Butternut Squash Pumpkin Soup Update!!

I know I posted Ina Garten's recipe for this soup earlier today. I wanted to do a follow up post because when I made this tonight, I added a few touches and tweaked it a bit. I hope you enjoy it!

Here are the ingredients you will need.

This was the best version of the soup I have made so far. You're probably wondering what the giant loaf of bread is there for. I'm going to add a great recipe at the end of this post for Fontina cheese and honey on crispy crostini. That's really just a fancy word for toast. Now you'll be a HIT at your next party when you share THAT knowledge with someone! ;-) Just kidding. Don't do it.

I started by adding some olive oil and a little butter to the pan. Sorry, I hardly ever measure, but let me put it this way, I just wanted to coat the bottom of the pan so the shallots didn't burn. Shallots! They aren't in my picture, are they? Whoops! You need 2 medium sized shallots finely shopped. I know the recipe said onion, but I really, really love the flavor of shallots. They're milder, and I like how they didn't kill the flavors in this recipe. So add shallots. :-) Sautee the shallots in the oil and butter on medium low heat until they are translucent. Then I added the 2 packages of butternut squash, defrosted, of course. To the squash I added 15oz of pumpkin. Make sure it's actually pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Big difference! I could only find a large 29oz can so I just used half of it. Gently mix the squash and pumpkin together. To the mixture I added 2 cans of chicken broth. They were 14 1/2 oz each. This was all they had in the store, but it comes to about 2 cups of chicken broth. You can certainly use vegetable broth too. Mix it all together and keep it cooking on medium low heat.

I like to add a little flavor to the soup and make it slightly sweet. To my soup I added some pumpkin pie spice. Maybe a teaspoon and a half, not much more. I like a subtle hint. You might like more, so you should play around with the flavors. I also wanted some natural sweetness so I added a tablespoon of honey. And by "tablespoon" I mean I eyeballed it. ;-) It's a rough tablespoon. Mix it all together and continue to cook. This is a really quick soup, so you can cook it until it gets hot and you're done.

For a nice contrast in taste, add a dollop of Greek yogurt (or sour cream) and sprinkle with a bit more pumpkin pie spice. :-)

The finished product. YUM!

Fontina Cheese with Honey Crostini

This is a nice compliment to the dish, and I really like to dip the crusty bread into my soup. You can really eat this with anything you'd like.
You will need:
-1 baguette
-A chunk of Fontina cheese (I love Bel Gioso cheeses. You can get them in the supermarket for around $4 and change.)
-Honey

Set your oven to 350 degrees. Depending on how many people you are feeding, slice the baguette into small rounds. In a small bowl, mix a little olive oil and garlic powder. You are going to brush this onto each slice of bread so you don't really need to measure the oil or garlic. Once the baguette rounds are brushed with the mixture, put them into your oven to toast for 10 minutes. Like I have said previously, set a timer because they can burn easily! While they are toasting up, cut yourself some Fontina to put on top of the warm toast. Put them cheese on once you remove the toast from your oven. The heat will help to slowly melt the cheese...and Fontina melts very well. Before serving, drizzle each slice with a little honey. It's such a great compliment to something so simple!

The crostini. I promise it will look better when you make it! :-)

I hope you try this recipe, and as always, please let me know how delicious it tasted!

What I'm Having For Dinner Tonight

Happy Halloween! This is my favorite time of the year. It's getting cooler out, there are lots of spooky movies on tv, and it's when I really start to get in the mood for lots of winter squash recipes. I also get in the mood to dig into the candy bowl, but I feel like that discussion is a whole different blog post. ;-)

I decided to share the recipe for Winter Squash Soup with Pumpkin that I am making tonight. Nice and simple, and I can eat it while I'm waiting for all the kids to come get some candy.

Try Ina Garten's recipe for squash and pumpkin soup. It looks so delicious and so simple. I know I've posted a few recipes by Ina, but I'm not going to lie, I would love to cook with her. I would cook with her, Michael Symon, Susan Fenniger...the list goes on. It really does, but I won't bore you. The only thing I do that's slightly different with this recipe is, I used already pureed winter squash instead of cubed squash. I always have pureed squash in my freezer because you can buy it already packaged like that at WalMart. (I'm sure you get it at other grocery stores, but I always grab some there. I think it's close to $1.00 a package. Yes, I'm excited about saving money. Always!!) The reason I do this is because it takes out the step of having to puree it. For me, at least. I chop my onions or shallots very finely, so I don't mind if there's a slight texture in the soup. It makes it very flavorful. I garnish it with a dollop of Greek yogurt. And by dollop I mean, I don't measure...ever. :-D I love Greek yogurt.

