M-I-C-K-E-Y

M-O-U-S-E!!!! How cute are these?



Hello people! I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! And i hope you didn't miss me too much, i haven't written, cause well i haven't cooked in weeks.

This was the last thing i cooked back on November 8th. Mickey Mouse cupcakes!

I made chocolate chip cupcakes and just popped in 2 mini oreo's for the ears. It was the perfect touch for the Mickey Mouse pizza party we had here right before leaving for Orlando.


We were supposed to have some work done to our place while we were on vacay, and you know how that goes, it didn't start on time and 2 weeks later, they are now just about done. I should be back in my kitchen by the end of the week. And all i can say is THANK GOD! Eating out all the time sucks, just about as much as it sucks to live through construction.

But i'm feeling chatty tonite, so i think i'll go into my food blog photo folder and pull out some stuff i cooked previously and didn't get a chance to write about. So stay tuned! :)

Platter of Severed Hands

BWahahahahahahaaaaaa...

Halloween is near and you would not believe how creative some people are when it comes to spooky food. Not me though, i'm not into Halloween, i don't like scary things at all, i like to keep my "spooky" G- rated. But when i saw this 'recipe' over on kraftfoods.com i was suddenly inspired.

Spooky Gloved Munch Mix

I just had a Halloween themed makeover party. As favors, i handed out severed hands. These went over BIG. There were tons of "ew gross, and ooh cool" to go around.

I simplified the process by using Crunch n Munch to make the flesh for the hands. The hardest part was finding clear gloves, then cleaning said gloves. See these gloves are coated inside and out with a thin coat of some sort of powder. On the bag of the gloves, it doesn't even say what the powder is. Regardless, i wasn't going to stuff one finger until those gloves were totally residue-free.

Once the gloves were wiped clean and dry on both the inside and the outside, it was a cinch to pop in the candy corn and the popcorn.

I also created a frightening feast using some homemade goodies, some store bought. On the menu:

Witches Warts- Alexia Mushroom Bites
Goblin's Eyes- Baked Cheese Olives
Rest in Pizza- California Pizza Kitchen White Pizza
Mold & Slime Dip- Friday's Spinach, Cheese and Artichoke Dip
Skeleton Fingers w/ Congealed Blood- Pistachio Crusted Chicken w/ strawberry preserve dipping sauce

We had a devilishly good time! :)

P is for Pumpkin

Cause i already used the C is for Cupcake line... :P

It's STILL good enough for me!

It's FALL, WOO HOO, even though it's still 87 degrees out. The calendar says fall and that means pumpkins! i LOVE fall and i LOVE pumpkin. So time to get my pumpkin on. One can of pumpkin purchased, and off on a mission i go. Looking for something sweet, someone linked me up to this recipe and i'm all over it!

Pumpkin Bliss Cupcakes

Aren't they gorgeous? I swear i was so excited to see these perfectly plump cupcakes come out of my oven.



The first ones i frosted, were frosted and sprinkled with chopped pecans. I loved the texture the pecan added to the cupcake, but much to my surprise, my perfectly plump cupcakes had the wrong cake to frosting ratio. Definitely NOT enough frosting.



So we proceeded to eat the remaining cupcakes this way.

Step 1: Nuke cupcake in micro for 10 seconds.
Step 2: Take warm cupcake, slather the top wtih frosting.
Step 3: Eat top of cupcake.
Step 4: Flip cupcake upside down, slather the bottom with frosting.
Step 5: Finish enjoying the perfectly frosted cupcake, lick fingers, make mmmm sounds.

Repeat as necessary! :)

Mmmm...Beefy!

Now that it's getting cooler out (i think it's 83 yesterday, instead of the usual 89), i was inspired to make a cool weather dinner. This was my first time ever making beef stew and when i told my hubby we were having beef stew for dinner, he said he had never had it before. So this dinner was going to be a hit or miss.

I went on a mission to find a good recipe, but i couldn't find one that i felt would suit our likes and dislikes. So i took a little bit from ALL the recipes i came across, and came up with my own!

