Fennel, Apple, Celery Salad

I know veggies in the winter can be a depressing endeavor... but I have a easy, crisp, citrus salad that will put the zip back into your winter menu. This salad is brought to you by the fantastic kitchen gadget the mandolin, if you don' t have one, a knife can do the work, but the mandolin does make it very easy, just be careful and use the guard to protect your finger tips. 

What you need: 

1 small fennel bulb

3 celery stalks

1 small apple

2 Tablespoons of regular olive oil

1 Tablespoon of citrus olive oil (or lemon juice)

1 Tablespoon of tarragon vinegar (apple cider vinegar and some fresh tarragon chopped)

salt and pepper

What you do: 

1. Thinly slice your fennel and celery and lay on a large platter. 

2. Flip the cutter on your mandolin and finely julian the apple and add to the platter. 

3. In a small jar add the oils, vinegar, salt and pepper. Shake vigoursly, and pour over your salad. Toss with your hands. 

4. Enjoy with gusto and crunch. 

As always, many blessings, much love and happy winter!  

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Thankfully, in Virginia the winters are mild and spring comes quickly. But there are some times when a lovely warm bowl of risotto, a fire, and a cold night outside are all you need to find February Happiness. For such an occasion there is nothing more comforting than a delicious bowl of wild mushroom risotto drizzled with the smallest amount of golden truffle oil. The contrast of humble rice and luxurious truffles is delicious and perfect for winter. 

Here is what you need:

6 oz of mixed wild mushrooms, shitake, hen of the woods, chantrelles
6 oz of white button mushrooms 
4 cups of chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 cup of arborio rice
1 shallot diced finely
1 Tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup of white wine (and more for you)
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
shaved Parmesan to taste
white truffle oil 


Here is what you do:


1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Slice your mushrooms and lay on sheet pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. Set two pots next to each other on the stove. 1 will be to keep the stock warm the other to make your risotto.
3. Warm your stock on low heat.
4. In the other pan add your diced shallot, rice, butter, thyme, salt and pepper and toast the rice on until they are slightly golden.
5. Add your wine and stir until absorbed. I love this part, 18 minutes of quiet, stirring a pot.
6. As the liquid becomes absorbed in the rice, continue to stir while adding another ladle-full of hot stock. Continue to do this until the rice is cooked, about 18 minutes or so.
7. Once cooked. Turn off the heat, add the hot mushrooms from the oven. They will be tender and easy to mix into your risotto. Sprinkle with shaved Parmesan and a drizzle of truffle oil, careful, a little goes a very long way. I serve this with Pinot Grigio. 

As always, much love, many blessings, and Happy Cooking!
Here is what you do:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Slice your mushrooms and lay on sheet pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. Set two pots next to each other on the stove. 1 will be to keep the stock warm the other to make your risotto.
3. Warm your stock on low heat.
4. In the other pan add your diced shallot, rice, butter, thyme, salt and pepper and toast the rice on until they are slightly golden.
5. Add your wine and stir until absorbed. I love this part, 18 minutes of quiet, stirring a pot.
6. As the liquid becomes absorbed in the rice, continue to stir while adding another ladle-full of hot stock. Continue to do this until the rice is cooked, about 18 minutes or so.
7. Once cooked. Turn off the heat, add the hot mushrooms from the oven. They will be tender and easy to mix into your risotto. Sprinkle with shaved Parmesan and a drizzle of truffle oil, careful, a little goes a very long way. I serve this with Pinot Grigio. 


As always, much love, many blessings, and Happy Cooking!

Toddler Pizza Party

We went over to our family friend's house for their spectacular Toddler Pizza Party... It was a huge hit. The crust was made ahead of time, which we all rolled out on to cornmeal. I have never used cornmeal on pizza dough before, but it was so easy. The kids loved it. Also, our friend hid a ton of vegetables in her tomato sauce including zucchini and carrots... I will ask her for her recipe, but until then here is my recipe for tomato sauce with veggies. 

To make the Veggie Tomato Sauce: 

1 can of 14 oz diced tomatoes
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 cup of baby spinach
2 carrots 
salt and pepper
Italian seasoning 

What you do: 

1. Peel and cut the vegetables in to a rough dice. Add everything including the tomatoes to your food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. 

2. Add to a heavy bottomed skillet on medium heat, bring to a boil, and lower to a simmer. Allow to cook until thickened about 10 minutes. Feel free to add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning as you enjoy. 

In case you need a Crust Recipe here is mine: 

1 cup of warm water

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 Tablespoon of yeast (1 package)

4 cups of flour

3 Tablespoons of olive oil 

Pizza Sauce and Toppings 

What you do:

1. Mix the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit and get bubbly to make sure that your yeast is still alive. 


