Back-log of Recipies

This is a wonderful recipe that I made for an Italian-themed "party" one night. They are Ricotta cookies. Named so because they have...can ya guess it? Yup, Ricotta cheese! They were really good, although the texture is not much like a "cookies" more like a little cake/cookie hybrid. I think they should be called "bites"...to me that makes a little more sense. I did adapt the recipe a pinch, just a sub of flavoring, and a little thicker on the glaze!

~Sweet Ricotta Bites~

(adapted from 2italianrecipes.com)

15 oz. ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)

2 tbsp. almond extract

4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 lb. butter

1 3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

5 tbsp. milk

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar*

1 tsp. almond extract

colored candy sprinkles

Preheat the over to 350 F. Mix/beat together butter, sugar, eggs, ricotta cheese, and 2 tbsp. almond extract in a bowl. Mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add to the ricotta mixture and mix thorougly to form a creamed mixture. Add some flour to keep it form becoming too sticky. (I think I added another 1/4 c.) Shape the dough to form balls the size of a teaspoon. Place the balls on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 min. or until light brown. 

Remove from pan and put on a cooking rack set over another cookie sheet. Mix the milk, powdered sugar, and almond extract in a bowl until smooth and a little thick.* Pour the mixture over the warm cookies with a spoon and sprinkle with colored candy sprinkles**

*Note: I added about another 1/2 c. or so of powdered sugar. What I got with the original recipe was way to thin...but make it to your liking! I wanted it thick because the cookies were warm and the glaze would fall down the sides due to gravity. 

**Note: I learned, the hard way, that you should glaze about 3 cookies, then pause and come back to those 3 cookies and sprinkle them. The glaze hardens quickly!

These were a very different variety of cookie, but they were yummy! A little cake-like in texture, but not overly sweet! Even the Hubby liked these little guys. And when I told him what was in them he was a little shocked! Tehehe...

Well, when hearing about this "party" I set out to make a savory dish as well! (I also wanted/needed an excuse to bake something special!) ;-)

Here is the recipe I used for guidance:

~Olive Stuffed Mushrooms~

(Adapted from grouprecipes.com)

24 Whole mushrooms (white or crimini)

8 tbsp. olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 c. Spanish olives, or Kalamata olives, chopped*

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

2/3 c. dry breadcrumbs

3-4 tbsp. dried parsley

1-2 tbsp. dried rosemary

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a small bowl, mix the olives, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, parsley and rosemary. Set aside. Wipe mushrooms clean with a kitchen towel or brush. (Do NOT run under water!) Trim mushroom stems and remove from the cap. You will be left with a "hole" begging to be filled. 

Warm 6 tbsp. olive oil in a lg. skillet over med. heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft, about 2-4 min. Add olive, cheese, herb breadcrumb mixture. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Arrange the mushroom caps on a parchment lined baking sheet. Fill each cap with the mixture. Drizzle with the remaining oil. Over lightly with foul and bake for 15 min. Remove foil and bake another 5-7 min. or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

*Note: I used Spanish green olives that were marinating in a spicy olive oil-crushed red pepper blend that I found at the local grocery store. Feel free to use whatever you wish. 

One comment that I did get, from an 8 year-old, was that these mushrooms were "....yummy, but I don't like mushrooms so I am only eating the filling!" Oh well, they were liked because they were gone by the time we left! 

ENJOY!

About time...

...to break this "blogging break"

Yes, the time is NOW!

Wow, life sure has been a whirl wind of various activities, some of which include, work, shopping, furnishing an apartment, exploring, learning a new language, laundry, cooking, cleaning, shopping some more, socializing, relaxing, etc. etc.

Now the holidays are upon us yet again! Life goes on. It get busy. Things need to get done.  <----That's where I tend to fail....I am not very good at "getting things done". Sure, they eventually get done, but on my time, on my schedule, and alas....that schedule does not work in a marriage. Hey, we all need to learn right? I guess this stems from being raised an only child...you know, that "Only Child Syndrome" Yeah, I have some it, not all of it, but some of it. My parents did a great job at it...they really did....but I still have an issue with getting things done in a timely manner.

I will admit that I am a fan of the "I'll do it later" club, as well as the "I don't feel like it". I also shy away from things that are unfamiliar or "scary" whatever that means!

This is my time to kick myself in the rear! I am going to make an active effort to, like Nike says, "JUST DO IT!!" It really is that simple...S.I.M.P.L.E.

"What if I fail?" that little voice asks me...
Well then, you TRIED....that's more than doing nothing....so, so much more!

