I have been busy getting into the Holiday season, but I am back! 

Tonight is Monday night football, a much loved night for football lovers.  I am, of course, a New England Patriots fan, but I have a confession to make.... I am also a New York Giants fan!  One of my former students, Rosalie Cincotta, is married to The Giants #77 Kevin Boothe.  Joe and I were lucky to attend their wedding, and have loved watching Kevin become the fabulous player he is today.

Football means pickies! A chicken wing gets hot when you turn it on. One of my husbands favorite finger food is my chicken wings.  They are easy, but delicious!!!  Give them a try at your next football party.  Make sure to have plenty of napkins on hand.  They are sticky, gooey goodness!

Sweet and Sour Wings

4 lbs. chicken wings, rinsed and patted dry

1 bottle of Wishbone Russian Dressing

1 jar of appricot jam

1 package of onion soup mix

salt and pepper to taste

green onion for garnish

Preheat oven to 375.  Put your wings on a cookie sheet and season with salt and pepper.  Bake for about 45 minutes.  Remove wings from oven and drain any fat or liquid that has collected.  Mix dressing, jam and soupmix well.  pour over wings and coat evenly.  Put wings back into oven and bake an additional 30 minutes.  If wings are not browned enough, run under broiler for 2 minutes.  Remove from oven and plate.  Garnish with chopped green onions.

I love fall!  I am so happy to live in New England and have the change in the seasons.  I especially love the leaves and fall colors.  We ventured off apple picking over the long weekend and got some beautiful apples.  I made some homemade apple sauce with some and worked on perfecting my apple cake with the rest.  It was a hit!!!

I love apples and I adore caramel, so I blended both together.  This is my Apple Caramel Cake.  I am thinking about entering into a few contests, so if you make it, tell me what you think!

APPLE CARAMEL CAKE

Ingredients

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, beaten

1/2  cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple sauce

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups finely chopped apples

1/2 cup apple juice

Glaze topping for cake

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup whipping cream

Directions:

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, soda and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine eggs, oil, apple sauce, apple juice and vanilla. Stir in apples. Add the egg mixture to dry ingredients, just until moistened.

Spread batter in a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes.

In a small saucepan combine the brown sugar, butter and cream.

Cook and stir till bubbly and all of the sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. Drizzle warm sauce over cake, when it has cooled for 5 minutes, so it can seep into the cake, keeping it moist.

Happy Columbus Day to all!  Such a funny "weather" weekend.  We went apple picking on Saturday and wore shorts and t-shirts.  Today, I woke up to frost in the backyard!  Only in New England.

I love butternut squash, or really, any kind of squash.  This is the season for those sweet, healthy, orange fleshed beauties.  I few years ago, I came up with this recipe and usually make it on the first cold day of the fall.  It really incorporates the end of summer (crabmeat) with the beginning of fall (butternut squash), so it is a good transition soup!  This soup is really easy to make.  To roast your garlic, put a whole head of garlic in foil.  chop off the top to expose the garlic cloves.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Wrap completely in foil.  Bake at 400 for about 35-40 minutes.  cloves will squeeze out when done.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CRAB BISQUE

Ingredients

4 large cloves garlic, roasted 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 to 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 cup fresh carrots, diced

1 cup fresh celery, diced

1 quart chicken broth, divided use

1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces crab meat

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Prepare roasted garlic.

In a large (at least 5 quart) soup pot over medium heat, add the butter and olive oil. Once butter is melted, add squash, onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute 5 minutes.

Add 3 cups of broth, reserving the rest. Cover pot and simmer until squash is very tender (about one hour).

Add the cream and puree the mixture with a stick blender until very smooth (or blend in batches in blender and return to pan). Thin with remaining broth if needed.

Fold in the crab meat and sage. Season with salt and pepper and serve.  Save a few pieces of crab to garnish on top of soup.

So it was my son Jesse and my first official first day of school. (My son Nicholas reluctantly started last Thursday.)  When I asked him how it was, he said "I survived the first day of 3rd grade and made it out alive!

As usual, the first week of school is HOT!!!  When I got home, I tried to think of something that I could make that would be light and refreshing.  I had some chicken, so I threw that in my go to marinade which you can find on my blog.  It only needs an hour or so.  I also had some nice ripe peaches.  I decided to make my Peach and Fennel Salad.  For those of you who haven't tried fennel, it has somewhat of a licorice flavor and is very refreshing.  The sweetness of the peaches, the peppery taste of the arugula goes great with the saltiness of the prosciutto and the licorice taste of the fennel. The creamy goat cheese makes it over the top fantastic!  It is truly a summer refresher!  Try it on one of these warm nights, I promise you will love it.

