I Re-Created the beautiful meal I had in Philadelphia just so I could have it with hubby. Cool thing is, all elements of the meal *actually* tasted just about the same as the restaurant. I was very excited about this.

To Prep:

Soup:
Raspberry Sorbet (Ciao Bella @ Whole Foods)
Fresh Chopped Basil
1 1/2 Large Seedless Cucumbers (sliced)
2 Jalapeno Peppers (seeds and all!)
16-20 Large Pieces Melon (8-10 Honeydew & 8-10 Cantaloupe)
1 oz White Pinot Grigio Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Habanero Hot Sauce (El Yucateca)
1 Tablespoon 1st Cold Press Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup Spicy V-8 (I Use the Whole Foods Brand Spicy V-8 Veggie Juice)
1 Tablespoon Fresh Sea Salt

In blender, mix everything *EXCEPT* the Sorbet & the Basil.

Chop the basil in a food processor and then spoon mix into the raspberry sorbet until smooth and mixed. Return to freezer until soup is served.

Once all the ingredients are blended in the blender, place the blender in the fridge for an hour to let marinade.

To serve, spoon mix the soup before placing in chilled bowl. Top with raspberry basil sorbet and garnish with parsley.

Serve with sangria :) (I like my Sangria chilled with sliced fresh cherries and lime)

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For the salad:

The dressing: Chopped Fresh Basil mixed with 1st Cold Press Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar and Fresh Crushed Sea Salt.

For Two People:
8 Medium Sized Fresh Mozzarella Medallions, 8 Slices Heirloom Tomatoes, Place on bed of fresh Baby Spinach and garnish with dressing (above)

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For Dessert:
Mix Slow Churned French Vanilla (about 4 generous scoops) with 1 heavy teaspoon of spanish saffron. Mix until smooth and put in freezer until ready to serve (about 1 hour)

ENJOY!!!!!!

Last night I made two jars of hot garlic pickles, inspired by mary_wroth's bread and butter pickles last week.

I think I may do more because I forgot to soak them in brine (saltwater) overnight beforehand, but here is a recipe I concocted:

(The brine soak is to keep them crispy. I will have to experiment).



You Will Need:
1. Mason Jars
2. Pickling Cukes
3. 1/2 & 1/2 ratio of Distilled White Vinegar and Water - Enough to reach the top of the mason jar after cukes are in
4. Whole Peeled Garlic Cloves (can be sliced into long spears or chunks)
5. Fresh Whole Hot Peppers, Any Kind - Cut Tops Off, Leave Seeds
6. Crushed Red Pepper
7. Sea Salt (for the boiling solution, as well as additionally adding directly into the jar)
8. Black Pepper

Directions:
1. Wash and sterilize the mason jars
2. Rinse cukes under cold water, Brine Soak Overnight
3. Slice Cukes if desired, any way (spears, slices, halves)and fill jar to top
4. Add the garlic, pepper, red pepper, whole pepper and sea salt to taste, into the jar
4. Boil water, vinegar and sea salt (1 teaspoon per 2 cups) - COVER POT TO AVOID EVAPORATION!
5. Once water is boiling, pour immediately into jars until pickles are submerged
6. Close lid TIGHTLY
7. Once cooled, push top of jar in. If it stays in, this will indicate that it is sealed and no air will get in
8. Gently turn the jar upside down a few times so all the ingredients mix together
9. Let sit for two weeks and enjoy!

These Are A Few Personal Creations:

Fine (thin) Linguini in an Herbs de Provencal (Provençal Herbs - Traditional French seasoning generally consisting of Savory, Thyme, Rosemary, Basil, Tarragon & Lavender Flowers) garlic mushmoom sauce, topped with blood orange balsamic portobella mushrooms.

