Janel Gradowski's Blog, page 9

Cops & Doughnuts For The Win!

I live in a state that you have to want to come to. Michigan is surrounded by the Great Lakes on three sides, which are basically inland seas that can produce ocean-like conditions and have the shipwrecks to prove it. So unless you want to go from Canada to Wisconsin, across the Upper Peninsula, you can’t just pass through it on your way to somewhere else. The road trip equivalent of a dead end street. Still, foodie TV shows seem to love this state.

Anthony Bourdain has visited Detroit for several of his series. An Ann Arbor chef competed on Top Chef. The Food Network has visited for shows like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Cupcake Wars and Food Court Wars. Last night one of my favorite food destinations was on The Cooking Channel’s Donut Showdown.

Cops & Doughnuts is a bakery in Clare, Michigan that is actually owned by cops. When the town’s bakery was in danger of closing a group of cops decided to buy it. The bakery went from small and struggling to being a destination with lines out the door at some times. My family and I have been there many times to enjoy things like The Squealer (an unfilled Long John with maple glaze topped with a strip of bacon) to giant apple fritters that can easily be shared by two people but are so good you don’t want to share.

Last night, head baker Dave and his assistant Katie took on a shipwrecked theme and came up with the Donut Showdown win! Congrats to the Cops & Doughnuts crew. They’ve worked hard to grow what has become a doughnut empire in the state, with multiple “substations” scattered throughout central Michigan. If you ever get a chance to try their baked goods, please do. I’m sure you’ll love them.

Rainy Day Giveaway

There are thunderstorms predicted for my area this afternoon. A perfect time to start a giveaway for an umbrella and a book…two things that come in handy on a rainy day.

These umbrellas are super cute (I think). When not in use they fit into a hard plastic case that makes them look like a wine bottle. The winner of the giveaway can choose either the pink or black version. An autographed copy of Pies & Peril, my new culinary mystery, is also part of the prize. Sorry, due to postage, this is a US only giveaway. Just use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter! I will choose a winner on September 24. That person will have 48 hours to respond to my email or I will choose another winner.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Back To A Routine

Giveaway coming soon for…wine bottle shaped UMBRELLAS!

Routines aren’t sexy or exciting, but they sure are productive. My kids went back to school on Tuesday. They’re getting used to homework every night again. Me? I’m getting used to writing every day again.

This week has the sparkly shininess of things to come…i.e. I am completely unfocused because I am so excited. It’s hard to walk in a straight line when you are doing a crazy Happy Dance. Besides that, I’ve had a sick husband and a sick doggy this week. While I haven’t had time to set up a giveaway, I will be doing several soon.

 

Coming Soon

We’re heading into the last week of summer here at Chez Gradowski. That basically amounts to me almost losing my mind between making sure the kids have everything to start school (there’s always something essential that isn’t thought of until the last minute) and anticipation of some yummy quiet so my writing muses can actually be creative.

I have some fun giveaways planned in September and one will involve the items above. Do you know what they are?

 

Currently…Post #2

Reading…Hard to Kill by Wendy Byrne

Watching…A mama turkey with 14 babies in my backyard

Cooking…Pork chops & eggplant for dinner

Eating…Maple Brown Sugar Jif Whips peanut butter on squishy white bread

Drinking…Tetley’s Black & Green tea, iced, unsweetened

Writing…A flash fiction story for a contest

Listening…To trash trucks rumbling through the neighborhood

Loving…The sun after 2 days of gray skies and heavy rain

Hating…My frizzy, humidity-affected hair

Considering…Writing a few flash fiction stories just for fun, like writing “palate cleansers”

Feeling…Energized, it’s half way to the weekend

Planning…For the kids to go back to school in September

Currently… Post #1

It’s the last month of summer vacation. I’m feeling more than a bit frazzled between what seems to be a never ending lineup of appointments, getting the kids ready for school, several writing deadlines and the general busyness of family life. So I’ve decided to try some fill in the blank-style micro blog posts. Little check ins detailing some of the more interesting parts of my rather ordinary life. So without further ado, here is micro blog post #1.

 

 

 

Reading…The Art of Neil Gaiman by Hayley Campbell (thanks Serena!)

Watching…house finches eating the grape jelly in my oriole feeder

Cooking…Farina for my breakfast

Eating…Lots of salads with roasted mushrooms

Drinking…Faygo Rock & Rye cream cola

Writing…(actually editing) a Culinary Competition holiday short story

Listening…to lots of traffic noise since I now live on a detour route

Loving…the cooler than normal summer temperatures

Hating…my allergies

Considering…recipes to include with the short story

Feeling…lazy…it’s Friday

Planning…to refinish the antique Ship Captain’s Desk my husband bought me when I finished writing Pies & Peril

Necklace & Book Winner

 

Congratulations to Jacquie, who won the contest for the autographed copy of Pies & Peril plus the handmade necklace.

