Creamy Cucumber Tomato Salad

Summer is coming, and with it barbecues, picnics and potlucks.  A good guest always brings something to the party and a quick salad is always a winner!

You can chop the cucumbers and tomatoes in advance and premix the the dressing ingredients, but it is best to mix everything together right before you are ready to serve the dish.  If you do want to make it all in advance, you should seed the tomatoes and cucumbers to remove the excess liquid and keep the dressing thick enough.

Zesty Pull Apart Buns

I love freshly baked buns, and the frozen ones from the grocery store are convenient, delicious, and easy to spice up for a meal.  I love the simplicity of prepping them before work and being able to bake them with dinner when I get home from work.

Smooth Cream Cheese Frosting

As much as I love a good buttercream, some cakes were just made for cream cheese frosting!

The key to a nice smooth frosting is making sure that the ingredients are at room temperature.  Cold cream cheese or butter will just make lumpy frosting.  I also like to use the whisk attachment on my mixer; it may take a little bit longer, but it really helps break up any little unblended bits in the mixture.

My Kitchen Essentials

A few weeks ago I received an unexpected - and very kind - e-mail from BlueStar Cooking, asking if I would be interested in talking about my kitchen essentials.  Basically, what tools do I love and which ones do I wish i had?  Sounds easy, right?  Well, it was actually a challenge for me.  To quote my favorite Disney princess: "I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty.  I've got whozits and whatzits galore."   It is unreal how many little tools I have amassed over the years and how many other ones I would still love to have in my kitchen.

Before i get into it, I have to say a huge thank you to BlueStar for being so patient with me.  I have a full-time job that keep me very busy, but they never once pestered me to finish this post!

So, what are my kitchen essentials?

Grilled Shrimp Skewers

Summer is coming, which means that those of us who live in colder areas can finally start breaking out the barbecues.  Some of my favorite things to throw on the grill include fruits, vegetables and seafood.  One thing I can never turn down is a good shrimp skewer!