Shredded Chicken Cacciatore

Thursday, April 29, 2010
Shredded Chicken Cacciatore is a one-pan Italian hearty meal that can be served so many ways!

Of course, eating this plain in a bowl with a big piece of warm bread and butter is ideal however this shredded-style chicken in tomato sauce is terrific served in several other ways.

This chicken can be served over pasta, rice, and potatoes, it's so versatile and can be a new version every time you make it.

The best part of this dinner is we usually use leftover boneless chicken from another meal or even rotisserie chicken so it makes this quick and easy.

If you're in a hurry just get some store-bought sides or throw some baked potatoes in the microwave to serve with this dish for those crazy weeknights when you're too tired to cook with a  busy schedule because this can be made in a slow cooker.

Check out all our suggestions below for serving ideas.

We have a printable recipe below and to avoid any ads you can just hit print for this recipe.


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New Yorkers Have Arrived Family Reunion 2010

Monday, April 19, 2010
Melbourne, Florida April 18th 2010...... a day to remember!



The Upstate New Yorkers have arrived! This is my family from Upstate NY, I have three nieces, three great nieces, three great nephews and all their significant others, and the kids, my nieces mom, Mom and Grandmom, Theresa Colenzo. They decided to take their vacation here in Florida.
(Also in the picture my two sons, Chad and Curt Iffert, husband Nemo Lamascolo, and my brother from Dania Beach Fl., John Colenzo.)
My first born niece Alicia, her son Ryan and Alicia's significant other Bill. Niece number two, Mary came ( she hated being the middle child) with her three children, Vanessa, Dominic and Adriana her significant other John and his son John. My youngest niece Pamela and her husband Bruce with their two children, Vinny and Samantha.
Can you imagine, this clan of 14 people bought this bus with the New York Yankees emblem on it and drove 19 hours straight. Actually the bus is quite roomy, and even had an LCD TV in, quite a luxury bus. I have been so excited knowing this trip was planned for weeks now, and couldn't believe it was finally here. I'd been preparing all kinds of foods,

Roast Leg of Lamb, Baked Spiral Cut Ham, Chicken Parmigiana, Pasta with Traditional Sunday Sauce, Meatballs and Sausage. Then there were several desserts, cookies, cakes, a Amaretto Strawberry Cream Tart and even a dessert I left for them to name, that one had chocolate, cream and banana's in it.... that will be in a later post, its was named by my niece Alicia, Godiva Chocolate Chunky Monkey Mousse.

What a huge surprise we all had when John popped the question to marry, Mary, in front of all of us after dinner. We are all so over joyed for the new couple's happiness, congrats to the future Mrs. John Guarascio, may you have a wonderful happy life and new exciting journey together many many many happy years ahead!..... Welcome to the family John!

John and Mary Congrats!

So many tears of joy and wonderful excitement, we broke out the Raspberry Champagne my brother John from Dania,Florida brought with him and toasted the happy couple. What perfect timing with all of us together. A reunion to remember that will last a lifetime.

It didn't seem to be quite enough only three bottles of bubbly, so out came the Pina Colada Lava flows, I had been waiting for a special occasion to make these and this was the perfect time. A Pina Colada with fresh Strawberry puree inside...We ended up with about four pitchers full. 

46 oz pineapple juice
1 can coco lopez coconut cream
1 pint half and half
Bacardi White Rum or
Coconut Rum
ice
frozen strawberries in syrup put through the food processor or fresh 2 pints pureed with sugar added to the food processor  set aside
plastic fancy cups
In a blender add the juice with 1 can of coconut cream, pulse  ad few time then adding the half and half till blended pulse again. Add about 2 cups of ice or more and pulse till desired thickness.  Pour the coconut mixture in a plastic glass, top with strawberry puree, top with a shot of desired rum marblize by stirring with a stir stick, straw or fork. Enjoy!

Adriana, (Mary's three year old daughter) and Samantha,( Pamela and Bruce's daughter) love to dance to Beyonce "Single Ladies". They are both so adorable!
They both took a little dip in the pool to relax after all that dancing.