2. Add to your standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Add flour one cup at a time until incorporated.  Add the oil until achieve a dough that pulls away from the sides. Switch your paddle to the dough hook and let the dough be kneaded for 5 minutes. Cover with olive oil and plastic wrap to rest until doubled in size about an hour. 
3. Preheat your oven to 500. If you have a pizza stone let it heat up as well inside the oven. 
4. Divide the dough and roll out to the desired size. This dough will make 3 medium size pizzas or 2 large pizzas. You can also store half in the freezer if you like. 
5. Roll to your desired thickness, my family likes a thin crust. 
6. Allow your toddlers to dress their own pizzas. 
7. Top, and cook in your oven for 10 minutes or until the bottom is cooked and toppings are warmed through and the cheese is melted. 

Enjoy. 

All the best, many blessings, much love, and Happy Pizza Making!

Homemade Pizza Crust with Heart Pepperoni

This is one of my favorite Valentine's meals I have ever made. For many years our tradition was to make spaghetti and meatballs and watch the Lady and the Tramp... aka the most romantical movie of all time. But this year I decided to change it up, and I must say, I met with great results. Now, a homemade crust is important, but it does take time to rise, so be patient, or make it the night before and put it in the fridge. This is a mixture/adaption from both Mario Batali's recipe and Bobby Flay's recipe. For the toppings, we made three, a pepperoni pizza pictured above, a margarita with tomatoes, fresh moz, and basil, and a Mexican pizza with taco meat, salsa, guac, sour cream and other toppings. 

What you need: 

1 cup of warm water

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 Tablespoon of yeast (1 package)

4 cups of flour

3 Tablespoons of olive oil 

Pizza Sauce and Toppings 

What you do:

1. Mix the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit and get bubbly to make sure that your yeast is still alive. 
2. Add to your standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Add flour one cup at a time until incorporated.  Add the oil until achieve a dough that pulls away from the sides. Switch your paddle to the dough hook and let the dough be kneaded for 5 minutes. Cover with olive oil and plastic wrap to rest until doubled in size about an hour. 
3. Preheat your oven to 500. If you have a pizza stone let it heat up as well inside the oven. 
4. Divide the dough and roll out to the desired size. This dough will make 3 medium size pizzas or 2 large pizzas. You can also store half in the freezer if you like. 
5. Roll to your desired thickness, my family likes a thin crust. 
6. Top, and cook in your oven for 10 minutes or until the bottom is cooked and toppings are warmed through and the cheese is melted. 

Enjoy. 

All the best, Happy Valentine's Day, many blessings, much love, and Happy Pizza Making!

Blood Orange Marmalade

I love orange marmalade. I think it because my mother is Spanish, most orange marmalade is made from Sevillian Bitter Oranges. I also love making my own jams and jellies. It is easy, economical, and makes great presents. I had some blood oranges that were past their prime and I thought they would make perfect marmalade… I used Ina Garten’s method to make it without pectin or thickener.

What you need:

6 large seedless blood oranges

8 cups of sugar

8 cups of water

What you do:

1. Thinly slice your oranges, I used a mandolin which works beautifully.
2. Add oranges and water to the large pan over medium heat until it comes to a boil.
3. Turn off the heat and add the sugar, stir until dissolved.
4. Leave uncovered overnight.
5. The next day, heat the mixture on high until it reaches a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer uncovered for two hours. Turn the heat back to medium and boil gently until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F.
6. Test the mixture by putting a spoonful on a plate and refrigerate  It should be cool to the touch and neither runny nor hard. If it is hard add more water, if it runny than add more sugar.
7. Pour into sterilized mason jars. Seal with lids.

15 minute Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

I made these last night, and I am practically evangelical about them. They are only 2 ingredients, fat free, vegan, easy, fast, a great use of bananas past their prime, and they are delicious. They taste like an oatmeal banana cookie. I am sure you could mold them into any shape and add peanut butter, raisins, or chocolate chips if you wanted...

What you need: 

2 brown bananas

1 cup oats 

What you do: 

1. Preheat the oven 350. 

2. Mash the bananas and mix the oats in. 

3. Scoop on to a parchment lined baking sheet. 

4. Bake 15 minutes. 

5. Enjoy anytime with milk... viola breakfast cookies. 

Hope you try them... they are awesome.

All the best, many blessings, much love, and happy baking. 

Valentine Chocolate Pretzel Bites

Here is what you need:

1 bag of the square bite sized pretzels I've heard them called waffle pattern
1 bag of Hershey's Hugs
1 bag of Valentine's M&Ms
Cute little baggies 

Here is what you:

1. Unwrap a bag of Hershey Hugs (preferably with a friend and wine) My mother always said a burden shared is half a burden thus the friend.
2. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees F
3. Using a rimmed baking sheet also called a jelly roll pan. I lined it with parchment paper just to be safe, although I am not sure you really need it.  Lay out as many pretzel bites as you can without them overlapping.
4. Top each pretzel with the Hershey Hug.
5. Place in the oven for 4 minutes.
6. Working quickly, press one M&M down into the chocolate.
7. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to chill.
8. Wrap up in cute little baggies, give to friends and family... 

Hooray for pop-able, Valentines treats!

Happy Valentine's Day! As always, many blessings, much love, and Happy Baking!