Snicker Doodle Cookies

I am so awful at this blogging thing because I don't post things as I make them. Shame on me. Anyways when I was looking for the cauliflower recipe I came across this Snicker Doodle recipe that I made about a month ago when we were going out on the lake with some friends. I wanted to make something that could stand up to the heat (no chocolate) and these sounded good. They were actually very good and moist. I know I've made and had these kind of cookies in the past and they were not as good as these. So here's another keeper...
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1710,146172-252203,00.html

Pear Crumb Coffee Cake

Every time I go to the grocery store with both kids in tow I go through the produce aisle to hopefully spark their interest in trying new things. If it were up to them they would live on blueberries, bananas, and melons. We typically buy a few of something my 4 yr old daughter says she has to have and then they sit and go bad in the fruit basket. So this was one of those occassions where I had 2 very ripe pears sitting in the basket waiting to be tossed and I decided to look up some recipes. Lucky for me I came across this recipe for Pear Crumb Coffee Cake http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,226,153180-234201,00.html because it is a definite keeper! I went by the recipe except I was nearly out of regular all purpose flour so I used cake flour. On the box of cake flour it says for every cup of regular flour a recipe calls for to add in 1 cup + 2 tbsp cake flour. So I made that adjustment. Then for the crumble on top I used the remaining all purpose flour I had left on hand. I'm not sure if the cake flour made it better but it was delicious! The cake was fluffy and moist and the crumble on top was heavenly! Enjoy!

4th of July Trifle

Being in the holiday spirit and my never-ending desire to try new things I saw a Food Network Facebook post on a Red White and Blue Trifle. I didn't exactly love their recipe so I searched on cooks.com to see what I could find and then looked to Pinterest to see what other ideas were out there. I came across this one on Pinterest and thought it would be good with a few modifications. Here is the recipe I based my recipe around: http://heylittlemother.com/2012/05/24/perfect-patriotic-dessert-red-white-and-blue-trifle/

The trifle was a HUGE hit and I will definitely make it again in the future!

What you'll need:

• 1 large tub Cool Whip (refrigerated not frozen)
• 1 8 oz container sour cream
• 1 small package instant cheesecake pudding mix
• 1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups milk
• 1 can pineapple chunks (that's what I had on hand)
• 1 round angel food cake (I found a round angel food cake near strawberries in HEB but you could improvise and use a loaf cake and make it work the same)
• 1 large container strawberries
• 1 large container blueberries

What you'll do:

• Clean, hull, and slice strawberries (lengthwise to make them pretty like in the photos below)
• Clean blueberries and sift through them to make sure the stems are removed and any yucky ones are taken out.
• In a large bowl whisk together Cool Whip, sour cream, and both pudding mixes. Mixture will be thick.
• Whisk in milk until mixture is smooth.
• Whisk in 1/2 cup pineapple juice from can then strain pineapples of any excess juice and stir into mixture. (If I had a can of diced pineapples I would have used that instead but I only had the big chunks on hand.)
• Take round angel food cake and cut horizontally into 3 rings.
• Line the bottom of the trifle dish with sliced strawberries and then place slices around the bottom sides of the bowl.
• Place top ring of angel food cake in dish. I broke the ring kind of overlapped it a bit to get it to fit without messing up the strawberries around the dish.
• Pour some of the pudding mixture over the cake and around the sides of the dish so you have about 1/2-1 inch of white showing.
• Top the pudding with blueberries. Sprinkle around and then be sure to place all around edge of bowl so you can see them on the outside.
• Now you repeat the layers a second time (strawberries, angel food cake, pudding mixture, blueberries)
• Depending on how deep your dish is you can add more strawberries/blueberries/pudding until you get to the top and the top should be the pudding mixture so you can decorate on top of it as you choose. See pictures below for how I finished it off.
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or more until served.

IWAD #11- Friendly Neighbors

This IWAD was special because my mom was spending a few days with us. Mark was out of town for work and my mom came to spend a few days with my daughter and I to keep us company while he was gone. Mark dislkes mushrooms so I decided I would knock out a dish with mushrooms in it while he was gone. That's why this weeks dinner was "Chicken Marsala with Fettuccine". For dessert I used those amerreti cookies that Brandy found and made "Mocha Semifreddo Terrine".

The chicken marsala was to be cooked in a slow cooker. Well, I don't have a slow cooker, but I do have a crock pot. I assumed they were the same thing. Before my mom came up I called her and asked her to bring her slow cooker with her. Well, she brought her crock pot. I'm still not sure that they are the same thing, but that's what I used and it worked. If any of you reading this have not cooked with cremini mushrooms you are in for a treat with this dish. A few years ago I made a homemade fresh green bean casserole that called for cremini mushrooms and it was the best green bean casserole I had ever eaten. This marsala dish was good as well. For some reason the sauce didn't thicken up as much as I thought it should have, but it was still a pretty good dish.

For the dessert I made the "Mocha Semifreddo Terrine" in the morning because it had to freeze for at least 8 hours. Before I make a dessert of any kind I normally get out all of the ingredients ahead of time. The last thing I went to get out was the eggs. For some reason I thought I had a full dozen eggs in the refrigerator. Well, I only had 5! Oh no! I needed 3 more eggs and didn't have time to waste so this would be ready by dinner time. My mom persuaded me to go next door and ask the neighbor for 3 eggs. This is not something I would normally do, but I walked outside and luckily my neighbor was outside and I asked if he had 3 eggs I could have and he did! So, I had all of my eggs. This dessert was very good in my opinion. My mother enjoyed it as well. Brandy was not a big fan though. Between the 3 of us we had more than half of the dessert left over. I decided to pay my neighbor back for their 3 eggs and took them the remaining dessert. They said it was very good. Think of it as tasting like a tiramisu ice cream with an ameretto crust. Yummy!

"Chicken Marsala with Fettuccine"

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup marsala wine
• 2 packages (6 ounces each) sliced cremini mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 8 ounces uncookd fettuccine
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
  
  Slow Cooker Directions:

1. Coat slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until translucent. Add marsala; cook 2 to 3 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in mushrooms, broth and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over chicken. Cover; cook on HIGH 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
3. Transfer chicken to cutting board; cover and let stand. Blend cream and cornstarch in small bowl until smooth; stir into cooking liquid. Cover; cook 15 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to large serving bowl. Slice chicken breasts andplace on pasta. Top with sauce; sprinkle with parsley.

