Scottish Curry | Nina's Heavenly Delights #FoodnFlix

I'm hosting the February 2020 edition of the Food 'n Flix club with the British foodie rom-com, Nina's Heavenly Delights. Nina comes from a fairly traditional Indian family, who lives and owns a restaurant in Glasgow, Scotland. She grew up cooking with her father, learning to use her senses, and becoming a good chef in her own right.  As many young adults do, she leaves home to discover the world on her own terms (and to escape an arranged marriage).

When her father passes away from a heart attack, Nina returns home after 3 years of being estranged and living in London on her own. It's then that she discovers the restaurant is in financial trouble and will most likely be sold to another local Indian family of restauranteurs, which includes the son Sanjay, the man she was supposed to be married to. Remembering all of the memories in the restaurant, particularly learning to cook with her father, she is determined not to let that happen.

Garlic Parmesan Wings | Meet Me On Love Lane

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am happy to be hosting today's TLC Book Tours stop for the newest book in the Hopeless Romantics series by Nina Bocci, Meet Me On Love Lane. I hadn't read the first book in the series, but fortunately I was offered a copy of that one, called On the Corner of Love and Hate, as well. I'm not here to review Book 1 today, but I will tell you that I devoured it from start to finish. I was sucked in to the small town of Hope Lake and its residents.

While Book 1 focused on Emma and Cooper, Book 2 introduces us to Charlotte, and brings some of On the Corner of Love and Hate's supporting characters to the front lines. While reading the first book isn't essential to enjoying the second, I highly recommend you start from the beginning to add more depth to your experience.

Copycat Olive Garden Chicken & Gnocchi Soup | #SoupSwappers

It's been several months since I participated (time is not on my side lately) in Saturday Soup Swappers, but I brought a pot of soup to the group this month! I'm also hosting with a theme that I thought would not only produce a variety of delicious soup recipes, but also be a ton of fun for both the bloggers and the readers—COPYCAT SOUP RECIPES!

Chicken Caesar Wraps | Like A Fly On The Wall

Welcome to the TLC Book Tours stop for Like A Fly On The Wall by Simone Kelly! I joined this tour really looking forward to reading a novel where the main character reads people's energies and communicates with spirit guides because, although it's not something I mention here on the blog very often, the metaphysical is a regular part of my everyday life (meaning I love meeting characters of this sort).

Honeyed Chicken | Game of Thrones

In honor of the Game of Thrones season 7 premiere this coming Sunday, Evelyne of CulturEatz and I have joined forces to bring you a week's worth of GoT-inspired recipes! Each day one of us will post a new recipe (so, 3 recipes each), but on premiere day we will both share a recipe based on a fun theme within Game of Thrones—Oysters, Clams, and Cockles!

Paprika Roast Chicken over Mamaliga | Bram Stoker's Dracula

Welcome to the final installment of the All Vampire Book and a Movie Challenge for 2016. Our December challenge was what could probably be considered THE vampire story of vampire stories, Dracula. While there have been many retellings of Bram Stoker's tale, the movie we watched this month was the '92 Francis Ford Coppola version starring Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, and Winona Ryder.

The movie - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992):

Oh, the movie...the dreaded movie. I'm just going to go ahead and say it—I hate this movie. I didn't like it the first time I saw it so many years ago, but decided to give it a chance after I'd finished the book. That just made me think even less of the over-sexed, over-boobed, bastardization of Bram Stoker's original work. I thought the acting was horrible (sorry Keanu, you're pretty and all, but) and the screenplay was so far off from the original story that I don't know how they could still get away with calling it "Bram Stoker's" Dracula.

Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings | Love Literary Style

If I could describe Love Literary Style in a few short words, I'd say it is a fun, meta romantic comedy. Yes, I said meta. I rarely say meta, because for some reason it bothers me—I think because it was way overused in the last few years. But also because I don't think I completely understand how to use it properly. Although in this case, I'm pretty sure that I've gotten it right. That's just to say, that if I'm using the word, it's for a legit reason (and somehow, "legit" doesn't bother me).

