South of the Border Submission

I love getting submissions at dinadishes@gmail.com . Everyone is so creative and I am honored that you share your personal recipes with me! Yes, my family cooks a lot of Italian food and I love it! But as we have all grown up we have all tried different foods and broadened our horizons. There is so much good food out there and so many places to try!

I got this yummy submission from Tracie Bock. I love dishes with a Mexican flair. I can't wait to try this!

Tortilla Pie by Tracie Bock

1 (16 oz) can of refriend beans

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp ground cumin

1 cup of chunky salsa divided

2 (4 or 6 oz) cartons of guacamole

1 (8oz) package of Mexican cheese

8 (8 inch) flour tortillas

1. Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well.

2. Place 1 tortilla in a lightly greased 9 inch round cake pan.  Then spread with half of the bean mixture. Then top with another tortilla.

3.  In the next layer spread half of the guacamole and then top with another tortilla.

4. Next layer sprinkle half of the cheese

5. Repeat this process, except for the cheese step.

6. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then sprinkle remaining cheese. Bake again this time uncovered until cheese has melted.

Wild On Risotto

I was always intimidated by Risotto. It can be very fickle! But it seems if you take the time to keep an eye on it and stir it the outcome is well worth it! It is actually a pretty quick side dish and there are many variations! So, I picked up some wild mushrooms to go along with a steak and decided to give it a try!!!

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• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 cups f mushrooms such as shitake, chanterelle, or oyster mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into pieces
• 2/3 cup sherry
• 5-6 cups chicken stock
• 1/3 cup of peeled and minced shallots (OR 1/3 cup of yellow or white onion, finely chopped)
• 1 3/4 cups arborio rice or other risotto rice
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or chives

1. Bring stock to a simmer in a saucepan.

2. Melt the butter in a deep, medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté about 5 minutes.  Season the mushrooms with a little bit of salt and pepper. Then add the rice and stir to combine.

3. Add sherry, bring to a boil, and reduce liquid by half, about 3-4 minutes. Add simmering stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring enough to keep the rice from sticking to the edges of the pan. Stir the rice almost constantly — stirring sloughs off the starch from the rice, making the creamy sauce you're looking for in a risotto. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. This process will take about 25 minutes. The rice should be just cooked and slightly chewy.

4. As you are stirring in the stock in add in a little bit more sherry. As I was stirring I think I dropped in two extra tablespoons.

5. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives.

Sunday Dinner

Sunday dinner is always a big deal. I always love a big pot of gravy with meatballs. But I know that everyone is not like me, bummer! Since I have grown up and started taking on a lot of Sunday dinners at my house I have tried to do different things. Kind of expose my family to some new recipes. Sometimes they love it, sometimes they roll their eyes haha! This Sunday was laid back, a lot of make ahead dishes. I love menu planning, I get really into it ! But I am still learning what works with what! Such fancy terminology I know. So here was my menu this Sunday:

White Wine Marinated Pork Loin
Roasted Potatoes with garlic, thyme, shallots and white wine
Zucchini and Squash roasted with Parmesean
Basic Salad
Crescent Rolls (Just the Pillsbury kind)

White Wine Pork Loin

Thyme
Rosemary (fresh if you can)
Pepper
Salt
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder

1 1/2 Cups white wine

4 garlic cloves cut in half
4 garlic cloves chopped roughly
1 Shallot sliced

1. Place the pork loin in a baking dish or a clear pyrex dish and pour over 1 cup of white wine

2. Then season one side of the pork loin with thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper

3. Take the halved pieces of garlic and make 4 slits on the top of the pork loin. Put the pieces of garlic into those slits

4. Then flip the pork loin over and repeat process in #3

5. Then take the sliced shallots and chopped garlic and sprinkle it throughout the pan or dish

6. Let the pork loin marinate for as long as you can. The longer the better, at least 2 hours!

7. Then put it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. You may want to hit the broiler on for about 10-15 minutes to get the top browned. Make sure you check the temperature of the pork. It should be about 160 degrees.

Zucchini and Squash Parmesan Bake

Yellow Onion, sliced
5 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Zucchini,sliced
2 Squash, sliced

Parmesean Cheese
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Olive Oil
1 Tsp Butter

1. Put the sliced zucchini and squash into a boil. Season it with the thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Then drizzle the olive oil and mix, coating everything as evenly as possible.

