English Muffins

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Bread | 35 comments

Week #12 in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge is English Muffins! I can’t believe how much I have learned in this challenge by baking a new bread recipe each week. I’m so thankful to Pinch My Salt for organizing this challenge & for getting me out of my baking box! Well I don’t even think I had a box because the only bread I had really ever baked was banana bread. LOL If you don’t already have Peter Reinhart’s book you really should pick it up! If I can bake bread so can you!

Parmigiano Panko Herb Encrusted Chicken Breasts

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Poultry | 42 comments

This is my version of Italian Fried Chicken. Well I am a Southern girl after all & do love fried chicken so I thought this would be a good marriage of the two! I’ve been crazy for Panko lately & just love the texture & crunch that it gives, all the while being light & airy! Crazy I know, but true.

Peperonata

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Appetizer, Sauces | 11 comments

This, to me, is such a simple dish. I’m all about easy peasy. As I’ve mentioned before simple isn’t a bad thing. It truly is a WOW dish. Everyone will think you slaved away when you simply added the ingredients & left them to mingle with each other. The longer they mingle & get to know each other, the better they’ll be. LOL!

Join the Nutella Challenge

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Nutella | 6 comments

We’re kicking off a Nutella Challenge - and we’d love to have you join in the fun. You don’t need to have a foodie blog in order to participate. You just need to have a common love for the hazelnut goodness of Nutella!

Here’s an excerpt from the Nutella Challenge Information Page:

Why a Nutella Challenge you ask? Well, as many of you may know (if you’re following my blog), I am participating in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge. This is a bread baking challenge that Nicole of PinchMySalt headed up (She’s an amazing blogger, you should def check out her site). We’re baking our way through Peter Reinhart’s book one recipe at a time. I’m having so much fun doing that that I thought it would be fun to create another group with one of my favorite food items of all time: NUTELLA!

We already have a great bunch of foodies signed up. Check out the Nutella Blogroll to see who else is Nuts about Nutella! If you’re interested in joining us here are the rules (don’t worry they’re easy peasy!):

Click here to read the rest

Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread

Posted by Paula in All Recipes | 10 comments

Week #11 in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge is  Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread. I must admit I was so excited to be moving on from last week’s Cornbread!

So that you’re not kept in suspense any longer I DIDN’T like it! I know, I had high hopes with the addition of sugar & who can resist bacon. But alas, nope, didn’t care for it. So most of it went to dear Bella (our dog!). She of course was ever so grateful & I was grateful to dispose of it. The ultimate cornbread (sweet SWEET sweet of course) recipe still eludes me. Sigh! Sorry Peter. It’s not you, it’s me LOL!

Well I’m happy to say that I was excited about this bread.

Gigi’s Monte Carlo Sammie

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Sandwiches | 16 comments

Before I get started let me just say that this is one AMAZING sandwich. It’s right up there with my love for my strawberry nutella panino & that’s saying a lot.

Hubs & I were eating at Gigi’s one day & I was looking over all of his open face sammies for lunch & saw the Monte Carlo (spotlight coming down & music playing now) and after I read through all of the ingredients I knew I had to try it.

Insalata Caprese

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Appetizer, Salads, Vegetarian | 30 comments

Insalata Caprese is simply Caprese Salad (literally translated salad in the style of Capri) It comes from the region of Campania in Italy & it just might be the simplest dish you’ve ever put together. But don’t let the simple fool you, it’s full of flavor & oh so good for you. You don’t have to feel guilty about over indulging in this one.

You can serve them as I have in the picture above, sliced & layered oh so architecturally, or if you prefer a much more rustic version, you can arrange the slices on a platter – equally beautiful and just as tasty.

Cornbread

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Bread | 18 comments

Week #10 in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge was Cornbread. WOW hard to believe this non baker has been at this 10 weeks now! Okay back to business.

Now I know what I’m about to say might come as a surprise to some of you so brace yourselves. I’m NOT a big fan of Cornbread. Gasp! I know. Who would have thought a Southern Girl wouldn’t be crazy about cornbread. Well, go figure, but I’m not. But then again, I’m not your typical Southern girl. Around here saying your not crazy about cornbread is almost be as bad as saying that you don’t like grits! But fear not, grits I do like (drenched in cheese of course LOL).

Crab Linguine

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Main Course, Pasta, Seafood | 29 comments

Have I mentioned how much I love seafood? Well I do & any chance I get to add some to a dish I do – especially a pasta dish! I can’t go a week without having some type of pasta. Okay, more specifically, I really can’t go more than a day or so without some type of pasta. Thank goodness there are endless ways to prepare pasta & I’ll do my best to bring as many of them to your table as possible. Wouldn’t want to leave you out now!

Summery Chicken Salad

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Poultry | 17 comments

I know we’ve all had Chicken Salad before. Most I’ve had are heaping with mayonnaise (something I’m not a big fan of but can deal with in small amounts), chicken, and little else. Not mine! I can’t tell you how many people have asked me for this recipe after they have tasted this chicken salad. It’s very different & oh so refreshing with all of the fruit inside. I can always tell that they can’t quite figure out what that extra little flavor is. So I just blurt out, “The secret ingredient is CURRY powder!”