"Mocha Semifreddo Terrine"

• 1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 2 1/2 cups (4 ounces) ameretti cookies (about 35 cookies)
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 8 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 cup whipping cream

1. Dissolve espresso powder in boiling water; set aside
2. Line 9x5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap. Place cookies and cocoa powder in food processor. Process until cookies are finely ground. Add butter; process until well combined. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Place in freezer while preparing custard.
3. Whisk egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in top of double boiler or medium metal bowl. Stir in cooled espresso mixture. Place over simmering water. Cook 4 to 5 minutes or until mixture thickens, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; place bowl in pan of ice water. Whisk mixture 1 minute. Let stand in ice water 5 minutes or until cooled to room temperature, whisking occasionally.
4. Beat cream and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in large bowl with electrick mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into cooled custard. Spread mixture over crust in pan. Cover tightly; freeze until firm, at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours before serving.
5. To serve, invert terrine onto serving plate; remove plastic wrap. Cut into slices. Serve on chilled plates.

IWAD #10- Turkey in August

So, last Monday night after IWAD Brandy called me from Hawaii and told me she saw an ad on craigslist for a soux chef. At first I was like, really?! How weird! Then I got what she was saying! She was coming home! So, then I played along and asked when she could start and she said tomorrow! If I had known I would have waited, but this wee she's back, but unfortunately Mark is gone overseas for work. I can't wait for us to all enjoy an IWAD night together again! Next week my Mom will be joining Brandy and I, so I am pretty excited about that! We'll have to make something extra special!

Last night I made "Turkey Piccata" with white rice for the entree and for dessert...yep, I had all of the ingredients and we had "Orange Granita with Balsamic and Mint Strawberries". It is pretty obvious that not many people are intersested in eating turkey in August because at the grocery store there were 4 turkey breasts on the shelf. I have personally never bought turkey breasts, but really? 4? Anyways, they were down to 2 after I snatched up 2 for myself. Remember a while back I made "Chicken Piccata"? Well, this turkey one has nothing on that delicious chicken one! This one is defnitely easier, but I would go the hard route and make the chicken instead. It was good, but not great.

As for the dessert- I thought it was very good. I have to admit that I was a bit leary of the idea of eating strawberried marinated in balsamic vinegar, but it was actually a really good combination with the sweetness of the granita. I could have done without the mint leaves if there is a way to get the mint flavor without the actual leaves I would go that route. The orange granita was pretty easy to make, but I found that it melted very quickly and turned the dessert into a strawberry soup. Anyways, it's worth trying!

"Turkey Piccata"

• 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound turkey breast, cut into short strips
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• Grated peel of 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 cups cooked rice (optional)

Slow Cooker Directions

1. Combine flour, salt and pepper in resealable food storage bag. Add turkey strips and shake well to coat. Heat butter and oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey strips; brown on all sides. Arrange in single layer in slow cooker.
2. Pour broth into skillet; cook 2 minutes, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Pour into slow cooker. Add lemon peel and juice. Cover; cook on LOW 2 hours. Sprinkle with parsley before serving. Serve over rice, if desired.

"Orange Granita with Balsamic and Mint Strawberries"

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cups Florida orange juice, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (optional)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 3 tablespoons fresh mint, cut into long, thin strips
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1. Place sugar, 1/4 cup orange juice and pepper, if desired, in small saucepan; bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups orange juice and lemon juice.
2. Pour mixture into 13x9-inch shallow pan and place in freezer.
3. Every few minutes, stir and scrape mixture with spoon to create an icy texture. This pocedure takes about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on freezer temperature.
4. Combine strawberries, mint and balsamic vinegar in small bowl; marinate while granita freezes.
5. To serve, place 2 ounces granita in individual dessert bowls; top with 3 ounces strawberry mixture.

IWAD #7 - Dedicated to My Love

This week we had a Tuesday night IWAD because I had a dinner planned with some girlfriends for Monday night. I had a menu planned of "Caponata", "Veal Parmesan", "Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Roasted Pepper Tomato Sauce", and "Mocha Semifreddo Terrine". The dessert, however, was changed to "Chocolate Espresso Panini's" as described below.

Starting with the "Caponata" appetizer. This is one of those appetizers in this cookbook that I wouldn't typically make because I'm not a big eggplant fan. I decided to make it anyways so I could try it. I started it yesterday around noon because it has to slow cook for 7 to 8 hours. I actually didn't think it was that bad. All of the ingredients kind of melded together and it tasted pretty good. It was different, not bad, but probably something I won't make again. Very easy though and would be great for parties!

For the entree I went with "Veal Parmesan". This is one of my husbands favorite dishes and he orders it out frequently when we eat Italian. I have tried it off of his plate, but I'm more of a Chicken Parmesan fan and I have made that before. I had no idea where I could buy veal though. When I went to my normal grocery store of course they didn't have it, but told me to go to the bigger HEB Plus because they have a meat counter and should carry it. So, Brandy and I went to the grocery store together later that night to see if they had it and they did, but we went at 11pm and the meat counter closed at 9pm. I'll have to make another trip, but that's okay at least we found it! So, I got the veal and it turned out to be pretty easy to make and was very yummy! I think my husband approved :)

The pasta I went with was "Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Roasted Pepper Tomato Sauce". This too was very yummy! I got everything prepared and Brandy put it all together. It also went very good with the "Veal Parmesan". The recipe tells you how to make roasted peppers, but it also says you can substitute jarred roasted peppers and I went with the jarred kind. Not sure it makes any difference and it was easier! Very easy and yummy pasta dish!

