Mmmmmmm.... Strawberry Daiquiri Italian Ices

Sorry I've been stingy with posting this week. We have a wonderful and hilarious cousin visiting from Switzerland--by way of Sicily--and I've been spending some quality time with her. Not to mention that our summer is filled up with hundreds (ok, tens) of BBQs. My Swiss/Italian cousin actually commented that BBQs are the true American pastime, and I think she's got a point there!

Speaking of BBQs, I've got one coming up tomorrow and I volunteered to make Strawberry Daiquiri Italian ices. What are these magical-sounding ices you ask? Just ask Martha Stewart (its her recipe--and such a simple and delicious recipe it is!)

Ingredients: 

1 pound strawberries (4 cups), rinsed and hulled

2/3 cup light rum (*Rockland Mother used Captain Morgan Spice Rum!) 

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)

Pinch of coarse salt

Garnish: strawberries

Puree strawberries, rum, water, sugar, lime juice, and salt in a blender until smooth. Divide among 14 3-ounce paper cups (nycake.com). Freeze on a rimmed baking sheet for at least 5 hours. Garnish with strawberries.

I forgot to buy small cups for the ices, so I simply poured the whole mixture into a metal bowl and let it chill in the freezer overnight. I was sure to stir it a couple times too just to make sure the alcohol didn't all sink to the bottom. I also made 1 1/2 times the recipe and cut back on the sugar because my strawberries were sweet and I wanted a tarter ice. End result: very (berry?) delicious. (I'm not certain why the commenter on MarthaStewart.com says her ices came out tasting like chemicals... unless maybe it was her water or the strawberries she used? Be sure to taste your fresh ingredients folks!)

Martha also has recipes for Mojito Ices and Margarita Ices--yum! Make them the next time you're feeling American and firing up the BBQ!

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Martha Stewart saved my (cooking) life!

God knows I have tried hard to become a good cook. Aside from baking, I just seem to fail miserably at making most meal recipes. Even the recipes I try from experts at sites like FoodNetwork.com are a bust. My poor husband was becoming doomed to a life of pasta and chicken cutlets... every day.

But now I have MarthaStewart.com! Have you visited the site before? Martha's recipes are somehow at once simpler and more delicious than anywhere else. Last week I made braised pork chops with cabbage and potatos, coconut noodles with spicy shrimp, cheddar-scallion paninis with green pea soup, tilapia with mango and avocado salsa, and a spicy coconut chicken casserole. I even made peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. My husband an I were in heaven!

Even when I didn't have an ingredient (lemongrass for the coconut noodles) or made a substitution (curry powder instead of paste in the chicken casserole) the meals were delicious. I was also able to enter ingredients I had into the recipe finder to come up with on-the-spot meals for the evening. Everything was absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe my tastebuds.

Some other great things about Martha's site are that you can create an account to store recipes and you can send those recipes (and their ingredient list) to a virtual shopping list called Ziplist. With Ziplist you can access and add to your shopping list from your phone via simple text messages.

You can also have special newsletters sent to your inbox such as a "Dinner Tonight" recipe and the dangerous "Cookie of the Day" recipe. You can bet I'm on every newsletter list.

I can't believe I didn't stumble onto Martha Stewart online earlier in all my efforts to become a better cook for my family. Not only is my husband happier now at mealtime, but I feel like I'm putting some real, wholesome food into us all. It makes me one proud mama. Thanks, Martha!

(Credit where credit is due: gorgeous food photos are from the Martha Stewart website.)

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Recipe Review: Quick & Delicious Pork Chops w/ Apples & Onions from Rachael Ray

I must admit, I am a horrible cook. I over-salt my salads, am always substituting ingredients that I don't have to the food's detriment, and my pork chops are always either too raw or too tough to chew. Last night, however, I tried a great Rachael Ray recipe off of TheFoodNetwork.com and succeeded in making the juicy, flavorful pork chops of my--and my husband's--dreams!

HERE is the link.

Rachael's secret to cooking a quick, juicy pork chop is to cook the chops on medium high heat for 6 minutes on one-side, flip, and continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes with a loose tent of tin foil covering the chops. The tented foil keeps the pork chops juicy and the accompanying cider gravy and sauteed apples and onions make the dish heavenly.

Kids will especially like the apples and onions which my husband described as "dessert for dinner." Yum.

True to my nature, of course, I didn't have any apple cider for the gravy, so I substituted a tiny bit of lemon juice and the dish still came out great. I also went with Betty Crocker mashed sweet potatoes in a box which were delicious and didn't require any strenuous mashing on the part of this tired mama.

Oh, and I still over-salted the salad. Enjoy!

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