Friday Night Lights: Schiacciata con L'Uva

Leave it to the Italians to put grapes on a pizza, though I have had champagne grape pizza at Grandaisy Bakery in NYC. It truly is a special thing.Schiacciata (pronounced ski-ah-CHA-ta) con L'Uva is an Etruscan grape bread or pie and is made to celebrate the grape harvest in Tuscany in the fall. No grape harvest here and no Concord grapes to be found, so red grapes will have to do!I tried

What's for Dinner: Shrimp & Asparagus Stir Fry

Frozen shrimp saves me during the week when I get home too late to think about dinner.The shrimp defrost so quickly under cold running water and I can either grill them or toss them with a pasta.Think, think, as I was driving home. What can I do with those frozen shrimp tonight?I had some asparagus in the fridge, so a stir fy it was going to be.I used Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce and the world was

On the Fly: Sweet & Savory

Here's the story, of a lovely lady,who was busy making up 5 nice hors d'oevres.All of them had toasted bread,like crostini. Even some with herbs.But then the lady burned the bread very badly.She was pissed and didn't know just what to do!But she always has a fresh baked loaf of datenut,That is how she made this recipe up for you!(If you didn't sing the Brady Bunch song in your head while reading

Another Tart? Yes

Yes, I am posting another tart.Please don't judge me. My friend Steve at My Favorite Flavours pointed out that I have 18 tarts on my blog and I may have a problem.I love them, I can't help myself. Savory tarts being my favorite.With a basic custard recipe, you can turn anything into a beautiful light supper with a salad.Tarts are not only delicious, but visually appealing as well.You can use

Perfect Filet Mignon with Anchovy Butter

Filet Mignon is a no brainer.I usually don't buy my favorite cuts of meat, which are Porterhouse and Rib eye, because they are so expensive and if they don't come out just right (which often happens to me with meat), then they are ruined, and I have wasted all that money on good prime meat. But the filet is forgiving. You can cook it accidentally too long, and it will still be juicy and

Random Bites in the Desert

I snuck out for a few days last week for some desert sun and tequila tasting, but didn't tell anyone (except my husband), shhhh.Arizona is my favorite winter/spring getaway. It's such a different vibe from NYC.You can always depend on blue skies and hot sun with mountains everywhere you turn. It's dependable like that.You can also depend on some great food and terrific people. Everyone says "

Spiedini w/ Rosemary Skewers

Is it summer yet?Can I officially use my grill on a nightly basis?Well, I'm doing it anyway.Spiedini is the Italian word for skewers of meat or fish cooked over a flame.Not to be confused w/ spiedini alla Romana (bread and cheese skewers w/ anchovy sauce...yum!).My poor rosemary bush from last summer did not make it thru the winter and was on its last legs. Time to get a new one. (Ah, the

Duck Confit & Lentil Salad

I have had these 2 cans of duck confit that I brought back from an Ile St. Louis specialty shop last September sitting in my cupboard, with high hopes of making a cassoulet this past winter.However, winter has come and gone, and no cassoulet was made.It is now spring, but feels more like summer, so you know the French duck, sausage and bean casserole will have to wait till next year's chilly

Really Good Cookies

When I decide to try a cookie recipe, I have to have guarantees.A guarantee that they are going to be a crispy, not too sweet, chocolate somewhere in the middle, and the best specimen out there, since baking cookies is not my favorite thing to do.I must have seen this cookie on 10 food sites in the last year, drooling over the photos each time. Finally my 10 pm baking session produced them.They

Grilled Shrimp, Avocado & Mandarin Salad

Why on earth do I have a little plastic cup of mandarin orange slices in syrup in my fridge?Because I was babysitting for my 5 year old niece and bought these for her after school snack. I had one cup left, so decided to create a salad around them!Of course, next time I will use regular mandarins (also known as mandarines) that come in a net bag, but these happened to fit the bill perfectly! You

Meatless Mondays: Pasta w/ Chickpeas & Ranting

I don't always do a "Meatless Monday", but I like the concept.I recently watched this bozo, Laura Ingraham, on Fox News saying that "Meatless Mondays was an elitist idea". That "there is nothing wrong w/ macaroni and cheese in a box and why should people tell us what to eat?". Ms. Ingraham argued with this nice hippy from San Francisco (where else do hippies live?), who was a guest on her show

Let's Do Brunch

What is brunch anyway?It's really lunch but you are allowed to serve breakfast foods and drink booze.What time should you serve brunch? 11 a.m. would be a good time, but it's too early for my kitchen, so noon is better. Bloody Mary's are also better at noon. For some reason it's more acceptable to have a cocktail with brunch, but not so much with breakfast.An egg dish is always nice, maybe a

Alsatian Apple Tart

This is much easier to make than it looks.This is a gorgeous recipe from one of my favorite little NYC bakeries, Once Upon a Tart. Their cookbook is so beautifully written with great step by step instructions. It's one of my favorite cookbooks to look thru and get inspired (do I need inspiration to make a tart? I don't think so).You can make one large tart, or 4 small ones, like I did.This is

