Nibble, Nosh, Sip
Kraft Singles & Campbell’s Tomato Soup All Grown Up
Leave a Comment
After countless days of cold rain in New York City, the sun is finally shining! Although this change is definitely welcome, last week’s doom and gloom weather definitely had me craving some comfort food to warm my insides. For that, is there anything better than a delicious grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup on a rainy day? I don’t think so.
Like many others, I will always love the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup (think Kraft Singles & Campbell’s!) but when I decided to make my own version, I wanted it to be a little more grown up. I don’t have any picky kids to feed yet so I figured why not try to create a more sophisticated yet equally delicious version of the classic grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup!
Brie is a goddess in my book, truly a magical aura of deliciousness. I love Brie when is served warm with nuts and a dash of sugar on top. This combination is divine when spread on top of a cracker at a cocktail hour or holiday party. Brie is also delicious in finger sandwiches with turkey and a bit of mustard. Honestly, I could just eat Brie with a spoon and not even try to justify my actions.
My love of Brie led me to making my grown-up melted cheese sandwich. By replacing the normal American cheese with Brie, the sandwich now had an intense creaminess to it. To balance these flavors out I added fresh prosciutto, thinly sliced apples and drizzled it with balsamic-Dijon reduction. I served these sandwiches open-faced and made them small enough to snack on while eating tomato soup. I was very happy with the way the sandwiches turned out and hope to make it again as a panini!
To go with my Prosciutto, Brie and Apple sandwiches, I looked to Giada De Laurentiis for an easy tomato soup recipe. Some of the ingredients took me by surprise, as I never thought to use marinara sauce as the base of tomato soup; but it was delicious! Using the sauce instead of fresh tomatoes is a great fix when you are low on time and need to get this meal on the table quickly. I really loved the cannellini beans in this Quick and Spicy Tomato Soup because it made the soup heartier and the red pepper flakes gave “boring old tomato soup” a great kick!
I hope the sunshine stays around for a while but next time you find yourself facing a cold and rainy day, try my “grown-up” melted cheese sandwich and Giada’s Quick & Spicy Tomato Soup; it’s all you need to brighten a rainy day!
What’s your rainy day comfort food?
Prosciutto, Brie and Apple Sandwiches
Ingredients
1 section Brie (you don’t need the whole wheel, unless of course you want to eat the whole wheel!)
1 loaf ciabatta bread, sliced into sandwich sections
3 apples, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 pound fresh prosciutto, thinly sliced (pre-packaged is fine too if fresh is not available)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
Directions
1. In a small saucepan, whisk together vinegar, mustard and honey. Set pan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer until liquid reduces to 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes.
2. Lightly toast the ciabatta bread and then layer prosciutto, apples and brie onto both sides of the bread and drizzle with the balsamic-Dijon reduction.
3. Place open-faced in oven for 3-5 minutes or until sandwich is fully melted and toasty.
*If you wish to have a true grilled cheese sandwich or panini, place whole sandwich in oven until melted and toasty or use a panini maker.
Chardonnay Flavored Cupcakes? Cupcake Flavored Chardonnay?
Leave a Comment
At home I always make sure to keep a few bottles of wine on hand because you never know when the mood will strike for a glass of vino! Like many other people, I keep a nice variety but sometimes I just have to change it up a bit. As I was browsing through the aisles of my wine store looking for a new Chardonnay, I was immediately drawn to the label that said “Cupcake” on it. Cupcakes? Wine? Two incredible things in one bottle? Sounds amazing! Wait a second, this isn’t cupcake flavored wine (damn!) – the company that produces the wine is Cupcake Vineyards. As hopeful as I was for cupcake wine, I loved the cute name of the brand!
Cupcake Chardonnay comes from the California Central Coast and is sweeter than most Chardonnays I enjoy. It wasn’t sugary and overly sweet but sweet enough that it balanced out the dry, heavy oak flavors that Chardonnay can sometimes have.
Buttery and creamy (which may have something to do with the lactic acid process the wine undergoes) Cupcake Chardonnay has obvious hints of oak, sweet spices like vanilla and fruits such as apple and citrus.
