4 MONTHS - RASPBERRY SMASH

HOORAY FOR ME!

Today marks four months into my blog....one third of the way there!!! Thanks to all my followers, it has been really fun. I have to admit the first month was a bit tough, but it has become a great time of every day.

I know it isn't Friday, but I thought today deserved a fabulous summer cocktail!!! Berries are everywhere and you can certainly combine various berries in this cocktail, but I love the taste of raspberries in champagne!!!!!

Ingredients:

2 lime wedges

1/2 cup fresh raspberries

1/4 cup good vodka

1/4 cup chilled champagne

4 teaspoons of sugar (and extra to dip your glasses)

ice

sprig of mint for garnish

Wet the rim of two tumblers with lime juice from the wedges. Dip the rims in sugar. You can certainly leave this step out if you don't like the sugar taste...seriously though!!!

In a cocktail shaker add lime wedges, raspberries, vodka and sugar. Using a muddler or end of a wooden spoon, smash the mixture in the shaker. Add ice and shake for 10-15 seconds. Divide this mixture between the two glasses, don't strain it. Top with champagne..and CHEERS!!!!

Thanks again!

ENJOY!

PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED SCALLOPS WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

I really like scallops prepared this way..my husband not so much...so I generally order them out unless I am having a party for more than 2...Make sure you remove the little muscle of the scallop when you slice them. You can usually remove with your hands but you might need a knife..they are tough and you don't really want to eat them.

Romesco sauce is a traditional Spanish sauce with lots of great flavors in WINE, red peppers, garlic, olive oil and almonds. This sauce goes really well with grilled fish and roasted vegetables too. The sauce ends up in a food processor so don't spend a lot of time perfectly chopping the ingredients.


Romesco Sauce

1/4 cup white wine
4 sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained
2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1/4 cup roasted red peppers (jar) chopped
1/4 cup almonds
4 tbl olive oil
salt
pepper

Combine and bring to a boil: wine, tomatoes and garlic in a sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer until wine is reduced. Remove and let cool When cool, put tomato mixture into processor or blender. Add peppers, almonds and oil and pulse until pureed. Place in a small bowl, taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour, but serve at room temperature. Can be made even two days ahead.

Scallops:

24 thin slices of prosciutto (can be cut from about 8 regular size slices)
12 scallops cut in half horizontally
olive oil
salt
pepper
fresh thyme leaves for garnish

Preheat broiler

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Wrap 1 slice of prosciutto around the center of each scallop and make sure it is sealed. You can prepare the scallops up to 3 hours ahead of time and chill until ready to broil.

Brush the scallops with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until the scallops are opaque in the center and the prosciutto gets crispy. Turn the scallops halfway through the 2 minute per side broiling.

Arrange scallops on a serving platter and top each with some room temperature romesco sauce and a few thyme leaves.

Again, don't through the leftover romesco sauce away!!!!!!!
ENJOY!

MIXED BERRY SMOOTHIE

SUMMER, SAND and SMOOTHIES!!!! I'll be blogging a few of these recipes in these HOT days of Summer.....nothing more refreshing and good for you..... DON'T FORGET vodka is always an optional (not in this house) ingredient!!!!!

Combine in a blender:

1/2 cup fresh blackberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
3 tbl frozen acai puree (in most supermarkets - frozen foods)
2 tbl flaxseed meal
1 tbl honey
1-1/2 cups crushed ice

Makes 2
Per serving: 140 calories, 1 gram fat, 8 grams fiber....add the vodka and who cares about all that stuff!!!!!

ENJOY!

WEEKEND EXTRA - MANGO-PEACH SANGRIA

We had a weekend guest, great time, and I did not blog yesterday... so I thought I should blog twice today and how could I end a weekend without a cocktail blog......!!!!!

Sangria is a wonderfully easy cocktail to make for any gathering. My family makes sangria's for baby showers, holidays and backyard barbeques. It tastes great with any menu.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1 cup Grand Marnier

One 750 ML bottle Viognier

1 mango chopped

2 peaches cut into thin wedges

1/4 cup mint leaves

This recipe makes about 4 cocktails

In a sauce pan cook the sugar with the water until the sugar dissolves. Pour the syrup in a pitcher and refrigerate until cold. This takes about a half hour. Stir in the Grand Marnier, Viognier, mango, peaches and mint.

Always fun to serve in a funky colored wine glass and even better if the glasses are chilled!

ENJOY!

TOMATO AND CHEESE FRITTATA

Yes, this is actually my picture!!!!! Yesterday, we couldn't decide what we wanted for breakfast....eggs over, scrambled, poached....no not poached....and I thought about a nice tomato and cheese frittata..never had tried to make one....it was delicious.