2. Meanwhile take the tablespoon of butter and melt it in a pan. Then add the garlic cloves and onion slices. Saute until the garlic is browned and the onions soft. Then take this mixture and pour it into a baking dish. You are making a bed to lay the zucchini and squash on.

3. Then lay each slice of zucchini and squash ontop of the onion and garlic in an alternating pattern if you can. This also looks pretty which is a plus!

4. Then put it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Then after 30 minutes take it out and sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top generously. Then drizzle with olive oil, it helps the top brown!

Sunday Sides from You!!!

I am so excited to open up my email and see all these awesome ideas! What fun is cooking and keeping it to yourself right? Thank you so much for your ideas! I am going to post a couple below. Please keep in mind I am still going through them, and I will post more! I do read all your emails! Check out some great ideas for veggie side dishes from my very talented friends!

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Try some slices of grilled sweet potato-Season with a little salt, pepper and a touch of olive oil. Not only healthy, but delicious! Hope this helped! –Michelle Dolzani

Try bruschetta! Love from Italy- Bea Jonas

Fresh carrots with honey- Ondrea Marie

All you have to do is take fresh asparagus put olive oil on the bottom of an oven safe dish dish. Put your prepared asparagus in the dish. Put olive oil all over the the asparagus along with some balsamic vinegar. Cook it on 400 for 18-20 minutes- Jessica Smith

I always make a vegetable tabbouleh and it tastes so light and fresh- Tiffany Mckeithen

From Cait:

Grilled pepper salad

4   bell peppers, (mixed colors), halved, seeded and stemmed

1/4 cup  halved and pitted oil-cured black olives

1/4 cup  rinsed and chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1 tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon  balsamic vinegar

1/8 teaspoon  salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Grill peppers on medium-high, turning once, until soft and charred in spots, about 5 minutes per side. When cool enough to handle, chop the peppers; toss with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, oil, vinegar and salt in a large bowl. Makes about 4 servings

Roasted broccoli and tomatoes 

   INGREDIENTS

12 ounces  broccoli crowns, trimmed and cut into bite-size florets (about 4 cups)

1 cup  grape tomatoes

1 tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves  garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon  salt

1/2 teaspoon  freshly grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon  lemon juice

10   pitted black olives, sliced

1 teaspoon  dried oregano

2 teaspoons  capers, rinsed (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Toss broccoli, tomatoes, oil, garlic and salt in a large bowl until evenly coated. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake until the broccoli begins to brown, 10 to 13 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine lemon zest and juice, olives, oregano and capers (if using) in a large bowl. Add the roasted vegetables; stir to combine. Serve warm. Makes about 4 servings

BBQ Winner :)

Right before 4th of July I opened up an email so people could submit their favorite BBQ recipes.
Two recipes were submitted by Debbie. She submitted two recipes one for  Shrimp Skewers in garlic butter and herbs, and a chicken marinade. They sound yummy! I can't wait to try them both.

I love to share recipes and hear of new ones! I cook almost everyday, so I can always use something new! Please continue to send your summer favorites to dinadishes@gmail.com. You never know what I might post!

Shrimp skewers in Garlic Butter and Herbs

-mix olive oil, garlic butter, and herbs such as thyme and rosemary.

- a marinade the shrimp in it for about 15 minutes, put them on skewers and then cook on BBQ until ready) (they don't take very long on a hot BBQ)

*my note-make sure you soak the skewers if you are using wooden ones before putting them on the grill!

*If you need to know how to make garlic butter here is a recipe I adpated from Bobby Flay:

Ingredients:

 

1 1/12 sitcks of softened unsalted butter

4 Garlic Cloves, coarsely chopped

Kosher salt, and ground pepper 

Directions: 

Combine the butter and garlic in a food processor or with a mixer until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add in herbs if you want to make it garlic and herb butter.

Chicken marinated in Red Wine

(overnight marinade needed)

-Put some red wine in a dish, add herbs and spices, like salt, peper, star anise, clove in the red wine, and than add the chickenpieces.

*my note-you could also use large Ziplocs to marinate over night!

-Let marinade overnight and when ready put them on the grill!

