Sharing your soul through your kitchen…

Some people would say that when you cook, you should cook with your heart.  In order for the food to taste good, you must put thought into it.  You can’t just go into the kitchen and throw a couple of things together without thinking about what you are doing, or how you are going to prepare it.  Cooking takes thought, plain and simple.  If you’re cooking with your heart and mind, your food is bound to be amazing…promise.  One last thing…if you’re cooking for people you care about, it’s always going to be great. 

This leads me to a delicious dinner party last night!  Thank you to our gracious hosts that welcomed us into their beautiful home with their two well-behaved children (I know, who thought that existed anymore?).  We should all be blessed as to have a couple in our lives that love each other so much.  We had a wonderful time!  We were fortunate enough to be served Ribeye Steaks last night at their home.  The wife marinated them beautifully, and the husband had that magic touch on the grill.  There were also skewered shrimp to lay on top of the steak (ooo la la).  The hub and I were responsible for a corn dish and my Sea Salt and Rosemary Baked Potatoes.  I didn’t want to do just some plain ol’ corn for this dinner.  Instead, I did a recipe that my Mom had made one Christmas…Jiffy Corn Pudding.  A very delicious and easy alternative for a corn dish.  You can find both of these recipes listed below.  There was an amazing dessert she made…that recipe will be featured in a coming post, but enjoy the picture below of the Lemon Lush dessert. 

Last, but not least for sure…Remember your friends this Christmas, remember the ones you love, and remember the ones that don’t have people to love them this Christmas.  We all deserve love, we all deserve to have someone care about us, and we all deserve to feel the warmth of the Christmas Spirit…Share a little bit of your soul with some warmth from your kitchen this season.

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Sea Salt and Rosemary Baked Potatoes

• 1/4 c. EVOO
• 2 tablespoons of coarse ground Sea Salt
• 1 sprig of fresh Rosemary or 1 tablespoon of dried Rosemary
• However many Baked Potatoes you need for your dinner

Preheat the oven to 425°.  Always make sure to choose Baked Potatoes that are all uniform in size.  This way they will all be done at the same time.  Scrub your potatoes very well.  No one likes dirt on their potato.  I take a knife and stab my potatoes 3 times on each side.  Line a baking pan with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.  In a medium size bowl combine the EVOO, Sea Salt and Rosemary (strip it from the stem if you used fresh).  Massage the mixture all around on the potato’s skin, making sure to get every piece of skin oily with an even amount of Sea Salt and Rosemary distributed on the skin as well.  Place in the pan, not touching.  Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Don’t be concerned, you will hear the crackling of the skin with the EVOO at the beginning.  This is what is going to be so good while eating.  Enjoy!

Jiffy Corn Pudding

• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can cream corn
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 (8 ounce) container of Daisy Light Sour Cream
• 1 box Jiffy Cornbread mix

Preheat oven to 350°.  Melt the butter in the dish in the preheating oven.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Mix together well.  Take your dish out after the butter has melted and pour your mixture into the dish.  Bake for 45 minutes…Simple, eh?