What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine

Strawberry Frappuchino Recipe

2012-02-14T00:02:00.021-05:00

Be my Valentine with a delicious quick easy Strawberry Frapp.... salute!

20 - ice cubes

1 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons strawberry syrup, jam or ice cream topping

5 whole strawberries fresh, cleaned stems removed plus extra for garnish

Whipped cream in a can

Optional: red colored sugar
Optional: 1 shot of flavored rum or vodka

Place everything in a blender except for the whipped cream. Garnish with whipped cream and strawberries.

Just absolutely delicious! Happy Valentines Day!

Try some of these other recipe drinks:

Godiva Amaretto Frappichino
Irish Coffee
Strawberry Blenderita
Frangelico Frapp

Valentines Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

2012-02-13T00:39:00.001-05:00

What nicer way to wake up to fresh Strawberry cream cheese muffins?
Of course with your wonderful significant other?

Muffin Mix

2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten

1 cup fresh strawberries washed and cleaned, chopped into small slices or chunks

optional strawberry preserves

Cream Cheese Mixture

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat over to 350F. Line muffin pans.

You will need three bowls:

Using a small bowl, make the above cream cheese mixture blending with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a seperate bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together milk, melted butter,extract and egg in another bowl.

Fold the milk mixture into the flour mixture gently until all ingredients are moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared paper lined muffin tins around 1/2 full. Top with chopped strawberries over each one.

Top it with a teaspoonful of cheese mixture, a teaspoons more of muffin batter to cover it, and finally a more strawberries. Layering every cupcake muffin the same way.

Bake for 25 minutes, until they’re light golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Serve with heated strawberry preserves.

Very Berry Cherry Italian Cream Tart

2012-02-12T00:00:00.040-05:00

An elegant dessert to serve, it took me longer to try and get a good picture
than it was to make from start to finish!

Tart Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup salted butter softened

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Removable tart pan

cooking spray

Fruit Suggestions: canned peaches, pears, plums, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, blueberries. Fresh when in season. When Erin from The Queen of Tarts Blog contacted me about my Blueberry Donut post on Foodbuzz, I was so honored to be asked if she can repost using Oregon canned fruits in her post. She offered to send me some samples and I couldn't wait to whip something up with them. Thanks Erin!

Topping:

2 cups assorted canned or fresh fruits to equal 2 cups of fruit total ( cherries, blueberries and red raspberries, blackberries etc) drain and set aside, adding water to make one cup of juice. ( I used a mixture of dark sweet canned cherries drained, 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries and 1/2 cup fresh red raspberries, around two cups of fruit total)
1 tablespoon corn starch per cup of juice

Mix cornstarch in a small amount of water to make a smooth paste. Pour the drained juice into a small saucepan on medium heat, ( if using all fresh fruit, you can use apple, pear or other fruit juice to make one cup) add the cornstarch and cook till thickened. Takes around 3 to 4 minutes after boiling. Cool.

For the dough:

1/2 cup crushed nuts such as: (walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans or almonds, pistachio or macadamia) for the bottom of the tart pan

Roll out dough on parchment paper, lift to carefully place in lightly oil sprayed tart pan. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork.

Bake until golden or around 30 minutes at 375 degree hot oven. Cool completely.

For the Italian Pastry Cream:

1 1/4 cups whole milk

3 large egg yolks

1/3 cup granulated white sugar

1/8 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon grated orange or lemon peel

1 tablespoon almond or vanilla, added last.

Blend dry ingredients in a bowl set aside. Add milk slowly beating till smooth whisk in yolks, cook till thickened, remove from heat stir in peel and add vanilla. Cool.

Assembly:

Pour the cream filling on the crust, top with fruit of choice. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.

A seriously delicious tart!

It didn't last long!

Try some of my other dessert tarts:

Amaretto Strawberry Cream Tart
Raspberry Coconut Cream Tart
Nutella Mousse Tart
Cannoli Tarts

Heart Brownie with Dark Cherry Rum Jubilee

2012-02-11T00:04:00.002-05:00

2 squares( 1-oz each) unsweetened chocolate melted in microwave or over hot water
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients together until well blended, around 50 strokes by hand. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes in 8x8 greased pan or pan of choice, heart if available. Cool.

Italian Cherry Rum Jubilee

2 cups Oregon Dark Sweet Sweet Pitted Cherries canned drained ( I used one can)
1/4 cup Dark Rum
2 tablespoons Amaretto

Add all ingredients in a container and chill overnight covered.

When ready to assemble your dessert:

Drain the cherries, with all juice into a small saucepan. In a small bowl add one tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a little juice to make a paste. Add juice. Stir and cook till thickened around 3 or 4 minutes on medium heat.

Place the cherries and juices in a chafing dish, stir and light to keep warm.

This will actually lite if you wish, put a flame on it!

To assemble:
On a plate, arrange Amaretto cherries on top of the brownie pour some of the thickened juice on the brownie. You can serve this over cherry vanilla ice cream or whipped cream .

For more wonderful recipes using Oregon canned fruits please visit Erin @The Queen of Tarts Blog, again I want to thank Erin and the Oregon canned fruit company for the fabulous samples. Thank you for continuing to serve the freshness in a can fruits, to make all our recipes possible when fresh fruits aren't available, they are all the highest of quality fruits that make fantastic substitutes.

