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Saturday, November 3, 2012

Weekend Cooking: Pinterest Testing Food For A Hurricane


This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.



As many of you know, I live in New York City. We had been hearing all last week about Hurricane Sandy heading this way, and although we dodged a bullet with Hurricane Irene, we decided it's better to be safe than sorry.

My husband runs a group of nursing homes, so I knew that if the hurricane was bad, he'd be working many hours and so I geared up to prepare some hearty meals. We shopped at Costco and Target for supplies, and Agata & Valentina, a neighborhood Italian store, for produce and meats.

I also thought it would be a good opportunity to use my Pinterest boards to try out some new recipes. Below are some of the highlights. (Click on the photo to take you to the recipes.)

I baked Cream Cheese Cookies, which was a big hit on our annual August vacation back home in Auburn. They are easy and very tasty. This came from the website justapinch.


I made more than a few casseroles, and these were some of the winners. This Pizza Casserole does taste like pizza, but I would leave the ham out next time, and make sure to load up on the pepperoni on top. I did not follow the directions and cover the top entirely with pepperoni, and when the cheese melted and spread, there was not enough pepperoni. I found this on cullyskitchen.


The best casserole was Loaded Baked Potato Buffalo Chicken Casserole, which I pinned and my sister-in-law tried first for her family of guys. They loved it, and we did too. It was a little too spicy, so next time I would cut down on the paprika, black pepper and hot sauce, but it was so good I was still picking at it two days later. My other two sisters-in-law are making this dish too. This came from cooklisacook.


The favorite recipe of all was for Crack Potatoes, which was a simple dish mixing shredded potatoes (I used a bag of Simply Potatoes, found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store) shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, bacon bits (I cook bacon and dice it) and ranch dip mix and baking. We had it with a spiral ham and it was amazing, a real comfort food.


We were lucky where we live, although it was scary when the hurricane was racing through the city, we kept our power and had no flooding in our area. My husband's nursing homes had no issues thanks to the dedicated staff, many of whom stayed over for several days to care for the residents and cover for those who couldn't make it in. (They did end up taking in residents from other nursing homes who lost power.)

I hope you all made it safely through the hurricane and that those affected by Sandy get the help they need to rebuild their homes and lives.


26 comments:

  1. First, such good news that you and your husband and the nursing homes all made it through the storm safely. It's been such a rough week.

    Second, wow! Of all the dishes the Buffalo chicken looks the best to me (but I'd eat and love any of the others). We like spicy and hot so I think it'd be perfect for us. I'm definitely repinning that one.

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    1. I think the Buffalo Chicken Casserole is going to be a popular dish. It has been a rough week, It's been non-stop coverage of the hurricane aftermath and you can't help but feel overwhelmed. I just pray that the people affected get all the help they need.

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  2. The Crack Potatoes look delicious.... actually, everything does!

    I hope New York never has to go through another week like this! My daughter finally got her power back around 6 last evening. Hope to see you at the rescheduled Random House Open House next month.

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    1. I'm so glad your daughter has her power back, what an awful thing to go through. It must have been nerve-wracking for you worrying about her. The great thing about New Yorkers though is that they get right back up and move on.
      I hope we can see each other in December!

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  3. Hi Diane,
    I'm so glad you guys fared the hurricane safely. Wasn't Monday a really scary night? Especially 7pm-1 am. SO scary. We were also extremely lucky and maintained power the whole time, but so many of our friends and neighbors weren't so lucky so we've been helping out as much as we can.

    Those dishes look great. I love the idea of that pizza casserole!

    I hope things continue to shape up for all of us!

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    1. Monday night was scary. I lived in central New York all my life (up to five years ago) and we lived through many bad, bad snowstorms, but at least the snowstorms didn't knock your house down, you were just snowed in til it melted.
      Glad to hear you are alright and that you have power. The one good thing to come out of this is that people are helping and getting to know their neighbors. It has brought out the best in people.

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  4. So glad you came through the storm ok. Lovely food you made just in case. Have a good week.

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    1. I cook when I'm nervous, my husband eats when he's nervous; we're a perfect pair.

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  5. Nom those cookies look great! I am glad you are safe and that everything is starting to return to normal.

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    1. The cookies are sinfully good; we went through two batches this summer in just a few days. Thanks for your good wishes.

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  6. That buffalo chicken loaded potato casserole looks fantastic, and I have just enough potatoes to do it. Eating it for dinner tonight! Thanks for sharing, and so glad you weathered the storm!

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    1. So many people have told me they are making the Buffalo Chicken Casserole; I hope you enjoy it tonight!

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  7. Seeint those cream cheese cookies made me lose interest in the casseroles! They would definitely spoil my appetite for dinner! ;)

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    1. I had to put them in sealed bags to make it harder to just eat on every time I walked by them.

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  8. Happy to hear you made it through Sandy without outages or flooding. All the dishes you made look yummy. I love pepperoni, that pizza casserole looks amazing, and I'm drooling over the Crack Potatoes!

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    1. I love pepperoni too and this tasted just like pizza; kids would love it.

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  9. I can only imagine what you have all been through and I hope the worst is finally over. Sending you positive thoughts from across the ocean, I've repinned in the meantime all your savoury dishes!

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    1. Thanks for good thoughts Patty and I hope you enjoy the recipes.

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  10. I am glad to hear you were not affected by the storm and that is a dedicated staff. It is nice to know people care. All your food looks delicious.

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    1. I'm always in awe of the people who put their own lives on hold to care for others.

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  11. Those look like lovely comfort food dishes in a week that comfort was in short supply.

    So glad to hear you made it through fine and that the nursing homes did as well.

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  12. I have total empathy for you! Living in Florida we have hurricane threats all the time but you all had a monster storm to deal with. Never saw one that powerful that far north.

    Great looking food you have on this post!! I am hungry just looking at it. Gotta try that pizza casserole.

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    1. It was one crazy storm; we're lucky that more people weren't killed. Enjoy the pizza casserole!

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  13. So glad you weathered the storm without damage or problems! We did, too, even though the center came right through here in northern DE.

    Your recipes here all look sooooo good!! But I can't eat dairy - and I miss cheese the most :( But you have me drooling over my keyboard here! Love your blog - I will be back!

    Sue

    Book By Book

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    1. Glad to hear you made it through the storm as well; so many people here are just in such need. Thanks for the kind words.

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