French Toast - Easy

Can I quit my job and just cook and photograph food? Something to consider. Not that I don't love most of my 87 students, 'cause they are funny.

I think we have been in a breakfast mood lately. I made french toast for the first time tonight. It was easy! And yummy! I used good whole wheat bread.

I made 5 pieces using these measurements.

In a bowl mix three eggs (can just do egg whites if you're watching your cholesterol), a dash of cinnamon, a splash of vanilla extract and a pribble of milk. Ok, a pribble is a made up word, but I realized dash and splash weren't quite exact measurements. So.. I guess about a 1/2 cup of milk? Don't add sugar because if you use syrup that is your sugar.

Soak your bread on both sides for just about 5 seconds (so it doesn't get soggy) and cook on a skillet over a medium flame. Keep an eye on it, and presto~ You're done before you realize it.

Sprinkle a little confectioner's sugar on it and drizzle with some syrup. Blueberries or strawberries are great on top.

Penne Alfredo with Heat

Words cannot describe how delicious this meal was... especially after working all day and then having an hour and a half commute to and from the Bronx for grad school. We had Penne Arrabiata the night before and we had cooked penne leftover. So, of course, we have to conserve our food dollar. Rather than have our usual Tuesday night tuna, Dan made this! He followed my alfredo recipe which is earlier in the blog, but he also added some of the red hot cherry pepper from the night before and olive oil. Oh my. I think maybe it's because he had all of this in a skillet for awhile (literally everything, even the penne), but the flavor was unbelievable. It wasn't a creamy sauce, but instead it was like the cheese was starting to harden a bit... I don't know what it was, but it was so good. I could hardly talk. That's always when you know a good meal - no one talks. DO THIS.

Vino Art

Penne Arrabbiata

Mmm. I had this in Rome a few times, once with Valentina, and it's delicious - if you like food with a little heat (hence the arrabbiata). I got most of this recipe on a box - but some of the measurements weren't quite right. So I tweaked and stretched and created the following.

For 3 (or 2 if one love love has a big appetite)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Penne
1/2 cup diced bacon
1.5 tbsp butter
1 cup of pureed tomatoes
Grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove of garlic
3 basil leaves chopped
1 small hot pepper (a slice of a hot cherry pepper works well)

In a pan, saute the garlic clove in the butter and then remove. Add diced bacon and let it brown for a few minutes. Then add the tomato puree and mix together. Place the hot pepper in the middle of the skillet and then cover it. Keep it on very low and stir once in awhile. The directions I used (De Cecco) said to leave the pepper in the whole time, but I got nervous it would be too spicy for my Scottish lover so I removed it after about 10 minutes. You could probably leave it the whole time though. Anyway, while this is still over low heat, get the water boiling for the penne. You really do want to wait until now because the sauce needs about 20 minutes to really form to a good consistency (the picture below is when I just started - need 20 mins to thicken). Cook your penne and serve with your sauce (don't forget to remove the pepper - that could be an ugly surprise!). Garnish with the basil. Sprinkle some Parmesan or Romano on top. Yum! great flavor.

Danny Boy's Omelette

Dan made this the other night. It was delliiccious! We had never done omelettes (first time for everything) and I'm not usually a big egg person, but this was so good. I'm not going to put up the numbers.. I'll let the chef do that.

This is Frannie Farmer inspired.

4/28- Just made our second attempt at this... and it came out even better. Way more veggies, pieces of ham... mm.

For one:
2 or 3 eggs
salt
pepper
roughly four tbsp of filling (for us, chopped green peppers, onion, tomato and ham).
1 tbsp of butter
strips of american cheese


(read all before cooking)
On a small skillet saute the veggies before making the omelettes. In a bowl mix the eggs, pepper and salt. Heat up a large skillet with the butter. Once hot, pour in the egg mixture. Shake the skillet with a forward and backward motion. Use a fork or spatula to turn up the cooked edges. Tilt the pan to let the liquid egg run over. Keep shaking and fork around the edges. This should all happen in about 15 seconds. Spread the filling on the center of the eggs (and cheese). Don't let the eggs dry up. Use a spatula to fold up 1/3 of the omelette and get on a plate! Enjoy

A Typical Summer and Dan Plate

Well, I received a request from one of my followers to get some updates! I suppose I have been out of the loop because work/grad school has been kind of crazy. The big state exam for my kids (all 86 of them) is next week and I have a Shakespeare paper due this Saturday (oh dear...). This does seem like a nice distraction though for a few minutes.