This wine is perfect for pairing with cheese as well light-bodied fish and chicken. When the bottle was almost through, I poured it into a pan and made a delicious white wine sauce with mushrooms, tomatoes, and artichokes to go over grilled chicken breasts and whole wheat penne.
Whether drinking Cupcake Chardonnay or cooking with it, this wine is not to be missed! Priced reasonably at $12, I am looking forward to trying the other wines that Cupcake Vineyards has to offer!
Chocolate and Zucchini, An Unlikely Duo
Leave a Comment
After making my Nana’s incredible Zucchini Parmigiana, I had quite a few whole zucchinis left. Usually I would just slice it up, brush it with olive oil and sea salt and bake it as a dinner side but this time I wanted to make a dessert with it! While thinking of making zucchini bread, my phone alerted me to a new blog post by Two Peas & Their Pod. As if they were reading my mind, the post was for Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes! As strange as this combination sounded, the recipe was also intriguing. And let’s not kid ourselves, chocolate goes well with just about anything! I know that if my mom combined vegetables with chocolate when I was a kid, I’m pretty sure I would have eaten all my veggies!
This recipe was overall very easy to execute and perfect for leftover zucchini! The only thing that was a little challenging for me while making it was grating the zucchini. The zucchini were releasing a lot of moisture so instead of grating well, it just kind of became a puree as I ran them across the grater box. It didn’t change a thing about the taste and quality of the cupcake though so if anyone runs into the same issue, don’t worry!
A delightful way to get your veggies!
Once the cupcakes were finally out of the oven and frosted, I was happily surprised with the taste; even I was unsure of what zucchini would do to the cupcake. The chocolate was rich and the flavors of the zucchini aren’t noticeable in the cupcake, which is great if you want to fool your kids! Instead of having a strong taste, this summer squash comes through mildly while lending a ton of texture to the cupcakes! They stay so fluffy and light and unlike most cupcakes I bake, they didn’t dry out! (that may be me and not the recipes though)
When I brought the cupcakes into work, I could tell some of my co-workers were weary of zucchini being a main ingredient but for those that tried it, they loved them For the people in my office that didn’t try them, it’s their loss – yea I’m talking to you guy in the kitchen that said “ewww” when you read the label on my cupcakes!
If we didn’t live in a world where people have all sorts of crazy food allergies, I wouldn’t even tell anyone zucchini was in the cupcakes but unfortunately I had to. Some people at work said that maybe they should give zucchini a second chance after tasting them! I absolutely love that a simple chocolate cupcake with zucchini in it has the ability to change people’s minds on a common vegetable!
Maybe I should conquer every vegetable one by one with a dash of chocolate but for now, thank you to Two Peas & Their Pod for this delicious, barrier-breaking Chocolate Zucchini Cupcake recipe!
*note: I used cute little decorated cupcake liners by Reynolds but sadly the liners just peeled off the cupcakes, as you can see in the picture. Not worth the extra money when baking, just stick to plain liners*
The Dish and Grandparents That Shaped Me
1 Comment
Most kids spent their summers loving the beaches, boardwalks and carnivals but I spent my summers loving everything about my Poppy’s beautiful garden in Roxbury, NJ. This wasn’t your average backyard garden either. My Poppy had tarps and a 5 foot high fence with a gate around his garden so the deer would stay out (now that I think about it, I’m wondering if he was thinking of the deer or the Germans from the War…) I would help him plant his garden in late May and watch it grow throughout the humid and steamy months – from seeds to flowers and buds and finally full grown veggies, I loved every minute of it.
My favorite part of our garden summers was the first time each year we picked his zucchini for my Nana’s Zucchini Parmigiana. Armed with a wash pan under my little arms, he and I would set out to pick every last full-grown zucchini in his garden. By the time the pan was full, I could no longer carry it so he did the heavy lifting for me. After a thorough washing of both the zucchinis and myself, it was time for me to help my Nana make her Zucchini Parm (this is part where the cheese comes in!)
