R is for Radishes and Recipes

I generally don't eat a lot of radishes, not because I don't like them but because it's hard to get through a whole bunch when you live by yourself and are cutting them up one at a time for a salad.

I started a low-carb diet at the new year so am looking for ways to get more veggies in my diet that don't have too many carbs, but are more varied than some steamed or sauted beans or greens. I did some research and found several recipes that are appealing, the number one item being Sauteed Radishes. I would never have thought to cook them, but after reading the rave reviews for this recipe, I don't think I can resist. I think I will take the same path that one reviewer did and add some kale and onions.

As for recipes, my favorite place for finding new ones lately is http://www.food.com/. I love their recipe sifter and have had generally good luck finding great recipes on this site. One of the things I learned early on with recipe sites is to read the reviews and use the experiences that other people have shared. I think I usually end up with better results then I would otherwise.

I also use the recipes I find on sites like http://www.food.com/ as jumping off places. When I taste something at a restaurant and want to duplicate it, I start here for ideas and then tweak to fit my memory of the dish. One of those turned into one of my very favorite soup dishes. When one of my step-daughters was visitin me in Colorado, we went on a tour of the Celestial Seasonings plant and ate in the on-site cafeteria. They had a pumpkin black bean soup that was to die for.

I found this recipe online and with some minor tweaks came up with a soup that I love and make at least once or twice a month during the winter months. The other thing that is a new standard is this pecan pie recipe. It came out of a need to make one for a Thanksgiving dinner I was attending, but didn't have any corn syrup on hand so was fortunate enough to find this version that doesn't call for syrup but instead uses brown sugar and butter. It's by far and away the best pecan pie I've ever had. (Take the advice of the reviewers and bake it a bit longer and cut down on the butter/margerine. I used unsalted butter for this and it was perfect. Also, didn't chop the pecans and like the texture of it better with the halves.)

For parties, I will usually search out menus that other people have posted and use them as a planning tool. For my birthday in 2010, I made a good part of this Morrocan Menu by user FrenchTart. The beef tagine was wonderful. The chicken tagine wasn't as good as I had hoped, but think I will try it again with Chicken Thighs instead of breasts. The breasts dried out some with the cooking and I think the thighs would stand up to the longer cooking time better. The carrot salad was refreshing and I now prefer it to the favorite of my childhood, carrot and raisin salad. We had fresh made pita (courtesy of my pastry chef daughter) and German Chocolate Cake (which is my favorite).

Other favorite recipe sites are epicurious.com and Cooking Light Magazines website. I also get the magazine as a gift subscription every year from my sister. I find at least one or two recipes in every issue that I absolutely love. I have several recipes that have become standards over the years that originally came from Cooking Light.

What sites are you using to find great recipes? Any radish recipes you can send my way? Share and share-alike I always say, especially when it comes to recipes. Bon appetit!

(This post is part of Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursdays. Enjoy!)