For the dessert I was planning to make "Mocha Semifreddo Terrine". However, in order to make this recipe you need ameretti cookies. I had 3 employees looking for these cookies with me at my HEB. They also told me to try HEB Plus. Maybe I should just start going there to begin with! Well, when Brandy and I went to HEB plus at 11pm to look for veal, we looked for these cookies as well. A nice guy that worked there assisted us in our search. Unfortunately, we couldn't find them either. So, I knew of another dessert in the cookbook that all I needed was chocolate-hazelnut spread. I asked the nice guy if he had that and he showed me where it was. Next to the "Nutella" chocolate-hazelnut spread were the jellies and I noticed this jalapeno jelly that Brandy really loves, so she picks it up. So here are Brandy and I walking up the this nice Asian guy cashier at 11pm with Nutella and jalapeno jelly. He had the nerve to ask us if we had bread?! It was very funny and we all got a good laugh out of it.

Anyways, so we made "Chocolate Espresso Panini's" instead and they were delicious. I'm not sure where Nutella has been hiding from me, but wow is it good! AND...Brandy found ameretti cookies and I'll be making that other dessert soon. Unfortunately, my soux chef will be out of town and I'll be working solo for a few weeks :(

"Caponata"

• 1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 can (about 14 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup packed fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
• Toasted Italian or French Bread slices

1. Combine eggplant, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, salsa, oil, capers, vinegar, garlic, oregano and salt in slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 7 to 8 hours or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
2. Stir in basil. Serve at room temperature with toasted bread.

"Veal Parmesan"

• 1/2 cup CONTADINA Italian Bread Crumbs
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound thin veal cutlets
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can (8 ounces) CONTADINA Tomato Sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
• Addional grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Combine bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese in shallow dish. Dip veal into egg; coat with crumb mixture.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add veal; cook until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Place veal on ovenproof platter; top with mozzarella cheese.
3. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
4. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in medium saucepan. Add onion and garlic; saute until tender.
5. Stir in tomato sauce ansd oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes or until heated through. Serve sauce over veal. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

"Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Roasted Pepper Tomato Sauce"

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Roasted Peppers (recipe follows),* chopped
• 1 can (about 14 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile flakes or red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti, cooked and drained
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  
  *Or substitute 3 jarred roasted red bell peppers.

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Add Roasted Peppers; cook 2 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, salt, oregano, chile flakes and black pepper. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes. Serve over spaghetti; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
   
   Roasted Peppers: Place 3 red bell peppers on a stovetop over and open flame or 4 inches from heat in broiler. Turn frequently to blacken all sides, using long-handled tongs. Transfer to a paper bag, shut the bag and set it aside for 30 minutes to 1 hour to loosen the skin. Scrape off the blackened skin with a paring knife.

"Chocolate Espresso Panini"

• 2 tablespoons chocolate-hazelnut spread
• 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 2 slices rustic Italian bread
• Butter-flavored cooking spray

1. Preheat indoor grill.* Combine chocolate spread and espresso powder in small bowl; mix well. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over 1 slice bread; top with second slice.
2. Spray sandwich lightly with cooking spray. Grill 2 to 3 minutes or until bread is golden brown.
   *Panini can also be made on the stove in a ridge grill pan or in a nonstick skillet. Cook sandwich over medium heat about 2 minutes per side.

IWAD #5 - Fancy Nancy

This week was a little different. I had an appointment Monday, so IWAD was going to have to be changed to either Sunday or Tuesday for this week. On Sunday we decided to go ahead and do it. So I went shopping to buy all of the ingredients for the appetizer "Marinated Antipasto", the main course of "Classic Fettuccine Alfredo" and "Shrimp Scampi", and the dessert "Nancy's Tiramisu".

First was the "Marinated Antipasto"...pretty self explanatory. There was nothing special about it (except the mozzarella cheese balls). For people that like olives, quartered artichokes, and tomatoes this is probably a very good appetizer, but for me who likes none of those it was blah. It is very easy though and would be a great appetizer for parties.

The main course included two of my very favorite Italian foods: "Shrimp Scampi" and "Classic Fettucini Alfredo". Of course I cannot go shopping for these meals without encountering some problems. First of all, my HEB didn't have any peeled and deveined shrimp. The lady says "we're completely out right now". Hmmm...Do you have any frozen? She replies "Nope, we're all out". Um, does that mean that all HEB's are out right now. "No". Um...Can you call them for me? "Oh, sure, would you like me too?" Okay, now I'm not exactly the most patient person as many people can attest, but really?! This lady was driving me crazy! Anyways, I left my shopping cart of groceries at that HEB and went to another one nearby that had the damn shrimp.

So, shrimp...check! Now, where the hell do I find clarified butter for the fettuccini? In the cookbook it does say how to make clarified butter, but surely they sell it at the grocery store pre-clarified? Nope, it turns out they don't, or I'm blind and the HEB employees didn't know what they were talking about. With that said, I took a stab at making clarified butter with the margarine I had on hand and I guess margarine won't clarify? Hell if I know, but I'm not really sure if it mattered in the recipe anyways. We used unclarified margarine. Both the "Shrimp Scampi" and the "Classic Fettuccine Alfredo" turned out pretty delicious!

And then...the dessert! "Nancy's Tiramisu"! Well, I don't typically order dessert out at Italian restaurants unless I'm pregnant and can't have wine with my dinner, which I consider my dessert. And when you are pregnant you can't have Tiramisu anyways because it has alcohol in it. Therefore, I have probably tried Tiramsu once or twice. Now, Tiramisu is a multistep process and takes a little bit of time and patience, but it is really not that hard to make. It did help, however, to have both Brandy and I making it together. While I combined the egg yolk and sugar and double boiled the mixture for 10 minutes, Brandy was busy beating the whipping cream "to soft peaks". One thing I would have done ahead of time in hindsight was to make the espresso so it could be chilled. I do have an espresso machine, but it hasn't been working right so I bought some instant espresso. I was very worried about this because I don't like instant coffee at all and I wondered how this would taste. (I even thought about going into Starbucks to ask them for 1 3/4 cups of espresso...what would they have thought of that?!) Anyways, the brand I bought was "Medaglia D'Oro" Instant Espresso Coffee. We made it, added some ice to it, then put it in the freezer to chill for a few minutes.

