My Favorite Things
“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.”
Steve Jobs
Recent Posts
Sunday Mornings/Golden Globe Night!
Sunday Mornings/Golden Globe Night!
Derive happiness in oneself from a good day’s work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us. Henri Matisse
I love Sunday Mornings! This morning Teddy & I woke up before anyone else did. We both enjoyed the tranquility and spending time together. We went for a walk, it was a foggy morning…….Quiet, still; all I wanted to say was Ssh!!!
We both did not want this peaceful time to end! Look how he is looking at me, begging to go and cuddle with him on the couch!!!!But today I have a lot of cooking to do; I am cooking several meals for the week (more about that soon.) and the Golden Globes are on tonight, and I am excited to sit in front of the TV and watch it, from the beginning ….from the Red Carpet to the opening act of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler right to the last credit at 11 pm. I love movies and I love watching the award shows! In honor of that we are having a fun, fun night; eating in front of the TV and enjoying the festivities! On the menu for tonight will be grilled cheese sandwiches! Yup you heard right Grilled Cheese!
- Jarlsberg cheese with turkey bacon and pears
- Fresh Mozzarella with oven roasted tomatoes and pesto sauce
- On the side will be potato chips and pickles…….
- For dessert Chocolate covered strawberries and hubby made chocolate chip cookies.
We used the griddle pan to make 4 of each grill cheese sandwiches.
I made the turkey bacon in the oven, so easy to do and less of a mess; line a baking pan with aluminum foil, then place a metal rack inside the baking pan, line up the bacon, place it in the oven and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes or so, keep checking on it. We like ours on the crispy side. I did the same with the tomatoes; I used Roma or Plum tomatoes and sliced round disks lined up a baking pan with the tomatoes, seasoned with salt and black pepper, just a pinch of each, minced one garlic clove sprinkled it on the tomatoes, shook a very little bit of olive oil and added a pinch of dry basil.
The fresh mozzarella cheese and the Jarlsberg cheese were sliced.
Assembling the sandwiches was easy; first the Jarlsberg with the turkey bacon and pear slices. I found that the Jarlsberg was not melting like I wanted it to. I covered them with heavy skillets trying to press them down. although no one complained I am now on the hunt for a Swiss cheese that will melt easier or quicker……but I like to have a cheese that is tangy and will compliment the pear slices…. (Any ideas out there, love to hear your thoughts about this) I am thinking of combining two types like a Gruyere with Gouda for the next time.
The mozzarella melted perfectly while the bread toasted, the pesto sauce complimented the oven-roasted tomatoes and added some flavor to a very mild cheese. The pesto sauce was home-made; I usually have a batch or two in the freezer. (Pesto Recipe will be posted soon)
So Yummy!
For dessert we made chocolate covered strawberries………Ooh La! La! So fancy!
The key to making these, after washing the strawberries, the strawberries need to be completely dry before you dip them in the chocolate! The chocolate I used was from a container I purchased at the supermarket…believe me I would love to use dark chocolate, perhaps experimenting and adding flavors to the chocolate, however I have a suspicion that my children are allergic to dark chocolate. And last night was not the night to experiment.
James and Amelia helping out!
We plated everything along with the pickles and potato chips and ate in front of the T.V. Last night was all about sharing with my family a love I have for movies, a night of glamour, and an appreciation for jobs well done!
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!!!!!!
Mangia, Mangia…no talk!!!
Eggs Benedict & French Toast – The Rich & The Sweet
Eggs Benedict & French Toast – The Rich & The Sweet
Artichoke / Steamed Artichoke with Garlic and Oil
“A woman is like an artichoke, you must work hard to get to her heart.” – Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Pink Panther (2006)
It starts now…..
It starts now…..1. Pepper & Sweet Onion Frittata accompanied with a Tomato salad
2. Watermelon and Avocado Salad
3. Fried Chicken Cutlets
4. My Family- a happy three!
I have a serious confession to own up to; in the last year, 6 months, for some time now; I have been acutely lurking blogs and dreaming of becoming a blogger! Is there such a word? I have several blogs, I hope to do justice to all of them; my first on the list is:
Mangia, Mangia …No Talk!
If you have read my prior posts you will understand the name, and what it means to me. It is a saying from my past from someone who when I looked into his eyes for the last time …all I saw was love, pride and strength! My Nonno!
The time has come to stop the loitering, join the blogging world as a consistent writer and share my love of food! The cathartic feeling I get creating meals and the joy I have feeding my family and friends!
Mangia, Mangia ….No talk!
I love food; good food – a simmering pan, pots boiling, or an oven roasting a meal that has everyone anticipating its first taste. The home-cooked meal ultimately brings everyone together
Size Doesn’t Matter
I have to say and believe that size does not matter. Some experts would disagree with me but these so called connoisseurs are most likely less adventurous and less expected to take on the arduous task to achieve a height of complete enjoyment; aah you think to yourself how can this be possible; of course, size does matter!