A few of my favorite things.

Hello friends,

Happy 2012! I have no excuses but to apologize for my absence during the semester from Hell. Although I have not posted in a number of months, no need to fret. I have still been cooking up a storm. I just have not taken pictures, or blogged, or done anything remotely to document it. But, I am back with a string of my Mom's old recipes and three new cookbooks from Christmas. Also, a schedule that is not quite so jam packed.

So while my camera charges and my mind buzzes with new recipes, I have listed a few of my favorite recipes from the last few months. Armed with a new lettuce spinner, fondue pot, and avocado peeler, I can tell 2012 is going to be a good year.


1. Oatmeal Nutella Cookies- I brought these to a party earlier in the fall and they were a BIG hit. By BIG hit, I mean that I ate the majority of them. I guess other people liked them too.


What ya need:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Nutella

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

What ya do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.

Using a mixer, cream butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Add in white and brown sugar and cream until light and fluffy. About 3-4 minutes.

With mixer on low speed, add in the egg and vanilla. Then add the Nutella. Mix until well incorporated.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Increase speed to medium and mix until well combined.

Refrigerate dough for about 20- 30 minutes.

Scoop dough using cookie scoop, and spread about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 7-9 minutes, or 6-7 minutes if dough was not refrigerated.

2. Lemon Fusilli with Arugula

What ya need:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 cloves)

2 cups heavy cream

3 lemons

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 pound dried fusilli pasta

½ pound baby arugula (or 2 bunches of regular arugula, stems removed and leaves cut into thirds)

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

What ya do:

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 60 seconds, then add the cream, the zest and juice of 2 lemons, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it starts to thicken.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta and cook al dente according to the directions about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta and return to pot. Immediately add the cream mixture and cook over medium-low heat for 3 minutes until the pasta has absorbed most of the sauce. Pour the hot pasta into a large bowl and add the Arugula, Parmesan and tomatoes. Cut the last lemon in half lengthwise, slice it 1/4 –inch thick crosswise and add a few slices to the pasta. Toss well, season to taste and serve hot.

3. Our Sweet Cate’s Favorite Chicken Piccata (Okay, my Mom wrote this...)

What ya need:

4 split (2 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 extra-large eggs

1 ½ cups seasoned dried bread crumbs

Good olive oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

Lemon halves reserved

½ cup dry white wine

Sliced lemon, for serving

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

What ya do:

Preheat oven to 400. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound it out to ¼-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2teaspoon pepper on a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the eggs and 1 tablespoon water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in flour, shake off excess, and then dip in the egg and bread-crumb mixtures.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 2 chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan while you cook the rest of the chicken. Heat more olive oil in the sauté pan and cook the second 2 chicken breast. Place them on the same sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the sauté pan with a dry paper towel. On medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, white wine, the reserved lemon halves, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves. Serve one chicken breast on each plate, spoon on the sauce, and serve with sliced lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Bon appetito.

4. White Wine Cake

(This is the best thing you will ever eat in your life)

What ya need:

Cake

1 box yellow cake mix (without pudding)

3.4 oz. Instant vanilla pudding mix

3/4-cup water

3/4-cup oil

1/2-cup wine (Gallo Rhine wine or any white wine)

4 eggs

1/4-cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Pecan pieces (optional)

What ya do:

Mix everything together with mixer. If pecans are used, stir them in last. Cook at 325 degrees for 1 hour in a greased and floured tube pan.

What ya need:

Glaze

3/4-stick butter

3/4 cup white sugar.

1/4 cup wine

What ya do:

Boil and pour over cake immediately after it's taken from the oven. Let stand for an hour or more. Turn over onto cake plate.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

5. Quinoa Lettuce Wraps (original recipe)

What ya need:

1/2 dry quinoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup yellow tomatoes
1/2 cup red onion
1 avocado
6-8 Lettuce leaves (Boston, Escarole, or Romaine)
1 TBL olive oil
1 TBL lemon juice
Salt and Peppa

What ya do:

Combine water and quinoa in a pot. Heat until boiling, and then cover and let simmer for 15 minutes (or until water is absorbed). Meanwhile, chop up onion, tomatoes, and avocado.

Once quinoa has absorbed all water, turn off heat and add chopped vegetables to quinoa. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Add to quinoa and mix well. Spoon quinoa mixture onto lettuce leaf wrap, and enjoy!

Happy 2012 everyone, happy eating!

It's Fall, ya'll!