Next step, dip the ladyfingers into the espresso/brandy mixture (we didn't use grappa) and place in casserole dish. (On a side note, HEB does carry ladyfingers at the refrigerated bakery section of the store). It even tells you to do it quickly because the ladyfingers dissolve quickly. Well, I attempted it first. Failed. It completely fell apart and disentegrated. Okay, try number 2...place on fork...dip...same result. Brandy insisted on taking a stab at it too...quite literally :) She thought she'd try to do it very quickly and for visual purposes imagine someone very large doing a cannon bomb off of a diving board. Yep, those poor little ladyfingers were forced right into that espresso/brandy mixture and made a huge mess. It was quite funny though (and Brandy got her try...glad I didn't give in and let her try to separate the egg yolks from the whites too). So, forget dipping them. We layered them in the dish and poured half of the espresso over them, then after layering (as in the directions) we did it again.

As it turns out, maybe whoever Nancy is has a great Tiramisu recipe, and it tasted delicious, but she could have made it easier from the get go if she would have just told us to layer them and pour rather than dip.

"Marinated Antipasto"

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pint (2 cups) cherry tomatoes
• 1 can (14 ounces) quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 8 ounces small balls or cubes fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup drained pitted kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup sliced fresh basil leaves
• Lettuce leaves

1. Whisk oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Add tomatoes, artichokes, mozzarella cheese, olives and basil; toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
2. Line platter with lettuce. Arrange tomato mixture ofver lettuce; serve at room temperature.

"Classic Fettuccine Alfredo"

• 12 ounces uncooked fettuccine
• 2/3 cup whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Generous dash white pepper
• Generous dash ground nutmeg
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

1. Cook past according to package directions. Drain well; cover and keep warm in saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, heat cream and butter in large heavy skillet over medium-low heat until butter melts and mixture bubbles, stirring frequently. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in Parmesan cheese until well blended and smooth. Return to heat until cheese is melted, if necessary. (Do not let sauce bubble or cheese will become lumpy and tough.)
3. Pour sacue over past. Cook and stir over low heat 2 to 3 minutes or until sauce thickens and pasta is evenly coated. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

"Shrimp Scampi"

• 1/3 cup clarified butter (see Tip)
• 2 to 4 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 1/2 pounds large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Salt and black pepper
• Lemon wedges (optional)

1. Heat clarified butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes or until softened but not brown. Add shrimp, green onions, wine and lemon juice; cook 2 to 4 minutes or until shrimp are pink and opaque, stirring occasionally.
2. Add parsley; season with salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

• Tip- To clarify butter, melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Skim off the white foam that forms on top, then strain the clear butter through cheesecloth. Discard cheesecloth and the milky residue at the bottom of the pan. Clarified butter will keep, covered, in the refrigerator fur up to 2 months.

"Nancy's Tiramisu"

• 6 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups mascarpone cheese
• 1 3/4 cups whipping cream, beaten to soft peaks
• 1 3/4 cups cold espresso or strong brewed coffee
• 3 tablespoons brandy
• 3 tablespoons grappa (optional)
• 4 packages (3 ounces each) ladyfingers
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Beat egg yolks and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale yellow. Place in top of double boiler over simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly, 10 minutes. Combine yolk mixture and mascarpone cheese in large bowl; beat with electric mixer at low wpeed until well blended and fluffy. Fold in whipped cream. Set aside.
2. Combine espresso, brandy and grappa, if desired, in medium bowl. Dip ladyfingers individually into espresso mixture and arrange side by side in single layer in 13x9-inch baking dish. (Dip ladyfingers into mixture quickly or they will absorb too much liquid and fall apart.)
3. Spread half of mascarpone mixture evenly over ladyfinger layer. Sift 1 tablespoon cocoa over mascarpone layer. Repeat with another layer of 24 ladyfingers dipped in espresso mixture. Cover with remaining mascarpone mixture. Sift remaining 1 tablespoon cocoa over top. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

IWAD #4 - Read, Re-Read, and Re-Re-Read Labels!

Last night dinner started off with "Asiago Toasts". All I can say about this is DELICIOUS! It's a pretty basic recipe, but I think using fresh herbs in cooking makes a very big difference in the taste. I don't typically use many fresh herbs in my daily cooking, except for the pre-minced garlic in a jar (that's fresh isn't it?). This particular recipe gives the option of using fresh or dried oregano, and optional parsley. I think the outcome of this dish was so good because these were both included fresh. One thing I was wondering while making this was how to measure fresh herbs. When it asks for 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano leaves does that measurement mean pre-chopped or post-chopped because there is a big difference. I have decided that it means post-chopped, meaning you chop up the herbs then measure how much you need.

For the main entree we had "Chicken Piccata" with "Risotto alla Milanese". As I always do on Monday mornings I went grocery shopping for all of the ingredients that I didn't have on hand. There were only a couple of things I needed to pick up including saffron. I have never used saffron before, but I have seen it used on TV cooking shows. I searched the spice aisle at HEB and couldn't find it. I asked an employee for help and he couldn't find it either. We went to the fresh herbs and asked another employee there and he said it was in the spice aisle so we went back. He found it for us...$15! I debated on it and decided I couldn't skip out on something that was a key ingredient in this risotto (plus there was a $1 off coupon...still crazy, I know).

So, Brandy started on the risotto and I started on the chicken. Some things you must know is that Brandy is not a very organized person and we don't necessarily agree on everything in the kitchen. Since I had already made a risotto I thought it would be good for her to take a stab at it too. She doesn't read directions very carefully and even though I had told her that I had already heated the chicken stock for her on the stove she grabbed the can I was supposed to use to make the sauce for the chicken. I saw her just in time and she had only used 1/4 cup of my chicken stock, so no harm done because I only needed 3/4 cup. For some reason I was thinking the can held 1 cup instead of the 2 cups it actually holds.

