We had a mind blowing pre-holiday meal at Cesarina. If you haven’t been there, put it on your to-do list. They greeted up with bubbly and warm bread. We dove into that while we waited for our crispy octopus with romesco, capers, red onions and almonds. For the main course, Pappardelle with marscapone and truffle sauce topped with guanciale. parm and cracked black pepper. You guys, it’s the best pasta dish in the universe.
The night before Easter Shawna and I stayed up making a scavenger hunt for the girls’ Easter baskets. How did it turn out? Let’s just say that they would most likely not make it out of an escape room on their own.
We also hid eggs for them to find. We hid them so well that we didn’t find two of them for weeks.
This recipe comes from ancient times, a culinary class I took in another life. It makes you break out the food processor. I normally try to avoid using it. However, it’s worth the extra clean up.
This recipe makes about 4 cups.
INGREDIENTS
2 1-1/2 lb eggplants
1 tbs vegetable oil
3/4 cup plus 1 tbs minced green onions
2 1/2 tbs minced fresh peeled ginger
1 tsp chili-garlic sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 large seeded tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup pack fresh chopped cilantro
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
pita chips (homemade or store bought)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425. Pierce eggplants all over with a fork. Place on baking sheet. Roast in oven until eggplants are very soft and deflated, turning once about one hour. Cool slightly.
Cut eggplants in half, scrape flesh into strainer set over large bowl (do not let bottom of the strainer to touch bowl). Let eggplant drain for 30 minutes. Transfer eggplant to processor. Using the pulse button, process until almost smooth.
Heat veg oil in heavy large skillet over med-high heat. Add 1/2 cup of green onions, ginger, garlic and chili-garlic sauce. Saute just until onions soften, about 45 seconds. Stir in brown sugar, soy sauce , vinegar and lemon juice. Bring to simmer stirring constantly. Mix in eggplant puree and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in tomatoes, 3/4 cup green onions and sesame oil. Cool to room temp. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a medium bowl. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead, but bring to room temp before serving.) Garnish with 1 tbs of green onion and cilantro. Serve with toasted pita chips.
She wanted a Taylor Swift birthday including the cake from her Blank Space video. I almost pulled it off, almost.
The cake.
In the video T Swift stabs her white heart cake and blood spatters out of it. I watched the video countless times and scoured the internet for an actual recipe that I thought would mimic the video. A lot of recipes called for a raspberry jam filling, some just suggested decorating the cake with the knife stabbed in it and blood pooling around. But the birthday girl wanted to actually stab the cake for the bloody result, so I set work.
I made a white cake from the box and layered it and crumb coated with cream cheese frosting.
Next I made some fake blood with corn syrup and red and a dash of blue food coloring. Then I poured it into a water balloon. Sounds easy, it wasn’t.
I cut a hole into the cake, big enough to fit the water balloon. This took trial and error and a little panic.
I pushed it down and covered the hole with some of the cake that I cut out and then covered it with frosting.
I breathed a sigh of relief, I had done the hard part and it didn’t look terrible.
I threw on another coatlayer coat of frosting, I don’t know what the proper term is but I added more frosting and then got to piping.
I decided to add some friendship bracelet decor.
What I did next was my big mistake. I put it in the fridge and moved on with my life not thinking of the corn syrup that would thicken.
The build up was too much to handle.
You can see in the video how the corn sryup was too thick to splatter out like we were hoping.
Ugh, so close.
Such a let down. So, if you make this cake I suggest not using a frosting that needs to be kept cold or make it and serve it right away. Happy 13th birthday Kbear. I love you to the moon and back and around the entire universe.
I had so much basil sitting on the counter. I always buy some not knowing if what I have at home is still good and then I get home to see that it is and now I have all this basil to deal with, first world problems. Not wanting to make pesto or have Caprese, again, I decided on a Panzanella salad. However this time I wanted to roast the veggies because, no Caprese again. This recipe is super easy and you’re left with very few dishes, always a win. But you guys, it’s soo good, I mean it’s basically a deconstructed pizza.
INGREDIENTS
8 oz. French or Italian bread, about 5 cups, cut into 1″ pieces
12 oz. cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 small red, yellow or orange bell pepper thinly sliced.
10 cloves of garlic, peeled.
