TheMomChef Profile
The Mom Chef
Join Date:
2012-03-30
About
In late 2009 someone gave me a stack of Gourmet Magazines. Realizing that this magazine was soon to be discontinued, I decided to honor it by making most of the recipes in one issue and blogging about the experience. This was so much fun and I heard quite a bit of good feedback so I decided to continue the challenge of picking random cooking or food-centered magazines and blogging about the experience.
Many of us look through these magazines and are put off by the number of ingredients or difficulty of preparation, if not by the beautiful professional photography that we feel we can never replicate. I've set out to prove that these recipes CAN be made without a test kitchen, an endless food budget and pantry, sous chefs and that it can look good without professional photography and touch-ups.
My reviews are honest and straightforward and my pictures are untouched and unprofessional. They just show the food as it REALLY is. And mostly, it's very, very good.
Many of us look through these magazines and are put off by the number of ingredients or difficulty of preparation, if not by the beautiful professional photography that we feel we can never replicate. I've set out to prove that these recipes CAN be made without a test kitchen, an endless food budget and pantry, sous chefs and that it can look good without professional photography and touch-ups.
My reviews are honest and straightforward and my pictures are untouched and unprofessional. They just show the food as it REALLY is. And mostly, it's very, very good.
Blogs Owned
1. The Mom Chef: Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time
I see if magazine recipes live up to expectations; made without the help a professional test kitchen has, made within parameters of a normal grocery budget and found tasty by my family.
Latest Blog Posts
- Grilled Chicken Thighs with Ancho-Tequila Glaze from Cooking Light Magazine, June 2012on Jul 14, 2012 in Cooking Light MagazineThere are several ways that I cook dinner.The first is with full fanfare and family participation. This method is used when making dishes like Dudette's favorite 'besketti' or to soothe Hubby's shepherd's pie craving. I know they're going to love wha...
- Cucumber and Herb Salad with Crumbled Feta from Fine Cooking Magazine, June/July 2012on Jul 13, 2012 in Fine Cooking MagazineCucumbers make me think of my father. To me, they represent his alter ego. In the same way a camera goes with Peter Parker and a pen and pad make up Clark Kent's non-super hero persona, cucumbers and tomatoes are who my dad is when he's home.You see,...
- No-Bake Peanut Butter and Honey Cookies from Southern Lady's Simply Southern Special Issue, 2012on Jul 12, 2012 in Southern Lady MagazineDid you know that Mermaid Man died earlier this week? Dudette and I just watched several episodes of Sponge Bob Square Pants featuring him and Barnacle Boy today. It must have been to honor his passing, which was very sweet of the station.You might k...
- Southwest Crispy Chicken Sliders from Cooking Light Magazine, July 2012on Jul 11, 2012 in Cooking Light MagazineWould you be honest enough to describe your desk to me as it is at this very moment? Without cleaning it off or straightening it up? I know I can't ask that of you if I'm not willing to do it myself.I have one of those L shaped arrangements. I spend...
- Mint Pie ~ A Stolen Recipe; Of Sortson Jul 9, 2012 in Fellow Blogger Recipes I StoleYou know how one thing leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to another?Like when you're at a bookstore looking for a birthday present for your husband. You're on track until a display of the latest Harry Potter book catches your eye.
- The Sunday Sip ~ An Ode To Coffee, Bears in the Woods, and Dish of the Weekon Jul 8, 2012 in The Sunday SipGood morning! Have you recovered from this past week? I hope so, because if you turn around, there's a new one sneaking up on you. It was a bit strange having the 4th smack dab in the middle, wasn't it. I know a lot of folks wavered between taking of...
- Rigatoni in Tomato Sauce from Saveur Magazine, June/July 2012on Jul 6, 2012 in Saveur MagazineWhen Dudette was a baby I watched television while entertaining her in the living room. She didn't care; didn't ask for Sesame Street or that show, the one with the ugly purple dinosaur. She cooed and giggled as my fingers tickled her tummy and march...
- Buttermilk Biscuits from Fine Cooking Magazine, June/July 2012on Jul 5, 2012 in Fine Cooking MagazineWhen I started dating, apparently someone forgot to hand me the manual. Somewhere in its pages are guidelines regarding learning the foods that yon significant other likes.Hubby, for instance, has done everything but hand-walk me into his mother's ki...