Snack Time! Kale Chips

Reason #44 why I love summer, well its not these crazy flood and tornado watches we have been having lately. That is for sure! But, farmers markets are in full swing and that is something I get really excited about! Especially since our town has one Saturday mornings. It is great to walk down there on a sunny day, get inspired, and grab fresh ingredients for the week. The best part is that you are supporting local business and farmers. Okay, and the food trucks aren't that bad!!! I will do a round-up of those one day as well!

Brian seems to have this obsession lately with Kale. Which is a good thing! Because Kale is super good for you. So when he brought over a bunch of Kale and asked if I could make them into Kale chips I didn't say no! Although, I thought yuck! How could you ever substitute chips with veggies? Well I was wrong because I have been crunching on them every since! Plus its super simple. The most time consuming part would be checking on them while they are baking so they don't burn and getting the right crunchy consistency. In my experience, I had a large bunch and the pieces weren't all the same size.  Therefore, some chips were done before others. So I did spend some time taking them out of the oven, weeding out the finished ones and putting the not yet crunchified ones back in the oven. Also not that you can season them different ways. I used garlic powder on mine, which was really yummy! You could throw a little cayenne pepper on them for some heat if you wanted to  as well!

ps- good party snack alert!

Kale Chips

ngredients

1 head kale, washed and thoroughly dried
2 tablespoons olive oil

Pepper (optional)

Garlic Powder (optional
Sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes. If you have a larger bunch like I did, this may take longer. As I suggested before take them out and see which ones are done. Put those in a tupperware and keep baking the rest. Trust me, they are better when fully crispy!

Raspberry Lemonade Bars!

I am sure I have said it before, but I am NOT a baker. That is my sister Danielle's strong area, and my best friend Samantha. Those two girls are baking divas! But, as we all know my husband Brian loves his sweets! He hunts out infamous doughnuts anywhere he travels. So I do try from time to time, while grumbling at it along the way. You should hear me when baking, it is not very lady like :).

But once in awhile I get it right! Although the chocolate lasagne that ended up on my friend Margo's front lawn, long story, not so much. But this time Raspberry Lemonade Bars were a big hit at my friend's Gabbi and Pete's BBQ.  (Ps check out Gabbi's amazing  blog! She is home design and DIY diva!!! http://retroranchrenovation.blogspot.com/ )

I have to credit pinterest and blog called Annie's Eats ( http://www.annies-eats.com/2011/09/02/raspberry-lemonade-bars/ ) for this recipe!

Ingredients

For the crust:
2¼ sticks (18 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
For the raspberry lemon layer:
3 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. lemon zest
¼ tsp. salt
3 cups frozen raspberries, thawed
6 large egg whites
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour and salt just until incorporated.  Add the dough to the prepared baking pan.  Press into an even layer over the bottom of the pan.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until light golden brown.  Remove from the oven, maintaining the temperature.
• While the crust is baking, make the top layer.  Combine the sugar, flour, lemon zest and salt in a large bowl and whisk to blend.  Add the raspberries to a fine mesh sieve and press through, mashing with a spatula, to extract as much juice and pulp as possible, straining out the seeds.  Add the egg whites and eggs to the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk well to blend.  Whisk in the raspberry puree and lemon juice until smooth.
• Pour the mixture over the crust and bake until the center is just set and not longer jiggles when gently shaken, about 35-40 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.  Cover and chill well in the refrigerator, at least 2 hours.  When ready to serve, use the parchment paper to lift the bars from the pan.  Place on a cutting board and slice into bars.  Dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar if desired.

Moms Tortellini Salad for the Summer!

Well its June, which means summertime is getting into full swing! I love the warmer weather and just being able to be outside. Also, there are two big things that summer brings that Brian and I both love. Farmers markets and fairs, yahoo! We love stuffing ourselves with fair food and the fresh produce at the markets makes cooking so much more fun!

A big trend during summer is the grill of course! There are tons of amazing recipes and things you can do with use of the grill. You can even grill pizza! But I have yet to try that. So before I post all about my recent summer vacation I figure let me give you a couple of recipes to bring to BBQ’s.

First, up is my mom’s tortellini pasta salad. It is a little different than your regular pasta salad, but so easy to make! If you can let it sit for a couple of hours in the fridge it gets even better!