I once read in a book that you "...Try, fail, try again, fail harder." I would like to add that after you fail the second time, you do....WHAT? TRY AGAIN!! Every time that I am presented with a task that needs to be done, but I feel that little "voice" rise up inside me, I am going to silence that voice and think instead...How soon can I get it done? How can I make it fun? Who else does it effect? Its easy, and you'll learn! Just get it done!

So, so simple, yet for some, like me, so very, very hard!! (fyi = check out all the comma usage in that sentence!)

I am learning a lot, growing a lot, I will fail a lot, but I will get up an try again. Shake off the failure, and MOVE ON!

Whew! Are ya still with me! Thank you, it felt good to get that off my shoulders...

Now, onto a RECIPE!!! I have not posted one it quite some time. This is one that I made for my parents while back home in MN this past October. I wanted to make soup. Something hardy, yet light, filling yet healthy....so I decided on THIS recipe from Ezra Pound Cake for inspiration and slightly modified it to our tastes. It turned out to be wonderful! Just what we were looking for!

~Papa Al Pomodoro~
1/2 c. olive oil

 2 med. yellow onions, chopped
1 med. red onion, chopped

3 lg. carrots, peeled and chopped

1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 lg. Ciabatta loaf, crust removed and cubed

2 28oz. cans Italian plum tomatoes

4 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 c. dry red wine

1 c. fresh basil, chopped

1/2 c. grated fresh Parmesan

Salt & Pepper

Topping

1 lg. Ciabatta loaf, cubed

4 oz. thick cut pancetta, chopped

20-30 whole basil leaves

5-6 tbsp. olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel, and galic and cook over medium-low heat for 10 min. until tender. Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 min. more.

Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 1/2 tsp. pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered for 45 min.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 F. For the topping, place the ciabatta cubes (2nd loaf), pancetta, and basil in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and toss to coat. Spread on a sheet pan large enough to hold all ingredients in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 min. until all the ingredients are crisp and browned. 

Stir the soup to incorporate all ingredients and stir in the Parmesan and taste for seasoning. Add more salt  and/or pepper if necessary. Serve the soup hot. Garnish with the baked bread/pancetta/basil mixture. 

This was a very plesant soup for the evening! I stared it in the late afternoon and used the cooking time to have hor d'oeuvres and mingle/visit. A wonderful caesar salad was also served with this soup and my mother made apple squares for dessert! (Reminder: I need to get that recipe from her!) 

Caramelized Onions w/ Goats Cheese on Naan

ENJOY!!

Exploring with Food

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

The Hubby and I got a chance to explore some food the other day! We took a drive down to Sunset Beach and then walked around the local shopping area. There is a very large department-grocery store there called Jusco and right next to that is Depot Island and America Town. We went in to just look around. It is stimulation central! There are clothes, food, people, language you don't understand! It was awesome! We decided to just pick out a few treats at the grocery's bakery section. We got 4 different things:

This was a sweetbread with a green tint to it. It might have been green tea, not quite sure. It was only a little sweet, not too powerful in the sweet department. 

This sweet bread was the same as the one above only it was not green. 

This doughnut-like pastry was dense and it had a strawberry yogurt-like frosting on top. Again, it was not overly sweet. Not what we thought it was going to be, but happy we tried it!

 This guy was the best! Happy Halloween! I believe it was a sweetbread with some sort of a sweetened yam spread on the inside and used to glue on the almond eyes. I liked it, Hubby, not so much! Tehehe!

After eating our goodies, we stopped by a beach shack and got an Orion beer.

This morning we went and had brunch at Camp Cortney with Hubby's XO and his wife. It was wonderful and the view was spectacular! (cant upload right now....) I look forward to meeting new people and starting to explore this island some more!

Coming up: We get our house tomorrow and I will get pics up ASAP. I also have some recipes to share from our time home in MN. Yes, I did do a little cooking, and my mother did some baking! 

Keep checking in!

Blogging Break

I have taken a blogging break.

Reasons:

1. Moving from North Carolina to Minnesota
2. Living with my parents for 2 weeks
3. Breakfast/Dinner/Lunch with in-laws & parents
4. Catching up with old-time friends
5. Saying goodbye to extended family
6. Getting ready to PCS (move) to Okinawa Japan

Needless to say...there are/were a lot of reasons as to why I have not been blogging. Don't get me wrong, I still love to blog and I love that people (albeit few) are reading this, but I had to take a back seat for a while. But soon I will be back in that saddle! 

