Spotlight on local food bloger: Our Everyday Dinners.

Today I have a treat for you. 

If you are new to nwafoodie, you may not have been around last July when I posted my highly recommended list of the Top 10 Northwest Arkansas Food Blogs you should read.  If you were around to read that post, surely you checked them out and became fervent followers.

Number one on that list was Our Everyday Dinners, the (almost) everyday posting site of Amy James, local Fayetteville recipe blogger.  Her tag line is “Every night after I cook, I snap a photo, then I eat.  Oh, and then I clean the kitchen and blog about dinner.” 

All of that is true.  What she fails to mention, humbly so, is that she is adorable.  With the soul of a charming Southern gal, Amy oozes sweetness with pinch of spunk. 

Since that posting last July, I have had opportunity to meet Amy and get to know her and dig deeper into what makes her tick.

Now it’s your turn to get to know her.

Amy, why and when did you start your blog?

I started blogging over a year ago as a way just to record recipes.  A couple of girlfriends encouraged me to go public with it, because they wanted to look at it.  And I'm so glad I did! I love doing it. 

I am sure they are proud of you, too! 

So I am wondering, do you really cook a homemade meal every day and blog about it?  

Yep.  My blog is real.  I cook, snap a picture, then eat.  No fancy lighting or anything. Just my kitchen.

I notice that many of your recipes seem to be your creation.  Roughly what percent of your recipes are your creations versus someone else’s?

I rarely follow any recipe exactly.  I add things, leave out ingredients we don't like, or change the cooking technique.   I try to credit anyone who inspired the dish, though, because no recipe is completely my creation.  I copy meals I've had a restaurants, recipes friends give to me, and things I find online or in cookbooks. 

I am intrigued by your “healthy, sometimes gourmet, always practical” approach.  Do you think it is possible to be all three in the same dish?

Of course! I've found that it's much easier to feel good about cooking at home when the end result is delicious and healthy.  And as far as being practical goes, I rely on Walmart, Sam's Club, and occasionally Ozark Natural Foods (along with the Fayetteville Farmers' Market in the summer) for ingredients.  I also have 3 little ones in the kitchen with me, so whatever I'm cooking has to be easy and fast!

What is your favorite meal that you posted?  Your least favorite?

There is nothing better than summer tomatoes, and this recipe for Farmers' Market Tomato Bruschetta may be my favorite food!

On the other hand, these Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Tacos were not really that great...

But then I fooled around with the recipe a bit, and turned it into Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Rice Bowls, which were so good I've made them several times since.

If you could invite any 3 people to dinner (from any era) who would they be?

My kiddos. I have 3 of 'em.  There is no one else I'd rather hang out with except my husband. Can we invite him, too?

Has the way you plan, shop, or prepare dinner changed since you started this blog?   

Oh, yes. I've gotten a lot more creative with my meal plans because I know people are watching. That's a good thing for my family.

Do you have a favorite hidden-gem or secret-food-spot in Northwest Arkansas that you would be willing to share with us?

I have two.  Geraldi's in downtown Fayetteville is our absolute favorite family restaurant. It's just simple Italian food in a casual atmosphere.  The pizza is fantastic, but I always order spaghetti and garlic bread with extra marinara.  Also, TJ Maxx is a great place to find little gourmet gems like truffle salt, gourmet spice mixes, or really nice olive oil at a discount.  I do love a bargain!

I am a TJ Maxx girl, too!  Sometimes you can find such crazy-amazing deals.  You were also the one who turned me on to Geraldi’s.  I think it should be named as one of the most “comfortably-romantic” restaurants in NWA.

What do you hope you provide your readers once they have visited your site?

The confidence that you can cook something healthy and delicious for your family any night of the week.

Well said.  Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Amy!

Thank you, Lyndi!

Eat well, my friends.  Eat well.

Lyndi

Catching up.

Hello friends!

I have been out-and-about the past few weeks, guest posting here and there.  Don’t worry; here is what you may have missed…

Connecting with Telepan.

Dining with Lincoln and Washington.

Blogging with your senses.

Eating for pleasure.

Miss January, 2012.

C’mon back tomorrow and Wednesday, good things are happening.

Eat well, my friends.  Eat well.

Lyndi

Taste of NWA food tours, Dickson Street.

I’ve decided to start a new series for you.  