This rom-com, written by Karen Gillespie, not only follows the traditional rom-com formula, it also explains that formula in the book, since one of the lead characters, Laurie Lee is a romance writer. Our other lead character, Aaron Mite, is a college professor who has spent the last 5 years writing his novel.

For the Love of Butter Chicken

photo credit: Simi Jois

Words have always had a profound effect on me. Not just the ones that cut and tear, also the ones that build and inspire. For as long as I can remember, people have been asking me the question "why are you crying?". It used to embarrass me, as if I was doing something wrong. I'd apologize and say that I was an emotional person, until I realized that was nothing to apologize for. I am me.

A couple of years ago, in a room full of at least 100 people at a blogging conference, I found myself brought to tears (of the inspiring sort) listening to Monica Bhide's presentation. It wound up being my favorite portion of the entire conference, and I was so happy to have the chance to meet Monica and chat with her briefly later that day.

Sopa de Lima | #SoupSwapParty

As a self-proclaimed soup addict, I think the concept of Kathy Gunst's new cookbook Soup Swap is pure genius. Since you often wind up with leftovers when you make soup, you can tire of having the same kind of soup day after day, so why not make a party out of it? Gather a group of friends, family, or colleagues and have each person/couple bring a pot of homemade soup. The host will provide a loaf of crusty bread, a side/salad, and a dessert.

At the party, serve up tasting portions of each kind of soup and then everybody goes home with different soups to enjoy for the rest of the week! You could make it a monthly ritual. You could have themes. You could ask everybody to bring a drink that compliments their soup. You could set it up however you want.

Chicken, Plaintain and Peanut Stew (with or without Pretzel Dumplings)

Another summer, another box of mystery ingredients exchanged...it's time for another mystery box reveal!  This year, I received a box of ingredients selected by Matt from Nomageddon that contained a bottle of Sweet Baby Jesus Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, a package of Boardwalk Craft Beer Pretzel Mix, and a container of Aurora Natural Plantain Chips. These were all amazing ingredients and I couldn't wait to combine them to make one delicious dish.

First of all, next to homemade plantain chips, these are the best I've ever tried. I had to make an effort not to just snack them all away. Loved the beer on its own, as well. I couldn't get the idea of a Caribbean-inspired stew of sorts that featured plantains and peanuts, but the pretzel mix threw me for a loop there, so while that was the inspiration behind my dish, my finished dish wasn't very Caribbean.

Creamed Chicken in a Mashed Potato Nest inspired by June

Today I'm happy to be hosting a TLC book tour stop for the new Miranda Beverly-Whittemore novel, June. This is my first encounter with Beverly-Whittemore, but it left me with the desire to read her previous novels. June is the story of 25-year old Cassie, a photographer living in New York City who just found out that her beloved grandmother, the woman who raised her, has passed away...from cancer that Cassie never knew she was battling.

Grandma June left her a modest inheritance as well as her home in the small town of St. Jude, Ohio. The home is actually a huge old mansion called Two Oaks that has fallen into disrepair over the years, and since Cassie's life seems to have fallen into that same state, she envelops herself into the sadness of the old place.

Herbes de Provence Roasted Chicken and Potatoes + an Amélie Inspired Menu

Although I can't recall the exact date (or even year) that I first watched Amélie, it seems like it's been one of my favorites for years. Originally released in 2001, this French film is about a young girl raised and schooled at home by parents who were trying to protect her since they mistakenly thought she had a heart defect. Since Amélie is without playmates, she develops a world of magic and mischief inside her head.

She loses her mother young and watches her father become more reclusive as the years go by. When she is old enough to venture out on her own, she moves to an apartment in Montmartre and works as a waitress at the Café des 2 Moulins (Two Windmills Cafe). Her wonderfully quirky apartment shows the imagination that she had a child still lives openly within her as a young adult.