Baked Mini Apple Donut Holes

2012-02-10T00:00:00.006-05:00

I just love baking donut holes. I really love donuts even fried but not the calories they give me. So I have started using the mini muffin tins and my donuts recipes to make donut holes. This will satisfy any craving for donuts in a smaller treat!

1/4 cup of lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar
1 1/2 cups McIntosh, Rome or Gala apples, cut into chunks, peeled and cored (I chopped in the food processor)
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/3 cup of cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk

Topping:

Powdered Sugar or
1/3 cup of sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed together, set aside.

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugars salt and and spices in a bowl. Add the cold chopped butter. Use a pastry cutter with the butter and the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs or use a fork.

In a small bowl beat the egg. Mix in the milk and fold in the chopped apples. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir using a spatula or spoon making sure not to over mix. Place a spoonful of batter into each oil sprayed mini muffin pans.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the donuts are just golden. Remove from the oven, turn on to wax paper. Roll each donut in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. Best eaten while warm.

Italian Baked Herb Butter Parmesan Chicken

2012-02-09T06:56:00.001-05:00

3 pounds chicken parts or bone-in breast halves

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs store bought or homemade

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled

1/2 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tablespoon cold butter, cut in small pieces

Remove skin from the chicken. Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley flakes, garlic, rosemary, salt, oregano, thyme, and pepper. Dip chicken in melted butter then coat with crumb mixture. Arrange chicken in a single layer, not touching, in a greased shallow baking dish. Dot with butter. Bake at 350° for about 1 hour or until chicken is tender and nicely browned.

Alternate Method:

Boil chicken for 30 minutes, leaving skin on, you can use broth to make soup.
Grill chicken with skin on. Mix butter and herb together to baste the chicken with while cooking, omit bread crumbs. Grill until juices run clear when piercing with a fork.

Triple Berry Cannoli Stuffed Italian Breakfast Toast

2012-02-08T00:03:00.005-05:00

Is it French or Italian? Well this one is Italianized! Is that a word?

Cannoil made into French Toast a delicious breakfast, brunch, or even dessert!

When Erin from The Queen of Tarts Blog contacted me about my Blueberry Donut post on Foodbuzz, I was so honored to be asked if she can repost using Oregon canned fruits in her post. She offered to send me some samples and I couldn't wait to whip something up with them. These berries were sweet firm and a great quality to serve my family and guests. These were just the sauce to make this cannoli toast a gourmet
breakfast fit for The Queen of Tarts and more! Thank you so much Erin, we just loved using these these healthy berries for our breakfast feast!

1 loave of thick baguette or thick bread
1-8 ounce container ricotta cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons Marsala wine
1-6 ounce bag chocolate morsels
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 to 5 tablespoons of olive oil or 4 teaspoons of unsalted butter mixed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 can each Oregon Boysenberries, Raspberries and Blackberries packed in heavy syrup
Marsala wine
1/2 cup Melted Dark Chocolate (I used the microwave for 30 seconds using a good grade candy bar)
First prepare the bread:

Cut your bread every inch but not all the way through leaving a pocket to fill in between both slices.

In a medium size bowl, combine the ricotta, sugar and vanilla in a bowl until well combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips. Using around a tablespoon stuff each pocket on the slice of bread, place on a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator while making the topping, around 1/2 hour.

In the meantime make the Triple Berry Topping. Open all three cans, using a strainer, drain the berries into a bowl, placing berries in another bowl.

In a small dish, add 3 tablespoons cornstarch in a little bit of Marsala wine to make a paste. In a small saucepan add all the berry juice, then add the cornstarch mixture boil till thicken. Add berries, a pinch of cinnamon. Set aside to cool.

Combine in a small bowl cocoa powder, confectioners sugar and cinnamon. In a medium size mixing bowl, add the cocoa sugar mix to the milk, two eggs, Marsala and whisk together well or put in a blender this should look like a very light milk chocolate milk in color and very smooth. Take out the bread. Coat each side of the stuffed bread slices in the chocolate coating milk mixture. Heat griddle or fry pan adding (I use only the oil) olive oil or butter. Cook on each side for no more than 3 minutes or until golden brown.

On a plate drizzle some melted chocolate over the bottom with fork tines. Place the cannoli toast on the plate then pour the berry sauce over the Italian cannoli toast.

Buon Appetito!

Curt's Italian Stuffed Pizza Pizzone Pie

2012-02-07T00:00:00.002-05:00

Not sure where my son picked this name Pizzone, but it fit, so that's what it is (smile)

I love that it's kind of a pie, top and bottom crust, it's more like a pot pie pizza~

Depending on what you like the skies the limit and just a little each below is all you need in this pizza.

