Orange Peel and Anise Braised Short Ribs

We went out for dim sum this past weekend and it reminded me of how delicious the pairing of orange peel and beef are. Luckily, I had recently defrosted some short ribs with no clear plan of how I was going to prepare them. What resulted was buttery, melt in your mouth short ribs covered in a slightly citrus, fragrant, Asian inspired sauce.

Let's try a picture recipe this time:

First Birthday Aster Headband

So I was busy making this headband instead of concentrating on making a beautiful birthday cake because baby is really beginning to need accessories to hold her long, wispy, scraggly hair back.

First Birthday Cake with Beet Swiss Meringue

I've been itching to make Martha's Ruffle Tower cake for ages... but making a ruffle-y cake for my boys never seemed quite right. Of course, now we have a baby girl and making a pink, ruffle cake for her seems just right.

Saving extra egg whites for that special occasion...

So the custard you made used 6 egg yolks... now, either you're in love with egg white omelettes or you need to find a way to save up those egg whites for another day.

Clean and Dry Pomegranate Seeds

Whew... had to take a short break from the craziness of Hallowe'en posting and recuperate a bit before the holidays hit. I feel a bit remiss ignoring my blog for so long though, so I'm going to ease back into the swing of things with a short post about how I usually deseed a pomegranate.

My kids loooove eating pomegranate arils which surprises me because I always figured that the little seeds inside would be a big obstacle to their enjoyment. In fact, one of my sons will occasionally spit out grape peels because "they too hard to bite!" But, go figure, they love pomegranates.

There are many ways to get those tasty seeds out of a pomegranate. If I'm in a hurry (and I'm juicing the seeds anyway) then I will bang my pomegranates with a wooden spoon for super fast removal, but tis always results in quite a few seeds completely smushed and a lot of sticky juice. Some people advocate peeling them inside a bowl of water, but I find that the arils get all wet and this detracts from their taste and attractiveness and they need to be laid out to dry before serving.

I've found that the easiest way to peel and deseed a pomegranate is simply... to peel and deseed the pomegranate. Of course that's easier said than done if you have no idea what you're dealing with inside that gleaming, ruby red skin. So this post is meant as an introduction to the anatomy of a pomegranate for those who are new to this wonderful fruit.

Delicata Squash Love Affair

[Back to normality... a bit... after the madness of Hallowe'en sewing...] I was introduced to delicata squash by our CSA box this summer and hubby and I are a little in love with this gorgeous heirloom squash. The appeal to us? Sweet, but not overly sweet. Soft, edible skin. Wonderful texture - powdery and smooth like the inside of a double baked potato or a really well fried Yukon Gold french fry. And no pumpkin aftertaste.

I gave it a little roast with a generous amount of butter and salt along with a sprinkling of brown sugar and they turned into the yummiest squash bites ever... Even my sons enjoyed the "sweet and salty french fries" that mommy offered them. So what else could I do with this great squash?

Deep fried like a potato chip? Roasted and blended into gnocchi or ravioli? What about grated for rosti? The possibilities seems so endless. Will keep you updated if I can find some at the local supermarket when the craziness of the next few days dies down.