The Recipe Girl

Buster Bars

2008-07-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Is your house heat-drenched this summer? Are you trying to avoid using that oven because you don't wish to add to the misery? Here's a no-bake frozen dessert that you will have a tough time not eating.

Are you familiar with Dairy Queen? These were a popular treat from DQ: Buster Bars.

I think they've phased out a lot of the Dairy Queen franchises. There are a couple of DQ's that I know of in San Diego, and I have no idea if they still carry Buster Bars. But now you can make your own!

I found myself sneaking little slices of this throughout the day. It's just a satisying mouthful when the humidity and heat are too much to bear. And it's a great dessert to have in the freezer when relatives and friends drop by unexpectedly (if you have any of those kind!)

This recipe can be found HERE (and it couldn't be any easier!!)

Zucchini- Chocolate Chip Muffins

2008-07-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Is zucchini growing out of control in your veggie gardens yet this summer? Try this muffin recipe to get a little green stuff into your children without their knowledge: Zucchini- Chocolate Chip Muffins.

As a kid, I hated zucchini bread. My mother used to make if often since our relatives used to dump loads of zucchini in our laps in the summertime. I just didn't think it tasted good at all. So I've been reluctant to try zucchini bread recipes as an adult. I finally caved and tried this recipe. I grated the zucchini into smallish shreds so that my green-phobic 7 year old wouldn't object. He didn't even notice, and he gobbled these up like they were dessert.

And I suppose they were like dessert with the chocolate chips and all. Cakespy had this discussion about the differences between muffins and cupcakes. Is there really much of a difference? I can't really decide.

Look at all of that chocolatey goodness inside! No wonder my little guy loved these. There was chocolate in every bite!

The zucchini in my garden died this year... as did everything else in my garden. I must not have a knack for it, or perhaps I had bad dirt. I like to think it was the dirt (and not me.) But I'll try again next year. I long to swoon over a bounty of zucchini and other veggie treasures. But for now I'll have to swoon over these muffins.

This recipe can be found HERE.

Snicker's Bar Tarts

2008-07-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

You simply can't go wrong with a dessert that incorporates your favorite candy bars... especially those that you consumed often (without worries of weight gain) when you were much younger but now rarely indulge (because of worries of weight gain). When's the last time you ate a regular-sized Snicker's Bar? Really. Perhaps I'm too weight-concious, but I don't believe I can recall eating any kind of candy bar since Halloween. Other desserts... yes... many. For some reason those don't seem as bad as a candy bar!

I've mentioned my fondness for candy bar dessert recipes before. And here's another one for you to add to your "to-try" list: Snicker's Bar Tarts... the link is not working, but this should work (cut/paste the link below... clicking won't work)... pesky blogger!!
http://www.recipegirl.com/Desserts%20Cakes%20Pies%20Tarts%20&%20Crusts/Desserts%20Cakes%20Pies%20Recipes/Snicker's%20Bar%20Tarts.htm#top%20of%20page
See that oozing puddle of chocolate ganache on top??? That sits afloat a filling of peanut butter cheesecake (with a chunk of snickers sneakily hidden inside too!) Since the recipe is from Pillsbury, it's a quick and easy dessert. The refrigerated pie crusts are used as the base. I don't see any reason at all to use your best homemade crust since the flavor isn't focused on the crust in this recipe. But have-at-it if you wish to do it all from scratch.

I do suggest that you give this recipe a shot. They're tasty little bite-sized (decadent) treats.

This recipe can be found HERE.

Spinach & Arugula Salad with Indian- Spiced Chickpeas & Charred Red Onions

2008-07-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

Phew... that's one long title of a recipe. A little bit TMI in IMHO. I hate acronyms. But sometimes you just have to use them and hope that most of the general population 'gets' it.

I first saw this recipe on Laura's blog: The Spiced Life. As her blog title indicates, she tends to pick delicious recipes that incorporate spice in some way or another. Alysha from The Savory Notebook also reviewed this recipe. You'll enjoy mouthwatering pictures on her blog. And the original recipe comes from Jack Bishop's A Year In a Vegetarian Kitchen.