The last time they all visited us it was a sad time. My mom had passed away. Everyone drove down that year, in 1999 (some missing in the pictures not born yet) and some couldn't make the reunion this time in the picture below. Amazing how the time passed, but we still had part of mom here through all of us, we celebrated Christmas and Easter today and I made her Cassata recipe and Honey Balls Struffoli. Grandma Victoria's Easter Bread was on the table as well. Family is so important and it is so hard to live 1900 miles apart. Although we missed out on many events in each others lives we still cling to awesome memories of years past and that old fashioned traditions. You better believe the old adage blood is thicker than water, we couldn't be any thicker than this crew! One of the most happiest times for us all is having each other and this time around, many blessings were shared, but most of all we had spent quality time together and didn't waste a precious moment today. Love all you guys. Thanks for this awesome day, mom and dad are both looking down on all of us so proud today keeping the memory alive with our children that they instilled in all of us!

My brother John Colenzo, had this cake made with a lemon cream filling surrounded by a whipped frosting and slivered almonds. This was made in a South Florida Bakery, just the perfect sweetest ending to this amazing reunion. The picture featured on this cake was taken the day mom passed on, 11 years ago, time has passed so quickly, mom your not forgotten...we all love you......and wish you were still here with us.
After full bellies, good food, the love for great conversation, making new memories, many desserts and several drinks later, it was that unfortunate time to load the bus. A full day for all. Off they went, all 14 people boarded their NY Yankee Bus, back to their vacation and headed to Orlando for the rest of their stay.
Thanks for reading our precious moments in time......... love to you all! xxxooo
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Amaretto Strawberry Italian Cream Tart

Sunday, April 18, 2010
This Amaretto Strawberry Italian Cream Tart is an easy gourmet fruit topped tart that's actually pretty simple to make in your own kitchen and a replica of what you'll find in Italian or French pastry shops all over Europe.

Making the pastry crust with toasted almond, then it gets brushed with a delicious Amaretto after cooling, filled with a delectable vanilla pastry cream, topped with fresh fruit, and finish by brushing on a warmed glaze.

You can use any kinds of fruits you prefer, we seem to always like the strawberry Amaretto combination or whatever the season is for strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and kiwi they all work great.

Use like to stick to the same color glaze as the fruits when trying to adapt the original recipe so you can decide what you're tart should have on it for the glaze.

You will need to have a removal bottom tart pan to make life easier for removal so it looks perfect when serving just like from a 5-star European bakery.


If you would like our step-by-step recipe just scroll to our printable recipe card at the bottom and skip all the suggestions and tips in this recipe post.




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Trefoils or Shortbread ( copycat Girl Scout Cookies)

Friday, April 16, 2010
Trefoils are a copycat shortbread cookie from the ever-so-popular Girl Scout once-a-year cookie collection.

These buttery little rounds with a sugary topping are just the right break-time cookie with your favorite hot beverage or a cold glass of milk.

This classic cookie can never be considered a plain cookie with that buttery crisp old-fashioned shortbread flavor.

These copycat Girl Scout cookies are a vintage timeless classic.




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Parmesan Crusted Haddock in Wine

Thursday, April 15, 2010
This baked haddock recipe is quick and easy to prepare with a Parmesan bread crumb coating, with the addition of a delicious buttery wine sauce baked right in the same baking dish.

Our easy seafood baked recipe is so yummy you can even serve this as an elegant entree when hosting a party since it tastes gourmet from a 5-Star restaurant quality meal!




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Julia Child’s Classic Recipe for Coquilles Saint Jacques

Monday, April 12, 2010
This appetizer recipe has been adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.

The pan salutes a buttery rich flour-coated scallop then broiled with a swiss cheese topping which makes its creamy sauce.

Of course, this isn't the exact recipe but most of the ingredients and a few more were added to our own taste we recreated an exquisite replica of this fantastic appetizer/meal of Coquilles Saint Jacques.

I also prefer to use a porcelain baking dish and make a whole pan instead of using the scallops shells for small appetizers.

Back in the 1950s, Julia was brilliant in preparing French foods and this is one of my all-time favorite recipes of hers.

This is a delicious classic for scallops and all seafood lovers would be missing out by not trying her recipe.

If you love Julia's recipes this will one to keep in your recipe collection and you may also like to try her Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon or Steak Diane another classic favorite.

Scroll down to my easy instructions for this printable recipe.


scallop casserole in a rich cream sauce replica of Julia Child


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Deep Fried Hearts of Palm Recipe

Saturday, April 10, 2010
What are Hearts of Palm?


