MomCooks

Did you know that OliveGarden.com has a recipe section? I didn’t! I was browsing a free samples site and I saw a link for “free Olive Garden recipes”, and I figured there would be a catch like having to sign up for a whole bunch of other junk first, but no! It’s the actual Olive Garden site. The next time I’m in the mood for pasta, I’m making Sausage & Peppers Ziti Marinara, or Meat Ravioli Bolognese. Yum!

They don’t, however, publish the recipe for their delicious salad dressing, or the minestrone soup, or how they make the breadsticks. I found a Copycat recipe for the salad dressing on eHow, it has an interesting list of ingredients:

# 1/2 cup white vinegar
# 1/3 cup water
# 1/3 cup oil
# 1/4 cup corn syrup
# 2 1/2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
# 2 Tablespoons dry pectin
# 2 Tablespoons beaten egg
# 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
# 1 teaspoon lemon juice
# 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
# 1/4 teaspoon dry parsley
# Pinch each of oregano and crushed red pepper

I would have never guessed the dry pectin (it’s a thickener) or the beaten egg. The corn syrup’s not a surprise since it’s in everything, it would be interesting to see if the dressing would taste okay without it, or with some Splenda for sweetness instead. Yum, I am so hungry for soup, salad, and breadsticks now!

I am SO late on this, it’s actually 11:44 pm on Sunday! But I wanted to get this in, so here is this week’s Four Foods on Friday questions, and my answers.

#1. What’s your favorite food smell? The smell of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.
#2. What’s your favorite kind of apple? Gala
#3. What veggies do you like in your salad? Leaf lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrot
#4. Share a recipe that uses beef.

This recipe is called “All American Burgers”, I found it on About.com, and it’s the only way I make burgers now. I free-hand the seasonings though, as I find we all like more seasoning than the recipe calls for, and I also add garlic powder as well. I use two pounds of ground round to make six burgers.

Ingredients for four burgers from the original recipe:

* 1 lb. ground beef
* 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
* 2 tsp. water
* 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
* 1/2 tsp. onion powder
* 1/8 tsp. pepper
* 4 sandwich buns

Preparation:

Crumble the beef into a large mixing bowl, add the liquids and the seasonings. Mix gently, divide into fourths, and roll each fourth into a ball, then shape into a patty. Fry or grill until done to your liking.

To see how other bloggers answered these four questions, please visit Fun, Crafts and Recipes.

My sister in law’s wedding reception was held at the Toledo Riverfront Hotel, and the hotel did the catering for the food. Our meal began with one of the best salads I have ever had, with a memorable dressing. It was mixed greens with bleu cheese, dried cranberries, blueberries, and raspberries, served with creamy raspberry vinaigrette. It was refreshing and delicious.

I’ve had raspberry vinaigrette before, but I had never seen a creamy version. A little google searching revealed this recipe from Chef 2 Chef:

Creamy Raspberry Vinaigrette

10-oz. pkg. frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
1/4 c. raspberry vinegar
1/3 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. half-and-half or light cream

Puree raspberries by pushing them through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon. You should get at least 3/4 c. puree. In food processor or blender, combine vinegar and sugar, blend till smooth. With machine running, slowly add oil, then slowly add
half-and-half and puree. Mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Shake well before serving. Great on mixed greens salad.