On the side, sliced heirloom tomatoes on sliced toasted French Baguette, with a drop of extra viring olive oil, blood orange balsamic glaze, regular balsamic, Gabietou Cheese, sprinkled with fresh ground black peppercorn. (I have way too much free time)









Herbs:
You can blend and mix the Provençal herbs yourself(Savory, Thyme, Rosemary, Basil, Tarragon & Lavender Flowers), or you can buy a pre-mixed shaker. I personally like to grow and dry as many herbs as I can. Both are really easy if you like herb gardening!

Place the herbs in a Mortar & Pestal and crush. Set aside until you are ready to use them

Linguini:
When I use regular (white) pasta, I ten to go with De Cecco or Dellalo (fresh made when I can) and I like it firm (al dente).

I like the thin linguini because it cooks fast and goes really well with the Northern Italian/French dishes/sauces that are not tomatoe based.

When I boil the water, I used fresh ground sea salt, and depending on the sauce, I may or may not add light olive oil. Generally, I only add it to the water when I make tomatoe sauce because I do not saute the garlic before putting it in, so it is generally fat free. When I do saute stuff (like in this case) I leave the oil out of the water.

Mushrooms (for topping, not the sauce):
I buy the pre-sliced organic large portobella caps, but you can buy the whole ones. When slicing, cut long slices.

Washing mushrooms is tricky. You have to, but you should only wet them a little when rinsing so they do not become rubbery. Pat them dry immediately and let them sit on a paper towel until they are ready to go into the pan.

Garlic Mushroom Sauce:
Saute thinly sliced garlic in extra light olive oil (make sure it is extra light specifically for frying & sauteing. regular olive oil is rich in nutrients that are lost if heated, also regular oil has a lower scorch temperature and it gets gross when scorched).

Add Herbs de Provencal (Provençal Herbs)and mix in. When garlic is starting to brown at the edges, add in 4 ounces of the IMAGINE brand Creamy Mushroom soup:
http://www.imaginefoods.com/produc…
(you can make this from scratch, but it is really easy to use this and it tastes just as good), 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and crushed red pepper. Cover and lower heat to low.

While sauce and linguini is cooking:

Blood Orange Balsamic Portobella:
In a larger frying pan, the light olive oil should have been slowly heating on LOW. Place the sliced Portobellas in the pan and raise the heat slightly.

Cover Pan and wait a few minutes until mushrooms are warm but not sizzling.

Stir mushroom sauce and noodles while waiting. Linguini should be ready now.

Strain linguini and add to the mushroom sauce. Mix well, turn off heat and cover.

The portobellas should be ready to add the Blood Orange Balsamic Glaze now (This glaze is pre-mixed. It can be made from scratch, but again, it is much easier to get pre-made. It tastes just as good and is easier.)

Roland Brand Blood Orange Balsamic Glaze:http://www.rolandfood.com/#hLlXXgr…

Add the glaze to taste and mix in with the portobellas. Lower heat back to low and cover again.

Take the linguini and mushroom sauce and add to plates. When you are done, top with the Blood Orange Balsamic portobella.

Add pepper and salt to taste and enjoy!

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Heirloom Tomatoe Crostini:
French Baguette sliced and toasted, with a drizzle of First Cold Press Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Slice the Heirloom Tomatoes and place them on top of the toasted baguette. Place a thin slice of Gabietou cheese on top of that, drizzle the Blood Orange Balsamic glaze on top and sprinkle with black pepper.

The place should have a light coate of the REGULAR balsamic vinegar and the toasted bread should be placed right on top of it to soak it into the bottom of the bread. (shown a little differently in the picture)

A dry bold red wine will go best with this. Pinot Noir or Chianti will work just fine.

