Giveaway: $100 Visa card

One of the food blogs I read is giving away a $100 Visa gift card! Thanks to Taste and Tell Blog and Jimmy Dean, you can enter to win this generous giveaway. To enter you must go to the Taste and Tell Blog here.

Rules: No duplicate comments.  You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) In the comments section of the Taste and Tell blog, tell me one change you are making this year to make a better you.
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.  Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.  You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. This giveaway will go until January 30th, 2011. A winner will be announced on February 1st. For complete rules, CLICK HERE.
Good luck!

“Healthy” Lemony Angel Food Cake

Yum! For Christmas I received an angel food cake pan and a lemon juicer. I had to break them both in so this is what I made.

The Cake:

1 cup sifted cake flour (not self-rising)

1 1/2 cups sugar

12 large egg whites

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Lemon Cream:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cake flour (not self-rising)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with rack in lower third of oven. Sift flour and 1/2 cup sugar into a bowl.

Whisk whites with a mixer on medium speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add lemon zest and juice, cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt; continue whisking until soft peaks form, about 2 1/2 minutes. With mixer running, gradually add remaining cup sugar.

Increase speed to medium-high; continue whisking until firm, not stiff, peaks form, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle whites with 1/3 of the flour-sugar mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold to combine. Sprinkle remaining flour-sugar mixture over whites in 2 additions; gently fold to combine.

Transfer batter to a 10-inch angel food cake pan with legs. Gently run a knife through the center of the batter to remove any air bubbles. Bake until a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.

Remove pan from oven, and invert onto its cooling legs (if your tube pan doesn’t have legs, invert it over the neck of a wine, or similarly shaped, bottle to cool); let cool, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Run a knife around the inner and outer edges of cake to remove. Invert onto a serving platter. (Use a knife to separate cake from bottom of pan.) Let cool on a wire rack. Unfrosted cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Make the lemon cream: Prepare an ice-water bath. Whisk lemon juice, sugar, flour, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; whisk constantly for 1 minute, until it thickens. Transfer to a heatproof bowl set in ice-water bath to cool completely, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk cream and lemon zest with a mixer on medium speed until medium peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold whipped cream into juice mixture in thirds. Refrigerate lemon cream, up to overnight.

Recipe found at A Cozy Kitchen. Recipe by Martha Stewart

Curried Couscous with Broccoli and Feta

There is so much that you can do with this recipe. If you don't like an item, swap it out for something else or omit it completely. If you want to add an item like chopped chicken or strips of flank steak, do it! This recipe takes very little time, especially if you buy bagged broccoli florets or preshredded carrots. And it's great for potlucks or summer events. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 3/4  cups  water

1  cup  uncooked couscous

1 1/2  cups  small broccoli florets

1/2  cup  finely chopped red onion

1/3  cup  shredded carrot

1/4  cup  raisins

1/4  cup  dry-roasted cashews, chopped

2  tablespoons  white wine vinegar

1 1/2  tablespoons  olive oil

1  tablespoon  sugar

1 1/2  teaspoons  curry powder

1  teaspoon  bottled minced fresh ginger

3/4  teaspoon  salt

1  (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

3/4  cup  (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

While couscous stands, steam broccoli florets, covered, for 3 minutes or until tender.

Combine couscous, broccoli, onion, and next 10 ingredients (onion through chickpeas), tossing gently. Sprinkle with cheese.


Thanks to Cooking Light and MyRecipes.com for this fantastic recipe.

Food Challenge: Phad Thai

Each week when I make my menu plan I ask Josh "What's my food challenge this week?" At times he's given me vague topics such as salmon and other times he's asked for something more specific like General Tso Chicken. I love that we do this because it gives me a challenge in the kitchen that I enjoy and it means we are guaranteed to try a new recipe that week.

This week Josh gave me the challenge of Phad Thai. I love Phad Thai. I never used to but a few years ago while working at the bank, the girls and I would go out for Phad Thai for lunch. It soon became a favorite.

I am currently researching Phad Thai recipes and plan to make it Sunday night. (Assuming I can get to the grocery store despite all this snow!) I challenge you to do the same and report back. If you don't like Phad Thai then challenge yourself to something else.

Here are some of the Phad Thai recipes that I'm considering:

Shimp Phad Thai at FoodNetwork.com
Pad Thai at Allrecipes.com (4 stars out of 196 reviews sounds pretty good!)
Phad Thai at Grouprecipes.com
Pad Thai at Thaitable.com (Sounds authentic, eh?)

By the way, is it Phad or Pad?? I dunno!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Good bye Kraft, Hello Alton Brown. After making this recipe the first time, I vowed never to make Kraft Mac and Cheese again. But Kraft is so easy, you say? I beg to differ. Last night I made this recipe while listening to my toddler talk non-stop about his cars, stopping to give the pacifier back to my screaming baby--repeatedly, pausing to add more wood to the fire and letting the dog out to do her business. On a unrelated note, I was sporting an awesome side ponytail the entire time. :)

Ingredients

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon powdered mustard

3 cups milk

1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 large egg

12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh black pepper

Topping:

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

Almond Roca

You have got to try this!! I have to admit, I made four batches total and only ate (or gave away) two of them. Sadly, I had to toss the other two batches. There is a point in this recipe where if you remove it from the heat too soon, it doesn't work, and if you leave it on the heat too long, it doesn't work. Just make sure that when you try it that you have a second set of ingredients on hand in case you too have to toss your first batch. For step by step photos, go here. It helps!


Ingredients:
4 sticks Butter
2 cups Sugar (rounded)
4 Tablespoons Water
2 cups Almonds, Chopped
1 cup Chocolate Chips
½ cups Almonds, Finely Chopped, For Sprinkling

Directions:

Combine the first 3 ingredients and cook on high, stirring constantly through 3 stages:

1. Runny
2. “Cheesy”—it will look like melted white cheese
3. Runny and smooth, caramel brown color

Make sure you have the fan on your stove going, cause you’ll probably set off the smoke alarm towards the end. 

When it is runny, smooth and caramel brown in color, remove it from the heat and add the almonds. Stir until combined and pour the mixture onto greased cookie sheets. Spread it into an even layer. It will harden as it cools.

While it is still warm, sprinkle chocolate chips on top and let them melt enough to get soft. Spread the chocolate in an even layer across the candy. While the chocolate is still “wet,” sprinkle the finely chopped almonds on top.

At this point, while it is still warm and soft, you can score the candy with a butter knife to make it break evenly, or just let it harden and break it into rustic pieces.

Store in airtight containers. Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman: Tasty Kitchen Blog

Welcome to Meals By Mel

Josh told me not to do this. He said I wouldn't have time to invest in a new blog, especially one devoted to food. I hope he's wrong because I've been anxious to share with you the meals I place on my family table. I'm by no means a chef. I'm just a mom who likes to cook. 'Meals by Mel' is a bit deceiving since I will rarely post my own creations. I'm a recipe follower. I will be posting recipes found from cookbooks, blogs and food websites. I promise to give credit where credit is due. Think of this site as more 'Meals Collected by Mel'. Regardless, hopefully you'll find fun and delicious recipes that you may have not discovered otherwise. Cheers!