Best of Nashville 2013

It's that time of year again! Voting for "Best of Nashville 2013" has BEGUN!!!

Show Recitherapy some love and go to NashvilleScene.com to cast your votes! If you're a Nashvillain like myself, you'll know exactly who and what to vote for... BUT, for those of you who want to help us out long distance... here's how to do it:

• Go to nashvillescene.com
• Click on the purple and blue banner at the bottom of your screen that says "cast your vote!"
• Sign in using your Facebook account OR create an account (enter your e-mail and a new password). 
• Now you're ready to vote! YOU MUST VOTE FOR 20 CATEGORIES for your vote to count... SO, my suggestion is to enter "The Frothy Monkey" for all categories under "FOOD & DRINK," as it's my favorite place on the planet and they're SO deserving.
• Then scroll on over to the "MEDIA & POLITICS" section and vote "Recitherapy.com" for "BEST FOOD BLOG."
• (and while you're at it, vote "James Rudder" for "BEST MUSIC WRITER" and "jamesrudder.com" for "BEST MUSIC BLOG." He's my amazing husband. ;)

And to get us in the spirit of voting... WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RECITHERAPY POST YET??

I won't lie... I think mine is the Pumpkin Babka.. all that doughy, pumpkin flavor oozing with Maker's Mark and cinnamon! Maybe I'm just aching for Autumn to BE HERE ALREADY so I'm dreaming of it all the time.

 But maybe I'm torn between babka and the Bavarian Beer Pretzels...?!?! So yeasty and delicious!

WHAT'S YOURS?? Cast your vote in the comment section below.

LOTS of Nashville love to you all and THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTE! 

xoxo

my lonely Italian dinner

Cooking for one is not a favorite past time of mine but sometimes I've just gotta do it... usually if it's just me for dinner, I hole up in front of the toaster and eat toast... endless amounts of it. Pathetic (and also awesome). But last night I felt inspired... and my dinner was inspired. Let me share it with you.

Haricot Vert & Onion Saute.. just olive oil, a dash of balsamic vinegar and sea salt. Freshly picked from my neighbors garden THAT DAY! ha... so good.

Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs.. yes, this is the left over beer bread (don't judge), mixed with herbs de provence, seasoned salt, almond milk and a little italian blend olive oil... a gift from my daddy last time I was home. :)

Bread Crumb Stuffed Tomato.. a beautiful beefsteak tomato, center out and filled with the stuffing... baked for 15 minutes at 350, broiled for finish.

Chicken not pictured alone.. it wasn't anything fancy but it tasted delicious...

Italian Lemon Chicken.. soaked in that same oil blend of sun-dried tomato, garlic and parmesan cheese, the juice of half lemon all over the top and sea salt to finish. Baked for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

The Best Chocolate Cake I've Ever Made... the sad part is that I have NO IDEA what I did... wasn't really expecting it to turn out as I had a hodge podge of ingredients and no recipe... sadly, it was amazing.

Then for my third piece, yes, my third, I tossed some rosemary into the frosting... oh baby.

Go make that beer bread, eat it by itself first then make those bread crumbs... put them over a baked chicken pasta dish or eat them as a side all by themselves...

ENJOY and wish me luck... I'm gonna try and recreate that cake so I can give you the recipe.

xox

Beer Batter Bread

Somedays you just need a speedy bread fresh outta the oven, don't you? The only annoying thing about fresh baked bread is that it's RARELY speedy... but this bread, my friends, will not disappoint your time clock.

First, I just followed along Williams-Sonoma's Baking Book recipe, then I decided to try whole wheat. NEXT, I'm gonna figure out (somehow, fingers crossed) how to make this gluten-free for all of you who have requested that. *is there such a thing as gluten-free beer?*

Personally, I enjoyed giving away the regular, all-purpose version because it tasted more like a "gift loaf," you know what I mean? Just a little more delicious. However, if you're trying to be slightly health conscious, or you just usually have whole wheat flour on hand more often than not, which is generally the case here, the whole wheat version is pretty darn delicious in it's own right, too.

Let's talk about how simple this recipe is... look at the ingredient list:

• 3 cups flour, all-purpose or whole wheat
• 3 Tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 bottle of beer, room temperature, your choice what kind**
• 4 Tablespoons melted butter, plus more for serving

**the bread will take on a different taste with every different beer you choose to use. so fun! this time i used what was on hand, corona.

Anyways, how easy?? ALL YOU DO is preheat your oven to 375, grease one 9x5 inch loaf pan, combine and mix the dry ingredients, pour in the bottle of beer, mix around, leaving it a little lumpy and pour in the pan! Then you pour the melted butter on top and bake it for 35 minutes.

35 minutes, you guys.... that's it. And you come out with glorious, beer fluffed BREAD! I made the full size whole wheat one for myself and then made one batch of the all-purpose version and poured it into miniature loaf pans so I could give them away as gifts. Just gave one to our veterinarian, in fact and they LOVED IT.

Wrap a bow around a miniature loaf and give it away...

or serve it warm with butter and sink your teeth into that delicious, moist goodness.

ENJOY!

xox