Happy New Year!!!- Here are the Most Popular Posts of 2012

31. December 2012 · 28 comments · Categories: life, recipes · Tags: , ,

Are you guys doing anything special for New Years? I have to work today, so I don’t get to go down to Nate’s mom’s as usual. I’m really sad. He’s going to go down to be with his mom and bro so I’m heading across town to my friend’s apt. She’s an amazing cook and is going to cook us a gourmet meal! I’m definitely excited for that. She went over the menu with me and it sounds delicious :)

2012 was a busy year, with wedding planning, and so I didn’t get to blog as much as I would have liked to. Hopefully 2013 will bring me more free time :)

But in the meantime, here were my most popular posts of this year!

#10) Meat Lover’s Vegetarian Tamale Casserole– who knew there were so many meat-loving vegetarians out there! This recipe is super simple and really delicious.Thanks to Katherine  for the shout-out!

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#9) Aunt Rita’s Noodle Pudding – Not your standard kugel, it’s a recipe that’s been in my family for years and I crave it often.

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#8) Tabouli– a simple but classic recipe. People love some good healthy food!

Tabouli

#7) Mexican Stuffed Shells– I got some great pics of this recipe and so it made it onto foodgawker and pinterest and spread like wildfire. It’s amazing what a good pic will do for a recipe. It was one of my favorite meals though- creamy and delicious! I also shared my wedding drama…maybe that’s what made it so popular?

Mexican Stuffed Shells4 | ElephantEats.com

#6) Vegetable Lasagna– So funny that a recipe I got from my grandpa’s copious newspaper clippings would become so sought after. It was pretty tasty though :)

Vegetable Lasagna

#5) Cilantro Lime Hummus– I barely adapted this from another recipe, but got some great photos of it and it got repinned like crazy! Honestly, it’s one of my favorite recipes I’ve made.

Cilantro Lime Hummus

#4) “Spanakopita” Pasta Bake– I will take full credit for inventing this tasty dish. It ended up being extremely popular, due in part to getting my photo on foodgawker and tastespotting…having the luxury of getting to take pics in daylight on weekends certainly pays off!

Spanikopita Pasta Bake

#3) No-Bake Crispy Choco-Covered Peanut Butter Bars– I can’t take credit for inventing this recipe but it’s popularity was insane! It could be due to the fact that they were posted during the insanely hot days of summer when no one wanted to turn on their ovens…

Crispy Peanut Butter Bars

#2) No-Cream Mushroom Sauce and Engagement Pics- I don’t know if it was the pics that drew visitors or the recipe, but this post was the second most popular this year! I actually don’t even think I posted the recipe this year.

#1) Rosemary Buttermilk Tea Cake– who knew this creation that came about because of leftovers would be my most popular post ever! I think it was because it photographed so beautifully- but honestly, its texture was so fluffy and it tasted amazing.

Rosemary Buttermilk Tea Cake

There you have it! Here’s to an amazing 2013.

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

Holiday Fun and Gnocchi with Spaghetti Squash, Spinach and Rosemary

10. December 2012 · 32 comments · Categories: cooking, crafts, Dinner, food, life, recipes · Tags: , , , ,

Gnocci with Spaghetti Squash, Spinach and Rosemary

I’ll have a festive Christmas brunch/breakfast recipe for you soon. Nate and I finally got into the holiday spirit. It’s my first Christmas season as an honorary (by marriage) Christmas celebrator.

Speaking of marriage, we got our wedding photos on cd today! And the photographers sent us one of EVERY photo!!! So so sweet of them. Can’t wait to pick out which we want for our album :)

Anyway, the first thing I did for our Christmas decorating was pick up a cute cotton ball and jingle bell wreath from Target. I didn’t want anything too Christmas-y since we are still a multi-holiday household. I thought the wreath was a little too boring though, so I bought a couple different sized berries branches from Michaels and I cut them up and hot glued them on. Muuuch better I think :)

Upgraded Target wreath

We have a tiny apartment and a michievous feline, so we knew we couldn’t get a full-fledged Christmas tree yet. Instead we went to Michael’s to see what we could find. We ended up getting the cutest miniature tree and there were all kinds of mini ornaments and garlands you could get to decorate it!!! Btw, I love anything in miniature. We also picked up a silver reindeer from Home Goods and I broke up some branches to make a little festive setting on our living room mantle dresser.