Chicken Marsala inspired by #CaughtUpinRaine

I'm so exciting to be hosting a book tour stop for L.G. O'Connor's newest release, Caught Up In Raine, today! I was first introduced to O'Connor and a category of books that I'd never looked twice at before when I was a part of her Trinity Stones book tour just over two years ago. The term "paranormal romance" is what drew me in. And then I didn't want to leave. I'm sure the paranormal part has something to do with that, but after reading CUIR, my sneaking suspicion that it was L.G.'s fun, fresh, contemporary writing that really held me captive, was confirmed.

Considered romantic women's fiction (nothing paranormal going on in this series), Caught Up In Raine features a seemingly unlikely May-December romance and is told from two points of view: 40-something Jillian's and 20-something Raine's. So, here's the thing—this book will resonate most with women who have already hit that 40-mark.  You know, women like me (I'm right on the dot). I have a sneaking suspicion that any ladies younger than that might not be in the right place to make a connection. I mean, if somebody had told me that I wouldn't feel any (okay, much) older at 40 than I did at 25, I wouldn't have believed them.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This month's Progressive Eats menu takes a stroll down memory lane from each of its contributors. Lana from Never Enough Thyme challenged us to cook up a bit of nostalgia and comfort food from our childhood. At first I wasn't sure which way to go since I've already made so many of my childhood favorites like Chicken a la King, Chicken Corn Chowder, Chicken Pot Pie, and Chicken Noodle Soup. But then I remembered something that I hadn't shared yet that holds a special place in my heart—Chicken Cordon Bleu.

I guess I didn't realize it before now, but there seems to be a theme to some of my favorite childhood foods. I was going to suggest that chicken was easy to come by back then until I realized that a couple of those dishes actually originated from a can. But not this one. Chicken roll-up night was always a favorite in our house, and us kids were always tasked with pounding out the chicken breasts as thin as we could get them without ripping them (much).

Slow Cooker Posole Verde

I'm so excited to be kicking off another year of cooking virtually alongside my friend Leslie from La Cocina de Leslie for what we affectionately call She Made, Ella Hace! Although we try to get together every month, sometimes we blink and it's been longer, but we've managed to connect almost every month for 4 1/2 years...and that makes me smile. Since January happens to be National Soup Month, Leslie suggested that we kick 2016 off with soup. This girl loves soup more than most other things, so I said yes!

But do you know what's funny? And this has happened more than once. We both wound up making the SAME kind of soup. We didn't consult ahead of time. We didn't choose a type of soup or theme for the soup. Yet still, out of the thousands (at least) types of soup we could have simmered up in our kitchens today, we both wound up with a pot of Posole (pozole) Verde! Great minds, I tell you...great minds.

Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo inspired by That Would Be Me

I participated in the That Would Be Me album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided an album to review but all opinions are my own.

It's been a while since I've brought you some music-inspired eats, so I'm pretty excited to share this Harry Connick Jr. inspired gumbo with you today! Recently I was offered the chance to preview Harry's new album That Would Be Me (which is officially released tomorrow!). I'm a longtime fan of HCJ...I mean—come on! He's a singer, musician, actor, performer, composer, arranger, songwriter, bandleader, judge...and he's just as easy on the eyes as he is the ears.

The overall vibe of this album is mellow and easy to listen to, but I love that there are bits of jazz, soul, funk, and gospel interwoven throughout. I probably listened to the entire album 10 to 15 times over the last 5 or 6 days. At first it was with focus on the lyrics and song titles, but after a while it became the perfect backdrop to cooking, cleaning, writing, and doing the dishes. Like I said, it's mellow, but I also found myself shakin' my bum and bopping my head as I worked.

The top three songs for me on this album are listed below, with the reasons I like them.

     1. (I Do) Like We Do - classic head-bopping, body-moving "you + me" song (aka a love song in a perfectly wonderful sappy-yet-not-sappy fashion). Loving that's it's jazzy with some horns.

