I love you! I love blogging!

I still feel I am very new to the whole world of blogging. It has been less than three months since I started and at that time I hadn't even been familiar with this virtual world at all. When I heard the term blog, I thought it was for celebrities or kids on my space or something.

Now I feel different. I love my blog. I love visiting other blogs. I love the people I am getting to know. I love all your recipes, ideas, poems, advice, designs and suggestions. This whole new world is open to me now. I can be in Paris one moment and New York the next. I have seen glimpses of the deep south and rural roads I might never have seen before. It is so much fun. And I owe it all to all of you.

Amy at Family Bencomo had been gracious enough to tag me with an "I love you this much" award. I feel so fortunate and very well loved. Amy is so warm and has a beautiful blog chock full of great recipes and beautiful photos. I wish I could go right ahead and tag you back, Amy.

As is the rule, I am to tag 10 other blogs that I love. I am just getting to know a lot of you and it is hard to narrow down to only 10 but these are some of blogs I keep my eye on all the time.

1. Zen Chef - Chefs Gone Wild - Yes, this man does have a wild and witty sense of humor and a mean ability in the kitchen. You will salivate at the photos and choke with laughter.

2. Kristen - Dine and Dish - Kristen has a ton of recipes and a beautiful blog design with little snippets of family life dished in. She also started featuring some fun give-aways! Check it out.

3. Betty - La France Profonde- A beautiful blog about Betty's life in a rural part of France. Her writing and photos are amazing.

4. Dela - Not Your Mother's Southern Cooking - Dela is a delight to read. This girl has wonderful creativity and imagination in the kitchen. She has no fear and her recipes look great.

5. Kate - Paved with Good Intentions - Another deft writer, Kate relays her kitchen adventures from the foibles to the grand masterpieces with a witty voice. There is always something good on her blog.

6. Lulu - Lulu Abroad - Get ready for some armchair traveling. Lulu takes you to Ireland, India or just around the corner from her in the North Eastern part of the states. She documents it all with fabulous photos.

7. Peter - Kalofagas - You want to see a man who knows what he is doing? Peter is your guy! The food he serves up is gorgeous, amazing and as tempting as his infectious smile. Be prepared to learn something new.

8. Susan - Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy - This is a one-stop shop. Her pastries look as if from the finest bakery and the savory photos could grace the cover of a magazine. To die for.

9. Laura - Pinot and Prose - Get a little food then a literary review and more tempting food again. An intelligent woman with a passion for food. How incredible is that! Here is a place to "Eat, Drink and (find something new each time)!"

10. Helen - Orange You Lucky - And you are if you have time to peruse Helen's blog. She features her amazing and whimsical illustrations with tidbits of life and fun things she finds and shares. This site is complete eye candy.

I thought you might be thirsty after all of that so have a glass of lemonade!
The photo is from "Hot Dog on a Stick". They make great lemonade there.
If you are thirsty and near one, DO try it! It comes in 3 flavors.

Amy also tagged me with the "Look What I Made" game! Thanks again, Amy. I am going to tag Emily, Lisa and Jaime with this game.

HERE ARE THE RULES to LOOK WHAT I MADE!

1. List the names of 2-5 recipes you tried from other blogs. Provide a direct link to the recipe. If not available, give the blog link and let the reader search for the recipe by name.

2. Shortly describe your experience with the recipe.

3. Tag 3-5 other bloggers or the authors of the recipes you listed to post the links to the recipes they have tried from other bloggers. Note: If you are new to the blogging world and haven’t had a chance to try any recipes from your fellow foodies, just pass the tag on to someone else.

4. Notify the tagged bloggers about the tag either by leaving a comment on their blogs or by emailing them.

Here are some recipes I have tried:

1. Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze from Orangette. The recipe is actually at Bon Appetit. These are every bit as good and mouthwatering as Molly professes. DO be prepared to spend some time making them though. It is not hard but you need time for rising and rolling and baking and glazing. But it is well worth the investment.

2. Chicken and Shrimp Won Tons with Chili Sweet & Sour Sauce from Recipe Girl. These were great! I didn't have shrimp or serrano chili on hand and they still tasted really good. Lori's original creation with the shrimp and chili would be even better, I am sure. Do not be fooled. These are very easy to make and look really impressive. The only trick is learning how to fold the won ton. After that--easy-peasy. The sauce really has a kick to it so easy on the chili garlic sauce and ginger if you can't take the heat. I love it spicy so it was perfect for me but would use less ketchup and more soy sauce or something next time.

3. Roast Chicken with Ginger and Soy-Whiskey Glaze from Chefs Gone Wild. Zen is no amateur chef and browning this bird was no easy feat. But after all was said and done, I had a magnificent dinner that was moist and juicy and packed with flavor. It was amazing! Mine wasn't quite as pretty as his and was much darker looking but it didn't suffer in taste. I highly recommend trying it.

4. Veloute of Prawns from A World in a Pan. This sauce is to die for! My guests and I just ate and ate and slurped up the extra sauce with our bread. Laura says that the curry is optional but in my opinion the curry helps make the dish. Fantastic! Mine was much yellower than Laura's photo but maybe because I used yellow curry and she used red? I don't know. I would like to try this again with red curry though.

... and for dessert...

5. Cookie Dough Cupcakes from Big Red Kitchen. Robin Sue had this notion to put her favorite cookie inside a cupcake. You know what? It WORKED! This is fun and easy and provides so much room for play and creativity. I did it with the kids too. It is the perfect treat to make with your children or to bring to a potluck or school party.

Happy Cooking and Eating!