Ingredients:

1 pkg, of cherry tomatoes halved

½ of a white onion

1 can of black olives halved (optional)

1lb package of cheese tortellini (You can find it with the refrigerated pasta. I like to use Butoni cheese tortellini)

Salt

Pepper

Onion Powder

Basil

Red Wine Vinegar

Olive Oil

1. Boil water and put in the tortellini. Check the package for cooking time but 5-7 minutes should work to make it al dente. Then drain the pasta.

2. Once you have drained the pasta put it in a bowl and drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil on it and mix. This will keep the tortellini from sticking together and getting funny.

3. Halve the cherry tomatoes and olives. Add them to the bowl.

4. Dice up about half of an onion. You can adjust this to your liking.

5. After combining everything in a bowl season the salad with salt, pepper, basil and a sprinkle of onion powder (so specific I know!). Then depending upon whether or not you are a vinegar lover like me, pour about a ¼ of a cup of red wine vinegar.

6. Mix together and put in the fridge for a couple of hours. Make sure to taste it and to adjust the seasonings and vinegar to your taste. That is what I do with everything!

Friday Night is Pizza Night!

Friday night is a lot of the time synonymous with pizza night! And you may be expecting me to post a pizza recipe. And I could, but I am not. Because even I want a break from cooking, especially after a challenging week at work. Also, I should be honest. My mom has mastered pizza, and Danielle has had successful attempts. Me, well I am still at odds with pizza dough. But when I master it you better believe you will know.

So in the meantime let me post two great places I have gotten pizza recently in the area :). And happy Friday!

  This place gives what I think of as more of a "foodie" spin on pizza. Mancinnis Coal Oven Pizza is a tiny little place that has pies with BIG flavors. It is really cute inside with wooden seating and white tiled walls. You can see the family making pies in the coal oven from every seat. Which should tell you how small the place is! You may have to wait for a table but it is worth it! Plus there is take-out! Brian and I sampled punttanesca pie (which is one of my favorite pasta dishes) and a white pie with prosciutto, artichokes and ricotta BAMMMM! Yes we loved it! Then they had a really interesting herb salad with  which we tried, pairs arugula with parsley, mint, thyme, oregano, a generous dollop of creamy chevre and house dressing, all atop a savory pizza-like disc of bread studded with raisins. I also got to have a boylans cream soda! Yes, it was quite a night!

Mancinnis Coal Oven Pizza

438 Bloomfield Ave
Montclair, NJ 07042

(973) 744-4391

http://www.mancinnis.net

 

 Salugo Bistro is another new, small place. I had the pleasure of having a dinner date with one of my besties Melz! Sadly, she had to witness me eating a whole 12 inch pie which was topped with hot peppers, tomatoes, sopresatta, and smoked scamorza. Needless to say she is still my friend and she also let me eat two pieces of her  gorgonzola, fig, prosciutto, and balsamic reduction pie. YEP! If that is not enough to get you over there maybe one their pasta dishes, or piled high salads will! 

510 Bloomfield Ave
Verona, NJ 07044

(973) 857-2584

http://www.salugopizzeria.com/

 

Another Big Game, Another Big Bite

So my husband has a serious obsession with University of Michigans basketball team. His childhood room has Michigan border and posters! But funny thing is he never wanted to go to Michigan and no one in his family has attended there. Everyone has their thing right?

So his team made it to the final four and I have to admit I was excited as well. Apparently that hasn't happened since the early 90's. So long ago right?! Being the excellent wife I am I said if his team made it to final four I would have a little party. And of course that involves food, I always have an ulterior motive.

What I did was two crockpots, one pulled pork and one pulled buffalo chicken. My thought was people could make their own sliders. I made cole slaw and a nice big salad. I also tried out something new it was a take on an italian sub but baked. I did end up modifying it a little bit too and I have to say it was pretty popular. Just a couple of notes! You can change the meat and cheese to match the way you would build your italian sub, that is what I did. I also am going to try next time to use Pillsbury pizza dough. I am also going to try a version omitted the eggs. So here is my version:

Cooking Time: 40 min

What You'll Need:

• 2 (8-ounce) container refrigerated crescent rolls
• 8 slices sweet sopressata (about 1/2 pound)
• 8 slices ham (about 1/2 pound)
• 12 slice provolone (about 1/2 pound)
• 8 slices capicola (about 1/2 pound)
• 1 (12-ounce) jar roasted peppers, drained
• 4 eggs, beaten 
• salt, pepper, oregano and onion powder
• olive oil

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll crescent roll dough without separating triangles.
    
