of Imafoodblogdotcom chose Onion Soup from Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook. I would like to give this soup another name, The I Have No Life Onion Soup.I was very happy to make it because Matt really love onion soup but seriously, cook the onions for 5 hours stirring every 15 minutes! Yes, it made for wonderful, sweet, deep brown onions but its a commitment.

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-15817246788056874022009-10-30T09:05:00.004-05:002009-10-30T09:39:33.067-05:00

Matt & I are lucky enough to both work at home. (I know many couples say they would kill each other but we've learned to respect each other's space & enjoy the time together.) One of the perks is we get to have a homemade lunch together. We'd gotten into a real sandwich & chips rut over the summer so we decided to make an effort this fall & winter to make homemade soups & stews ahead of time to

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-81795046676040313722009-10-29T07:00:00.001-05:002009-10-29T07:00:00.464-05:00

Last week I was chatting with Hollywood Homemaker on Twitter & she was wondering if it was possible to make a pot pie with chili as the filling & cornbread as the crust. I told her that my mom used to make a dish like that called Man Cooked Meal when I was a kid. We both decided we would try our own takes on it & compare notes on how it went.My mom's version had ground beef mixed with Tomato Rice

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-74396831878086278572009-10-28T07:00:00.003-05:002009-10-28T15:50:39.881-05:00

I had originally planned to take another stab at sweet potato gnocchi with the sweet potatoes from our latest CSA box but, as I was writing this week's menu the idea of ravioli stuffed with sweet potato was a little more appealing.I totally did the cheaters method of making ravioli & used pot sticker wrappers. Thing was, I had a lot of things I wanted to get done that day & making pasta from

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-5305848332239451592009-10-27T07:00:00.000-05:002009-10-27T07:00:10.867-05:00

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.Of all the Daring Bakers' challenges I would have to say this is the first one that didn't come out as good as I hoped. Most of my macarons cracked during baking which meant the didn't have that crispy outside.

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-73955611417024842012009-10-26T08:15:00.003-05:002009-11-05T14:00:40.842-06:00

Matt's parents came to visit us this weekend which gave us a great excuse to go to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. We'd never gone before but it was such a beautiful place we ended up buying a membership & look forward to seeing it during all four seasons (plus they offer cooking from the garden dinners!). We were lucky & our grey skies cleared for our walk around the gardens & forests.Having

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880603295507070479.post-90466381499541462352009-10-24T07:00:00.000-05:002009-10-24T07:00:00.117-05:00

1. Turkey Chili (recipe to come) 2. Roasted Butternut Squash Curry 3. Sausage & Peppers Pasta 4. Crock Pot Rib w/ Potato & Leek Gratin 5. Roasted Vegetable Salad with Fried Goat Cheese 6. The boxAnd what's in box #13 - A lot of staples in this boxFennel - I'm thinking something with fish will be a good use for this fennel but I'm not sure yet.Bok Choy - Stir-fryLettuceRed Kale - Think we'll sauté

kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10462007067131792229noreply@blogger.com5