TREAT: Lemon Parmesan Dressing

I am officially obsessed with this salad dressing.  It is so, so, so, so good.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese 
• 5 Tbsp of EVOO 
• 2 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice (I love lemon, so I just use the juice from one whole lemon) 
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon peel (again, I love lemon so I use the zest from the entire lemon)

Instructions

• Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor to mix. 
• It tastes best on a salad of arugula, cherry tomatoes, avocado slices & hearts of palm. 

Yum!  You can find this recipe here.

TREAT: Arugula salad with Caprese Stuffed Tomatoes

This salad is delicious and looks beautiful - so it is great to serve when you have guests over!

Ingredients & Instructions for Basil Oil Sauce

• 1 large bunch of basil (approx. 2 cups of packed basil leaves) 
• 1/2 - 1 cup of olive oil (adjust based on how thick you like it) 
• 1-2 garlic cloves 
• Salt to Taste
• Instructions: Mix all ingredients together in a blender or food processor until smooth.
• Note: This oil can be used refrigerated and should be used within 24-48 hours.

This recipe was found here.

Ingredients for Stuffed Avocados and Salad

• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved 
• 8 ounces or 1/2 pound of mozzarella pearls
• 1/2 cup of the basic garlic oil sauce 
• 4 avocados 
• Arugula lettuce to serve with the avocados (optional) 
• 4-6 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to drizzle (adjust to taste) 
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• For the filling: Mix the tomatoes, mozzarella pearls & basil oil. 
• For the avocados and salad: Cut them in half and carefully peel the skin.  Place the peeled avocados on a plate over the salad greens.  Spoon the caprese filling into the avocado halves.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar reduction and serve immediately. 

This recipe was found here.

TREAT: Bacon, Chive & Blue Cheese Potatoes

Ingredients:
-12 small Yukon Gold potatoes
- 2 teaspoons plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup crumbled Maytag blue cheese
- 4 slices applewood-smoked bacon , cooked until crisp and crumbled
- 1 tablespoon minced chives

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bring water and 2 teaspoons of salt to boil -- cook potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes.
- Cook bacon in a pan or in the microwave until it is crispy
- Run the potatoes under cold water to stop the cooking and to make them cool
- Slice a small piece from the top and bottom of each potato
- Toss the potatoes with the oil, salt and pepper



- Use a paring knife or other knife to score the top of each potato and remove some of the potato so that you can fill it with the cheese and bacon (equal amounts of each)
- Bake until the cheese melts -- about 5-7 minutes
- Sprinkle with bacon bits and chives and serve

TREAT: Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Spread

Ingredients:
- 12 ounces goat cheese
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup pitted and chopped kalamata olives
- 3 Tbsp basil - cut into strips
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:
- Combine goat and cream cheese in a bowl
- Form into a circular shape and place it on a plate - and press down
- Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl




- Pour mixture over the cheese and serve with bread and pita chips

TREAT: Breadstick/Garlic Bread Tomato Dip

A lot of people in my family are obsessed with sauces to use for dipping, and I made this sauce for dipping garlic bread in: 

Ingredients:

• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste 
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce 
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano 
• 1/4 tsp white sugar 
• 1 tsp minced garlic 
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt 
• 1/4 tsp minced fresh parsley

Directions:

• Super easy - just mix it all together! 

•  And eat it with some garlic bread!

TREAT: Bruschetta

This bruschetta recipe has a strong garlic flavor, but it adds great flavor to this recipe.  This is also a recipe that you can make in advance and the flavors come together even better.


Ingredients:

• 2 tomatoes, cubed 
• 1 tsp fresh basil 
• 4 Tbsp fresh parmesan cheese 
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed (not minced, but crushed) 
• Salt and pepper, to taste 
• A baguette to place the brushetta on at the end

Directions: 

• Chop the tomatoes and crush the garlic 

Make sure you get really fresh tomatoes to enhance the flavor of the recipe

• In a medium bowl, mix together all of the ingredients. 

• Cover and chill in the refrigerator (ideally overnight) before serving. 

TREAT: Appetizers

For New Years Eve, we had some friends over and I made the following appetizers: 

HOMEMADE OLIVE AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO TAPENADE 

(This is a recipe from Giada de Laurentiis' cookbook)

Ingredients:

• 3 (8-ounce) cans of pitted kalamata olives, drained
• 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

• In a food processor, add the olives, sun dried tomatoes and olive oil the tomatoes were packed in. 

• Pulse until smooth (but still chunky) -- based on consistency, add more oil 
• You can make this in advance and refrigerate it for up to 2 days, but make sure that it is tightly covered with plastic wrap & I have found that it helps to put a little olive oil on top to make sure it does not try out. 
• Place tapenade (room temperature) in a bowl with the pita chips, crackers, endives, bread, etc. 

