Posts from — May 2010

Way back in March when I started the limoncello process, I knew I wanted to make this pie. It will be the end of our Memorial Day dinner. Apple pie may be America’s pie, but this can’t be beaten in the summer. It’s pretty, cool, delicious, and refreshing… all-American for sure!

I learned an awesome technique for “applying” the meringue to the top of the pie from one of my favorite and most inspirational blogs, Zoe Bakes. Click here to see Zoe’s original step-by-step instructions with amazing photos. It actually made my mouth drop open when I first saw this gorgeous cake back in January.

I’ve found another fantastic recipe using the sweet Italian liqueur – a cheesecake square recipe from the ever-beautiful and talented Giada De Laurentiis.  Feel free to go to www.foodnetwork.com and make it yourself, or wait until I post the recipe here, which will be soon because I am already craving another limoncello masterpiece.

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Tomorrow, the long-promised limoncello dessert recipe will appear! In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy a couple of limoncello cocktail recipes to tide you over and enhance the long holiday weekend.

As for me – I am still trying to catch up from the exceedingly relaxing and lazy vacation. After spending a week at an all-inclusive beach resort, where we had our own butler to fulfill our every wish, it’s been an adjustment getting back into the swing of things!

On top of that, summer kid’s class begins on Tuesday, so I’ve turned over the kitchen and been grocery shopping like crazy for the last couple of days. I really could use a few cocktails myself! Above is a picture from our magical week – dinner at the Teppanyaki-style Japanese restaurant.  Aw, good times!

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Upon returning from our luxurious week in Turks & Caicos, I was welcomed home by a sweet golden bounty of yellow teardrop cherry tomatoes.

Pictured above is the garden bounty and a few souvenirs from the island, including a bottle of Jamaican rum our butler, Minto, gave to Connor on his 19th birthday (the legal drinking age on Turks is 18), so we’ll save it for a couple of years… when he turns 21…

I generally go out each morning and pick the ripe little gems, so I have never had the opportunity to see how many the one plant could produce in a week. Turns out the answer is about 1 pound! Just enough to make a wonderful tart. I sometimes like to use a 9-inch square tart pan in the place of a round, especially when using the tart as hor d’oeuvres or appetizer.  

The slices also act as a delicious and beautiful addition to a salad served with a mustard-shallot vinaigrette.

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The long wait is finally over! It’s been 80 days! Today is THE day that we can finally finish making our limoncello and reap the rewards of our patience! Once again, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you have missed a post or two.  This first appeared on March 8th when we began the process of making homemade limoncello. The second occurred on April 17th when we completed the second step, so if you haven’t been following along, sorry! But really it’s not too late, you can just go back to those two posts and begin anew, then you too will have your own limoncello ready to use on August 14th!

CLICK HERE for Step 1

CLICK HERE for Step 2

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Today is my baby’s 19th birthday! We’re spending it in Turks & Caicos on our family vacation.

Our suite includes butler service and our butlers, Minto and Ellen, made the day extra special. While we were out getting spa treatments, they hooked up our room with a full-blown party.

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It’s the second day of “operation refrigerator clean-out”. Today I found a bag of parsnips I purchased at the Scottsdale Farmer’s Market from the McClendon’s Select booth 2 weeks ago. I bought them with the thought that my boys might like to use them for their Mother’s Day dinner, but the boys had other plans for the vegetable course. It actually didn’t surprise me, in my opinion, parsnips are one of the most underrated root vegetables. For example; if you search for potato recipes on epicurious.com, over 2100 entries come up. The search for carrots brings forward nearly 1600 recipes. And for parsnips – a mere 209 entries. That’s not right! Like potatoes and carrots, parsnips are a root vegetable. And a delicious one at that, they are related to carrots, and they resemble carrots but have a paler, light tan peel. Until the potato arrived from the New World, parsnips were the root vegetables of choice in Europe and elsewhere around the world. Parsnips are naturally sweet and can be boiled, roasted, pureed, or used in stews, casseroles, and soups.  Additionally, they are rich in potassium and are a good source of dietary fiber. So, I give you this recipe as I give out props to parsnips!