You can choose your filings much like an omelette - sausage, bacon, pancetta ...vegetables....CHEESE! I had some great fontina cheese, cherry tomatoes and I added a red pepper. This recipe serves about 5.

Ingredients:

9-10 eggs

2 tbl heavy cream

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tbl olive oil

1 tbl unsalted butter

4 ounces shredded fontina cheese

1/4 cup diced tomatoes

1/4 cup diced red pepper

Preheat broiler

In a medium ovenproof saute pan heat olive oil and butter. Add vegetables. If using a meat product, saute that first until cook. Remove from the pan and add vegetables with an additional tbl of butter. Cook the vegetables until soft.

Whisk eggs, cream, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables (and meat should be returned to pan). Mix and top with the shredded cheese. Cover and cook over low-medium heat until the frittata is almost set. Uncover and place pan under the broiler until cheese is melted, the eggs are set and it is golden brown. Let rest for about 2-3 minutes.

Cut into wedges and serve with a nice artisan toast and a small bowl of mixed fruit. Fabulous and very easy. Happy Sunday.

ENJOY!

MY UNCE JOHN'S TUSCAN WHITE BEAN AND SAUSAGE SOUP

What an amazing day I am already having!!!! I was searching for my usual Friday cocktail to blog and getting a headache..which might have something to do with my night out last night.....so I decided to forget the blog for a second and check out what was happening to all my facebook friends this morning....

I opened facebook and there was a message waiting for me. It was a note from my Uncle John with this recipe attached!!!!! So great!!!! It was such a great surprise not only because it looked sooooo delicious, but I loved that Uncle John thought of me and my blog. Thank you Uncle!!!

Anyone who doesn't know Uncle John needs to know he is Italian through and through so definitely try this. So here it is:

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cup dried cannellini beans (or great northern)

8 ounces mild Italian sausage, casing removed

8 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 tbl extra virgin olive oil

4 tbl tomato paste

1/3 cup chopped carrots

1/3 cups chopped onion

1/3 cups chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped garlic

3/4 cup small pasta, farfilline, dry

salt

pepper

Soak the beans overnight in cold water. Cover the beans with water at least two inches higher than the beans.

In a non-reactive heavy sauce pan or soup pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and stir until all the vegetables are glazed with oil. Add garlic and cook, stirring about 2 minutes or until the vegetables are softened but not brown.

Crumble the sausage and add to the pan. Cook stirring and breaking the sausage apart about 4 minutes or until sausage is thoroughly cooked.

Drain the beans and add to the pan with the chicken broth and tomato paste and stir well. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer stirring occasionally. Cook about 45 minutes then add the pasta and cook an additional 30 minutes or until the beans are tender and the soup has thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Makes about 12 cups.

To spice it up a bit you can substitute hot Italian sausage either by completely replacing the mild or some portion thereof. You can also add 1/2 tbl of chopped fennel.

Love, Uncle John

Thank you very much, Love Julie

ENJOY!

BAKED YOGURT CHICKEN

Do Not make the face you are making at the thought of a kinda fried chicken and YOGURT! Yogurt does add a ton of flavor to dishes without overpowering them or "over-calorizing" them. That is not to say I am blogging a DIET dish...not exactly, but not bad. A single boneless breast has about 350 calories, so depending on what accompanies the chicken, it is a pretty healthy dish. And again, no one can have too many go-to chicken recipes. Seriously, it's only YOGURT!

Ingredients:

4 boneless preferably skin-on chicken breasts

3 cloves garlic roughly chopped

1 (6 ounce) container of low-fat Greek yogurt

1 piece (about an inch long) of fresh ginger roughly chopped

1/2 cup Dijon (or grainy) mustard (less for less spice)

1/4 cup olive oil, plus some for sauteing

1/2 lemon juiced

1-1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp salt

1 tsp red pepper (more if you like spice)

1 tsp ground black pepper

4 pats of butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a blender or food processor, combine garlic, yogurt, ginger, mustard, nutmeg, cumin, turmeric and lemon juice. While blending, slowly add olive oil until smooth and making a paste. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl.

On a large dinner plate, combine, panko breadcrumbs, salt, red pepper and black pepper.

Soak the chicken breasts in the yogurt mixture, drain (reserve some for baking) and coat with breadcrumb mixture. If you have the time, let set in the refrigerator for about an hour so the coating will stick to the chicken. In a saute pan, heat 2 tbl olive oil. Cook chicken only until coating is golden on both sides and remove.

In a 13 X 9 pan, place sauteed chicken, skin side up, on the bottom with a pat of butter on each. Cover with foil and bake about 20 minutes. Remove foil and brush lightly with yogurt mixture and cook for about 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken, may be more or less time). Let rest for a few minutes and serve with your favorite sides.

Go Yogurt!

ENJOY!