I have also since pulled out our gorgeous new menorah that we got for a wedding present. I’m so excited to finally have a nice menorah :)

All this holiday decorating was done in preparation for our little cookie-decorating party we hosted this past weekend. Since all my friends who came are cat lovers like us, I baked up some gingerbread cookie paws and cats in addition to the traditional gingerbread men. After we exhausted the possible decorating combos for the paws/cats, we decided to get creative. This was what I came up with:

cat paw cookie turned sideways and upside down!

LC even put on her Christmas best in honor of the party.

a most photogenic feline- photo credit, Erica Harmon :)

It was a fun weekend. Despite the fact that we both OD’d on cookies throught the day, Nate and I had this delicious gnocchi dish for dinner.

We eat a decent amount of pasta, but I never think to cook gnocchi. It wasn’t until I made this recipe that I realized how quickly it cooks (if you buy it rather than making it) and how much I love it’s chewy texture.

Gnocci with Spaghetti Squash, Spinach and Rosemary

I randomly came across a Food Network recipe and since I didn’t have any of the ingredients, I subbed in my own similar ones and it was a major hit. Nate and I couldn’t stop raving about how delicious it was.

Gnocci with Spaghetti Squash, Spinach and Rosemary

Gnocchi with Spaghetti Squash, Spinach and Rosemary

Adapted from the The Food Network

Print this recipe!

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 small-medium spaghetti squash
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
11 oz package baby spinach
1 17.5-ounce package potato gnocchi
3/4 cup grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

Cut squash in half, remove seeds, and put cut side down in a microwaveble dish. Put 1/4 cup water in bottom of dish, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 11 minutes (you want it cooked but still slightly “al dente.” Cool til you can handle it and scrape pulp out into a dish.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the squash, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until the garlic is soft, about 2 more minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Add the chicken broth to the skillet. When it starts to simmer, stir in the spinach and cook until it wilts slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the gnocchi, stirring to coat. Cover and cook until the gnocchi are just tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover and stir in 1/4 cup parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan; transfer to the broiler and cook until golden and bubbly, about 3 minutes. 

 

Penne with Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta

03. December 2012 · 26 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, recipes · Tags: , , , , ,

Brussels Sprout Pancetta Pasta

I’m exhausted! I finally finished my wedding thank-you notes. But I’m mostly tired because I just spent 2 straight days baking Christmas cookies. I usually bring them to work and hand out to any friends we can find a time to see before the holidays.

My aunt kindly lets me “borrow” her kitchen for a weekend since she has two ovens and a lot of room. It makes for some fun time to catch up with her while I get everything done.

I like to go all out when I do these cookies. I usually make at least 8 varieties, and I like a good mix of shapes and flavors. I think this year I may have gone a little too far. Some of these recipes were more complicated than I realized, and given my strict timeline I barely had time to eat during the baking extravaganza.

Brussels Sprout Pancetta Pasta

At one point I literally felt like I was going to faint. I texted this to Nate (since he was back in NY at our apt) and he replied “You don’t have to be a hero. It’s just Xmas cookies. You ain’t a cat surgeon.” L.C. is thankful for that, I’m sure. And my husband is obviously a wise, wise man.

I ended up finishing all but one type of the cookies that I needed to make. That’s a no-bake one so I can do it back at my apt. All-in-all, a productive two days!

Is it weird that I woke up with sore muscles today? I guess standing for 12 hours will do that to you, not to mention mixing by hand since there was no kitchen aid mixer (I did use a handheld mixer for some stuff).

