A Very Delicious Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday with
their friends and family, I know I did. I went home to Massachusetts for a little over a week and got to spend some quality time with the fam and caught up with some dear old friends. And, of course, I ate copious amounts of food (and desperately need to get my butt to the gym). But before I start eating lettuce and yogurt and running 5 miles a day, let's recount the delicious morsels I consumed over the past week. I am
sad to say, I did not photograph a lot of it, but the ones I did take were some of my favs so I hope you all enjoy!


Christmas Eve began with a lovely trip into the Boston Opera House to see The Nutcracker with my parents, Gram, Jules, Lance, Abby & Noah. The Opera House is SO beautiful, the architecture and decor are definitely something to rave about. The Nutcracker was a great show as well. Anywho, after the show we all headed down to my sisters for dinner. It began with some appetizers, including bacon wrapped scallops. I am not a huge seafood fan (I know, doesn't make much sense being from New England), but I will eat a bacon wrapped scallop. You could wrap anything in bacon and it would be good, lets be serious. Next came the main course which included a homemade chicken alfredo, which my sister let us all know was HERS! It was very good, a nice thick creamy cheesy coating for the noodles and chicken. Lance also made a crock pot beef stew, which had been cooking all day so the meat just fell apart and the flavors were very well melded together from hanging out in the pot all day. It was yummy.










Christmas day we were at my uncles and had a traditional Turkey dinner, which I did not manage to get any pics of since I was busy stuffing my face. But, it was good, my mom made some delicious sweet potatoes. Later that night we headed up to Maine to my brother's house. We cooked up a bunch of Italian food for the weekend,

since the Pats were playing Sunday and Jules/Lance & the kids were coming up as well. I was in charge of calzone, Tommy & Erika made the sauce/meatballs and my Dad & Tommy did the Lasagna. Everything was molto bene! I made 4 calzones, all with wheat dough. 3 were the regular Italian filling with provolone, pepperoni, salami, prosciutto, capicola, ham, and mozzarella. Then topped with a mixture of sweet and hot peppers. (The same calzone recipe from the previous post). The last one was a turkey meatball and cheese with some homemade sauce. They were all delicious! I wish I had taken more pictures of all the food, but Holidays are about family and that's what I was busy with. Best wishes to you and yours :)

Italian Christmas Cookies

Well everyone, it's that time of year again. The time of year where your pants get a little tighter and you constantly find yourself saying "I'll just have one more, just one." And then that one turns into 5. Ah, the Holiday gluttony, you are delicious. With that being said, my schedule of Holiday parties kicked off with a lovely gathering of all the faculty/staff and grad students in the HPL. It's a tradition we do every year, in which everyone brings something, so it turns into quite the potluck. From pulled pork to enchiladas to pumpkin cookies to kettlecorn, we had it all. This year I decided to make anisette cookies. They are my favorite Italian cookie and remind me of when I was little. When you're little, anything with sprinkles and/or frosting is appealing, but now that I am older and have a much more sophisticated palette (insert sarcastic grin here), I look for recipes with layers of flavor...who am I kidding, I still love the frosting and sprinkles. Anywho, these were super easy to make and you can let the dough sit in your fridge for a day or two if you find that you don't need to make a lot all at once. I think they are also a very good kid-friendly recipe. Simple enough dough and what kid wouldn't love dipping cookies in frosting and sprinkles. Perhaps I will make some more with my niece when I go home for Christmas!



Ingredients:

Dough:

3 cups flour
3/4 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tblsp vanilla extract
2 tblsp anise extract

Frosting:

*First, heat up 1 tblsp butter, 1 tblsp water and 3/4 cup powdered sugar in a sauce pan. Don't bring to boil, just simmer and dissolve the sugar into a nice smooth mixture.

Then take about 2 tblsp of this mixture and combine with more powdered sugar (not over heat, just in a separate bowl). Add more sugar/liquid as needed until you get a malleable white frosting. Make sure it isn't too clear, you want it to be nice and white for the sprinkles to pop out of.

They were so good even my cat, Dolce, wanted one! (above)

Combine all the dough ingredients and roll into small balls. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Allow to cool before dipping tops into the frosting. After the frosting has been added, sprinkle the colored sprinkles on top of each cookie. Allow to cool or eat warm if you would like!

Papa DuP's Calzone!

Anyone that knows my father knows that he loves food. Which, really, should come as no surprise, he the epitome of a jolly Italian man. His family is everything and from the second you walk in the door till the second you leave home, he is trying to shove food in your face. God bless him. One of my favorite Papa DuP recipes is his calzone. They were usually a Holiday special, only making appearances at the DuPont Christmas party. I always loved helping my Dad make them and carefully observed his every move, from rolling out the dough to glazing the finished product with some egg wash. So I have been making them for several years now for my friends and various holiday parties I have been to and they are always a huge huge hit. A few Sundays ago I made a few calzones to take to Trav's so we could munch on them while we watched football (the Eagles to my disliking, but if the Patriots aren't an option, I'll settle for the Eagles).

Ingredients:

Dough:
*Follow recipe from previous post, minus the brown sugar. It is enough to make 2 calzones.