You will need to stuff your pizza :

1 pound of homemade pizza dough or store bought
parchment paper
1 deep dish pie plate up to 10 inch max size

1 tablespoon or more of your favorites chopped: olives, peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, escarole, spinach

1 cup of packaged or cooked meats: sausage, pepperoni, ham, capicola, meatball, steak, anchovies, shrimp
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons grated romano cheese
1/2 cup pizza sauce or tomato sauce

On a large cutting board, cut dough in half. Roll dough out to fit the pie plate up to 10 inches. Line the pie plate with parchment paper. Place dough on the paper. Fill with your favorite filling and sauce. Roll the other half of the dough. Place on top of this dough. Press the edges lightly. They will cook together in the over.
Brush top with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
You can add spices to the top, garlic powder, parsley and oregano evenly would be my preference.
Bake on 400 degree preheated oven until browned on top around 45 minutes.
Serve with more sauce to dip in.

Want some more pizza idea?

Pizza Dough
Sausage Roll
Pizza Fritta
Bread Crumbs
Pizza with Roasted Peppers
Foccacia with Zucchini and Tomato
Calzones
Bagel Pizza
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Grilled Pizza
Crescent Roll Pizza
Spinach and Cheese Calzone
Broccoli Rabe Mushroom Marsala Pizza

Heart Shaped Chambord Raspberry Napoleans for your Valentine

2012-02-06T00:02:00.010-05:00

Be My Valentine Napoleans, a light airy flaky pastry with a delicious raspberry cream filling made with Oregon canned fruits Erin from The Queen of Tarts Blog contacted me about my Blueberry Donut post on Foodbuzz, I was so honored to be asked if she can repost using Oregon canned fruits in her post. She offered to send me some samples and I couldn't wait to whip something up with them.

1 pkg. (17.3 oz.) frozen puff pastry sheets or homemade puff pastry

1-1/4 cups cold half-and-half

2 tablespoons Chambord liqueur or raspberry juice or flavoring

1 recipe below of custard or 1 pkg. (4-serving size) French Vanilla or Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1 large white chocolate candy bar melted ( I used Lindt) after melted tint half of the melted chocolate with some with raspberry reserved juice.

Sure to please any sweetheart!~

Sauce:

1 can Oregon Raspberries in heavy syrup drain reserving liquid and set raspberries aside in another bowl set some aside for the puddings for flavoring as well.

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 tablespoon Chambord liqueur or use raspberry juice or flavoring

In a small dish mix together mix the cornstarch into a paste with some Chambord to form the thickening agent. In a small saucepan measure out juices to one cup and add water if needed. Add the corn starch paste. Simmer for 4 minutes or more until it thickens and remove from heat. Set aside.

Note for making the pudding:

If using packaged instant pudding. Beat together the instant pudding, half and half and 2 tablespoons raspberry juice. Add a little of the raspberry flavoring, syrup or food coloring for pink coloring. Chill about 15 minutes.

To make a homemade custard:

Custard Filling Recipe:
6 egg yolks beaten
2 cups milk
2 tablespoon of butter melted
1 tablespoon Chambord liqueur
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoon raspberry flavoring or juice from the Oregon reserved raspberry drained juice, this will turn the cream pink naturally (or if you prefer more pink use a little red food coloring if you wish)

Melt butter in pan add flour stir till smooth and there are no lumps. Add milk, beaten egg yolks, sugar, butter, raspberry...stir constantly until thick and creamy, if it gets too thick add a little more milk. Remove immediately from pot as it will continue to cook and then pour into a bowl. Add liqueur. Flavor with some raspberry juice, flavoring or more liqueur if you like. For more pink color add a drop of red food coloring until pudding has turned a light pink in color. Cool with a piece of wax paper over the top, cool completely.

Heart Cut Outs:

Thaw pastry sheets at room temperature 20 min. Preheat oven to 350°F. Unfold pastry. Using 2-inch heart shaped cookie cutter, cut each sheet into 12 hearts. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 20 min. or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheets; cool completely on wire racks. Split each heart in half horizontally.

Assembly:
Place about 1 tablespoon of the pudding cream mixture onto bottom half of each baked pastry heart; top with remaining pastry half. Drizzle with both colors of white chocolate starting with white ending with pink. Pour some of the raspberry sauce over the top, adding some reserved raspberries and drizzle more of the sauce on the plate.

Recipe for regular Napoleans? Click here

Nutella Rocher Pudding Cakes World Nutella Day February 5th 2012

2012-02-05T23:35:00.000-05:00

Celebrating World Nutella Day Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso solemnly declare Saturday, February 5th “World Nutella Day 2012″ – a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella !!!

1/2 cup Nutella
1/4 cup condensed milk
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Frangelico liqueur
pinch salt
Ferrara Rocher Candies crushed for garnish
powdered sugar, cappuchino ice cream or whipped cream for garnish
boiling water
Preheat oven to 325 oven temperature with rack in the center of the oven. You will need to pre boil some water for a water bath these will sit in. See below.

In a small bowl, combine Nutella and condensed milk. Use a heavy mixer (electric) till mixture is thick.
In a medium size bowl, whisk eggs, egg white, sugar and salt. Blend the Nutella mixture to the egg mixture and fold gently until smooth. Divide the batter evenly into the ramekins.

Place ramekins into a large baking pan, pour boiling water into the pan around the ramekins, no more than 1/2 inch deep. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until set. Carefully remove from oven and allow to cool. Chill in the refrigerator. Garnish with whipped cream or cappuchino ice cream. Topped with a tablespoon of Frangelico drizzled over the top, whipped cream and crushed Ferrara Rocher candies.