Meli's Beef Stew

1 sweet potato chopped but chunky
2 white potatoes chopped but chunky
2 onions chopped but chunky
1 small bag of baby carrots
1.5 lb cubed stew beef
1 pt white mushrooms, halved, stems removed
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 cups of red wine
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 can of condensed beef broth
oregano
parsley
basil
salt/pepper
cornstarch

Throw everything in the slow cooker in the order mentioned except for the cornstarch. Cook on high for 6 hours. A few minutes prior to serving, take out 1C broth, whisk in cornstarch (i used about 1/4c), then return that mixture to the crock pot and stir. Repeat until desired thickness is achieved. Serve immediately with a side of bread for dunking.


Luckily it was a hit, he got up in the middle of eating for seconds and everything. His only complaint was he wanted more beef and i wanted more onions, so i wrote the recipe above already adding more of both.

It was a snap to put together, and i love that i was only in the kitchen for less then 10 minutes. Great for a weeknight dinner. :)

Fabulous Chicken

I've eaten ALOT of chicken in my lifetime, enough to not get excited about chicken...ever. I don't order it when i go out, and i have only recently built up a small repertoire of chicken recipes i actually do enjoy at home. So if i wrote out my short list of chicken recipes, this would be at the top of the list with hearts dotting the i's.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken

I've made these for a crowd, i've made these just for us, every single time, this chicken is a hit! So easy, so tasty! The pistachios really add a nice flavor to the chicken. I just love using the honey mustard as a binder instead of an egg, it also adds a subtle layer of flavor.

For a less messy way of making these, i have prepped the chicken strips and left them in a zip lock bag with the honey mustard combo for a couple of hours. Then when i was ready, i took the strips and put them in another zip lock bag that had the crumbs and nuts in it. Just a quick shake and they are ready to be thrown on a prepared baking pan.

I serve it with a strawberry or raspberry sauce, which is just seedless jam and red wine vinegar stirred together and nuked in the micro till warm.

Give this fabulous dish a try, then come back and tell me how much you loved it! ;)

2 Bites

Looking for something different for a quick app for a ladies lunch i hosted, i came across this unique recipe and decided to give it a shot. I love allrecipes (foodtv and cookinglight) for the real life feedback you get from cooks who have made these recipes before. Here's a perfect example where reading reviews before you make the dish really comes in handy. Although highly rated, the recipe as written is FLAWED.


Baked Cheese Olives

Again, the recipe is flawed. You must add 2 Tbs of water to actually make the batter. Also, i used Queen Olives, and found that i needed to double the batter recipe to get all 24 olives wrapped. Though the recipe isn't written correctly, with some minor adjustments, it was a really great recipe.

I had to get all clever and put them in my olive dish. Cause well, it IS an olive, and what the heck, i'm going to pull out this odd dish at every opportunity i get. :P


I LOVED these, loved them!!! Biting into the cheese biscuit and finding a little olive treasure tucked inside is so much fun! Once you fix the error in the recipe, it's a cinch to make and as a bonus, you can make these in advance and freeze them. So on party day it's one less thing to do. LOVE THAT! :)

Turkey Picadillo

Picadillo is a staple in any Cuban home. My friend Christy shot me a link to a lightened up version of the traditional favorite. She actually shared with the a lightened up version of a Cuban Feast. This one is bookmarked, as i want to try to take on boliche...someday! Cuban Feast Makeover

As i was making it, i realized for our tastes, i needed to make some changes to the recipe. I made some slight alterations and popped it into the weight watchers recipe builder and viola!

Turkey Picadillo



This was delicious and deceptively light. You couldn't even tell that i used ground turkey instead of ground beef. As you are cooking it, you can figure out if you like it soupy. Personally, i like it a little soupier then dry. If you like it drier, just keep simmering away. No matter how you make it, this is a must try. Enjoy! :)

Clean vs. Plain

Inspired by the most amazing taste sensation, i bought a URL for this blog. Someday, i'll be blogging from www.butterandbrownsugar.com. HOORAY! :)


I told my hubby, and he's got a million ideas for my blog already. Can i just interject right here, that my hubby has looked at my blog, oh maybe once.

