Photoshoot!

Here are the photos from my shoot with Dave & Melissa of Empire West Photo.

We had a great time shooting in the Tops Cooking School Kitchen, and Ali jumping in for a few photos with our matching aprons!

Thanks again to Dave and Melissa for your time and talents!

Check out their site to book your next photosession!!

Galette des Rois

I’ve been craving this Galette for a few weeks now… wondering where this sudden kick came from… then I realized that when we lived in France we had a Galette des Rois every year around this time.

A French Tradition to celebrate l’Epiphane, this holiday celebrates Christ being visited by Les Rois Mages (The Magi),  Three kings (Gaspard, Balthazar and Melchior).

The actual date is January 6th, the twelfth night, with a cake which literally translates to “The Kings Cake”. The cake contains a lucky charm (une fève) which originally was a bean, a symbol of fertility, now it’s often a charm made out of china or metal.  The charm can take any shape or form and can either be very plain, glazed or handpainted. It sometimes represents a religious figure such as the baby Jesus, but it can be virtually anything. Next time I’m at my parent’s I’ll take some pictures of the ones we’ve collected over the years!

The recipes vary, and honestly are nothing compared to the huge ones we got from the boulangerie in Chalon-sur-Saône. Yes we used to live in Burgundy France, hence my love for Red wine.

Our street came right up the left side of this photo into the courtyard. We used to eat Croissants at the cafe in the right side of the photo. sighhh.

At any rate, it’s a very flavorful Almond paste wrapped in a flaky golden delicious crust.

But it still was delish!! [don't worry I have extras for you Mom & Larissa ]

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

I know it’s been decades since I’ve posted! Can’t even believe how busy I’ve been! I have the photos from my latest shoot I’ll be posting soon (hold your horses!) The Knighthawks Lacrosse season has started, so I’m busy doing Promotional Modeling which is a BLAST! I’ve met some awesome girls, and of course doing it with my little/best friend Ali! I had to put-down my dear child… my 1996 Pathfinder, VERY VERY sad, but I have a new addition to my family with a shiny new Highlander, Mom has helped name it “Scottie” a very clever name… can any of you figure it out? and as a New Years resolution I’ve started studying for my Architect Registration Exams… So needless to say I’ve tried to get in my kitchen to do more than zap something in the microwave… hence these Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries! SO DARN EASY I’m almost embarrassed to post… but they’re sooo delicious and taste just like cheesecake that I have to spread the recipe along. You can definitely make the filling ahead, but don’t stuff them unless you will be serving that day, or else the strawberries could get a little soggy. I rolled them in crushed up Snickers bar, but you could dip them in chocolate, nuts, coconut, you get it… I also whipped in 3 Tablespoon’s of Hershey’s Cocoa Powder for chocolate ones… can’t even decide which ones I like better!

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries: Ingredients: ~2 dozen large strawberries, firm 12 oz cream cheese 2 tsp vanilla 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar 3 TBsp Cocoa Powder (opt) Topping: nuts, candy, choc, etc. Steps: Whip softened cream cheese, vanilla and sugar together for ~5 mins to get fluffy. Hull strawberries as deep as possible. Spoon filling into each one, then dip into chopped topping. Chill and serve! VOILA!

Scottie!!

Homemade Pasta – Perogies and Spinach Pasta Dish

Yes I’m alive!! I’m sure everyone’s been super busy with the mayhem of the holidays as well so you understand…

I had another photoshoot with Dave & Melissa of Empire West Photography .You can check out some shots on their site and I’m very excited to get the prints from them to post!!

My Mom has let me borrow her pasta maker… this is SO fun and incredibly flavorful. I encourage everyone to at least try it once, the only thing is it’s time-consuming… but the end results are LOADED with flavor and love.