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Les Petites Gourmettes summer kids classes are exactly two weeks away. Aside from being a bit behind on typing up approximately 85 recipes needed for the five sessions, I also have got to get my refrigerators and freezers cleaned out so there is room for the impending flood of food needed. If you were to drop by and take a peek at my kitchen, you might think I’m prepared for the next big pandemic. My goal is to not purchase anything besides fresh produce and milk between now and May 28, which is the day I will do the first “big shop” for summer classes. Although my bank account and husband will be happy to hear this, Costco and Trader Joe’s stock may take a bit of a hit!

The first things I noticed in the freeze that needed to go were two big New York strip steaks and a lone flank steak (originally purchased in a Costco 3-pack). Additionally, there was a chunk of Pepper Jack cheese,  some almost wilting cilantro, and a partial container of frozen roasted chili peppers in the fridge. Hey, this is going to be easy after all! Obviously, this application will work on just about any protein, from beef to pork or chicken to a firm fish or shrimp.

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I developed this recipe about a dozen years ago. It’s been featured in two cookbooks, FamilyFun Cooking with Kids and Reflections Under the Sun, and I will be making it on Channel 12 NBC Valley Dish with Tram Mai next month (4:30 PM, Wednesday, June 3rd). The thing I love about it is how quickly it comes together and how, with just an itty bitty bit of planning, you can get it on the table in about 10 minutes. How is that possible? Make the marinade in the morning before you head out the door, (it literally takes less than 5 minutes to do) throw in the chicken, cover, and refrigerate. When you come home, get the water for the pasta boiling while you drain the peppers and sun-dried tomatoes and stem/string the peas (or purchase them already strung in the bagged lettuce area of your supermarket), steam or blanch the peas in the “pasta water” – before you add the pasta to it. Once you throw the pasta in the salted water, you get busy browning the chicken – and by the time you’re done reducing the sauce and heating it all through, the pasta will be ready – hopefully, you’ve gotten one of the kids to set the table, because dinner is ready!

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Graduation was wonderful! We stayed at the Marriott Starr Pass Resort in Tucson, which was beautiful. Had a celebratory dinner at J Bar after the big event, which was beyond delicious. After dinner, we went back to the girls’ house for a dessert party, which was the perfect way to end the night. Then the next day, we were able to spend a relaxing morning with our graduate at the resort pool and then had a fun lunch at Frog & Firkin (a University of Arizona hang-out) before heading back to Phoenix.  All in all – a momentous and memorable weekend!  To keep with the theme of relaxation and ease, here’s an “easy-breezy” and versatile dish that can be used as an impressive appetizer or a quick dinner. To make it a meal, just toss it with cooked linguini or spaghetti and add garlic bread.

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Proud! That is what I am today! My precious baby girl graduates from the University of Arizona today with a Journalism major and a Creative Writing minor. She has been a hard-working dedicated student ever since kindergarten 17 years ago. Heck, since her “mini-threes” days in preschool! Now that I see her wearing her graduation gown and holding her degree, I cannot help but be proud of her. So yeah, I am a proud braggart mom, and I will not apologize for that, at least not today!

After the ceremonies, Dave and I are taking Marissa, Alberto (boyfriend), Grandpa Gene (my dad), and Connor (treasured baby brother) out to dinner at J Bar. You may recall that I posted about the amazing nachos we had there earlier this month(May 2). Well, Marissa has been craving them ever since reading that post, and whatever she wants, she gets today!

After dinner, we’ll be heading back to her house where she and her four beautiful roomies (see the picture below for the proof of said beauty!) are hosting a dessert party for all their families. The girls requested I make a trifle they tasted back in October that was posted here. I changed it up a bit for the occasion. The lemon curd is now a lemon-cherry curd and there is a fabulous addition – cream cheese filling. Expect more mama boasting and pictures tomorrow!

Marissa, Kaley, Kelsey, Paige, and Petra

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