Drunken Pasta ala David Rocco . . . yum!

This dish is delcious. Period. I have been watching Cooking Channel since it aired at the end of March, most shows I don't care for, but David Rocco, La Dolce Vita is a must watch. Yes, it is a bit . . . um. . . . well, comical in the not so funny sense, but totally worth watching. Every recipe he makes puts a fire in me to jump into the kitchen and make whatever he is cookin up! Fast, easy, flavorful, Italian cooking at its raw best. A few fresh and pure ingredients, 10 minutes in the kitchen and . . . taaaaaaaaa daaaaaaaaaaaa!

The recipe is for DRUNKEN SPAGHETTI. Oh my. A bit salty, nuty, tangy, creamy, fresh, what else can I say?!?!? delicious!

This is the first time I've cooked with anchovies, I'm hooked. I can't wait to cook with them again. The anchovies smell a bit fishy when they start to heat up, please . . . don't turn away . . . their fishiness turns into salty nutiness. So divine. You would not think anchovy. In case you've been hiding somewhere and haven't heard . . . ceasar dressing is made with anchovy. Anchovy= delicioso!!! Please try them . . have I said it enough?

Okay, so here is the recipe for Drunken Spaghetti. 10 minutes total!!!! Love it!

1 lb. spaghetti

3 anchovy fillets

2 cups red wine (I had Cabernet Sauvignon so that is what I used)

1/2 cup pecorino or parmesean cheese

parsley

4 T olive oil

2 large cloves garlic

3 dried chilis or less than 1 tspn. red chili pepper flakes

black pepper

Heat a pot of water to boiling. Add salt. Add pasta and cook approximately 7-9 minutes. Just before al dente.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet, add garlic, cook till fragrant, add anchovy and mix till dissolved. Add chili pepper flakes, heat till fragrant, if needed, reduce heat to low until pasta is done. Once pasta is just before al dente, use tongs to add to olive oil sauce. Coat with all ingredients. Add red wine, toss and cook until wine is thick and mostly evaporated. Turn off heat. Add parsley and cheese. Serve while hot.

I added mushrooms with the garlic because pasta alone is not enough to fill the bf's stomach. I also took thin sliced beef and seasoned it with parmesean, salt and pepper and rolled it with spinach and a thin slice of mozzarella. I browned this in a skillet, added a little wine and kept warm in oven untl pasta was ready.

Hearty, delicious and sooooo freakin easy!!! A must try!!!

Guilt free vegetable quiche with crispy potato crust

Have any of you heard of the show Cook Yourself Thin? It's the show that features a different woman dying to lose weight, but struggling with letting go of that calorie ladden mac n cheese or fried chicken! It airs on Lifetime every night at 6 p.m. I'll be honest, I love eating healthy, but do not count calories or exercise like I should! Most of the comfort food makeovers they show look delicious and full of flavor . . . . some . . . . not so much!

Quiche is something I'm not too fond of unless it's full of vegetables and less of the custardy egg stuff! The ladies swapped out pie crust for potatoes! I thought it was a great idea and something that would add lots of flavor and quite honestly possibly taste much better than the original.

Verdict? Very delicious and very filling. No guilt since this is around 210 calories per serving!

If you're a fan of quiche and maybe even if you're not, you will love this!

Vegetable Quiche with Crispy potato crust

shredded potato
tspn. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
clove of garlic, minced
zucchini, sliced thin, in half moons, and then again
parsley
salt and pepper
3 oz. cheese (your choice)
3 eggs

Shred some potato into a bowl and season with tspn olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour into a sprayed casserole dish, about 8x8. Make an even, thin layer on the bottom and up the sides just a bit and bake for 20 minutes, until edges begin to brown at 400 degrees.

Saute some onion and garlic until soft and fragrant over medium heat. Add your choice of vegetables. Finish with the parsley. I had zucchini, so that's what I used. Mushrooms and spinach would be great! Italian sausage would be a great addition, although the calories would obviously jump!

Once the crust is done and the veggies have cooled slightly, add your shredded cheese evenly and pour the beaten eggs over the entire thing. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until eggs are set.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Rice Casserole

This is a pretty fast and simple casserole. Very flavorful and one I am sure most kids would devour. Many recipes call for cooked long grain rice, but I was afraid it would get too mushy. I opted for short grain rice and added some additional liquid to compensate. It was a great side dish to the steak I had in the fridge. It'd be great with some chicken either on the side, or diced and added right in!

There are short cuts which I'll include below!

Broccoli Rice Casserole

350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes

1 small onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. fresh blanched broccoli (or one 16 0z. package frozen, defrosted)
1/3 cup milk
1 can crem of chicken soup
1 cup homemade cheese sauce (or 8 oz. prepared such as cheez wiz)
1/2 cup UN COOKED short grain rice plus 1/2 cup liquid (or 1 1/2 cups long grain rice)
salt
pepper
cayenne

Saute onion over medium low heat until soft. While you're waiting combine milk, cream of chicken, cheese sauce and additional 1/2 cup liquid (if using uncooked short grain)in a bowl large enough to combine all ingredients and set aside. Add garlic to onion and cook until fragrant taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the broccoli to the pan and toss to coat. Add the rice OFF the heat and toss. Add the broccoli to the bowl and mix until everything is combined. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Pour into greased casserole dish. COVER with foil. Bake until the rice is cooked and the casserole is thick, about 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes and serve!

