Have your cake...

Photo is from Pepperidge Farm

... well, that's enough, isn't it? Just HAVING your cake?

About ten years ago, I began visiting my grandmother every month or two. Every afternoon, while my baby (now 11 years old) would nap, Granny would make a cup of tea and a slice of Pepperidge Farm cake for me to indulge in. I savored those afternoons!!

This week, I bought my family the Pepperidge Farm 3-layer coconut cake. I only got to eat one piece - my son hogged most of it. But the one piece I DID enjoy was yummy!!

Online, the description says, "Three layers of moist cake topped with creamy frosting is like a slice of heaven."

They aren't kidding!

So, dish it. What says indulgence to you? Tea and cake? Nutty Buddies? Old fashioned, hand-churned ice cream? It's summertime - a time for sweet treats.

Dive in - don't be shy!!

Thank you Adriana!

I returned from my trip North to Pennsylvania last week, to find the book Adriana Trigiani promised to send to me in the mail. What a perfect treat!

As I opened the beautiful hardcover, I discovered a message and autograph from Adriana herself. I couldn't contain my excitement and took a picture.

She says, "To Amy, Thank you for the LINK - love and meatballs, Adriana Trigiani 2008"




Thank YOU Adriana!! I've already read a large portion of the book and skimmed through all of the recipes. It all looks perfectly wonderful. I cannot wait to try the meatballs!!

My mother, an avid reader of the Big Stone Gap series, wanted the recipe for the Roasted Red Pepper sandwiches Adriana writes about in "Big Cherry Holler." Unable to find this recipe in her book, I emailed her again. She responded right away with a recipe I was able to forward to my mother. For anyone interested in this recipe, I will post it below.

This book is a fantastic read for any lover of Italian food, but also for anyone interested in personal stories of Adriana and her family. I really enjoyed that Adriana and her sisters reveal each of their own personal tips to each recipe. This helps any ole' reader understand how anything can be adjusted for convenience sake or even personal taste.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone!!

Roasted Red Pepper Sandwiches (as emailed to me by Adriana)
1. Roast the peppers til they're black and peel off the skin
2. Salt them and throw some extra olive oil on 'em
3. Then slice open french bread and stick it under the broiler with a little olive oil til toasty
4. Then lay in the peppers and cut and eat- yum

Yum, indeed!!

Bed and Breakfast in Blacksburg

Last week, while on a short vacation to Pennsylvania, my family and I stopped off in Blacksburg to visit my parents. My husband and I went out to eat and left my Mom and Dad in charge of the kids for a couple of hours. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled each child, taking them out to dinner for "kid food." We returned early enough for a glass of wine, a game of pool and even a game of Eucher.





The next morning, the spoiling continued as my father became a short-order cook, making omelets to order.






My mother dished up fresh fruit, yogurt and granola - her own homemade breakfast parfaits.







There were potatoes too!





By 9 o'clock, we were on the road again. Stuffed full, we drove away convinced we had just been to the nicest bed and breakfast around!!

Thanks Mom and Dad!!!!

Cooking it up for summer!

This morning, at 9 o'clock, about a hundred parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents crammed into a small elementary gym to watch our fifth-grade students realize all of their hard work and graduate proudly into middle school. Whew! Was it hot!!

Returning home - tears still drying on my cheeks - I decided to get ready for summer. The kids would be off the bus in just two hours and I wanted to be prepared. So, I hit the kitchen with a vengeance.

I started with watermelon.

My kids love watermelon, but they always pester me to cut them more of it. This can be especially bad if I am in the middle of another job, like mowing the grass, on a cleaning spree and of course, typing. I decided I would cut the entire watermelon up and put it in baggies. Pre-portioned, healthy, afternoon snacks would now be waiting for my kids just inside the fridge.

Cold pasta salad just reminds me of summer. I make it every year and every year it's different. I usually start with orzo pasta and from there I empty out my cupboards and veggie drawer in search of anything that will taste good. I am usually surprised with what I can find. This year's pasta salad consisted of:

Cold Pasta Salad

Orzo (1 16 oz package)

1 green pepper

1/2 a red onion

pepperoni (cut in half)

grated parm. cheese

green olives (sliced)

black olives (sliced)

cucumber

carrot sticks (chopped)

slivered almonds

roasted red pepper (large dice)

artichoke hearts (chopped)

olive oil

vinegar

salt

pepper

I usually end up with a large tupperware bowl chock full of good stuff. This will last for a little less than a week in our house and then we will have to make more.

