Welcome to a Well-Seasoned Life. Life is too short to waste any time eating bland food. I'm living a meaningful life while cooking up Southern comfort food, both seasoned with a sense of humor. ~Kim McCallie
I recently received some good news in that I had been approved to take part in the Good Cook Blogger Program. The Good Cook web site features some cool baking and cooking products. I'm looking forward to working with this program in the upcoming year.
As part of the Good Cook Blogger Program, I received this mini loaf pan that makes four mini loaves along with this package of parchment paper sheets. I was so excited to be working with this pan. The parchment paper sheets added a sense of whimsy to my packaging.
Chocolate Pound Cake
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
3 c. sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. cocoa
1 c. milk
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and shortening; add sugar and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
To bake in a traditional greased and floured tube pan, bake for one hour and 20 minutes. To bake in the mini loaf pan, lower the heat to 350 degrees and grease the cavities with cooking spray. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean.
The mini loaf pan creates mini loaves that are perfect for gift giving. I combined the printed parchment paper with some baker's twine to create the perfect treat to share with friends and family.
Disclaimer: I received these products through the Good Cook Blogger Program.
Come Join Good Cook, TheFrugalMom and other Good Cook Kitchen Experts!
The Ultimate Thanksgiving Twitter Party, Monday, November 25, 2013 at 6:00 pm to 7:00pm EST On Twitter with hashtag #Thanksgivingtips
Join in as we talk about everything Thanksgiving from turkey prep to decorating the table. Plus get a chance to win a special gift and one of three $200 Thanksgiving Baskets that will arrive in time for your dinner.
If you're a fan of cupcakes and of watching Food Network's Cupcake Wars, you may recognize Janell Brown. Janell's story is a foodie's dream come true. She began taking cake decorating classes as a way to express herself artistically. She then turned her stay-at-home mom craft into a successful business which was expanded when she won Cupcake Wars in 2012.
With the publication of One Sweet Cupcake, published by Cedar Fort, Janell is sharing her recipes with the world. The cookbook is full of classic recipes combined with a few surprises. All of the cupcake recipes are a little different from standard cake recipes as they call for sour cream, unsweetened applesauce, and vegetable oil with the non-chocolate also requiring buttermilk and only 1/4 cup of butter. I liked Janell's "use what you have" attitude when it comes to ingredients. She acknowledges that not everyone has unique ingredients readily available to them.
The recipes are divided into several chapters. Here are a few examples of the recipes that are included:
The Dark Side (Chocolate) ~ Grasshopper, Peanut Butter Swirl, Samoa, Butter Toffee Crunch, and S'mores
Warm & Comforting ~ Snickerdoodle, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip, Eggnog, Apple Crisp, and Maple Brown Sugar
A Little Nutty ~ Pistachio Cream, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Caramel Pecans, Rocky Road, Almond Joy, and Nutella
There are also chapters on icings, toppings and fillings, and easy decorating ideas.
Pistachio Cream Cupcake
I tested the classic Vanilla Bean cupcake with with Vanilla Buttercream as well as the Pistachio Cream Cupcake with Pistachio Buttercream. I am a purist when it comes to cupcakes so my favorite flavor is vanilla. This cupcake was moist and had a good texture. The cake was good by itself and my children ate several of them before they were frosted.
When I took the samples to work, my co-workers enjoyed the Pistachio Cream Cupcakes. They loved the combination of the salty nuts with sweet buttercream frosting. We considered these cupcakes for adults because the chopped pistachios added sophistication to the cupcake. Both the Vanilla Bean and Pistachio Cream cupcakes were a hit with everyone who sampled them.
One Sweet Cupcake would make the perfect holiday gift for those bakers on your shopping list. With all of the recipes made from scratch, this cookbook will appeal to serious bakers. The recipes and instructions are straight-forward and easy to follow. The beginning baker will also benefit from this cookbook. I am happy to add it to my cookbook collection.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided me with a copy of the cookbook for review; however, the opinion expressed here is my own.