Here's my take on Spinach and Arugula Salad with Indian-Spiced Chickpeas and Charred Red Onions. I'm a huge fan of cooked onions but the raw variety have much too much of that sharp onion flavor for me. And I don't enjoy the crunch. However, grill those puppies up and throw them on a hamburger, caramelize them and pair them with anything...

...or roast them up and add them to dishes... well, by golly, they jump into that category of foods that I tend to lust after. In this recipe, the onions are roasted. They get a just-slighty-caramelized /just-barely charred flavor that is tempting to nibble on and perfect to top the salad.
The chickpeas are are sauteed with bursting mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Just enough to give them the flavor needed to carry the salad.

I have to admit that I was really worried that we wouldn't enjoy this salad. Lemon for a dressing?? Just a squeeze of lemon??? No oil???? Just the juice????? It's ok... the lemon was perfect. It was just a simple flavor to contribute to the salad that didn't take away from the chickpea and roasted onion superstars. WE THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THIS SALAD! Really different. And really delicious.

This recipe can be found HERE.

Vegetable- Goat Cheese Spread

2008-07-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a colorful, flavorful, cool dip for a hot summer night... Vegetable- Goat Cheese Spread.
It's an awesome sort of dip for dunking cucumber slices, radishes or carrots, as well as sliced baguette.

Lots of crunch. And lotsa veggies within!

This recipe can be found HERE.

Celebrate the 4th with some Festive Cheesecake Pops!

2008-07-02T02:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

I give you permission to make some really decadent treats this weekend! Celebrate by grilling to your heart's content and making some great green salads and potato salads. And I highly recommend Sangria for a refreshing, summery party drink, either this recipe or this one.

These were my favorites of the Cheesecake Pops that I made for the Daring Bakers. I found the festive 4th sprinkles at a cake decorating store, and the ribbon at a craft store. If you make the cheesecake pops for the 4th, I would suggest that you dip into the chocolate deep enough to allow some of the chocolate attach to the wooden stick. That will alleviate any potential problems of cheesecake falling off of stick.

Have loads of fun this holiday weekend, but don't drive anywhere after having loads of fun. Be safe!

A Danish Daring Baker Challenge!

2008-06-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

This month's challenge was The Danish Braid for us Daring Baker types. Despite the rather long instructions, this wasn't really a difficult task. Oh, I admit that I was nervous. Pastries are definitely not my thing, and I have absolutely zero experience in making them. And I'm not even adept at braiding hair, let alone pastry. But I followed the directions obsessively and all turned out great. Here's a pictoral of my experience in making this breakfast treat...

This is definitely one of those challenges where you're really proud of the outcome (if you have a good outcome, that is!) This Danish Braid turned out to be a tender, flaky, buttery pastry with wonderful caramelized, cinnamony apples cooked inside. I plated this and brought it to the teachers at my son's school for an end-of-the-year breakfast meeting. Suffice to say, they enjoyed it a lot! I snuck a slice for my kiddo, and then I begged for a sampling. He reluctantly gave me a bite. I felt that the orange zest in the dough worked well with the apples, but I look forward to seeing what creative things other Daring Bakers have done to their Danish Braids this month.

Big shout out to our hosts for the challenge: Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What's Cooking? The Danish Braid recipe can most likely be found on one of their blogs.

Strawberry- Oatmeal Banana Bread

2008-06-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

Yep... yet another banana bread recipe. Why not? You always have those aging bananas ready to draw fruit flies sitting on your counter, so mix those with some ripe & juicy strawberries to try a new recipe: Strawberry- Oatmeal Banana Bread.

I drew inspiration for this bread from Chuck at CookingBread.com. If you haven't checked out his droolworthy blog, you're missing out. The guy knows his bread. Knowing that, I dared to mess with his recipe and create my own.