I did a basic dough recipe and then added some other things. These recipes come by the thousands so everyone is different, and you end up tweaking a bit when you’re making it (too dry or too wet etc) At any rate, here is mine:

Basic Pasta Dough: Ingredients: 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup water 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 1 TBsp olive oil 1 to 2 tsp salt Steps: In large bowl, combine 1 cup flour and remaining ingredients. With mixer at low speed, beat 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. With wooden spoon, stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover dough and let rest 30 minutes. Makes 1 pound of dough Notes:  I added 1 TBsp garlic powder, 1 tsp cayenne and TONS of fresh ground pepper.

Note to self… get a pasta drying rack…

Obviously I tied some string to my cabinets to let the pasta dry… totally disregarding the fact I might have to access some things inside them…

After running the pasta through, hang to dry for one hour, throw/cook in boiling water approx. 5 mins. If you don’t let it dry cook for approx. 3 mins. I know it’s SUPER quick, so keep an eye on it and test them.

Pasta with Spinach & Sun-dried Tomatoes:  Ingredients: 1 LB Fettucine olive oil 8-10oz Sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped 10oz chopped spinach 8oz crumbled feta 6oz Kalamata Olives, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 to 1/2 cup toasted pinenuts or slivered almonds. Steps: Cook Pasta according to directions Meanwhile, On a medium skillet, warm some olive oil on med-low, throw in minced garlic for 2-3 mins (do not burn!) Then throw in chopped spinach, Sun-dried toms (reserve the oil) then kalamata olives. Cook ~10mins to allow the flavors to blend adding salt-n-pep as necessary. When pasta is done, drain and put back into pot. Stir in the spinach blend adding sun-dried oil reserve as necessary for consistency, then add feta to allow it to melt with heat from pasta. Then toss with the toasted nuts. Bon Appetito!

Perogie Filling:  compliments of Chris  Ingredients: 2.5 pounds of potatoes, cut and boiled 1 pint heavy cream warmed 1/2 cup sour cream warmed 4 tablespoons melted butter 1 table spoon parsley 2 strips cooked bacon diced 1/8 cup diced onion cooked/caramelized 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese Steps: Peel, cut and boil the potatoes until soft On Med heat, cook bacon and onions and set aside. In a saucepan on low, heat butter, sour cream and heavy cream, once heated add Parmesan cheese and stir while it melts Add parsley to the butter/cream/cheese mixture Drain potatoes and place back into pot After bacon and onions are cooked and sautéed, add them to potatoes along with the cream/parsley/cheese mixture mash until proper consistency. Serve as mashed potatoes, or allow it to cool for Perogie Filling.

Foodista Entries!

Hi All!

Along with millions of other bloggers… I’ve been asked to submit some posts into the Foodista contest in hopes to get published in “The Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook”

How it works is by votes, so I need your help!

Please click on the links below!

(You Can sign in with your Facebook account!)

Recipe Index Update!

Hi Everyone! I’ve updated the Recipe Index so it’s a bit easier to read and find things. It’s similar to a Restaurant Menu.

If you’re looking for something specific you can always type in the search bar and many things will pop-up! Remember to use the one to the right (not the top of the page)

As always, thanks for checking me out!

Photoshoot!

I’ve been wanting to get some pictures taken to help with my upcoming Cookbook titled “olio d’oliva” and the re-vamping (again) of my website.

I had the pleasure of having Candice take some shots in my kitchen. We were going for the 50’s retro housewife type of look, and as you can see my bright kitchen sure helps with that! Candice is also in the process of starting her website, Beautiful Day Photography.

I look forward to my upcoming photoshoot set up with Dave and Melissa of Empire West Photography  in a few weeks!

Here are some of my favorites from Candice:

Happy Thanksgiving!

GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

We enjoyed an amazing Thanksgiving dinner this year at my Sister and Brother-in-laws beautiful house. 20 LB bird + 16 hungry people + endless amounts of food = spectacular!!

Larissa did such a nice job decorating the house to get in the Christmas spirit, and we enjoyed eggnog and wine by the fire…. sigh… can I go back in time?