At the end of July, I was invited by Delta Faucet to attend the Southern Living Taste of Charleston (SLTOC) event in Mt. Pleasant, SC on September 29th as one of their sponsored bloggers. Both my husband and I was so excited to be visiting one of our favorite places - the Charleston, SC area - to do one of our favorite activites - eat good food!
We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful fall day for the event with crisp blue skies and comfortable temperatures. And, we certainly couldn't have asked for a more beautiful venue than Boone Hall Plantation. This was my first time visiting the plantation and it was absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to go back and explore it more closely.
Upon our arrival at the event, we checked in with our sponsor, Delta Faucet, who was sharing a tent with Southern Living. We got to check out their newest faucets featuring the Touch2O Technology. Talk about a dream for the busy cook - touch-free faucets. I can't tell you how many times I've been working in the kitchen and have left a huge mess on my faucet. That will all be history when I get one of these beauties installed in my kitchen. Besides being highly functional, they're absolutely beautiful, too.
The new faucets really generated a lot of excitement with event visitors. Delta gave out faucets as door prizes throughout the day and the lucky folks who won were so excited to get their faucets .
Cookbook author Rebecca Lang introduces Norman King at the Southern Living Taste of Charleston. Norman whips up some fried green tomatoes from his new book, The Way to Fry. This segment of the event was sponsored by Delta Faucet and features the beautiful Touch20 faucet.
One of the highlights of the event was a cooking demonstration from Norman King, Southern Living's Test Kitchen Editor and author of the new cookbook, Southern LivingThe Way to Fry. Norman cooked up some fried green tomatoes for the crowd and served it up Po' Boy-style .
Unfortunately, I only sampled the sandwich my eyes and nose. It looked and smelled delicious! This was my first experience watching a live cooking demonstration so I enjoyed watching and smelling the food coming together, much better than watching it on television.
I was in cookbook heaven. There were stacks of Norman's and Rebecca's cookbooks on display in the tent. While the books were for sale, some of them were given away as door prizes.
After the cooking demonstration, Norman autographed his cookbook for the fans. I received a copy of the cookbook the night before the event. If you're a fan of fried foods, you'll love it. It's amazing how many nontraditional foods can be fried.
This was one of my favorite displays which featured Rebecca Lang's cookbook, Southern LivingAround the Southern Table. The display was sponsored by Fig Newtons. The abundance of fruit also known as nature's props made for a beautiful tablescape.
Views from around the event
The grounds of Boone Hall Plantation were filled with white tents which represented restaurants and food businesses from all over the Charleston area. Upon entering the event, we bought tickets which we used to purchase food items. Each vendor had several dishes available for purchase.
I personally enjoyed fried shrimp, Greek pasta salad with chicken, feta and basil, a BBQ sandwich and hash and rice. My husband and I shared some of these dishes. He also had a crab cake and a second...or possibly, third...BBQ sandwich. There were so many vendors that it was almost overwhelming to choose how to spend our tickets.
Vlasic had a popular display with samples of their newest Farmer's Garden products. In addition to the bread and butter chips, they also had dill and kosher version of the pickles. We munched on dill chips with pickled garlic.
Don't worry! There was plenty of barbecue. And, I think my husband sampled every one of the BBQ vendors. We're familiar with Duke's Barbecue so I grabbed a sandwich and hash and rice from them. It never disappoints.
The Biltmore Estate Winery had a classy display. I loved the flower arrangement. Unfortunately, this tent was set up so close to the music so it was almost impossible to hear anything when you spoke to the vendors. I felt for them.
While we did not bring our children to the event, there were activities for kids so I could bring them to future events. My 8-year-old would have enjoyed the Kona Ice and balloon animals. My 10-year-old would have been more interested in the food tents. Like mother, like son...
I had to stop a moment to be entertained by a belly dancer and stiltwalker. I wish my kids would have been there to see the stiltwalker. They would have gotten a kick out of him. This guy had quite a way with the ladies.
