With fall in full swing I had to do a dinner full of favorites – apple, butternut, pear, turnips… It was a beautiful fall day and a perfect fall flavor profile dinner. My testers were Suzi Yebio, Daniel Evans, Steph Zundel, Andrea Metz, Amber Robinson, Russ Hill and Joon Shin (my favorite photographer). [simpleviewer gallery_id="51"]

Mulled Cider Sparkle (3 Stars)

I love mulled cider and I was thinking that it would make for a great chilled drink with a little seltzer sparkle. Read More....

With all of my canning projects and a really busy work schedule in September, I needed to take a break from Test Nest. October started back with a FALLabulous menu. My favorite time of the year, I was excited to test recipes influenced by fall’s best offerings. Testers for the first dinner of the month included Daniel Evans, Micah Allred, Russ Hill, Vicki Walters, who brought friends Heather Payne and Laura White, and the ultimately wonderful Joon Shin who once again took all the pictures for Read More....

Since I started this project in January of last year I haven't made any recipes that I've ever made before...so this means everything I make to eat is a trial. I of course try to share everything I make with as many other mouths as possible to get an accurate star rating (my roommate and best friends benefit the most from this). Here are a few of the other recipes that have been stand outs the last couple months that I'd like to suggest you give a try. So far this year I've tried over 100 recipeRead More....

Ask my mom and best friends and they’ll tell you my least favorite holiday is Valentine’s Day. Last year however, I caught a little bit of the love spirit with my two hearts and chocolate dinners. They were fun and I enjoyed thinking of creative ways to incorporate hearts. So I decided that with V-day on a Monday it would be a perfect opportunity for a fun celebration of good food, friends and love – it was a fabulous evening. This menu was a popular one so I increased the number and had 9Read More....

I’ve had several vegetarian friends request that I do a vegetarian night. With all of the heavy foods around the holidays, and the fact that I think I ate meat everyday for 2 weeks strait, I was feeling the need to lighten it up a bit. I learned a lot about the balance of food, proteins, flavors and textures from my expert vegetarian diners, and I really enjoyed the challenge. My fabulous testers included Joon Shin, Victoria Walters, Sheila O'Connor, April Thibeault and Donovan Bunker. BalaRead More....

So you might remember the previous post about getting an "Apple a Day" from the Food Network Magazine. I had a bushel of apples from apple picking (hard work climbing those trees to get the good ones). I tried making Apple Chips, but they didn't turn out incredibly well for me. I couldn't slice them thin enough, so maybe by next year I'll have a better tool for that. I made a salad with apples, spinach, leRead More....

I LOVE FALL and as testers arrived and the pumpkins and pork were baking they all commented that the apartment smelled like fall, so I must be doing something right! My testers were Amneris Pascasu, Marcus Bowers, Daniel and Megan Parker who did some great publicity for me and brought friends John, Dani and April. It was great to meet new friends and welcome them into my home. Since it was a Saturday night we all sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the food and company. We talked and talked and covereRead More....

Now that we are getting into the summer, it sure does get hot in the apartment when I’m cooking for hours and preparing for TEST NEST dinners. I’m particularly trying to make menus cool and refreshing. The June 22 menu did a pretty good job of this. My wonderful testers (Jason Robertson, Angie Rose, Morgan Basset, Rosemary Demos, Barbara and Nick Anglisz, and Erin Sorenson) were great company and we all enjoyed a wonderful evening together. I forgot to take a picture of the group yet again, Read More....

I've wanted to try this Chicken & Kielbasa Gumbo recipe from Woman's Day Magazine for a while now. Last night we semi-celebrated Mardi Gras (while watching the Olympics and the snow falling outside our windows) and I threw this together. We gave it a 3 Star - I'm sure there are better gumbo recipes out there, but the flavor is better than normal and it is simple and quick to make - a great option for a night when you aRead More....