Last, but not least, I made a homemade batch of Rice Krispy treats. I had to hit the RK website to refresh my memory and I was surprised with all of the other recipes they had. Check it out here when you want something fun and yummy for you kids or grandkids.

Now you dish it.

Tell me what makes summer cook in your kitchen!

Toxic Tomatoes

I returned from my long weekend yesterday to discover that we (Virginia and at least 16 other states) are under a tomato scare.

This was pretty scary to me as I had just eaten lunch in Roanoke, near the Valley View Mall. I had ordered a nice, juicy ribeye steak sandwich and clearly remember the large slices of tomatoes garnishing it. Not aware of this outbreak, I enjoyed every bite. Now, I may be regretting those bites.

Checking out this story online, I realized this had been transpiring over the past five days. The source of the outbreak still cannot be found which is really the scariest of all.

Salmonella, is a bacteria found in many humans and animals. Cleaning and preparing your food best protects anyone from getting sick from it. For more info you can go here.

This strain is particularly nasty as it is non-resistant to antibiotics. This makes anyone with a compromised immune system in trouble.

Please be safe and don't search out this fruit (or vegetable according to some) for your pantry.

btw: The tomatoes you need to stay away from are the plum, roma and large red tomatoes. The cherry and grape variety are considered safe.

I should also mention that Salmonella and other food borne illnesses can be kept at bay with safe food handling procedures, but this particular strain may not just wash off. Do not assume anything and follow the recommendations made.

Doggie bags - not just for doggies anymore!

As I sit here to type this, I am surrounded by an increasingly large pile of clean laundry to sort and fold. Dusting, vacuuming, and packing are next on my list. I am headed out of town to PA for a few days and quick, easy meals are all I have time for.

This busy schedule left me hungry at noon today. So, I opened the fridge to fix a quick sandwich and found my forgotten styrofoam container full of fajita leftovers. We had eaten at El Rodeo last night and my stomach just didn't have room for the large dinner portion (I LOVE their white salsa).

So, there sat my doggie bag, chilling... at just 38 degrees.

Without any soft flour tortilla shells, I wondered how could I make my leftovers into the lunch my stomach grumbled for.

Finding one lonely brat roll in the fridge, I went to work, sauteing my steak, onion and green peppers. After toasting the brat roll in the oven, I combined the two for a very filling sandwich.

The only thing missing - a nice guacamole to spread underneath.

Now YOU dish it. What do YOU do with YOUR leftovers?

Summertime Grilling...and a recipe!

Now that we have the temps in the 80's and 90's what do we intend to do with them?

You'll find me grilling out!

With healthy choices such as fish, lean steak, chicken and veggies to choose from, you can't go wrong (only right).

After perusing the Internet a little this week, I found quite a few blogs asking the question, how do you season your grilled food?

Walking down the spice and sauce aisle in the grocery store today, there were so many rubs and marinades to choose from!

In our house, we usually stand by our old friends - salt and pepper. If you want something above average, you can still get fancy with this pair. Using different flavored peppercorns in your grinder is one option. Making a compound (flavored) butter to melt over your food is really easy and tasty as well.

I posted my easy-peasy directions for you below.

Compound Butter
1. Let your butter or margarine soften (for at least half an hour to an hour).
2. Mix in your favorite spice and/or herb. Smell each one before dropping it in. You want the flavors and smells to mesh and not become overwhelming. Sweet should stay with sweet and savory, with savory. Click here to check out what Slashfood advises in this area.
3. Scoop butter (or margarine) onto a sheet of plastic wrap.
4. Roll wrap around butter, so that you have formed a tube shape.
5. Refrigerate butter for at least an hour.
6. Slice and place on bread or even over meat and/or veggies after grilling.

This is just one idea I have for grilling any lazy, warm day away.

Tell me, how do you grill?