He started telling me about some of his ideas. I told him babe, i like the format how it is now, it's v. clean. He says gimme your URL...after like half a dozen attempts, he finally gets it right and says, CLEAN? This is not clean, this is PLAIN. No to the font, no to the header, yada yada yada, we'll get to work on your new site soon.

So, i'll continue blogging from here until Mr. Man gets my blog in fighting form. :P Hopefully it's sooner rather then later!

Love you babe! xoxo

C is for Cupcake!

That's good enough for me...

Publix had a buy one get one sale on cake mixes, so i ended up with a random box of pineapple cake mix. I really didn't want to make a cake cause, it's only us, so i decided to try to make pineapple upside down cupcakes. Cause i feel bad eating a half a cake, but i don't feel bad eating half a dozen cupcakes. Go figure! lol.

Mini Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes

While making these cupcakes, i came across the most amazing taste sensation i've ever eaten in my whole entire life... BUTTER AND BROWN SUGAR. Good Lord, have you ever eaten softened butter and brown sugar? Yeah, me neither. I mean i was so blown away, i grabbed my hubby and told him babe, you gotta try this. And there we stood in the kitchen eating brown sugar and butter just oohing and aahing away. lol.

All of the picking at the brown sugar left us with half a dozen cupcakes unadorned. Eh, whatev, it was worth it, BUT the cupcakes made the right way, upside down-style, were really unbelievable. My father in law came over, tried them and said oooh that's good! :)

I came across a couple other recipes out there on the world wide web and they suggested using crushed pineapple. I think the slices (trimmed) worked out just fine, but i would like to try this recipe again using yellow cake mix and crushed pineapple. ;)

I am the Crepe Queen!

Hell Yeah i am! :)

Ok, so back story. Went to Key West for Lobster Fest earlier this summer and had the BEST crepes- well, here in the US ;) out of this teeny window on Duval called La Creperie, see...

Anyhoo, we come home and all i want, every single weekend is crepes. So i venture forth and decide i can do it, hell, MELICAN DO ANYTHING! :)

So i find this recipe and think whamo,this is it. Hooray, i'm on my way!

French Crepes

My enthusiasm quickly dissipates as this is how my first crepe turns out.

Next thing i know i'm on the phone with my mom asking where her crepe maker (some hokey gadget from the 70's, lol) is, and telling her that my stupid crepe adventure is going really badly. She assures me that the first one or three always turn out badly, and to keep trying, but she'll look for the crepe gadget anyways.

**INSERT NEVER GIVE UP LESSON HERE** :P

So yes, after making like 2 or 3 really bad ones, i learned my lesson. I switched to a small non-stick pan, sprayed with a quick spritz of pam and start turning out AMAZING thin little pancakes! We stuffed them with ham and cheese, a variety of jams and jelly's and gorged ourselves on fabulous homemade crepes! My fave was the pineapple preserve crepes- mega yum!

Needless to say, this is what i do at least once a week now, but i do half the recipe cause for us, 12 crepes is too many, but not for the first time you make it. For the first time, even if it's just you that you're cooking for, go ahead and make all 12! :)

Shrimp Trio...er...Duo!

Inspired by a back episode of Top Chef, i decided to make a diet friendly shrimp trio. Unfortunately, the shrimp cocktail didn't make it into the photo. But do you really need a recipe for shrimp cocktail anyways? Yeah, i didn't think so. These are Weight Watchers recipes and i have to say, they were DELICIOUS and super light too!

Chile Caribbean Shrimp Skewers
First up shrimp skewers. These were really simple to prepare and cook. I made them on my stove top in a grill pan. I don't know if i used too much red pepper flakes or what, but when i put these suckers in my hot grill pan, i couldn't stop coughing. Thank goodness they were only in the pan for just a few short minutes. They were done in a flash and extremely flavorful.