Stay tuned, I promise I will do more giveaways soon!

Writer’s Lunch: Free For All Frittata

I have been doing daily, hand to hand combat with leftovers this summer. It seems that I have been routinely cooking too much food, either by miscalculating how much my family would enjoy a meal or by how many people would be eating the meal. My refrigerator shelves are a maze of containers full of meat, vegetables and rice or pasta. It’s a daily dilemma deciding what to do with those bits & bobs of meals past.

Eggs are a great partner in the fight to use up food before it has to be thrown away. Today I whipped up a Southwest-flavored frittata for one. It was my lunch, but could easily have been scaled up to feed more people. Here’s my basic “formula” for creating frittata from leftovers.

1. Raid your refrigerator for leftover meats, vegetables and grains or pastas. Chop whatever you choose into bite-sized pieces, keeping in mind that the more ingredients you have the less you’ll need of any single item.

2. Heat olive oil or butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add any uncooked ingredients, like meat or vegetables, and saute until cooked through. Add cooked ingredients (rice, quinoa, macaroni, cooked meat, grilled veggies, salsa, etc.) and heat until warm.

3. Meanwhile beat eggs. Two or three should be enough for a frittata for one person. Feel free to add a splash of water, milk, sour cream or even plain yogurt, along with salt and pepper.

4. Reduce heat to medium low and pour in eggs. Quickly stir to distribute the eggs. Cover and cook until top of eggs are set. Top with shredded cheese and recover to melt for a minute or two. Loosen the edge of the frittata with a spatula and slide onto a plate. Serve with hot sauce or salsa, if desired.

What is your favorite way to use up leftovers?

This post is part of Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads.

 

Cookbook Review: Extra Virgin

Extra Virgin

By Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar

Published by Random House, 2014

This cookbook is the companion to the popular Extra Virgin television show starring actress Debi Mazar and her husband, Gabriele Corcos. I love watching the show as Debi and Gabriele let viewers get a glimpse of their life both in the U.S. and in Gabriele’s family home in Tuscany. Of course, since it is a cooking show, everything is centered around food, most often with an Italian flare- a nod to Gabriele’s heritage and cooking passion.

The friendly, conversational tone of the TV show carries over into this book. The authors take turns chatting about things like ingredients to keep on hand and life in Italy. Each recipe comes with an introduction, most often detailing how the dish is a part of their life, from a frequent family dinner to a cherished family recipe. I appreciate a cookbook like this, one that you can sit down and read almost like a memoir instead of just browsing recipe titles. It’s almost like you are sharing one of the fabulous meals that are showcased on the TV show with Debi and Gabriele, and they are talking about their food with you.

Most of the recipes are simple with easily accessible ingredients. A few things, like guanciale (cured pork jowl) and salted anchovies, are not readily available where I live, but there are plenty of other recipes that use “everyday” ingredients found at the grocery store or farmer’s market. There is a nice combination of quick weeknight meals and more elaborate weekend or celebration dishes. The directions are straight-forward and easy to understand. There are so many recipes that I want to try. Baked Pasta In Eggplant, Spicy Mussel Soup with Grilled Bread, and Speck, Pecorino and Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches are just a few of the recipes that I have bookmarked. As you might expect, there are plenty of pasta recipes sauced with everything from olive oil and garlic to a more elaborate duck ragu.

I received the hardcover version of this book to review and it is beautiful. Large and substantial with an interesting textured title band on the cover. The heirloom tomato salad on the cover is beautiful, as are all of the photos in this book. As a fan of the show, I loved to see the candid photos of Debi and Gabriele. They look so happy and in love. Not to mention Debi’s fabulous clothes. I wish I could get a peek into her closet! But even if vintage clothing doesn’t interest you, even if you have never seen the TV show on the Cooking Channel, you can still enjoy this cookbook with the family friendly recipes from their kitchen.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

This post is part of Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads.

 

 

What A Week!

Thank you to everybody that has helped make this week fabulous! As of right now, Pies & Peril is still #1 on the Cozy Culinary Mystery bestseller list on Amazon. I am truly amazed and humbled.

This afternoon the UPS man brought me a big box of paperback copies. It’s a happy- happy- joy- joy kind of afternoon.

P.S. The Pies & Peril Blog Tour is still going on. Maybe you could win a copy of Pies & Peril.