Brandy continued the monotonous stirring and adding more broth to the risotto and I was working on the chicken. After cooking the chicken in the pan you add the garlic, then the flour/salt/pepper mixture, then you add the chicken stock and lemon juice. For some reason I thought I only had 3/4 cup of stock left in the can and added the whole 1 3/4 cups of chicken stock and lemon juice to the pan. Why didn't I read the label again?! I ruined it!! That's what I thought anyways. I decided to add another tablespoon of flour because I have done this before when trying to make gravy thicker. You must whisk it like a mad woman though to break up the flour chunks. I am still devastated thinking that I totally ruined it and Brandy (being the calm person she is) suggested we just double up on everything else that goes into it. So we added another tablespoon of lemon juice and doubled up on the capers (2 tablespoons), but left the parsley at 2 tablespoons. Well, I'm not sure what it would have tasted like if it were by the recipe, but this "Chicken Piccata" turned out delicious! The risotto turned out okay, but was pretty salty (and we didn't add any additional salt/pepper at the end). I'm not even sure what the saffron did for the dish, if anything. I'm thinking it would have been better if we used low sodium chicken stock to cut back on the saltiness.

For dessert was the bread pudding. The recipe is actually "Panetonne Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce". I have come to find out that panetonne bread is only available during Thanksgiving and Christmas. I do plan to make this again when I can find some of this bread, but after a lot of searching I gave up and decided I would just use some french bread instead. That was probably a big mistake for this recipe. The bread pudding was okay at best. I have made bread pudding before that is much better than this one was, but like I said, it may be much better with the correct bread being used.

On a side note, I did purchase a frozen Vanilla Pound Cake and plan to try the "Limoncello Strawberry Dessert" out again soon!

"Asiago Toasts"

• 1/3 cup HELLMANN'S or BEST FOODS Mayonnaise Dressing with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used Hellmann's Low Fat version)
• 1 cup shredded Asiago or Parmesan-Reggiano cheese (I used Asiago)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)
• 1/2 French baguette, cut into 18 slices

1. In small bowl, combine all ingredients except baguette.
2. On baking sheet, arrange baguette slices in a single layer; spread cheese mixture. Broil until cheese is melted and golden, about 3 minutes.

"Chicken Piccata"

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained

1. Combine flour, salt and pepper in shallow dish. Reserve 1 tablespoon flour mixture.
2. Pound chicken between weaxed paper to 1/2-inch thickness. (I buy the thin chicken breasts so you don't have to do this). Coat chicken with remaining flour mixture, shaking off excess.
3. Heat oil and butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 4 to 5 minutes per side or until no longer pink in center. Transfer to serving platter; cover loosely with foil.
4. Add garlic to same skillet; cook and stir 1 minute. Add reserved flour mixture; cook and stir 1 minute. Add broth and lemon juice; cook 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently. (I recommend using a whisk for stirring) Stir in parsley and capers; spoon sauce over chicken.

"Risotto alla Milanese"

• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 generous pinch saffron threads, ground to a powder
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and black pepper

1. Bring broth to a boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; keep warm.
2. Heat butter and oil in deep saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot; cook and stir 30 seconds or just until beginning to brown.
3. Add rice; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until edges of rice become translucent. Add wine and saffron; cook and stir until wine evaporates.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1/2 cup broth, stirring constantly until broth is absorbed. Repeat until all broth is used. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

"Panetonne Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce"

• 1/2 (2 pound) loaf panetonne bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (8 cups)
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cups half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Caramel ice cream topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 11x7-inch baking dish.
2. Arrange bread cubes in dish. Combine eggs and sugar in large bowl; whisk in half-and-half, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Pour mixture over bread, pressing down to moisten top. Let stand 15 minutes.
3. Bake 40-45 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with caramel topping.

IWAD #3 - Beware of Limoncello!

Last night was another Monday, which meant another night of Italian cooking (and wine drinking). I went shopping for all of the ingredients in the morning so I would be well prepared and overcome any obstacles that I may encounter (as in my pizzelle fiasco). Our appetizer for the night was "Fried Calamari with Tartar Sauce". I have to admit that I was very nervous about making this. Even though I love eating Fried Calamari out at restaurants, making it was a whole different story. I kept wondering if the grocery store I go to would even have squid. I was dreading cutting it up into those little rings and chopping off the head. Actually, I'm not even sure what real squid look like, other than watching the Giant Squid show on the Discovery Channel. Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my grocery store (HEB) had frozen bags of pre-cut calamari rings. I also had never deep fried anything before EVER! This meant picking up a deep frying thermometer as well which I was very excited the store had.

One thing that surprises me about this cookbook I am using is the difficult easiness it has about it (if that even makes sense). Let me explain. Some of the recipes sound so complex, yet turn out to be fairly easy. Here, I am referring to the Tartar Sauce. Now, I am well aware that you can buy a jar of tartar sauce pre-made, but this recipe asks you to buy mayonnaise to make your own tartar sauce. Am I the only one that thinks that is silly? Shouldn't it be asking me to make the mayonnaise to then turn into the Tartar Sauce? Well, I made the Tartar Sauce earlier in the day and forgot about it in the refrigerator until 1/2 the Calamari was gone, but it was good. I guess after all of this rambling on I should tell you that the "Fried Calamari with Tartar Sauce" turned out delicious and I would recommend everyone afraid of trying it to try it! The only thing I added to the recipe (because of preference and disliking tartar sauce in general) was a small 8 oz can of tomato sauce w/basil, garlic, and oregano (heated) for dipping along side the tartar sauce. YUMMO!

For the main course we had "Skillet Pasta Roma". This is a very good dish of noodles, italian sausage, and tomatoes. A pretty uneventful dish I must say. Essentially, all you do is put everything in a deep skillet and 30 minutes later it's ready. I felt like I was making a upscale hamburger helper! The only thing I did differently was use Fusilli pasta rather than Rotini because that's what the picture in the book shows. And yes, to those of you who know me and are wondering, I DID put onions in this. I dislike onions very much, but surprisingly when they are cooked down in this dish you don't even notice them. I also added the optional mushrooms (cremini's) and grated Parmesan on top.

And then we got to dessert. You know, maybe dessert just isn't my forte! This "Limoncello Strawberry Dessert" was nearly inedible. It is probably my fault, but I thought I was getting the right ingredients. Let me tell you all that Angel Food Cake is NOT Pound Cake! This recipe calls for Pound Cake (another one of those things that I felt guilty not making myself, as the Mayo incident above) and for some reason Angel Food Cake is what I thought of, so that's what I bought. Hey, the picture looks like a Strawberry Shortcake. I'm really not sure it would have made a difference, but that Limoncello, Italian Lemon Liquor, was way too overwhelming for the rest of the ingredients. It has a very stout liquor flavor! It then made sense that it is 30% alcohol. I do plan to try it with Pound Cake soon and will update you on the results.