Fried to perfection?


A vegetable, not given enough credit in my book!
Have deep fried Artichoke Hearts for years the same way, but these are easier and taste quite similar......

Sizzling in the pan getting all browned and crispy.

A tender white part of a palm stalk.....


I love hearts of palm. In a salad or eating them straight from the can I just can't seem to get enough of them. Some of you might not be familiar with this unusual vegetable, and even more of you may never have used them in a recipe, so I am here to introduce you to my beloved hearts of palm. Very unique, firm but delicate tasting vegetable.
Hearts of palm, also known as palmito, chonta or swamp cabbage, are a tender, white vegetable with a velvety-like texture that boasts a flavor similar to an artichoke. It's harvested from the inner stalk of various palm trees, and is mainly culled from the coconut palm or the Acai palm tree. Harvesting is a labor intensive, and because of this, these they can cost a bit more than your typical canned vegetable, running about $5 a jar or $3 a can.
Hearts of palm are slender, white tubes. Hearts of palm boast an almost creamy yet incredibly delicate taste, which makes them perfect for cooking. They very much remind me of artichoke hearts, and I substitute hearts of palm for them many times in my recipes, they are such a perfect substitution!
Although found in many ritzy restaurants in salads hearts of palm are excellent when made into dips and are prepared much in the same fashion as an artichoke spread. Substitute artichoke hearts for hearts of palms for the artichoke dip recipes, so delicious. Hearts of palm also fry well, and these lightly breaded and deep fried.
Hearts of palm are healthy. Because they are packed in water and are naturally low in fat, you can enjoy them straight from the can or jar. They're also high in fiber and contain no cholesterol, and right now I am very conscious of that condition, since I have it!

Deep Fried Hearts of Palm Recipe:
1- 14 oz can of Hearts of Palm drained and brine washed off
canola oil for frying
1 egg with 2 tablespoons water well beaten
2 cups Italian Flavored Panko Bread Crumbs
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder, cayenne pepper, pepper, oregano, parsley and Parmesan cheese
In a medium size bowl beat egg and water together, add hearts of palm to bowl.
In another bowl add bread crumbs and spices mix together well.
Dip each hearts of palm in the seasoned panko, then back into the egg and into the panko again, coating twice.
In a large fry pan heat 1/2 inch of oil in the pan till hot. Add hearts of palm and fry till golden in color. Serve with marinara sauce or your favorite dipping sauce.
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Frangelico Brownie Gelato Dessert

Thursday, April 8, 2010





I love Chocolate Gelato ( Italian frozen confection) and brownies, so this is two treats in one for me.
What can be better than a brownie, with dark chocolate chip creamy gelato, whipped cream and chocolate sauce? Saving the best part of this brownie...... It has a shot of Frangelico on top, saturating the brownie,  so good!

I love homemade gelato. This done in a ice cream maker, comes out so smooth and very creamy.

You can use these tins, the bottom comes right out for easy removal of the cake, or make a large pan and cut into a square.

Dark Chocolate Brownies
2 squares( 1-oz each) unsweetened chocolate melted in the microwave or over hot water
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients together until well blended, around 50 strokes by hand. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes in 8x8 greased pan, or make mini muffin cups, fluted removable bottom pans shown above for individual desserts or brownie pan. The recipe can easily be doubled. When cool, you can also frost these if not making the whole dessert.

Double Chocolate Chip Gelato (Makes about 3 cups)
.

Assembly
1 shot of Frangelico
whipped cream in a can
1 scoop of double chocolate chip gelato
brownie squares
chocolate fudge sauce (sub Frangelico for Kahlua in this recipe)
Place brownie on a pretty plate, sprinkle with a shot of Frangelico, top with a scoop of chocolate gelato, garnish with whipped cream and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

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Four Chicken Wing Sauce Flavors

Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Here are four chicken wing sauce recipes that are truly amazing.  These chicken wing sauce are a great change and addition to hot sauce wings at a party.

Different than the traditional flavors. We have spicy garlic, garlic Parmesan, lemon and a spicy mustard, all four chicken wings sauces are delightful! All four chicken wing sauces are unique and Curt's recipes, he did an awesome job!


chicken wing sauce with garlic, parmesan, roasted garlic, spicy garlic, marsala sauce, these chicken wings are fried and coated with homemade chicken wing sauce hot sauce




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