Outback Steakhouse:
http://www.outback.com/foodandmenus/fathersday2009.aspx

• Buca di Beppo Celebrating 15th Anniversary
• Our Town and All Around – Coupon Book
• Coffee Addict – Are you one of us?
• La Tortilla Feliz
• Scooter’s Dawg House

Rice, Risotto , Lentils, Black Beans, Platanos (Plantaines, Yuca, a variety of fish (Salmon, Talapia, Shark), Avocado, Onions, Tomatoes.

Pretty much everything my hubbie and I have for dinner, is what she eats.  Even if she doesn’t quite like it the first time, I always have her try it again.

For those of you who are reading, here’s my advise to you when it comes to young children and food.

• The first initial “yuck” look on a babies face is normally just the reaction of something new, which is why a second round is always a good idea!
• If you child ask’s “Do I like this?”, always say yes.  When you tell a child they don’t like something they will automatically engrave in their mind just that.
• Even if it’s something you don’t like, or wouldn’t normally eat, let your child try it.  You might find that their taste buds are much different than yours.

• Organic Baby Food
• How To Store Extra Onions
• Swanson Soups – Good for these Cold, Winter Days
• Original Tacos El Lobo – Painesville, Ohio
• When a Hero Comes Along….

Here’s a link I found that has a nice long list and descriptions of flowers that can be eaten.  It’s on about.com, the Edible Flower Chart.  

Let me list a few examples of flowers that are edible are: Basil, Chamomile, Carnations, Chrysanthemum, Dandelion, Fuschia, Jasmine, Marigold, Rose, Sage, Squash Blossoms… Also the site gave a few tips on what do and not do with the edible flowers, which I’ve listed below.

Edible Flower Tips:
• Place a colorful gladiolus or hibiscus flower (remove the stamen and pistil) in a clear glass bowl and fill with your favorite dip.
• Sprinkle edible flowers in your green salads for a splash of color and taste.
• Freeze whole small flowers into ice rings or cubes for a pretty addition to punches and other beverages.
• Use in flavored oils, vinaigrettes, jellies, and marinades.
• One of the most popular uses is candied or crystalized flowers, used to decorate cakesand fine candies.
• Asthmatics or others who suffer allergic reactions to composite-type flowers (calendula, chicory, chrysanthemum, daisy, English daisy, and marigold) should be on alert for possible allergic reaction.
• Never use non-edible flowers as a garnish. You must assume that if guests find a flower on a plate of food, they will think it edible.
• Use flowers sparingly in your recipes, particularly if you are not accustomed to eating them. Too much of a pretty thing can lead to digestive problems

Do you have any recipes that include edible flowers?  Have they been a big hit at a family get together, a fancy dinner party, just a regular old family dinner?

Photo:  HarlanH

• How to Create Your Own Cookbooks
• Food Virgin – Rice Water
• Paladar meets Paula Deen (and probably a lot of butter)
• Quick Hits: Max and Erma’s Paella
• Best Wedding Cake in Cleveland – Ask the Readers

What you need:
1 container of chicken livers or 1 tray of beef livers (your choice, but they really taste same)
1 small yellow onion
soy sauce
cumin
salt
pepper
minced garlic

How to prepare:
1. Place the liver in a container.  Add the following  1/4 cup of soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of cumin, 4 minced garlic cloves and mix so the liver is covered with the spices.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Let this sit in the fridge for about 1 hour to marinate.

2. While the liver is marinating in the fridge, take the yellow onion and cut it into little/thin slices.  I normally cut the onion in half and then slice it really thin. 

3.  Take the liver out of the fridge and place in a skillet.  The burner needs to be set on high heat.  Make sure you add a little bit of oil to the skillet.  Let the liver sear for about 5-7 minutes.  Make sure you stir it so it doesn’t burn or stick to your skillet.  Once the liver is seared, add the sliced onion and lower the burner to low heat.  You will need to cover the skillet now.  Let the liver & onions simmer for about 10 minutes. 

4. Serve the liver & onions over plain white or brown rice.  and.. Enjoy!

Photo: mhaithaca

• Pabellon Criollo – Typical Venezuelan Dish
• Stacy’s Red Pasta Sauce
• Stacy’s Turkey and Three Bean Chili
• Basic Western North Carolina Barbecue Sauce
• Easy Guacamole Dip Recipe

Please take a moment today to remember the brave men & women who served and are serving our country.  

