Proud Italian Cook

Welcome to My New Home on WordPress!

January 9, 2013 by Marie 42 Comments

Welcome everyone! I’m finally here and settling into my new home on the web. I’ll have lunch for you in a minute but first I want to tell you about my journey here.

I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, migrating my Blogger blog over to WordPress, but I never had the nerve, I heard horror stories in the past, pictures, posts, links being lost, etc. Not being a techie person at all this scared the heck out of me!

Even though Blogger was good to me in the beginning, as time went on many issues came up that weren’t getting fixed, things disappearing, problems with commenting and a ton of spam on a daily basis, and something that really bothered me was that you never really own your blog on Blogger, it’s free, they could delete it at any time.

I loved all the new features I was seeing on WordPress blogs, updated, modern, user friendly, I needed a new look, after 5 years I felt stale and old!

In comes my web designer, Jeni, The Blog Maven, who came highly recommended by Cathy of Wives with Knives, so I emailed her a couple of months ago and from the first time I spoke with her I knew I had the right person. I had a list of questions that she patiently answered one by one no matter how ridiculous some of them were, she even skyped me several times! Jeni is very detailed and thorough, she considers all of your needs and finds the best way to incorporate them for you. The whole process went so smooth with no major glitches at all, I didn’t even stress once! I would highly recommend her for migration of your Blogger blog, design issues or any technical questions you might have.

I have to learn some new things to get around on the back end of my blog so I will most definitely be out of my comfort zone for a while so please bare with me, but honestly it’s already starting to feel like home here. Take a look around and let me know what you think so far, I’m loving my new visual recipe index!

Now, how about that lunch? I’m serving, Spaghetti Squash Stuffed Peppers!

Spaghetti squash, think of it as vegetable spaghetti, I know it’s not the real thing but when you roast it and rake up the strands with a fork it magically becomes a great substitute for the “white” stuff, and it tastes really good too! If you’re trying to lay off the carbs for a while replace this with any spaghetti dish you might be craving. I recently served it with mussels in a red sauce and it was delicious, the strands soaked up all the sauce, it was so good I’ll be making it again real soon.

This time I decided to stuff some peppers with it, making an all veggie meal. I roasted crimini mushrooms along with garlic and green onions and pre-roasted the peppers as well.

Then into a bowl I tossed the spaghetti squash, mushroom mixture, grated romano cheese, shredded asiago, parsley, basil, ( you could also add chopped fresh spinach or kale) a healthy drizzle of olive oil and a few tablespoons of roasted red pepper spread, courtesy of Trader Joe’s, but marinara sauce would work just as well.

Stuff your peppers, put them back in the oven until the cheese melts inside and they are warmed through.

Serve along side a green salad and you’ll have the perfect lunch or dinner. Thanks for stopping by my new digs!

42 Comments Filed Under: Vegetables Tagged: spaghetti squash, stuffed peppers

Proud Italian Cook’s Twelve Most Viewed Posts of 2012

December 29, 2012 by Marie 16 Comments

I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of my most popular posts of 2012, it’s always fun to see what peaks my readers interest.
No name for This Salad which I made back in June, I’m a sucker for zucchini ribbons I just think they make every dish look pretty!

Faux Spaghetti, I made this last January when the reality of all the holiday eating hit me hard and once again I needed to go low carb, looks like I’ll be repeating this recipe real soon!

My Winter Veggie Torte, born from leftover veggies in my fridge and nicely formed in my trusty spring form pan. I think the sliced sweet potatoes on top gave it a nice colorful look.

Limoncello Tart with Amaretto Cookie Crust and a Blueberry Blackberry Sauce.
Come on, need I say more?

Grilled Vegetable Tart with Phyllo
I conquered phyllo and I’m proud of it!
As I sit here on a very cold night in Chicago I’m missing my grill big time!

Caprese Ravioli
I made this back in April for an appetizer, simple to make if you can find good quality store bought pasta sheets.

Summer Veggie Slaw
I made this deep in the heart of summer using the zucchini and herbs from our garden. This is a really good side dish with all your grilled meats, and everything is raw, so it’s quick to put together providing you have a julienne peeler!

Eggplant Patties
Even though I posted these last August I still make them on a regular basis, I serve them topped with a little bit of roasted red pepper sauce, make a salad and dinner is served!

Summer Bounty Zucchini Tart
Here I go again with the zucchini ribbons, and some blossoms here too, this time pressed into ricotta on puff pastry none the less!

Roasted Veggie Pasta
I make this often, great for a crowd. Hmmm, veggies seem to be a theme here on my blog, don’t you think?

Boneless Pork Chops in a Creamy Mustard Thyme Sauce with Mushrooms and Caramelized Shallots.
Comfort food that’s quick to make mid week!

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf
This is so good your house will smell amazing while it’s cooking in the oven, I like to change up the marinara for roasted red pepper sauce, let me give you a little tip my fellow Trader Joe lovers, they have the best jar of red pepper spread that I use all the time, It’s called Red Pepper Spread with Eggplant and Garlic, you really can’t taste the eggplant, but the red pepper flavor is outstanding.
I have 4 jars in my pantry and 2 in my fridge, I’m a horder, I smear it all over everything! If they ever stop selling it I’ll be devastated!As 2012 comes to a close my wish for you in 2013 is, HEALTH, HAPPINESS, PEACE, JOY, LOVE, LAUGHTER AND A HEALTHY DOSE OF AMAZING ITALIAN FOOD!

CHEERS!

16 Comments Filed Under: Seasonal, Winter Tagged: 12 most viewed posts of 2012, New Years 2013

Last Minute, Holiday Appetizers

December 21, 2012 by Marie 19 Comments

If your looking for a quick holiday appetizer to pull together on a moments notice have no fear, these bite size bundles are the perfect thing!

Providing you have a box or two of puff pastry tucked away in your freezer. You have some don’t you? If not you should!

Take it straight out of the freezer, lay it on your counter, in ten or fifteen minutes you’ll be able to separate the sheets. Then sprinkle a little flour on your counter and with a pizza cutter, cut the sheet into thirds, then each third into four slices, for a total of 12 per sheet, if you cut into the other sheet you’ll have a whopping 24 appetizers!

Now place each square into a mini muffin pan, I didn’t have to grease mine but it has been called to my attention that you might have to depending on the type of muffin tins you might have. My tins are not non stick but they are fairly new so maybe the butter in the pastry was just enough.

Now the fun begins, the fillings are endless! I had less than a cup of caramelized onions sitting in my fridge so I took a bowl and mixed the onions with gorgonzola cheese and toasted walnuts, that’s how I made mine here.
Each puff pastry cup only requires a heaping tablespoon so you don’t need much filling at all.
Think, tomato, basil and goat cheese, roasted peppers and fontina, spinach, artichoke and feta, crabmeat and cream cheese, gouda and apple, roasted mushrooms with gruyere, Do you have a jar of fig jam or even chutney in your fridge? How about a little brie and fig? You get the picture, use what you have, it’s all good!
They take 20 minutes in a 375 oven, in the meantime open a cold bottle of wine, they’ll be done in no time!

I know this is a busy time for everyone, myself included, I’ve shopped, wrapped, planned my Christmas menu and baked my last cookie, with a little help from my granddaughter!

Puff Cookies, they’re tradition in my house! One bite brings back happy memories to me.
Now if I could just stop at one bite, that would be a good thing!

But what I really wanted to do was to take this opportunity to thank you, all my readers, for the wonderful support you’ve given me, and to wish you all a very Happy Holiday filled with an over abundance of happiness, amazing food, surrounded by those you love!
xox