Here are more Nutella Recipe for all of us Nutella Fans out there!

Bread Pudding Nutella 2011 Latest Food Craze
Ricotta Frangelico Nutella Cake
Nutella Hazelnut Truffles
Nutella Mousse Tart
Nutella Ferrero Rocher Hot Cocoa
Nutella Milano Cookies
Nutella Chocolate Banana Crepes
Nutella No Name Cupcakes
Raspberry Nutella Crepe
Nutella Chocolate Chip Bars
Melting Moments
Nutella Rugelach
Nutella Gourmet Brownies
Nutella Dipped Frozen Banana
Nutella Drizzeled Rice Krispie Treats
Adult Nutella Pudding Shots

Crockpot Brownie Recipe

2012-02-04T00:47:00.000-05:00

This is an interesting dessert that you can make and is pretty foolproof. The crockpot keeps the cake moist, is a dense chocolate flavor. The nice thing I found with was, I can be doing many other things in the house or go out, leaving this to cook and not have to watch it so closely.
It was a fun recipe to make. The house smelled so darn good!

Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweteded cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (= 1 stick and cut up into pieces)
8 ounces of chopped bitter sweet chocolate chopped
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs lightly beaten
1 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
parchment paper

Spray a 5 quart crock pot(slow cooker) with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper to fit and lightly spray the paper.
In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
Place in microwave safe bowl, butter and bitter sweet chocolate and heat in 30 second intervals stirring, until the chocolate is melted. Add sugar, stir to combine. Add eggs and flour mixture, walnuts and chocolate chips, stir until moistened do not over mix. Carefully pour into slow cooker and smooth the top with a spatula.
Cover and cook on low for 3 1/2 hours. Then uncover and cook for 30 more minutes. Remove the crock and run a knife around the edge to loosen. Let cool at least 2 hours. Flip on to cutting board peel off the parchment paper and cut into squares. You can cut into squares and frost or leave plain and add your favorite ice cream, whipped cream and hot fudge to the top.

For A Mocha and Chocolate Frosting:

Frosting:
2 cups confectionery sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
old coffee

Add old morning coffee, a tablespoon at a time until desired thickness enough to spread on brownie.
add 2 tablespoon softened butter. Beat till smooth.
Make a separate batch using the same ingredients (adding chocolate), 2 tablespoons of dry cocoa powder to the bowl mix till smooth.
Spread with white frosting then drizzle some of the chocolate frosting on top. If too thick add more coffee to thin.

Lemon Basil Ricotta Pasta Recipe

2012-02-04T00:06:00.002-05:00

A lemon basil cheesey flavored pasta!

1 lb Linguine, Perciatelli, or other pasta of choice

1 15-ounce package (about 2 cups) or fresh homemade Ricotta cheese

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon butter

zest of 1 lemon

juice of half the lemon no seeds

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 loosely packed basil leaves, sliced thin

Boil a saucepan of water with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the pasta. Cook till al dente. Set aside tossed with 2 tablespoons of butter.

In a large saucepan, mix together the remaining ingredients, excluding the basil and ricotta. Slowly stir the ricotta and then basil.
Add the buttered pasta and mix well. Serve with garlic bread and salad.

Linguine with Rock Shrimp, Anchovies and Aglio e Olio Plus Video

2012-02-03T00:01:00.006-05:00

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced fine fresh garlic
1 bottle of clam juice
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
Sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound rock shrimp cleaned, out of shell and deveined or regular fresh shrimp, peeled
Rock Shrimp is found in Florida and taste very much like little lobster tails

Rock Shrimp, one of our favorites in Florida

4 to 6 anchovies, minced (you can also use a tube of paste and add to the liquid)
1 pound pasta of choice cooked al dente
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
optional: grating cheese and hot red pepper flakes

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large, fry pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft, do not brown or it becomes bitter, saute around 3 minutes. Add the juice, butter, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook simmering for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper taste. Set aside. Put the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, butter in the same large pan heat. Saute the shrimp, wine and anchovies. Cook just until the shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes. Add pasta, toss to coat. If you like more buttery flavor add more melted butter to the tops of the rock shrimp, just pour directly over the tops of them.
We like to garnish with grating cheese, hot red pepper flakes and parsley.

Try this other fish recipes:

Rock Shrimp
Florida Red Fish Grilled in Lime Sauce
or
Traditional Italian Recipes and 7 Fishes
The Story of Traditional 7 Fishes
Calamari

Mushroom Roasted Peppers Calzone using Ciabatta Dough

2012-02-02T00:08:00.004-05:00

This is what happens when you overstuff it with cheese. I say there is never enough cheese so I decided to show you the one that blew up instead of the pretty perfect photo.
That cheese didn't make the plate, it got eaten first!
Hopefully you will be a better judge in filling your calzone!

1 recipe of Ciabatta Bread Dough or store bought dough
1 small bottle mushrooms
1 jar of roasted peppers or homemade
shredded mozzarella
garlic powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper to taste
toasted sesame seeds
1 egg beaten (whites or the whole egg)
Marinara sauce for dipping

Roll dough out on a piece of parchment paper, ( about a half pound of dough) around 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with garlic powder, cayenne, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper to taste. Top with shredded mozzarella, mushrooms and roasted peppers evenly on the seasonings. Fold over using the parchment paper to stick seam to seam like a turnover half moon shape.