I don't usually say ya'll but it just felt right. I apologize. Not really. So blah blah I'm really busy blah blah but still cooking and baking blah blah. I'm the worst.

Here is a lovely recipe for delicious pumpkin oatmeal bars with a chocolate peanut butter frosting. It's super healthy with plenty of sugar. Certain to supply you with energy for raking leaves and carving pumpkins.


Also, I will be going on a haunted hay ride in the next couple weeks so will probably pee my pants. Unrelated, but still fall-like.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

What ya need:

1/2 c peanut butter

1 c pumpkin puree

2 c oats (whole rolled, not quick cook)

1 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c white sugar

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup peanut butter chips (you could also use anything else like chocolate chips..or something equally delicious)

What ya do:

*Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir by hand.

*Spread extremely moist batter into a foil-lined and spayed 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan. Bake at 350F for 22-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (we baked ours for extra, the consistency is going to be very soft and gooey..so don't worry you won't be poisoned and die).

*The bars may still look underdone, but that’s okay because they will continue to set up as they cool. Allow to cool before slicing.

*Suggestions for storage include the fridge or freezer if you like.

And now for the sugary goodness.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

What ya need:

1 c chocolate chips

1/4 c butter/margarine

1/4 c peanut butter

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c powdered sugar

What ya do:

*Melt chocolate chips in microwave.

*Add and stir in next four ingredients. After all ingredients have been incorporated, stir in the powdered sugar. Continue stirring or whisk together until smooth.

-After bars have cooled, spread frosting on top and refrigerate for a long long long time! Very yummy. May also eat with pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin spice lattes, or while hugging a pumpkin.

Sorry for the short and sweet post...more to come sometime soon :)

Happy eating!

Oh you thought I was done with heirloom tomatoes? Wrong.

Hey there everyone :)

Busy busy week! Classes have started back up again and I will be starting my school-based practicum at Whitman Elementary School! Never been there but it sounds exciting, right? Anyways despite busy schedules, it's always important to keep on cookin'. For me, it's like therapy. Well...paired with a bottle of wine of course.

Now I always find that when things get busy, I have less time to plan meals and get groceries. So wanting to take a preemptive strike against mights of lean cuisines and take-out chinese, I've figured out a strategy that works for me. Maybe you will find it helpful too :) If not, kiss my b.

I like to choose two recipes in the beginning of the week to try. I attempt to ensure they share some similar ingredients, but if they don't that's ok too. Then I go grocery shopping the Sunday before the week begins. This way, I have at least two dinners planned. This leaves some room for leftovers, as well as experimenting with leftover ingredients! Also for a lean cuisine or two. Chinese I'll save for the weekend.

So with that in mind, I've had a pretty successful first week. I saved money by choosing simple recipes with ingredients in common, and did not stress over food! Yes..this is how deeply I care for food. It's sick. So, if you are having a difficult time planning meals around a busy schedule, give this idea a try.

To start you off, here is a DELICIOUS recipe that is really easy for a weeknight dinner. I actually have to give the cooking credit to Steve, because he made it for me one night when I had a lot of work to do. It's from a cookbook that I got him for Christmas two years ago...I thought how can I combine Steve's two greatest loves? So I got him the Sunday Night Football Cookbook. Yes that does exist.

Lemon Pepper Tilapia

What ya need:

2 TBL unsalted butter, softened

Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

2 TBL chopped parsley

1/4 cup flour

Salt and pepper

2 tilapia filets

Lemon pepper (now easily one of my favorite spices to use, a STAPLE)

1 TBL olive oil

What ya do:

*In small bowl, combine butter, lemon juice, zest, and parsley.

*Spread flour on plate and season with salt and pepper. Season fish on both sides with lemon

pepper and dredge filets in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Heat oil in saute pan over medium heat and add fish.

*Cook until golden brown on the bottom, about three minutes, then turn and cook the other side. Add the butter mixture and cook until butter starts to brown at edges of the pan.

*Remove filets to serving plates and spoon butter and lemon sauce over them.

Steve served this with one of my favorite Summer appetizers. Heirloom tomatoes with basil, mozzarella, and balsamic. This is one of my favorite combinations. Just layer it up, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve it to the masses.

Happy eating :)

A taste of Minneapolis

Hello all! [side note: sometimes I want to say ya'll but then I don't]

I hope everyone is having a magnificent weekend despite that whore Irene. Please excuse the foul language. I also hope that my east coasties are drinking many dark and stormies to celebrate the hurricane, just like my parents currently are :)

Since I'm quite backed up with posts, my next few may be a little off time-wise. Today I'll be posting a few pictures from my trip to Minneapolis a few weeks ago.