Next up, a PHENOMENAL fried rice.
Thai rice with pineapple and shrimp
I'm not really a fried rice kind of girl, but how can you go wrong with pineapple and shrimp Thai fried rice? I AM a sucker for just about anything Thai. ;) This recipe did not disappoint, the flavors were light and fresh and made a perfect pairing to the spicy shrimp skewers. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I love love love this rice. Even if you aren't watching your figure, you should totally try this recipe out. :)

Melted Cheese

Thursday nite is STILL pizza nite around here and we FINALLY learned how to make the BEST cheese pizza. We still buy the dough from Mario the Baker BUT instead of shredded mozzarella cheese, we started to use sliced mozzarella cheese. WOW! That makes a gorgeous pizza!

Of course, we cook by trial and error, so the first time we made it that way, we burned the crap out of the cheese and the dough was still soggy. The second time around, we got a bit wiser and pre-baked the crust for about 5-7 minutes, then topped with sauce and the sliced cheese, then rebaked till golden. Yummy yum yum yum.



Sliced cheese is the way to go for a ooey gooey pizza pie! ;)

Turkey- LaSpadas Style

If you are a local, you may have heard of LaSpadas. A tiny sub shop that makes the world's best subs. Ok, the 'world's best' may be stretching it just a teeny tiny bit, but i'm telling you, these are life changing subs.

And i'm here to spill what makes these subs amazing. Of course it's the fresh cut meats, of course it's the soft hoagie bread and of course it's your choice of condiments BUT it's the way they TOP your handmade hoagie with extra meat that makes it a LASPADAS sub! Now i know you are sitting there reading this going, what? meat on top? weird! But don't knock it till you try it.

Here's our attempt at the homemade version.


And if we weren't so damned hungry we would have taken more photos, but the sub disappeared too fast for the flashbulb to catch it! ;)


Laspadas Original Hoagies
2645 S. University Drive
Davie, FL 33328
(954)476-1099
www.laspadashoagies.com

Double Potato Mash

Have i mentioned that i puffy heart Nigella Lawson? She's the only cooking television personality that i totally get geeked out over. She's FABULOUS! She's got a show on the Food Network called Nigella Feasts, its only on once a week (poo!) BUT it's totally worth setting your TIVO for, because the show is divine!

After watching her Comfort Foods episode, as soon as the credits were rolling i was in the kitchen peeling a sweet potato and a white potato. Hello?! BRILLIANT mixing the two.

Double Potato Mash

I did make a couple slight alterations to the recipe cause i didn't have mace and wasn't going to go out and buy some. :P

I boiled the sweet and white potato together, drained, then whipped them up using my hand mixer. I had never made mashed potatoes with olive oil before either, but it was a nice flavor. And i just grated just a teeny bit of Fontina cheese into the potatoes as i whipped them up.


These were phenomenal! I served with barbecued brisket and sweet yellow corn. There's a slight sweetness that comes from the sweet potato that is paired with the fruitiness of the evoo that lends itself to a gorgeous creamy potato mash that's not like your mama's mashed potatoes. ;)

This recipe i have made at least half a dozen times this summer, just making slight variations on the mix ins. This is a fabulous must try recipe from the lovely Nigella Lawson.

i want candy

So, my summer has been insane and in the middle of it all, i decided to jump back on the weight loss wagon and join Weight Watchers. This blog will be taking a turn to more healthy recipes i've been trying out, but please, i'm human and i also throw in a decadent recipe (or ten) into the mix. ;)

And what did i choose for my first 'diet' recipe? CANDY of course! lol.

Raspberry Chocolate Cups

This was fun to do, and it's a lot easier to make then you'd imagine. The photo below has the jam filled cup on the left and the finished raspberry cup on the right.



My hubby even thought these were pretty good, the only suggestion he threw out there was try a different jam next time. He's partial to grape jelly, but a grape chocolate cup to me is total gag, so i tried it with strawberry jam, and it's totally YUM! :)

There you have it, diet chocolate! AWESOME!

