Game Day Dips and Chips

Sunday is a big day.
It's the New England Patriots versus Downton Abbey. There's a great tug-of-war going on in many households and lots of hoping and praying.
That the Patriots will have put away the Baltimore Ravens before 9 pm when Downton Abbey airs on PBS.
I'm wondering how many people are ardent fans of both dramas. I am!
I adore the British drama, with its glamourous costumes, posh accents and amusing class structure.
But I am also a huge fan of our beloved Patriots. Tom (don't hate me because I'm beautiful) Brady, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork and my new hero, Stevan Ridley, all provide their own drama every season.

All hail the DVR, the best invention. Ever.

So whether you are parked in front of the tv for four hours of tackles and tight ends or one hour of stiff upper lips, you're going to want a snack. I've recently been going through ALL my old blog posts in effort to craft a real recipe index (coming soon!). I've rediscovered a lot of dips/appetizers that you might enjoy while viewing. Click on the highlights to take you to the original post.

Let's start with the classic - guacamole. I am known for my guacamole. In fact, I even had two college boys men ask me for a guacamole tutorial. Now it's their party trick.

This roasted red pepper dip is another popular dip because it's so full of flavor. Love it.

If you're trying to stick to those New Year's resolutions to eat more healthfully, you can't go wrong with hummus. Making your own means you can control the amount of oil. You can also add anything you like to it - lemon, jalapeños, cilantro, loads of garlic, basil. It's an excellent blank palette.

Want to try something out of the ordinary? This Hot Pepper Jelly Cheesecake is awesome. People will be saying "What is that flavor?" and you can be all smug and secretive while they beg for the recipe. Just say you got it on Mignardise. Thanks.

One more, just 'cause I LOVE this - Cranberry Salsa. So delicious, it's crazy.

Whatever you choose to watch, whatever you choose to eat, enjoy your Sunday.
And keep your eyes open for the new and improved Mignardise, coming very soon!

GO PATS!

My Recipe Problem

Since you're reading a food blog, I can only assume that you like to cook.
How do know how to make whatever it is you're making? Do you have a recipe?
Do you even need a recipe? I know there are lots of people who don't.
When I watch those cooking shows, like Chopped or Top Chef, I'm always amazed at how much they can do without a recipe. Especially the baking, where ingredients have to be exact. I suppose that comes from years of practice, experience and a certain confidence in your abilities.

I don't have that so I need recipes. Lots of them.

I am constantly collecting recipes. A lot of them come from other food blogs, such as Joy the Baker, Brown Eyed Baker, Sass & Veracity and many of the other hundreds thousands of excellent food blogs available at the touch of a key. I fear forgetting about a recipe that I might want to cook soon, so I hit "Print" and now I have a hard copy.

If I'm looking for something for a specific event or meal, I'm likely to start with Epicurious and Food Network, where there are thousands a gazillion recipes. When I go on these sites, I tend to get sidetracked by that "You Might Also Like..." feature. That leads me to another recipe I don't want to forget about, so luckily there's that "Print" icon again.

Now let's talk about all those food magazines. Addicted. I love the glossy pages that are so easy to rip out and save because I definitely WANT TO MAKE THIS SOON.  I'll just put those torn out pages in this little pile where I know I can find it. Oh, next month's issue is already here and I haven't made anything from last month yet? That's ok, I know the recipes is right here when I need it!

Newspapers? Yes, I still read them the old-fashioned way. That Wednesday food section is just full of excellent recipes! Can you hand me the scissors so I can just cut out this one. And one other. I'll probably try it this weekend.

Recipe overload. That's what I have. It must be managed. Oh how I have tried to manage. Many years ago (pre-internet) there was the recipe box, where the recipes one collected were then handwritten onto little cards. How quaint and wonderful for a woman with so much time on her hands and lovely script. Thinking about passing this precious box on to one's child made it oh-so-worthwhile.
But the recipe collection begins to outgrow that box and the care of children leaves one no time to lovingly copy those recipes onto the sweet little cards.
Notebooks are called for, with dividers and plastic page protectors. Yes! Three ring notebooks!

The binders grew and grew. After awhile one binder for desserts wasn't enough (clearly a sign of my priorities) so there had to be two - one just for cakes!
And the recipes grew too and were not able to find their way into the correct binders in a timely fashion. So file folders were needed as back up! Yes, file folders - who couldn't be organized with these special file folders? When one found herself with time on her hands on a rainy Sunday, surely one would use that time to move the recipes from the file folders into the binders.

Or would she?
Sigh. Soon the recipes began to make piles of their own, not even bothering to get into their designated folders. Then the recipe piles start to take over one's office and one's husband begins to complain that there's no cleared surface on which to sit.
There's no waiting for that rainy day now. Time for some action, some order! A new year's resolution to keep that order.

Sort the recipes. Get them in the correct folder. Now put those folders somewhere that is not a chair or sofa. A standing file rack? Sounds good to me. Promise to put any newly printed recipe in its rightful folder immediately.

I'm sure I'll use them all one day. Soon. Really I will.
Or maybe I should learn to trust myself to cook (but not bake) without recipes.

How do you keep your recipes organized? I am open to any suggestions!