I do have a food mill, so I could make it very smooth if I used chunks of butternut squash. If you have an immersion blender that will also work as well. I love mine. LOVE it! It's definitely great for soups. If you don't have one, I recommend getting one. You can always find them on sale at Kohl's or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. (Even better when you have Kohl's Cash or those crazy coupons from BB&B! I have a whole kitchen drawer full of them!!)

I will post a picture of my soup later, but if you try it, I hope you post a picture as well. Don't forget to like this blog page, and my Facebook page, so you can post on there as well. Have a great day and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! 

A Tasty Treat During Sandy

Matzo Brie

I needed a change of pace today while I tried to take my mind off the impending storm. I don't think I even have to tell you I'm talking about Hurricane Sandy. It has had enough coverage to strike fear into the hearts of millions. Literally, millions. 

So, anyways, I had a friend that used to make me Matzo brie all the time, and I never knew how she did it. Come to think of it, I never even asked. It was so good. That's all I can remember. I recall it being crispy on the outside and very soft on the inside. I'm a big fan of foods that have texture which is probably why I like it so much. I have been thinking about it a lot lately, and I really wanted to learn how to make it. My friend gave me a recipe of her mother's that sounded delicious, but unfortunately I don't like ricotta or lemon. Both those ingredients are the star in that particular recipe. (I'm sorry!!!) After a little research today, (what else was there to do while everyone else was obsessing about the storm?)I decided to concoct my own version of Matzo Brie based on various recipes I found. It was fantastic! Did you know you can put anything from grape jelly to powdered sugar to cinnamon and sugar on your Matzo Brie? (How awesome does that sound??) Well, now you know. As you can tell from my picture, I went with some powdered sugar. I honestly thought it tasted a bit like funnel cake, and honestly, there's nothing to dislike about funnel cake!...except the fake it is probably several hundred calories. 

Check below for the recipe. I plan on making this again tomorrow for breakfast to see if I can refine my skills. This may just be my new favorite morning comfort food!

Matzo Brie
2 large eggs, beaten
2 pieces of matzo
2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
powdered sugar for garnish

In a bowl, lightly beat the two eggs with the vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl, crumble the two pieces of matzo and add some water to the bowl just enough to soak the crackers. The crackers will need to sit and absorb most of the water. Meanwhile, preheat your pan and add the butter and olive oil. Once most of the liquid has been absorbed by the matzo, drain any remaining water out of that bowl. Add the moistened matzo to your egg mixture and mix together. 
Pour the combination into your hot pan and spread it out so it looks like the beginning of an omelette. 

What the beginning of your matzo brie should look like (even though this is already after one side has been cooked.)

 Allow the egg mixture to cook and crisp up for several minutes until you can lift it slightly with a spatula. It should all remain intact. If you don't feel like you can flip it in one piece, use a plate to slide it on to and then invert. (It doesn't have to look perfect, so don't be afraid to flip it!)Cook the same way on the remaining side. I like mine on the crispier, well done side, as you can tell.
Once it's done to your liking, remove from the stove and slide it on to a plate. You can slice it in half and sprinkle with powdered sugar or any of the other combinations. Maybe you like a specific kind of jelly or jam; I think I should try that next. Whatever you try, I hope you like it. Who says Matzo Brie isn't a hurricane food? ;-) Post your comments and thoughts here or on my Facebook page, The Delicious Bite.

Asiago, Spinach, Bacon Quiche

MMMMmmmmmmm...