Brush with beaten egg whites or whole egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven until browned around 25 to 35 minutes. Serve with Marinara Sauce for dipping.

There are many optional filling combinations you can use, here are some suggestions:
Raw spinach, eggplant cubed, zucchini shredded, chopped peppers, onion, broccoli, pineapple, all diced
Prosciutto, capicola, mortadela, bacon, chicken, pork, sausage, ham all diced in small pieces.
Feta cheese, mozzarella, Mexican blends, swiss.
You can also use other sauces, hot sauce, barbecue, ranch and fill with your favorites.
Mix and match with any combination you like.

Simple Italian Crostini Recipes for Game Day Appetizers

2012-02-01T00:09:00.010-05:00

You can choose to use meats, vegetables, cheeses, can be a brunch,
appetizer or much much more!

Baguette Bread is perfect for the start of a great game day,dinner party or brunch

I love crostini... anything that tops this crunchy bread is something I can eat anytime of the day. I decided to make my top four quick and simple crostini. If you try one, the skies the limit of endless possibilities. If you haven't had them give one of these a try, leftovers are perfect to make a great crostini! Perfect for pick foods before that big game, family get together, or even a perfect brunch!

To start, preheat over to 350 degree oven. Arrange baguette slices around 1/4 inch thick, on a large baking sheet.
Brush both sides of the baguettes with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and rub each piece with a fresh cleaned piece of garlic clove. Bake around 15 minutes rotating halfway through if undersides are not browning.
Turn crostini just once.
Let cool on baking sheets. You can place in a plastic bag up to 1 week or freeze. Top with any desired toppings with cheese pop in the oven until the cheese melts and there you have it!. Here are some suggestions below.

White Bean Garlic Basil Crostini

White Bean Garlic and Basil Crostini
2 cups of white beans, navy, cannellini or great northern, fresh or canned rinsed and drained.
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon oregano, parsley and basil (fresh basil and parsley if you have it)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine
Mix all ingredients together mashing beans slightly, season with kosher salt and white pepper to taste with a dash of cayenne pepper. Spread on toasted crostini. For a hot version top with provolone, broil until cheese melts.

Cold Insalata Caprese Crostini

Fresh Tomato Basil Insalata Caprese Crostini
In a bowl combine 1 cup of chopped plum tomatoes, cherry or grape. Add 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, season with oregano, parsley, salt and pepper to taste mix together. Slice thin pieces of mozzarella and assemble. Place on cheese on top of crostini, top with tomato basil mixture for this cold style crostini. For hot add the same ingredient topping with mozzarella cheese last and bake until the cheese melts.

Baked Cheesy Tomato Insalata Caprese Crostini

Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Crostini
(Just spread with mayonaise, top with crumbled bacon, chopped lettuce and tomato)

Three Olive Spread
1 cup pitted black olives
1 cup pitted green olives
1 cup pitted kalamata olives
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon oregano, black pepper, cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Combine the black olives, green olives, kalamata olives, and garlic in the container of a food processor. Pulse to chop with food processor, or by hand, then add balsamic vinegar and olive oil, add spices and herb. Process leaving little chunks or smooth which ever you prefer. Refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight if possible, before spreading on pre baked crostini.

Steak Parmesan Marsala Crostini

1 boneless sirloin steak cut into small slices (leftovers work great)

1/4 cup Marsala wine

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

grated parmesan cheese long strands

fresh parsley or dried for garnish

Marinate the steak in a bowl for at least 1 hour. In a medium size fry pan, heat oil, saute steak until desired doneness. Sprinkle crostini with parmesan and garlic powder, top with cooked steak, add more parmesan. Garnish with parsley.

I know you will come up with all your favorite variations! Enjoy!

Baked Haddock With Lime Butter Recipe

2012-01-31T00:09:00.001-05:00

Here is a delicious lime butter haddock, baked to perfection with a little spice.
A cajun yet tropical flavor sure to delight any fish lovers! One we make often.

1 pound of Haddock filets
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning
Parsley flakes
olive oil
sea salt
pepper
aluminum foil

In a small bowl mix lime juice, worcestershire sauce, garlic seasoning, salt, pepper to taste.
Place haddock on a oil sprayed piece of foil, pour the mixture over the haddock, drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with parsley. Refrigerate at least 1/2 hour. Bake in the foil, at 400 degree hot oven or place foil on the grill for 15 to 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Serve with lime butter sauce over the top.

Lime Butter Sauce

In a large fry pan:

melt 1 stick of butter

add 2 teaspoons of minced garlic

add a drop of worcestershire sauce

Whisk all together.

Add 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro or italian parsley, and the juice of one fresh lime. Cook just a few minutes on low, making sure all the flavors have combine. When fish is cooked, pour over the fish and serve.

Buffalo Omelet Low Fat

2012-01-30T00:05:00.001-05:00

I never knew egg whites could taste this good!

Since the beginning of the new year, I am trying to make foods I love without the fat. Here is one I absolutely was astonished by and with only around 150 calories total.. so if you would like to indulge a little more at breakfast, add whatever you if your not dieting, however factor in the additional calories if your watching your diet for anything other than vegetables to this one.

