12 Jun
Barefoot Bloggers: Pesto Pasta & Chicken
Posted by Chelle as Barefoot Bloggers, Italian, Pasta | 0 Comments
What a fabulous meal! This was my first time making homemade pesto and the smell of it brought me back to my childhood and images of my grandfather tending to his garden. This was a great break from our usual dinners and something that I will definitely make more often. Thank you to Barefoot Blogger Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food for choosing this recipe!
I adapted this recipe a bit to suit what I could find in the store and my allergies. First things first, my allergies. I am allergic to all nuts, so I had to venture out and make my own pesto sans the nuts. Quite easy, actually. Next, I couldn’t find much basil at our store and knew I wouldn’t have enough, so I supplemented what I had with baby spinach. I thought it added a great dimension of flavor! However, since I did this I eliminated the frozen chopped spinach (as well as the mayo and lemon juice). And since I like to incorporate protein in the form of meat in most of my dinners, I added some sauteed chicken breast to the dish. So in the end you get a bow tie pasta dish with chicken and a spinach-basil pesto. Honestly, it was fabulous and I really enjoyed it!
See how the other Barefoot Bloggers liked this dish here.
The original recipe as well as my spinach-basil (no nut!) pesto after the break…
24 May
Lighter Chicken Parmesan
Posted by Chelle as Chicken, Italian | 11 Comments
Not too long ago, after I fell in love with Cook’s Illustrated magazine, I began recording the America’s Test Kitchen show on PBS. I have really enjoyed watching many of the recipes being made, picking up some tips and tricks along the way. An episode that I saved from a couple of months ago featured a lightened up chicken parmesan recipe. The key to this recipe is that the breaded chicken is not fried, but rather the panko breadcrumbs are toasted first, and then the breaded chicken is baked at a high temperature in the oven.
Big thumbs up on this recipe. This had tons of flavor, and the combination of toasted breadcrumbs and parmesan was tasty enough that I kept eating spoonfuls of it before the chicken got prepped. Next time I would probably do more smothering with the sauce and cheese, but this will definitely go into my regular rotation.
29 Apr
TWD: Fluted Polenta Ricotta Cake
Posted by Chelle as Cakes, Italian, Pies/Tarts, Tuesdays with Dorie | 0 Comments
This week’s recipe selection comes to us from Caitlin over at Engineer Baker. I have to be completely honest - at first glance, this recipe didn’t seem all that appealing to me, but my mom and grandma thought it sounded fantastic, so I decided to make it and give it to them to enjoy. As I was putting the cake together, it smelled absolutely fabulous! Definitely a distinct Mediterranean aroma, and as it baked the smell only got better.
More about the cake and the recipe after the break…
24 Apr
Wilton Course 1, Class 4
Posted by Chelle as Cakes, Italian, Wilton | 0 Comments
I “graduated” last night from Wilton Course 1: Discover Cake Decorating. I had so much fun with this class, and was very pleased with my final cake:
When we learned “THE ROSE” last week in class, I was awful. I couldn’t remember which way to hold the tip or spin the flower nail and as a result, well, they weren’t the prettiest 
So I made a batch of icing for the sole purpose of practicing the rose. I probably made upwards of 40 roses just to practice, and it really did help, as I think I definitely improved! A closer look at the rose spray on my cake:
Last night, in addition to putting together our final cake, we also learned how to make sweet peas and leaves. I loved them both! The sweet peas are so cute and the leaves were a lot of fun to make. A close up of one of my sweet peas:
I have already signed up for Course 2 and will be starting in a few weeks. I can’t wait to learn all of the different flowers!
05 Mar
Tiramisu
Posted by Chelle as Cakes, Italian | 0 Comments
Better late than never, right? After a power outage kept me from actually getting on my computer, I bring you… Tiramisu!
A few months ago I came across a tiramisu recipe in the most recent Cook’s Illustrated issue, and I made sure to save it, knowing that someday I would try to redeem myself. That someday finally came! I’ve got to admit that I am becoming quite smitten with Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchens. It seems that everything I have made has come out absolutely perfect. I’m pretty convinced that their recipes are spot-on and foolproof. The only modification that I made to the tiramisu was to substitute Kahlua in place of the rum, and cut that amount in half. The CI recipe notes that its recipe results in a strong rum flavoring, and to create a more subtle flavor to cut the amount in the coffee/espresso mixture in half. I also decided to cut in half the amount that went into the cream mixture. I think this was a good decision, as there was still a distinct flavor, but it complemented the other flavors and was not overpowering. I was initially nervous about using completely raw eggs, but a friend made a great suggestion and told me I should just buy pasteurized eggs, which I did, and my fears resolved themselves 
This tiramisu was absolutely fabulous. The savoiardi were perfectly soft and loaded with flavor, while the mascarpone mixture had a light and smooth flavor, as well as texture, which I attribute to the addition of the whipped cream that is incorporated. The dish received high praise, and it is easily just as good, if not better, than tiramisu you would find at the nicest of Italian restaurants. Cook’s Illustrated definitely perfected this recipe.
