Monday, June 28, 2010

Bubble and Brown Review


L


ife is good right now ...


Last time I posted it was Sunday morning. Later in the day the hubby and I shopped and I had a hot dog for lunch. Sunday evening was spent at the hubby's Aunt Charmain's house. She made a lovely dinner (steak, stuffed potatoes, corn, salad, stuffed tomatoes, flat bread, red wine, cake and fruit, olives and cheese). The food was superb.















This morning I had an orange and a glo-bar for breakfast:





I also had a mini Cinnamon bun at work during our staff meeting.

Lunch was a piece of quiche, and a side salad from a restaurant called The Mediterranean Bistro.



The kind people at CSN stores sent me some Rachel Ray Bubble and Brown stoneware dishes to try and review. I LOVE the look of these dishes! I instantly knew I wanted to try out a Rachel Ray recipe in them.





Italian Mac and Cheese
(Slightly Adapted from Rachel Ray Recipe)

Ingredients

4 cups penne noodles
3 Italian sausages
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T butter
4 cloves chopped garlic
2 cups crimini mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper
2 T flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 bag Italian 4 - cheese blend cheese
1 can diced tomatoes, drained well
1 tsp hot sauce (I used Frank's)





Directions

- Cook pasta until el dente.
- Meanwhile, brown and crumble sausage. Set aside on paper towel lined plate. Use the same pan to heat the oil and butter. Add mushrooms, and brown. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pre-heat broiler (high)
- To the mushrooms, add flour and stir. Whisk in stock and cream. Bring to a bubble, and then add 2 cups of the cheese. When melted, add tomatoes & hot sauce. Toss with pasta & sausage.
- Transfer to a baking dish & top with remaining cheese. Broil until browned (3-4 minutes).







I absolutely LOVE my Bubble and Browns! They are dishwasher, microwave, and oven safe. They look cool, and would work perfectly as serving dishes. I love having baking dishes that double as serving dishes. The mac and cheese browned perfectly. I like that the dishes are heavy duty, and won't warp with high heat. I cannot wait to use them again - there is nothing better than bubbly, brown, cheesey goodness!

Tomorrow (Tuesday June 29th) is your last day to enter my CSN $40 gift card giveaway! If you win, you could buy your own set (they come in other colours too) or whatever else you may want!



Another new thing that I tried this evening ...



A canary melon!



It tasted like a canteloupy honeydoo.

I had a small bite, then juiced about a 1/4 of it with a grapefruit, and a red pepper:





Have you ever tried a canary melon?

What is the most unique fruit you have tried?

Tomorrow is my last day of work (only 2.5 hours) before summer holidays begin!
I will have 2 months off - I am so excited!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Never heard of a canary melon before. Most unique I've tried is kiwi an pomengranite.
Wish I had 2 months off....enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I have never tried, nor have I heard of (before now) a canary melon! I am very interested now though.....
Unique fruit..... ummm.... I don't remember what it was called.... but it was a bit bitter and not good.... so i didn't want to ever have it again.
That was useless.... seeing as how I didn't know the name! haha
But favorites include strawberries, mangos, blackberries, raspberries, papayas, and many others! I love fruit!!

Becca said...

What a pretty table setting, stunning.

I have never tried canary melon. No idea what the most unique fruit I've had either... probably like a starfruit or something like that.

Anonymous said...

I can NOT believe that was a home cooked meal..look at all those delish looking sides and the time it probably took to prepare! you have a foodie family! the grossest smelling and hence oddest fruit is the duran!

Simply Life said...

Oh I love those new dishes!

Anonymous said...

I've never tried a canary melon, but it looks tasty! Happy last day of work!

Morgan said...

those dishes look so pretty!! I'm a sucker for any dishware that's pretty, even if it's not functional.

I dont think I've tried any weird fruits....

Kelsey Ann said...

no, and im not even sure ive ever heard of such a melon! wow!!

i think dragon fruit and prickly pears are the most interesting fruit ive tried :)

omg 2 months of freedom headed ur way... u DESERVE it!! <3

Heather Iacobacci-Miller said...

Ok those stuffed cherry tomatoes are calling my name! I've not tried many unique fruits to be honest. The kiwi may be as crazy as I've gotten ;-)

Kat said...

O was totally looking at those dishes the other day on CSN! I thought they were totally adorable. Glad to hear your vacatation time is here. Yay for a whole summer off!!

Kacy said...

That Italian mac and cheese looks SOOO good!

I think the most exotic fruit I've tried is a persimmon or a fresh date.

Jessica @ Dairy Free Betty said...

yummmy!! I just had a cantaloupe that was mixed with a honeydo melon, but it looked different than that one!!

I LOVE those dishes!! :) So cute!

Amber said...

oooh those green dishes are awesome! I love them!

Anonymous said...

I don't think i've ever tried an unusual fruit! i tend to stick to the usuals;) but i'd LOVE to try a really rare fruit! i love fruit! (how many times can i say fruit in the one comment..?)
xx

Fit Chick in the City said...

I'm starving just looking at all of your great food.

Anonymous said...

Those dishes definitely get style points! I can't believe you haven't read the Harry Potter books! Put them on your summer reading list!

Yelena said...

I have to say that your pictures are looking absolutely gorgeous these days. Also, that mac and cheese looks so melty and good!

I have had starfruit, lychee, golden mangoes, passionfruit...and that's all I can think of. I love bizarro fruits.

sophia said...

I'd say durian is the most unique fruit I've had....I'm not sure what is "unique" to people, though..because durian is "normal" to me! :-)

god, every of your pictures are making me droooool!