4 eggs whites or 1 cup ( I bought the pour your own, out of the carton kind)
1 pepper sliced in thin shavings ( sliced on a mandolin)
1/4 cup mushrooms
olive oil
buffalo hot sauce

In a medium size fry pan, heat around 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the peppers and mushrooms until soft. I like to also sprinkle a pinch of garlic powder, salt and pepper in there. Pour the egg whites over the top and cook till light brown on both sides, or to your liking. After that second flip, pour your desired amount of hot sauce on top. Fold in half and serve.
Suggestions for other additions to your omelet? bacon bits, chopped chicken, low fat cheese,( add any and all the vegetables you want as those won't add more calories to your omelet.)

Not the breakfast your looking for?
Try these others breakfast style eggs and home fries:

Chicken Omelet Marsala
Porterhouse Omelet
Sausage Omelet
Potato Frittata
Italian Home Fries
Buffalo Home Fries
Crockpot Sausage and Eggs
Saucy Eggs Breakfast
Italian Veggie Frittata
Ham and Egg Breakfast Sandwich
Cloud Souffle

Microwave Bagged Popcorn Recipe Plus Video

2012-01-29T08:01:00.006-05:00

I grew up on Jiffy Pop on the stovetop, shaking it away, pulling open the foil and the great smell through the house, it was so much fun back then in the 70's. Then my brother Luke, became the guru so to speak on making popcorn on the stove with grandma's old saucepan and boy was it ever the best to eat, fresh popped, butter salt, buttery flavored oil, with age it became the best seasoned pan in the world to make popcorn in. Then somehow we got into the microwave age and the fast and furious was born.
While going out to shop, I noticed Orvilles jar corn to be quite a bit more expensive today than Jolly Time in the resealable bag. Orvilles was 4.99 for a one pound nice jar. Jolly Time was 4.49 and for a two pound bag, so who cares about the jar with that much more popcorn and a real money saver?
So, guess what, being the thrifty shopper and lover of my good ole faithful, Jolly Time came home with me. Now I can use my great new masons jars to put that popcorn in with double the popcorn for my money!

As I was scrolling through Pinterest (my favorite new site,) I saw this pin and article from The Cherry on Top blog and Squawk Fox was it's originator. When I read how bad microwave popcorn was in those little store bought bags and how they talked about published results from various studies that have been found, I knew I wanted to write about this. Our microwave popcorn eaters are exposed to toxic vapors, and consuming a lot of popcorn popped in those little white bags has been associated with lung disease (called Popcorn Lung!) really Snopes.com said it's true!. That alone is enough of a reason to stop buying these so called “healthy” snacks in the supermarket. I wanted to share that knowledge with my readers as well. I was skeptical that this worked and tasted as good, but it does! Thank you, to those two sites for this valuable information.

1 brown paper bag (I bought 50 for $.99 at my local grocery) Note: in the photo I used the red for presentation and poured the cooked corn into the bag after it was popped as shown in the video... the Hallmark red bags are perfect to send off to school lunches found in the card sections of the supermarket. I wouldn't try using them to pop with because of the dye on the bags. Again you will see that in the video below.
1/2 cup raw popcorn
microwave on high for 3 minutes (depending on wattage mine is 1000 watts)

Add the popcorn to the bag, fold down the top of the bag twice, do not tape or staple.

Microwave for around 2 1/2 minutes and listen if and when the popcorn slows down considerably popping then just shut off microwave, 3 minutes may be too long and make it burn.

You can add salt or whatever you want. I already have a hot air popper but lazy to get it out since this is fast easy works and considered safer, it's all I need in a hurry. I spray it with some no calorie butter spray, salt and pepper and good to go.

There are plenty of toppings to try, my favorite is sprinkling Parmesan cheese mixed with a dash of garlic powder and dash of cayenne pepper. Other suggestions with seasonings you can choose are Cajun seasonings, white cheddar, there are refrigerated butter sprays that are calorie free or even sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar while it's still warm for a mock kettle corn.

For more popcorn recipes try these Family Stories On Popcorn assorted recipes idea's

Panzanella Salad Recipe and Video

2012-01-28T00:03:00.008-05:00

Oh the taste of freshness with basil, garlic, tomato, cucumber, over a soft inside and crunchy outside, parmesan herb bread. You are surely in for a treat with the taste of summer in this plate...

Panzanella Salad

1 cucumber chopped in small cubes

2 large, beefsteak or vine ripe tomatoes

1 bell pepper chopped in cubes

4 cloves of finely minced fresh garlic

6 large fresh basil leaves torn in small pieces

1 1/2 cups Fresh white mozzarella, cubed

Dressing

3 cloves finely minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons good grade balsamic vinegar preferred or use champagne vinegar

1 tablespoon white wine
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon honey

Cut Up The Bread

1 baguette french or Italian bread, about 6-8 cups cubed

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon each garlic powder, dried, oregano, parsley, basil
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°

Cube and cut up all the vegetables into a medium size bowl, fold in the mozzarella cubes set aside.

In a small bowl combine the wine, vinegar, mustard, pepper, honey, garlic, salt, cayenne and olive oil. Mix with a wire whisk until it is well mixed and slightly thickened. Pour over vegetable and cheese cubes in the medium bowl and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours before serving.