Steve and I took off after my last exam of the summer to visit Doug and Charlie for a long weekend of food and drink. We went to a fantastic farmer's market in St. Paul. It was much bigger than any farmer's market I've encountered in Milwaukee, and I was delighted to buy 10 million squash blossoms. This may have been an exaggeration and there may have been only 15. We only needed three but by the end of the day, many things are given away for free.

We picked up some goodies for the dinner we cooked that night. Steve and I wanted to make Doug and Charlie a feast for our last night in Minneapolis. We made grilled steak with a blue cheese butter (a recurring recipe in this blog), stuffed squash blossoms with artichoke dip and gouda, a heirloom tomato salad with basil and mozz, and corn salsa salad (also a familiar blog character).

---- Voila. A foodie masterpiece of epic proportions. I joked at the market when we were picking up groceries that Steve would end up eating one whole sirloin, and that Doug, Charlie, and I would end up splitting the other one. That is precisely what happened.

I am also very curious about squash blossoms. I find it very difficult to acquire them in stores and markets near me. Where are you mysterious squash blossom? I would like to do cuisine-like experimentation with you. Please join me.

The stuffed squash blossoms that Doug made were absolutely amazing. You soak the blossom, and then stuff

them very carefully with dip or cheese or what have you.

This takes much grace and finesse (of which I am lacking) because they are so delicate. Then you flour them and fry em up!

Plus, they look beautiful.

We also wined and dined our way through some great restaurants in Minneapolis. I would have never pegged it for a foodie city, but every corner you turn there is a delicious place to eat. I may or may not have gained 30 pounds.

Well that's more like a pregnancy, but still. Many food babies were born.

I would also like to take this chance to hop up on my little soapbox to discuss buying local food. Doug and Charlie take part in this food co-op in partnership with a Minnesota farm about an hour away. Each week, they receive a box of fresh produce to use. It is delicious, nutritious, and takes less energy in transportation. Our second night in Minneapolis, we had a little dinner party and used some fresh farm ingredients. The menu consisted of: grilled chilean sea bass with navy beans, zucchini and chives, a strawberry salad, scalloped potatoes, and this blue cheese/beet dip combo thing that Charlie made up. I put it on some bread and called it a day. A delicious day.

We grilled the fish, beans, zucchini, and chives in a little foiled grill packet. It's an easy and convenient way to make a pretty well-balanced dinner. We put the fish and veggies in a packet of aluminum foil along with some herbs, spices, butter, and oil. Throw that on the grill and you have yourself a meal. You can also do this in the oven. Will try soon and share.

To end this magnificent Minneapolis post, I will share with you a picture of the best Bloody Mary I've ever had. It actually may not even be the best bloody I've ever had, but it certainly had the best bacon I've ever had in my life. And I don't even like bacon. That much.

Happy eating :)

New camera, new blog title.

Hello everyone!

I know posts have been scarce this summer, but I've been consumed with thesis writing. I must remind myself that cooking = therapy.

So..the title change. My last title was created as a joke, after watching several entertaining episodes of the Jersey Shore. After awhile it wasn't sitting very well with me anymore. I wondered, if someone asked me the meaning of it, what would I say? "Oh well, I'm such a huge fan of the Jersey Shore" --No way. It began because I was making a big dinner for Kevin and Steve on Sundays, hence the family dinner part of the title.

As I searched for a new name that would represent what I want this blog to be, Kevin said something during a brainstorming session that really resonated with me. He said, "what about have food will travel?". Isn't that what my blog is about? Two things I am passionate about?

This title happened to be very similar to my uncle's blog from a few years ago. My uncle Ric is the most influential person in my life. He inspires me everyday, to travel, seek out new experiences, and embrace life. He passed away when I was a freshman in college. I think about him everyday. He was a travel writer for the majority of his life and created a blog to keep his family and friends updated while he was abroad. It was called, "have pen, will travel". So here is to you Ricky. Your channel of expression was writing....mine is peas and carrots.

For you Ric: Have food, will travel.

*Note- The heirloom tomato picture is a preview from my trip to Minneapolis. Stay tuned.

Vegetarians- this one goes out to you.

Hey there bloggerz.

I am approaching crunch time for the end of my summer classes, so obviously procrastinating by adding a new post was my top priority. I'm still backed up by about 4 posts, but just bought a NEW CAMERA. YES. So this should help with motivating me to add the recipes that have just been sitting in my blog document..resenting me for not being shared with the world.