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. shaved parmesan
8 oz. small fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine or bocconcini)
2 c. packed baby arugula
1 c. packed fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F. On a rimmed and lined baking sheet, toss bread, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper and garlic with 6 tablespoons oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and several grinds black pepper. Shake the sheet to arrange everything in an even layer.
Bake, shaking the sheet halfway through, until bread begins to turn golden, 10 to 15 minutes.
Scatter the Parmesan over everything and continue to bake until tomatoes burst and bread is golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes longer.
Remove sheet from oven and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Add mozzarella, arugula, and basil to sheet pan. Drizzle with vinegar and remaining 2 tablespoons oil, season with ½ teaspoon salt and toss to combine, scraping up any melted bits from the sheet. Serve hot.
It’s been a minute since I have been here, free time is a rarity around here. The last time I logged on I couldn’t find my blog and it’s been a thing, but here I am, hi! I think the last time we chatted was a handful of months ago, lots to catch up on.
This cookbook is full of mouth watering recipes. Her cooking speaks to my heart.
I made the broken noodle bolognese and it was amazing. Ate like a deconstructed lasagna but with less effort.
I also made a fettuccine Alfredo
We went roller skating.
For my birthday we ran off to the desert. We started at a winery in Julian which was better than I remembered. Then we met my brother at our hotel in Borrego Springs. We spend the night at the town bar Carlee’s listening to our local country band. Always a fun time. The next day my brother got us a driver to take us into Palm Springs.
We started with brunch at Bongo Johnny’s. Bottomless mimosa’s are always a good idea.
Shawna found us a speak easy hidden behind a wine shop.
PS Air bar was a unique experience.
If I am going to sit in an airplane seat for any period of time I want be in a different location when I leave it. This was a one and done place for us.
We ended the day at the casino playing Roulette.
Jenn met us at our hotel that evening and then we all went back to Carlee’s for another go round. We played pool and danced the night away.
We had a yummy breaky the next morning before heading home.
We went for margaritas for the March birthday girls.
This is a simple and delicious cake. Not too sweet with warm notes of cardamom, it’s definitely a good back pocket dish to pull out for your next gathering.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, extra for dusting the pan
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 ½ cups plus 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
3 large eggs
Grated zest of 5 mandarin oranges
2 Tbs of fresh mandarin orange juice
1 ¼ cups whole milk
2 tablespoons sifted confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
*candied orange slices for garnish is optional
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease a bundt cake pan with a little olive oil and dust with a bit of the flour, shaking out the excess.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
In a large bowl, combine the 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, cardamom, and eggs. Using an electric hand mixer set on high, beat the mixture until thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes While the mixer is running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and beat until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add half the orange zest, the orange juice, and milk. Beat until smooth.
Add the flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix on low just until you have a uniform batter.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center is set.
Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes in the pan,
Before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar and sprinkle with orange zest or candied orange slices.
This is a delicious chicken salad Inspired by the Indonesian salad Gado Gado. It has crunchy veggies doused in a peanut butter-sesame dressing and topped with a coconut granola like topping. This has the salty-sweet-spicy-crunchy combo of flavors we are always looking for. It’s so good!
Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Separate 1 egg. Place the white in a large bowl (save the yolk for another time) and vigorously whisk until fluffy, foamy, soft peaks form.
Add 3 TBSP brown sugar, 3 TSP toasted sesame oil, 1 TSP curry powder, 3/4 TSP salt and 1/4 TSP cayenne pepper. Whisk to incorporate.
Add 1 1/2 cups nuts, 1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes, 2 TBSP sesame seeds and the zest of 1 lime. Fold with a rubber spatula until thoroughly coated.
Scrape the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread in an even layer. Transfer to the oven and bake, stirring halfway through, until the coconut is lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool slightly, then use your hands to break it up into chunks.
Make the dressing
Finely grate a 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger into a large bowl. Ad 1/3 cup coconut milk, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1 TBSP vegetable oil, the juice of 1 lime, the remaining 1 Tsp toasted sesame oil, and the remaining 1 Tsp brown sugar. Whisk until smooth, salt to taste.
Make the salad
Chop, slice, julienne, trim, shave and/or dice 1 1/2 pounds of mixed crunchy vegetables. Add all of the veg to the bowl of dressing.
Coarsely chop the leaves and tender stems from 1 bunch of cilantro and add to the bowl.
