Posts from the ‘Features’ Category

Oct 9

Roasted Vegetable And Manchego Tart For Fiesta Friday #89 And A Sad Anniversary

Roasted vegetable and Manchego tart

I made breakfast this morning for my Air BNB guests, a breakfast tart, actually 2 of them. One was the Roasted Tomato and Herbed Ricotta Tart and a tart filled with roasted vegetables and topped with a medium soft egg. I thought a nice savory tart filled with roasted vegetables and manchego cheese would be a lovely addition to the party this week. It has been a while since I partied. After Nando passed I was not really in a party mood and am just now getting back to blogging regularly. I hope I am still welcome. This weeks co hosts are no strangers to Fiesta Friday and I am sure to all of you, Mila and Kaila! Thanks to Angie again for hosting this party I am excited to be back. You can of course join in too, it is always fun and the company and food is spectacular.

On a sad note, today is the one year anniversary of the death of my sweet little Izzy. I still miss her every single day and she is in my thoughts constantly, I love my sweet little cupcake.

Izzy with her cupcake leash

Roasted Vegetable And Manchego Tart

Makes one 9 inch round or rectangular tart

Vegetables (Note: Use whatever vegetables you like, it’s all good)

1 Italian eggplant cut into bite size pieces (I partially peeled it)

1 large shallot or 2 small peeled and cut into rounds

10 white button mushrooms cleaned and sliced thick

12 cherry tomatoes

6-8 brussels sprouts cleaned and cut in half

1/2 zucchini cleaned and cut into bite size pieces

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. Place vegetables on parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and roast until vegetables are tender, the tomatoes should be slightly caramelized.

Tart:

Your favorite pie crust recipe, I used my go to Julia Child recipe, it never fails.

Roasted vegetables

approximately 1 cup manchego cheese grated

Blind bake your tart shell at 400 degree’s for approximately 20 minutes, should be a light golden brown. Let cool.

Sprinkle half of the grated manchego on the bottom of the tart shell. Spoon in the vegetables and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on the top.

Place tart on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, vegetables and cheese will be bubbling and the tart will be a lovely golden brown.

Serve with a medium boiled egg, what I mean by that is that it’s between soft and hard. To get this degree of doneness boil the egg for 5 minutes, remove from heat and run under cold water to stop the cooking process, peel and place on a piece of the tart. It’s delicious.

Tart with medium egg

Jul 11

89 Comments

Classic Nicoise-An American/French Pairing For #Wine PW

We are in the throes of summer and July is the month that at least for me is the quintessential summer month, it’s also the month that America celebrates it’s Independance on July 4th and the French celebrate Bastille day on July 14th. What better way to mark both holidays than with an American/ French food and wine pairing. Michelle@Rockin Red Blog invited me to participate, I was thrilled but a little scared, I’ve done plenty of posts utilizing the expertise of the wine experts but have never actually done this myself. There can be any number of combinations, American food French wine, American food and wine etc….. I chose a classic French dish that is light and IMHO perfect summer fare, Salade Nicoise, and I thought it would be fun to pair with both an American and French wine.

Salade Nicoise is a delicious combination of assorted vegetables, olives, hard boiled eggs and tuna or anchovies, the salad is dressed with a vinaigrette and I will serve with a fresh baguette and wine of course. Really no recipe is needed but I will give you the breakdown of what my salad consists of:
Salad Nicoise

3 thick tuna steaks

1/2 lb haricot vert with only the stem end removed

4 hard boiled eggs

2 beets roasted

1/2 lb small new potatoes cleaned and roasted

cherry tomatoes

olives- nicoise olives preferably or kalamaata works also

young french radishes

Preparation:

Coat the potatoes in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. At the same time roast the beets, clean well, drizzle with olive oil add a sprig of thyme and wrap in foil. Roast for 30-40 minutes. Clean and trim the haricot vert, place a saucepan filled with water on high heat to boil, add a tbs of salt to the water. When it comes to a rolling boil add the green beans and boil for 8 minutes. Immediately drain and place in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and the beans will retain their lovely green color. Make the hard boiled eggs. Clean the radishes and tomatoes. Prepare the tuna last, mind you all of this can be done ahead of time and assembled the day you are going to serve the salad.

Vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbs white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dijon mustard

scant tsp of honey

Place everything in a lidded jar and shake to combine.

Assembly:

Heat fry pan with a little olive oil on Medium high heat (make sure it’s sizzling hot). Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper (be generous with the pepper) Sear the tuna 3-4 minutes on each side (depending on thickness mine were about 1 1/2 inches thick) and immediately remove from the fry pan. Let sit 10 minutes and slice.

Arrange the vegetables and egg artistially on a platter, add the tuna slices and serve the vinaigrette on the side.

The wine:

reisling

American Wine- Finger Lakes region of New York State

Dr Konstantin Frank – 2013 Dry Reisling,

Rose champagne

French Wine- NV Montaudon Grande Rosé Champagne – Reims, France

50% Chardonnay, 35% pinot noir, 15% pinot noir (red)

Why I chose these wines:

I love wine and enjoy with my food but I am not a professional at wine pairings. I thought about what I was serving and what I would like to have with it, both the dry Reisling and Rosé Champagne came to mind. I did a little research and found that my instincts were pretty good. I thought the Reisling, especially this particular one from upstate New York is clean, crisp, and it would be a great match with the tuna.

When considering the Rosé Champagne one usually thinks in terms of desserts or something sweet but Rosé and specifically Rosé Champagne is excellent with many and varied savory dishes from grilled meats to a Nicoise Salade. The Champagne also has a lively acidity and I felt that would be important when considering what to pair with this dish.

The Pairing

Both wines were amazing and they were the perfect compliment to the salad. I first tasted the Reisling which is nicely dry, just the slightest hint of sweetness almost undetectable. It is a very distinct wine that was delicious with the meal. It’s very well balanced in both acidity and mineral content.

The Rosé Champagne is I think one of the best I have had. It’s a delicate champagne, a gorgeous deep pink, effervescant, crisp, fruity, slightly sweet and beautifully balanced. It went so well with the salad. I served ice cold. This Champagne would be fantastic with anything including dessert.

If I had to pick one that was my favorite (and thats a tough one) I would have to say the Rosé Champagne wins my vote. I already ordered 2 more bottles.

It was an honor to be invited to participate in this with so many great bloggers most of whom are experts and really know their stuff when it comes to the intricacies of wine. Please check out their posts by clicking on the links below:

A Day in the Life on the Farm: “An American Feast for #WinePW”
Confessions of a Culinary Diva: “Provence Style Pan Roasted Chicken with Rose”
Cooking Chat: “Gruyere Cheeseburgers with a Bordeaux”
Culinary Adventures with Camilla: “Tapenade-Topped Sablefish + Cave de Saint-Roch-les-Vignes Côtes de Provence Rosé”
Curious Cuisiniere: “Cherry Clafoutis paired with a Cremant Rosé”
Dracaena Wines: “Discovering the Truth About Bastille Day with #WinePW”
ENOFYLZ Wine Blog: “Independence Day at Ridge Vineyards Zins and Blends #winePW”
Food Wine Click: “All American Menu: Farmer & Winery Friends”
Grape Experiences: “Wine and Dine: Les Vignes de Bila-Haut Blanc Cotes du Roussillon and Salade Niçoise”
Pull That Cork: “Domaine de Bila-Haut and Cobb Salad for #winePW”
Rockin Red Blog: “Celebrating America & France with July #WinePW”
Tasting Pour: “Steak with Mushroom Cognac Sauce, Patriotic Potatoes, and Bell Wine Cellars Cab Sauv #winepw”
Vino Travels: The Alchemy of Hunt Country Vineyards Paired with Braised Beef Short Ribs
Please join us this morning at 10 am CST on Twitter for a fun and lively discussion on our American and French food and wine pairings at #WinePW. Also, join us Saturday, August 15 as we explore Portugal, a land of delicious food and outstanding wines!

Dec 31

62 Comments

Nonna’s Piadina And A Breakfast Pizza

Piadina

This recipe is from the wonderful and talented Liz Larkin (aka mrslarkin, aka the scone lady of Pound Ridge NY) on Food52. It is her Nonna’s recipe for Piadina and was entered in the latest contest on Food52 for your best Family Recipes part 2. It was nominated for a Community Pick and is a contender to be a finalist. I signed up to test the recipe. It’s a wonderful recipe, the dough is easy to make and handles beautifully. It tastes similar to a biscuit but has the appearance of flat bread. You get the flavor of a biscuit without another biscuit making failure which works for me since I am biscuit challenged. Win win!!! You can use this delicious bread in many different ways, I made a breakfast pizza, use whatever you like as a topping it’s delicious.

Soft and delicious

Serves 6 (recipe can be multiplied)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3 heaping tablespoons shortening or leaf lard
3/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup warm milk
Fillings of your choice like Prosciutto, ham, mozzarella, fritatta, salad, Nutella, pretty much anything you want
Place flour in a mound on pastry board or counter. Sprinkle on salt and baking powder, and mix together with your fingers.
Make a well in the center. Drop in the shortening and rub it together with the flour using your fingertips. Lumps are okay! And it will still be pretty floury.
Make a well again and pour in water and milk. Mix with fingers until dough comes together. Add a little more warm water or flour, if needed. You want a soft dough – not at all sticky. Knead for a couple minutes, and roll into a log shape.
Alternatively, all the mixing can be done in a large bowl. I like to use a fork to mix everything together.
Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, using a scale if you have one. With one hand, gently roll each piece on the board/counter into a ball. Mom says to use your thumb and nudge the dough ball under with each turn. Set each ball to the side on a sprinkling of flour and let rest for 5 minutes.
Heat griddle to medium. Slightly flatten a ball and roll out dough to about 9 inches in diameter. Gently lift and place on hot griddle, scoring the piadina all over with the tines of a fork. If bubbles appear, quickly pierce those suckers with the fork. Cook each side for a few minutes or until each side develops some lightly browned spots. Remove to a clean dish cloth. Repeat with each ball, and stack each cooked piadina over one another. Loosely cover with a dish towel. When done, cut piadine into quarters and enjoy with your favorite sandwich fixings.
Piadina freezes well. Reheat on a griddle over low heat, or wrapped in damp paper towels in the microwave.

Breakfast Pizza

For The Pizza:

serves 2

1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half

1 shallot chopped

salt and pepper to taste

4 eggs

cheese of your choice grated – I used Toma Piemontese a mild Italian cheese that melts beautifully(but is semi soft and a bit hard to grate) and is from the Piedmont region of Italy.

Parmigiana grated

Olive oil

Heat oven to 375 degree’s, place tomatoes and shallot on sheet pan and coat with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper and roast in the oven until the tomatoes are soft and caramelized and shallot is softened approximately 30 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce oven temp to warm or 170-200 degree’s. Place tomatoes in heat proof bowl, cover with foil and place in the warm oven, wrap the piadina in a towel and place in oven also to stay warm. Heat some olive oil in a skillet and fry the eggs sunny side up over easy your choice I recommend a soft yolk. Remove piadina and tomatoes from the oven,brush the bread with some olive oil and spread tomato on the bread, add the grated cheese and a sprinkling of parmigiana. Turn the oven to broil and place in the oven just so the cheese melts, top with the eggs. Enjoy! You can top with arugula tossed with olive oil or some flat leaf parsley for a bit of green if you like.

Piadina Pizza

Nov 27

67 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving

From Google Images via pinterest

I want to wish each and everyone of you that celebrate the Holiday a very Happy and absolutely delicious Thanksgiving. There is a lot to be thankful for and on this day of giving thanks I want to tell you all how much I love and appreciate all the support and kindness you show to me. Blogging is a fun and a creative outlet for us but where would I be without you or really where would we be without each other, your sweet comments and support mean the world to me. I know you are busy today cooking or traveling or maybe you are just relaxing. Whatever you are doing I hope your day is filled with love and happiness.

Thank you all for everything.

Suzanne and Nando

Ha!

Nov 11

63 Comments

Exciting Offer From Farmigo And A Sandwich

The good people at Farmigo saw my post and generously offered to you, my readers $25 off your order use coupon code “Puglife”. I love the concept, the food which is uber fresh, organic and delicious and the fact that it’s all local means a lot to me and I am very picky when it comes to food. Right now they are in 2 parts of the country, so if you happen to be in the New York area (this includes parts of New Jersey) or the San Francisco Bay area you’re in luck. Check here to see if there is a pick up location near you. My pick up location is directly across the street, how convenient!!

I am excited for any of you that live in the two area’s to give Farmigo a try and $25 off is a great incentive. Food shopping makes me happy, finding great deals and new avenues to find fresh healthful food makes me really really happy, like you all I love to cook and am always searching out the best sources for the freshest food I can find. I am not being paid or compensated nor was I asked by Farmigo to do this post this is all my idea. This is a CSA like no other, you get to pick what goes into your box, an a la carte CSA if you would, and they really do make it easy with lots of pick up locations. Give it a try, use coupon code “pug life” and get your discount and you will be giving yourself the gift of fresh farm to table food.

My photo not so good

Now for the sandwich. I have been meaning to share this sandwich with you for a while now but got caught up with stuff and forgot about it until the nice people at Food52 decided to feature it. I was taken by surprise and very flattered that my sandwich was featured on the site.

It has a rather long name Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Caponata and Pesto Sandwich if you click on the link you can see the recipe on Food52. I fried thin chicken cutlets in a panko/parmigiano coating, had some good bread, a baguette, some homemade pesto and some homemade caponata. You simply slather the bread with pesto and grill it, pile on caponata and then chicken, close it up and eat. Really pretty simple and really delicious. I thought using both pesto and caponata as condiments would be pretty tasty.

photo by James Ranson for Food52

Oct 19

54 Comments

Inspire Me Part Deux!

Inspire Me

Happy Sunday everyone! I had so much fun cooking Matt and Lindy’s recipes that I decided I am going to make each and every entry that was posted. I will do another random drawing on Wednesday and post on Friday or Saturday. If you want to send me another recipe you can do so either on this post or the previous one. I think every recipe is outstanding and I can’t wait to see what I will be cooking next. I will continue this until every single recipe has been made.

Thanks to everyone for the kind and thoughtful comments after my Izzy passed away. Just knowing that my friends were there for support made this terrible time a little easier. Thank you all so much!

Oct 10

176 Comments

My Sweet Izzy

Izzy

Yesterday, Thursday Oct. 9 at 1:30 PM my sweet little Izzy passed away. She passed on her own terms, I did not have to make the dreaded decision. She died in my arms at home. She was my love, and the sweetest dog in the world. There is a huge hole in my heart and a big piece is now missing from my life but I have to be here for Nando. Thank you all so much for the kind words of support. I am heart broken and have been looking through my photo’s of her and wanted to share these with all of you.

I love both Izzy and Nando but Izzy was special for me, my daughter brought Izzy home to help me recover from the loss of my 2 dogs that died very close together. I was distraught, and Izzy was my life saver. She was an amazing little girl, sweet, full of life, rambunctious, very much a diva and spoiled rotten. She and Nando were best friends and were always together, I learned that I could never leave Izzy alone in the house without her Nando, if I did she would give quite the dramatic performance, she was quite the actress. She was feisty and did not have a mean bone in her little body.

There will not be a day that passes that I won’t miss that sweet little girl. RIP sweet Izzy.

Her cupcake leash

In her backyard

Daisey and Izzy are together now

All dressed up

Oct 9

82 Comments

My Meatloaf Is A Finalist On Food52!

photograph by James Ransom for food52

I am thrilled and honored to be a finalist in the contest “Your Best Dinner That Makes A Good Lunch”. I love this meatloaf recipe l it’s simple and straightforward. I am keeping this post short and sweet as my happiness for being named a finalist is overshadowed by grief and worry, My sweet Izzy is very very ill and I have to make a very difficult decision. Click here to vote and here to check out Food52. Thank you so so much. I really appreciate it.

Izzy please keep her in your thoughts and prayers

Sep 16

43 Comments

Stinky McGee

American Made since 2012

Don’t you love the name of their company, Stinky Magee!! I am so excited, my neighbors and friends Christine and Myles Ryan are finalists in Martha Stewarts American Made Contest, I think it’s brilliant, it celebrates handmade and local. as Martha would say “It’s a good thing”. This is huge folks and I am so proud of them both. Christine and Myles live a few doors away from me, they have two adorable little boys and a very cute little dog are amazingly talented and so hard working. I have known them a long time and couldn’t be happier for them.

The reason for this post is that the contest is decided by us, the public and the number of votes that they receive determines the winner. You are allowed 6 votes a day, you have to register on Martha Stewarts site. Click here and you will be directed to their page and you can vote.

Christine and Myles make wonderful neckties, bow ties and suspenders. Adorable!!! They are hand crafted using top quality fabric. Read their Q & A to learn a little more about them. I hope everyone votes, I am voting every day 6 times (it’s easy and quick you do it all at once) and if you do thank you so much.

Onesie

suspenders

necktie

Sep 7

97 Comments

Italian Tapas For Fiesta Friday #32

Caponata

Italian tapas, well it’s not really tapas in the truest sense of the word but it certainly can be eaten on small plates and it’s more of a prelude to the actual meal, I thought caponata, some good cheese and bread would be a nice addition to the party this week. Caponata is a Sicilian dish which is used as a side dish or condiment. I can remember my Mother serving on toasted Italian bread as a starter or appetizer. This is my version of my Mothers recipe, its less sweet and the vegetables are soft but still retain their shape.

Angie@The Novice Gardener is hosting this weeks event, she is always there for us and our co host is Hilda@along the grapevine. I hope everyone enjoys a little bit of Italy or Sicily. Buon Appetito!

Caponata

4 Italian eggplant washed and cut in half lengthwise. Skin on. (Or use 1 large eggplant)

1 Medium size onion chopped

2 Stalks celery (Use the tender inner stalks) chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1 Red bell pepper de seeded and chopped

4 Fresh tomato’s chopped (I used 1 very large heirloom tomato and 1 smaller heirloom)

1/4 cup capers rinsed, rough chop

1/4 cup Olives Kalamata or green (I use a little of each) Rough chop the olives

2 tsp – 1 tbs organic brown Sugar (add 2 tsp taste and add more if needed)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)
Pre-heat oven to 450, clean the eggplant cut the tops off and cut in half lengthwise. On baking sheet lined with parchment brush a little olive oil on each half, both sides, place your eggplant cut side down and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Chop the eggplant into bite size pieces.
In fry pan on med/high flame coated with olive oil add your chopped onion, cook until translucent. Add chopped celery and red bell pepper, continue cooking until they are soft and have started to caramelize. Add your minced garlic, cook for a minute or so don’t let garlic brown. Add your eggplant,tomato,capers, olives,crushed red pepper, sugar and vinegar continue cooking until mixture is thick. Eggplant will break down but thats ok this will take about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit overnight. It tastes incredible when it has rested and all the flavors have blended together.