• Mallorca- Excellent Spanish and Portuguese Cuisine
• Another Cake Recipe
• Maggiano’s Little Italy – Beachwood
• McNulty’s Bier Market in Downtown Cleveland
• Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce

I don’t know about you but I’m so happy that spring is finally here.  I love the warm weather, the flowers are beginning to blossom, the trees are getting all their leaves… and the little baby animals are learning how to walk/fly.  It’s such a wonderful season!!  Nature coming alive is definitely a perk, but another wonderful perk is the fact the grill can come out of the garage, or from under the winter cover top.  Now, we could have a post just on finding out what people before more, gas/propane grills vs. charcoal, but I wanted to give you a quick tip of what my hubbie and I do when we cook veggies on the grill.  (We have a gas grill, neither of us have the patience for anything else… )

Use tin foil/aluminum foil to cook vegetables on the grill. 

How To:
Tear a nice sized piece of foil and lay out on the counter.  Cut up mixed veggies such as mushrooms, squash, zucchini, green and/or red peppers.  Pile he veggies on the foil.  Drizzle olive oil on top of the veggies, and season to taste with a little bit of sea salt, crushed black pepper, parsley, drizzle of soy sauce and minced garlic .  Fold up the sides so that all the veggies are tucked nicely in a little rectangular packet.  Take outside, and throw on the grill. (Note: Depending on what else you are serving with the veggies, whether it’s a steak, hamburger, chicken or pork… you can determine if you need to add the veggies before the meat, or after it’s already been cooking for a while.  Just gauge how long you think the meat will take.  The veggies take me about 20 minutes to cook.  Make sure that the heat is set to a medium heat on a gas grill, and the veggies are on the cooler coals so as not to burn them.)

• Are you addicted to your George Forman Grill?
• Quick and Simple Chicken Parmesan
• Pabellon Criollo – Typical Venezuelan Dish
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• Stacy’s Turkey and Three Bean Chili

So, I’m not sure where this recipe found, but here’s the recipe the lady that made it sent me.  My gift to you!  So, if you signed up for dessert for your Memorial Day picnic, try it out… I bet you and your family and friends will want to eat two pieces too.  If you don’t then there might be something wrong with you.  Just kidding folks…

Candy Bar Cake

1 chocolate cake box mix (you can make it from scratch if you so choose)
1 jar of caramel sauce
4 cups of chopped candy (butterfingers, Reeses cups, M&M’s, snickers, and any other similar candy)

As soon it’s done take a fork and puncture holes in it all over.  Take a jar of carmel sauce and pour it over the cake.  Sprinkle 3 cups of chopped candy all over the cake.  Let cool everything will firm up.  Cover with a container of cool whip.  Sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped candy and refrigerate.

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• Looking for Cheese Cake
• Baker Babes Bakery
• Candied Lemon Slices

The month of May is coming up soon… just a few days away.  It has always been my favorite month of the year.  Both my husband and I celebrate our Birthday’s in May.  I try to do something simple yet special for my hubbie every year… and this year will be no exception. Normally we get a small gift for each other and have brownie’s with ice cream. We are not big fans of just plain cake & icing,  so we do the “Birthday Brownie” instead of the cake.  Well what does this have to do with cheesecake you ask?  I thought I “switch it up” this year and try something different… My husband LOVES cheese cake… he could eat it every day.  So I’ve decided that I’d like to buy a cheese cake for his Birthday this year instead of making the brownies.

Now, I need your help with this.  The only cheesecakes we have had are either home made or store bought from Sam’s Club or Giant Eagle. Now my mother would tell me just to get a good recipe and bake it… well, I love to cook, but I’m as good of a baker.  Therefore, I’m going to forgo making it at home, and I’d like to find a nice place that sells the BEST Cheese cake ever!  Where can I buy the BEST Cheese Cake ever in Cleveland?

• Candy Bar Cake
• The Best Cake I Ever Ate
• Abraham Linkin – Food Links
• Cheese Crackers – Make Your Own and They’ll Taste Like Cheese
• Animal Crackers