I haven't had a whole lot of "luck" with making strawberry breads in the past as I find that strawberries tend to lose a lot of their flavor in the baking process. So for this bread, I purchased some very special French strawberries from my local farmstand (Chino Farms.) I asked the guy what the difference was between the $3 and $5 baskets. He had a difficult time explaining how wonderful the French ($5) ones were, so he popped one in my mouth and let me decide for myself. Oooo la la... the farmer was right. Those French people did something to these strawberries that make them in a class all their own.

A bit more petite, juicier and waaaaaay more flavorful than your average everyday strawberry, they were definitely worth the extra $2. Kind of a splurge, but I was sold when I tasted them. We only got to eat a few, because the rest went into this bread.

The result: A good, moist banana bread with a slight strawberry flavor. I have a feeling though that if you don't have really juicy, flavorful strawberries, you might not get much flavor in the bread from your berries. You don't have to use fancy French strawberries, but keep on the lookout to try them sometime. Of course you could always try this with raspberries or blueberries or some other kind of berry that you have access to.

Enjoy with a cuppa coffee.

This recipe can be found HERE.

Grilled Salmon with Dill Pickle Butter

2008-06-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

Although I promised a couple of posts ago that I would be making that peanut butter and jelly salmon sometime soon, I came across a salmon recipe that was more appealing to my husband. And since he's kind of a big deal, I gave into his wishes.

It's a bit of an inside joke, but I got this T-shirt for him on CafePress. We could have totally gotten out of hand in ordering funny t-shirts from this place because they have quite the selection. Hubby put this one on his screen saver. My husband is one of those guys that is the life of the party, can talk to anyone, and knows his movie lines... and that one about the smokin' hot wife comes from Talladega Nights. That movie cracks us up.

Anywho, back to salmon. This sounded like kind of a funky salmon recipe, and since I have done salmon with fresh dill many-a-time, I thought I'd give Grilled Salmon with Dill Pickle Butter a try too. The recipe comes from a recent issue of Food and Wine (one of my faves.) It's suggested that the salmon be served with sauteed fresh corn and tomatoes.

Since the dill pickle butter incorporates fresh tarragon, I threw it into my veggie saute too.

This was quite a nice summery plate of food. The salmon is simply grilled and the dill butter melted on top is delicious. The veggies round out the meal. Add a glass of chilled white wine and your dinner is complete!

If your weather is nice enough, eat outside and celebrate the beginning of summer.

And a note to my husband... I'm kind of a big deal (too)... ya know... big time blogger and super mom and all! I just don't have the t-shirt.

And for those of you who were waiting for the PB&J salmon... I'll debut that one a little later in the summer!

This recipe can be found HERE.

Grilled Watermelon Salad

2008-06-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

The summer season demands that you eat watermelon. Nibbling chilly watermelon slices saturated with sweetness seems indulgent as you devour slice after slice on a heat-drenched summer day. Its juicy nature and bright color make it a natural superstar at an outdoor barbecue. But have you ever thrown it on the grill? Watermelon caramelizes ever so slightly when it's briefly grilled-- who knew?

Grilled watermelon is the best discovery since goat cheese. Add those together and you've got a salad: Grilled Watermelon Salad.

It makes for a pretty presentation and an impressive salad to serve to guests. The simple combination of watermelon, goat cheese, greens and balsamic just works.

This is my new favorite salad... the hit of the summer (and it's only just the beginning!) Amaze your friends and family by grilling up some watermelon. It's easier than you might think.

This recipe can be found HERE.

Mango Gingerbread with Macadamia Streusel

2008-06-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Gingerbread in June? You betcha. This isn't a holiday sort of cake in any sense. When I spotted this recipe in an old Bon Appetit, I tucked it away into my 'must make soon' file. Anything that sounds just a little strange-but-wonderful gets tucked into that file. Fresh pureed mango is incorporated into a gingery flavored sweet bread that is scattered throughout with roasted macadamia nuts: Mango Gingerbread with Macadamia Streusel.

If you're expecting a bread infused with the wonderful, tropical flavor of mango, this isn't it. The mango simply works as a 'moisturizer' much the same way that applesauce does in cakes. Added buttermilk helps with the tenderness as well. The whole cake only has 1/4 cup of canola oil in it.