Add 2 cups of packed chicken meat to the same bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add a few handfuls of coconut crunch and toss to combine.
Divide salad into serving bowls/plates and top with more coconut crunch.
Photos have been piling up and I always have the best intentions of posting them, I don’t know where the time goes.
Heading back to the summer…
Belmont Park and SD Fair fun.
Summer night meals.
Roasted snapper.
And…
Esquites, which was so good I made it multiple times in a week.
I used a couple of recipes but mainly this one. I made it with fresh corn and the frozen roasted corn from Trader Joes and they both worked, but….the fresh corn was obviously superior.
Caramelized onion and blue cheese tart.
Fun day on the Island with Uncle C and Aunt A Frankie and Tony.
A couple of weeks ago we stumbled upon a farmers market where we stumbled upon ‘Crepe on a Stick.’ I thought “how clever” and ordered myself a guava and cheese on a stick. At that moment I forgot how good that combination of flavors is. Which brings me to this recipe. I recently made these for dinner, but they would be just as good in the morning with a cup of coffee.
Pastelillos de Guayaba
Ingredients
1 package puff pastry (2 sheets)
1 egg
7 oz. guava paste, cut into 16 ( 1/4 inch) slices
6 oz. sliced emmentaler cheese (Swiss or gruyere if you need a substitute) cut into 1/4 inch slices
Directions
Thaw your puff pastry.
Once your pastry has thawed, line a 12-by-17-inch baking sheet with 2 pieces of parchment paper. (The double layer helps to protect your pan when you’re cutting the puff pastry.)
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare your egg wash by whisking your egg and a splash of water.
Lay one layer of puff pastry on top of your parchment paper lined baking sheet. Make a 4-by-4 grid (give or take, this isn’t math) and put a piece of guava stacked with cheese on each square…space evenly.
Leave about 1 inch of space in between and top with the second puff pastry sheet.
Using a pizza cutter, slice the puff pastry into pieces, touching the top lightly to determine where to slice.
Use a fork to crimp all four edges twice on each side, then arrange them evenly on the baking sheet, leaving space between each. Brush the tops and edges lightly with the prepared egg wash and place baking sheet in the center of the oven.
Bake for 25 minutes or until pastelillos are beautifully golden brown, flaky and puffy.
Let rest for a few minutes or you will be biting into lava.
I tore this recipe out of a 2019 Fine Cooking magazine that I got from who knows where and who knows when, but I’ve had it on the refrigerator door for months just waiting to be made. The recipe calls for Bomba Calabrese hot sauce which I could not find anywhere local. However randomly in one of my Hello Fresh boxes were two packets of Calabrese hot sauce so obvi I had to finally make these wings.
This recipe was different than a lot of wing recipes I have seen, hence why I probably ripped out the page and saved it. The end result was really good, the anchovy paste gives it a depth of flavor that just hits differently but deliciously.
These wings twice cooked, once in the oven, finished on the grill and then drizzled with some of the remaining sauce.
INGREDIENTS
1/14 cups canned crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Italian hot sauce, such as Bomba Calabrese Hot Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBS white distilled vinegar
1 1/2 TBS anchovy paste
1 packed tsp. lemon zest
1 packed tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt
Pepper
3 lbs. Chicken wings
1/4 cup canola oil; more for the grill if needed.
DIRECTIONS
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a large heavy duty rimmed baking sheet in the oven until it’s hot, about 10 minutes.
In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatoes, honey, hot sauce, olive oil, vinegar, anchovy paste, zests, thyme, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 cup water. Purée until smooth, about 1 minute. If not using right away, cover and refrigerate up to 5 days.
In a large bowl, toss the wings with the with the canola oil, 1 TBS salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and dump the wings onto the hot baking sheet. Arrange in a single layer with tongs. Return to oven and bake until the wings and oil begin to sizzle, 12 to 13 minutes.
Remove the wings from the oven, transfer to a large bowl, and toss with half of the sauce. Let stand 10 minutes.
Arrange the wings evenly on the hot grill. Grill until browned and charred in places, turning every 3 minutes for a total of 9 minutes.
As the wings finish cooking, transfer them to a large, clean bowl. Drizzle with some of the remaining sauce, and serve the sauce of the side.
The Art of Thyming 