Every Tuesday morning, I’m stuck driving into downtown Chicago, attending three back-to-back classes at Loyola University Chicago, hanging around and doing homework for about an hour and then going to a meeting. It’s a long day, to the say the least. Although I usually pack a light lunch to get me through that second class, during my break between classes and my meeting, I always make sure to head down the block to the wonderful little restaurant, the Soupbox.
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Now that the Super Bowl is over, crunchy and salty are out for me. This Valentine’s Day, I’m craving something really sweet. I want creamy and crumbly and sugary! This year, I won’t be spending tons of money at a fancy restaurant. I’m staying in with my boyfriend and cooking up a romantic meal that I know we’ll both enjoy.

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Answer me this: Who wouldn’t want a pizza muffin?  Inspired by this recipe for Chicago Style Pizza, these pizza treats are an easier-to-make bite-sized version. And they’re even easier to eat! To make them even simpler, buy a tube of  Pillsbury Pizza Crust.  Of course you can make your own pizza crust too for something more rustic, but whatever you decide, these pizza muffins make a great tailgating snack, appetizer, or game watching party bite! Get the full recipe and even some muffin pan recommendations after the jump!

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The picture doesn’t do it justice, but what you see above is possibly the simplest, tastiest, most addictive appetizer I have ever had. It’s simple because all it takes is pouring a jar of Trader Joe’s apple cranberry chutney over a log of goat cheese and serving it with crackers. It’s tasty because the chutney is made from all sorts of delicious spices I can’t stop thinking about. And it’s addictive because, well..I just can’t have enough.

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I haven’t raved about it much (if at all) on the blog, but I am, to put it lightly, absolutely wild about fondue. Whenever I discover a restaurant with fondue of any kind–savory, sweet, pricey, cheap, whatever–I make an immediate phone call.

“Hey,” says I.
“Hey!” says Foodie Friend.
“So there’s this new place I want to check out.”
“Have you read any reviews?” She asks suspiciously.
“They have fondue,” I reply matter-of-factly, the thought of that pot-of-cheese (or chocolate, or oil, or…) as good as a pretty triad of Michelin stars and a Zagat 30 in my mind.

I first encountered fondue after trekking for hours up a frozen mountain, so no wonder it’s made such an impression on me. …okay, okay, it was after perhaps forty minutes of trekking up a ski slope, but it was cold! And the snowshoes were ill-fitting! And the air was thin! I’m lazy! Regardless of just how manly and trying this journey was, it definitely made me hungry; stepping into an elegant, nearly-empty restaurant tucked away alongside a Utah green run and smelling rich melted cheese didn’t help much. If biting into the first slice of apple and tasting the savory cheese as it gave way to crisp tartness was a revelation; tasting the first slice of banana dipped into melted chocolate was almost erotic, and I’ve been obsessed ever since.

Problem is, you can’t just up and make fondue. Unlike, say, guacamole, it’s not just about the freshest ingredients, a bowl, and some tools. You need a double boiler, probably a portable burner, a bunch of those goofy skinny forks that look like the brain picker out of Total Recall…it requires aforethought, is my point, and devoted readers may be realizing I’m not a master of that particular skill.

But I’m trying anyway, because of this recipe: Fondue Royale.

Oh yeah, you read that right. Truffles and Champagne. Adapted from the long out-of-print Fondue Cookbook by Ed Callahan (apparently they were nuts about this stuff in 1968), it looks right up my alley, possibly even up my driveway and into my front hall.

Of course, if that ain’t your thing, we’ve got other fondue recipes, like:
Sharp Cheddar Cheese Fondue
Cheese Fondue
Chocolate Grand Marnier Fondue

Whichever you choose, enjoy it, and be sure those Total Recall forks only stab into the food!

-Jim is strangely unimpressed by chocolate waterfalls

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Sorry guys, it’s been a while since I have blogged but I am back!

So, a couple of months ago I decided to plant my first garden. Not having a single clue how it was going to turn out, I was shocked to see my little garden explode into its own little forest of tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and basil.

My two tomato plants have basically taken over my garden and I have run out of sticks to prop the plant stems up. I am sad to say some of the stems have broken off due to my own lack of care. Plus the fact that a we had a terrible few days of fierce storms with extremely high and damaging winds, so this didn’t help my poor plants either.

Yesterday I decided it was time to start caring for my garden again, so I took all the broken stems out and picked the green tomatoes that never would have a chance to ripen. I used these green tomatoes to try and make Fried Green Tomatoes for the first time.

I was told by my boyfriend’s mother that the only thing I really needed to do to make Fried Green Tomatoes was just put oil in a pan (I used EVOO), bread the green tomatoes with breadcrumbs and fry them on the stove. Easy enough!

I think not! My Fried Green Tomatoes turned out mushy, slimy and hot. The bread crumbs hardly even stuck onto the sliced tomatoes.

Do any of you have a good recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes? There are a ton on Recipe4Living, but I still have about four left and I would love to try this again.

-Sarah, Editor for Recipe4Living

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