Baked Potatoes with Stilton and Cheddar

Wow.

I hadn't realized how much cooking a meal down here in my basement apartment would cheer my spirits. Wow. Now I see why my brother put up a sign that said "Mongo's Place."

I put six mini potatoes into my new toaster oven, set it to 400F and timed it to 40 minutes.

-- The potatoes smelled SO good while they were baking that my stomach started seriously growling. That was hilarious.

The timer dinged, I headed over and the tiny taters were done perfectly. Crunchy skins. Wow.

I took them into the kitchen, sliced them in half and put bits of stilton-and-cheddar over them. This place smells Amazing.

Today, today is the One Year Anniversary of my being back in Connecticut. On this morning, very early, Dad and I left Fredericksburg and drove north, through DC, through the Palisades, up the Merritt and on home.

So I figure that cooking my first meal down here is a fantastic way to celebrate.

Recipe of the Day: Clam Chowder - Bitten Blog - NYTimes.com

Recipe of the Day: Clam Chowder - Bitten Blog - NYTimes.com

YouTube - Cookin' with Coolio #1: Coolio Caprese Salad

YouTube - Cookin' with Coolio #1: Coolio Caprese Salad

Love it. Brilliance. I'm going to have to buy his cookbook.

Sweet & Sour Kielbasa

okay, for today's Sunday afternoon dinner: Sweet & Sour Kielbasa

- I use smoked sausage instead of kielbasa because I like it more and the only kielbasa I really like is the homemade-by-a-Polish-grandmother kind...

Ingredients:
1.5lbs of smoked sausage (amount optional)
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 green pepper
1 orange pepper
1 Vidalia onion (or Empire, or Walla Walla, etc. SWEET.)
2 stalks of bok choy
2 stalks of celery
2 10oz jars of LaChoy Sweet & Sour sauce. Not making my own sauce today.

Warm oven to 350F.
Chop the veggies into bite-size pieces.
Slice the sausage into bite-size pieces.

a) boil smoked sausage until it's thoroughly warm
b) empty pot, set aside sausage in a casserole dish
c) in pot, put a bit of olive oil and all of the vegetables; saute until mostly cooked
d) combine veggies & sausage & sweet and sour sauce into casserole dish
e) bake @ 350F for 30 minutes or so

I have no pineapple today, otherwise I'd add that, too.

Got this recipe from a friend of mine at work. Most excellent.

French Hazelnut Gingerbread Recipe - Pain d'épice avec des Noisettes – French Spice Cake with Hazelnuts

French Hazelnut Gingerbread Recipe - French Spice Cake with Hazelnuts

Tartiflette Recipe – French Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese

Tartiflette Recipe – French Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese

I still really really want to make this. Need to find a substitute fro Reblechon, as I'm not sure I can get this in the US without ordering it from France.

THE MINIMALIST; Chapati: Bread Born For the Grill - New York Times

THE MINIMALIST; Chapati: Bread Born For the Grill - New York Times

THE MINIMALIST; A Sweet Science Without Tomato Cans - New York Times

THE MINIMALIST; A Sweet Science Without Tomato Cans - New York Times

THE MINIMALIST; The Old Chickpea Learns a New Trick - New York Times

THE MINIMALIST; The Old Chickpea Learns a New Trick - New York Times

THE MINIMALIST; It's Soup: Vegetables, Herbs, Water - New York Times

THE MINIMALIST; It's Soup: Vegetables, Herbs, Water - New York Times