Uncategorized Archives - Page 14 of 18

THE FOUR MEME!!!!

November 12, 2007 by Marie 6 Comments

Yes, I got tagged for the very first time, for my very first Meme! I’ve read other Meme’s before and it is kind of cool because you get to know just a little bit more about some of your blogger friends that you visit! The person I want to Thank for this tag is Maryann, over at findingladolcevita she has been a great support to me from day one!! So here it goes! Oh, I just wanted to say, I felt I needed a picture added and this one gives you a little more insight to me.

I love coffee!! I need glasses to read!!! and I’m from the Chicago area!!

What 4 Jobs Have I Had?

1. Cookie Decorator

2. “Faux” Painter of wall finishes

3 . Airbrush Stencilist

4. Real Estate

4 Places I”ve Lived?

1. City of Chicago

2. Suburbs of Chicago

3. Pacific Northwest

4. Sorry only 3

4 Places I’ve Been On Holiday?

1. Florida

2. Arizona

3. Vegas

4. Italy

4 Favorite Foods?

1. Authentic Italian

2. Spicy Anything

3. All kinds of Veggies

4. Cannolli’s

4 Places I’d Rather Be?

1. Disney World with my Grandaughter

2. Walking the streets of Florence

3. Gazing at the Oregon Coast

4. San Marco ,Venice

4 Bloggers I’m Tagging!!! (They might have been tagged before,but even so, I’d like to learn a little bit more about them)

1. Lorraine

2. Valli

3. Lori Lynn

4. Kate

Well, I’m finished!! Hope I didn’t bore you to much! Have a great day, all of you!

6 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: meme

Cucina Italiana!

November 10, 2007 by Marie 9 Comments

Cucina Italiana! That was the name of a cooking class that I was asked to host this past Friday. The theme was Italian Appetizers! Recently we became members of a local Italian American Club and once a month a different member gets asked to host a cooking class. After much thought I decided on doing 4 appetizers. The photo above is of Crispy Shrimp w/White Bean & Rosemary Bruschetta. It’s actually made with canned cannellini beans mashed up with garlic, parsley, rosemary and olive oil, slathered on a toasted baguette slice, then garnished with one crispy shrimp.
Next, was a Grilled Polenta Cake w/Roasted Tomatoes & Sausage, I made the polenta seasoned with Parmesan cheese, olive oil. After it was cooked I spread it all out on a cookie sheet to cool, then cut the polenta into circles with a cookie cutter. The roasted tomatoes were then placed on the warm polenta and garnished with a slice of Italian sausage.

I also made Mini Meatball Sliders that I did a previous post on. Homemade mini meatballs cooked up in a nice marinara,placed on toasted mini buns garnished with arugula.

It was a very casual and informal event, just the way I like it! Everyone gathered around in my kitchen drinking wine, laughing and eating while Italian music played in the background.

And last but not least, was a Creamy Pesto Cheese Ball. This is a really nice appetizer to serve with wine and to mingle with. It’s very simple you just have to allow time to chill it.

INGREDIENTS

2 8oz packages of cream cheese (room temp)

4 oz of Mascarpone cheese (also room temp)

1/4 cup of prepared pesto

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan

toasted pine nuts

basil and sun dried tomatoes for garnish

In food processor mix together pesto and 3 cheeses and blend till completely mixed.

Line a round bowl with plastic wrap, place basil and sun dried tomatoes on bottom. Scoop cheese mixture into bowl. Pack down firmly and refrigerate for 3 hours. Remove from bowl, take off wrap, place on platter and press pine nuts on the outside of cheese ball. You can then place it back in the frig till 1 hour before serving. Serve with your favorite crackers or mini toasts!

Oh, and by the way I wasn’t crazy to cook all that in front of everyone, I made most of it ahead of time, and all I had to do was talk and give a demo as I was putting it all together.

That pretty much wraps up our Cucina Italiana, it was a fun night with a great group of people!

Buon Appetito!

9 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: cheese ball, cooking class, Italian heritage, white bean

PANETTONE STUFFED WITH PISTACHIO CREAM!!!

November 2, 2007 by Marie 17 Comments

Years ago, I mean YEARS ago, somewhere in a magazine I saw a picture of a store bought Panettone that was stuffed with pistachio cream, I have always keep that in my memory bank for something I wanted to try, since Hubby loves Panettone.

Well today, friends called and I invited them to stop by later for coffee. Of course it’s never just coffee! I had to have something to go with it. So I went into my pantry and there sat a box of Panettone, and I instantly recalled the stuffed one I had seen in an Italian magazine years ago. I even had some shelled pistachios! So I got on my computer and googled pistachio pudding, found something that sounded good ,so I quickly whipped it up, because it had to cool down for a couple of hours. When it finally cooled I folded in some freshly whipped cream!! Oh so sinful!!!

I even got adventurous and spun a little sugar on top, as that is what was in the picture. Never having done that before, it really didn’t turn out, I wanted it to be like thin strands, but mine turned out like thick brittle!!! Oh well, I kept it on for the pictures anyway!