Right now the hubby and I are staying at a hotel on a military base in Okinawa. We are busy, taking care of paperwork, getting a car, getting a house, getting this and getting that....and on top of it all a Typhoon came through and closed down the entire base! So, enlieu of all this hub-bub, bear with me as I slowly get back into the grove of blogging. Oh yeah! Once I get a kitchen...recipes will be a-coming!

THANKS!!

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasures....

More pics coming soon! 

A Different Meal

Now its time for a BREAKFAST recipe! Can ya stand the excitement!?

Ok, so I am a fan of making breakfasts. I can do all different styles of eggs: omelets, scrambled, over easy, sunny side up....except for poached...but soon I WILL master that one!

But this is was I made in the meantime...

~Extreme Breakfast Sammich~

2 slices bread

2 eggs

2 strips of bacon

1 tbsp. goats cheese, softened

1-2 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

salt

pepper

Pre-heat a med. sized skilled over med. heat. Toast bread in toaster. Cook the eggs, over easy, in the skillet, once done remove from pan and season with salt and pepper. Keeping the pan over the heat, cook the bacon until it reachers your preferred doneness. Once toast is done, spread the goats cheese in a thin layer on each side. Top one side of the toast with the 2 eggs, and other other side with the sun-dried tomatoes. Once the bacon is done, drain on a paper towel and place over the eggs. Bring the two slices of bread together to form a sandwich, slice and serve with fruit. 

This one was a hit with the Hubby! He likes new a creative things with his breakfasts...and I sure LOVE making them for him! Another one that he liked was an omelet with leftover veggies (peppers, onions, zucchini), parmesan cheese, and Cholula Hot Sauce. Served with bacon and OJ. 

Be creative! I think next time a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning comes around, I am going to make some sweet potato hash browns or skillet hash...who knows!

ENJOY!!

RR - The Pit...

BBQ!! 

So, when the Hubby and I randomly decided to make a trip up to Raleigh, NC, we needed a place to eat dinner. I had heard of, and even walked by, this place...I think I walked by because it looked closed, or it was an off hour or somethings...little did I know what was inside!

Where we went: We had dinner at THE PIT BBQ. The Pit was started by Ed Mitchell and he specializes in whole hog pit-cooked barbeque. His restaurant has become known in the Raleigh area as one that servers tasty spins on classic southern dishes.

What we had: To start out the meal, we ordered some drinks. Hubby had a seasonal brew and I had some hard cider by the brand name of Original Sin. I like me a good ol' cider every now and then. This one was good, not too sweet. We were also brought a little basket of "munchies" that contained small biscuits and what I believe were hushpuppies. They were alright...slighly over breaded and a little bit too crisp...but man were they good when dipped in the BBQ sauce that was on the table.

Hubby chose the BBQ Ribs for his meal and his sides were cole slaw and sweet potato fries. I decided to stay light, and because I am a sucker for sweet potatoes and cornbread, I had the sweet potato skillet corn bread.

What we thought: The food was okay...with the exception of the ribs. They were very yummy, tangy, and moist. Fall off the bone good, in the NC barbeque style. Not a saucy, lick-your-fingers type, but a good clean tangy rib. If there is one thing the Pit does well, it is the meat. The sides were okay...the coleslaw needed more sauce and more tang, the sweet potato fries were just that...fries. Hubby was served quite a lot of them...so I was stealing some of course! The sweet potato skillet cornbread? It sounded a lot better than it was. I wish it was served with honey! (I didn't ask for any though...) I was served with a maple butter that could have used more maple flavor. The bread was moist and it did taste like sweet potatoes, but it confirmed for me that the two should be kept separate. You eat cornbread to taste corn, and you have sweet potatoes for their unique flavor.

Overall: 3 out of 5 Yums!
I would really like to go back and taste more meat. There was a menu option that I did not try, and looking back on it I should have, but it had something to do with chicken, barbeque, brie cheese and what not...but I thought it would be a little bit too much food. Oh well, now I know! But I would for sure like to sample more of their meat offerings...I feel like that is the star of the restaurant. Bring on the MEAT!!

Grillin' Action

I got to fire up the GRILL a few weeks ago! Just a simple supper...nothing too fancy, but, when its done on the grill, it seems so much more special!

Just some sweet Italian turkey sausage and green beans. I tossed the beans with some garlic, salt, pepper, and onion powder. Then I put them on a small baking sheet and grilled them next to the sausage. T'was yummy!!

I had some time this week to edit other pictures besides food-related ones! Here is a sample: can you guess where it is from? Probably not...oh well, it looks cool!

NEWS: Stay tuned for a few restaurant reviews from a recent trip the Hubbs and I took to Raleigh, NC! Great time, great reads!

ENJOY!!