If you don’t want to cook the chicken just for the salad, you can also make this with leftovers from roasted or grilled chicken, OR you could even use 2 large cans of chunk chicken breast (drained of course).

Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Bread | 19 comments

Week #9 is Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread (wow that’s a mouthful). Well you KNOW I have a wicked sweet tooth so I was quite excited about this one. Not to mention it’s another 1 day bread! WOO HOO! Another big plus, there wasn’t any complicated folding that required me to pour through any online tutorials first.

Luckily I had almost all the ingredients required (with the exception of the walnuts) already in my pantry (another big plus) so I called on Marta and away we went. I don’t know about you but it’s amazing how just the smell of cinnamon puts a smile on my face. Awwwh, okay onto baking.

Salmon with Honey Mustard Glaze

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Fish, Main Course | 20 comments

After a week of sweets posts I thought I would balance things out with some healthier choices. (Don’t worry, I’ll be back to my sweets & high carbs soon enough. LOL) Summer is in full gear (at least in this part of the world) & I’m not a big fan of heating up the kitchen. So the natural alternative is the grill! Plus by grilling, you have the added benefit of NOT having extra pots & pans to clean! HOORAY! I love to cook but the dishes part, not so much. I must say the grill master or keeper of the tongs in our house is hubs, because, well, he really doesn’t like me to mess with the grill. LOL! I stick to my indoor grill.

Espresso in a Moka Pot

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Drinks | 1 comment

Recently, Stephanie from Wasabimon honored me by asking if I would do a guest post on her blog. After much consideration, I wrote about making Espresso in the infamous Moka Pot!  What’s a Moka Pot you ask?  Well here’s a little snippet of the story followed by a link to the full post on her blog. Be sure to click on it so you can read all about it…(& be sure to leave her some comment love  *wink wink* & then of course run out & get yourself a Moka Pot)

To give you a little history: The Moka Pot was created in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti. His stove top espresso maker revolutionized the preparation of espresso coffee, and is still the most popular way of making espresso at home. Especially in Europe. For those interested in the technical part: the coffee is prepared by creating steam pressure in the bottom chamber that forces hot water up through ground coffee and into the serving chamber. The steam pressure produces a smooth and creamy coffee with a distinctive frothy cap. Me, I just like to know that it makes an ah-mazing cup of coffee that even a novice can prepare!

Okay, if you’ve never used a Moka pot I’m sure you’re thinking, this can’t be as easy as that? Well it is and I’ll show you …

Read the rest of the post at Wasabimon

As always, come on, you know the deal by now, if you liked this post, I’d really appreciate a Stumble, Tumble, Digg or Tweet & we made it super easy for you, the buttons are right below

Shrimp Avocado Summer Sammie

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Seafood | 10 comments

I have been dreaming of food combinations lately (I know right, not the beach, not the spa, but food! LOL) and one that I have wanted to try is a fresh summer sammie. I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of Poor Boy Sammies but am just not into the fried food right now during this insane heat wave, way too heavy for me!

So this is my fresh new take on a summer gourmet sammie. This is so quick & easy to do & beats the normal ham & cheese any day of the week.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Desserts | 27 comments

Today is my birthday! Yeah! And because we’re such good friends I’m sharing with you my most FAVORITE special thing to have on my birthday — RED VELVET CAKE! Not just any red velvet cake mind you, my Grandma’s Red Velvet Cake. Okay fair warning, I’m going to get a little sappy here, but hey it is my birthday after all. I’ll try not to do this too often.

Cinnamon Buns

Posted by Paula in All Recipes | 12 comments

Week #8 of the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge was Cinnamon Buns & Sticky Buns. Can I just say that I have been waiting on this week since the start of this challenge. I have a wicked sweet tooth and these are right up my alley. Peter said that this version makes a bun that outperforms all of those mall buns you might be used to having. Well, of course I had to try to make these Cinnamon Buns for myself! Sticky Buns would have to wait for next time.

This was another recipe that only took one day to make, which in my book is a def plus. The hardest part for me was the waiting around. Marta worked like a champ with this dough as well! I know I’ve said it many times before but working with the dough is so therapeutic! Oh, yes & the rolling it up like a cigar shaped log – that was a little tricky. But I worked my way around the rolling issue.

Homemade Strawberry Gelato

Posted by Paula in All Recipes, Desserts | 20 comments

Ah, GELATO! NO, it’s not ice cream! It’s gelato (pronounced gel-lot-o)! There is a difference. The taste, the texture, the way it coats your mouth! From the minute I had my first one in Italy oh so many years ago I’ve been hooked! Something about this creamy mixture just sends tingles over my spine. Love Love Love Love Love it!

I had the amazing pleasure of having a best friend in Italy whose parents owned a Bar/Gelatteria (& no, a bar in Italy, isn’t the same thing as a “bar” in the states). This was a definite perk! I loved hanging out there. Watching, learning, eating (yes lots of eating) & of course helping out!