The New Resolution

This past weekend I enjoyed celebrating 2010 with my best friends. Great time, great food. By coincidence, we ended up following one of my food & lifestyle trends for this year, Communal Entertaining. I made my chick pea, smoked ham and chevre pizza, appetizer. Dishes made by my friends were braised short ribs, spaetzle, swiss chard (greens for wealth), black eye peas (for good luck), and the best chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies of the new year! The Prosecco and cabernet flowed. Knowing I was in for a party night, I increased my workout earlier in the day to allow for all my communal entertaining- so to speak.

The start of the New Year has many people making resolutions, only to break them shortly thereafter. Myself, I'd rather not put so much emphasis on one day a year, I try to maintain a balanced lifestyle year round. But, if you need to make a lifestyle adjustment, what better time to motivate yourself than the New Year. 

Need inspiration, view my You Can Do It! Plan:

Here is another very easy way to get you jump started this year. How about with soup? Here’s a quick and tasty one to try, especially this time of year. I start off the week with a soup on the menu for Mondays. Soup is very nourishing, filling and comforting. 

Baked Potato Soup

chefgeorgehirsch.com
Makes four servings

2 large baked potatoes, cooled and chopped
4 Tablespoons pancetta (or bacon), chopped
1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup sour cream
2 green onions, chopped
chopped chives, to taste
hot sauce, to taste

In a large soup pot cook the pancetta until light brown.  Add onion, green onion, garlic and cook 2-3 minutes or just until onions soften. Add potatoes and broth.  Increase temperature, bring soup up to a boil, and then lower to a gentle simmer for 30 minutes. Just before serving, gently stir in cheese and sour cream.  Serve topped with chives and hot sauce to taste.

Note: Sour cream should be room temperature and slowly added to avoid curdling.

image: Potato Council

New Year, Classic Mac-n-Cheese

Let’s get this decade started with one of America’s classic and favorite dishes for people of all ages. My spin on this one-pot-dish is so popular- when I prepared it on Live with Regis and Kelly as a side dish, the viewer response was terrific. I was deluged with email recipe requests, even from our neighbors way north in Canada! It's also easy-n-quick to make. BTW, mac-n-cheese is one of my Top 10 Lifestyle Food Trends for 2010. 

Use the recipe as a guide and feel free to add smoked ham, cooked bacon, grilled chicken or grilled shrimp to make your own home-spin.  

Tip: If your are starting a new diet resolution, feel free to cut down on the fat of this recipe. Replace all of or part of the half and half with chicken broth, and use olive oil in place of butter. Or, just make up for it by exercising a little extra this weekend.

For George's Cheddar & Jack Mac Recipe

© GingerBlossom | istock

New Years Champagne Cocktail

Well- Happy New Year!

Champagne is recognized as the universal symbol of good news, and this cocktail's simple recipe shows that life doesn't have to be complicated to be enjoyed. A classic Champagne Cocktail may not be as trendy a drink these days, but as a classic, it’s as good as when Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr sipped it in An Affair To Remember. 

Recipe: Six ounces of champagne and a sugar cube soaked in Angostura bitters is all it takes to make a sophisticated cocktail for the New Year. Drop the sugar cube into a tall flute glass, and then slowly add champagne and a lemon twist. 

Tips: With the Champagne Cocktail, you can trust the bitters to take the edge off a lesser quality champagne or sparkling wine. For this drink, you can use a lesser expensive wine spending about $10 to $18 for a good domestic bottle. Or, as I personally prefer to use a good Prosecco.

It is often remarked that Auld Lang Syne is one of the most popular songs that nobody knows the lyrics to. "Auld Lang Syne" literally translates as "old long since" and means "times gone by."

As we say goodbye to 2009 and the close of a decade, I bid you adieu and I look forward to seeing you here next year. George

pine nuts

It's not the time of year to harvest pine nuts, that would be in the late fall, but there is no time like the present to bake with these tasty and nutritious seeds, aka pinoli or pignoli nuts. Pignoli Cookie Recipe Here.The pignoli cookie, an Italian specialty confection, is made of almond flour formed into a dough similar to that of a macaroon and then topped with pine nuts. Also, here's a nice bit of history on pine nuts and The People of The Great Basin.


sugar coneraw pine nuts, in shell
pine nuts