"Fried Calamari with Tartar Sauce"

• 1 pound cleaned squid (body tubes, tentacles or a combination), rinsed and patted dry
• 3/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Vegetable oil
• Lemon wedges (optional)
• Recipe for Tartar Sauce following

1. Prepare Tartar Sauce; set aside. I made this early in the day and refrigerated it until use. Line baking sheet with waxed paper. Cut squid into 1/4 inch rings.
2. Spread bread crumbs on plate. Beat egg and milk in small bowl. Add squid; stir to coat well. Transfer squid to bread crumbs; toss to coat. Place on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
3. Heat 1 1/2 inches oil in large heavy saucepan to 350 degrees; adjust heat to maintain temperature of oil. Fry squid in batches, 8-10 pieces at a time, 45 seconds or until golden brown. (Squid will pop and spatter during frying; do not stand too close to saucepan.) Do not overcook squid or it will become tough. Remove with slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.
4. Serve immediately with Tartar Sauce and lemon wedges, if desired.

"Tartar Sauce"

• 1 1/3 cups mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon drained capers, minced
• 1 small sweet gherkin or pickle, minced

1. Combine all ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Cover; refrigerate until ready to serve.

"Skillet Pasta Roma"

• 1/2 pound Italian sausage, sliced or crumbled
• 1 large onion, coarsley chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano
• 1 can (8 ounces) Tomato Sauce
• 1 cup water
• 8 ounces uncooked rotini or other spiral pasta (Fusilli)
• 8 mushroooms, sliced (optional)
• Grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley sprigs (optional)

1. Brown sausage in large skillet. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is soft; drain. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, water and pasta.
2. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 25-30 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in mushrooms, if desired; simmer 5 minutes. Serve in skillet garnished with cheese and parsley, if desired.

"Limoncello Strawberry Dessert"

• 1 pound strawberries
• 1 cup limoncello (Italian lemon liqueur), divided
• 1 (10 ounce) pound cake, cut into 8 slices
• Sweetened whipped cream
• Shaved chocolate
• Fresh mint leaves (optional)

1. Stem and slice strawberries. Set aside 2 cups sliced strawberries. Coarsley chop remaining strawberries; transfer to medium bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons limoncello; let stand about 10 minutes.
2. Place 2 slices cake on each of 4 dessert plates. Drizzle 1 tablespoon limoncello over each slice.
3. Combine sliced and marinated strawberries. Evenly divide strawberry mixture over cake. Top with dollop of whipped cream. Sprinkle with chocolate. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve with remaining limoncello.

IWAD #2- Yummy Risotto!!

I had so been waiting for this IWAD night! Last night we made another 3 course dinner! It started with "Asparagus & Prosciutto Antipasto". YUMMY! I even taught Brandy a new technique when cooking asparagus. I do watch The Food Network on TV quite often and they all do this! After rinsing the asparagus under cold water to clean it, hold each end and bend it slightly. It will automatically break at a certain point. That is where you should cut the spears to get rid of the hard ends. While munching on our appetizer we started the main course of "Risotto Bolognese". I had never made a risotto before, but I love it and order it out at Italian restaurants all of the time. This defintely turned out restaurant quality and was very delicious. It was pretty easy as well, but a little time consuming. Then for dessert...oh, for dessert...sigh. I am just not very great at desserts I guess. Don't get me wrong, this one turned out tasty, but the work I put into the damn thing was so not worth it. I made Cannoli Napoleans. You will notice that the recipe calls for 12 vanilla pizzelles. Well, my local grocery store, HEB doesn't carry them. Apparently the only place that does is Mandola's Italian Market, which is a good 30-40 minute drive from where I live, and with a 2 year old about to take her afternoon nap (of which I need for my sanity) I was not about to put her in the car and drive for pizzelles. "I guess no dessert for tonight" I thought. Wrong! My lovely Brandy decided to email me a link with a recipe for them. So I noticed I had all of the ingredients I needed to make them, AND I have a Pizzelle Maker! It has never been used, but it was an attachment for my Emerilware Waffle Maker (of which I don't know where the manual is). So, I'm thinking great, I can make them! Then the chaos begins.

Before I put my daughter down for her nap I whip up the batter to make them. After I put her down I heated up the pizzelle maker. The recipe states to leave it in for 45 seconds, but my machine says 2-2.5 minutes. Now I am confused. The recipe also states to use 1 tablespoon of batter per pizzelle and I decided to eyeball it instead of using a measuring spoon. The first batch (2 at a time and I need 12 of these things) I leave on for 1 minute and is a little under done, oozing out the side of the maker, and slightly sticks to the pan. I took them out, sprayed down the pan with cooking spray, added some more (less) batter, and closed the lid. Okay, 2 minutes this time...BURNT! So, I scrape out the pizzelle maker again and decide to try one more time. (Keep in mind that this naptime is supposed to HELP my sanity). Once again, I spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray, add batter, and close the lid. Wait 1.5 minutes this time...happy medium. NOPE! Burnt again and so stuck to the pan I can't even get them out. I'm DONE! No dessert tonight! I unplugged the maker so it could cool down, threw the batter in the fridge, and decided to get in my workout of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, which is a major stress reliever I will tell you!

After cooling down I decided to give these damn pizzelles one last try. After all, I had already made the filling for the dessert. So, I thoroughly clean the pizzelle maker, dry it off, and plug it in until it's heated. This is when I realize how this pizzelle maker works...duh! There is a light on the machine that goes off when it's heated and ready. This is when I spray it with nonstick cooking spray and drop in the batter. I wait 2 minutes and open the lid...PERFECT PIZZELLES!! I closed the lid and the red light was back on. I waited until it re-heated and the light went off, sprayed the pan, dropped the batter, closed the lid, and waited 2 minutes...AGAIN PERFECT PIZZELLES!! After all of the stress I put myself through I felt very silly. If only I had the user manual for the maker it would have been easier, but I wound up with more than enough pizzelles and a very yummy dessert for after dinner!

