Featured Community Member: SimplySandi

Written Friday, January 22nd, 2010 by Penny Hawkins

Half Hour Meals member Sandi lives in Dallas, Texas, and authors a fun, sassy blog dedicated to sharing her thoughts on things she loves such as entertaining, shopping, cooking, reading, etc. From snack cakes to Rachel Ray recipes, with tidbits about her family mixed in, there is always something interesting on the menu at Sandi’s blog!  Read on to learn more about Sandi:

Your blog, Peel Me A Grape, is a fun place to read about your thoughts on things you love like books, cooking, and entertaining! What inspired you to start your blog and what’s the story behind the name? I love trying new recipes – especially enchiladas. Back in 2008, I sent a picture of my latest attempt to a friend.  She replied back stating that I really should start a blog. I had never even READ a blog much less knew how to START a blog.  For kicks, I Googled blogs, and within about 30 minutes – I was hooked. I changed the name of my blog from “simplysandi” to “Peel Me A Grape” about a year later. Peel Me A Grape is a song by my favorite jazz singer, Diana Krall. I was thinking of dieting at the time, and the idea of peeling grapes to lose weight struck me as funny. Then, I realized that this title represents me and all things I love – like romance, music, food, and wine. 

You live in the great state of Texas (also the home of Half Hour Meals!). What is your favorite recipe that reflects the unique regional flavors of Texas? Fajitas.  It combines Texans love of all types of meats from beef to seafood with all the spices that scream Texas – cumin, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder, chili powder, garlic powder. It is a very versatile dish. Based on the seasoning, it can be mild or spicy.  I am constantly experimenting with different marinades to bring out the best flavor in the meat.  Just last night I used a Mango Ginger Haberno sauce.  The fajitas were awesome.

Do you have a signature dish? What is it and how did you come up with it? This is a hard one. The latest dish that I’ve been serving company is Shrimp Pasta in a Tomato Chile Sauce.  It’s an Emeril Lagasse recipe. It has all my favorite spices along with pepper jack cheese for that extra kick and creaminess. 

Name 5-10 ingredients you can’t live without. vanilla, unsalted butter, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne pepper, light sour cream, cheese (all flavors), Italian bread crumbs, extra virgin olive oil Interviewer’s note: I suspect Sandi was cheating a bit by naming cheese (all flavors), but we like her so much we’ll let her pass!

Surprise! Tony Romo, Quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys is coming to dinner! What would you serve? I’d pick the main course from “The Pioneer Woman Cooks” cookbook - either the rib-eye steak or chicken fried steak. I’d serve it with twice-baked potatoes, lettuce wedge with blue cheese, and banana pudding for dessert.

You have a 23-year-old son. When you make a special dinner for just for him, what do you make? How has being a mom influenced your cooking and your blog? My son has many favorites – mostly Italian, but his ultimate favorite dish is very simple - chicken tenders with mashed potatoes and peas.  I use mayo on the chicken then dip them in Italian bread crumbs and bake for 20 minutes. He loves them dipped in bbq sauce.  I didn’t cook much when my son was younger.  He was a picky eater. As he got older, I found that the more he appreciated good food, the more I liked learning to cook it. 

What is your favorite cookbook and why? The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I basically want to cook every recipe in the book.  She has updated the classics like “pot roast” or “chicken fried steak”. I recently made her “potato skins” – they were awesome, and it was like I went back in time to the 80’s.

Do you see yourself still blogging several years from now? How do you balance food blogging and life? I am hooked on blogging and really want to evolve my blog. I work full-time, so just keeping my blog up to date was a challenge at first.  I have learned to “schedule” postings so that my blog stays current, but the hardest part is finding the time to take advantage of the tools available.

If others were to ask you about Half Hour Meals, how would you describe the site to them? Half Hour Meals is a great site to get quick and easy recipes as well as share your own.  It’s appealing to look at and easy to navigate.  I do not feel overwhelmed at all when I go to it. So many sites have so much information, you do not know where to start. 

My deepest thanks to Sandi for letting into her world for just a bit. I hope you all will stop by and visit her page at Half Hour Meals, and be sure to check out her wonderful blog as well!

Tags: blogging, community member, Featured Member, food blogging

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