- Orzo Salad from Southern Lady/Simply Southern Magazine, 2012on Jul 4, 2012 in Southern Lady MagazineQuestion: What is underneath Lady Liberty's (the Statue of Liberty) foot?No cheating by googling it. Do you know?Don't worry; I didn't know either until yesterday when Dudette and I were doing a little summer studying and the Statue was our topic.I f...
- The Sunday Sip ~ A (Not So) Small Pet Peeve, Blueberries, Tae Kwon Do and the Dish of the Weekon Jul 1, 2012 in The Sunday SipGood morning! Have you ever seen chickens pant? My poor birds have been doing a lot of it this week. Of course, if I were covered in feathers and stuck outside in 100+ heat, I probably would too. Since it's already 83 degrees out, how about if we tak...
- South Carolina-Style Mustard Barbecue Sauce from Food Network Magazine, June 2012on Jun 30, 2012 in Food Network MagazineIf it wasn't for the fact that Jason from Griffin's Grub asked me specifically about this style of barbecue sauce after reading about the Texas-Style Barbecue Sauce I made last week, I probably wouldn't end June with this recipe. However, a...
- Glazed Pork Belly with Ginger Barbecue Sauce from Food Network Magazine, June 2012on Jun 29, 2012 in Food Network MagazineNorth Carolina is pink today. In fact, much of the U.S. is either pink or red, at least according my little weather app's temperature map.Hot weather makes people do weird things. And I'm not talking about the controversial relationship between incre...
- Classic Lattice-Top Blueberry Pie from Fine Cooking Magazine, June/July 2012on Jun 28, 2012 in Fine Cooking MagazineI play question games with Hubby (and anyone else that's willing). When we play, I ask random questions. Questions like:'If you were going to be locked in an underground shelter for 25 years and were told to just bring one book, one DVD and one CD (s...
- Perfectly Peach Cinnacake from Lucky Leaf Pie Fillingon Jun 26, 2012 in Very Far Off TopicWhen I talk to my father, there is a lament I've heard on several occasions now. It has to do with frying pans.It started on the phone. He was describing how he had been heading down the basement steps for some reason and a frying pan had jumped off...
- Smoked Chicken Halves with Lemon-Ginger Barbecue Sauce from Fine Cooking Magazine, June/July 2012on Jun 25, 2012 in Fine Cooking MagazineI stood in the 94-degree heat with a trickle of sweat starting to work its way down my back. In front of me was a big black box. My favorite cooking appliance by far, but at the moment, not my friend.Most people choose to just grill in the summer, wa...
- The Sunday Sip ~ Summer Vacation, Which Recipe and Dish of the Weekon Jun 24, 2012 in The Sunday SipAh, it's good to be back. I missed doing this with you last week. I like the fact that our Sunday chats have become an enjoyable part of my weekly routine. Wake up, get coffee, sit at the table and chat with friends. It's a good thing. So, I hope you...
- Texas-Style Barbecue Sauce from Food Network Magazine, June 2012on Jun 22, 2012 in Food Network MagazineYesterday I got into a conversation about barbecue sauce with a North Carolina native. If you're not from here, you don't know how volatile a topic that can be. It's akin to someone exclaiming that they love politics and then not going on to explain...
- Thai Curry Turkey Burgers from Fine Cooking Magazine, June/July 2012on Jun 21, 2012 in Fine Cooking MagazineMemories of growing up. We all have them, don't we. As I attempt to raise our daughter without going insane, I have to admit that more than once, while thinking back on some experience from my youth, I wonder how my mom did it without going over the...
- Summer Grilled Vegetable Pizza from Cooking Light Magazine, June 2012on Jun 20, 2012 in Cooking Light MagazineYesterday I heard talk about zucchini twice while I was out and about. It seems early for that veggie to already be in conversations.In a way, zucchini ripening is one of the markers of summer, just like the fireflies appearing, loud thumping music c...
- Grilled Bread with Tomato-Ginger Salad from Food Network Magazine, June 2012on Jun 19, 2012 in Food Network MagazineI just spent my morning in a school gymnasium watching young children parade across a stage. Each was being awarded for work well done in a specific area.Us parents applauded politely as others' children walked and clapped enthusiastically when our o...