All in all, it was a beautiful day full of food and fun. I want to thank Delta Faucet for inviting and sponsoring me at the event. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I will always remember.
A couple of months ago, I was contacted by Delta Faucet and asked if I would like to participate in a special event that the company was sponsoring that was coming to Charleston, SC - the Southern Living Taste of Charleston. They offered to sponsor me to attend and blog about the event. Since Charleston is a town that is near and dear to not only my heart but my husband's heart, too, I definitely wanted to participate. In addition to attending the event at Boone Hall Plantation on September 29, 2013, as a Delta Faucet blogger, I was also invited to attend a special, private dinner hosted by Southern Living on the night before the event.
The dinner took place at Circa 1886 Restaurant which is located on the grounds of the Wentworth Mansion in downtown Charleston. We couldn't have asked for better weather for the event. It was an unusually pleasant day in the city for a late September evening. There was a cool breeze and the humidity was fairly low. My husband and I arrived at the restaurant a little early and spent some quality time together sitting outside of the mansion and enjoying our surroundings.
This is the view from the back entrance to the mansion. It was absolutely gorgeous and I may have gone a little crazy taking photographs of the place. Since I thought of this as a once-in-a-lifetime event, I didn't want to miss capturing it from every single angle.
Every view from the yard was surreal, much like a postcard. I couldn't help but capture the entrance to the restaurant to show it to you. Love the tree-lined lane. I think this would be a good time to admit that I was a little nervous about this whole event. I'm very shy around strangers and this was the first event that I've ever officially participated in as a blogger. And, to think that my first time would be with two major players like Delta Faucet and Southern Living was quite overwhelming. As I walked this tree-lined lane to the door of the restaurant, I silently prayed, "Please, Lord, help me to be better than I am!"
Just breathe...
Upon entering the courtyard outside of the restaurant, I met everyone who would be part of the evening's festivities. The Delta Faucet rep, Sarah, greeted me immediately and put me at ease. In addition to the kind folks at Delta, I also met several equally friendly people from Southern Living including the Test Kitchen Editor, Norman King, who connected with my husband over the subject of SEC football as men tend to do. I was one of five bloggers invited to the event. All of us were from the general southeastern vicinity with one from North Carolina, three from South Carolina, and yours truly from Georgia.
We spent the social hour in the restaurant's courtyard chatting and munching on a vegetable tray and spicy egg rolls. With each blogger bringing a guest, plus the Delta and Southern Living crews, we had a total of 17 people. Between the friendly and welcoming atmosphere and the intimate number of guests, I immediately felt at ease and knew that there was a lovely night ahead of us.
After the social hour, we all moved into the restaurant to a private dining room. Because we were a room full of food bloggers and our hosts were all foodies, too, we were told to take photos and Tweet to our hearts' content. It was so fun to see so many iPhones and cameras whipped out and in use as every delicious course of our dinner was served.
First Course
A Shot of Shrimp n' Grits Soup
Second Course
Rice Paper Wrapped Romaine Heart Salad
Main Course
Pan Seared Organic Chicken
Sweet Finish
Warm Pineapple Upside Down Cake
As you can see from the photos and menu, we were really in for a wonderful meal of traditional and comforting food. The soup was drizzled with white truffle oil. I have a can of white truffle oil that has never been used. Now, I am inspired to try it with shrimp. The salad was served with a spicy pecan dressing, a perfect choice for a Southern salad. The main course included Hoppin' John risotto that was out of this world. I may even brave making risotto now. That course was also served with one of our favorite sides, grilled asparagus, and was accented with a drizzle of truffle and chive demi glace. Will I ever be so bold as to attempt demi glace? My husband said that was his favorite part of the meal, of course. I've been inspired on so many levels.
