Lately, I have been around the house a lot and have taken to grazing all day long. Little nibbles of delicious flavors keep me going from hour to hour.

One of my latest food discoveries has been Red Anjou pears. They have been arriving in my weekly, organic produce delivery and come from this farm in Washington. Althought I haven’t made it yet, their site has a nice looking red pear pie recipe with dried apricots, pecans and cinnamon.

I read that the Red Anjou isn’t much different than its yellow/green counterpart but I would disagree. The texture seems nicer and maybe it is just the beautiful color that has me excited but I swear they taste better!

For this snack, use as sharp a cheddar cheese as you can find sliced very thin between the pears and the toast. It is a fabulous juxtoposition to the sweetness of the raisins, pears and honey. Of course, you could make a number of variations of this using different breads, apples or pear varieties.

Toast your bread. Place thin slices of cheddar on the toast and let them melt slightly. Top with thin pear slices and drizzle with honey. mmmm…..

Whew… nothing like a cookie cutting and decorating project to keep you busy for awhile. I thought these bunnies and chicks would never end. Incidentally, this recipe yields about 5-6 dozen small cookies.

Over Christmas, my sister made these cookies. I chose one off the platter because it looked so pretty. I am a sucker for sprinkles. I ate about five more because they actually tasted so good! I’m not sure of your experience, but often the cookie cutter cookies look fun but don’t taste much like anything. Thanks to the sourcream in the dough and almond extract and buttermilk in the frosting, these are a bit cakey and much more flavorful. One of the reasons I love buttermilk and sourcream in recipes is that it often yields a less “ultra-sugary” sweet treat.

The frosting is a bit thicker than most I have used so it is more of a spreading job than a cookie painting event. Extra detailed cookie cutters probably aren’t a great match for this recipe as the thicker frosting hides some of the detail of the cookie shape. For me, the flavor trumps this concern!

Sour Cream Rolled Cookies
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, then sour cream and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together seperately. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Roll out fairly thick. Cut wtih large cookie cutters. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray. Bake at 325 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool cookies completely before frosting and decorating.

Almond Cookie Frosting
1 stick margarine at room temperature
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp almond flavoring
2 lbs. powdered sugar
Milk or Buttermilk added to desired consistency

Cream margarine and shortening. Add flavoring and gradually beat in powdered sugar. (it gets very dry) Add milk or buttermilk one Tablespoon at a time to get to desired, spreadable consistency. Separate and add coloring as desired.

If you have been reading Whipped, you know how much I love to bake. Well, these past 9 months have been the baking project of my life. I tend to write about food more than my personal life so I have not mentioned my pregnancy thus far, at least not directly. It certainly had something to do with my less than creative recipes in late summer, severe need for donuts now and then and emotional outbursts about things like less than perfect photography.

This week some time, I hope to welcome this little gal into my kitchen. So, I may not respond to questions and comments for a little while. However, keep checking in! I will be posting up until the special day. And, I have a little back log of recipes that I have ready to pop up when I can. (I will likely spend weeks eating frozen foods and casseroles from kindly neighbors.) Finally, I am extremely excited to be featuring a few guest chefs and food lovers!

What a beautiful, springy, green dish! Driven by a little leftover ricotta cheese and swiss chard that continues to turn up in my weekly produce delivery, I adapted a pasta recipe from one of the Moosewood cookbooks and came up up with this. The thick, fresh papperadelle held the sauce perfectly and the toasted nuts added texture. Seeing green pasta has me excited for fresh pesto! Summer is still a long way off but in just a few months, my basil plants will be planted on the back deck.

Final mounds of snow are melting. The sun is visiting more often. Birds are fluttery and feisty… spring is here!!!

Papperadelle with Ricotta, Swiss Chard, Walnuts and Parmesan
Makes 4 medium portions
1 bunch Swiss chard, stalks removed (about 4 cups chopped)
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
8 oz. fresh papperadelle pasta (fettucini or bowties would also be good)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
grated fresh parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and rinse when cooked. Toss pasta with the sauce. Use tongs to place a pile of pasta on a plate. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts and cheese.

The Moosewood recipe also includes a bunch of watercress greens and a total of 3/4 cup ricotta. Experiment with greens of your choice!

Good served with fish.
Good spread on bread.
Good for repelling vampires.

This dish is a garlic lover’s dream. It is probably not the best thing to serve at a dinner party unless horrendous garlic breath does something for conversation. And be prepared, if you go to the gym the day after eating Skordalia, you will smell garlic in your sweat.

My version is actually toned down from what my husband’s aunt makes in Greece. She uses a massive stone mortar and pestle to smash together the cooked potatoes with raw garlic. Hers has even more garlic and the consistency is better using all that “elbow grease” versus the food processor, which can make the potato consistency a bit gummy. Still, this version conjurs up the same flavors and was a welcome treat in our house this week. Although my hubby recognzied it was not the same as what he is served around the table in Corfu, his eyes opened wide upon first bite and after swallowing, his first words were, “mmmm…yummy my love!” Music to my ears.

