Sliced Pear with Prosciutto and Honey

Are you craving a salty-sweet snack?

If you have one pear, one slice of prosciutto and a teaspoon of honey on hand, you can whip up a tray of these in a jiffy!

Today's Playlist

• "No Rain"...Blind Melon
• "I'm Shakin'"...Jack White
• "Dani California"...Red Hot Chili Peppers
• "Dirty Little Secret"...All-American Rejects
• "Riptide"...Vance Joy
• "Everybody Talks"...Neon Trees

Sliced Pear with Prosciutto and Honey

Printable Recipe

• 1 medium-sized pear (I used an anjou pear, use what you like)
• 1 paper-thin slice of prosciutto
• 1 teaspoon honey

Note: the prosciutto may be baked in advance.  To prevent the pear from turning brown, however, it should not be sliced too far in advance of serving!

Gather your ingredients.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the prosciutto onto the parchment.  When your oven is ready, bake the prosciutto until crisp (about 10 minutes).

Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

While you're waiting for the prosciutto to cool down, slice your pear into slices approximately 1/4-inch thick.  Discard the two end slices.

Stack the slices and slice through the middle.

Use a paring knife to remove any seeds/discoloration from the center of the slices.

Arrange the slices onto a serving platter.

Place the honey into a small bowl or dish and microwave on HIGH for 10 seconds.  This will cut down on the viscosity of the honey and make it easier to brush onto the pears.

Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the surface of the slices with honey.  

Brushing the pears with honey helps the crumbled prosciutto to stick to the slices and not fall off and go down the front of your shirt when you bite into the pear.

Not that I would know anything about that.

Crumble the slice of prosciutto over the pear slices and serve immediately.

 Enjoy.

Watermelon Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

I swear all it takes is a few days of mild (60's) temperature and I'm practically in full summer mode.

And when I spot a perfect wedge of watermelon in the produce department--it's out of season, what am I doing even looking in that direction (see full summer mode, above)--I can't help but decide that one way to validate my summer mood is to make a watermelon salad.

It was so good I went back to the store the next day and bought another piece of watermelon...to make another salad with.  I changed up the ingredients a bit with the second one--used a different cheese (seared halloumi, omg), different nuts, different greens.  The only constants were watermelon and a simple balsamic vinaigrette (if you have balsamic vinegar, olive oil and dijon mustard on hand you can whip up your own dressing in 30 seconds).

Feel free to substitute the salad ingredients to suit your taste preferences!



Today's Playlist

• "Funky But Chic"...New York Dolls
• "Runaway Train"...Soul Asylum
• "The Zephyr Song"...Red Hot Chili Peppers
• "You Shook Me All Night Long"...AC/DC

Watermelon Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Printable Recipe

• 6 cups cubed seedless watermelon
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/3 cup shelled pistachios
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 3 cups arugula
• fresh ground pepper, to taste

vinaigrette ingredients:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Gather your ingredients.

To make the vinaigrette: add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard into a small bowl.

Stir with a fork until combined.

Prep your ingredients: cut the watermelon into bite-sized cubes and chop the scallions.

To assemble the salad: place the watermelon, scallions, feta and pistachios into a large bowl.

Stir gently to combine.

Add the arugula.

And the spinach.  

 Add a grind or two of fresh pepper, to taste.  Lightly drizzle with half of the dressing and toss to coat.

Serve the remaining dressing on the side.

 Enjoy.

Chicken Farro Soup

Now that spring is arriving, I'm finally getting around to posting the recipe for my family's favorite soup from this past winter!

Better late than never, I suppose.

I make a lot of soup during the winter, usually two or three different types at a time.  My girls prefer Broccoli Cheddar, Mr. Terrific's favorite is French Onion, my son likes chicken noodle.  Typically, the winter ends and there's one soup that had been the go-to soup for the season.  Last winter, it was Southwestern Chicken Soup.  

This winter, Chicken & Farro soup was the favorite!  It's not much different from chicken noodle soup...instead of celery I use fennel and instead of noodles I substitute farro.  Farro is a grain, often used in Italian cooking, and if I had to describe it I would say that it's fluffy...yet chewy.  

Make sense, much?

Just give it a try!  It's yummy, I promise.

Today's Playlist

• "The Way You Look Tonight"...Frank Sinatra
• "Bella Notte"...Lou Monte
• "Everybody Loves Somebody"...Dean Martin
• "Everything"...Michael Buble
• "Runaround Sue"...Dion

Chicken Farro Soup

Printable Recipe

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 stalks fennel, sliced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
• 1/2 cup farro
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 large (or 2 small) bay leaves
• 8 cups chicken broth

Gather your ingredients.  Missing from this picture:  the chicken!

It was sitting in the fridge.  Leave it to me to forget to grab the main ingredient when I'm getting everything together.

Prep your veggies: slice & dice the fennel, carrots & onion.  Use two forks to shred your chicken.

I also put aside a few of the wispy fronds from the tops of the fennel stalks.  I will chop them and use them as a garnish when I serve the soup.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium-large (6 to 8-quart) pot.

Add the fennel, carrots and onion.  Crush the garlic directly into the pan.  Saute the veggies for about 5 to 6 minutes, until they are softened and you start to see a bit of color on the bottom of the pan.

Add the chicken...

...the sprigs of thyme and the bay leave(s).

Add the farro as well.

Pour in the chicken broth and stir.  Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Allow the soup to simmer (uncovered) at a low simmer for about 40 minutes, until the farro is cooked.  Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper.

Remember to remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves before serving!

Enjoy.

