ErinNudi.com

Author: Erin Nudi

  • Ranch dressing

    As with the Caesar salad dressing recipe I found, after this I never want to buy bottled again.

    I found this Ranch dressing recipe on The Huffington Post, and I do recommend checking it out and not just going off of my post here, and I’ll tell you why.

    This is one of those recipes where all of the ingredients are spot-on, but you have to play with the proportions a bit to get it to your personal preference; the author of the post says as much.

    That being said, this is my interpretation, and everyone who has tried it has asked for the recipe.

    Ingredients:

    • 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk*
    • 1 cup mayonnaise
    • 2 tbsp sour cream
    • 2 tsp finely chopped fresh chives
    • 1 garlic clove, minced
    • 1/2 tsp Dijon or spicy brown mustard
    • a few dashes Tabasco sauce

    *This is the only problem with making Ranch dressing at home – you need buttermilk, which comes in this large container, and you’re never going to use the buttermilk for anything else.

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  • Food history: candy corn

    It’s interesting how candy corn has become such a Halloween staple considering, A – It’s available year-round, B – many people hate it, and C – candy corn doesn’t come individually wrapped, making it a poor choice to hand out to trick-or-treaters.

    Nevertheless, millions of pounds of the sugary treat are sold every year, about three-quarters of which are around Halloween.

    I didn’t realize it when I chose this topic for today’s post, but today happens to be National Candy Corn Day. 

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  • Difference between: Emmental and Gruyere cheese

    For this Difference Between, we are looking at two Swiss cheeses: Emmental and Gruyere.

    Both are great choices for a French onion soup; neither are the rubbery, Americanized version of Swiss cheese.

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  • Snapshot: white pumpkins

    If you’re looking for something different to spice up your Halloween decorations, try giving these unusual pumpkins a try.

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  • Slow cooker veggie pasta sauce

    My husband said he couldn’t taste the vegetables – you heard it here.

    I actually came up with this one myself. It’s definitely a recipe you can adjust to your own preferences, or what you have on hand.

    The main things here are the fresh basil, which adds a lot of flavor, and the carrots and red pepper flakes, which add sweetness and spiciness respectively. You can adjust the carrots and red pepper as you wish, depending on how sweet or spicy you like a sauce.

    You can also cook longer if you like a thicker sauce, or not so much if liquid-y is your thing – this is fairly thick.

    Also, for the canned stuff, I use “no salt added” so I can control how much salt goes into it.

    Ingredients:

    • 2 (28 oz) cans whole, peeled tomatoes, undrained
    • 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
    • 4 garlic cloves, minced
    • 2 carrots, minced
    • 2 celery stalks, minced
    • 1/2 white onion, minced
    • 1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
    • 2 tsp dried oregano
    • red pepper flakes, to taste
    • salt and black pepper, to taste

    You can also throw in other vegetables. I’ve made it with diced mushrooms, bell peppers would be good, etc.

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  • Food history: salt water taffy

    I associate salt water taffy with Cape Cod, where my parents used to buy it for me in the summer.

    But, there’s another touristy East Coast spot where salt water taffy originated: the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

    The history of salt water taffy is as small and sweet as the candy itself.

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  • Difference between: beans and legumes

    The first thing we need to know about the difference between beans and legumes is that a bean is a legume; a legume is not necessarily a bean.

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  • Food history: caviar

    Considered a delicacy around the world, let’s investigate the history of caviar.

    As with ketchup and coffee, there is an entire book on the history of caviar; we’ll cover what we can here.

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  • Difference between: beets and turnips

    We’re getting into root vegetable season  – how about the difference between beets and turnips? 

    In addition, we’ll also be taking a quick look at their fully edible greens, and the difference between them as well.

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  • Spinach salad

    This would be an excellent brunch salad.

    Thank you, The Rookie Cook Cookbook.

    Ingredients:

    • 8 oz spinach, stems removed, cut up
    • 4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
    • 3 hard boiled eggs, finely diced
    • 1 1/2 tbsp ketchup
    • 1 tbsp sugar
    • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
    • 3/4 tsp lemon juice
    • 3/4 tbsp cooking oil
    • 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
    • pinch onion powder
    • pinch cayenne pepper
    • pinch salt

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