2. Place the first container of dough into a pyrex baking dish; using your fingertips, press dough to fit bottom of dish.
    
3. Layer with half the sopressata, ham, capicola, provolone cheese, and roasted peppers. Pour half of beaten eggs over peppers and repeat with remaining meats, cheese, and peppers. Once you get to last layer then season it with salt, pepper, oregano, and onion powder.
    
4. Place remaining square of dough over peppers. Pour remaining beaten eggs over dough and drizzle the top with olive oil. Then
   
   
   cover lightly with foil.
    
5. Bake 20 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 20 to 22 minutes, or until golden and heated through. Let cool 15 to 20 minutes then cut and serve.

Lil Bit O'Green

This weekend I had the family over for dinner in honor of Brian and my grandpa's birthday! Being Italian we didn't get to into the green theme. No corned beef and cabbage, although I do know that if done right its really good! But I did manage to get something green on the table. Everyone really liked it so I think it will be added into Sunday dinner rotation. This is a really simple and healthy appetizer or side.

Note: I sliced up two zucchinis and thought I had so much. Once I fried them it looked like I had barely cut up one!

2 Zucchinis, sliced. I tried to slice them on the thinner side, leaving the skin on. Discard the very top where the stem is.
Salt
Pepper
Garlic 
Fresh Mint (you could also do without this if you do not have it on hand)
2Tsp of Red Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil

1. Fill a pan with olive oil about one inch high and put on medium heat
2. Slice the Zucchini and garlic. Set garlic aside.
3. Once the olive oil is hot, test it out by dropping in a piece of zucchini if it sizzles on contact, you are good!
4. Put a layer of zucchini slices in the hot oil. Watch for them to turn start turning a golden color and then flip them. You are watching more for the color here rather than a time. It takes like 3-5 minutes per side.
5. Once you have friend them all, in a bowl toss with salt and pepper to taste. Then add the red wine vinegar, garlic slices and mint. Gently toss it together.

The longer you let this sit the more infused it will become. I put it in the fridge over night and it worked out just fine!

Weekend Adventure- Momofuko

Brian and I love to watch Anthony Bourdain shows on the travel channel. We don't agree on the TV too often besides Modern Family! So we have a Monday night date with the Layover or No Reservations. Sadly, No Reservations is no longer on! But the Layover is keeping us alive!

While watching we are always wishing we could jump into the TV and eat what he is eating, and travel to where he is! When we plan our own vacations we always map it out according to food and spots he has been. Brian is very blessed, he gets to travel a ton for his job. So he is like my own personal Bourdain! We just finished watching the Layover in Tai Pei and got a craving for some good noodles. This let to my first experience at Momofoku in NYC. I have heard about it a lot, so I was super excited to go!

I got the pork buns and they were delicious. I don't know how they get the bun part to be so pillowy! I mean that really is the only way I can describe it! I feel like I could have eaten a dozen! Then I got the Momofuko noodles. It was a hug bowl filled with noodles, amazing broth, pork belly, and a fried egg on top. It was a unique experience to me and I loved it!

Momofuko Noodle Bar
171 1st Ave  New York, NY 10003

(212) 777-7773

Baking Blizzard!

So it seems we are going to be snowed in for the next two days! So whats the most logical thing to do with my time? Eat, Cook, Bake! And I am sure I will pray somewhere in-between there, especially for my baking!

I am a big fan of Nutella and it seems it is gaining popularity! So I tried these self frosting Nutella cupcakes that I found on pinterest. I have to say that these kind of come out on the dry side. So I am thinking of making a Nutella buttercream to frost them with in addition to what is already in the cupcake. Besides that they came out pretty good! If I can bake these, anyone can!

Self-frosting Nutella Cupcakes
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup canola or mild vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk or half & half
1/2 cup(ish) Nutella
Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; add half to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then add the remaining flour mixture and beat just until combined.

Divide the batter between 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Spoon the Nutella into a small microwave-safe dish and microwave it for 10-20 seconds, until softened but not liquefied.
Drop a spoonful of Nutella on top of each, and swirl through the batter with the tip of a bamboo skewer, knife or other pointy object. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Tilt them in the pan to help them cool.