This bite gives you a sneak peak of how moist the bread is. Heavy on the ginger flavor, this cake-like bread is topped with a mixture of macadamias, sugar and crystallized ginger. If you don't care much for a heavy ginger flavor, I would suggest nixing the crystallized ginger on top.

We liked it best with a smidgen of sweetened whipped cream. Next time I might even add two smidgens.

The next strange-but-wonderful recipe sitting in my 'must try soon' file involves salmon, peanut butter, and grape jelly. No kidding. Because you never know...it might just be the next best thing!

This recipe can be found HERE.

Grilled Vegetable Chili

2008-06-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

A hot, steaming bowl of comforting chili isn't something that usually comes to mind as a summery sort of meal. Grill up a few fresh vegetables though and you will turn this vegetarian chili recipe into one that is warm-weather friendly: Grilled Vegetable Chili.

Grilled veggies are chopped up and added to garlic, jalapeno, black beans, chili powder and tomato paste. The mix is simmered in beer and vegetable broth, until thickened.

We topped ours with melted cheddar, a dollop of sour cream and freshly chopped cilantro. With an added squeeze of lime, this was a wonderful summer chili. We enjoyed ours with tortilla chip dunkers.
This recipe was found in a recent issue of Rachael Ray's Everyday magazine. The gal talks up a storm, but she does have some good ideas for recipes!

This recipe can be found HERE.

Strawberry and White Chocolate Mousse Tart

2008-06-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

Strawberries! They're in season and easy to locate just about everywhere right now... red, ripe, juicy and ready to be used up before they turn to mush. This oh-so-fab dessert is a little fancy, but it was an excellent choice to end our Gourmet Club's dinner party.

Behold the Strawberry and White Chocolate Mousse Tart!... an older recipe from Bon Appetit.

The crust is a buttery, sugary sort. Rather good, I should add. **WARNING** Don't remove a tart pan from the oven with one hand while you're talking on the phone with the other. The crust pops right out the top and splats on the floor. Yes, this really happened... I made my crust twice. And got a nice, crisp burn mark across my wrist from frantically trying to save it. Cook and learn, huh?

The mousse is a light and airy layer of whipped cream mixed with melted white chocolate. An oldie but goodie, this tart takes a day and a half to create- make the crust and filling one day, let it set a good 24 hours, then top with strawberries right before serving.

By the time we cut into this, everyone had consumed quite a bit of wine....thus the blurry picture. (But we think we remember that we liked it.) Just kidding, of course. It was very good. My friends were impressed.

So if you're looking for a way to use up all those strawberries, or if you need an impressive dessert for an event, this is a good one to try (with both hands.)

And if you have one of those places where you can actually go and pick your own strawberries, you should definitely go that route. It's quite fun, and you'll feel that-much-better about your end product. (All that work that you spent slaving away in the fields... and no one had to consume any gas to transport your strawberries!) I say that after spending over $100 on a tank of gas today. Crazy.

This recipe can be found HERE.

Slow Cooked Carnitas Tacos

2008-06-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

Have a long day coming up? Won't feel like cooking? This was the perfect recipe for that sort of thing: Slow Cooked Carnitas Tacos (shredded pork tacos.) It doesn't get any easier than this. And before you turn up your nose at a crockpot recipe, you should know that this comes from a recent issue of Bon Appetit. Yes, it appears that even the folks at BA see the importance of having some simple slow-cooker recipes at hand. That being said, the crockpot in our house only makes an appearance about three times a year (and one of those is just to keep a big pot of chili heated during a football party.) I just haven't had a whole lot of success in finding slow-cooker recipes that are worth repeating.

Here's one that's worth repeating!!

The recipe instructs that the pork sit in its slow-cooking state for 6 hours with only salt, pepper, oregano and onion. After trimming a bit of fat off of the boneless pork ribs that I picked up from Costco, I left them slow cooking all day (10 hours) and the pork turned out perfect... moist and easy-to-shred.

