Comfort Foods and Indulgences

We definitely have some mushroom lovers in our household, and any chance we get to enjoy them, we go for it. White pizza had also been on my mind lately, it's a nice change from the regular red sauce varietyI tend to make.

If I had to pick a favorite pizza recipe, Hawaiian, with lots of pineapple would win hands down. However, no one in my family really likes it (not sure what that's about). It's rare I get to enjoy it so I am always coming up with other pizza concoctions I know I will love. This one is no exception.

I used four types of mushrooms for this recipe. All have different textures and flavors, which gives this pizza a nice complexity and meatiness. My oldest son loves mushrooms and he went crazy for this version. He asked for it two days in a row...imagine that.

I am obsessed with shrimp tacos right now! We are eating them at least twice a week and even that isn't enough for me. They are such an easy meal to put together. Sometimes they are more fancy than others and other times it's just the tortilla and shrimp. 

Shrimp tacos always taste better (to me anyways) with a sweet-heat factor. For this recipe I chose pineapple and jalapeno made into a simple salsa. It makes the taco!! I think fresh corn would have been amazing in there as well. However, I did want a little complexity so I grilled the pineapple to give it that "burnt sugar" flavor, which is always amazing in any dish.

Fresh pineapples can be daunting to slice. I know many people shy away from giving it a try. But friends there is no reason to do that! This OXO Pineapple Slicer is an awesome tool that really works. I always place my pineapple in a bowl, like you see here, to catch all the flavorful juice. It slices beautifully! And the hard core remains in the pineapple. Get one if you can, your summer might not be the same without it. And if you are having a summer luau, don't even think twice about not having one of these on hand.

What a meal.  Busy life = slow-cooking meat = happy family. 

Again, I am embracing the slow-cooker.  It's saving me! However, have you ever been home all day while the slow-cooker is going?  Or worse asleep at night while it's cooking? I feel like I snack more while those amazing smells are wafting from the kitchen.  Then the kids come home from school and whine until dinner because they smell the food too.  And want it.  Oh well, a small price to pay for an awesome meal.

This pork, is melt in your mouth delicious.  And you can literally throw it together in 5 minutes and be on your merry way.  When you get home you will have a fabulous, slightly sweet and savory meal that goes QUITE well with mashed potatoes.  And there is so much juice to pour over the meat, leaving it moist and yummy. Ah, bliss.

We will be doing this one again and again this winter.

I'm a cheater, in the kitchen anyway. While I may not be a fan of mac and cheese from a box, I positively love using gourmet specialty products. What kinds of products? Jams, mustards, chutney, tapenade, Chinese sauces, so many things! Two of my favorite secret weapons are in the freezer--phyllo dough and puff pastry.

You could easily write a book on all the things you can make out of phyllo dough and puff pastry. I suggest the title "How to Succeed in Baking Without Really Trying". Once you learn how to handle them, the possibilities are endless. They even turn something mundane into something special.

For example you could make a stew into an elegant pot pie. You could turn a fruit compote into pastries. You could make fancy little appetizers to serve hot from the oven. How fancy? I suggest little napoleons or tartlets. It's really easy.