Excuse me, There's a party in my cake!

Funfetti is the bomb!

Seriously.

Need i say more?

Here Comes Trouble!

Trouble only cause this is so delicious that if there's leftovers, you'll be reheating this in the morning and then when it's all gone, you'll be counting the days till the next event where you can make Mom's Heavenly Brie again.

This recipe is to die for, people. TO DIE FOR. Trust me. Try it, then come back and tell me A. How much of it YOU ate, and B. How much weight you think you gained from eating the whole thing. ;)

Mom's Heavenly Brie

1 round piece of brie- skin removed, chopped roughly
2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls (i used reduced fat)
brown sugar
1/4 stick of butter

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a baking dish, take 1 can of crescent rolls and place on bottom of the dish and put the points of the dough up the side of the dish. take half of the brie and place on top of the dough, top with about a handful of brown sugar and then add a couple pats of butter. Fold the points of the dough in and over. Take the 2nd can of dough and do the exact same process all over again. Then pop into the oven till golden brown. I can't remember how long exactly, i want to say about 20-25 mintues. But you know, just keep peaking. ;) When it's golden and bubbly take it out and let it cool sliughtly before serving. Enjoy!

This dish is divine! Try it and let me know what you think! :)

Pan y Churrasco

My hubby man's the grill. And i love a man who can grill, cause it means he's cooking and i'm not! lol. And omg, lol, i can't believe he was cutting in the pan. What a nerd. I wonder if he scratched my pan. Yes readers, don't cut anything in a non-stick pan, cut on a cutting board. ;)


Here's a simple chimichurri recipe, but we used jarred sauce.

Chimichurri Sauce:
3 bunches curly parsley, finely chopped
6 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh garlic
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 cup white vinegar

We marinate skirt steaks for about an hour, in half a jar of chimichurri and then as the steaks are grilling (about 5 min per side), he bastes it with more, then serves with the remaining chimichurri. mmmmmmm....

Man, just looking at these photos is making my tummy grumble. Vegetarians, i have no idea how this doesn't make your mouth water. Yes, yes i know, different strokes. ;)

We serve it with slices of lightly toasted Cuban Bread.


This loaf of fresh Cuban bread from my Abeulo's favorite bakery. Here's a recipe for Pan Cubano. I never in a million years would even attempt to make it, cause well it's everywhere here. But if it's not readily available in your hood, you may want to give it a shot. Quick, easy and tasty! What else could you want for a party?! :)

Cheddar Artichoke Quiche Cups

Cheddar Artichoke Quiche Cups

This was my least favorite of the party foods. Maybe cause it sent me on a mission to Target about 2 hours before my party started cause i didn't have the mini muffin pan like i thought i had. But no, that wasn't the reason, the reason was cause it was so damned greasy! My hubby did take a couple nice photos of it (thanks, babe!), so enjoy the eye candy!



But if you are going to make it, please make some alterations to the recipe. Actually, when i read the recipe i thought it was written wrong, it calls for 4 cups of cheese, which to me was strange, cause the ratio of all the other ingredients sounded right, but then the cheese seemed like too much. But the clock was ticking and i just wanted to get them in the oven and get ready. So i made it as written and my guests politely ate a couple, but i had a TON of these left over.

They looked pretty, but these were pretty...eh.

Bacon and Cheddar Stuffed Mushrooms

So, we continue on the fattening party food express. I had mushrooms, so i decided to stuff them. Guess what, there's like 2 million stuffed mushroom recipes that include some sort of cream cheese varation on the stuffing. I've had about a million of them in my lifetime, so i was hoping to find something a little different. I finally found 1 recipe that didn't say cream cheese.

Bacon and Cheddar Stuffed Mushrooms

These were delicious! I didn't have crimini mushrooms, used button mushrooms, to save time, i used real bacon bits and also added a handful of breadcrumbs to soak up some of the impending grease from all that cheddar and bacon goodness. These flew right off the platter, i didn't even have the chance to taste them at the party.