Our family LOOOOOVED these tacos. We put them together with low carb tortillas, green chile salsa, light sour cream, cilantro and red bell pepper. I looked all over the place for avocados but for some reason they were all hard-as-a-rock (not so good for eating.) Next time I would add some velvety slices of fresh (ripe) avocado. We also tried mango salsa, and that was good w/ the pork too. Add some juicy slices of watermelon and you've got yourself a nice, summery Mexican meal.

This recipe can be found HERE.

Smitten with Trader Joe's... and some awards!

2008-06-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

If you're lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's in your neck of the woods, you will agree that they have some awfully good products. And the fun part about shopping there is that you're always discovering new ones.

Now, I'm not much of a frozen-food kinda gal at all. But Trader Joe's has some frozen gems worth trying. This is one of them. These burgers are big, they grill up nicely, and they don't taste like cardboard.

We topped our burgers with jalapeno cheddar, guacamole, lettuce & tomato (and a squeeze of lime.) The whole family loved these. I'd say they're worth trying, for sure.

Smitten Kitchen has a Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes recipe that made a nice little side to our juicy burgers. These were simply awesome.

And now for a little bizness. I think I mentioned that I'm in the middle of a website overhaul/design... and that's why I haven't been a good little blogger in terms of visiting and commenting as often as usual. It will be a several-months-long-project before the thing is finally finished. I'm taking deep breaths and working as quickly as I can. I've also been remiss in acknowledging a couple of awards that have been passed my way.

Psychgrad from Equal Opportunity Kitchen passed along the Make My Day award. Thank you. You make my day too, Psychgrad! I'll pass this award along to the following five blogs who continually make my day with their witty writing and interesting choices for blog posts:

*Noble Pig
*The Leftover Queen
*Cakespy
*A Southern Grace
*White on Rice Couple

Another lovely award was passed along to me from Cookie Baker Lynn: The Yummy Blog award. Thanks Lynn... your blog is equally yummy!!

I could give this award to all of you, really. For now I'll pick five favorite yummy blogs:
*Genesis of a Cook
*Canary Girl
*Bake or Break
*Taste and Tell
*My Sweet and Saucy

Go forth and pass along these little awards to other yummy blogs and 'make their day!!'

Butterfinger Fans... I Give You Butterfinger BROWNIES!

2008-06-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for recipes that utilize candy bars in one way or another. I've tried Milky Way Cake... it called for 8 full-size Milky Way bars. I swear that cake weighed about 5 pounds (it was awfully good though.) Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake is another keeper... just one of those recipes that always turns out, well... 'perfect.' My son made a Snicker's Bar Pie for our County Fair last year. He won a blue ribbon with that decadent treat. And my absolute favorite Gelato recipe has chunks of Heath Bar swimming inside.

The task of finding a kid-friendly dessert for an event we attended was up to me. Since those candy-bar-type desserts are always a bit hit with others, I went a searchin' for a new one and I found it (thanks to Recipezaar).... Butterfinger Brownies!

Ok, so they're not really technically a "brownie." They're more like a blondie with lots of butterfinger chunks mixed in.

These were a HUGE hit at our event. The teenagers scarfed them down like crazy and were scampering after me asking where to find the recipe. By the time my husband reached the desserts, only crumbs were left on the butterfinger brownie platter. I had a bite of the scraps when I was cutting them into neat little squares, and found them to be mighty good scraps (and I'm not even much of a butterfinger fan.)

These 'brownies' are a definite repeater (but next time, I'll hide them from the teenagers!) Are there any more candy bar baked goods out there that I must try? I'll tuck them away for the next big event.

This recipe can be found HERE. And if this recipe sounds good, you might also enjoy Butterfinger- Chunk Cookies.

Chicken Stir Fry with Asparagus and Cashews

2008-06-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

In honor of the new movie that my son is dying to see (Kung Fu Panda), we made Asian last night: Chicken Stir Fry with Asparagus and Cashews.

The Asian flavors come from a mix of fish sauce, oyster sauce and basil (and just a teeny bit of oil.) No fishy flavors... I promise. At least I didn't taste anything fishy. And basil is not only for Italian food. It works in Asian dishes too :)

This is a nice, light stir fry for those who are approaching the frightening scenario of sporting a bathing suit in front of other people. You'll be glad you didn't choose to make the fettuccine alfredo instead. If you serve this over a little rice, it's perfectly filling.