Cut the bread into 1 inch pieces and toss into a large plastic zip lock bag. Adding olive oil and salt, garlic powder, basil, parsley, oregano and cheese. Toss all pieces until they are well coated. Place on a foil or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place in 430 degree oven for 6-8 minutes or until the edges of the bread are golden and crispy but not hard like croutons. Let cool.

Add bread to a plate, scoop vegetables over the top and serve.

Curt's Roasted Red Skin Potato Recipe

2012-01-27T00:09:00.001-05:00

4 or 5 Red Skin Potatoes washed
Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon each of dried herbs: parsley, basil, oregano, garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, rosemary, cajun seasoning, chili powder (you can add more if you love spicy hot!)
salt, pepper to taste

After washing potatoes, cut into long slice wedges leaving the skins on. Place in a large bowl or plastic bag. Place around 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the bag all the herb and spices, salt and pepper to taste, then potatoes stir or shake to coat evenly.
On a large cookie sheet lined with parchment or oil sprayed foil, place potatoes on the cookie sheet. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top.
Bake on 400 degree hot oven until browned and crispy, around 1 hour or so depending on thickness.

This are great for a large crowd and you can keep them warm in the crockpot after cooked on low.

Always nice to see the next generations of cook coming up with their idea's. A proud mama I am for sure!

Fancy Salad Greens, Goat Cheese, Pecans, Dates and More

2012-01-25T09:02:00.002-05:00

I absolutely love fancy greens. I thought I would mix them with a bit of spinach. All organic. Added some
dates, pecans, dried cranberries, goat cheese and pureed some fresh raspberries, added a bit of balsamic vinegar. Add some other fruits and vegetables for sweetness that will wow your salad! Try this healthy recipe, you will be surprised how delicious this one is.

Not only pretty but pretty tasty too!

A healthy lunch. For a whole meal you can add 4 oz of grilled salmon, blackened mahi mahi or grilled lemon chicken , goes very well with this salad.

Maybe you remember our Buffalo Chicken Salad click here?
A real winner of choice here for us as well!

Healthy eating has to start with you. It's a commitment. Hard to stick by unless you have a long term goal in mind, hopefully it's to prolong you life. Remember to drink lots of water remembering lemon is very healthy for you too.

Raspberries have many health benefits, helps prevent cancer, great source of fiber that helps burn fat and the best part they taste great. Using Organic mixed greens are grown without pesticides. Dates are also high in vitamins, helps prevent abdominal cancers and a great source of fiber as well.
Goat cheese had a tangy flavor and has allot less fat than regular cheese made with cows milk.

2 cups organic mixed salad greens
1 tablespoon crumbled goat cheese
1 tablespoons chopped pecans
1 tablespoon dried cranberries
1 tablespoon dates
1/2 cup pureed fresh raspberries adding water or pure apple juice to thin down
optional: 2 or 3 teaspoons of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
freshly cracked ground pepper
salt to taste if you prefer

Arrange greens on a plate, top with cheese, pecans, dried cranberries, dates. Serve with raspberry sauce on the side, sprinkles with vinegar or lemon juice. (For recipes on fish and chicken click on the links above).

For other suggestion combinations:

Antipasto Salad : Use Romaine lettuce, cappicola, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, extra sharp block provolone, black crinkles olives, green olives in crushed red pepper, genoa salami, tomatoes sliced, parmesan long shredds of cheese, buffalo milk chunks of mozzarella. Make an Italian vinegar and oil Italian salad dressing.

Some other suggestions for salads, substitute low fat ingredients for healthier salads.

BLT Salad: Preferred lettuce is ice berg, chopped tomatoes, crumbled crisp bacon, top with croutons. Creamy dressing. Combine mayonaise, pinch of garlic powder, pepper, salt to taste and little milk to thin, beat till combined.

Black Bean Salad: Start with iceberg lettuce, top with black beans, avocado chopped, tomato, cucumbers, chopped jalapeno's, and thawed mexican or frozen corn Top with crushed tortilla chips, mexican blend cheeses and salsa.

Traditional Chef Salad: Chopped lettuce, boiled eggs sliced, ham, american cheese, small chunks of tomato, cucumbers, celery, bacon bits. Top with your favorite dressing and croutons.

French Bread Pizza, Buffalo Chicken Style or Garlic Cheesy Pizza Plus Video

2012-01-25T08:11:00.002-05:00

Really the skies the limit folks, these are a 5 minute meal.
Leftovers? Here's a great way to use them.
Whether your having a party, in a hurry or just love pizza this one's for you!

Shown are olive, mushroom, peppers, pepperoni on the left.
Buffalo Chicken French Bread Pizza on the right!

The kid's will love this one!