The Original Ingredients
- Bubbly, Cheesy and Made With Love
My Nana passed away in June 2000 but her recipe and Poppy’s garden are still a part of every summer. Poppy who will be 90 in November still goes out to his garden (with probably the same wash pan) and picks the zucchini to make Nana’s exact recipe. He also gives zucchini to my Mom so she can make her version of Nana’s Zucchini Parm. Mom likes to alternate the mozzerella layers with ricotta, making this already cheesy dish even more gooey and delicious! Now that I have a home of my own, I make Nana’s Zucchini Parm every summer and have added my own twist to it. Being a lover of all things spicy, every few layers I sprinkle some red pepper flakes in to give the flavors a little kick.
The few hours I spent with my Nana making this dish once or twice a summer (three times if the Garden Gods were kind to us) will always be my favorite memories of growing up. The wash pan, layers of zucchini, cheese and sauce and careful patience and love of my Nana are what formed me into the chef and food lover that I am today. If it wasn’t for those moments, I wouldn’t be cooking, blogging and exploring foods. One day I hope to pass this recipe onto my child and watch him or her make it their own but for now I want to share it with you. Use this recipe as a way to bring your family together and have fun making it! You’ll be surprised how many memories a simple meal can create….
Nana’s Zucchini Parmigiana (three generations in the making) Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 2 hours
Ingredients
- 3 large zucchinis, sliced
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 16 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced thin (Polly-O brand, whole or part-skim milk depending on your preference)
- 3 cups plain tomato sauce (Del Monte, Contadina, or Hunts)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
- In a small bowl, mix ricotta, parsley and egg.
- Lightly coat the bottom of a deep roaster pan with tomato sauce. Layer with zucchini slices, sauce, ricotta mixture and mozzarella slices. Repeat layers, adding red pepper flakes to taste and top with slices of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for one hour, covered in tinfoil.
- Remove tinfoil and continue to bake for another hour.
-
Serve warm with fresh, sliced Italian bread.
Edythe and Guido Morino, My Culinary Inspirations
Tags: culinary, family, garden, grandparents, Italian food, mozzarella, ricotta, Summer recipes, Zucchini
A First Generation Baker
1 Comment
When I was growing up in suburban (ok, maybe more like rural) New Jersey there were always fresh baked goodies at other kid’s houses. Birthday parties always ended with someone bringing out homemade cupcakes, cookies and cake. My birthday parties? They ended with huge Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes and beautiful, delicious cakes, all from the bakery. No, my parents weren’t snobs that had to get their kid’s cake at the best bakery in town but instead my mom wasn’t a baker.
I know this sounds like a sacrilege to the mothers reading this (moms read this?!) but my mom was not a baker during my childhood. In fact, she wasn’t a seamstress either and stapled on the Girl Scout badges to my sash. It wasn’t until I was about 5 years old that we had a cupcake tin in the house and even then all the baking she did included boxed mix, water, eggs and oil. I’m laughing now thinking about all the times she grumbled her way through obligatory cupcakes because she was class mother!
While she is not a baker, I can honestly say that my mother is the best cook I know. Working a full-time job and running two households, she had dinner on the table every single night and it was always delicious and homemade with love. I was eating lamb chops as soon as I could hold them and attribute my love of food and cooking to her and my Nana. Like my mom, I too am better at cooking non-baked goods, probably because I wasn’t exposed to baking growing up. However, unlike my mom, I absolutely love sweets and desserts and want to learn everything there is to know about them! I am eager to learn how to bake, from scratch and while I know there will be some failures and some successes I hope that within the next few years, I can learn to bake well enough that I don’t have to get bakery cakes for every birthday party! 😉
I figured the perfect way to start practicing my baking would be with chocolate chip cookies. With thousands of recipes to choose from, I decided to try a recipe that belongs to one of my favorite Food Network chefs, Giada De Laurentiis. None of the break and bake stuff, this all homemade!
Finally, homemade nutty chocolate chip cookies!