I might suggest that you start this meal with those Edamame Dumplings that I blogged about a while back. Those would be quite the delicious starter for this meal.

The stir-fry... it was a hit. We did sprinkle a bit of soy sauce on top since we like the salty flavor. We gave the kiddo lessons in using chopsticks. He actually got the hang of it for a couple of bites, and then he decided it was too much work and dug in with a fork.

We look forward to seeing Kung Fu Panda... it's getting good reviews. Please let me know if you've seen it and what you thought of it. I do enjoy a good kid's movie if there's some 'over the kid's head humor' for adults to enjoy too. My husband was excited about seeing Angelina Jolie in the movie until I informed him that it was only her voice that he would be 'seeing.'

This recipe can be found HERE.

Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey- Lime Dressing

2008-06-05T02:00:00.000-07:00

Mexican food is on our menu at least once a week... and mostly a couple of times including a trip through one of our awesome fast-food Mexican shacks sometime during the week. Our local fish taco place has "Fish Taco Tuesdays" (fish tacos for $1), so we take them up on that once in a while. But I do prefer to make my own.

I find it tough to locate Mexican-style side dishes that aren't starchy (rice), heavy (beans), or fattening (quesadillas.) Since many Mexican main dishes tend to be starchy, heavy and fattening themselves, it's refreshing to have something light to serve alongside.

This Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing was the choice to accompany our healthy fish tacos. I crave salads that are full of really fresh vegetables. We're darn lucky that we live in a heavenly place where Farmer's Markets are abundant year round. I don't know what I'd do if I lived in... Montana? Maine? Alaska? I'd miss my access to year-round fresh veggies immensely.

This salad is smack-full of good stuff... black beans, tomato, jicama, corn, radishes, avocado, red bells and reduced-fat feta cheese. You could certainly sub Cotija (Mexican) cheese for the feta if you'd like... but it will be a little more fattening. The whole she-bang is tossed in a really light honey-lime dressing. Two giant thumbs up from the adults in the family, and one adamant "yuck" from the kiddo. But don't worry... he won't eat any kind of salad. I'm still trying. One of these days he's going to love it, right?

This recipe can be found HERE.

Chocolate Freak Out... for my 100th Post!

2008-06-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

I made it to 100 posts. I figure that's some sort of milestone that should be celebrated in one way or another, right?

Cake is always a good choice for celebrating. I actually brought this cake to my In-Law's house since they were hosting a little family barbecue. And yes, it's really called, "Chocolate Freak Out."

The recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbook authors: Diane Rossen Worthington- in an older cookbook called, The California Cook. Everything I've tried from this cookbook author has been excellent.

I knew I wanted to make a simple pale-pink tinted whipped cream topping for this cake (mother-in-law's favorite color is pink), but I had to get creative with making it pretty. I saw this method for making cute things to top cupcakes on Bakerella's blog, and I thought I'd try it for my Freak Out Cake. I drew a little flower on red paper and then slipped it under some waxed paper to use as a tracing piece for my melted chocolate wafers.

Melted white chocolate wafers were drizzled into the centers of the flowers, and tinted pink chocolate was used for the petals.

Here are some of the completed chocolate flowers.

And when they're dry, you flip them over, and they're nice and flat and pretty (and a bit whimsical- looking.)

The cake recipe is very different than a typical chocolate cake. Made in a springform pan, this one falls somewhere between a cake, a torte and a cheesecake. I made this one day and then wrapped and refrigerated it overnight. The next day, the cake seemed hard as a rock. Literally. I was a bit worried. But I trudged forth and decorated anyways. I told the family that there was a chance that we wouldn't be having dessert.

All the worrying was for naught. It softened up slightly after about 20 minutes at room temperature. This was a chocolate lover's dream. A little slice was completely satisfying. I took only a couple of bites, and left all the remaining slices behind... since I'm watching my behind.