But you know how that goes, every good chef tastes her food prior to serving, so i had one, ok more like 3, prior to serving. ;) There was some stuffing left over so i formed the stuffing in balls and baked them along with the mushrooms. The stuffing balls didn't look very good, so i just kept those in the kitchen and i ate them later. They didn't look very good, but they sure tasted GREAT!

Of course i forgot to take a photo before they went out, so in the middle of the party, i said oh crap, i need a photo and took one, not a very good one, but those last 4 mushrooms disappeared like as soon as the flash went off. lol.


If you like stuffed mushrooms but would like to change it up for your next party, i HIGHLY reccomend this recipe. :)

Stuffed Strawberries

What could be easier? Take a gorgeous strawberry and stuff it with cream cheese, sugar and liquor.



Stuffed Strawberries

These strawberries made as the recipe is written were phenomenal, but the recipe poster wrote "Sometimes I add some finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate." REALLY?! I don't believe you, cause it was a bitch and a half to squeeze my finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate through the star tip of my pastry bag. It was the first time i had ever used a pastry bag and i have to say, i enjoyed it, cept for the damn chocolate clogs. Thanks alot imvintage. :P

They are also SUPER fattening.

The second time i made these, i tried to make it with fat free cream cheese, WHOA! Huge mistake. The cream came out gritty and just all around gross. But i knew i was doomed from the second i opened the package of fat free cream cheese. Have you ever seen a block of fat free cream cheese in all it's glory? It's um, let's see what's the word, what's the word...hmmm...NASTY?! It was glossy and jiggly and totally reminded me of silly putty. After the fat free version made it's way to my trash, i decided to make the third batch with reduced fat cream cheese and it turned out just right.

I assembled these a couple hours before my party. I put them in a glad plastic baking pan and covered them. They held up nicely. The only thing i fixed for the next party, was to place the stuffed strawberries on a paper towel first, as the strawberries lose a lot of moisture while waiting for the party to start. When the guests arrive, i place them on a serving platter and out they go!

I got rave reviews from my friends and family for this decadent, yet simple twist on strawberries. :)

This Dip ROCKS!

I've been cooking up a storm in July! Like every other person i know is a summer baby, so parties are meant to be had, and i've been throwing them AND cooking for them too! Wee! I LOVE throwing parties, it's hella fun, BUT hella stressful leading up to the moment the first guests arrive. But once they walk in, we eat, drink and get our merry on! :)

I always try new recipes for parties, this is both good and bad, cause well you know how i cook, everything that comes out of my kitchen isn't exactly a guaranteed 'hit'. I usually head to allrecipes with an ingredient in mind and start my search there. The next couple posts will highlight some of the new party recipes i tried this season.

But first, an old favorite. From the first time i made this dip, about 2 years ago, it has been a hit hit hit at EVERY party.

Baked Potato Dip



I serve it with kettle cooked potato chips and crudites, but who are we kidding, i always end up eating the veggies the day after the party. This dip screams for some delicious potato chips.

I always half the recipe, and add 1/2 a packet of ranch dressing. It can easily be made with fat free sour cream and cheese and turkey bacon without sacrificing any flavor, just don't tell anyone you went the 'light' route. ;)

So if you are feeling naughty or nice, this is the perfect dip depending how you choose to prepare it.

Minimum Effort, Maximum Wow!

Super simple, almost effortless, throw it together and serve!

Cranberry Walnut Salad
Serves 15

2 bags of salad, i used leafy romaine and romaine hearts
1 package of crumbled goat cheese
1/2 package of craisins
1/2 package of walnuts
Newmans Own Light Raspeberry Walnut Vinagrette

I don't have a photo of the salad all mixed up, cause i took it to a barbeque and by the time i got out of the pool and went to fill my plate, it was almost all gone. It's delicious though and clearly a crowd pleaser! ;)

Tuna, it's what's for lunch

And immediately, i think, ugh, crap, i hate goopy tuna sandwiches. I'm not a fan of mayo, like at all. In fact, mayo sits up at the top of my very short 'foods i don't like' list. But i'm trying to put more fish into my diet, so i'm going to have it more often for lunch.