Yellow Trifecta Salad:

This trifecta is PERFECTA.All you need are 3 sheet pans and this will be your favorite salad.I found the recipe while browsing thru Once Upon a Tart. It has become a permanent dish in my repertoire.I tweaked the dressing a bit, and you can season it to your liking.This would be great with any grilled foods. It's fresh and light and definitely a crowd pleaser.Roasted Corn, Beet & Potato Salad: (

Smoked Salmon, Egg Salad & Asparagus Tartines

What is a tartine you ask?A tartine is a little French open face sandwich, sort of like an crostini, but not always on toasted bread. They usually have a rich spread of some sort on it. The possibilities are endless.Here is my favorite springtime tartine.A great idea for Mother's Day brunch, these are always the first thing to go!Tartine w/ Smoked Salmon, Egg Salad & Asparagus:any type of good

Spring Soup: Fresh Pea & Mint

This is a gorgeous soup that tastes like spring!It's a cinch to make, using frozen peas and ready made chicken stock.The combination of petit pois (tender baby peas) and fresh mint are perfect together.The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of creme fraiche added to the pot. Instead, I swirl just a little bit into the individual bowls at the end for a pretty effect and lower fat.Serve this with a slice of

Prosciutto & Sage Corn Muffins

I am attracted to anything that looks like a little basket with a filling, like the Baked Eggs in a Basket, or mini quiches made in mini muffin tins. Not sure why, but it's sort of gimmicky and I like it.These are seriously easy and seriously good.The original recipe came from the Australian version of Martha Stewart, Donna Hay (no relation to Martha).Not sure why she puts the sage leaf on the

Fennel & Orange Salad with Pine Nuts

I am a lucky girl!

For one, I am blessed to have my parents live so close by.. they are precious and I love spending time with them. My parents are the retirees who have a full life with travel, church activities, family events and a full social calendar. So when they stopped by recently to visit us after our return home they came with hugs and a bag of goodies. It's so like my mom.. and my grandmother before her, to never leave a home without leaving something warm behind or to never pay a visit without a gesture of kindness in the form of baked goods, fruits and nuts or an herbal bouquet.

This time she came with some treats for the grandchildren and a huge bag of oranges for me. Yumm! My mom and dad have some friends here in our town who are citrus growers. They have quite a large orchard and are purveyors of some of the sweetest fruits I have ever tasted. These oranges were spectacular and better than any of the ones I have purchased in the market.

So here with my newly acquired bag of oranges and a fresh bulb of fennel in the refrigerator I was quick to serve a refreshing orange and fennel salad with pine nuts. If you notice in the recipe directions I encourage washing the greens of the fennel "very" well. Butterfly's LOVE love fennel plants and lay their eggs on the leaves. If you ever have the opportunity to grow fennel you will soon find out they will be amassed with caterpillars in no time. The eggs are a bit sticky and don't wash off easily so you need to check carefully! :)
Hope you enjoy this delicious salad.
Bon Appetito!

Fennel Orange Salad

Ingredients
1 Large Fennel bulb
2 Sweet Oranges
Fennel greens
� cup Pine Nuts

Directions
Clean and slice fennel. Wash fennel greens very well! Finely chop fennel greens.
Slice oranges into segments. Arrange orange segments and fennel slices nicely in a bowl.
Toss with pine nuts. Sprinkle the fennel greens on top. Drizzle dressing over the salad and serve.

Dressing Ingredients
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Teaspoon honey
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
3-4 Tablespoon Pinot Grigio wine
1/4 teaspoon salt
A couple twists of freshly ground black pepper

Directions
In a bowl mix olive oil and honey together till blended. Whisk in orange juice and wine till ingredients are emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle a bit over the fennel and orange salad keeping the remainder for individual serving at the table.

NYC Random Bites: Spring Break

Where did you go for spring break? Daytona Beach? Ft. Lauderdale? or maybe South Padre Island? Where do kids go these days for that right of passage called Spring Break?We went to our favorite city, New York. So much to do, so much to see, so much to eat, so little time. The last trip, we did the Lower East Side, this time we chose the Meat Packing District.The Meat Packing District, a chic

Peter's Blood Orange & Potato Salad

You probably won't be able to make this until next winter, since I think I bought the last of the blood oranges this weekend (4 for $1.).Blood oranges are so special, they taste like marmalade to me.They are a big pain in the butt to slice, but once you get the hang of it, the segments will stay in tact! (it took me a long time to figure that one out).My friend Peter who has a great Greek food

Spaghetti w/ Sardines, Fennel & Breadcrumbs

Ok, I know this recipe is not for everyone, but it is for me.My husband has been loving sardines as an evening snack with his olives lately, and I am not complaining. They are very rich in omega 3, iron and potassium and are low in fat. They are listed as one of the 15 "super foods". Mark Bittman from the NY Times had this nice pantry meal consisting of sardines, onions, toasted breadcrumbs