I don't like eggs. There, I said it. I. Don't. Like. Eggs. I had a traumatic experience with eggs when I was in the 7th grade. Who has a traumatic experience with eggs?!, you ask yourself. But trust me, it was awful. I slept over a friend's house, and her sister offered to make us breakfast the next morning. Yes! Breakfast! What will she cook us? Pancakes. Maybe french toast. Maybe regular toast with some butter. Whatever...I was just hungry. She made eggs and must have cooked them, no joke, for 1 minute. Maybe it wasn't a real minute, but honestly, no one should EVER cook eggs in the rapid manner which she did. She puts a plate in front of me that has a pale, runny, yellow blob just sitting in the center. There was actually water or something pooled in the plate because they were that under cooked and...raw. I don't even know what word to use. Cut to the present day, I cannot eat eggs unless they are so well done they are almost burnt. It's my hang up. I'm sorry. Please don't stop reading my blog. ;-)

Anyways, I know you're thinking, how did you eat quiche? I was reading a post on Facebook the other day when a girl said she ate Asiago and spinach quiche and an onion bagel for dinner. (Thanks, Courtney!) Wow, that really sounds amazing. What was this unheard of craving for quiche, and how could I make it with lots of flavor and ingredients to almost mask the eggs? The answer was clear. BACON. Yes, bacon. Say it with me. BACON. Has there ever been a situation when bacon didn't make something better? That's what I thought. You can't think of one. One of my favorite chefs of all time, Michael Symon, is obsessed with bacon, and I can truly see why. So I decide to make my own version of the Asiago spinach quiche and use bacon to make me smile. I used some Greek yogurt for a little bit of richness, and it really gave it something extra. It took ordinary quiche up a few notches, and this recipe made it worthy of a good weeknight dinner. If you don't like the yogurt, just omit it, but I beg you to leave it in. This was so quick, so easy, and my husband and I polished it off by the next day. So if you're like me and you don't love eggs but like a good quiche every now and then, this recipe is for you.

Asiago Spinach Bacon Quiche (for people who don't like quiche)
1 ready-made pie crust (deep dish preferred for all the veggies and BACON)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 medium to large shallot, minced
1 package of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
5 strips of thawed bacon, cut into lardons
1 cup of grated Asiago cheese (I prefer Bel Gioso, but you can use whatever.Yes, you are going to have to grate your own. Come on! It's so much fun!)
1/4 cup of Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Gently whisk your eggs in a bowl. Add salt and pepper. To the egg, add your shallots, bacon, spinach, and cheese. (You can definitely brown up the bacon and shallots in a pan before you add them. They will crisp up and continue to cook in the oven. Up to you.) Stir all the ingredients together and add your Greek yogurt. The mixture will take on a creamy consistency at this point. Yummmmm. Transfer the mixture to the pie crust and sprinkle a little more Asiago on top. (Come on! Did you honestly think I wasn't going to add more cheese?!) Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Tzatziki Sauce

I know this looks less than appealing, but trust me...it's SO GOOD!!!!

Recently I took a class at The Culinary Institute and made tons of delicious food. One of the plates I was required to make was the zucchini pancakes with homemade tzatziki sauce. If you have never had tzatziki sauce, you're missing out! It's a flavor sauce made from Greek yogurt, cucumber, sour cream, and mixed with tons of fresh herbs and lemon juice. I don't use this solely with the zucchini pancakes, I also use it as a delicious dip for veggies and other things. So, at the request of friends and people who love a good dip, I give you THE best tzatziki dip I have had so far. 

Tzatziki Sauce Culinary Style :-)
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I always use Chobani)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated cucumber, squeezed dry
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp minced fresh mint or dill (I always use lots and lots of dill. For me, the flavor is better. Did I mention lots of dill?)  :-)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest (Don't skip this step! You have no idea how much flavor this adds!)
Salt and pepper as needed

Combine the yogurt, sour cream, cucumber, and garlic in a food processor and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and fold in the olive oil, mint or dill, lemon juice, and zest. Stir until combined and season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

**To be honest, when I'm rushing (or don't feel like it), I don't put the ingredients in a food processor. I just mix everything together. It makes for a chunkier sauce, and I'm ok with that, so if you are too, I promise I won't tell. :-) **

Coconut Maple Rice Pudding

Coconut Maple Rice Pudding

Yes, this rice pudding is so darn good that it deserves it's own swanky font. Trust me. I honestly don't even know where the idea came from to make this kind of rice pudding. I can't even tell you why I have wanted it so much lately. That's just my sweet tooth for you, I guess. Actually, I do have to give some credit to Ina Garten. I'm sure you guys know her better as the Barefoot Contessa. (Where are all my Food Network fans??) A few weeks ago I watched her make a Maple Pecan Rice Pudding, and I think this recipe is permanently ingrained in my head. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I did find her recipe, and sorry to say, I barely had any of the ingredients needed. Who has an extra bottle of Maker's Mark laying around? Not me. Anyways, I stumbled across the recipe again online the other day, (ok, it was on Pinterest) and I decided I wanted to make it. I found a different recipe for coconut maple rice pudding, and it sounded delicious, but I really liked Ina's technique. So here you have it. This creation is the two recipes blended together with a bit of my own twist. Here is Ina's recipe and here is the random recipe from which my creation emerged. Below is exactly how I made my rice pudding.

