looking out

Posted on June 17, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Over 6-1/2 years ago, when I first saw our house, it had four bedrooms. One of the bedrooms was located off a hallway in between the steps down from the dining room and the master suite. I remember walking into that hallway and into the fourth bedroom and telling Chris that if I owned the house, I’d knock down the wall of that room and make it a den or family room. Chris gave me his signature look that says “you’re crazy!” Well, as you may know, we did buy the house and eventually knocked down the wall. The bedroom is now our den and it is spacious and bright with a nice view that looks out to the back yard. We probably spend most of our time in that room. We might only have a three-bedroom house now, but we gained a comfortable space to relax.

I’ve sat in the den countless times, but this morning, it really struck me that I have achieved the view I had envisioned six years ago and I just love it!

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cooking channel

Posted on June 5, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Our new favorite television channel is The Cooking Channel, an edgier and more contemporary spinoff of the Food Network. The Cooking Channel brings the focus back to food and cooking, instead of the Food Network’s increasing push to give us reality-based shows with the endless array of challenges and competitions, complete with contrived kitchen drama. The Cooking Channel lineup still includes some familiar faces like Giada, Emeril, and Bobby, doing what they do best – teach us how to cook and tell us where to find good food! If you want to learn what to do with a secret ingredient like skirt steak (pictured above), give Michael Symon’s show, How to Cook Like an Iron Chef a try. If you want to know what Montreal restaurant chef Chuck Hughes cooks on his day off, watch Chuck’s Day Off. Both these chefs will entertain you while teaching you a thing or two about cooking.

We also like to watch Unique Eats, a show that gives us a peak at the new and exciting culinary trends in restaurants today. It is a bit New York-centric, but the show does manage to venture out to show that there are unusual and innovative restaurants in many other cities in America. No trip to NYC is complete without visiting a restaurant that we’ve seen on this show. So far, we’ve been to Buttermilk Channel for their version chicken and waffles, Fette Sau for barbecue amid the hipsters in Brooklyn, and stood in line for 45 minutes at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park for some good burgers and custard.

Last night, we had a small dinner party and we served Skirt Steak with Tomatillo Salsa and Creme Fraiche. Everyone seemed to enjoy it so I thought I’d share the recipes with you all from Michael Symon’s How to Cook Like an Iron Chef.

homemade ice cream

Posted on June 2, 2011 by daisy | daisysworld.net

Our current obsession is homemade ice cream – Chris, with making it, and me, with eating it. Since January, he’s made sure our freezer is stocked with his delicious creations such as Meyer Lemon-Olive Oil (pictured above), Salted Caramel, and Pistachio ice creams. There were a couple that did not make the cut – Hazelnut Mascarpone and the Salted Almond – but I applaud his efforts and encourage his pursuit of inventive and out-of-the-ordinary flavors. My current favorite is the beautiful pale green Pistachio, with little flecks of the nuts left in. Yummy! The cost for a quart is about $5, a little more expensive than the store-bought kind, but it’s totally made with a special ingredient – love!

Bring on the long hot days of summer! I’ve got my spoon.