Makes a dozen cupcakes.

I also have always been a HUGE fan of banana bread. My Aunt Carlene actually makes the best banana bread ever. Her son was in my kindergarten class and I was always so happy when it was his turn to bring in snack, because I knew it meant banana bread!

I saw one ripened banana sitting in my fruit bowl, yesssss! But alas, all the recipes called for 3-4 bananas. FAIL! But.....I found a recipe online that used one banana, score! So I tried it! Not as good as typical banana bread but still has a good banana flavor. Good recipe to try in a pinch!

One Banana Banana Bread
1 Large Very Ripe Banana (or two small ones)
1 Egg with enough milk to make One Cup liquid
1 Stick butter/margarine (softened) ( 1 stick = 1/2 cup )
1 tsp Vanilla
1-1/2 Cup Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
Nuts (optional)

Put all ingredients in a large bowl together (don’t need to sift or
mix anything beforehand). Use mixer on slow to medium to mix until
lumps are pretty well gone (not too long or bread will be too firm).
Pam-Spray® bread pans (do not flour).
Fill pans 2/3 full
Bake 55 Minutes @ 350 Degree until Golden Brown. Toothpick test for
doneness. This bread comes out q

Olive You All

So tonight I really wanted to try to make a roasted chicken with olives. I had seen a recipe during one of my all night recipe searches. Which seem to happen basically every other night! But it seems that I couldn’t quite find what I was looking for. Some recipes I found just seemed to lack some ingredients or steps I thought should be there. Plus, I had seen a one-pan meal that involved potatoes, chicken and asparagus. On weeknights those are perfect! So I decided to combine these worlds and this is what I came up with!

Just an FYI a lot of recipes tell you to cut up a whole chicken. I pumped the breaks on that, not on a weeknight! I just bought a package of breasts, thighs and wings. If you can marinate the chicken overnight, if not just try to marinate it before you put the potatoes in:

½ cup of Olive Oil

1/3 cup of Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tsp of Dijon

1 package of cut up chicken

1 1/2lbs Fingerling or new potatoes halved

3 Tsp of butter cut up

Salt

Pepper

1lb of Asparagus trimmed (white parts off) and cut into about 2 inch pieces

2 lemons cut into wedges

Sprigs of thyme

5 cloves of garlic

 A little over a ½ lb of Mixed Olives.

(I like to visit the olive bar at the grocery store and grab green olives, along with kalamata olives.)

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place potatoes and half the butter in a roasting pan; season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing once, until potatoes are golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

2.     Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put it in a pyrex so you can pour the mixture below on it.

3.     In a small bowl, combine the vinaigrette (oil, balsamic, and Dijon mustard) with the lemon zest, olives, garlic, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Pour the mixture over the chicken and turn to coat. Also pour over olives. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour or overnight.

4.     After the potatoes have roasted for 20 minutes then you can put the chicken, skin side up, on top of potatoes; pour the remaining mixture over it. Roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes.

5.     Lower heat to 375 degrees. Scatter asparagus, lemon, and thyme around chicken. Roast until asparagus is tender and chicken is opaque throughout, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve chicken, vegetables, and lemon drizzled with pan juice

Touchdown with Cannoli Dip!

So this year I added a new team member to my superbowl food roster. Cheesy bread has always been my MVP of superbowl but my new player turned into quite the contender this year. You can find this recipe in the earlier days of this blog. Okay, thats enough football talk!

The cannoli dip was favorite of people who even do not like traditional cannoli's (which is insane in the first place!). I even brought it to work the next day and even had the principal eating out the palm of my hand....Or ummmm the tupperware I brought it in. There are many different versions of the recipe on line so this is my requested version. Just a quick note, I know cinnamon isn't typically a part of a cannoli recipe but don't get all crazy on me. I felt like it needed a lil somethin more and this gave it just the right touch!

1.5lbs of Ricotta ( I used whole milk ricotta)
I cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
A pinch of cinnamon
Whole Milk
Chocolate Chips
Box or two of sugar cones
(some recipes say waffle cones you choose!)

1. Mix together the ricotta, powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon zest. Note: You can adjust the measurements to your liking. This is just what I start with. If you want more of a vanilla kick add more vanilla, if you want it sweeter add more sugar!