This is a common meal in our little love shack. Rice on the stove and veggies and chicken in the wok (thanks Lauren!). I made this one. I got my rice started right away and then rinsed and cut my chicken breasts. I dribbled lemon on it with some thyme and salt and pepper. Into the wok they flew! After that was ready, which was pretty quickly, I got some zucchini, pepper and onion sauteed - served and bon appetit.

Prosciutto, Pepper and Zucchini Penne with Feta Cheese

I concocted this tonight and it was quite yummy. These numbers are for 2 with leftovers for the next night.

Ingredients:
4 servings of penne pasta (or any other pasta you want to use up)
1 yellow pepper
1 zucchini
A slice of onion
cut prosciutto (I bought the kind in the package, pre-cut like for pizza topping). About a cup or 2
1 can of diced tomatoes
several tbsps of heavy cream
1/3 cup of parmesean cheese
crumbled feta
dashes of crushed red pepper and pepper

First, I got the pasta water on the heat. Then, in a big skillet I added pieces of cut prosciutto with a little oil and then added in the chopped vegetables and tomatoes. After letting this saute for a few minutes, I added the cream, the parmesean, and the red pepper and black pepper. Once I could I got my penne cooking and simmered my sauce until it was ready. I served it with the crumbled feta. We also had peaches on the side, yum! Nice meal for almost 90 degree weather.. in April!

Easter Pictures Part 2

Easter Pictures Part 1

Italian Easter Bread Basket Recipe

Ingredients:  8 cups flour

                   8 tsp baking powder

                   1 cup sugar

                   6 eggs, well beaten

                   1/2 tsp salt                            

                   1 1/2 cups melted butter

                   1 1/2 cups milk

                   1 3/4 tsp vanilla extract

                  

 

Have a dozen white raw eggs colored beforehand.  Set aside.

 

Procedure:  mix all dry ingredients, make a well in the middle, add milk, eggs, vanilla, and butter ( make sure to add butter last).  Mix with hands, form a ball, cover with a bowl or something similar and let rest about 5 minutes.  Knead for 5 minutes.  Form some of the dough into basket shape.  Take 2 long strips and weave into handles.  Press raw colored eggs into center of basket and secure with strips of dough.  Secure handles with wooden toothpicks.

    

              Bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour. Bake on cookie sheets covered in foil. Makes 10 to 12 Baskets.  Recipe may be cut in half if desired.

              As soon as out of oven, glaze with powdered sugar mixed with a little water and a drop of vanilla extract. Add water a few drops at a time as not much is needed.  Add more powered sugar if too runny.  Make glaze while cooking baskets so it will be ready to use as soon as baskets are out of oven.  Sprinke with nonpareils. Set aside to cool on racks.

 

              These are delicious with morning coffee or tea.

Havana Tapas Bar

This was our last food stop in Ireland... a Cuban Tapas Bar! Why not, right? Honestly, this was probably the best meal we had there. The waitress was really nice, the food was quick and filling. Perfect.

Jameson Brewery

After a cold, rainy jaunt through Dublin, a warm lunch at the Jameson Brewery was just the thing! We had less than a half hour before our tour started, so it was soup or salad... and what a treat! It really warmed us up from the core. To the right is Dan's dish: a salad with a stir fry of chicken, red peppers, zucchini, etc.

Below, I got the tomato soup... delicious! It was so filling. Perfect for a rainy Irish day.

Kilronan House

Hello faithful followers, I am back from my trip abroad in Ireland... what fun! What insanity! what... food? Eh. I have to admit my expectations were not incredibly high...so I wasn't totally shocked or disappointed (I'm probably spoiled from living in Rome). Anyway, we did have a couple good experiences included here:

This was my breakfast when we got to our Bed and Breakfast (The Kilronan House). After a long flight and jet lag... it was just the thing. Thin rolled pancakes (thicker than a crepe), light maple syrup and a healthy orange slice, yum.