Skewered Hawaiian Sweet and Sour Meatballs

½ cup all purpose flour
1 ½ pounds ground veal
½ cup dried bread crumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp salt
¼ cup pineapple juice
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and cut into chunks
½ fresh pineapple cored and cut into chunks

Put the flour in a shallow bowl. In a medium bowl, mix the ground veal, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, egg yolks, ginger, salt, and the ¼ cup pineapple juice. Form heaping tablespoons of the mixture firmly into 1 inch balls.  Lightly roll the meatballs in the flour, then place them on a baking sheet or piece of parchment paper.
Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the meatballs and cook, turning frequently, until browned on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to paper towels to drain. When cool enough to handle, thread each meat ball onto a toothpick with 1 chunk bell pepper and one pineapple chunk. Arrange on platter.

Sauce
1 cup pineapple juice
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 Tbs soy sauce
½ packed brown sugar
1 Tbs cornstarch

Combine ¾ of the pineapple juice, the vinegar, and the soy sauce in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium heat, then add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Blend cornstarch with the remaining ¼ pineapple juice in a small bowl and whisk into saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour into a small serving bowl and serve alongside the meat balls for dipping.

Tea Smoked Chicken Wings
Serves 8

¼ raw rice any kind
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbs orange peel
¼ black tea leaves
1 Tbs star anise pods
24 chicken wings

Improvise a smoker by lining a wok or soup pot with foil, leaving a 2 inch collar extending above the top. Put in rice, sugar, orange peel, tea, and star anise in the bottom of the pan and place a wire rack on top of the rice mixture. Arrange the chicken wings on the rack and crimp the foil closed over it. Cover and smoke over the heat for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Open the foil and transfer the wings to a serving plate. Serve warm with sauce.

¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar
1½ tsp minced garlic
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp Asian sesame oil

Combine, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk until sugar is dissolved, then stir in sesame oil. Makes ½ cup.

Nutella Frosted Cupcakes
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup, 12 oz) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup

Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners or grease the cups with some butter.  Alternatively, butter an 8-inch round cake pan.

Cream together butter and sugar until light, 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don’t worry if the batter doesn’t look smooth. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.

Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full (or pour all the batter into the cake pan).  The batter will be thick.  Top each cake with a dollop (I used about 2 tsp per cupcake and about 1/3 cup dolloped in tablespoon measures for the cake round) of  Nutella.  Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the nutella.

Bake cupcakes for about 20 minutes and the round cake for 25-30.

Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 12 cupcakes or 1 8-inch round cake.

 

The other day the guys from BaconToday.com contacted me in search for some barbecue bacon recipes.  Of course I have plenty of great uses for bacon in a barbecue pit, but the longer I thought about it, the more I wanted to step it up a notch and clog a few arteries for those guys.  Behold, BACON EXPLOSION!!!  Here’s what you’ll need…

 

2 pounds thick cut bacon
2 pounds Italian sausage
1 jar of your favorite barbeque sauce
1 jar of your favorite barbeque rub

To kick off the construction of this pork medley you’ll need to create a 5×5 bacon weave.  If the strips you’re using aren’t as wide as the ones pictured, then you may need to use a few extra slices to fill out the pattern.  Just make sure your bacon weave is tight and that you end up with a nice square shape to work with.

The next step is to add some barbecue seasoning on top of your bacon weave.  Being the barbeque addict that I am, I whipped up a batch of Burnt Finger BBQ’s competition pork rub for this special occasion.  Seeing as not everyone has the time, or the expertise, to create a tasty rub of their own, I would recommend trying Plowboys Yardbird, Bad Byron’s Butt Rub, Rendezvous Famous Seasoning, or Steven Raichlen’s All-Purpose Rub.

Now that you’re pork is well seasoned, it’s time to add more pork.  Take two pounds of Italian sausage and layer it directly on top of your bacon weave.  Be sure to press the sausage to the outer edges of the bacon creating a patty that is the same thickness all the way across.  Most grocery stores carry loose sausage, so just pick out one you like.  I chose to go with a mild sausage, but spicy would work just the same.  If you really want to get crazy, take a stab at making your own homemade sausage.