2. Depending on your desired consistency slowly add splashes of milk. I don't like it too watery, so I just add like two splashes of milk which equals to about a 1/4 of a cup.

Breakfast for Dinner!

Brian's favorite meal of the day is breakfast! He has always been a big fan of breakfast food. Have you ever had a craving to have breakfast for dinner? Once in awhile it hits me, and I am not even a big breakfast person. But it is also a good solution on a busy week night! Just keep some pancake mix on hand in the pantry. Got milk? Got eggs? Then you can have quite an impressive breakfast.

So for our breakfast I grabbed a pumpkin pecan pancake mix. This is something I actually got as a gift and its from Williams-Sonoma. It was very good, with some maple syrup! I am not a person who buys and eats bacon on the regular. Its kind of like lucky charms for me, my mom only bought it once in awhile! But recently we had maple bacon (my heart be still!!!) and we have been thinking of it ever since. So I decided to make my own vresion. I basically just took regular bacon and while it was sizzlin' up I poured in some maple syrup. But if I had some maple sugar on hand I would have used that instead!

Then I decided it would be a good idea to have an egg added into this equation. So I had some chedder cheese on hand and yes, I had chives as well. So I just sprinkled some cheddar and chives on the fried eggs and that gave it an extra "omph" as they say!

And there is our breakfast for dinner. Totally comforting on a winter night :)

Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, and Sage, oh my!

So I made this for a Christmas party one year and it was a big hit. My sister Katie loves it! I found it on a great site called Fine Cooking. They have great make ahead recipes for parties and the site in general is just great! I have found many great recipes using it. So I have the link and recipe below for you!

I will say that every time I have made it I can always use more of the bechamel/cheese sauce. So just fyi double that part or just be prepared to make a about a half batch more. Also I used Barilla no boil lasagne and it worked out just great! Another short cut is you can buy the the butternut squash already cut up and just roast it that way.

Sorry I don't have a matching photo! I am without a cellphone, can you imagine? So no instagrams and ect. :(....Plus a lot of people were asking for it, so I wanted to honor the requests!


http://www.finecooking.com/

1 large butternut squash (about 3 lb.), halved lengthwise and seeded 
2 medium cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 sprigs fresh thyme plus 2 tsp. chopped leaves  
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil 
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 Tbs. unsalted butter  
2 sprigs fresh sage plus 1 tsp. chopped leaves 
1-1/8 oz. (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour 
3 cups whole milk 
1-1/4 cups crumbled fresh goat cheese (4 oz.) 
1 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano (2 oz.) 
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg 
1/4 cup coarse dry breadcrumbs or panko 
1 recipe Fresh Pasta for Lasagne

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Roast the squash and garlic Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F.
Put the squash cut side up on a large, heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet. Put 1 garlic clove and 1 sprig of thyme in each cavity. Drizzle each half with 1 tsp. of the oil and then season each with 1/4 tsp. salt and a few grinds of pepper. Roast until the squash is browned in spots and very tender when pierced with a skewer, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Discard the thyme sprigs. Peel the garlic and put in a large bowl. Scoop the squash flesh from the skins and add it to the garlic. Mash with a fork until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.

Make a goat cheese and sage sauce Melt 4 Tbs. of the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the sage sprigs and cook until the butter is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Discard the sage. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and golden, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk and cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese, 1/2 cup of the pecorino, the nutmeg, 1 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Set aside 1-1/2 cups of the sauce and mix the rest with the mashed squash.

Season the breadcrumbs Melt the remaining 1 Tbs. butter in a small skillet over medium heat. In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, chopped sage, chopped thyme, a pinch of salt, and few grinds of pepper. Add the melted butter and mix well.

Assemble and bake the lasagne Spread 1/2 cup of the reserved cheese sauce over the bottom of a 9x13x3-inch baking dish. Cover the sauce with a slightly overlapping layer of cooked noodles, cutting them as needed to fill any gaps. Spread 1 cup of the squash mixture evenly over the noodles. Add another layer of noodles and repeat the layers as instructed above, to make a total of 4 squash layers and 5 pasta layers. Spread the remaining 1 cup cheese sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup pecorino.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top is browned and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

A Little Summer in the Winter

I know its freezing out and thoughts of summer are far off. I am really not the biggest fan of January and February. Its after the holidays and its below 30! Plus its hard to find a good piece of fruit. Apples are still good, and I hear its grapefruit season. Which I do like grapefruit! But I saw strawberries on sale this week and they actually looked really good! So I went for it and made a salad that I usually save for the summer. But I figured why not, when is the next time I might find strawberries that look this good!