The Delicious Bite Coconut Maple Rice Pudding
3/4 cup of Basmati rice
1 1/2 cups water
3 cups half & half, plus another 1/2 cup set aside
1 can of light coconut milk (this has about 1 cup in it)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla 
1/2 tsp caramel extract (optional)
1/4 cup maple syrup (I used slightly less)
1/4 tsp salt

Combine the rice, water, and salt into a pot, and bring to a boil. Lower the boiling water down to a simmer, and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Most of the water will be absorbed. Stir the half & half (3 cups), the coconut milk, the sugar, and unsweetened coconut into the rice. Bring to a boil for 30 minutes. Stir frequently so it doesn't burn. (Watch it because it may boil over! I was dangerously close! Just use a big pot.) :-) The mixture will thicken considerably. At the end, stir in your lightly beaten egg and let it cook for another minute. Remove the pudding from the heat.

Here's where I sort of went my own way according to my tastes. I added the vanilla, caramel extract, and maple syrup. (If you don't have real maple syrup, just use whatever kind of syrup you have. My one suggestion is to add a little and then taste it. Certain syrups can be very sweet, and you don't want to overpower anything else in your pudding. Let's be honest, would you really have any problem sneaking a taste? I didn't.) At this point your pudding is ready to be transferred into a bowl and chilled. Follow Ina's directions and put a piece of plastic wrap right on top of the pudding so a skin doesn't form. Place it in the refrigerator to cool. Don't ask me how long you should cool it for because clearly I didn't wait. I have no patience. :-) I gave it a good 20 minutes and then served myself. It was still pretty warm and it was insanely tasty!! I don't regret my decision at all. haha. I sprinkled some cinnamon on the top, and it was heaven in a bowl. I suggest you do the same. Enjoy every delicious bite. :-)

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I'll admit...this recipe tonight has no cheese in it. I repeat, there's NO cheese, no cheese-like product, nothing. I don't blame you if you close this browser in disappointment. (Don't! I'm just kidding!) It's ok because dinner was still good minus all the cheesey, gooey goodness. Siiiiiigh. I just love cheese.

(*Snapping out of the daydream) Ok, but I DID make a delicious pot roast today. You know you're getting older when you get excited about meat being on sale at the grocery store. I practically did a cartwheel in the meat department when I saw roasts were on sale for $2.29 a pound. WOOOHOOOOO!! Who am I kidding? I went there specifically FOR the roasts because I saw them advertised in the flyer. Yes, I am the girl that plans her meals for the week by checking out the flyers. Getting meat on sale is like winning the lotto for me. It's the little things.

So I found a recipe on Pinterest (there's that darn Pinterest again), and I was dying to try it. Armed with my new roast at $2.29 a pound, I was all set. I realized I had never made one before, and I wasn't sure how long to really cook it. The recipe said 10-12 hours, but who really has that kind of time? I could crank it for 8 hours on high, but do I really want to ruin a good cut of meat? Good friends on Facebook helped me right along, and let me say, the roast was excellent. Both my husband and I packed the leftovers in Tupperware for work tomorrow.

Here's the recipe. Let me tell you how I tweaked it a bit. First of all, I created my own spice rub for the roast and browned it on all sides. 1 1/2 Tbsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, 1/2 tsp of onion powder, 1/2 tsp of rosemary, and 1/2 tsp of oregano. I added 2 Tbsp of olive oil and mixed it together. I let the rub sit for about 15 minutes so the flavors would infuse into the olive oil.
One thing I did forget to do was pat the roast dry before I seasoned it, but honestly I don't think it mattered. After I browned it, I sliced 2 onions and lots of garlic. (No, I didn't measure with any of that. The more flavor, the better.) Then I followed the recipe as it was written using the gravy mix, applesauce, and water. I did not, however, use the onion soup mix. I find it way too salty. Pour the liquid so it goes about halfway up the meat. I cooked the roast for 6 hours on low, turned the roast, and set it for another 2 hours on high. The result...meat so tender I didn't need to cut it with a knife. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture because we were so hungry and ate it too fast! Serve with some mashed potatoes and roasted veggies and you have yourself a meal. Don't forget to save the juices from the pot to make gravy. Add a little cornstarch and you're done.. :-)

Be sure to post pictures or success stories here, or on my Facebook page.

