Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Well, last week, I learned that Cosmo is good for something other than the obvious. On my day off last week, I was sitting on the couch, minding my own business and reading Cosmo. I knew I was going to make dinner (a REALLY awesome rosemary, honey-dijon chicken - more on that one next time I make it), but I didn't plan on anything else. Lo and behold, there was a recipe in the magazine. Apparently, Katie Lee Joel (Billy Joel's wife) has a new cookbook out and this is one of the recipes. Here is a link to the recipe: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/06/earlyshow/contributors/main4073548.shtml I substituted fat-free cream cheese and mayo and used Weight Watchers mozzarella and I think it came out splendid. Mike agreed that it was definitely something to do again - especially for company. I got a disposable foil pan (1.5 quart) so that I wouldn't have to worry about scrubbing the container. To dip it, I just got a wheat baguette, which I sliced and toasted in the oven (pizza stone, good for more than pizza). Below are some photos of the spread put together:

Coolest thing in our kitchen!

The coolest two things in our kitchen (besides Mike and me, of course!) are the automatic wine bottle opener and the wine chiller. These were Mike's Easter gift (only because I didn't want to wait until his birthday to get it for him :P. I originally wanted a 6-bottle cooler, but, seeing as how we are in an apartment, so we don't have a lot of counter space (heck! we don't even have a 2 person kitchen). I settled, for now, for a single bottle chiller. Mike tested it out on a bottle of Pinot Noir and he says it was chilled just right (since I don't really like red wines, I can't vouch for this, but I trust my hubby). The bottle opener was just a side thing as I wasn't originally planning to get it, but it was on the "you might also like..." bar on the website, and I thought it was really cool. How awesome is this - you put the opener on the top of the bottle, hold on tight and push the button. It screws into the cork and pulls it right now. This is even more awesome than the Rabbit opener (which I wasn't too terribly impressed with).

I got them from walmart.com, if you are interested. If there is anyone you know that is a wine enthusiast, these make a great gift.

Greetings!

I am making this new blog because I just thought it was entirely too weird to have my food blog and my political rants on the same page. So welcome to my kitchen :)

Since my favorite hobby is cooking (and completely bastardizing Rachael Ray's recipes) but I am too far away from my family and friends to cook for them on a regular basis, I figure I will use my little place on the blogosphere to share stories and images of my meals. Mike and I agree that presentation is key and that nicely plated food just tastes better, but since it is just the two of us, we don't really get a chance for others to see it. We will try to post photos of some of our successes (maybe some failures too so that they can be a how NOT to do something) so that others can see what we create. I think that sometimes I get a little obsessive about plating things nicely - it IS just the 2 of us after all, but I think it will come in handy one day when we get out of school, have jobs and have to entertain. Anyhoo, keep an eye out for my creations...