Ciao, keep cool, and happy cooking.

Peach, Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad

• Ingredients
• 3 ripe yellow peaches, pitted and cut into thin wedges
• 1/2 medium bulb fennel, thinly sliced (you can use a mandoline)
• 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced  
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
• Juice of 1 lemon

• 
  
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced
• 4 handfuls of arugula
• 3 oz. crumbled goat cheese

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DIRECTIONS

Combine the peaches, fennel and onions in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss with your hands.

Mix the the peach mixture with the arugula and put on a platter.  Put slices of prosciutto on top of the salad, and sprinkle with goat cheese.  

Serve immediately

I can't believe it is back to school time already... I love summer, but I do look forward to fall and some great cool nights for sleeping with the windows open.  

We were invited this past weekend by our friends Lee and Jan Wolf to their new 1800's farm house in Phippsburg, Maine.  The house has so much character, and they have about 9 acres of land with great views of the water.  We are so happy that they invited our dog Wilbur to run around with their dog Duke.  They both had a blast, as did the kids!  They don't have a t.v. yet at the house, which I think is great.  We played Apples to Apples, had great conversation, and of course, cooked!  

On Saturday night we celebrated Lee and Yan's Birthdays (yes, they are husband and wife and share the same birthday, so cool!) with Lobster, fresh native corn and champagne.  On Saturday, there was a nip in the air which felt like fall.  Lee made a great spicy chicken ramen soup.  With fall in the air, I know it's time to dig out my favorite soup recipes.

This recipe is not only delicious, it is healthy, nutritious and good for you.  If you are on weight watchers, I have calculated the points for you.  The point value is 7 points for a 2 cup serving.  This recipe will warm your soul and fill your belly!  Serve this with crusty bread to round out the meal.

Enjoy!

Turkey Sausage Soup with Kale and White Beans

Ingredients:

• 6 italian turkey sausage links removed from casing
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 bunch kale - rinsed, leaves removed from the ribs & rough chopped
• 1 19 oz. can cannellini beans
• 6 cups fat free chicken stock
• 2 carrots diced
• 1 small onion diced
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a medium sized pot. Add onion and carrots and saute on med low  for about 10 minutes till onions are translucent and carrots are tender. Add sausage meat breaking it up with a spatula or wooden spoon into large chunks. When completely cooked,add garlic and saute for 2 - 3 minutes (careful not to let the garlic burn). Add the stock, beans and red pepper flakes (if using) and stir thoroughly. Simmer on low for 20 minutes, covered. Throw in kale and allow to simmer for another 20 minutes covered. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Divide into four bowls and servehot.

Its Sunday....We celebrated my good friend Veronica Castillo's birthday last night.  Great food, great music and dancing, and most of all, great friends!  On that note, birthdays make me think of cake, so today I am baking!  Its Sunday, which in my house, means family dinner.  Of course, being Italian, my family's favorite is sauce and meatballs.  And yes, it is SAUCE, not GRAVY!!!  Gravy is brown and goes on a roast.  (although my Mother in law will argue with me on this subject.)

I thought that I would make my carrot cake for dessert.  Carrot cake is not complete unless it has cream cheese frosting.  My cake is light and delicious!  Heres a trick if you don't have buttermilk.  Measure 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice and put it into a 1 cup measuring cup.  Add milk to the cup to the top.  Let sit 5 minutes and use whatever you need from the cup.  Easy, and much cheaper than buying buttermilk!  Some people use applesauce instead of oil.  I use 1/2 and 1/2 and it really works.  This is an easy cake to make and I guarantee you will get compliments from all!  Happy Sunday, enjoy!

Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
• 
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray 2 round cake pans with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well.
4. In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts and pineapple.
5. Using a large wooden spoon or a very heavy whisk, add carrot mixture to batter and fold in well.
6. Pour into prepared pans, and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 12 ounces softened cream cheese
• 6 tbs. butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

   2.  After the cakes are cool, invert 1 cake onto a cake plate.  Frost completely.  Invert second cake onto the 

        first and frost.  You can decorate with chopped walnuts if desired.