Chicken Enchilada with Cilantro Lime Rice

I love Pinterest. I don't say it enough, and I definitely don't tell it everyday that I love it, but I think I should start. I love you, Pinterest. If you have no idea what Pinterest is and think I've gone crazy, I suggest you Google it right away. Find someone that is already on the site (at this point, who isn't??), and have them send you an invite. It will change your life and you will become addicted. Yes, ADDICTED!!! I promise you. If you don't get sucked into the vortex that is Pinterest, please be sure to let me know.

Anyways, I love signing onto the website because there are so many amazing recipes all in one place. I know, I know, it's like that anywhere on the internet, but it's really not. It has given me so many great recipes and some great ideas. This is where I got my recipe inspiration for tonight's dinner, chicken enchiladas with cilantro lime rice.

Chicken enchiladas with cilantro lime rice

I don't use any tortillas with this recipe because I was trying not to make it a carb overload, and I wanted to keep it mainly protein. It was really an easy recipe, but I was talking on the phone so it went a lot slower. (Hiiiiii, Lauren!! ;-)) I'm really proud of myself because my intentions were to buy a jar of enchilada sauce. Quick and easy. I actually never got it today, so I decided to look up a recipe and make my own, and it was delicious! I'm so happy I didn't buy it. You can find that recipe here. It's really a quick and flavorful sauce. The chicken and cilantro lime rice are my favorite part of this dish. Chicken, cheese, and a spicy sauce...how can you not love that? Mmmmm cheese. Actually I think the rice is my favorite part. (I have an obsession with rice. I'm not sure if that has been made apparent or not. :-p) My only suggestion with the rice is to make sure you taste it after you add the lime juice. Rice tends to be a blank canvas and needs a lot of flavor. I wanted to drive home the taste of lime, so I made sure to make it really flavorful. I did, however, add less cilantro than needed. Cilantro is a strange herb. Either you like it or you really don't. For some reason I think it tastes like dish soap sometimes. lol. I'm sorry! That's just my opinion. I gave it some cilantro flavor, but that's about it.

Try this dish, and hopefully you'll make your own sauce too. If you don't, I promise I won't tell. Just pretend you made it so you can get lots of compliments. ;-)

BEST Steak Marinade

The best steak marinade you will ever have. Look no further!!!

I don't know if you're like me, but I don't "love" steak. I'll eat it on a salad or among other yummy side dishes, but I will never go to a restaurant and just order a steak. (Unless it's someplace like Peter Luger's restaurant. Don't get me wrong.) When I cook it at home it always needs something...I don't ever know what that something is. A-1 sauce, Gorgonzola, Worcestershire; I've tried it all...until last night. When I tell you searching for recipes online is a hobby of mine, I'm not kidding. When I want to eat something or need to make a recipe better, I head to the internet. Trust me, it's your greatest untapped resource. I found the most delicious, most flavorful, EASY (that's the key...EASY!!!) marinade for my steak. You throw together ingredients in a bowl, they are all things you have on hand in your house, you mix it up and you're done. Without dragging this post on and on, here is the insanely delicious recipe. Depending on how big or small your steak is, it does make a lot of marinade. Just FYI. But honestly, is that ever a bad thing? More flavor!! I love garlic, so I also added some mince garlic My steak marinated last night for about an hour and a half. The recipes says you can marinate it up to 8 hours.

Again, I'm going on and off track here. haha. Please try it, and when you do, post pictures and leave your comments. I'm curious to see if others love it as much as I did. Cheers! 

A nice cut of medium rare steak served with a side of braised kale

Cauliflower Cheezy Garlic Bread

Cheezy cauliflower garlic breadsticks...except there's no bread!!

This was so tasty. Garlic bread, but there's not actually any bread. The crust is made of mashed cauliflower with cheese, and it's a lot tastier than you may think. Don't think so? Try this recipe. I tend to use more garlic and cheese because I really like that flavor, but you can alter the recipe as you would like. It has cheese, and basil, and cheese...have I mentioned the cheese yet? You also won't feel badly if you eat too much of it...or all of it. It's vegetables, for crying out loud! Indulge! ;-)
You can also serve it with tomato sauce on the side for dipping. I haven't tried that yet, so let me know if you do. ;-)

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband!!