Cooking Show: Chocolate!!

We filmed an episode of the cooking show last week.  My friend, Joanie, cooked with me and we had a blast whipping up a few chocolatey treats!

Dan The Awesome Cameraman suggested the Chocolate theme. Chocolate cake with raspberry mousse filling and buttercream frosting, chocolate mini muffins and sea salt caramel chocolate crispy treats were on the menu.

Before I give you the links to the recipes, we need to discuss an on-camera failure!  Trying to keep it real, during the show we typically discuss how cooking fails happen and it's not the end of the world. Our show is basically a bunch of us hanging out in my kitchen, filming while we cook, and no time for re-doing anything.  Eventually, something was going to fail and end up on camera!

And fail I did.  You may think that you are looking at a cake with messy frosting.  Let me turn it around so you can get a better look!

Despite the utensil that I stuck in the middle to hold the layers steady, we waited too long after we put the mousse in the middle and before I could frost it the layers started slip-slidin' away.

It looks like it's blowing a big ol' raspberry at me.  Get it? Raspberry mousse? #seewhatIdidthere

Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Mousse & Buttercream Frosting

The cake needs to chill for a couple of hours before it can be sliced, so I had baked another cake ahead of filming so that we would have a chilled one ready to slice.  Whew.  

We laughed at the ugly cake and sliced the pretty one for the camera.  I think it would have been fun to do a blind taste taste!  Here's the printable recipe.

Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

Another recipe that I had prepared a batch in advance because they need to chill before you slice them.

Two batches of these treats are not a bad thing!  Here's the printable recipe for the non-chocolate version...to make them chocolate, simply substitute cocoa crispy rice cereal for plain cereal, and (if you have it on hand) chocolate extract for the vanilla extract.

 Sugar-Glazed Chocolate Mini Muffins

According to my daughter, "They're a perfect little chocolate cake."  And that just about tells you all you need to know!  Here's the printable recipe.

Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting and Berry Mousse

This is my go-to cake recipe.  What's not to love?  

Fudgy, moist chocolate cake...yum.  Buttercream frosting that is silky smooth and perfect.  Mousse filling that is to-die for.

Cooking Show: Breakfast for Dinner, Part II

It's been about 2 years since we filmed our first Breakfast is My Favorite Kind of Dinner cooking show.

There are so many great breakfast recipes that I just don't make for breakfast very often (if ever), simply because I don't have time!

Please tell me that I'm not the only one who would rather get extra sleep than drag myself out of bed an hour early in order to prepare an awesome breakfast.

Nothing should stop you from preparing breakfast recipes for dinner, however!

Considering that she cooked with me for the first show, it was only fitting that my friend, Maureen, cook with me again for this show.  We were able to prepare a few recipes that didn't make the cut the first time!

 Fruit Salad with Honey Lime

A taste of summer in the middle of winter!

Mini Frittatas

One of the most practical breakfast recipes in existence.  Stir together some eggs with a splash of cream and a dash of salt, pour into muffin cups and then mix in whatever cheese, meats and/or veggies you happen to have on hand.  A great way to use up leftovers!  And they freeze beautifully...defrost them as needed for those mornings when you need a quick hit of protein before you start your day.

We neglected to plan for a drink, so we poured a Bellini or two as an afterthought.  Two parts prosecco to one part peach juice (or peach puree).

Baked French Toast

This needs to be prepared in advance (whenever is convenient for you!  At least an hour, but up to overnight is fine), to give the bread time to absorb the egg mixture.  Sooooo good.

 Open-Faced Egg Sandwiches with Ham and Cheese

These take very little effort!  Scramble some eggs, layer the eggs into a hollowed-out bread load with ham and cheese, pop it under your broiler and voilà!

Fruit Salad with Honey/Lime

As I am typing this, it is 18 degrees out and the local forecast says that it will be a whopping 10 degrees when I get up to walk my dogs tomorrow morning.

A week ago, I was still able to embrace the beauty of the snow as I walked out my front door.

Today, I'm over it.

I've got a bad case of spring fever.  This fruit salad, drizzled with a little bit of honey and lime, is like a bowlful of warmer temperatures and sunny skies.  Well, not really... but during the cold month of February, fruit salad is a nice touch of summer!

Mini Frittatas

Whether you are looking to use up the half-empty packages cluttering your fridge or simply looking for a recipe for leftovers, I can't think of a better recipe than these mini frittatas.

The only ingredients that are absolutely required are eggs, cream and salt.  The rest is up to you!

It took less than 10 minutes from the moment I started pulling ingredients out of the fridge until the moment I popped the frittatas into the oven.

I baked them in a regular cupcake tin this time, but you can also use a mini-muffin tin for bite-sized frittatas.

While the frittatas were baking I spent time with my latest obsession--watching the cardinals in my backyard.

They've always had a major presence at my bird feeder, but since we've had snow those flashes of red are really popping!  I'm totally obsessed.

I've tried counting them, just to see how many there are hanging out.  They move around so much, I lose count!

On this particular day, I counted 10 males (all red) and 4 females (brown with red at the tips of their wings, tail & head).  

Clyde was so perturbed by my focus on the cardinals that he started acting up (chewing on sticks is a no-no...tearing them off of the shrubs is a double no-no!), trying to get my attention.

Ham & Cheese Bites

Tomorrow is Super Sunday, so I thought it would be a good idea to post this appetizer recipe which has been one of my go-to recipes this football season.

Even though my favorite team was eliminated during the conference championship, I'm still planning on watching the game tomorrow and you can bet I'll be making these Ham & Cheese Bites!