Baked Ratatouille

I love ratatouille, a traditional Provencal eggplant stew with tomatoes.I have been making it for years but always on the stove top.Recently I tried a ratatouille baked in the oven, more like a tian, and I loved it.I tried it at home and it was a much nicer way paired with fish like the beautiful halibut filets that I got at the fish market this week (finally!). This is a bit unconventional, but

Easter Brisket

If you grew up Jewish, you are well acquainted with the brisket.You eat it at every holiday meal; it's usually dry; made with ketchup and onions, some use soup mix, some don't. As a kid, I probably ate 100 lbs worth my share in brisket.When I grew up, I decided I would never make a brisket again.Southerners are also well versed in brisket 101, but they do it right, slow cooked and BBQ style. So

Greek Spinach & Yogurt Dip

I needed a quick spinach dip for a party, and since I knew many of the ladies were watching their weight, I didn't want to use my beloved full fat mayonnaise.Instead, I made a nice Greek style dip with lemon and dill and fresh spinach that was blanched and sauteed.I used a nonfat Greek style plain yogurt and it turned out great! No one could tell that I took out the fat! (then everyone could eat

Amaretto Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

These little Biscotti cookies have been a boost to my moral! I have made biscotti many times before, but I happened to change the cocoa amount and added real Amaretto instead of Pure Vanilla extract and maybe just a bit of some Valentines Love Spice and voila, this has been a hit among the teachers at my daughters school whom I made these for. So I dedicate this recipe to them with sincere "Thanks" for their love and dedication to my daughter and the other children in the class. Mrs. Maria and her staff are top notch and irreplacable in our lives!

I think the reason these cookies were so loved is because the texture was not as dry and hard as a typical Biscotti cookie. They had a bit of a flavor resemblance to a brownie but still carried the unmistakable crunch you get with the beloved Biscotti. Still great for dipping in coffee! I also have to attribute some credit to the type of cocoa and chocolate I used . I made the chocolate decoration on top by melting and incorporating a little Amaretto liqueur into E. Guittard Chocolate wafers. These are such luxurious chocolates, so buttery and smooth in texture and taste. I paid a bit more than I usually would for chocolate pieces, but for Valentines day I also made Pecan Turtles for my husband and I wanted a high quality gourmet chocolate for his dolce treat and the price I paid was well worth it! And for the cocoa I used Scharffen Berger Natural Cocoa Powder.



Ingredients
2/3 cups Softened Butter
1 1/4 cups Sugar
4 Eggs
3 Tbsp. Amaretto
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Cocoa Powder
4 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
2 cups Walnuts or Whole Almonds

Directions
Preheat Oven to 375�.
Prepare 3 cookie sheets by coating them lightly with butter. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium for 30 seconds. Add sugar and continue beating.
When light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time continuing to beat on medium. Every once in a while
scrape down sides of the bowl. Add Amaretto and incorporate.

In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients except for the nuts. A little at a time add dry ingredients into your butter, egg and sugar mix. Just blend until well combined. Add nuts and mix in.

Dough will be sticky and hard to handle at this point. Have some flour on hand to dust your hands with while working the dough into logs. With hands dusted, divide dough into 6 equal portions. Shape dough into six 8x1, 1/2 inch loaves.
Place 3 logs on each cookie sheet 4 inches apart, flatten slightly. Bake 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for around 45 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 325�. On cutting board cut each loaf diagonally into 1/2 inch slices; return slices to cookie sheet. Bake 5 minutes. Turn slices over and bake cookies an additional 5-8 minutes more or until gold, dry and crisp. Don't let them get brown. For me I think they taste overdone when they are let to stay to long. Cool on racks. Decorate with a drizzle of fine melted chocolate.

Hope you enjoy!
Buon Appetito,
Laurie

Artichoke & Feta Frittata

I love frittatas for Sunday brunch, as part of a tapas buffet, as well as cold in the lunchbox the next day.I liked Maria's combination of feta, sundried tomatoes and artichokes.I always have these ingredients on hand, so gave it a try, just changed it to my usual 6 eggs, instead of in a large casserole for a crowd.The nice thing about this frittata is it is baked in the oven instead of on the

Revisiting Stuffed Tomatoes

Remember how good these were last year, made with ricotta cheese and herbs?Well, I decided to save the calories this time around and make them with lowfat ricotta cheese. I added a teaspoon of ready made pesto (since my garden is bare at the moment) and added an egg to the ricotta mixture.I never buy tomatoes in the winter because they have such a different flavor than summer tomatoes. I stick

Pistachio Crusted Kurobuta Pork Chops

File this under EASY & EXCELLENT.This recipe is from Madame Marie's blog (Proud Italian Cook) and Mary Ann Esposito's cookbook Ciao Italia.Anything with a nut crust has my name on it.The butcher had these special Japanese pork chops this week, called KUROBUTA pork. Kurobuta is pork from Berkshire pigs, and darker in color and richer than regular pork. Also more expensive, but only by about $2.