No, it's not really his birthday today. That was back in September, but the purpose of this post is dedicated to him. Each year I cook him a birthday cake of his choice...usually right out of the box. Shhhhhhhhhhhh!!! No judgement!!! :-p

Thank heaven I have a wonderful husband who supports me and all my crazy eating habits. I mean, he must love me because on a daily basis he allows me to talk about food ad nauseum, constantly eat food, watch cooking shows like it's my full time job, and read cookbooks in bed. This is clearly the "for better or for worse" part of the marriage, right? ;-) Just kidding. But seriously, he accepts and supports my love of cooking and all things food.

One of my favorite shows is Masterchef with Gordon Ramsey. I love and cheer for my favorites each week, and he will always be listening to it in the background. Whether he watches it in its entirety or not, he knows the premise of the show. Flash back to the week before his birthday. Since I have been really diving into my culinary skills this year, I asked him if he wanted a cake or anything this year. Again, knowing how much I love Masterchef (and if you like the show you'll get this too), he gave me a "Mystery Box Challenge." Long story short, with a mystery box you get certain ingredients, and you have to cook something based on those ingredients. In no particular order he wanted cake pops with the ingredients caramel, maple, and bacon.  ??? What was I supposed to do with that?!?

I tried my hand at cake pops and just couldn't get the hang of them. I tried. I reeeeeeally tried. I had given up the week he asked me for cake pops. Now what? So I made an executive choice and decided he was getting cupcakes...not cake pops! And let me tell ya'...they turned out to be amazing!! Light, fluffy caramel cake covered with vanilla frosting and maple coated bacon pieces. Trust me on this one. If you have ever had this combination before, you'd be a believer.

Caramel Maple Bacon Cupcakes

If you'd like to try something like this, I suggest you go with this cake recipe. It's Martha Stewart's recipe. You can't go wrong with Martha, can you? If you have caramel flavored extract I would suggest adding some. It really drives home the caramel flavor. Yum! The frosting was just a basic cream cheese frosting that I adapted from a Cooking Light recipe book. You can Google and basic cream cheese frosting recipe. To get the bacon crispy and crumble-y, you need to bake it in the oven. I suppose you could cook it in a skillet like you normally would, but it's easier to brush on the maple syrup before you bake it. Cook up about 4-5 slices brushed with maple syrup, and then let them cool completely. Be sure to watch the bacon because the sugar in the syrup can cause it to really burn if you're not watching. When it's completely cooled, crumble it and put it to the side. You can sprinkle the bacon pieces on at the last minute. Enjoy a.s.a.p!!

If you attempt this recipe, or something similar, please, please, PLEASE take pictures!! I would love to see someone else's version of these cupcakes. (Or if you can master this in a cake pop, please tell em how.) ;-)

We finished every last one!!!

Lighten up!!...It's Penne a la Vodka!!

"What's so great about making penne a la vodka?", you ask yourself. What if I told you that this particular dish had no cream or butter in it? What if I told you the calories are cut down to 300? Interested?! I thought so!!! Now that I think about it, I realize there's also no vodka in this dish. haha. Seriously, you'll never miss it. This version is so tasty I don't think I'll make it any other way again. You'll replace all the fattening ingredients with Greek yogurt. Yes, you heard me correctly. I know to some this may sound gross, but think about it. Greek yogurt is healthy for you, and it's really only replacing all the "creaminess" without the fat. See where I'm going with this? Be sure to serve it over whole wheat pasta. I also serve my cauliflower cheesy garlic bread with this meal. That recipe will follow in my next post. ;-) Stay tuned.  Without further delay, I present to you, No Cream, No Cry Penne a la Vodka (ish) ;-)

**Cook's Note: Even though the recipe doesn't call for this, I use 0% Greek yogurt to really lighten up the calories. But that's just me. I only eat 0% Greek yogurt, so that happened to be what I had on hand.
Also, all my herbs were fresh. There's just something I love about fresh herbs vs. dried herbs sometimes. I always use both, but again, I happened to have all fresh herbs this time around. It really hit the flavors out of the park. Just FYI.**  ;-)

To make you smile.