*Note... the cake may also be covered with a simple sprinkle of powdered sugar or you can really freak it out with a layer of rich ganache.

This cake recipe can be found HERE.

My Love Affair... with Italian Food

2008-06-01T05:50:00.000-07:00

As far as regional favorites go, Italian has to be my number one favorite (sorry Peter.) Start me off with some prosciutto- wrapped melon and a nice prosecco, feed me a terrific homemade pasta dish, and top it off with a dabble of creamy, rich gelato or a cannoli. I'll be satisfied and 2 pounds heavier, but I'll remember that meal for a while to come. Great stuff that Italian food.

So before I embark on my attempt to lose a few of those pounds gained from pure indulgence, we had one final love affair with Italian food last night.

We downed a bottle of our number one favorite wine... Amarone. This is good stuff, especially with a red sauce pasta. We buy our Amarone at Costco for a pretty good price.

We started with the fave: A no- brainer... wrap some thinly sliced prosciutto around ripe, juicy slices of canteloupe. Cuts of higher quality prociutto work best for wrapping (and taste better too.) The sweet and salty pairing is wonderful.

I also whipped up a few of Giada's Pizzettes with Gorgonzola, Tomato and Basil. This is an easy, easy appetizer to make, and it's perfectly tasty at room temperature too.

I made a simple salad of greens with toasted pine nuts, shaved Parmesan and a splash of olive oil and balsamic.

This one was the star of the meal last night: fresh pasta ribbons with Bolognese Sauce. I wish I could say that I made my own pasta (it's on my list of things to do.) But since we are lucky enough to have a Little Italy section near downtown San Diego, I went with the expertise of the guys who run a local pasta place and purchased some of the fresh stuff to make at home. It was indeed fantastic, but only because of the rock-star quality Bolognese Sauce that topped it. This is a pretty authentic recipe with chicken livers and the whole bit. If that scares you, then you can certainly sub pancetta for the livers. We liked the flavors just the way they were.

I wish I could say that I made an amazing new gelato recipe to end this great meal. We were beyond- stuffed. And today marks the day that I bid farewell to my beloved pasta for a time. I'll still be cooking away for the family and others... but sadly I'll only enjoy a test bite or two until I'm in my skinny jeans again! Can you say "willpower???!"

Click on the recipe title below to view the recipes:
Prosciutto- Wrapped Melon
Pizzette with Gorgonzola, Tomato and Basil
Bolognese Sauce

Happy June!

Crustless Spinach and Cheese Quiche

2008-05-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

"What's for lunch?" I pretty much hate that question. I don't mind creating dinner for a crowd, whipping up waffles for breakfast, or excessive bouts of baking, but for some reason I do not enjoy cooking up lunch. I'm completely content with a quick pb&j so I can get on with my day. But if the family is around, they like me to cook... or at the very least build some sort of sandwich for them. I usually comply. Begrudgingly.

I don't often feel inspired to make new lunch creations. But as I was browsing Cookie Madness the other day, I noticed that Anna had taken a detour from cookies and posted about a quiche. An unusual thing happened- I felt inspired to make lunch! Specifically, I was inspired to make her Crustless Spinach and Cheese Quiche.

I followed Anna's recipe with some minor changes: I added more spinach, I used reduced-fat feta, and I added a little more Parmesan.

This quiche baked up wonderfully. With four cheeses swimming within, we didn't miss the crust.

Letting the quiche sit for a few minutes ensured that the pie would firm up enough to make some nice, clean slices. I served it up with a big, green salad.

And since I went to all that trouble to make a nice lunch, and since it was a rainy day and we were all snuggled inside, wine seemed like an obvious choice to accompany our meal. The quiche was excellent, the salad was refreshing, and the wine made me sleepy.

So you see, when inspired... I can accommodate. The hubby is happy and pleasantly full. And all is well at lunchtime. Thank you to Anna for the recipe, which can be found HERE.

I know that the dreaded question will be looming overhead again tomorrow, but I'll be ready... with peanut butter in one hand and jelly in the other.