Every corner of the dining room was decorated with Southern Living photographs. Since I am a big fan of fall magazines, I couldn't help but be drawn to this one with the magazine's cover featuring a beautiful caramel apple blondie pie. All of the bloggers were gifted with an autographed copy of Norman King's new cookbook, Southern Living: The Way to Fry. When Norman announced that he uses Crystal Hot Sauce on his fried chicken, my husband and I knew that Norman knew his way around some fried food. Delta Faucet also gifted us with a nice swag bag which included our tickets to the next day's big event!
The whole evening was like sensory overload for me from the people, to the food, to the atmosphere. I just kept telling myself, "remember this and remember that." "Take in every moment!" It has all been absorbed and locked away in my memory for safe keeping. In the end, I didn't really have to be someone better than I was, I was just me. And, I think that was good enough.
The McCallies taking in the atmosphere and anticipating a good night...
Stay tuned for my next post from the Southern Living Taste of Charleston, sponsored by Delta Faucet. More food, more fun...
Are you a fan of Pretzel Crisps®? My son and I discovered them about a year ago and we've been hooked ever since. My 10-year-old has been a pretzel fanatic from the very beginning. I can't tell you how many bags of pretzels I have purchased over the years. I, myself, have never cared for the density of pretzel, but I have always loved the salty outer coating of pretzels. Enter Pretzel Crisps® which has created a product that takes the best part of the pretzel and turns it into a crispy snack.
When I asked the makers of Pretzel Crisps® if I could work with their products, they were more than generous and sent me a large bag filled with a broad selection of deli flavors: Original, Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo Wing, Everything (think bagels), Sesame, Jalapeno Jack, and Chipotle Cheddar. According to the Pretzel Crisps® web site, there are also holiday flavors, Dark Chocolate and Peppermint and White Chocolate and Peppermint. Definitely, something to look forward to in the coming months.
Besides being a healthy alternative to crackers, these crisps taste delicious and, with so many flavors to choose from, you're sure to find one that is just right for you. If you are a salty snack fan, you'll love these. The original crisps also make the perfect base for sweet indulgences, too. Use them to dip into a toffee or hazelnut spread or sit down with a bag and a jar of peanut butter.
While these crisps are perfect alone without any dip at all, I felt inspired to create a dip using the Buffalo Wing Pretzel Crisps®. This dip like the Buffalo Wing Pretzel Crisps® has a mild kick of heat. Splash on more hot sauce if you feel the need.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup hot sauce
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
3 green onions finely chopped
Serve with Buffalo Wing Pretzel Crisps®
In a mixing bowl, combine the Ranch dressing mix, cream cheese, and hot sauce. Using a mixer, blend until fully combined. Stir in the chicken and green onions. Stir until evenly coated. Sprinkle on a little extra hot sauce for an extra kick. Serve with Buffalo Wing Pretzel Crisps®.
Disclaimer: Pretzel Crisps® provided me with products to review; however, the opinion expressed here is my own.
For a long time now, I've been using plastic cutting boards in my kitchen. I've been wanting to add a wooden cutting board to my kitchen for a while now but wasn't sure exactly what I wanted. When I got the opportunity to review a product by Core Bamboo, I knew that it had to be a cutting board.
The cutting board I received is the Peony Medium Bamboo Cutting Board. As you can see, it's beautiful. I love the two-toned wood and the Core logo in the corner. It has worked well for me and I recently used it to cut up six red onions for a recipe I was testing. It did not stain and cleaned up easily.
The Core Bamboo web site states that the cutting boards are made from 100% organically grown bamboo and are built to last for years to come. I do plan to keep this in my collection for years to come. Think of a quality cutting board as an investment in your cooking future.
While I did receive my cutting board directly from Core Bamboo, I have started looking for their products while I'm out shopping since I have been so impressed with the cutting board. I recently purchased this mortar and pestle in the festive shade of lime green. Isn't this a work of art? My husband loves to grind spices. I found this set at HomeGoods. On my last trip to T.J. Maxx, I found this set of utensils in the same lime color and added those to my collection, too.
