Proud Italian Cook

It’s my Seventh Year Blogiversary

August 15, 2014 by Marie 242 Comments

Today is my 7th Blogiversary! I can’t believe it’s been seven years since I published my first post way back on August 15, 2007. Time sure flies when you’re having fun and I have to admit, I’m still having fun so I’m going to stick around for a while!

I want to thank all my fellow bloggers for all their support as well as all my loyal readers and subscribers, I appreciate each and every one of your comments and personal emails.

Thank you for those who “like” Proud Italian Cook on Facebook, I’m very close to 11,000 which is mind blowing to me. Thank you to all those who have “pinned” any of my recipes on Pinterest, many of them have been pinned over and over again, and speaking of Pinterest, I just found out the other day that Ivanka Trump pinned my grilled artichokes on her entertainment board, it always amazes me because you just never know who’s looking at your photos!

I recently got on Instagram after my daughters urging and I’m so glad I did because I’m really loving it even though I’m still learning how to do hashtags and everything else, so please feel free to follow me if you want to see what I’m up to on a daily basis.

Thank you to my family and close friends for all your support and especially my husband Tony, my number one fan!

Pesto Stuffed Scallops

August 13, 2014 by Marie 15 Comments

I can honestly say I went a bit overboard in planting basil this year so I’ve been very busy making lots of pesto, but to me nothing tastes better than fresh homemade pesto! Every time I’ve bought pesto from a store I was so disappointed, it’s either way too garlicky or has a weird fake taste, so I prefer to make my own. Homemade pesto is so easy to make yourself and you can whip up a huge batch because it freezes perfectly. Just think how nice it would be to pull out a container of your pesto in the dead of winter and plop a dollop in a nice bowl of hot soup.

I also use it on my eggs, frittatas, grilled veggies, fresh tomatoes, meats, crostini, pastas and I especially love it with fish of all kinds. Have you ever tried smearing pesto on top of a beautiful piece of salmon and then baking it? It’s so flavorful, moist and delicious! I also love it on grilled shrimp and scallops. Here’s my pesto recipe.

I never thought of actually stuffing a scallop with pesto until I came across an article that Mark Bittman wrote which gave me the inspiration to make my own and another good excuse to use my homemade pesto.

It’s ridiculously simple to do, but you must use the large sea scallops and not the small bay ones. Just take a sharp knife and make a horizontal slit in the middle being very careful not to cut all the way through, you want your scallop butterflied, then put a small teaspoon of pesto inside. Salt and pepper your scallops then place them into a saute pan ( not a non stick) that’s been heated on medium heat with a little olive oil. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side being careful when your turning them over. That’s it!

I placed mine into a pool of warm roasted red pepper sauce, but you could also use a light marinara sauce just as well. The flavor combination is dynamic!

I served this as a main course with fresh green beans and summer corn but it would also be wonderful as an appetizer to start off your meal.

It’s simple, healthy, quick to make and the summery basil pesto takes it right over the top! Now pour a glsss of cold Sauvignon Blanc and you’re good to go!

15 Comments Filed Under: Sauces, Seafood Tagged: basil pesto, Pesto, scallops, sea scallops

Summer Eats to Beat the Heat

August 4, 2014 by Marie 9 Comments

This right here is heaven on a plate to me! Creamy, dreamy Burrata cheese, grilled artichokes, garden fresh tomatoes loaded with fresh basil, a little prosciutto and some grilled crusty bread. This is good eating!

When it’s hot outside this is what we like to eat. The artichokes are the only thing I cooked here, I make them all summer long, they’re so addicting. If you’re an artichoke fan like we are and you prefer a lighter summer version, then this one is for you.

They’re stuffed with romano cheese, parsley, garlic and lemon zest and then placed on the grill until the cheese melts and gets nice and crusty. My Grilled Artichokes is one of my most pinned recipes and it’s so simple to make! You can find it here.

Since we have a ton of tomatoes coming in daily from our garden almost every meal includes them, so that’s what this post is about, some of the ways I use them.

This was our dinner the other night, roasted peppers, grilled zucchini, asiago cheese, prosciutto, salami, castelvetrano olives and some totally crunchy frezzelle which is the perfect base for our juicy garden tomatoes. I added some apple slices and a glass of wine and we were happy campers!

My husband would take this over a steak any day, we love to eat like this, especially in the hot summer months.

Here’s a salad that’s a meal in itself, garden tomatoes, fresh basil, olives, onions, grilled zucchini and chunks of crispy bread doused with olive oil and grilled, sort of like a panzanella, although a true panzanella requires you to wet the bread, I prefer mine crispier.

The dressing is made with a simple olive oil and red wine vinegar but the magic happens when everything gets tossed together and all the flavors meld into one. The tomatoes can either make or break this dish so be sure to take advantage of all that summer offers.