Giada’s Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies were so easy to make, even my Mom could do it! I did sub out a few of Giada’s ingredients – hazelnuts for walnuts and white sugar for Splenda, but kept the rest of the recipe the same. Any brand of semisweet chocolate chips will do but I used Ghirardelli chips which added a richness to the taste of each cookie. Once in the oven, they only took about 15 minutes to bake and before I knew it, I had over 60 delicious looking cookies!
After trying one cookie, I was hooked! An unlikely ingredient for this cookie were the oats which added great texture and flavor. With one bite walnut and the next chocolate chip, these cookies were so delicious yet also basic! I’m not a fan of ooey gooey soft cookies and I loved that these had a nice little crunch to them.
I wish I could have eaten every single one but my waistline wouldn’t have it. These cookies have been given out at work all week and the reviews have been fantastic! Next time you have a bake sale or need to bring cookies to school (provided nuts are accepted there, sigh) make this extremely easy, simple and delicious recipe from Giada De Laurentiis!
Tags: baking, chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, cookies, Food Network, Giada De Laurentiis
A Complex Wine for a Simple Meal
Leave a Comment
2008 Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon
During the summer I find red wines to be a bit too heavy to enjoy in my already stifling hot apartment, so this is normally the time of year I drink only white wine (when I decide to drink wine at all, which is often).
However, over the weekend I was forced to break away from my drink of choice since I needed something more substantial to go with the burgers I made on our fake grill (Holla George Foreman!). Having already been a fan of Blackstone Merlot, T picked up a 2008 Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon to try with our burgers.
Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon is a Sonoma County California red that is considered medium to full bodied, leaning more towards full-bodied, with strong red and black fruit flavors. The fruit flavors in this wine are robust with aromatics of of plum, black currant, cherry, and berries. Exotic spices and peppery flavors are also prominent in this substantial wine.
A native of Sonoma, Gary Sitton, Blackstone winemaker says “It’s hard work making this wine but the conditions here offer me the resources to make exactly the kinds of wines I like: expressive, rich and balanced, full of fruit and varietal character.”
2008 Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely all those things and at $10, it’s affordable. With its strong and nuanced flavor, this wine will be a great compliment to any steak you serve this summer.
Saturday Morning Pancakes
Leave a Comment
My post from Friday had me craving the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes from Locanda Verde. On my subway ride home I could taste the explosion of flavors in those luscious little circles and headed straight to my grocery store to recreate them.
Googling “Lemon Ricotta Pancakes” reveals tons of recipes; from famous chefs and moms to TV shows and magazines, the options are endless. Each recipe is unique in its own way but I didn’t have to look far to find the one for me. “two peas & their pod” is a food blog I love following. Written by a young couple that share a love of food and cooking (super cute!!), I knew I wanted to try their recipe of Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce.
Just like the pancakes at Locanda Verde, the ricotta cheese added an airiness to the pancakes that isn’t in normal pancake batter. The pancakes stayed fluffy and moist and the lemon flavors balance out the subtle tanginess of the ricotta. The blueberry sauce was awesome and I plan on making it in the future for other dishes (I’m thinking it would be awesome over ice cream!)
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce
This recipe was very easy to follow; the blueberry sauce alone only took 2 minutes to make! This being my first time making homemade pancakes, I did burn one of them so remember to cut back on the heat – it’s better for it to take longer to cook than burn it by having the stove too high.
The Lemon Ricotta Pancakes were a delicious way to start the weekend. This recipe by “two peas & their pod” is great to make for anyone and I promise it won’t disappoint! Thanks two peas & their pod!!
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce
Yield: Serves 4-5
ingredients:
To make the blueberry sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar (I sub sugar for Splenda and it tastes just the same!)
2 tablespoons water
1. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and stir in lemon juice and cornstarch mixture. Stir until the sauce thickens slightly. Cover to keep warm and set aside.
To make the pancakes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar (again, I use Splenda instead)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (I didn’t have lemon zest so I used a dash of lemon extract)
1 tablespoon canola oil
directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, egg, egg whites, lemon juice, lemon zest, and canola oil. Gently fold this mixture into the dry ingredients until flour disappears. Don’t over mix. The batter will be thick.