"Asparagus & Prosciutto Antipasto"

• 12 asparagus spears (about 8 ounces) -I just bought a bunch and used as many as we wanted
• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 package (3-4 ounces) thinly sliced prosciutto

1. Trim and discard tough ends of asparagus spears. Simmer asparagus in salted water in large skillet 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; rinse with cold water until cool. Drain; pat dry with paper towels.
2. Combine cream cheese, gorgonzola cheese and pepper in small bowl; mix well. Cut prosciutto slices in half crosswise to make 12 pieces. I bought more than enough prosciutto and didn't cut them in half but used a whole piece per asparagus. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over 1 side of each prosciutto slice.
3. Wrap each asparagus spear with prosciutto slice. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

"Risotto Bolognese"

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) uncooked Arborio rice
• 4 cups SWANSON Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness or Certified Organic), heated
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 1/2 cups PREGO Fresh Mushroom Italian Sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. I used a 3 quart saucepan and it worked fine. Add the onion and cook until tender. Add the rice and cook and stir for 2 minutes or until the rice is slightly browned.
2. Stir 1 1/2 cups of the broth into the rice mixture. Cook and stir until the broth is absorbed, maintaining the rice at a gentle simmer. Continue cooking and adding broth 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until it's absorbed after each addition before adding more.
3. Meanwhile, cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring frequently to break up meat. Pour off any fat. Stir the sauce and black pepper into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes or until the beef is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
4. Spoon the rice mixture on a serving platter. Spoon the beef mixture in the center. Season to taste. Serve with the cheese, if desired. We did!

"Cannoli Napoleons"

• 1 container (15 ounces) whole milk ricotta cheese -I used low fat
• 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 12 vanilla pizzelles
• 1/3 cup grated semisweet chocolate
• Sweetened whipped cream
• 6 tablespoons chopped toasted pistachios -To toast nuts, place in single layer on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally

1. Combine ricotta cheese, mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, orange peel and vanilla in large bowl. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
2. For each napolean, place 1 pizzelle on dessert plate. Spread 1/4 cup ricotta mixture over pizzelle. Sprinkle generous 1 teaspoon chocolate over mixture. Repeat layers. Top with dollop of whipped cream. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon pistachios. Serve immediately.

Mid-Week Dessert

It wasn't exactly Monday yet, so no IWAD, but on 6/14/10 I decided to make another dessert out of my "Italian at Home" cookbook. It sounded yummy and the picture in the cookbook looks delicious! Well, I wouldn't say it's anything to rave about. It was pretty easy to make, but it didn't quite taste like I hoped for. Maybe it's because I was expecting something different. Who knows. It kind of tasted like blackberry yogurt...not disgusting, but just not like a dessert.

One problem I had making this was measuring the blackberries. I bought 2 bags of frozen blackberries because, of course, the bags don't tell you how many cups are in them. I measured out one bag, and hey, 3 cups exactly. Once I began re-measuring, as I tend to do, and pouring the cups into my food processor to puree them it was only 1 1/2 cups of berries with tons of juice left in the bowl. Well, then I took out the other bag of blackberries and defrosted them in the microwave this time, because I was impatient, and it took nearly 2 bags of frozen blackberries to make 3 cups of thawed blackberries. Not sure if I was supposed to measure them pre-thawed or thawed, but whatever! The other problem I had was when I went to the grocery store and was looking at the whipping cream. Was I supposed to get heavy whipping cream or just whipping cream? Who knows?! I went with regular whipping cream. And then, the last thing you're supposed to do in this recipe is to unmold onto serving plates. Well, good luck with that! We wound up eating ours out of the ramekins.

"Blackberry Panna Cotta"

• 3 cups frozen unsweetened blackberries, thawed
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 envelope (1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin

1. Process blackberries in food processor or blender until smooth. Combine cream, buttermilk and sugar in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add blackberry puree. Bring to simmer over low heat.
2. Pour water into small saucepan. Sprinkle with gelatin; heat over low heat, swirling pan until gelatin is dissolved. Pour into blackberry mixture. Stir until combined.
3. Strain mixture through fine mesh sieve or strainer, pressing down with rubber spatula. Pour evenly into 6 (8 ounce) ramekins or custard dishes. My mixture made 9 dishes, but they may have been smaller than 8 ounces. Refrigerate 6 hours or until set. To serve, unmold onto serving plates.

New Adventure

So, last weekend I bought an Italian Cookbook at Barnes and Noble in their bargain priced book section. It is titled "Italian at Home: Favorite Restaurant-Style Recipes". I have always enjoyed eating Italian food out at restaurants and decided I would pick one night a week and try some new recipes out of this cookbook. I am talking 3 course meals once a week and have chosen Mondays (for now) as my night for IWAD, or Italian Wine and Dine. I also have the pleasure of a volunteer sous chef, Brandy! A while back she told me that she would like to learn how to cook a wider variety of foods, and since I love to cook (and I cook 4-5 nights a week) she asked if we could cook together. Well, back then it didn't work out, but that's a whole other story. For now, she is happily (I think...maybe it's the wine involved) being my sous chef.

On our first IWAD last Monday, 6/14/10, we made a wonderful appetizer called "Caprese-Style Tartlets". It was very easy to make and they turned out very yummy! The only recommendation I would have is to be sure to slice the tomatoes very thin so the juice doesn't squirt out and burn you when you bite into them. I also didn't bother with refridgerating the tomatoes in pesto for 30 min to overnight because I didn't read the recipe ahead of time and didn't have time to waste. Not sure that it would have made much of a difference anyways.

For the entree we made "Pest Chicken Mac & Cheese". Not exactly the most sophisticated of names, but I'm not sure what else you could call it. The dish was very tasty, but the sauce did turn out a bit thick. I will take the blame for that though, as I probably cooked it too long. There are two things that bothered me about this dish. First, cooking the pasta and the chicken should be a step in the recipe, not something you find out needed to be done after you get to the last step. Another reason the sauce was too thick was because I didn't have the pasta and chicken ready in time.