Skordalia
3 medium potatoes
8-12 cloves fresh garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
3 T red wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt

Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks. Boil them until tender but not mushy. Drain them and let them dry a bit. Put the them in a food processor with the fresh cloves of garlic and a hefty pinch of salt. Pulse until combined and no large pieces of garlic remain. Add liquids little by little, alternating and pulsing until combined. Taste as you go, adding salt and more of any of the liquid ingredients to your desired flavor. Serve on bread or as a side to dip sausages or fish.

I added a new category of Greek Favorites to the side bar for those seeking out traditional Greek recipes. I will be adding more as summer arrives. Greek food always tastes best to me in the hot weather!

I am not sure what the blog etiquette is on reposting. Probably it isn’t very cool. The BEST food blogger would likely never dare to put up the same exact recipe and photo a second time. Well, at the risk of being snubbed and laughed out of cyberspace…I’m doing it.

Easter is a week away and for those who celebrate, you may be thinking about Easter dinner. I have not yet decided if I will be cooking this year. But, I can tell you that if I do, I will not even consider seeking out a new recipe. If you are looking for a traditional lamb dinner, these chops are easy and fantastically delicious. If you want to see what I had to say about them last year, you can read it here. And, don’t worry…this reposting business… I won’t make a habit of it.

Rack of Lamb with Herb and Olive Crust
1/3 cup coarsely chopped olives - kalamata, picholine or Manzanilla
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh thyme
2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 racks of lamb (7-8 ribs each, trimmed or frenched)
salt and pepper
3/6 cups breadcrumbs

From Fine Cooking Magazine

I am not much of a salad lover. So, I am always trying to find new ways to eat my raw veggies. This has been my latest favorite. For some reason, I have been inspired to cut up my greens into smaller threads and I swear it makes it taste different. It isn’t just a matter of the feel in your mouth or the way it loads onto your fork. The same food in different size or shapes really does taste different! For instance, just think of pasta. There are sauces that I just can’t put on certain pasta shapes. I mean, why don’t we make macaroni and cheese with spaghetti noodles? Tastes different.

In the past month, I have mixed a number of other ingredients into my basic spinach and mushroom slaw. Topping it with chicken makes a dinner salad. Give it a try… and let me what you think of those thin strips…

Spinach and Mushroom Slaw
Fresh Spinach - I like the rougher, larger leaves in this better than baby spinach
White or Button Mushrooms
Asian Dressing (for store bought, I like Ken’s lite Asian Sesame with Ginger and Soy. If you are inspired to make your own dressing, try this recipe.)

Optional add-ins: cilantro, grated carrot, grilled chicken, Asian noodles, napa or red cabbage

Five Stars. Top Dog. Fireworks Worthy. Blue Ribbon. Top Drawer. Best in Show.

These are the best cupcakes that have ever come out of my kitchen. Now, I am not saying it is the best CAKE I have ever baked as my Chocolate Beet Layer Cake is hard to beat. But, as far as cupcakes go, the crumbly cake and firm, flavorful frosting lend themselves perfectly to hand-held beauties.

Once again, my buttermilk love continues to grow with this new recipe. My sister, whose delicious cooking has been an inspiration since the beginning of Whipped, sent this recipe my way after hearing my plan to seek out all wonderful things buttermilk!

Buttermilk Cake
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups bleached flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Pour batter into prepared pans and spread to edges. Bake 25-30 minutes for layer cakes 18-20 minutes for cupcakes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool pans on a rack for 5 minutes. Turn cakes out and cool completely.

Lemon Frosting
2 sticks butter, firm but not cold
zest of one lemon
1/8 tsp. salt
3 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
2-4 tsp. buttermilk

Beat butter, zest and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, gradually add sugar, beat until blended. Add the vanill and lemon juice and beat until smooth. Do not over mix or frosting will incorporate too much air. It will be creamy and dense. Add buttermilk 1 tsp. at a time until frosting has a spreadable consistency.

Although spring is just around the corner, I am going to post just a few more soup recipes thanks to my recent soup exchange. I served and exchanged this vegetarian soup and some of our guests were nice enough to share their recipes with me. So, stay tuned for the final soup hurrah! Darn you never-ending winter - we WILL survive you with our warm, comforting soups to the last!

This recipe is simple and flavorful - not too sweet and not too spicy. I kept mine pretty thick so the consistency was just a touch more liquid than a sweet potato puree you might find at your Thanksgiving table. Just add more vegetable stock for a runnier puree. I enjoyed this leftover cup of soup for lunch today. It would make an easy dinner party first course or accompaniment to a crunchy green salad - I am thinking something with apples or pears in it.

Curried Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoe, peeled and diced
5 oz. carrots, diced
5 cups vegetable stock
salt
Sour cream or cilantro (optional garnish)

Heat the oil in a pan. Add onion, cook 1 minute. Add curry and cumin. Stir together and cook 2-3 minutes until onions are transluscent and spices are fragrant. Add sweet potatoes and carrots. Stir constantly and cook another 5 minutes. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Turn off heat. Use an immersion blender or batches in a regular blender to puree soup. Season with salt to taste. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or a sprig of cilantro as garnish.