First things first, taking the mayo out of the tuna.

Taking tuna from drab to fab wasn't too hard, it just took a little creativity. I just used plain yogurt for creaminess, and tried to make it like my fave curry chicken salad.

1 can tuna in water, drained
1/2 container of fat free plain yogurt
1/2 apple diced
juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp curry powder

I ate it open faced on light oatmeal bread toasted. If i had grapes or raisins, i would have also added them, and maybe some chopped nuts too. It turned out pretty good, definitely does not taste like chicken though. lol. But it was fresh and light and crunchy, and its a great starter recipe for making a tuna sandwich something to look forward to. ;)

Cornmeal Makes A Crunchy Pizza

And that's a GOOD thing! Thank you to the ladies that responded to my archaeologist post and pointed me in the right direction! ;) CORNMEAL is what gets the pizza dough sliding right off the pan and onto the hot pizza stone.

NEAT-O!

Ever since i wrote that post, i've come across like a million and one pizza peels. And guess what people, they are HUGE. I'm a gadgety cook, i love me some cooking gadgets, but condo living doesn't really lend itself to too much storage space, and when i saw the size of the pizza peel, i thought where the hell am i going to store that?!

We continue to use the sturdy cardboard method of transporting the pizza. We tried the suggested cookie sheet method, but to my husband's dismay, the pizza isn't the same size or shape as the cookie sheet. lol. But with the cornmeal sprinkled on the cardboard, the pizza dough slides right off with no problems, AND it leaves the crust nice and crunchy.




Mario the Baker makes a damn good pizza any day, but on this particular day, we wanted to make one. So i popped on in, and for the bargain basement price of a $1 for a medium pizza dough and $2 for a large, i picked up a couple balls of dough, called my brother and had him over for some (semi)homemade pizza! And it was GOOD too, YAY CORNMEAL! ;)

Mario the Baker
www.mariothebakerpizza.com
2590 Biscayne Blvd
Miami, FL 33137
(305) 438-0228

The New Black

Do YOU Dinner Club? If you don't, then you need to get with it people, it's the new black! It's a chi chi way of saying, 'Pot luck- here's the theme, bring something'...and it's SUPER FUN! :)

I made Albondigas for our first dinner club gathering. The theme was tapas! And i admit it, a lot of the tapas mentioned as suggestions seemed a little intimidating, so i went to look for something in the theme, but a little easier.

Albondigas (Meatballs in Garlic-Tomato Sauce)

Ok, so this recipe was a little more involved then i imagined, but it's exciting cooking for a crowd, so it made making 80 little meatballs fun!


I made this recipe exactly as stated. I used my old skool Cuisinart to finely chop the onions and green pepper and the texture came out perfect, not too big, not too small. I baked (instead of frying- naturally ;) the Albondigas at 375 for about 30 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes, and they came out perfectly crisp on the outside and moist on the inside.

It just so happened that my mom and my mother in law came over (i really WAS cooking for a crowd) as i was making the 2nd batch, and everyone agreed, they were delicious!

BUT and this is a very big, BUT, the sauce was lousy. I followed that part of the recipe to the letter, and was so disappointed with how it tasted. In fact, my camera went on strike and refused to take a nice photo of it, so all i have is a really crappy photo of how it turned out. here you go...

Yeah, so under all that tomato sauce are really nice meatballs. The ingredients took them to another place...Spain maybe?! lol.

UPDATE: After i wrote this last nite, i settled in for this week's episode of Top Chef. How obnoxious was the Supper Club featured...nice sashes, lol. And i loved some of the commentary, such as "You can get this at Denny's!" Must take a REALLY refined palette and a fancy sash to come up with a comment like that.

See people, i'm telling you, i've got my finger firmly on the pulse of what's hot, and that's Dinner Clubs! So pick a date, pick a theme and email some friends to get your dinner club started today! ;)