Anyway, speaking of Nate and his sage advice, I think I’ve mentioned this before but periodically, he will email me recipes from the NYTimes that he “advises” me to make. I appreciate when he does this since the NYTimes recipes are usually very reliable (I’m trying not to hold it against them that they overlooked our wedding announcement!).

Brussels Sprout Pancetta Pasta

So when Nate sent me a recipe the other day for Penne with Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta, I knew that it would be as delicious as it sounded.

There are many foods Nate doesn’t eat, despite the fact that he claims to not be a picky eater, but luckily for me he happens to love brussels! After discovering what is now one of our annual family Thanksgiving recipes, my family has decided that brussels are much tastier when shredded. So when I saw this recipe I had no doubt it would be a winner.

Brussels Sprout Pancetta Pasta

Penne with Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta

Slightly adapted from the NYTimes

Print this recipe!

Serves 4

Sea salt
16 ounces penne
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
6 ounces pancetta, diced
2 large rosemary sprig
8 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
Freshly ground black pepper
20 ounces fresh brussels sprouts, thinly sliced or shredded (i used the shredding plate on a food processor)
4 teaspoons butter
Fresh lemon juice, for serving
Freshly grated pecorino cheese (optional)

Bring large pot heavily salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until pasta is just al dente (do not overcook).

Meanwhile, heat large sauté pan over high heat and add the olive oil. When oil is hot, add the pancetta and rosemary, and sauté until the fat on the pancetta starts to turn translucent and very lightly brown, about 1 minute.

Add the garlic,and freshly ground black pepper to taste, and sauté until garlic and pancetta turn richly brown, about 3 minutes. Add the brussels sprouts, a large pinch of salt and a splash of water to pan, and sauté until sprouts just start to soften, about 2 minutes. Spread sprouts mixture in pan and press down to flatten. Let it sear for a minute, then stir it up and repeat. This helps brown the sprouts. Add the butter, and sauté for another minute.

Drain penne and add it to pan with brussels sprouts mixture. Cook, tossing, until everything is well mixed. Spoon into pasta bowls and top with a drizzle of oil and lemon juice, and a little cheese if you like.

 

Wedding PHOTOS!!! and Pan-Seared Scallops with Pumpkin Risotto

27. November 2012 · 44 comments · Categories: cooking, Dinner, food, life, recipes · Tags: , , , , ,

courtesy Jodi Miller Photograpy

Well, I got my wedding photos back (you prob already got a sneak peek if you’re my fb friend) and they’re pretty much better than I ever imagined they’d be.

Jodi Miller Photography does SUCH an amazing job (you can see my engagement photos by her here). Not to mention, Jodi and her husband Kurt are the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. They send all the clients they work with the most thoughtful and beautiful care packages and are just so great to work with. Anyway, you can click here to see the highlights of the wedding that they posted on their blog. There are SOOOO many more amazing pictures but I obviously can’t post them all. She did a pretty good job summing up the important parts in her blog post…but I can share some more when I go into detail with my wedding craft projects sometime in the near future.

Also, if you missed it in my prior post, check out Nate’s seriously amazing video he made for the wedding :)

courtesy Jodi Miller Photography

I thought once the wedding was done that I’d have more time for blog posts…but now instead of wedding crafts and stressing over my dress, I’m busy with thank you note-writing, cleaning the apartment (which is a mess between honeymoon unpacking and tons of wedding gifts), and the usual other million to-dos.

Scallops with Pumpkin Risotto

I do have a lot of recipes stored up though. Even though I haven’t found the time for blog posting, I’ve still been doing a decent amount of cooking. I made this recipe when we went down to my mother-in-law’s house. She always cooks dinner for us when we’re there, but I was kind of in the mood to make something, so I found this recipe and it’s definitely a winner. Hopefully you guys aren’t too sick of pumpkin yet (actually i used butternut squash).