TOMATO MOZZARELLA SKEWERS: 




Ingredients: 

• 2 baskets of cherry tomatoes 
• Fresh mozzarella (or burrata) cheese (at some stores, like Trader Joes, you can find mozarella that is already shaped in small balls - this is ideal) 
• Wooden skewers (can be found in the grocery aisle where cooking tools are located)
• Basil 
• Extra virgin olive oil 
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt/Pepper to Taste 

Directions:

• Soak the skewers in cold water for 20 minutes.  This will help make sure that the food goes on smoothly without any pieces of the wood coming off.  In other words, this will help avoid slivers in the food, which is always a good thing....

• Rotate between the tomatoes, cheese and basil 
• Based on your taste preferences, carefully pour the olive oil and vinegar over the skewers and sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper 
• You can prepare in advance, just make sure that you have poured on some of the oil and vinegar so that the cheese does not harden in the fridge.

PARMESAN CHEESE "BASKETS" WITH SALAD:

Ingredients: 

• A bag of shredded Parmesan Cheese
• Parchment Paper 
• Salad
• Small jars or glasses that you can use for the parmesan cups 

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees 
• Sprinkle the parmesan cheese in circles along a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  

• The size of the circles will depend on what you are making.  I made larger circles so that I could fit in some salad.  If you want to place small bite size appetizers in the parmesan bowls, you could make smaller circles and use shot glasses for setting them.
• Make sure to place the cheese on the baking pan at least 1" apart so that the different circles do not touch.
• Bake the cheese in the oven for about 5-7 minutes -- wait until it has slightly browned but it is not completely crisp (otherwise it will not take the shape)

• Remove the pan from the oven and let the cheese cool slightly. 
• While the cheese is still warm, use a solid spatula to move the cheese onto the glass, cup, etc. that you are using for the shape.  Press it down slightly to the shape you desire.

• Make sure that the cheese has completely cooled before removing it from the shaping glass.

• Use tongs to gently place salad in the middle of the parmesan bowl and serve

I hope you enjoy and Happy New Year!

TREAT: Delicious Garlic Bread

This is such delicious garlic bread -- it is a must try!


Ingredients:


1 loaf Italian bread (I used Ciabatta Bread)
5 tablespoons of softened butter
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of crushed garlic cloves
1 tsp dried oregano
salt/pepper
(if you want, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese)


Directions:

• Preheat the boiler
• Cut the bread into slices 1-2" thick
• In a small bowl, mix butter, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt/pepper

• Spread mixture evenly over bread slices
• On a medium baking sheet, arrange slices evenly and broil 5 minutes or until slightly brown. (Note: mine were done in just a couple of minutes.  They burn fast!) 
• If you want, top with cheese and return to the boiler for a couple of minutes
• Serve quickly

TREAT: Chesapeake Bay Biscuits

I have tried a few copycat recipes for the biscuits at Red Lobster and this one is by far my favorite. It comes out great!


Ingredients: 
2 1/2 cups Biscquick (don't use pancake mix - I did that the first time and it was a disaster)

4 Tbsp cold butter

1 cup sharp shredded cheese

3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Glaze: 

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

Directions: 

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees 

- Grease or line a cookie sheet 

- Combine Bisquick with butter and use a fork to essentially chop up the butter into the bisquick. You will end up with chunks of butter & that is fine. 

- Add cheese, milk and garlic powder and mix until just barely combined. 

- Place 1/4 cup portions onto the cookie sheet.

- Bake 13-15 minutes until the tops are light brown.

- For the glaze, melt the butter and stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes 

- Brush the garlic butter over the tops of all of the biscuits right when you take them out of the oven and salt them as desired.

TREAT: Minestrone Soup

I might be the world's most picky minestrone soup eater, and it took me a LONG time to find this recipe, which I love and am obsessed with and eat way too often.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!  

Ingredients: 

4 tablespoons butter (I have tried with margarine, but it does not taste the same)

3/4 cup chopped onion 

1/4 cup chopped celery 

1/2 cup chopped carrots 

1 can (19 ounces) of cannellini beans 

1/2 cup shredded cabbage 

1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes 

1 tablespoon tomato paste 

1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes 

1 quart vegetable broth 

2 cloves of garlic, minced 

2 tablespoons dried parsley 

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup elbow macaroni 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

Directions: 

Melt the butter in a heavy pot over medium heat.  Add onion, celery and carrots; sautee for a few minutes. 

Add beans, cabbage, tomatoes, tomato paste, potato, stock, garlic, parsley and salt to the pot. 

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat.  Simmer for approximately 1 hour, or until vegetables are barely tender. 

Add pasta and simmer for 30 minutes more.  Taste & correct seasoning, if necessary.  

Serve hot with grated cheese on top of each bowl.

Enjoy!