White Chili

After having a mild winter and temperatures in the 50's Thanksgiving weekend, winter has arrived in Nebraska. The wind has picked up, the temperatures have dropped and the snow has started to fall. As much as I don't like winter, I do like some of the foods that I think of when I think of winter.

White Chili is one of my favorite recipes for a cold winter night. This recipe comes from one of my favorite longtime cookbooks, Beyond Parsley. Beyond Parsley is the first cookbook of the Junior League of Kanasas City.

Served with a salad and cornbread, White Chili makes a delicious supper!!


White Chili
Recipe Courtesy of Beyond Parsley
8 -10 servings


1 pound large white beans
6 cups chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium onions, chopped (divided)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 -4 ounce cans chopped green chilies
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups diced cooked chicken breasts
3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

Combine beans, chicken broth, garlic and half of the onions in large soup pot and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and summer until beans are very soft about 3 hours. Add more chicken broth, if necessary. In a skillet, saute remaining onions in oil until tender. Add chilies and seasonings and mix thoroughly. Add to bean mixure. Add chicken and continue to simmer 1 hour. Serve topped with grated cheese.

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

December 7, 1941. My father and many other young soliders were at Pearl Harbor that day! My father turned 90 this year and I imagine he's one of only a few Pearl Harbor survivors still living!

Take time today to remember those who lost their lives that day and those who lived fighting for our country.

Chocolate Cheesecake - Sweet Melissa Sunday's

I love cheesecake! Cheesecake is one of my signature desserts. My friends and family have always said they are good enough to sell. I always bake those cheesecake recipes that are my favorites. Trying a new one isn't something I do very often. So true to form, this week's Sweet Melissa Sunday's has helped me to think outside the box. (Does any one say that anymore or was that a 90's term?) It also occurred to me, I haven't blogged about cheesecake before so I blogging is challenging me to try recipes I wouldn't normally try.

I did make quite a few changes to this recipe. If possible, I try to use the ingredients I have on hand rather than buying them. I used almonds instead of hazelnuts in the crust. I didn't use any expresso powder, I thought I had some instant coffee but didn't seem to find it. Also, in reading how rich this is, I decided we didn't need a whole cheescake. I cut the recipe in half and used a 4" mini cheesecake pan. However filling made enough for two 4" cheesecake pans. Wouldn't that be an 8" pan? Interesting! Anyway, since there was only one crust, I poured the extra filling into some custard cups. I'm anxious to see how they turn out. I decided not to make the glaze and just dust with powdered sugar.

When I checked the cheesecake at the end of the baking time, it didn't seem to have the same "crust" all of my other cheesecakes have. I hope it is done.

Thanks to Shandy of Pastry Heaven by Shandy for choosing this week's recipe. You can find the links to all of the other Sweet Melissa Sunday's bakers here!


The Sweet Melissa Sunday's bakers are taking a break until January. Check back to see January's delicious creations. In the meantime, Happy Holidays to all of my fellow Sweet Melissa Sunday's bakers!!

A 30th Birthday Celebration at Osteria Mozza

My son Justin turned 30 last Monday. We were lucky enough to be in Los Angeles for Thanksgiving and his birthday. I can't believe my "baby" is 30, wasn't it yesterday we were celebrating his first birthday? For those of you with children, cherish every moment! They grow up way too fast!!

I was thrilled when Justin shared with me he'd made reservations at the popular LA restaurant, Osteria Mozza for his birthday dinner. Mozza is owned by Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich. The executive chef is Matt Molina.

Dark wood, light blue walls and candle lit tables make for a lovely, warm atmosphere. The bar is a beautiful dark wood adorned with bottles and glasses. If you aren't lucky enough to snag a reservation, you can dine at the mozarella bar. The mozarella bar is a beautiful marble bar, ornamented with all sorts of brass animals and objects. I wish we lived in LA, so we could go back and sit at the bar.

I chose one of their signature cocktails, The Sugar Plum. Pomegranate nectar, grapefruit and vodka. It was beautiful and delicious. In keeping with the service levels at Mozza, the rum and coke that Tim ordered was poured tableside. The cocktail glass was presented on a silver tray and the coke was poured from a small coke bottle.

From the mozarella bar, we decided to try the Bufala mozzarella with shell beans, basil pesto & sauteed bitter greens. The flavors were wonderful. I wasn't bold enough to try one of the signature pastas, Calves Brain Ravoli. Although I loved calves brains as child, I couldn't bring myself to order this dish. The butternut squash ravioli was divine. The pasta melted in your mouth. I can never bring myself to leave a restaurant without trying something from their dessert menu. Being the chocolate lover that I am, the Cioccolato (bittersweet chocolate cake) seemed like a perfect choice. The cake was presented with Perugian chocolates on the side. Possibly one of the most delicious and decadent cakes I've ever had the pleasure of tasting.

The service was outstanding. You know... one of those places where water glasses are refilled even though you may have only taken a sip or two of water. There were servers walking the room to make sure every detail was taken care of. If we lived in LA, Osteria Mozza would be at the top of my list.

Fabulous Holiday Giveaway

Everyone loves a giveaway but this is one of the BEST giveaways I've ever seen. It's not a food giveaway but a fashion and beauty giveaway. What more could a girl ask for!!!

The giveaway can be found here!!! Don't miss out, it's worth it to enter!!! When enter, please mention you read about this on my site and both of us get an extra entry. Also, you don't have to be a blogger to enter, so share the site with your friends!!!

Good luck!! It would be awesome if one of my readers would win!!

A Great Giveaway

No, not my great giveaway! Erin Cooks great giveaway. She's giving away a copy of the movie Julie and Julia. Every food bloggers favorite flick! You can find her blog here! You can enter once on her blog, then a second time by creating a post on your blog about the giveaway and posting a link to the blog.

How great is that? Good luck everyone!

Glazed Carrots with Sage

The sage in my AeroGarden is growing like crazy. What do you think of when you think of sage? Thanksgiving dressing!! I remember as a child helping my mom with dinner and putting the sage in the pumpkin pie instead of the pie spice. Not sure what we did but I always laugh when I think of sage.

I have a big bag of carrots in the frig. Big bags of veggies at Costco are almost the same price as the smaller bags at the regular grocery store. I always make glazed carrots with brown sugar and honey. I need some different carrot recipes. I found this one on line and made a few modifications.




Glazed Carrots with Sage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
1/2 of a small onion, thinly sliced
10 to 12 fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion, and sage and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown (about 8 minutes). Season with a touch of salt and pepper, add the wine and the chicken stock, and bring to a simmer. Cover the skillet and cook for about 12 minutes or until the carrots are tender (if necessary, add more stock or water as they cook to prevent scorching).

Uncover the skillet and simmer off enough remaining liquid so that the carrots are coated in a nice, moist glaze. Check for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if needed, and serve.

My notes on this recipe: These were so flavorful. The sage adds a nice woodsy flavor to the carrots. This recipe will be one I will make again and again!