Think of it as “dining about town,” part food-crawl and part progressive dinner. This will be a chance for me to highlight all the hidden wonders and gems when it comes to the culinary scene of our backyard: wonderful, bountiful, and beautiful Northwest Arkansas.  Now YOU can experience the “best of the best” for yourself.

May I introduce to you, “Taste of Northwest Arkansas” a self-guided food tour? 

Today’s food tour takes place on Dickson Street, in the charming Dickson Street district in Fayetteville.

This tour is designed as a romantic dinner or for impressing out-of-town (or in-town) guests, and will appeal to self-proclaimed foodies.

The best beef bacon in the world, part 2.

Beef bacon is back, baby.

I am not fickle on this subject.  Back in 2010 I said I found the world’s best beef bacon and I meant it.  I haven’t wavered.  I only quit raving about it to you because Richard’s Meat Market in Fayetteville stopped selling it.  So sad, so sad.

But wait!  There is glorious news for both of us!

Bentonville Butcher and Deli carries the Swiss Meat & Sausage Company’s hickory smoked beef bacon!  It's about time!

"Quality Goes In Before Our Name Goes On” is the company motto for Swiss Meat & Sausage Co.  Quality is exactly the word to describe this bacon.  

Think brisket with a twist.  There are no nitrates to worry about.  Just pure beef flavor. 

Yes, this is expensive and you won’t get a billion slices to feed an army.  Don’t worry; you don’t need a billion slices.  Two slices are meaty enough to feel satisfied and the flavor explosion in your mouth will last long enough to make you pleased throughout breakfast.  

I’m not kidding folks, this really is the best beef bacon in the world.

Next steps:

Get out your pencil and write on your shopping list that you must pop on over to Bentonville Butcher to snag a package of beef bacon. 

Once you try it, your pork and turkey bacon breakfast friends will start to miss you.

Eat well, my friends.  Eat well.

Lyndi

Music to cook-to, James Torme.

Recently I was strolling through Barnes & Noble in Rogers, fingers trailing the books, ever so lightly as I passed display after display.  Surrounded by a magnitude of books puts me in such a pleasant, wistful, mood.

Abruptly, I stopped in my tracks.  A tune caught my ear. 

A happy upbeat tune with a crooner’s drawl. Fingers stopped trailing as my attention was now drawn to the music section and no longer the beckoning books, I made my way towards the section to find answers.

What was that magical sound?

It was James Torme, the son of legendary jazz singer Mel Torme and, as good genes has blest him, he is following in his father’s fabulous footsteps. 

This album, Love for Sale, is the perfect mixture of music to cook by. Who needs a play list when one compact round disc contains it all? 

To whet your appetite, let me take you through an overview of his songs.  At the end I have included a video where Torme shares a few songs as well as their backgrounds.

What to do with 2lbs of rainbow carrots.

I happily stumbled across a two-pound bag of rainbow carrots at Allen’s Market this past week. 

At $1.89, I was pleased with my bargain.  The myriad of colors tempted me, teased me, and taunted me with anticipation over the color explosion I knew would occur once I exposed what lay beneath its skin.

The mystery unfolded with each stroke from my peeler, brighter, brighter, and BRIGHTER!  Oh the beautiful golds, oranges, yellows, and fiery flaming tangerine.  The meat is so tight and clean that it almost squeaks with each downward stroke from the peeler.

I take a deep breath.  It smells like well, a carrot, which isn’t much of a smell.  And yes, it feels just like a carrot.  Crispy with a sassy snap.

Peeling and prepping for two dishes, my husband cannot stand it anymore.  He reaches over the kitchen counter, grabs a sliced yellow carrot and pops it in his mouth!  Crunch, crunch, crunch.  I, too, am overcome and have to imbibe.  It is going to be hard not gobble them all before dinner.

I am going to roast a pound of these little beauties for dinner.

Roasting changed everything.

The intensity of the rainbow colors deepened once roasted.  It’s as if it passed through childhood into maturity the longer it baked in the oven, hissing and whining as it popped to perfection.

Eating for pleasure (a guest post).

Hello there, friends.

January’s theme at the Arkansas Women Blogger is “new year, new you” and lucky me, I had the opportunity to write a guest post about eating for pleasure. 

Think about it... eating for... pleasure.

The secret?  It’s all about mindset.

Check it out when you’ve got a sec.

Thanks!

Eat well, my friends.  Eat well.

Lyndi