A Side for Everything!

I've decided that bruschetta is my spread of choice this summer.  I'm so in love with it, I want to put it on everything.

It's also pretty easy to make, so I can put it on everything.

What you'll need:

3 tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

1/2 tablespoon of fresh basil

How you do it:

Wash the tomatoes. Quarter them and scoop out seeds. Slice the tomatoes into bite sized pieces.  Mince the basil and garlic and combine with tomatoes.  Enjoy!

I took this yummy serving to a picnic. 

Semi-Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

My high school started an awesome 4 year culinary program when I was a senior. I was pretty excited to take the introductory course. I still remember complaining that they had started it right as I was getting ready to leave.

These semi-homemade cinnamon rolls were one of the first things we were allowed to make. I think the teacher was slightly nervous. It was her first year teaching and she was probably nervous about one of us kids setting an oven on fire. Having the entire high school evacuated because of a fire in her room wouldn't be the best impression ever, would it?

Could you imagine? So, we started off easy. But I swear to you, these were so good.

How you do it:
Use this recipe, but I did without the nuts.

Make sure that you make enough frosting for dipping!

Red, White and Blue...Chicken Cordon Bleu!

Chicken Cordon Bleu was always one of my favorite meals growing up. I would pull out the ham, scrape out the cheese and enjoy the chicken cutlet. What was I thinking?  I really have no idea.  

I was flipping through my trusty Home & Garden cookbook when I came across this recipe, and I knew right then and there, that's what I'm making for dinner. 

If I bought the ham, made it with the ham and ate the ham without complaint, without the thought of leaving the ham out...does that mean I now like ham? 

Um, no.  I tried to eat it alone, I wanted to like it, but no. I do not like the ham.

Do you see all the toothpicks above? I made sure that chicken wasn't going to fall apart.

And you know what?  It didn't!

What you'll need:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 slices Swiss cheese

4 thin slices smoked ham

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg: beaten

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

4 tablespoons butter

toothpicks

How You Do it:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4-inch thickness or until they are thin enough to fold. Place one cheese slice and one ham slice on each breast.  Roll up each chicken breast until cheese and ham are folded inside.  Use the toothpicks to secure the chicken.  Place flour, egg and bread crumbs in separate bowls, dredge each chicken breast in the flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs.  Place them on a greased baking dish.  Add one tablespoon of butter on top of each breast.  Bake for 35 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Remove the toothpicks before serving...it will look better that way.

Rainy Ribs

We've had a ton of rain in New York.  And by a ton, I mean pretty much a rain shower a day.

When the sun does come out, I'm usually at work and unable to bask in it's light and warmth.

I'm ready for summer with a little less rain.

So, I made ribs.  Because in my mind, ribs equal a beautiful, rainless day.

 I made these ribs in the oven, because I live in New York with no outdoor space.  I feel like I should throw that out there as much as possible.

If you have outdoor space and a grill, I bet these would taste just as good.

But I should warn you, these ribs didn't make the rain stop, but they were absolutely delicious.

What you need:

2 lbs ribs

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

How you do it:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients into a bowl that can fit a rib lengthwise. Cover each rib into the dry ingredients and make sure each side is coated, knocking off any extra seasoning.  Rub the olive oil over the ribs.  Place ribs in a baking pan with sides, I covered mine with tinfoil for an easy clean up.  Cook in the over for about 90 minutes or until ribs are tender.  No sauce is required.  Serves two or three people.

I served mine with this corn and cheesy mashed potatoes.

I started with this recipe: http://tinyurl.com/l6wwde

Barcelona Memories!

My Aunt and Uncle took my brother, my cousin and me on a Mediterranean cruise last summer.  We flew to Barcelona and spent a day there before boarding this hugely-gigantic cruise ship.  But before that, my Aunt and I were on a mission to find the best sangria.

It was not a mission that we took lightly.  

I think we tired 4 or 5 different pitchers of the refreshing summer liquid, before we found our favorite place. 

And you know what, we couldn't remember the name or where it was.

Lucky for us that my Uncle is really good with remembering where things are located.  He was actually able to remember where this place was a whole week later.  

And it wasn't just any week, it was filled with sunning, drinking, walking, drinking, laughing, learning, eating, drinking and so on.

When we docked back in Barcelona, we wanted to have another glass or two before we left.

He didn't let us down, he weaved the streets of Barcelona like a local.

And we got our pitcher.

It's been almost a year since then.  I haven't forgotten about my beloved drink.

So I made myself a pitcher.  It's delicious!  

The apples are seriously like little wine-bombs that explode in your mouth.

What you'll need*:

2 bottles of red wine (I used a Zinfandel)

3 apples, cut into cubes (I used 2 green and 1 red)

1 orange, cut into slices

2 lemons, cut into slices

5 cups ginger-ale

1/2 cup orange juice

2 shots vodka or triple sec

How you do it:

Pour wine into a pitcher and add fruit.  Refrigerate and let it cool for 24 hours.  This allows the fruit to absorb some of the wine.  (To serve immediately, you'll want to start out with chilled wine.)  When you are ready to serve it, add ginger-ale, orange juice and vodka.

Serve it in a wine glass and stay cool in the summer heat!

*This recipe was my starting point.

Cooking with Amy: Lasagna

Ricotta cheese has always been on my "dislike with a passion" food list.

Yes, I have one of those. It's completely internal and I could give you several reasons why each food enters the list. It's not just taste, sometimes it's texture, sometimes it's the way it looks, sometimes it's just because.

While I wouldn't go so far as to say that ricotta has been removed from this list of foods, it has at least moved to a different section of said list. Yes, there are sections.

This whole list thing is very complicated.

After I wouldn't eat my Mom's lasagna, she substituted a different cheese for the ricotta.

So when Amy wanted to make lasagna, I was willing to try it, but I didn't think I would like it. But it tasted pretty darn good!

What you'll need:

3/4 lb ground beef

1/4 lb ground Italian sausage

1 package lasagna noodles

3 cups tomato sauce

16 oz ricotta cheese*

1 egg

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

16 oz fresh mozzarella

Tin foil

How you do it:

Preheat oven to 35o degrees.

Cook lasagna noodles according to the directions on the box.

Combine the beef and the Italian sausage and cook until completely done. Add the combined meat to the sauce.

Mix the ricotta in a bowl with the egg, parmesan and Italian seasoning.

Spread about a tablespoon of plain tomato sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. This keeps the noodles from sticking after it's been baked. Lay one layer of cooked lasagna noodles along the bottom of the pan, usually 3 noodles.

Spread a thin layer of ricotta mixture on each noodle, then add the tomato-meat sauce and sprinkle a layer of mozzarella on top. Top each layer with a layer of noodles and repeat.

After you have three layers, or the top of the pan has been reached, spread the additional tomato sauce and cheese.

Tent the tinfoil over the pan. (Tenting the tinfoil keeps it from sticking to the cheese.) And cook for 40 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Add some garlic bread, a glass of wine and fresh parmesan! And then, of course...Enjoy.

*As a long-time non-ricotta eater, you can replace the ricotta with pretty much any kind of cheese. Cheddar is pretty much amazing, as is swiss!

Garlic Bread Brings Happiness

Do other people consider garlic a comfort food?  I mean, not on it's own, but accompanied by something else?  Like, say for example, bread?

Because when I smell garlic it brings so many wonderful, savory memories to mind.

Like my dad's pasta sauce.

Like my mom roasting it in the oven.

Like warm garlic bread to mop up pasta sauce.

Or is it just me? Either way, garlic bread makes me happy.  

What food makes you happy?