3. Heat a griddle or a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Drop about 1/3 cup of batter onto the hot griddle or skillet. Cook the pancakes until browned on the underside and beginning to set, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the pancakes on the other side, about two minutes longer. Continue making pancakes until batter is gone. Serve warm with blueberry sauce.
Tags: blueberries, breakfast, cheese, pancakes, Ricotta cheese, two peas & their pod
Ricotta Cheese: It’s Not Just For Baked Ziti Anymore
Leave a Comment
Ravioli, Baked Ziti, Cheesecake and Calzones. These delicious foods are only a few of many recipes that can be made with ricotta cheese. I love ricotta cheese and it adds such creaminess and flavor to what you are making but it wasn’t until recently that I ate it all by its lonesome and went to Taste Bud Heaven.
A Dollop of Deliciousness
Eating a dollop of ricotta cheese by itself?? Isn’t that gross? Not at all and at Locanda Verde in TriBeCa, they have the most amazing ricotta cheese appetizer that will have you planning your next meal at this restaurant.
Owned by Robert De Niro and attached to The Greenwich Hotel, Locanda Verde is a casual Italian style tavern attracting everyone from tourists and families to hipsters and celebrities. De Niro revitalized his restaurant a while back and brought in Andrew Carmellini, a famous New York chef that enjoys melding his own interesting interpretation of food with basic, Italian cooking. The open atmosphere of high ceilings, casual banquet benches and servers in denim makes your experience at Locanda Verde comfortable and laid-back – a feeling that I find difficult to attain in many TriBeCa restaurants.
The Sheep’s Milk Ricotta of Locanda Verde is featured on all of their menus – brunch, lunch, dinner and even breakfast and is undoubtedly the most popular item. Seasoned with sea salt and herbs, the cheese is presented to you with a selection of burnt orange toast but after having one taste of this ricotta, you’re likely to just eat it with a spoon! The creamy texture of the ricotta goes so deliciously with the burnt orange toast but the best part of the dish is the truffle honey that is cradled in the middle of the ricotta cheese. I have never thought to combine ricotta cheese with honey but the sweetness of the honey pairs nicely with the tangy flavors of the cheese. This dish is great to share with the table but to be totally honest with you, I could have had the entire thing as my meal!
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
While everything I have had at Locanda Verde is savory and yummy, I also have to give a shout out to the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes on their brunch menu. Fluffy and rich, these pancakes are stuffed with blueberries and topped with a tart lemon curd – no syrup needed!! The ricotta makes the pancakes much lighter than regular pancake batter and you don’t feel the pancake just sitting in the pit of your stomach after your meal. A must-have for brunch.
TriBeCa is a wonderful neighborhood to explore in the summer so get lost in the boutiques and cobblestone streets and when you are hungry, definitely stop by Locanda Verde for an amazing selection of ricotta cheese dishes!
It’s Finally Friday, Open Up That Wine Bottle!
Leave a Comment
Clic - 2009 Pinot Grigio
The pink bottle top was a brand I had never heard of, “Clic” and this particular wine was a 2009 Pinot Grigio from Friuli, Italy. Clic is the first line of wines from Enrico Coser, son of the well-known Italian winemaker Fabio Coser of Ronco de Tassi wines. Enrico followed in his father’s footsteps but branded a wine geared to a younger crowd, making his product line affordable but good quality wine for entertaining. The name Clic means “a small glass of wine between friends,” cute!
Normally favoring California whites over Italian, I decided to give it a try and am happy I did as the flavors of Clic’s Pinot Grigio are perfect for summer. The medium-bodied wine is very refreshing and crisp with hints of green apples and almonds. I was told it also has flavors of hay although I didn’t pick up on it but then again maybe I just don’t know what hay tastes like! I liked the mild flavors as sometimes I find a Pinot Grigio to be overly dry.
For a New York wine shop, the value was great at $16 for a full liter, not 750mL.
This wine, like many others lately, has a screw-cap top and is definitely worth trying as a summer wine to go with an afternoon of grilling and tanning!
Nibble, Nosh, Sip 