The Husband Cooks Wednesdays

… and he did, via IHOP! Nicholas had a babysitter tonight, so we escaped for a little bit and popped into IHOP for a quick bite to eat. I love having breakfast for dinner, but The Husband, not so much, so a place like IHOP is perfect … I can get my breakfast and he gets his dinner. Everyone’s happy. ;) I love, love, love, triple love their Stuffed French Toast with Strawberries. In IHOP’s own words, it “features an abundance of whipped cream cheese inside a fluffy slice of cinnamon raisin bread dipped in IHOP’s special French toast batter and grilled to a golden brown.” Interesingly enough, it first debuted three years ago as a “limited promotional item,” but it must have other fans besides just me.

And speaking of breakfast, the new issue of Good Things is up, and you can check out what delicious treat we had for breakfast this past Sunday. It’s a tried-and-true and a favorite of mine.

The box man cometh today and delivered two new cookbooks. First up is Giada DeLaurentiis’ newest one, Family Dinners. I’m glad that she came out with her second cookbook so soon after her first, especially when it seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r for the first one to be released (given Rachael Ray is on, what, her 14th?). Much like Giada’s first book, Everyday Italian, this one is filled with gorgeous color pictures throughout and features recipes for Tomato Soup with Pancetta, Italian Wedding Soup, Broccoli Florets with Meyer Lemon Olive Oil, Turkey Bolognese, Pepperoncini Shrimp, Pollo Frito, Chicken Vesuvio, Farmer’s Pasta, Vegetable Gratin and much much more. Like her show, the recipes are simple, concise and usually pretty delicious. Can’t wait to dig into this one!

The second cookbook I got is Maxine Clark’s Italian Salads. Really, just the cover picture alone was enough for me. Another one with full color pictures aplenty, recipes include Crab and Chile Salad with Arugula, Hot Potato Salad with Salame, Seafood Salad with Lemon and Parsley, Asparagus and Egg Salad with Anchovy Dressing, Marinated Grilled Eggplant with Salmorigilio Dressing and more.

OK folks, that’s a wrap for tonight. Tune in tomorrow to find out what we do with Boboli and smoked salmon for dinner, and this week’s nod for New (to Me) Blogger on the Block Thursday and the Rediscovering My Library segment.

Until tomorrow…

A year ago today … coincidentally enough, it was also all about new cookbook acquisitions and American Idol.

Print it!