Core Bamboo is definitely a brand that I will be seeking out in the future. There are colorful pieces to brighten up your kitchen and make you just feel happy to be cooking. They are durable enough to be considered lifetime investments.
Disclaimer: The company provided me with the product to review; however, the opinion expressed here is my own.
Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows my love for cookbooks. I have quite a collection of them. Lately, however, I've found myself drawn to a different genre of reading material - homesteading, modern pioneering, and self-sufficiency. I've been concentrating my efforts on building a library of reference books to assist and to inspire me into adopting a more deliberate and simplified lifestyle.
This book covers many areas of simple living. Not all chapters will appeal to every reader; however, the book is quite comprehensive and useful. If an area doesn't appeal to you right now at this point in your life, you may come back to the book in six months and decide that you want to learn about another aspect of modern pioneering.
Some of the areas covered in the book are: making the most use from the land you have, canning and preserving, simple meals including breadmaking, homebrewing, prairie remedies for injury and illness, soapmaking, candlemaking, quilting and sewing.
One of my goals this year is to learn to can. I've wanted to do this for a while now because it seems like the ultimate skill that you must acquire to consider yourself self-sufficient. Why have I resisted? It's just the unknown of it all. Terms like water bath, headspace, sterilized can be a little intimidating. Plus, with canning, I think jams and jellies. My family goes through about one jar of grape jelly every year so I knew it would be a waste of ingredients to make jelly. Who would eat it around here?
When I found this recipe in The Modern-Day Pioneer, I knew it would be perfect recipe to introduce me to that art form known as canning. I often make a similar recipe to this one that we serve over steaks. Delicious!
My first attempt at canning: Caramelized Red Onion Relish
Caramelized Red Onion Relish
from The Modern-Day Pioneer
6 large red onions, peeled and very thinly sliced
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups dry red wine
1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
In a heavy nonstick skillet, combine onions and brown sugar with olive oil; heat over medium-high heat.
Cook uncovered for 25 minutes, or until onions turn golden and start to caramelize, stirring frequently.
Stir in wine, vinegar, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid had evaporated, stirring frequently.
Ladle into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rims. Cap and seal, then process in a water-bath canner for ten minutes. Makes 6 pints. ***
So, how did my first canning experience go? First of all, I used a large canning pot that took forever to boil. By forever, I mean well over an hour if not two hours on my electric stove. Next time that I use this large pot, I will put it outside on the gas burner and I will bring the water to the pot instead of filling it with water and trying to take it to the stove. Way TOO heavy! My back is still feeling it today.
***Secondly, my instincts told me that this would NOT make six pints as it states in the recipe. I was right. I made two pints. Considering that this was my first time canning and I'm unfamiliar with the whole "headspace" measurement, I could have possibly put too much in my jars. If that was the case, I could have possible made two pints and one half pint at the most.
Finally, I came away from this first canning experience with a sense of accomplishment. The final product does taste delicious. And, I've learned that I will stick to canning in half pint jars and that I will use my regular stock pot and can in small batches which is more useful to my family.
As I begin my journey to become a modern pioneer, I know that The Modern-Day Pioneer will provide me much needed inspiration along the way.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided me a review copy of the book; however, the opinion expressed here is my own.
We are not quite at the point where we're drinking warm beverages here in Georgia. Mother Nature teased us with a couple of cool fall-like mornings this past week. I'm hoping the trend will continue and we will find ourselves fully in fall soon.
To get into the fall and winter spirit, I'm joining the blog tour for Laura Powell's recipe booklet, Warm Up Your Winter, published by Cedar Fort. This booklet is filled with several varieties of hot chocolate and cider recipes. We were particularly drawn to the Frozen Hot Chocolate - yummy! I can't think of a better way to top it than with some Marshmallow Whipped Cream. Oh, my! That sounds like a dessert all in itself.