     2. (I Like It When You) Smile - upbeat, happy, jazzy, hand clapping, and a little HCJ scat-rap! It just makes you want to move.

     3. Right Where It Hurts - a little more N'awlins jazz feel than anything else on the album, again with horns and some gospel-style vocals and hand clapping.

If I had to pick a number 4, it would be Where Prisoners Drown - it feels a bit like "revival" music.

And while it didn't make my top 4, I totally found myself singing Songwriter as I brushed my teeth last night. And as I ran some errands in the car earlier today. It's got an extremely catchy rhyming chorus (I wanna be a song writer, I wanna be a wrong righter, I wanna take an all-nighter...), so it was basically inevitable.

Tracks:

1. (I Like It When You) Smile

2. (I Do) Like We Do

3. Tryin’ To Matter

4. Songwriter

5. Do You Really Need Her

6. You Don’t Need A Man

7. You Have No Idea

8. Where Prisoners Drown

9. (I Think I) Love You A Little Bit

10. Every Time I Fall In Love

11. Right Where It Hurts

Can't get enough Harry? 

Visit the official Harry Connick Jr website or find him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to stay up to date.

Order That Would Be Me now from iTunes or Amazon!

Food and Drink to enhance your listening experience - since Harry Connick Jr. exudes N'awlins flair, I knew my recommendations would have to be classic:

• New Orleans Gin Fizz
• Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo (recipe below)
• Red Beans and Rice (or try these Slow Cooker Louisiana-Style Red Beans and Rice)
• Beignets

There wasn't much talk of food or drink in the songs, but he does mention beer once and wine twice, so in honor of the wine mentions, I added a little wino twist to an otherwise classic gumbo...and it worked nicely. Lingering over a bowl of this with a New Orleans Gin Fizz in your hand and this album coming from the speakers is a delicious way to spend an hour or so.

Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo

This rich Louisiana-style stew is loaded with chicken, sausage, and shrimp served over rice.

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 90 - 120 minutes

Keywords: simmer entree soup/stew chicken sausage shrimp American

Ingredients (3 quarts)

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups white wine (or more chicken stock)
• 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red chile flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 pounds chicken breast, chopped into 1" chunks
• 1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices
• 1 pound shrimp, shelled, tailed, and deveined
• hot sauce, to taste
• cooked white rice, to serve

Instructions

Melt butter in a 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour, one-third at a time, until each third is incorporated into the butter. Continue to cook the roux, stirring often, until it has turned a deep, rich brown, 45 to 60 minutes.

Add bell peppers, onions, celery, and garlic and stir constantly for 1 minutes. Slowly pour in the stock and wine, stirring as you go to prevent lumps. Add everything else to the pot except the shrimp hot sauce, and rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow to cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the shrimp and simmer until it just turns pink, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, taste and adjust seasoning with hot sauce or more salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over hot rice.

-inspired by and adapted from Chef Paul Prudhomme's Gumbo Ya-Ya (as served in Mr. B's Bistro in the French Quarter) via New Orleans Official Guide 

Homemade Chicken & Cranberry Cat Treats

It's that time again! Time to delve into the food stuffs of our furry family member, otherwise known as Luna's Larder. Last month we introduced Rachael Ray's Nutrish Zero Grain Cat Food, which is still Luna's preferred food. We also tried the Real Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe food, which isn't grain-free, but she liked it, as well. This month I decided to share something that I've been meaning to share for years (I know, I know) now—homemade cat treats.

I used a combination of light and dark meat chicken, that I poached gently (bone-in, skin-on) until it was just done, and then let cool. Really, you could use any type of meat your cat likes; beef, turkey, white fish, tuna, salmon, duck—they're all good options. I like to use meat that I've cooked myself, so that there is no added salt or seasoning. Too much salt can be poisonous to cats, as can onion and garlic. Better to play it safe than sorry.

