Peggy's Home Cooking Blog

Horseradish is most widely used as a condiment, both by itself and as an ingredient in sauces and dressings. If you enjoy the pungency of bottled prepared horseradish, you simply must try it fresh to experience the full breath-taking flavor experience. You'll be surprised at how just a dab of horseradish can liven up a dish without being overpowering, much like anchovies that many folks think they hate but never detect in their food. It is ingredients like these that make a recipe stand out from the norm, making most folks scratch their heads while they happily slurp and chew.

• Horseradish Recipes and Cooking Tips
_{Photo © 2006 Peggy Trowbridge, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

We've discussed how chocolate is often used in savory recipes. Let us not forget its cousin, vanilla. Make sure you're getting the real thing and not adulterated vanilla before trying such vanilla recipes as Vanilla Brine for Pork. If you do want sweets, how about Peach Pound Cake?

• Vanilla Recipes and Cooking Tips
_{Vanilla Photo © 2007 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

The sauce is slightly sweet from the onions and reduced wine, for the perfect accompaniment to colorful crisp tender sugar snap peas and carrots. Pretty on the plate and a delight to the palate. If you cannot find sugar snap peas, you may substitute green beans or snow peas with equal success. Recipe is easily doubled or tripled.

• Sugar Snap Peas and Mushrooms in Wine Sauce Recipe
_{Photo © 2005 Peggy Trowbridge, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

With the flexibility of the growing seasons in Mexico, California and Florida, and importation from reverse-season areas like South America, strawberries are available pretty much year-round. Strawberries are most often eaten in desserts or fresh from the field, but they are also good in savory dishes. Try such strawberry recipes as Strawberry Vinegar, Pork Tenderloin with Strawberry Sauce, Strawberry Cream Dream Muffins, and more.

• Strawberry Recipes and Cooking Tips
_{Strawberries Photo © 2008 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the ultimate comfort food, becomes a fabulous cookie. Choose your favorite jelly, jam, or preserves for the filling. Adults love these almost as much as the kids!

• Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies Recipe
_{Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies Recipe Photo © 2008 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

Tomatoes, sweet onions, and cucumbers shine in a balsamic vinaigrette for a cool and refreshing salad. You may serve this over greens if you wish, but it's delicious just as is. Plan ahead for the vegetables to marinate and chill a couple of hours before serving.

• Summer Balsamic Tomato Vegetable Salad Recipe
_{Photo © 2006 Peggy Trowbridge, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

Honeydew melons are the perfect fruit for this attractive party bowl because of their creamy yellow color and thin skin. Learn how to cut decorative flowers into the side of the honeydew and stain with food coloring for an elegant but easy edible party decoration or centerpiece. Simply follow these easy step-by-step instructions and fill with your favorite fruit salad or dip recipe.

• Make a Honeydew Melon Fruit Basket Party Decoration
_{Photo © 2006 Peggy Trowbridge, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

The beautiful colors of this red, white, and blue potato salad come from the potatoes themselves. If you cannot find blue potatoes, purple ones will do, or simply use all red and white. This recipe is obviously perfect for the 4th of July due to the coloring, but you can enjoy it year-round. Red, White & Blue Potato Salad is even better at room temperature than cold.

• Red, White & Blue Potato Salad Recipe
_{Photo © 2006 Peggy Trowbridge, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

Most of us will be planning some type of gathering of friends and family to celebrate July 4th. Potato salad is a traditional dish for summer gatherings. These potato salad recipes use standard white or red potatoes, gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, and others.

• Potato Salad Recipes for Memorial Day
_{Photo © 2006 Peggy Trowbridge, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

Is it prounouced APP-ricot or APE-ricot? No matter how you pronounce the name of this luscious fruit of the gods, apricots are a delightful addition to a wide variety of savory and sweet dishes. Learn how to select, store, and cook with apricots. Then try such recipes as Apricot Curry Prawns, Apricot Carrots, Fresh Apricot Pie, and more.

• Apricot Recipes
_{Apricot Photo © 2008 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.}