Yum!

Lilikoi anyone?

For those of you who do not know, Lilikoi is passion fruit. It is a delicious fruit that grows on vines here in Hawaii and many other places in the world. There are different varieties of passion fruit, although the most popular is the yellow one. Thick "shell" holding in a tangy and sweet flesh flecked with small black seeds. The seeds are edible and lend a slight crunch which enhances the entire experience. Walking through the rain forest here in Maui you'll see hundreds of these small yellow jewels scattered about the lush green foliage. Crack one open right there and enjoy! I love love love this fruit!!! You can get the frozen fruit puree in many super markets and for sure in Asian and Latin markets, but it is not the same as the fresh fruit. Are you wondering what the point of this post is????
WELL! I have a terrible green thumb. I'm thinking it's due to my lack of "patience is a virtue," virtue. Maybe it's because I live in a small unit across from the beach and although that may sound like paradise for many . . . sitting in a small garden of Eden sounds a lot better to me! I'd love to see vines of lilikoi crawling up huge trees providing lots of shade and showering the ground with beautiful flowers.
Anyway . . . I've never been much of a poet! I cut a fruit open and planted a few starters today and hopefully within two weeks I'll have something to plant in the ground! Since my bf is allergic to bees . . . you should see the picture I have of him when he got stung on the lip! No words can describe it! I may have to get his permission to post it!!!! It's that gnarly! Whoa! Like I was saying . . . the passion fruit need to be pollinated by bees, I cannot plant them here.
Anywho. I poured the fruit of one passion fruit in my wine glass and it's delicious! Can't wait to share with you how I do with the new seedlings!!!

Fondant!

Have you ever seen those beautiful cakes draped with colorful, smooth fondant and thought "I wish I could do that?" Guess what? You can! Yes, you! All it takes is a few ingredients, a couple tools and time. The possibilities are endless. The colors, shapes, designs are infinite!

I've made two cakes so far and am aching to make another one! My friend chose a Las Vegas Casino Night theme for her birthday, which was hosted at a property I manage. It was great fun! I was pressed for time so the cake wasn't as detailed as I would have liked, but it went over well and put that fire in me to take another stab at it!



It took me this long to realize I didn't put a six at the other side of the card! I used the numbers two and six because it was her 26th birthday and on the side of the cake I had the letter "R" and some additional poker chips and cards. It was a lot of fun!

The next birthday party I went to was a Jungle Theme and the birthday girl was dressing in zebra print so I went to work making a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling. Check it out!



The technique is really quite simple. Microwave 16 oz. of mini marshmallows with 2 tablespoons of water for no more than 2 minutes, just until they become soft and start to melt. Pour them out onto the 2 lb.s of powdered sugar. A great tip is to SIFT the powdered sugar first which will help eliminate little balls of unmixed sugar in the end product.



I used one hand for kneading and kept the other hand clean and used a bench scraper to help it along. The mixture is VERY sticky at first, but don't worry, it WILL come together! Try to keep a little powdered sugar on top so your hand hits that first.



You can see that the more you knead the more incorporated it becomes and the stickiness goes away.



Knead it just a little more and your finished fondant will look like this!!



Wrap the fondant in plastic wrap securely and in a sealed ziploc! It will keep for months. Do NOT freeze the fondant. I've read mixed things when it comes to refrigerating the fondant. Some recipes call for a mix of two tablespoons of water and one tablespoon of clear extract. I didn't have clear extract so I omitted that and used water only.

This is a great Fondant tutorial to follow!

Enjoy!

CSN Product Review in the making!!

I can't tell you how excited I am to have the opportunity to review a product from CSN Stores! If you haven't checked them out . . . well . . . what are you waiting for! One click and you will be hooked. Get comfortable and start browsing. They offer a great selection of dining room tables, modern home furnishings, and of course cookware!

The prices are affordable and the selections are unlimited. There are more than 200 CSN stores to browse! Grab a cup of coffee and get to clickin! You will find all the top brands you love and without a doubt you'll leave with new favorites! I'm going to make dinner for some great people this weekend, the family I nannied for when I moved to Maui. The childrens mother is from Belgium and she LOVES LOVES LOVES Alessi products. She'll be ecstatic when she sees their selection! The selection of products we can find here in Maui is limited, so it's great to have this online avenue!

I know you'll love CSN stores! Check back soon for my product review!

Fresh, ready to use, garlic from your fridge!

I do not like using the jarred garlic you can purchase in the grocery store. I don't like the flavor and I really dont think it takes much extra time to prepare fresh, especially if you have a hand held grater. That may be the only thing I've ever taken away from Rachel Ray! I know, I know you love her! Sorry, I just can't handle her! Ick!

Anyway, it is very difficult at times, well, more often than not, to find fresh garlic at the grocery store. It is usually black on some parts, not tight together, but has cloves hanging off. Ew! So, when the grocery store has great looking garlic I buy a ton of it. I bring it home and if my bf's kids are around they LOVE LOVE LOVE to peel the garlic in the little contraptions I have, so I let them do it! If not, I go for it. It's fast and easy to do and ensures I always have fresh garlic in the fridge ready to use.

Take your desired amount of garlic cloves. Place in a food processor or blender and pulse until chopped in tiny pieces. Transfer to a tupperware OR glass jar. Add just enough olive oil to make it moist and store in the fridge.

Viola!