Originally I was going to add a little spinach to the mix, but in typical form, I forgot to set some aside when I made spinach for dinner a couple nights before I made the treats (even though I originally bought it with the treats in mind). So, I'll have to put it in a future batch.

Southwest Salad in a Jar

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sargento. The opinions and text are all mine.

If you were to ask me which one show I'd like to appear on, my answer would be Chopped. It's actually one of the shows my whole family will sit down in front of the tv to watch. It's fun and fast-paced, and best of all, it inspires creativity and banter—in the show and at home. Each person is shouting out what they'd make with the four mystery ingredients for that round. Heck, I shout it out even when I'm watching by myself.

Sometimes I wonder if I'd actually be able to come up with a dish on-the-spot that would please the judges. I'm not going to lie, there are baskets that leave me stumped. My plan, should I apply and be accepted to the show, is to have a handful of easily adaptable, basic recipe ideas in my back pocket. I can customize and enhance the flavors of the basket ingredients once I see them. I wonder if I'd remember any of them in the heat of the moment.

Today, I'm excited to be taking part in a little "Chopped at Home" contest! Sargento cheese challenged me to get creative and make a Chopped-inspired dish right from the comfort of my own kitchen. Just like the contestants on the show, I was given 4 basket ingredients to work with, and free use of my pantry and fridge.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Mac and Cheese

I know today is the first day of Spring, but since it doesn't officially start until 10:45 pm tonight—I'm going to slide in one last comfort food dish. Okay, I can't actually guarantee it's the last one; you never know when the mood may strike. But you know, in the spirit of the weather turning warm(ish) and all...

So yes, this dish. It had been dancing around in my head for quite some time before I actually made it happen. I'd been thinking back to some of my favorite foods growing up. There were certain meals that I always looked forward to. Chicken a la King, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Cordon Bleu...and I loved it when I heard my dad pounding out some chicken in the kitchen. That meant we were having either Chicken Cordon Bleu or Pepperoni Chicken Rolls. Hmmmm, I sense a theme here.

The funny thing is, even though these are some of my favorite childhood meals, I don't find myself making them very often for my own kids. What's wrong with me? I mean, chicken noodle soup and chicken pot pie are fairly regular, but none of the others. When I mentioned chicken cordon bleu, my kids looked at me without recognition registering on their faces. I mean, surely I'd made it once or twice before. Right? I racked my brain and think the last time I made it, my 17-year old was about 3 or 4. That meant that he didn't remember, and my two younger ones had never tried it. #momfail

Smoky Chicken Paprika + Life From Scratch book tour stop

"There are mysteries buried in the recesses of every kitchen—every crumb kicked under the floorboard is a hidden memory. But some kitchens are made of more. Some kitchens are everything."

I've mentioned before that my books of choice are usually fiction. I love getting lost in mysteries (bonus points if they're a culinary mystery), foodie cozies (even though I cringe at the term "cozy"), and the supernatural. My reading time is me time; it's escape time. I want to be sucked into another world. While this is almost always the case, I also love a well-written memoir—again, usually a foodie memoir—but any one that pulls at my insides will suffice. I also read cookbooks like novels, but if you spend any time at all around here...you probably already knew that.

Today I'm sharing a peek at a great foodie memoir called Life from Scratch, written by Sasha Martin. Sasha also blogs at Global Table Adventure, where she introduces food from 195 countries via "table travel". Part of my personal philosophy is that discovering and exploring the foods of different cultures, countries, and people is the best way to become familiar with them, so I immediately knew I'd enjoy my time immersed in a memoir written by somebody who feels much the same way.

This is definitely a memoir that includes food, but it's so much more than that. Tales of her that start before she was even born, lay the foundation for a book filled with emotions that range from hunger to tears to warmth. Martin weaves her story with spice, vulnerability, and strength. And she tells it through food, cooking, and recipes.