Could this face be any cuter??? :-)  Enjoy your day!

My Culinary Experience

For my birthday, my wonderful husband chose a gift he knew I would absolutely love. What can I say...the man knows me!!! :-) I got an all day cooking course at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Now, my birthday is in July, so I had to wait until September for the class. Not that this was a bad thing, but of course, I honestly couldn't wait for the day.

I was lucky to have a small class that consisted on only 12 people. The class was taught by the amazing Chef Remolina, head chef at the French restaurant over in the Culinary. I haven never been to the French restaurant before, or any of their restaurants for that matter, but now it is a restaurant goal of mine. :-) There were also 3 other chefs working to help us, 2 of which were students.

**Just a little side note here (and I love this!), but there was a student chef that worked with my team. Her name is Pam. She was a really knowledgeable Asian girl, and I was blown away by what she already knew being a 1st year student. I asked about her expertise. She told me that she had gone to a cooking school in her hometown, but really wanted to learn more. She came all the way to Hyde Park from Thailand!! How amazing is that?! Ok, rant over.**

Back to my story :-)...we were all in groups of 3, and each group was responsible for making a certain meal. My group had to make lamb meatballs with spicy tomatoes, zucchini cakes, and a tzatziki sauce. (Sorry to all my Greek friends; I know I'm spelling that wrong!! I think.) I really loved making every single thing from scratch. There was nothing in a box, nothing in a can...great vegetables, meats, and so on. Every grate zucchini by hand and not use a food processor? I found it slightly therapeutic and enjoyed it!! Laugh at me all you will. :-) To make a VERY long story short (just look at these blog posts), it was so much fun to prepare food that I might not have made at home.

During our cooking time, the chef showed us a demonstration on how to make Tiramisu. It was then served to us later as we sampled all the rest of the food. The chef showed us how to plate our dishes, and they were served buffet style. We all ate together in the dining room as we sampled each other's dishes. And I have to say...each and every dish was delicious!!! Did I mention Tiramisu for dessert?? Just checking. ;-)

If you get the chance to take a cooking class, or if you live remotely close to The Culinary (even if you don't), these classes are worth it. There were people in my class from North Carolina, New Jersey, Oneonta...they come from all over. It's one of the greatest experiences. And of course I promptly cooked one of my recipes that night when I got home. Zucchini pancakes. :-)

My zucchini pancakes!!

Coconut Rice

Lamb meatballs with hot tomatoes (I rolled each one!! haha)

The next few dishes were made by the other groups, but they were insanely delicious as well.

I wish I could remember the name of this beef dish. I'll find out!!

French lentil salad

Spicy potato soup (that's a red heat lamp. I swear. ;-)

Thai style chicken

And last but not least...

The best Tiramisu I have ever had!!!!

Following Atticus - A small side note...

I guess this isn't a food related post at all, but it is something I feel so strongly about and I NEED to share it!! haha.

I recently finished an amazing book. It was called Following Atticus by Tom Ryan. I had an idea of what the book was about, but it absolutely exceeded any expectations that I had. No other book has ever moved me in such a way. I am not going to give ANYTHING away about this book. All I can say is, if you are an animal lover, if you are a dog lover...this book is for you. It is a fantastic account of the relationship between dog and man and the amazing bond that is formed.

I read a lot, and I have read a lot of books. I can tell you honestly that in my lifetime, I have cried at 3 books. The first was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson, and now, this book. Actually, I cried my eyes out at this book. I would read it at night in bed, and it got to the point where I would climb in bed with tissues because I never knew if I'd cry or not! My husband actually started to suggest that I just return the book to the library without finishing it! (Gasp!!) I could never!! I couldn't put it down. It is such a touching story about the bond this man has with his dog. And yes, the story is entirely true. If you have a puppy or a dog, you will be kissing and hugging them every chance you get. (I'm sure your dog won't mind!!)

So, without giving anything else away, and without going on and on about this book, my suggestion is for you to read it. You will NOT be disappointed, and you won't be sorry. After you've read it, and ONLY after, you can visit Tom Ryan's blogspot. I have even started following him on Facebook. Little did I know that he does book tours with his dog and talks about his life and Following Atticus...and he was speaking in the town my sister lives in last Saturday! Dammit!! Oh well. Ok, I won't ramble anymore. Read it if you can, and let me know what you think. There is no book that has ever had this effect on me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.