Scallops with Pumpkin Risotto

I know I’m late on the brown butter band-wagon, since it’s been all over the food blogger world for months now, but the sage brown butter on this is amazing. It’s nutty and rich. So rich that a small portion of this meal is seriously satisfying. In fact, I think I made myself sick eating it.

Scallops with Pumpkin Risotto

Pan-Seared Scallops with Pumpkin Risotto

Sightly adapted from Gourmet, October 2001

Print this recipe!

Serves 4

For risotto:
1 1/2 cups diced (1/4 inch) peeled seeded fresh pumpkin (preferably from sugar or cheese pumpkins) or butternut squash
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1 oz grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For scallops:
20 large sea scallops (1 1/2 lb), tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh sage
2 tablespoons white truffle oil (optional)

Cook diced pumpkin in a medium saucepan two-thirds full of simmering water until tender, 3-5 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Bring stock and wine to a simmer in a small saucepan and keep at a bare simmer. Cook onion in oil in a 2- to 2 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 cup simmering stock and cook at a strong simmer, stirring constantly, until stock is absorbed. Continue simmering, adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, about 18 minutes total. (There may be broth left over.)

Remove from heat and stir in diced pumpkin, cheese, and butter, stirring until butter is melted. Season with salt and pepper and cover to keep warm.

Prepare scallops:

Pat scallops dry very well (especially if they were pre-frozen) and season with salt. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté scallops, turning once, until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. If scallops are not cooked through, reduce heat to moderate and cook about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon and discard any oil remaining in skillet (do not clean skillet).

Cook butter in same skillet over moderate heat until it foams and turns light brown. Add sage and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in truffle oil if using. Season with salt.

 

Holiday Entertaining!- Easy Appetizers and Cocktails

21. November 2012 · 35 comments · Categories: Appetizer, Bread, Brunch, cooking, Drinks, food, life, recipes, vegetarian · Tags: , , ,

Cheesy Herb Breadsticks

Sorry I’m late in sharing recipes for Thanksgiving. Since you’ve probably already got your main meal covered (if you’re anything like my family, the menu is NOT ALLOWED to change from year to year. We like our traditions!), I thought I’d bring you some ideas for appetizers and drinks.

Cheddar Herb Twists

Several weeks ago, we made plans to celebrate after the NY Marathon. Nate’s mom was going to be in the city and so we invited a few friends to join us later in the day after the marathon for some drinks and appetizers before we all headed to dinner.

Polenta with Tomato Tapenade

Unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy came and went and destroyed many things in it’s wake, including any prospect of Nate getting to run a marathon this year.

But, on a positivie note, my mother-in-law (I think that’s the first time I’ve gotten to say that!) and our friends still came over. We just decided to celebrate good friends instead of marathon-finishing.

Polenta with Tomato Tapenade

I wasn’t feeling well and I just wanted a couple easy appetizers to make. I did some searching and came across what I thought were two simple recipes.

The polenta triangles were totally delicious and TOTALLY simple. The polenta is pre-made and you can buy it in a tube at the market. I suppose you could make your own if you wanted to, but that would make it way harder. The accompanying tapenade can get quickly whipped up in a mini food precessor.

Polenta with Tomato Tapenade

*as a side note, the plate I served the polenta on was the plate I made at my bachelorette party! We went to one of those pottery painting places, then to a nice dinner and then came back to my apt for a chick flick! A perfect day :) I painted a leaf and wrote the date of the wedding on the plate. 

Cheddar Herb Twist

The breadsticks were more labor intensive, but according to my guests were totally worth it. Easy for them to say, right? It was quite a pain to twist every stick, but in the end I think I could have halved the recipe because it made A LOT.

Cheddar Herb Twists

I’m just linking to the recipes below since I didn’t change them at all:

Polenta wedges with tomato tapenade

Cheddar Herb Twists

I also made the Cider Sangria from HowSweetEats, but I made a couple changes. I subbed ginger ale for the club soda and regular brandy for ginger brandy. It was delicious!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow (if you celebrate it)!!!! We’re headed to my parents house in Florida. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!

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