Some of these recipes are sure to warm you up this winter: Nutella Hot Chocolate, Hot Vanilla, Sweet Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate, Hot Caramel Apple Cider, and Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.
For those of you who are fans of making your own hot cocoa mixes to use at home or to give away in jars as gifts, you'll enjoy trying out the recipe for Best Ever Hot Cocoa Mix. A cute mug, a jar of this cocoa mix, and a copy of this recipe booklet will make the perfect holiday gifts for anyone on your shopping list.
Disclaimer: Cedar Fort provided me with a copy of this cookbook; however, the opinion expressed here is my own.
Last Sunday was a sad day for me. It's still a sensitive subject for me. Take a good look at the measuring glass above. It is one of my favorite possessions. I use it quite often and, every time I use it, I think about how wonderful it is for measuring any amount you can think of from tablespoons to ounces to cups. Now, I know what you're thinking. It's glass. She dropped it and it shattered into thousands of pieces across her kitchen floor then one of her children stepped in the glass and cut his heel. That does make sense, but that's not the case.
On Sunday, my husband decided to fix himself a tall icy glass of his beloved Mountain Dew. He took from the cabinet what he thought was his Salty Dog Cafe glass which is shaped exactly like my beloved measuring beaker. "Hmmm...the Salty Dog logo must have washed off." As I walked over to inspect the glass, I noticed one lone, faint measuring line near the top of the glass. No, it was not the Salty Dog Cafe glass that had met its ruin, it was my...I repeat, MY measuring glass!!! Why?!?
Unfortunately, I had used a new dishwasher detergent in the latest wash cycle that ate through the decals and left me with a blank glass. I was (am) heartbroken over the whole thing. I immediately looked in the dishwasher as if I would find the little numbers floating around in the bottom of the appliance. No such luck! My husband, disinterested in my loss, went ahead drank his Mountain Dew while I cursed the dishwashing detergent...which will remain nameless. I will not rest until I make the long journey to World Market to replace the measuring glass. It served me well and didn't deserve this kind of demise.
It's almost here! My favorite time of the year...fall. Fall is not yet in the air here in Georgia. We've had a hot September. Even with the warm weather, I still get in the mood for fall with one of my other favorites, a Gooseberry Patch cookbook. Hometown Harvest is the newest cookbook in Gooseberry Patch's fall cookbook line. If you're like me and have all of the other fall editions, you'll want to add this one to your collection.
Around this time every year, I start yearning for those crisp fall mornings which are few and far between here in my area. I can easily get into the fall spirit by curling up on the couch with my Gooseberry Patch fall cookbooks and read the recipes and harvest memories while planning my own adventures in my area: fall festivals, hayrides, and corn mazes.
Just reading through the chapter titles makes my mouth water for pumpkin baked goods: Hometown Pancake Breakfast, Church Social Soup Supper, Thanksgiving Dinner to Remember, Game Day Get-Together, Pumpkin Patch Sweets and Slow-Cooker Potluck Pleasers. The cookbook is filled with every imaginable form of apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and other seasonal ingredients.
I chose to highlight my very favorite fall flavor, apples, in the recipe featured here, Fresh Apple Pound Cake.
Fresh Apple Pound Cake
Fresh Apple Pound Cake
Submitted by Theresia King
Knoxville, TN
1-1/4 c. oil
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3 apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 c. chopped pecans
Combine oil, sugar and eggs in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes; beat in vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; mix well. Add flour mixture to oil mixture. Beat well; fold in apples and pecans. Pour batter into a greased 12" Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour and 20 minutes, or until a toothpick tests done. Cool for several minutes; turn cake out of pan. Serves 16.
Are you ready to welcome fall into your home? Are you ready to welcome this cookbook into your home? In addition to the review copy I received from Gooseberry Patch, I also received a copy of the cookbook to give away to one of my readers. Enter in the widget below. Please allow a few moments for the widget to load.
Good Luck and Happy Harvest!
For more chances to win, visit these Gooseberry Patch Early Bird Reviewers:
