Italian Three Cheese Spinach and Broccoli Pie with Puff Pastry

One of the great advantages to being Featured Publisher is to be a taste taster. I was sent this opportunity to create something new, using Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Dough. I decided with the holiday coming the colors are so vibrant green and would be perfect for a brunch or appetizer for this season.

This filling has three cheeses, spinach,broccoli with all the Italian spices Let me know what you think....

This is the last step before placing in the oven....recipe is at the bottom of this post...enjoy!

Using the remaining dough for the top layer, place over the mixture, bring the excess dough up and fold forward, press together with a fork to seal in mixture in...seal edges with tap water. Take a sharp knife and make a V formation for pattern. Brush with melted butter . Time to put in the oven and bake until nicely browned on top, around 1 hour.

Take the back of a tablespoon to push the filling dough evenly into the dough to spread out.

Roll out to overlap the sides as the extra dough will be used to seal in the filling later.

Mix all together well making sure the eggs are well blended with the cheeses.

Be sure to get all ingredients together first so you don't forget anything. Puff Pastry is much easier to use than phyllo dough.

1 cup of fresh chopped spinach or frozen spinach drained and water squeezed all out

1 cup of fresh chopped broccoli or frozen chopped, steamed in microwave for 7 minutes drained
4 cloves of fresh minced garlic

½ teaspoon of garlic powder and extra for top

1/4 teaspoon dry parsley and oregano

1/4 cup fresh of chopped parsley
1 cup of feta cheese
1 cup mozzarella

1 cup of ricotta cheese

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 eggs

grating cheese for garnish

1 package of 17.3 oz package of puff pastry defrosted in refrigerator for at least 24 hours

flour to work the dough

1/3 cup of butter melted

tap water

Preheat the oven to 335 degrees.

Add coarsely chop the spinach and place it in a large bowl. Add chopped broccoli, spices and parsley add to the spinach. Mix in the feta cheese, ricotta cheese ,mozzarella, and eggs to the mixture. Using a fork mix all of the ingredients together.
Allow the puff pastry to defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Separate it into two equal parts. Roll the pastry with a rolling pin (the same way you would with pizza dough) to fit the size of 12x8 inch brownie style pan. Butter the pan and line half of the puff pastry on the pan. Brush some melted butter on the dough for the bottom layer then the spinach mixture on top.
Brush edges to seal the pastry all along the edge of the pan with tap water.
Place the second half of the puff pastry on top of the mixture. Fold in the edges. Use a fork to seal. Butter the top layer with remaining butter sprinkle with garlic powder lightly on top.
Make slanted slits in the dough in V formation, for a fancy top and easy to cut pattern. Bake in the oven for 1 hour at 330. Cool a few minutes, cut and serve garnish with grated cheese and fresh parsley.

Apple Dumpling Shortcake with Caramel Sauce

A very old recipe we made every year as soon as the Mcintosh apples were ready...they were always our favorite to make this apple dumpling shortcake... the shortcake is very tender.

Once the dumplings are nice and brown and crusty looking they're done to perfection.

The buttery mixture make a nice crispy topping and added flavor to the dumplings.

This is a simple syrup. Years ago we boiled on the stove for 10 minutes, now you can put this microwave safe bowl in the microwave, once it reaches a boil then put on the timer.

Fresh ingredients make the difference and quite noticeable if you use a mix.

6-8 baking apples peeled,sliced and cored
Place apples in a greased 13x9 baking dish

1 cup sugar
1 cup water boil for 10 minutes
Pour boiling syrup over apples in the greased pan.

In a large bowl mix together to form a soft dough below:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons shortening
3 teaspoons baking powder

Drop by tablespoons on top of apples. Melt together 3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon or more if you like .

Pour teaspoons of mixture over dumplings and bake at 400*
for 30 minutes.
minutes until brown. Serve warm with whipped cream and caramel topping or vanilla ice cream with caramel topping . Dust with more cinnamon.

Italian Rigatoni Pasta with Mushroom Marsala Sauce

A light Marsala sauce with Ricotta Cheese, herbs and Rigatoni Pasta
When you want something light but satisfying look no more. This pasta dish has a hint of sweetness of Marsala and all the full flavors of a gourmet dish that tantilizes your taste buds....you just have to see for yourself.....

Mushrooms sauteed in extra virgin olive oil and fresh minced garlic, then simmering in Marsala some pasta water, till tender. The additional butter is added at the end.

Hot Rigatoni pasta mixed with Ricotta cheese a little Parmesan .

Sauteed minced garlic and mushrooms till tender around 3 minutes

Extra virgin olive oil and butter to saute the garlic, till soft not brown.

In a large fry pan, saute two cloves of minced garlic and 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Add two tablespoons of butter. Saute for around three minutes. Add 1 lb of sliced fresh mushrooms to the oil and garlic.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of black and red pepper, pinch of salt, and add 1 cup of Marsala wine. Simmer for eight minutes. In the meantime prepare Rigatoni below and reserve one cup of pasta water when pasta is done. Add the one cup of pasta water to the mushroom sauce and add four tablespoons of butter. You can add salt and pepper to taste at this time.

1 pound of Rigatoni boiled and drain reserving 1 cup of pasta water for Marsala sauce.

1 cup of Ricotta cheese and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese mixed together

Add cheeses to hot pasta and mix evenly in large pasta dish.

Spoon sauce over the Rigatoni and Ricotta mixture, sprinkle with fresh parsley,basil, grating cheese.

Holiday Drink Italian Limoncello Cocktail

Of course we all need to have something festive in our glass to cheer on the season. Here is a drink we all love to share at the table to make our toast for our blessings during the holidays. Hope you'll join us with some of this holiday cheer . Happy Holidays Salute' and Blessings to all.

Holiday Limoncello Toast

You will need a large pitcher and double the recipe according to your guests size as this serves 8.

Add :

1/2 cup vodka

1/4 cup lemon lime soda , citrus soda or seltzer

1 1/2 cups of chilled Limoncello Liqueur Italian lemon liqueor
1 cup of of fresh orange juice

1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice
Mix in a pitcher and fill glass with ice, serve with olives or fruit wedges.
NOTE : If you don't have any Limoncello, try adding 1 1/2 cups of vodka( instead of only 1/2 cup in the above drink) and 3/4 cups of simple syrup( below) to the pitcher and substitute for a similar drink of the Limoncella in the above recipe.

Simple lemon syrup

1 cup of water

1 cup of sugar

4 two inch strips of lemon peel

Boil together until dissolved with lemon peel for simple syrup

Add 1/1/2 cups of vodka and 3/4 cup of simple lemon syrup this drink.

Taste great without a mixer on the rocks also.

Boston Rum Cream Pie

One of those dessert you just have to love, a delicious rum makes this even better. In our family, rum is used in most Italian pastry creams, so when I made this one and added the rum to make it taste like our traditional filling, this was a keeper for us.

I slathered a little more pastry pudding on the outside( to the left) so you can see the color of this rich delicious filling.

The cake is moist and delicate, the pudding is rich and very creamy. The ganache makes a terrific topping, and this happens to be one of my most favorite type of donuts also. After this cools and the pudding has been refrigerated for at least two hours, then fill the first layer. Top with the second layer and then your ready to add the ganache. I usually freeze one of the two cakes to make at another time as it makes two separate 9 inch cakes.

While the cake is still warm, slice it in half and pick it up gently with a spatula so not to break it apart .

Cake
6 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. Sift the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

In a deep bowl cream 6 tablespoons of the butter with 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the 2 eggs, one at a time, then beat in the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture alternately with the 1/2 cup of the milk in 3 additions, Beating the batter smooth after each addition. Divide the batter between the 2 prepared pans.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until cakes begin to shrink away from the sides of the pans and centers spring back when lightly touched. Turn the cakes onto wire racks to cool.


Italian Pastry Cream
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon white rum or extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla to a boil . In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated with milk and vanilla. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture. Using strainer into the saucepan, pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and rum extract. Let cool slightly. Chill at least 2 hours

Ganache

8 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 cup heavy cream heat to boiling in the microwave

In a medium bowl, pour heavy cream over the chopped chocolate and stir until melted


To assemble pie, remove the cake from the pan. Cut the cake in half horizontally. Place bottom layer on a serving plate or board, and spread with the pastry cream. Top with second cake layer. Pour chocolate ganache over and down the sides of the cake. Top with maraschino cherry Store in refrigerator.

Upstate NY Italian Tomato Pie

Anyone who grew up in Upstate NY knows what Tomato Pie is. Just about every baptism, communion, birthday,holiday or family reunion of some kind will have a box of this Italian pizza pie, with grated cheese on top , it just wasn't a party without it......




1 pizza dough recipe refer to this site or 2 pounds of store bought (http://pegasuslegend-whatscookin.blogspot.com/2009/06/pizza-dough.html). Make sauce first below.

SAUCE

6 fresh plum tomatoes
3 cups tomato puree
3 Tbsp tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
¼ tsp oregano
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 1/2 Tbsp sugar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil first cold pressed

DOUGH


Rise until double in volume around two hours. Stretch out on pizza pan rectangle in size, rise again for 30 minutes. Bake in preheated hot oven at 430 degree's. Around 15 minutes,.....will still be white,( cook longer if you like crispy and browned, however tomato pie is not suppose to be crispy if you have never had this). Take out, dredge the bottom and tops with extra virgin olive oil. Spread sauce and a thick amount of grated cheese on top. Put back in oven until pie is set, not browned.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
You will need to roast tomatoes on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes. Slice the tomatoes in half, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with extra virgin first cold pressed olive oil...While they cook, combine other ingredients and let it simmer until thickened. Add in roasted tomatoes when cooked, mash tomato chunks until no large pieces of tomato is left. This makes a thick sauce.

Fudge Marble Chocolate Chip Cake with Triple Chocolate Icing

The end result to make this delicious cake is worth the trouble. A rich cake that will satisfy both the yellow and chocolate cake lovers of the world. The thick rich chocolate frosting with chocolate chips is truly perfect to finish it off...

Line a plate with chocolate syrup for a beautiful presentation for guests.

The cake will bake perfectly even in a spring form pan and come out easilly.

Start out spooning the white batter into the pan, adding chocolate, sprinkle with chips repeat, let it settle in do not stir or swirl, it will marblize all by itself.

Layering each color of batter, then chips only on the chocolate, till the batter is all finished...

Batter
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. of almond extract
1 1/4 cups milk, half and half sour milk or buttermilk
1 cup of mini chocolate chip
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix the butter sugar together until light. Add flour, eggs,baking powder,baking soda, vanilla and milk. Beat till smooth, around three minutes, split batter into two bowls.
Add the unsweetened cocoa powder to one bowl mix well.
Grease a spring form pan, or you can use a bundt pan, or two 8 inch pans using same method. Start with a small amount of vanilla cake batter on the bottom, add a dollop of chocolate batter in the center, sprinkle just the chocolate with mini chocolate chips. Continue layering until all the batter is gone. Do not stir. Bake at 350 for around 40 minutes till done, test with a toothpick if it comes out clean in the center.

Cool completely. Frost with Triple Chocolate Frosting.
2/3 cup butter -- softened
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoonsheavy cream
1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips
14 cup of chocolate curls for garnish
Beat butter and sugar together alternating with cream. Add vanilla. Stir in chips. Frost cooled cake, garnish with curls.

Blueberry Crumb Muffins

Another one of those breakfast foods I love to make when fall sets in. I use to go blueberry picking with my cousins every summer, at the Abrahams Farm. My Aunt Esther ( my mom's sister) and Uncle Dave's farm in Whitesboro NY. I hate to admit it after all these years but after going blueberry picking, I would get back to the farm and tell everyone that I didn't pick any and my bowl was always empty, they never made it back with me. My cousins and I had already eaten some of them before we got back to the farm. They saved most of theirs, but me, I ate every last one of them. Those blueberries were so sweet and delicious, they never needed any sugar and we could never get enough of them. They grew everywhere wild and over a very large field. We would try and find as many as we could but instead of filling my bowl, I filled my tummy.....good times back then. Fond memories.
But one time, that lie got even with me, I stepped on a hornets nest and was stung at least 12 times, I never told another lie after that, as I always felt that was why it happened... nice lesson to learn. I was seven or eight then.

The fresh blueberries make fabulous, pies, cakes and muffins. So as I grew up, anything but fresh was not an option.

These are one of my favorites, quick and easy, with a crumb topping.

The batter very thick, you don't want to over mix as these are really a light muffin, and the texture will be thick and chewy if you over stir the mixture. So remember to just fold in the blueberries at the end for a tender muffin.

In a large bowl mix:

1/4 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of shortening

beat in :

1 egg

Add:

1 3/4 cup cake flour

4 teaspoons of baking powder

a pinch of salt

Alternate:

1 cup of milk to wet the dry ingredients.

Fold in one cup of fresh blueberries

Line muffin cup pan with paper liners, fill to 3/4 full. Add crumb topping (below) on top, bake at 350 around 20 minutes.

Crumb Topping:

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/4 flour

mix together till well blended.

Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Sauce

Mom always made these, an inexpensive healthy dish. This recipe was adapted by her since the Traditional way of making isn't at all Italian. So in went the garlic and the tomato sauce with Italian herbs and the Italian version was born. Amazing how healthy these are when made with ground turkey, rice and cabbage....delicious blends of herbs and a great sauce....

A little different than the original stuffed cabbage, we prefer ours with rice and lamb, you can use your preference on meat. We use lots of fresh Italian herbs and of course lots of garlic. This is one dish I love to make as soon as there is a little nip in the air. Fall brings out those comfort foods, and for us this was one of them.

I usually make sure that all the leaves that you can't roll, that are too small, surround the rolls in the pan. They make a great side dish with another meal.

Roll up tightly and make sure you don't overfill as filling will expand.

Lay out all cabbage and place filling evenly inside to make sure you have enough for all rolls, then rolls and secure with toothpicks.

1 medium head of cabbage cleaned and thick stalk removed (tip, freeze whole head, thaw leaves in warm water, leaves will wilt, no boiling, its amazing how that works so well and no smell in the house!)

1 lb of ground hamburger, turkey, pork, Italian ground sausage or lamb ( lamb is what is shown)

2 cups of fast cooking rice

3 chopped fresh tomatoes

4 cloves of whole garlic

2 tablespoon minced garlic

1 large can of tomato sauce

enough water to cover cabbage rolls

4 fresh basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon each oregano, parsley, garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, salt and pepper (if using hamburger, try 1/4 teaspoon of fennel seed)

1/2 cup white wine

toothpicks

In a bowl mix meat, rice and chopped tomatoes. Add garlic minced, salt and pepper and a dash of cayenne if you like spicy.

Lay wilted leaves on a cutting board, cutting off any thick parts that won't roll. Place one of two tablespoons of mixture on the leaf, roll up and spear with a toothpick. Repeat until all rolls are filled. Place in a dutch oven or large electric fry pan. Add 1 can of large tomato sauce, remaining garlic cloves, water to cover the cabbage rolls as it will boil away and wine, sprinkle with herbs add wine. Simmer on low or if using electric fry pan at 300 . You can also bake these at 350 for approx 1 1/2 hours, checking frequently and adding more water as it evaporates. Cook cabbage is tender.

The Family Story of Popcorn with Recipes

John Colenzo (Cole)

There are so any kinds of glorious popped corn, one that was newly introduced to me is the black kernel. We always had your classic yellow or white kernels. I also remember years ago,multi colors in a bag that popped a rainbow of colors when I was a little girl. A place called Loblaws supermarket carried it back in 1960 something. That's what we used to trim our christmas tree with. Now a new one for me, Black Jewel popcorn, was a little different to see the amazing black kernel with the end result being an amazing pure white in color.

It starts out with black kernels from the package and turns snow white when popped. I had never had the chance to try this until now, as it is hard to find here in Florida . My brother John introduced me to this delicious popcorn.

John, my brother, is an entertainer who works on Fisher Island located off Miami Beach Florida.Named after the first resident of the island Carl Fisher. Fisher Island is 3 miles off shore of Miami, Florida. No road or causeway connects to the island, which is accessible by private ferry ,helicopter or yacht. So he travels by ferry every night to get to work. He has the opportunity to introduce many new foods to me in his culinary experiences in his line of work. This was one of them he heard about.
We both recall our family having all kinds of requests on how they like their popcorn. My mom and dad (RIP) loved caramel corn, all our kids basically love homemade and the theater popcorn, my brother Luke is living up North, makes the best homemade (which I will have a full read below), my husband likes basic microwaved and easy, and me, homemade definitely. So when John called me about this Black Jewel, I had never had it before, but heard of Black Jewel, and wanted to try it right away, as curiosity struck me and he wanted to get my input ....

So here it is, a delicate and delicious popcorn, it was white as can be. I have to agree it was a definite change to what we have had in brightness and color but amazingly a black kernel turning white was so bizarre to me. A very good taste, worth a try.

All of us had a different craving of popcorn.

Dad loving caramel corn as he did, I decided I had to make it. When I was around seven I could remember we would go once a year to this great place in Upstate NY that made the best caramel corn in the world to all of us. It's still there today, called the Midway in Sylvan Beach. Awesome smell,while cooking fresh on the site, a buttery caramel corn that was mouth watering. Here is my version that I would make for dad below , I still make for my kids every holiday, one of their favorite's now also.

http://pegasuslegend-whatscookin.blogspot.com/2009/07/baked-carmel-corn.html

So many variations to choose from or make air popped ,pan popped, barbecue, cinnamon, pizza, butterscotch, cappuccino, caramel pecan, caramel, cheese, chocolate, classic sea salt, candy coated, gourmet sea salted, kettle, macadamia, Mexican, nacho, organic, black jewel, white, yellow, popcorn salt, pop corn in oil in oil , so many ways to make popcorn and a great snack indeed! Some folks like it sprinkled with garlic powder and black pepper, we can go on and on, I can say I love them all, as I am a big popcorn lover! How do you like yours?

My brother Luke, spent allot of time perfectly popped homemade corn, no one has duplicated the fresh taste of his buttery perfection.

Luke Colenzo

Luke another brother,( the middle child of us three kids ) , lives in Upstate NY in Whitesboro, and has five children. He works in a local courthouse and is retired Police Officer.
His secret weapon is his seasoned and" broken in" very very old popcorn pan, handed down from our grandmother back in 1975 when she passed on that pan was already 80+ years old back then. The pan is a a thick heavy club aluminum with a steam release button on the cover that rang like a bell, no other pan made popcorn this good! By far the best popcorn and still our favorite, when we can be together to have him make it for us. (The pan was only one part of his secret) He never could make enough, as we would always want another batch....and was worth fighting over ! Everyone marvels over the huge over filled bowls of popcorn he would make, that vanished in no time because it not only smelled good, but it was so addicting. So, needless to say Luke was the King" of making homemade popcorn in our family.

So that's the story on popcorn.......delicious whatever you fancy , as always, thanks for reading.

Here's a few recipes on different versions to make using popcorn:

Marshmallow Candied Popcorn with variations:

3 quarts popped corn, unsalted
5 tablespoons of butter
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow fluff
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. gumdrops

Preheat oven to 270 degrees. Place popped corn in greased deep cake about 13x9 size pan. Melt butter in saucepan, add marshmallow creme stir until well blended. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt. Pour mixture over popped corn; toss until well coated.
Bake 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Stir in gumdrops. Spread onto wax paper; cool. Store in tightly covered container.

Variations: CHOCOLATE replace gumdrops with a 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips to melted butter stir until smooth see further directions above

CINNAMON : replace gumdrops with 1/4 cup red cinnamon candies to melted butter, stir until melted continue as above directions.

Pizza Popcorn

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoned Italian herbs
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
2 quarts hot popcorn

In blender, blend cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper about 3minutes. Place popcorn in large bowl; sprinkle with cheese mixture. Toss to coat evenly.

Popcorn Snack Mix

3 quarts popped popcorn
2 1/3 cups salted peanuts

1 cup of cereal like chex
2 cups pretzel sticks
2 cups cheese crackers, I like the fish
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a large bowl, combine popcorn, peanuts, pretzels and crackers. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over popcorn mixture; toss to coat. Place in 2 ungreased 15 x 10-inch baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 250 degrees F for 1 hour; stir every 15 minutes.

Store in an airtight container when cool.

Nacho Popcorn

1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
10 cups warm popped popcorn
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a small bowl, stir paprika, red pepper, and cumin into melted butter or margarine. Gently toss butter mixture with popcorn, coating evenly. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Peanut Butter Popcorn

2 quarts popped popcorn
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring sugar and corn syrup to rolling boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla extract, quickly stir popcorn to coat.

Amaretto Pecan and Almond Popcorn Crunch

10 cups popped corn
1 1/2 cups whole pecans
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup Amaretto Liqueur
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon Amaretto Liqueur
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter baking sheet and large bowl. Toast pecans and almonds until light brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Mix popped corn and nuts in large bowl. Combine sugar, butter 1/4 cup Amaretto and corn syrup in heavy 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, to 275 degrees F, or until small amount dropped into very cold water reaches soft crack stage (separates into hard, but not brittle, threads).

Remove from heat. Quickly stir in 1 tablespoon Amaretto and salt. Pour over popped corn and nuts, mixing until evenly coated. Immediately spread mixture on baking sheet. Let cool about 1 hour.

White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn

4 cups of popped corn
3 tablespoons of melted butter
1/4 cup of white cheddar cheese powder
1/4 teaspoon of mustard powder
Salt to taste

Melt the butter in a pan, dont over cook butter. Once melted, pour the butter into a large bowl and add cheese, mustard Stir together till well blended.

Curt's Loaded Potato Skins

I want to introduce another up and coming cook in our family, Curt. His specialty is game day pick foods and loves family gatherings, picnics and large functions to cook for a crowd. These are one of his all time favorites, so I wanted to share this recipe as it is just a great crowd pleas er. He is often asked to cook for his friends, since cooking is becoming one of his favorite hobbies. He usually has the table piled high with potato skins, wings, and loves his nachos and pizza. So Sunday's nights after the big traditional pasta afternoon lunch, he starts his appetizer medleys for the big game. We usually have a houseful of hungry friends joining us, so nothing goes to waste here.
Curts favorite appetizer is potato skins and he makes them crisp and loaded with a variety of
garnishes . I was so happy he agreed to post this, as this recipe is really easy and delicious.

The skins are loaded with bacon, sour cream and a medley of cheddar blended cheeses.

After they are fried, they are baked in the oven then smoothered in cheese immediately when taken out of the oven and the heat melts the cheese perfectly.

Then he loads them up with the sour cream and bacon.

They take about ten to twelve minutes to fry till golden.

You will need about a 5lb bag of scrubbed potatoes, sliced thick, about 1/2 inch.

1 quart of oil

2 cups of fiesta blend cheese shredded

1/2 cup crumbled bacon

1 container of sour cream

Fry sliced potatoes in several batches, in heated hot oil till brown, around 10 minutes.

Put into baking dish.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, remove from oven top with shredded cheese and allow cheese to melt around five minutes.

Garnish with bacon crumbles and sour cream.

**Optional toppings, jalapeno peppers, black olives, chopped tomato.

Recipe developed by Curt Iffert for a guest on What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine

Thank you Curt for sharing your recipe with us!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Bakery Style Recipe)

Did you ever have a huge chocolate chip cookie from your favorite bakery and think why can't mine taste like that ? Well this is the one for you to try. Back in Upstate NY when I was growing up, I had friends that owned a bakery long since gone now and the cookies were so fantastic the taste is and always will be embedded in my mind, what's the saying " to die for". Of course no one would give up the secret family recipe, just the ingredients in there and so much quantity was made at one time, there was no way to break down the recipe that made 600 cookies at a time for a regular size batch... lol ...So this is my best guess through trial and error though these years and I can't tell the difference, they are so good. An all time favorite of our family , and I am sure you won't be disappointed. For the novice and advanced bakers, you can tell just by the fresh ingredients how these will taste by reading, I hope this will be a household favorite for you too.

A delicious blend of fresh ingredients, that takes you back to your childhood.

The recipe is pretty simple, but I do believe the secret is to not cook them as long as they ever state. When they are slightly browned and set then they are cooked, they still stay soft and simply melt in your mouth with the buttery gooey goodness.

So here it goes...

1 cup of unsalted butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 egg

2 1/2 cup cups flour

(Variations 1: 2 1/2 cups flour, chilled dough, flatter cookie) shown

(Variation2: 2 3/4 cups flour, no chilling, higher cookie)

2 1/2 cups of chocolate chunk chips ( use chunks not chips) plus

Optional variations add : (1/2 cup) walnuts, pecans, pistachio, cashews, coconut or peanut butter cup cut in chunks

Line two baking sheets.

Cream the butter with brown and white sugars until well blended. Stir in vanilla and egg. Fold in flour., baking soda, salt and lastly the chocolate chunks.. Chill dough for an hour.Form into rounds, the size of golf ball and place two inches apart on baking sheet. The baking sheet should be high quality pans that evenly bake, if you haven't invested in them you won't be sorry. Commercial grades are recommended.

Bake in preheated oven 350 until just set, still light in color, over baking will make hard cookies. Cool for one minute and remove from pan on wire rack or flat surface onto wax paper.

These will seem underdone, but will set up as they cool.

Old Fashioned Coconut Cream White Cake

Fresh Coconut a taste from the tropics. White delicate cake with heavy whipped cream and a sweet coconut make this light cake taste like a tropical paradise.....easy and delicious.



3 cups sifted flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar, divided
1 1/3 cups coconut milk (if using fresh coconut milk, add regular milk to make 1 1/3 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon of coconut flavoring
5 egg whites
2 pints of heavy cream
1 cup coconut shredded

Cream shortening and butter with 1 1/3 cups of the sugar. Add sifted flour alternately with liquid, beginning and ending with flour; add vanilla and coconut flavors. If desired, add 1/3 cup fresh coconut to the batter. Beat egg whites to soft peaks; gradually add remaining 2/3 cup sugar. Fold meringue into cake batter, just enough to incorporate. Spoon into 2 9-inch layer cake pans grease with shortening and dusted with flour. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until cake bounces back when touched lightly. Cool thoroughly..

In a large bowl using a beater, beat heavy cream adding 1/4 cup of confectionery sugar to each pint of cream. Beat till thick and spreadable. Split both layers in half and frost each layer then entire cake, sprinkle with coconut.

Garlic Butter Yellow Potatoes with Crinkled Carrots

Simple and delicious......

1 cup fresh crinkled carrots
4 yellow potatoes sliced in chunks
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
chopped fresh parsley
fresh basil
4 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil extra light virgin
Boil potatoes and carrots together. Drain, in large fry pan melt butter olive oil, add garlic saute. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. I like to add a little cayenne pepper for hotter style.
potatoes. Tossed boiled veggies in, coated them. Add to pan sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve :)

Amaretto Marscapone Hot Fudge Brownie Dessert

A little piece of a mouth watering brownie experience, sure to be asked to make over and over again.

Amazing and easy dessert.

The batter is swirled to make a marble effect.

Almond flavoring throughout this deep dark chocolate brownie is topped with whipped cream, hot fudge and sliced almonds with a little Amaretto on the cake before you add the ice cream on top........
Topping
1 8oz package of marscapone cheese, or cream cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Amaretto or almond extract
3 tablespoon of almond paste
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
slivered almonds for garnish and optional

Whipped cream
1 jar Hot fudge sauce
1 quart of vanilla ice cream

Amaretto

Brownie Crust
1 devils food cake mix 18.25 oz size
1 stick of butter softened
1 egg

Using a mixer, pour cake mix in large bowl, add butter and egg, beat till well incorporated and makes a smooth dough.

Pat dough down with moist hands dampened with water, this keep the dough from sticking to
you, into a greased brownie pan approx. size 12x8 x2

In a clean bowl beat with mixer 1 package cheese and sugar together till light and fluffy around 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each one. Pour 1/2 the batter over brownie mixer reserving the rest. Add the almond paste to the remaining batter and Amaretto flavoring, beat well. Pour remaining batter making a marbleized swirl over brownie mixture. Add chips on top. Bake at 350 till lightly browned and set around 30 minutes. Cool, cut brownies into squares. Swirl hot fudge on the plate, top with a vanilla ice cream, whipped cream a tablespoon of Amaretto on the cream and slivered almonds more hot fudge on the top.

Margarita Buffalo Chicken Pizza

A delicious combination, of Buffalo Style Chicken on this delicious Homemade Pizza Crust all the taste, no mess and a great way to eat healthier.






his picture is before I put the mozzarella cheese on it to show you what it looks like before it smothered in the melted cheese....we were so excited to add this to the list as a featured game day food from now on.


Easy to eat with all the flavor, but a much healthier version using chicken breasts and baked.



Every Sunday we have our Traditional 2:00 dinner with Pasta and Traditional Sunday Sauce.
At night or late afternoon, we start picking again with game day foods for whatever sport is in season. My one son and husband loves hot wings, my other son loves pizza. Every week we usually have both. So, this is how this recipe came about. Both were extremely happy with the results. I started out making my homemade dough recipe.. http://pegasuslegend-whatscookin.blogspot.com/2009/06/pizza-dough.html


Then I made some of our favorite hot sauce the one I used was from (my Buffalo Chicken Salad )..http://pegasuslegend-whatscookin.blogspot.com/2009/10/buffalo-chicken-straight-off-grill.html or of course you can use your favorite store bought.. I then took two chicken breasts and sliced them in half so they were thin, put them in the baking pan pour sauce all over them and baked them on 400 degrees for around 3o minutes. When cooled I sliced the chicken in long pieces.

I precooked the dough and made a pizza shell until browned ( this keeps the dough from getting soggy). Then started layering the pizza with slices of chicken, sliced tomatoes, minced garlic, a little sprinkle of garlic powder, fresh basil leaves chopped up and spread on each tomato, grated mozzarella cheese, some blue cheese crumbles and a little blue cheese dressing. Then we thought it looked a little dry, so we put some more hot sauce on the pizza, drizzled some olive oil over the top.

Hot Coffee with allot of kick... a Winter Assortment

Pictured is Chocolate Obesession on the left and The Godmother to the above center.

Time to break out my Alcohol and Coffee drinks, Winter is drawing near and these will heat you up, I promise. I have tried them all and my personal favorite is the Godmother which is also on this site, but there is something for everyone on this list I'm sure. Hope you find your favorite. These coffees are great for company or a party. Feel free to tell me about some of your tried and trues that were missed.

Irish Coffee: add 1 ½ ounces of Irish whiskey to a cup of hot coffee and add a dollop of whipped cream .

The Godmother: .5 oz Amaretto 0.5 oz Frangelico 4.0 oz Hot Coffee 2.0 oz Cream or half and half, add 1 ounce of Amaretto to a cup of hot coffee and add a dollop of whipped cream
toasted almonds on top.

Cafe Amaretto Delight: 1 oz of Amaretto to hot coffee add a dollop of whipped cream and toasted almonds.

Night in Florida: is a popular tropical party drink.
3/4 cup coffee 1 1/2 tsp Kahlua 1 1/2 tsp Frangelico 1 1/2 tsp Grand Marnier 1 1/2 tsp Bailey's Irish Cream.. top with whipped cream and grated orange peel.

Cajun Coffee :3 cups hot coffee 6 tbs molasses 6 tbs dark rum Whipped cream

Cafe Nero: Galliano Sugar Lime juice Hot coffee.. Rim a glass with sugar, then coat the inside of the glass with sugar and lime juice. Fill the glass halfway with Galliano and light it. Twirl the glass slowly to melt and caramelize the sugar. Fill the rest of the glass with hot coffee.

Chocolate Obsession: 10 oz brewed coffee, hot, 1 oz chocolate liqueur 1 oz hazelnut liqueur. In a warm 12-oz wine glass, mix coffee and liqueurs. Top with whipped cream, a swirl of hot fudge syrup, a sprinkling of cocoa powder and chocolate curls.

Colonial Coffee :6 cups hot coffee 3/4 cup Kahlua 1/2 cup brandy Whipped cream Cinnamon, ground. Blend the coffee and liqueurs together and pour into 8 mugs. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

New Orleans Coffee:1 cup coffee 1 orange 5 tbs cognac 5 tbs benedictine 1 tsp brown sugar
3 cloves, whole.Strip off a large piece of orange zest, and poke the cloves into it. Place in the bottom of a mug, with the brown sugar. In a saucepan, mix the cognac and benedictine and heat through. Light the alcohol and pour (flaming) into the mug. Fill mug with coffee and serve.

Spanish Coffee: 1/2 oz Tia Maria 1/2 oz rum 1 cup hot coffee Mix and serve with whipped cream.

Vermont Coffee: 1 oz light cream 1 oz maple syrup 2 oz dark rum 6 oz hot coffee combine in a mug and enjoy!

Keoki Coffee: 1 cup hot coffee 1 oz Kahlua 1/2 oz brandy Whipped cream

Belgian Coffee: 1 ounce Triple Sec 1 ounce Irish Cream 3 ounces Coffee

Mexican Coffee: 1 ounce Coffee Liqueur 1/2 ounce Tequila 5 ounces Coffee

Black Gold Jackpot: In a heated cup place 4 ounces hot coffee, ¼ ounce each of triple sec, Amaretto, Irish Cream liqueur, hazelnut liqueur, and a splash of cinnamon schnapps. Top with whipped cream sprinkled with ground cinnamon and chocolate shavings. You can add a cinnamon stick or sprinkle of cinnamon.

Caribbean Coffee: add 1 ounce Creme de Cacao (brown) and 1 ounce dark rum to hot coffee and sprinkle with cinnamon place in a hot cup that has had its rim dipped in fresh squeezed lime juice and then in sugar.

Irish Creme: Just add an ounce of any brand Irish Cream Liqueur to hot coffee (one of my favorite drinks) again some whipped cream, and a little caramel swirl over the top and crushed toffee bars.

Doublemint: 1 ounce spearmint schnapps, ½ ounce Creme de Menthe (green) in a cup of hot coffee, finish with a dollop of whipped creme and chocolate mint shavings. wonderful at Christmas time.

Halloween Wishes to All

Have A Safe and Fun Happy Halloween From What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine......Featuring Mrs. Garlic Boo and Mr. Tomato Cukey sending fun and good cheer your way.......

Happy Halloween

Quesadilla With An Italian Kick

A little different than usual. We put lots of provolone cheese mixed with sharp cheddar to make this one. A little garlic powder sprinkled on each slice of the cheese for a spicy flavor.


Another one of our favorite game day appetizers.





Adding a some sour cream, jalapeno peppers, black olives shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes.



We also like to add some grilled chicken that has been spiced up with garlic and marinaded in Italian dressing first.



To us this is just a grilled cheese tortilla appetizer with a spicy Italian garlic flavor and we just love these overstuffed with provolone instead of any other cheese.
Topping it all off with all the trimming including a dollap of sour cream.
The easiest part is cooking them.

Just take a large greased heated non stick fry pan. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil on the bottom of the pan first . Add a flour tortilla, cheese on top of that, at least four slices of cheese, two of the provolone, two of the sharp cheddar, ( add chicken at this point if you decided on a meat Quesadilla) sprinkle cheese with garlic powder, pepper, parsley, top with another flour tortilla and brown on both side until the cheese is melted and bubbly and outside is crispy.

Actually allot of times we eat these plain, nothing on them except cheese, its a great snack and I can't tell you how addicting they are with that garlicky flavoring inside.....it makes all the difference.







So I hope you like our version of this classic Quesadilla. Italian Style , you wouldn't have expected anything else.... :)

Apples, Apples, Apples Tips and Facts

Everything you need to know about apples....or almost everything. Some Apple recipes you will find on this blog site.... This has the whys, where's, what's, for the use of the many kinds of apples ....
Coming myself from an area in Upstate NY Utica NY. The (New Hartford NY) area very close by, had huge apple orchards with a fabulous store to purchase them and were the best I can ever remember. This was the place to shop in the fall. Bushels and bushels would be all over the stores, you never went out empty handed, the place was full of pie making apples, eating apples, and cider making apples etc.. The kitchens in the month of October would be overflowing with apple cakes, apple dumplings ( my favorite)applesauce, caramel apples, apple pancakes, apple brownies, I think you get the idea....(laughing out loud) So, it was always confusing in that store, they all always looked so darn good, then we would get home and that apple didn't cook all way through in the pie, or was too tart. So this is a list tips and facts, that hopefully will give you a better idea on what to do with this wondrous fruit.....

Arkansas Black A medium to large apple dark purple to almost black Very, very hard texture and an excellent keeper. Almost too hard-textured at harvest. Best after some storage time. Great for baking; and terrible for applesauce. A Winesap type. Late season.

Baldwin Good quality large red apple An old variety, subject to cold injury in the winter late mid-season medium sweet.

Blushing Golden Medium-sized waxy coated modern yellow apple with a pink blush Jonathan/Golden Delicious cross. Firm flesh with flavor like Golden Delicious, but tarter. Keeps well Late season

Brae Burn Rich red color with white flesh Sweet Best for eating Late season.

Cameo A large, round sub-acid apple with red blush stripe over yellow. Late ripening

Cortland A Ben Davis/McIntosh cross large flat, dull red apple with a purple hue and soft, white flesh Less aromatic than McIntosh Good keeper. Very good in salads. Mid season

Cox's Orange Pippin Popular in English markets. Medium sized, golden yellow skin, with brownish orange often russeted. Flesh tender, crisp, semi-tart early

Crispin Light green to yellowish white Sweet, rich, full flavor Firm, dense texture Best for: eating fresh Mid - late season

Empire A McIntosh type apple Long shelf life Aromatic and crisp with creamy white juicy flesh. Best for: eating fresh Early - Mid season

Fuji Very sweet, aromatic flavor Yellow-green with red highlights Originated in Japan. Best for: eating, salads, best applesauce apple Late season

Gala Developed in New Zealand. Sweet, aromatic flavor Best for: eating, salad, best applesauce apple medium to smaller in size with a distinctive red and yellow striped heart-shaped appearance. Early to mid season

Ginger Gold Very slow to turn brown, so it's a great choice for apple slices. Best for: eating, sauce, salad

Golden Delicious Firm white flesh which retains its shape Rich mild flavor when baked or cooked. Tender skin Stays white longer when cut; Best for: salads, blend in applesauce Early season

Grimes Golden Firm white flesh which retains its shape Rich mild flavor when baked or cooked. Tender skin, with a "grimy mottled surface. Stays white longer when cut; Best for: salads, blend in applesauce Early season

Granny SmithVery tart Bright green appearance, crisp bite and sour apple flavor. Best for: people who like bitter sour apples rather than sweet ones :-) Mid to late season Not good for applesauce unless you add sugar (or like a very tart applesauce)

Gravenstein Greenish-yellow with a lumpy appearance A good, all-purpose apple, Good for applesauce and pies.

Hokuto A Mutsu/Fuji cross crisp texture of Fuji, large size and shape of Mutsu, sweet flavors late mid-season

Honeycrisp Introduced in Minnesota Very sweet and aromatic Great for juice, as it is a very juicy apple Best for: Eating, pies, baking Mid season.
Jonathan One of the first red apples of the fall Sweet-tart taste with firm texture Light red stripes over yellow or deep red Originating from Woodstock, N.Y., the Jonathan apple is crimson with touches of green. Typically available from September through April. They have a spicy tang that makes them good for pies, sauces and cider. Best for: eating and cooking Early season

Jonalicious Flavor like Jonathan but a little less tart and darker red skin. Larger, crisper, and juicier than Jonathan, and a better keeper. Slightly sour/acid balance. early mid season

JonamacA medium-sized Jonathan/McIntosh cross Sour flavored, aromatic and tender fleshed like McIntosh. Early season, a few days prior to McIntosh. Poor keeper.

Jonagold A cross of Jonathan and Golden Delicious. Best for: eating, sauce, pies, salad, baking Mid season

Liberty A highly disease-resistant introduction from Geneva New York. Liberty has superior dessert quality, similar to one of its parents, Macoun. Best for: eating, sauce, salad flavor improves in storage late season

Macoun Named after a famous fruit grower in Canada Best for: eating, sauce, salad Very good, sweet, all-around apple

McIntosh * Popular in America since 1811 Best for: eating, sauce, salad , good as part of a blend for applesauce Sweet, mild flavor

MelroseThe official apple of Ohio Similar to a Jonathan but sweeter. Good for pies: the slices hold together in pies Keeps well

Mutsu Great apple It is sweet and crisp A lot like a Golden Delicious Best for eating fresh and it makes a great applesauce

Northern Spy Large, high quality fruit Good for storage mid-late season

PaulaRed A tart apple with light to creamy flesh. Good for eating, in pies and sauces.

Pink Lady Rich red/pink color with white flesh Very sweet and crisp Best for eating and makes a naturally sweet, smooth applesauce and it is good in salads and pies. A cross between a Golden Delicious and a Lady William. Late season

Red Delicious A very well known worldly renown favorite (now being replaced by Fuji and Gala) Best for: eating, salad, very good as a base apple for applesauce Thin bright red skin with a mildly flavored fine-grained white flesh. Bruises easily and does not keep well. Early to mid season There are many, many varieties of red delicious.
RomeBest for: baking and cooking - but not applesauce - not sweet enough, and it has a fairly bland flavor Very smooth red apple with a slightly juicy flesh.Very hard flesh Mid to late season

Spartan A cross between the McIntosh and Pippin apples. Good all-purpose apple.
Stayman or Stayman-WinesapJuicy, cream-colored to yellowish flesh with a tart wine-like flavor. (often also called winesap) Good storing apple, bruise resistant, dull red coat. Best for: Cooking, pies and cider

Suncrisp A hard tart, long keeping apple. Red over orange color; Golden Delicious-type Ripens late in the season Best for: Baking, storing.
Winesap Rich red color with white flesh Crisp texture and juicy Best for cooking Mid to late season

Yates Rich red color with white flesh Sweet Best for eating Late season

York Crisp and flavorful . Deep red with green streaks Best for eating. holds texture during cooking and freezing Fuji apples are bi-colored, usually striped with yellow and red, and are sweet, juicy and firm. They're available year round. Great for all uses, particularly snacking

Tips:

Store apples in the fridge to slow ripening and retain flavor.

Dip apple slices into three parts water to one part lemon juice to impede browning

Always wash apples with soap and water; rinse well.

To prevent apples from absorbing odors, store apart from foods with strong smells.

Always choose firm apples with no soft spots.

Granny Smith apples are great for baking.

Green apples that have taken on a yellow hue are likely to be past their best for eating.

Good apples have unblemished skin.

Good apples for eating are the ones with the roundest shapes. Fuji and gala are good eating.

Good apples feel heavy for their size.

Buffalo Chicken( Straight Off The Grill) Salad

Grilled Chicken Breast with a Buffalo Barbecue Sauce over Romaine Lettuce Salad, veggies, crumbled bacon topped with your favorite dressing.




Your choice of Blue Cheese, Peppercorn Ranch or your preferred dressing over with a glaze of barbecue hot sauce......












Chicken marinates over night and melts in your mouth, juicy and tender.
















Marinade:

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1/2 cup of hot sauce any brand

1/3 cup molasses

1/4 cup vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

dash salt

4 chicken boneless chicken breast sliced 1/2 thick


Marinade overnight reserving 1/4 cup to pour over chicken salad when serving.

Grill chicken on medium heat till cooked.


Salad :slice all veggies to your desired size


Hearts of Romaine lettuce cut up

tomatoes

cured black olives

sharp provolone cheese

cucumbers

croutons

blue cheese crumbles

cooked bacon crumbles

Cut up lettuce arrange on plate, add veggies, top with chicken, more sauce and dressing of choice.

Blogger Awards

Blogger Awards for Kreativ Blogger and One Lovely Blog Award thank you so much :).

I have started my day to find two lovely awards and I wanted to say thank you so much for these. A great way to start my week.

I have Laura to thank and her wonderful thoughtfulness from the Little Chef and I http://littlechefandi.blogspot.com/... a very talented blogger herself. I love my awards !

To start off my day, I usually get up around 4am, trying to catch up on all my favorite foodie posts and emails, I work a full time job managing a large retail store and work more hours than I can tell you. It's hard to answer all the emails, but I love the compliments and viewing every one's posts.

My biggest joy is cooking for my family and friends and making my mom's and grandmother's traditional recipes.. their memories live on from their recipes and I always feel they are watching :)

My two grown sons and my husband are my three taste testers, usually none left for me( just kidding there is actually always too much!) to try and my biggest fans.

Most of my life I lived in Upstate NY and then moved to Florida in the early 90's. I still have allot of family and friends there I miss dearly. I especially love the food when I visit, as the food isn't here as what I grew up with.

I love to go fishing with my husband but can't swim and afraid of water. We have a boat that is hardly used, standing on land is my idea of a good fishing day.

I play the piano and taught it a good many years. I still love and enjoy a session when I have the time, most of the music I play is pop.

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays and I love to give gifts. So I am now going to give my first two gifts early to some of my talented foodie friends.

I am inspired everyday from the fabulous talent amongst us

so I hereby give these to some very talented foodie friends.

1. franfajr http://memoriediangelina.blogspot.com/

2. maria http://www.diningwithbatali.com/

3. miranda http://fortheloveofkidsandfood.blogspot.com/

4. tavqueenb's http://daydreamerdesserts.blogspot.com/

5. kathy vega http://lasvegasfoodadventures.wordpress.com/

6. cookincanuck http://cookincanuck.blog.com

7. tastytrix http://tastytrix.blogspot.com/

My foodie friends, when you pick up your awards and post it, please make sure you list 7 things about yourself and pass it to 7 other blogs.

Halloween Recipes and Party Fun Idea's

It's Halloween and party time, here is a quick list of party foods, that will make your table perfect for your guests to get them in the spirit of Halloween..
Pictured to the left, we have gravestone sandwiches,witches brooms deviled egg eyes. See below pictures for more....have fun !...









This is the front of our house this year for Halloween....


Can never have enough pirates!





Tangerine carved pumpkins are my favorite to make...you can make so many faces on them!
The donut eyeballs are yummy! Peanut butter filled Granny Smith apples and teeth for marshmellows, great fun that will make all your guests smile :).




























Tried to give you some close ups shots this is the full shot of all of them starting from the back. Gravestone sandwiches, tangerine pumpkin fruit cups, apple peanut butter teeth, witches brew, mummy dogs, deviled egg eyeballs, donut eyeballs,dirt worms,meatballs swimming in sauce faces, and english muffin faces.







A fun time of year for me. Growing up it was always so cold by October to go trick or treating. Regardless of rain,sleet or snow, two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, two sweaters, a coat, boots and hat would save the day. Nothing would stop me from going trick or treating. I can remember at eight years old, walking down the street in East Utica NY, Lansing Street to be exact, with my friends and the snow and wind would be blowing in my face I could hardly see the doorbell to ring. Eyes tearing, but all worth that one box of crackerjacks, or full size candy bar, we waited for all year to get. We always had out favorite house to stop at, and knew who gave out the "good stuff". Never had a worry in the world about the things back in those good ole days, unfortunately its a little different now and we can't be too careful protecting our children.



So these memories live on and we now can look forward to safe Halloweens in our homes. For the children the grandchildren and all the grownup kids in the world, I dedicate this post.



Hope you all take away something you like, they are all easy and fun to do.. Enjoy!!! and Happy Halloween to everyone !!!!!!



ntrance set ups are huge, scary spider webs are the best and using fishing line to dangle spiders, bats and other creepy rubber items. I am a big fan of pirates, so my theme is to have my entrance set up with pirates everywhere. Of course I have a pirate that electronically makes scary noises when you walk by or is voice activated.




Here are some of the fun foods pictured above:






Mummies:





Hot dogs wrapped in strips of refrigerator dough,leave part of the top exposed for the face and bake... these at 400 till don't overcook. When cool, dot eyes with mustard drops, these are always a hit .



Eyeballs:


Powdered donuts holes using blue frosting for the base of the eyeball and chocolate chip center for an eyeball, making red lines with piping gel for veins.






Spooky Teeth:


Two slices of green apples, Core the apple and cut into fourths. Cut a small wedge on the skin side of the apple. Brush with lemon juice so they won't get brown. Fill with peanut butter and add mini marshmallows for teeth.






Spider Cookies:


Make or buy chocolate cookies. Make a thin batch of white frosting, and using a fork, dip it in the frosting and make slashes of frosting in different directions on the cookies, add black piping or orange in center to look like spiders.



Meatball eyes:


Serve fried meatballs on a plate swimming in sauce. On each center of the meatball, slice large pieces of green olive and place a solid piece of black olive in the center of the green for eyes they will stick on if you use a little grape jelly or honey as glue.



Grave yard sandwich:


Use pieces of dark sandwich bread, like wheat or pumpernickel and cut the crusts off .Cut out shape of grave stones with a sharp knife. Fill with egg salad, tuna salad or ham salad. Use mustard or mayo, ketchup with a nozzle to write scripts on the tops bread such as RIP, Lon Gone, Cross and Skull, Al B Back, C. U. Later etc.You can arrange in a bed of shredded lettuce to stand up.








Broomsticks:


You can make broomsticks using refrigerator dough. Roll out a long handle for the broom and attach a small ball of dough to the bottom use fork to make tine marks. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle these with Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and bake till set 10 to 15 minutes



Deviled egg eyeballs:


Boil several eggs, take out the yolks add to a bowl, use a few drops of green food coloring add enough mayonnaise to make it easy to fill them back up. Add slices of black olives to the middle and the piece of red pepper for the center. On the long part of the white of the egg, make red streaks using ketsup from a nozzle tip.



Witches Brew:


Lime sherbet floating in a bowl of Lemon Lime Soda.



Scary faced pizza:


Take English muffins, toast them fist. Add sauce mozzarella and broil just till melted. Make eyes out of black olives sliced, pepperoni centers. Slices of red pepper for the mouth.



Dirt pie with worms:


Use Oreo cookies crust for filling the bottom of mini muffin tins lined with Halloween or orange paper liners. Fill with chocolate pudding and add a gummy worm cut in half to each.
Other option is to make boxed brownie mix into paper liners, when cool melt chocolate on top. You can add the gummy worms to those also or leave plain.


Scary Oranges:


Slice off the top of the orange and scoop out orange as you would a pumpkin.Cut out a face as you would a jack o lantern. Fill back up with fruit salad, making sure the fruit is popping out of the eyes.



Have a safe, fun Halloween!!!!!!

Triple Chocadamia Delight Cookies

All I can say about these is that they are definitely designed for all Chocoholics. The cookies are rich with chocolate, macadamia nuts and a fresh baked buttery flavor. Full of decadent intrigue. Normally you would just drizzle white and milk chocolate I decided to tint the white chocolate orange, for a fall looking cookie.

Delicious anytime, or any occassion, but get that cold glass of milk ready or that hot cup of java either one will do just fine.

Rich and decadent. Chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. A full bodied chocolate cookie that will satisfy all your chocolate needs.

These will flatten while baking and cracking is a characteristic of them.
Roll into round balls. Don't over bake, 8 minutes till set.

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of almond extract

2 cups of all purpose flour

2/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon of baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup of macadamia nuts chopped

In a large bowl, cream butter sugar eggs almond extract until light. Sift together all dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in macadamia nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Melt in the microwave about 1 minute per 1 cup of white chocolate chips, stir quickly till melted, add a drop of red and and drop of yellow to make orange chocolate. In a separate bowl melt 1 cup of milk chocolate chips for one minute stirring quickly till smooth. Using a fork make dripping stripes on each cookie with dark chocolate, alternating with orange to make the effect...

Apple Blueberry Cookie Crumble

Well back in the good old days, na just kidding this one is pretty new for me, but we do hear that allot and when we remake all of those old time favorite desserts. This is another one of those comfort foods that warm the soul in the fall. We kept experimenting with our two favorite fruits and the old time favorite crumbles, but we love crust, so I tried both bottom and top for this crumble, here is a mixture of both. ..... Not sure what to call this one.......maybe we need a vote?


Vanilla ice cream or Fresh Whipped Cream go perfect with this dessert.








All fresh ingredients make the difference, use crisp but tart apples.





















Apples, spices, butter, blueberries gently mixed in.

This is the last step, putting the topping on, mixed with softened butter,oats, flour and spice. Ready for the oven.

Fresh apples and blueberry combo with a hint of cinnamon and cookie crust, just a delightful marriage of tastes. Enjoy!

Crust on bottom:
2 tablespoon butter, melted
1 package of crushed shortbread cookies around 10 cookies.

FILLING:
4 large tart apples, peeled sliced and cored
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cups fresh blueberries or 1 can of blueberry pie filling
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

(use half the sugar if using prepared pie fillings)

TOPPING:
1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
3 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons cold butter softened 20 seconds in the microwave

DIRECTIONS
Spread butter over the bottom of an 8-in. square baking dish. Sprinkle with crushed cookie crumbs press down gently. Set aside.
Combine the sugar, cinnamon and ginger; sprinkle over apples, dot with cut up butter and mix well. Place blueberries in a bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice and vanilla, toss gently to mix well.
For topping, combine flour, oatmeal and brown sugar in a bowl, keep mixing in butter until crumbly. Spoon apple mixture into prepared baking dish. Top with blueberry mixture and then crumble topping .

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

Breakfast Sandwich Ham Egg and Cheese

Breakfast sandwich... Featuring ham, egg and cheese on wholewheat bread. Of course, growing up in an Italian household, this sandwich was only made on fresh baked Italian thick crusted bread, provolone and capicola. We still make that whenever we have this in the house. But working mom's and fussy kids changed the way we cook these days. So, here is the quick American version, and when time permits, try the Italian version.
Here's a classic sandwich when your on the go. With the quick pace and busy lives, this is a wholesome satisfying breakfast. My boys would love these anytime of the day, I use to make several ahead of time, they keep well for the next day. Any toasted bread, bagels, biscuits, English muffins and even the wonderful croissant will be wonderful with this layered melted tasty sandwich. We also make them alternating fillings, using bacon, sausages, ham, capicola or just plain without meat and your favorites cheeses..you can use several variations by adding peppers, mushrooms, tomato for a change.

You will need:

Lunch deli meat sliced, cooked ham, cappicola(hot ham) one slice per sandwich

Butter and olive oil for frying

1 egg per sandwich (cook to your families quanity)

Bread of your choice : Italian, wholewheat, bagels, croissants, muffins, biscuits, pita etc.

Cheese slices of choice : sharp cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, american cheese, colby etc.

In a large pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Saute ham a few minutes on both sides till it starts to get that little brown caramelized look. Remove ham drain on a paper towel. Beat the number of eggs according to how many sandwiches you are making. Put back into same pan you used for the ham ( this flavors the eggs) cook as you would an omelet , cooking on both sides flipping once. Remove from heat. Usually I cut this into four wedges making four sandwiches.Layer starting with bread, ham, cheese, egg and more cheese and top with bread.

Italian Amaretto Glazed Chicken with Toasted Almonds

A Tender Chicken Breast with Amaretto and Toasted Almond Glaze
Toast Almonds on a paper plate in the microwave for around 2 to 3 minutes till browned, keep stirring them and checking, do not burn.

4 Chicken Boneless breasts sliced in half to make eight pieces

1 stick of butter and 4 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of Garlic Powder

2 cups Chicken Broth

2 1/2 tablespoons of Corn Starch

1 package of Sliced Almonds Toasted

1 pound of sliced mushrooms
8 tablespoons of Amaretto

In a large fry pan saute chicken and mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter and olive oil till chicken lightly browned.

Add garlic powder and a dash of salt and pepper.

Transfer chicken to a baking dish with mushrooms and 1 cup of chicken broth cover loosely and bake 25 minutes or till cooked all the way through, on 400 degree oven.

In a small saucepan melt one tablespoon of butter, whisk corn starch in and add remaining chicken broth, bringing to a boil. Stir till smooth, remove from heat, add 1 tablespoon of Amaretto.
Toast almonds in microwave as described above.

Put chicken on a plate add 2 tablespoons of glazed sauce on top of chicken, top with toasted almonds. Pour 1 tablespoon of straight Amaretto on almonds . Spoon mushrooms around plate . Serve with steamed white rice, I add toasted almonds to the plain rice with a little melted butter.

Italian Rice with Meat Sauce and Fresh Veggies

And yet another one of those dishes, grandma and mom made when we had leftover sauce, meatballs and there was always an abundance of fresh veggies in the house...this was a nice treat as it had the freshness of the garden with the taste of an almost meat pasta dish with the rice used instead...and yes we used pasta in its place if we were out of the rice, then it became Italian goulash.... :)

Fresh veggies and rice with a similar to meatball topping and sauce.....

You can make this a main meal with these meats and veggies on the rice, add some garlic bread, some antipasto salad and you will have a full course meal!

Sausage and loose hamburger fried together with your favorite sauce.

1/2 pound of hamburger

2 Italian sausage links out of the casing

16 oz of favorite sauce

In a large fry pan saute both meats together. Add 4 tablespoons of grating cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of parsley. Dash of salt and pepper. Cook till browned. Drain excess grease. Add 8oz of sauce to the pan and continue to cook for 10 minutes on low.

Dice 1 tomato, 1/2 cup total of diced red and green bell pepper, and 1 clove of finely minced garlic, mix together add 1/4 cup of veggies to pan cook another 5 minutes . Reserve fresh remaining raw chopped veggies for on top for garnish..

Boil 2 cups of white rice or whatever you prefer to package directions. Place cooked rice in a large dish. Pour meat sauce over the rice. Add more sauce on the bottom of a plate arrange a scoop of rice mixture on the sauce. Top with grated cheese and remaining veggies garnish with basil.

Italian Salsa With Fresh Garlic

All fresh veggies cut up served with your favorite chip....a great little appetizer. Pictured is on a garlic pita chip. Garlic bagel, garlic bread, or crackers, make this all fresh kind of Salsa addicting... but its Italian~ what isn't?

The tomatoes are straight from the garden, basil grown outside on the front porch and peppers and garlic from the side of the road stands we have all over the state....all fresh always.

1 Red Bell and 1 Green Pepper cleaned and diced
2 Large Vine Ripe Tomatoes chopped into small pieces

2 cloves of Fresh Garlic Minced

2 tablespoons of White Wine or Balsamic Vinegar

Dash of Salt and Pepper

Dash of Cayenne Pepper

Several Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped fine

Mix together allow at least two hours in refrigerated until serving.

Serve with garlic pita chips, garlic bread or crackers.

Old Fashioned Banana Cream Pie

Old Fashioned Banana Cream Pie










Just always one of those requests ,you know is going to be asked for every time at a family gathering. A classic favorite and well understood Old Fashioned Banana Cream Pie simply delicious.









3/4 cup sugar ........
3 cups whole milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
5 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter
4 peeled and sliced banana's
1 (9-inch) baked pie shell recipe below






Directions:In a nonstick 1-quart saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, 1 cup milk. Scald mixture. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the remaining 2 cups milk and cornstarch together to make a slurry. Whisk egg yolks with salt in medium bowl. Temper yolks by adding 1/2 cup scaled milk mixture to yolks and whisk well. Add yolk mixture and put back into milk mixture and whisk vigorously over medium heat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat , add vanilla, and butter. Whisk until uniformly incorporated. Add sliced banana's to pie shell. Pour 1 cup of whipped cream to the the filling folding gently, pour into the prepared pie shell over banana's. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Chill the pie completely, about 2 hours. Cover pie with whipped cream or non dairy whipped topping.



Pie shell:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
6 to 7 tablespoons ice cold water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Add the shortening and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water and let sit 1 minute. Either using a fork or your hands, carefully press the mixture together to form a soft ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Gently fold the circle of dough in half and then in half again so that you can lift it without tearing it, and unfold into a 9-inch by 2-inch deep-dish pie pan. Crimp the edges and chill again for 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake pie shell until golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before using.

Pink Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies( In Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month)

OK ladies this month everyone needs to get in for their yearly checkup ......
A Cause I am truely passionate about. Many times we take for granted things are ok, I speak from experience. Early detection does save lives. This disease warrants no one...thank you for reading.










Pink Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies (In Honor or National October Breast Cancer Awareness Month)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick margarine, softened ( any kind that's recommended by the American Heart Society)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs 1 (15-ounce) container Whole Milk or Light Ricotta Cheese
1 teaspoon of lemon extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
a few drops of red food coloring Beat margarine and sugar together till light. Put all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Stir Ricotta into the margarine and cheese, then add one egg at a time and blend together. Gently mix the dry ingredients in till blended adding drops of red food coloring for pink coloring. Drop by teaspoons full on a greased cookie sheet. Bake till the edges are slightly brown, and cookies are set, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Frosting:

1 1/2 cups of confectionery sugar

2 tablespoons of shortening
1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract

3 tablespoons milk keep adding by drops until it makes a smooth stream, if too thick. Beat till spreadable.
Frost cooled cookies with white frosting. Make separate batch of pink frosting to go over the top of the white.

Caramel Apple Syrup

Fall brings an abundance of apples, this syrup is wonderful on apple pancakes, or just as a dip...

This is a short and sweet recipe, used on pancakes, topping but the best dip for apples just as a snack. A fall treat and especially great at parties....

CARAMEL SYRUP

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. cream

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. butter

Bring to boil. Cool several hours in refrigerator .

****For pancakes, make your favorite recipe or use mine from (http://pegasuslegend-whatscookin.blogspot.com/2009/10/chocolate-chip-raspberry-pancakes.html) and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar on top add sliced apples and serve with caramel syrup.

New York Bagels Italian Style Pizza

New York Bagels Italian Style Pizza.



Everytime I go visit my family in Upstate NY, I have to stop at my favorite Bagel Shop located in Utica NY.



The Bagels are actually too delicious to even think about making them into pizza when fresh, however, they do sell them on the lunch menu and make sandwiches with them. They also have so many flavors, I couldn't begin to tell you what my favorite is.

The Bagels taste wonderful without anything on them, smoothered in butter or if there happens to be anything left the next day, that started to get a little hard, here what we would do with them. Gigantic Bagel Pizza's! A day old bagel becomes a Gigantic Bagel Pizza.....

6 Plain Bagels split in halves

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup puree’d Whole Tomatoes

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese

1/4 cup Romano and Parmesan blend cheeses

1/4 teaspoon Red pepper Flakes

1/2 teaspoon each Garlic powder, Oregano and Parsley flakes

In a blender add tomatoes and spices blend 20 seconds. On a well oiled cookie sheet, split bagels in half, middle sides up and broil till browned, remove from oven. Put oven on bake at 430 degrees. Top bagels with sauce, mozzarella cheese, grating cheese, return to the oven until cheese if melted and bubbly. You can add any chopped meat toppings you like before adding the cheeses, suggestions, pepperoni, sausage, meatball, mushrooms, olives, peppers.