So this camera business. I've had my current camera for a solid three years. It's not broken, and it still takes OK pictures (despite some water marks). This has induced feelings of guilt over the purchase of a new camera...and also resulted in poor Steve hanging out at Best Buy with me for an hour while I was trying to make the decision (if you know me, you know how greaaat I am at making decisions). But, I

really liked this camera, it was a decent price, and best of all...it has a Cuisine setting. WHAT!? Yes.

In conclusion, I hope to be much better about blogging as my classes will be over, I only have one job now, and will be Papprazzi (spelling?) with my new camera.

Now I know that I do not always make the most vegetarian friendly meals. I have some thrown in there, but I'd like to increase the amount of meals I make sans meat. There are times that I consider going vegetarian, but then...I don't? I think about it often, but then end up eating some chicken. Or a burger. While I'm thinking about it. Not a good situation. But many of my friends are vegetarian, and I like to make things that most people will enjoy :)

Basil Pesto Pasta

What ya need:

Whole wheat penne pasta (however much you want, I shared this with Steve so I believe we split a box with plenty of leftovers. This took much self-restraint, as I have an addiction problem with pasta).

1 tbl olive oil

1 cup chopped onion (we used white)

3 garlic cloves

1 orange bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 small zucchini, chopped

1 cup frozen edamame

**this recipe called for tomatoes, but I pulled a Cathy Reynolds and left them at the store. Like mother, like daughter.

Basil sauce:

1 cup packed fresh basil

1 avocado

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp olive oil

Kosher salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, to taste (I used lots of red pepper flakes so it had a nice kick to it)

What ya do:

*Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta.

*Sautee onion, olive oil, and garlic in a large skillet for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add in chopped vegetables and edamame. Sauté for 10 minutes.

*Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for the amount of time recommended on the box (I usually do 10 minutes). It's ok to make it a little al dente. Drain and set aside.

*In a food processor, make the basil cream sauce by processing the basil, water, olive oil, lemon juice, avocado, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes until smooth (or just about).

*Add pasta to the vegetables in the skillet. Now, pour on the basil cream sauce and stir until combined. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, to taste. Garnish with basil leaves.

SO DELISH! Adapted from one of my favorite blogs, ohsheglows.com. Happy eating :)

Baked Breakfast Goodies.

Okay bloggers. I know. I'm the worst ever. My last post was in June and it is now JULY (p.s how did that happen??). However, I have been extremely overwhelmed this summer with three summer classes, two jobs, and a Master's project. And moving. And cooking. And socializing. Man I'm busy. So forgive me, but I will be posting many more recipes once I can breathe in August.

For now, I've been in super breakfast mode. I never used to like breakfast. Lunch and Dinner usually include some type of pasta which I am all about, and it's more socially acceptable to have dessert after these meals. I can't really get away with eating a whole bag of M&Ms in the morning. But, apparently I've had a change of heart. These two recipes are healthy, relatively easy, and will leave you satisfied until Lunch (when you can sneak in some dessert).

Baked Tomato Cups

What ya need:

4 medium sized tomatoes on the vine


4 large eggs


1 tbsp butter


Freshly minced or dried tarragon


Salt and pepper

What ya do:

*Preheat oven to 375°F and slice off the tops of tomatoes. Carefully scoop out the pulp. Place tomatoes in a baking pan or casserole dish, whatever ya got.

*Crack an egg into each tomato cup. Add ¼ tablespoon butter, sprinkle with tarragon and season with salt and pepper.

*Bake for 25 to 30 minutes . Remove and serve immediately with toast, or a bagel, or fruit, or whatever your little heart desires ☺

Baked Oatmeal

What ya need:

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp fine-grain salt

2 cups milk

3 tbs unsalted butter, melted

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 blueberries or raspberries

What ya do:

*Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter the inside of an 8-inch baking dish.

*In a bowl, mix together the oats, half the almonds, the sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

*In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, the milk, half of the butter, and the vanilla.

*Arrange the bananas in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle 2/3 of the berries over the top. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Gently give the baking dish a couple of thwacks on the counter-top to make sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and remaining almonds across the top.

*Bake for 35-45 minutes, until top is browned. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter on top and serve. If you don't want to do that to limit your butter intake, I usually drizzle a bit of honey on top.

Enjoy your breakfast! It's the most important meal of the day (or so I was told by my beautiful nutritionist Mother). Happy eating!