Next up is bacon layer number two.  Take the remaining bacon slices and fry them up the same way you would for breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or a midnight snack).  If you like soft bacon, make it soft.  If you like crunchy bacon, make it crunchy.  If you like your bacon burnt to hell so the smoke detectors go off, then burn it to hell so the smoke detectors go off.  These pieces are going to be a major part of the inner flavor of our sausage fatty, so cook them your favorite way.  Personally, I like my bacon right at the point when it starts to get crispy, but hasn’t quite lost all of the softness yet.  Regardless of how well done you like yours, you’ll need to crumble or chop the cooked strips into bite size pieces and place on top of the sausage layer.  (Note-It’s okay, and encouraged, to snack on these pieces while your chopping/crumbling.  But keep in mind that once those bacon morsels touch the raw sausage, you’ll need to resist all temptations to nibble.  This can and will be difficult, but hospital trips are no fun, so stay strong.)

 

Since this is a barbeque recipe, we need to add another layer of barbeque flavor.  Take your favorite sauce and drizzle it all over the top of the bacon pieces.  Personally, I prefer to use Burnt Finger BBQ’s homemade competition sauce, but if you’re torn on what brand to use I recommend Cowtown, Blues Hog, and Fiorella’s Jack Stack.  Once you’ve sauced the bacon, sprinkle on some more of the barbeque seasoning you used on the bacon weave.

 

Now comes the fun part.  Very carefully separate the front edge of the sausage layer from the bacon weave and begin rolling backwards.  You want to include all layers EXCEPT the bacon weave in your roll.  Try and keep the sausage as tight as possible and be sure to release any air pockets that may have formed.  Once the sausage is fully rolled up, pinch together the seams and ends to seal all of the bacon goodness inside.

At this point we can start to see the final shape of our Bacon Explosion, but we’re missing one key item.  To complte the constuction process, roll the sausage forward completely wrapping it in the bacon weave.  Make sure it sits with the seam facing downward to help keep it all sealed up.

Sprinkle some barbeque seasoning on the outside of the bacon weave, and now this bad boy is ready for the smoker.  Cook your Bacon Explosion at 225 degrees in a constant cloud of hickory smoke until your Thermapen gives an internal temperature reading of 165 degrees.  Normally this will take about 1 hour for each inch of thickness, but that could vary depending on how well you maintain your fire and also how many times you open the smoker to take a peek.  Mine took about 2.5 hours, which was right on target with its 2.5 inch diameter.

Now that our Bacon Explosion is fully cooked, we need to add some finishing flavors.  Remember that barbecue sauce we used for inner flavor?  We’ll be using that same sauce to glaze the cooked bacon weave.  Using a basting brush, coat the entire surface with a thin layer of sauce.  Sweet sauces are loaded with sugars, so they’ll give your fatty a nice glossy finish.  Spicy and vinegar based sauces don’t contain as much, so they won’t set up as well.  If you’re dead set on using those sauces, just cut them with a bit of honey and you’ll get the same effect.

Slice the Bacon Explosion into quarter to half inch rounds to serve.  If your roll was good and tight, you should now see a nice bacon pinwheel pattern throughout the sausage.  Obviously pork is best served by itself, but if you feel the need to make this meat monster into a sandwich, try placing a couple Bacon Explosion slices on a warm Pillsbury’s Grands Biscuit.  You’ll reach pork Nirvana in no time flat!

 

Peanut butter glazed donut topped with bananas and bacon.

Makes 120 mints if molds are used, less if you hand-cut them from the log

2 boxes plus 2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine
4-5 tablespoons cold water
2 capfuls peppermint oil

Blend ingredients with a mixer until dougy consistency forms.*
Roll out on wax paper coated with powdered sugar.

Cut with small cookie cuters or use molds. To use molds, break the mixture into small balls, coat in finely granulated sugar and press into molds. Let sit for two days, then pop out.

Can be frozen.

*You can add food coloring of choice.