 

Strawberry Balsamic Salad

Strawberries, sliced

Cucumbers, sliced then halved

Red Onion

Salt

Pepper

Sugar

Balsamic Vinegar

1. First slice the strawberries and put them in the bowl. Then toss them with about two teaspoons of sugar, like a couple of sprinkles. I wouldn’t use that “raw” sugar stuff. This does what’s called maceration a fancy way of saying you are encouraging the strawberries to release their juices!

2. Then add the red onion and cucumbers sliced. Toss with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. You can adjust these amounts to your liking. I usually go a little bit heavier on the pepper. Strawberries, pepper, and balsamic alone are pretty awesome….Feelin crazy? Put that over vanilla ice cream! Ummm minus the cucumber and onion of course!

Mmmm MInty

I have to say I am NOT the best baker. I think I may have said it before. I have even ruined brownies out of the box. I have definitely cried while trying to use a mixer or deal with dough of any kind! BUT....I am getting better! This holiday season I tried a couple of new baked goods, on my own! One success I had was a recipe I found through Pinterest (love it!). Peppermint Crumble bars...Okay I am not the biggest peppermint fan but I used milk chocolate peppermint bark instead of just white chocolate and I think they are much better that way. But this recipe was not too hard and to my surprise very good!

credit to:
http://www.somethingswanky.com/peppermint-crumble-bars/

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups white chocolate peppermint candy (like Andes peppermint bits)
• 1 - 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut the butter, sugar, and flour together until crumbly.
3. Press a little more than half of the crumble mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 lined baking dish.
4. In a medium saucepan over low heat, mix 1 cup of the white chocolate peppermint candy and the sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Pour over the crumb crust in the dish.
5. Sprinkle the remaining crumble and white chocolate peppermint candy evenly over top.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until edges begin to just barely brown.
7. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Watch Out Ursula!

Traditionally Italians break out the "seven fishes" tradition for Christmas Eve. Our family follows that somewhat. As the years go by people's tastes change and we are not eating the same fish as our grandparents! My dad took over the tradition of cooking Christmas Eve a couple of years ago. It is now his event and his "thing." While my mom, sisters, and I are busy prepping for the main event, Christmas Day, Bucky is dealing with the "fishes."

What makes this time so much fun is not only the cooking he does, but the annual Arthur Ave trip. He takes all the "men" to Arthur Ave in the Bronx to some real deal places! There they get all the fish, bread, meat, and antipasto fresh! They go early in the morning and have a blast! I love that my husband, Brian, now gets to take part of the tradition. But of course I am insanely jealous all morning long as they instagram photos!

Brian actually loves octopus haha! I know some people are totally freaked out. Katie and Danielle think its 100% gross! I know it looks creepy but if you can get over it, it is good! So I added a Octopus and Potato salad to the rotation for Brian. Turns out my grandmother and Kevin are into it as well! This recipe I adapted from Lidia Bastianich, who is the queen of Italian cooking!

• 1½ - 2 pounds octopus, cleaned
• 1 wine cork
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 medium Idaho potatoes, whole
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 Bermuda onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
• Lemon wedges for garnish

Directions

1. Place the octopus, wine cork, bay leaves, and salt and pepper in a large pot with water. Cover generously and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook the octopus at a vigorous simmer until tender but slightly al dente, about 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a second pot, cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook about 25 minutes, until just tender, then cool, peel, and cut them into 1" cubes.
3. Drain the octopus, discarding the bay leaves and cork. Cut the tentacles away where they join the head and, if desired, strip away the skin and suction cups by drawing the tentacles through the bunched fingers of one hand. Clean the octopus head by squeezing out the core with your fingers, and cut the meat into thin slices. Cut the tentacles into 1" pieces, and toss the octopus pieces with the warm potatoes. Toss in the olive oil, red wine vinegar, onion, and parsley. Place on a plate, garnish with lemon wedges and serve.