I was in charge of the desserts: Funfetti Cupcakes, Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, and Chocolate Sour Cream Cake… YUM

The Pumpkin pie was a HUGE hit so I thought I’d post the recipe even though Thanksgiving is over…

Pumpkin Pie: Ingredients: 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground cloves 2 large eggs 1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree 1 (12oz) can evaporated milk 1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie pastry whipped cream/cool whip Steps: Preheat oven to 425F Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated Milk pour into pie shell Bake 15 mins. Reduce temp to 350F, bake 40-50 mins or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate Top with whipped cream! Try to bake the day you will serve the pie. Cooking in advance can make the crust soggy. Just pop the pie in the oven for 5-10 and it’ll harden up again!

 

Team Holiday Party ~ Spicy Cheese Stuffed Shells & Bella Chicken

We had an awesome spread of food for our Team Holiday party a few weeks ago. I dished up these Vegetarian Cheesy shells and made my Mother’s Bella Chicken recipe as well. I think we had about 4 different versions of Taco Dip which was hilarious, but it’s soooo good so we sure ate them up!

I would have added fresh garlic and onion to the shells, and just sautéed them before, but I was trying to make this easy. It’s definitely an option in the future!

Spicy Cheese Stuffed Shells: Ingredients: ~2 LBs Jumbo shells 2 cups shredded Mozzarella 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 10pz chopped spinach, drained 32 oz whole milk ricotta 2 TBsp crushed red pepper 1 TBsp cayenne 1 TBsp garlic powder 1 TBsp dried basil 1 TBsp dried oregano 1 TBsp dried thyme 1/2 – 1 TBsp salt 1 TBsp fresh ground pepper Steps: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add jumbo shells and cook till all dente. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients into a large bowl. Line a baking dish with fresh marinara sauce, place stuffed shells in bottom. Top with more fresh sauce and cheese. Bake 350F for 20 mins. If making ahead of time, line baking dish with sauce but pour sauce on when ready to bake. Bake 350F for 35-45 mins.

The Bella chicken is also a great recipe of my Mother’s. This was my first time trying it, and between all the food I was making for the party, my photo shoot with Candice and Thanksgiving I was trying to make things ahead of time and as quickly as possible.  The Chicken breasts from Wegmans are so thick that I was able to get 4 portions out of one pieces… MAN that’s a lot of food! In the future.. I would make everything the day of and not try and cook half in your oven and finish cooking in the oven at the party… WHOPS!

Girls seemed to like it since there was only one measly piece left!

Bella Chicken: Ingredients: Juice from 1 lemon 1 cup butter, melted 8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves salt-n-pepper to taste 1-1/2 cups Dijon Mustard 6 TBsp freshly chopped chives (or 3 TBsp of dried) 1 tsp basil 2 cups Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs Steps: Stir lemon juice and 1 TBsp of water into melted butter. Set aside until slightly congealed. Spinkle Chicken with salt-n-pep In a bowl, mix mustard, chives and basil. With a pastry brush, coat both sides of chicken with mustard. Roll chicken in breadcrumbs; place pieces in an oiled, shallow pan. Pour butter mixture over chicken and bake 350F for 1 hour. After 30 mins, baste chicken and turn over for even browning.

Cornbread Panzanella Salad

This is an awesome and easy Giada recipe, aka my idol… Chris made it on Sunday and we think next time it needs more olive oil… I practically drink that stuff and perhaps using shredded fontina.

It’s EASY and has a nice fresh bite with the lemon and basil. I might chop things down a little more next time so I can fit more flavors in my mouth at one time!

Cornbread Panzanella Salad: Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis  Ingredients: 8 oz cornbread cut into cubes (~2 cups) 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 cup fontina cheese, cubed 1/2 cup cubed cucumber 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 lemon, juiced and zested 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground pepper Steps: Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Toss gently to combine. Place in a serving bowl and serve.