The boys and I spent a great day on the beach in Wells Maine yesterday with the Piscatelli and Scanlon families.  We were lucky to be invited up, and loved spending time with great friends.  Of course, with great friends, sun, waves and the beach, comes great food!  Donnie manned the grill and did a great job on the filets  (which, by the way, melted in your mouth :-)) and chicken, Fran made a great quinoa with spinach and edamame beans, rice and salad  (she is a fabulous cook) and Lori and I chatted and entertained the troupes.  Loved watching the boys play with Alexa, Lori's gorgeous and sweet daughter.  We ended the night with a great Ice Cream from The Scoop Deck in Wells.  If you are in the area, check it out!  They have about 3,000 flavors (o.k., I am exaggerating a bit!)

Which brings me to dessert!  I had some extra blueberries today, and made my  Blueberry Cornmeal Cake.  This is blueberry season, and this is a delicious cake that everyone will love.  Have a great weekend.  Make sure to enjoy your family and friends, and Happy Cooking!



Jesse and Alexa showing off Lori's great sand sculpture of a flower with a bumblebee on top.

Blueberry Cornmeal Cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup cornmeal

2 tsp  baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

6 tbs vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tbs vanilla

1 tsp honey

10 tbs (1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter/room temperature) make sure it is unsalted!

3/4 cup plus 3 tbs sugar (reserve 1 tbs to sprinkle on top of cake)

1 tsp salt

1 cup ricotta cheese

12 cup plain yogurt

3 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a 10 inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda and salt.  Mix all remaining ingredients except for blueberries in mixer until well blended.  Add flour mixture to wet mixture and blend well.  

Pour 1/2 mixture into pan and spread evenly.  Sprinkle 1/2 of the blueberries on top.  Spoon remaining batter on top and spread out.  Top with remaining blueberries.  Sprinkle with 1 tbs sugar.  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely.  Enjoy!!!

Summer is still here!

My Mother has a habit of saying "when the fourth of July is here, summer is over!"  This has always bothered me.  Summer is still here, and I intend to enjoy it to the end!  This is my go to recipe for a marinade, but I also use it as a dressing.  Let's talk about olive oil.  Is there a difference between regular and extra virgin?  Absolutely!  Don't waste your extra virgin on cooking.  Extra virgin has a smoother, fruitier taste.  It is used for dressings, dipping and to drizzle over a pasta etc.  It is really imperative in your marinades and dressing to use extra virgin.  Have this on hand in your pantry.  I have used this to marinate chicken, pork and steak, as well as shrimp.  It goes well on any salad, but I love it on arugula with cherry tomatoes and toasted pine nuts, yummy!!!  Happy August and enjoy this one!

My best dressing/marinade

Ingredients

1.  1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice or juice of 1 lemon

2.  1 tbs. dijon mustard

3.  1 garlic clove, minced finely

4.  1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar or sherry vinegar

5.  2  tbs. honey

7.  1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

8.  pinch of salt and pepper

9.  2 tbs. fresh parsley chopped fine

combine all but the oil in the bowl of a food processor or a bowl.  With the motor running or while whisking, slowly add the oil to incorporate.  For a marinade, pour over meat in a plastic bag and seal tightly.  Marinade at least 4 hours, but even better over night.  For a dressing, spoon lightly over salad.  

I thought I would post a second recipe, and since it is hot, this is a cool, refreshing and delicious salad!  When people hear feta and watermelon together, they usually make a face.  Once they taste it, the face turns from doubt to pure bliss!  This salad combines sweet, tart, crunchy, smooth and tantalizes your taste buds!  Even if you are not a big fan of watermelon or feta, try it, I guarantee you will love it!  Make sure that you leave your comments below and if there is anything in particular that you might like to see for recipes, give me a shout out!  

Keep cool and enjoy the weekend...

WATERMELON, FETA AND MINT SALAD

• • 1 (5-pound) watermelon
  • 1 Vidalia or other sweet onion
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (I like to use white balsamic, but the brown will do fine)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
  • 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
  • 6 whole mint sprigs

  Directions

  Cut the flesh from the melon and cut into bite size pieces, removing and discarding the seeds, and set aside. Peel and slice the onion into rings.

  In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, salt, pepper, and whisk until salt is dissolved. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, a few drops at a time. Add in the chopped mint, taste, and adjust seasonings.

  In a large bowl, combine the melon, onion, and feta. Pour the dressing over the melon mixture and toss gently until everything is coated and evenly mixed. Garnish with mint sprigs.

  Either divide evenly in plates and serve garnished with a mint leave, or serve in a bowl and place mint sprigs in the center.