1 loaf french bread sliced lengthwise in half then in half again! You will get four different kinds. Or just split once for two long pizza's. It's easier to arrange on a cookie sheet cut in half. Place on a foil lined cookie sheet for easy cleaning.

olive oil

dried, oregano,basil, garlic powder

tomato sauce store bought or homemade

mozzarella

assorted topping sliced, cooked sausage, pepperoni, cooked ham, olive, cooked meatballs sliced, peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, meatball, ham, pineapple, cooked chicken
hot sauce
ranch or blue cheese dressing
mexican 4 or 5 kinds of mixed shredded cheese

Slice bread, add sauce, then toppings of choice, top with mozzarella, drizzle with olive oil..sprinkle lighting with dried spices….. Broil on high until the cheese is melted around 3 to 4 minutes watching carefully. Bake on 430 degrees for a harder crust for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Slice in half. Place cooked chicken on the bread. Pour 3 or 4 tablespoons of ranch or blue cheese dressing evenly over the top of the chicken. Add hot sauce on top of the dressing. Generously top with cheese. Broil for 3 minutes on high till cheese is melted.

Garlic Cheesy Bread
Spread top of cut bread loaf with butter or olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder lightly. Add dried parsley, oregano, basil to cover the top lightly on the buttery side. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste, cayenne if you like heat. Top the herb bread with lots of whole milk shredded mozzarella. Bake for 10 minutes at 400, or broil on "HI" and toast cheese till it's browned watching closing around 2 to 3 minutes.

Mock Brownie Tiramisu Parfait Recipe

2012-01-24T00:00:00.002-05:00

These are a perfect dessert for any quick craving of a mock style Tiramisu, of course
I had these Italian mason jars that made them taste even better~!!!

Although you can use all premade and store purchased baked goods and cooked ingredients, I have used homemade fillings and homemade scratch brownies. For these recipes used in this recipe, click at the bottom for those links.

1 dark fudge brownie recipe or store bought brownies cut up in small chunks
1 tiramisu filling, recipe ( cheesecake filling can be also purchased in the dairy case in a premade container at your local supermarket, or another suggestion is to make instant cheesecake pudding and pie filling found on the grocery shelf by other pudding mixes)
1 jar hot fudge
2 tablespoons Kahlua for each parfait
Whipped Topping
Fresh Strawberries
red colored sugar
maraschino cherry juice, strawberry syrup or red food coloring
mason jars for parfait (shown in photo's)

First get everything ready. Crumble up the brownies place in a bowl. Mix the cheesecake filling, add the choice of coloring to make it pink. In the meantime, microwave some hot fudge topping for 30 seconds. Dip the strawberries in hot fudge and set aside.
Assembly:
In a mason jar, crumble brownies on the bottom in an even layer. Top with a few teaspoons of more to your liking of Kahlua. Spread a few tablespoons of cheesecake filling over the top, add whipped cream. Repeat, brownie, Kahlua, cheesecake filling and whipped cream until you get to the top ending with whipped cream.
Place a chocolate dipped strawberry on the mound of whipped cream parfait/tiramisu and sprinkle with red colored sugar...

Recipe for Dark Chocolate Brownies Click here
Recipe for Tiramisu No Egg Filling Click here

Corkscrew (Fusillioni) Pasta with Sausage and Creamy Tomato Sauce

2012-01-22T07:49:00.032-05:00

Here's a perfect Sunday quick Italian meal... a little fattening, just once in awhile
you just have to splurge~ I love the sun-dried tomatoes and cream!!

1 - 1/2 cups oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained saving the oil and sliced
1/4 cup olive oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes
1 bell green pepper chopped
8 oz of fresh mushrooms washed and cleaned
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1- 28 ounce can of Italian style diced plum tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
oregano, basil, parsley to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup heavy cream( goes in last please read to the end)
1 pound of sliced meat of choice : sausage, chicken, sirloin steak are some suggestions
1 pound box of your favorite pasta of choice boiled in salt water set aside

extra olive oil

Boil pasta set aside and keep warm. Toss with 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil to keep from sticking together. Set aside.

In a large skillet over low heat add sun-dried tomato oil and completely cook meat all the way through, making sure you do not burn or use anything that will stick to the pan. Saute till brown, not too dark. Remove meat and in the same pan with leftover oil, stir in peppers, mushrooms, add garlic, and saute till softened or your preferred taste.

Stir in diced plum and sun-dried tomatoes along with meat. Season with salt, pepper and rest of spices to taste. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Add cream and stir. Pour over cooked pasta. Serve with a glass of Cabernet and cheesy garlic bread pizza.

Baked Stuffed Figs with Goat Cheese and Pecans Recipe

2012-01-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

I was so skeptical to try these, mom use to make them years ago. Such a simple appetizer and I never tired them. I was missing out these are addicting and much better than I ever dreamed. What ever took me so long is beyond me... If you love figs and goat cheese, this will be a winner for you too!

I can't wait to try this with fresh figs!

12 Dried or Fresh Figs
(Fresh is best Black mission figs or Brown Turkish) Shown are Dried Kalamatta
from Greece
8 ounces Soft Goat cheese or Gorgonzola at room temperature
Chopped pecans
High quality Balsamic vinegar
seasalt

Heat oven to 350 degree

Slice the figs in half lengthwise in half exposing the fig seeds, removing the stem and place on some parchment paper on a cookie sheet or use a ceramic style dish, lightly oil sprayed. Press down in the middle of each fig. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar, just a few drops each and a small grind of sea salt on top.

Fill each fig with soft goat cheese and chopped pecans. Bake for 7 minutes at 350 degree oven or until the cheese is hot and bubbly! Serve with your favorite wine and crackers.