For dessert we attempted to make "Minted Pears with Gorgonzola". The first step was to peel the pears and leave the stems on. Well, poor communication from me to Brandy resulted in stemless peeled pears. The second mistake I made was to leave the juice mixture simmering in the pan for longer than 20 minutes. The result was burnt honey mint grape juice. It made a wonderful air freshener though :) I did, however, have to thow my husbands old (supposedly non stick) pan in the trash after that. So, for dessert we had more wine and sauceless, stemless, grapejuice soaked pears. I didn't even bother with the gorgonzola at that point.

"Caprese-Style Tartlets"

• 3 tomatoes -Small/medium sized
• 3 tablespoons pesto -I get low fat pesto..yes, there is such a thing...or you could make your own
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (thawed) -In order for me to make six 4 inch rounds I needed 2 sheets (each package comes with 2) and you can make up to eight tartlets
• 6 oz fresh mozzarella cheese -I just bought a log and sized however much I needed from it
• 2 tablespoons kalamata olive tapenade -This was by the jarred tomato sauce in my grocery store

1. Slice each tomato into thin slices (about 1/3 inch thick). Discard tops and bottoms (DUH!). Place tomato slices in resealable food storage bag with pesto, tossing to coat. Refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight. (Like I said before, I didn't refrigerate, but continued directly with step
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Cut out 6 (4-inch) rounds from sheet of pastry. I used a plastic cup that had a 4-inch diameter rim and made 8 rounds out of 2 sheets of puff pastry. Top each round with 2 slices marinated tomato. Bake 12 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and puffed.
4. Preheat broiler. Turn your oven to "broil" setting. Slice mozzarella cheese into 1/4 inch thick slices. Top each tartlet with 1 slice of cheese. Broil 1 minute or until cheese is melted. Top tarts evenly with tapenade. Serve warm.

"Pesto Chicken Mac & Cheese"

• 4 cups milk
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter -I used margarine
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 8 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup pesto
• salt and black pepper
• 1 package (6 ounces) baby spinach
• 1 package (16 ounces) radiatore or penne pasta, cooked and drained -I couldn't find radiatore and used penne
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

1. Bring milk and garlic to a boil in small saucepan. Reduce heat; keep warm. Discard garlic. Make sure you leave the garlic clove formed (not chopped up) so you can fish it out of the milk with a slotted spoon.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat; whisk in flour. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Gradually add milk, whisking constantly until smooth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir 10 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Make sure it doesn't get too thick as the cheese is going to thicken it further!
3. Add cheeses to the sauce, whisking until smooth. Stir in pesto; season with salt and pepper. I didn't add any additional salt and pepper. Toss spinach, pasta and chicken with pesto mixture until spinach wilts. Serve immediately.

"Minted Pears with Gorgonzola"

• 4 whole firm pears with stems, peeled
• 2 cups concord grape juice
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1. Place pears in medium saucepan. Add grape juice, mint, honey, cinnamon stick and nutmeg; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, 15-20 minutes, turning pears once to absorb juices evenly. Cook until pears can be pierced easily with fork. Remove pan from heat; cool. Remove pears with slotted spoon; set aside. Discard cinnamon stick.
2. Bring juice mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Place pears on individual serving plates. Pour juice mixture over pears. Sprinkle gorgonzola cheese evenly around pears.

Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Things you'll need:

• 3 sticks butter
• 1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 4 1/3 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 c. chocolate chunks (one small bag)
• 2 c. crushed peppermint

How To:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. In mixer on med-low speed cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla (make sure to scrape the inside of the bowl a few times to ensure all gets mixed)
3. Add flour, baking soda, and baking powder to mixer and mix until combined (again scraping the bowl)
4. Stir in chocolate chunks and crushed peppermint. (I used a package of 60 mini candy canes that I unwrapped, put into a ziplock bag, and mashed with a meat mallet)
5. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray
6. Drop mixture by large rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet
7. Bake in 375 degree oven on center rack for 10 minutes

Peach Cobbler

Things you’ll need:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 stick butter
1 cup milk
1 large can sliced peaches

How to:
1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2.) Place butter in a 2 quart casserole dish and put in oven to melt.
3.) While butter is melting, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder in bowl.
4.) Add milk to the dry ingredients and stir until blended.
5.) Arrange canned peaches with juice in melted butter.
6.) Drizzle the batter back and forth over peaches.
7.) Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Things you’ll need:
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe mashed bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 cup Hersheys special dark chocolate chips, or other you prefer (optional)

How To:
1.) Beat oil and sugar with hand mixer
2.) Add eggs and bananas; mix well with hand mixer.
3.) Stir together dry ingredients, then stir into wet mix.
4.) Stir in milk and vanilla. Add nuts and/or chocolate chips if desired.
5.) Pour into greased floured loaf pan. (I don’t flour it…just spray it with Nonstick cooking spray)
6.) Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (make sure oven rack is lowered a bit to prevent burning on top)
7.) Serve or let cool and wrap in saran wrap or foil. Tastes even better the next day.

Nutter Butter Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

You Will Need:
24 Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
5 tbsp. Butter Melted
1 pkg. (8oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Softened
1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
1 Tub (8oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, Thawed

How To:
1.) Crush cookies in zipper-style plastic bag with whatever tools you have to chop them up pretty fine or use a food processor (or use whatever tools you have)
2.) Mix together the cookie crumbs and melted butter in pie pan. Press on to bottom and side of a 9" pie plate/pan to make the pie crust. (I buy the throw away pie pans at HEB)
3.) Mix cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla extract with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
4.) Gently stir in 1-1/2 cups of the whipped topping.
5.) Spoon the mixture into pie crust.

Freeze for 4 hours or over night until firm. Let stand 30 minutes or until pie can be cut easily. Garnish with remaining whipped topping and additional cookies, if desired. Store it in the freezer of refrigerator.

Chocolate Mousse

You will need:
• 1 pint coffee Hagen Das coffee ice cream (or any brand but I have always used Hagen Das
• 1 package chocolate instant pudding
• 1 cup milk
• (I usually double the recipe)

Hot To:
1. Soften ice cream while doing step #2 (either in microwave for 30 seconds or leave out of freezer until softened)
2. Mix pudding and milk with hand mixer for 2 minutes
3. Add softened ice cream to pudding and stir
4. Place in freezer
5. Place in refrigerator a few hours before ready to serve