Filling:
1/2 lb sandwich sliced pepperoni
1/2 lb sandwich sliced genoa salami
1/2 lb hot capicola
1/2 lb provolone
1/4 lb thinly sliced prosciutto (imported is best, it's pricey, but makes a difference)
1 can Pepper salad (sweet or hot or both)



Once the dough is rolled out into two oval shapes, begin to layer the meat and cheese. I like this order: pepperoni, salami, capicola, prosciutto, provolone. Then repeat again beginning with the pepperoni on top of the provolone. You should have enough for 2 layers of each meat in each calzone. Then top the last layer of provolone with the pepper salad or whatever peppers you have chosen. The peppers are really what makes the calzone. They provide a nice acidic crunch inside the dense meaty filling. Once the calzone is filled, fold the dough over the filling and knot it in the middle. Brush with a bit of egg wash for a nice glossy finish and pop in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. You must let them cool a little bit before cutting them, otherwise it will be very messy. I think the best part is that the bottom layer of dough gets very crusty and greasy from the meat ( I know, not healthy, but so good). Also, if you can snag an end piece, I highly recommend it.




I have done other fillings for the calzones as well. I did a buffalo chicken as well as as spicy sausage with mushroom and cheese filling. Both were good, but the classic italian meat is the big winner. It just can't be beat, all thanks to my Dad!

Belly-warming Bread

I'm sure you've all noticed - winter is upon us. With cold weather comes the excuse to cook up warm and hearty comfort foods. When I went to make calzone a little while ago (a calzone post will soon follow), I couldn't find any pizza dough in the store, so I set out to make my own. I was very pleased with how it came out, obviously better than store bought dough. So a few Sundays ago I decided to make a nice pot of butternut squash soup (which was so delicious I forgot to even take a picture of it) and a few loaves of homemade bread to accompany it.

Ingredients:
1 packet rapid rise yeast
4-5 Cups all-purpose flour
1 tblsp Brown sugar
1 tblsp white sugar
2 tblsp olive oil
pinch of salt
2 Cups warm water

First I added the yeast to the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then I added the white sugar, salt, and olive oil and mixed well. Once this was done I added the flour one cup at a time until a nice consistency was met. Once the dough had formed into a ball I kneaded it for about 10 minutes adding flour when I thought necessary. Once that was done, I placed it back into the bowl and covered until it doubled in size (about an hour or so).



Once the dough had risen, I kneaded it some more and formed it into a nice loaf shape ( I did not use a loaf pan). Once it had the shape I wanted, I drizzled just a tad bit more olive oil on top and sprinkled with some brown sugar for a nice glaze (I think this is what really made the crust).
I let it rise again before putting it into a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes (until a nice golden brown crust was achieved).

I was a bit nervous since this was my first time making real bread, but I ended up very very pleased with the result. The crust was crispy and the inside was fluffy and rich. It was the perfect combination for the soup, which I really wish I had taken a picture of. You can find that recipe at Williams Sonoma, it was from a jar of their butternut squash puree. Anywho, this bread was perfect, warming and hit the spot!

Spicy Chicken & Cashews

So for all of you that have been to the Cheesecake factory, you know how delicious it is. It is probably one of the only restuarants that I absolutely refuse to look at the nutritional info. It would seriously ruin every ounce of enjoyment each succulent bite of their food gives me. So, when I go there, I just try to eat in moderation and save some leftovers. And maybe go for an extra run or 10. In my humble opinion, their spicy chicken and cashews is one of their best dishes. It is spicy, savory, and to say the least, filling. I am sure it is also loaded with salt and fat. So I set out to make my own healthier version of the dish with a little kicked up spice (Travis loves loves loves spicy food). By the time I was done eating, my nose was running and I'm pretty sure I broke a sweat. Oh the things we do for love.

Ingredients:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tbl sp extra virgin olive oil
2 tblsp fresh chopped garlic
1 finely chopped jalapeno chile pepper
1/4 cup marinated hot peppers
1/4 cup chopped green onion
pinch of salt
fresh cracked black pepper (to taste)
1 tbl sp brown sugar
1/2 cup cashews
4 cups cooked brown rice




My recipe began with the marinating of the chicken. I took 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts and pounded them out until they were tender and thin. Then i sliced them into bite size pieces and threw them in a tupperware container. Next I added just a DASH of salt and a generous helping of fresh cracked pepper. Then came the soy sauce, olive oil, peppers, brown sugar and green onion. I mixed it up well and let it chill for about a half hour. You could leave it longer, I am sure overnight marinating would only enhance the flavor more.

Once I took the chicken out, I had a pan warmed up with a dash of olive oil and a bit more soy sauce. I sauteed the chicken on medium heat so that it would cook slowly and still be tender. Meanwhile, I cooked 4 cups of brown rice to serve as a nice bed for the yummy chicken. Also, the cashews toasted in the toaster oven until a nice golden brown. Once they were done I tossed them in with the chicken and added just a tad of olive oil and pepper to the rice.

This definitely served as a healthier alternative to the Cheesecake Factory dish. The chicken wasn't fried, I used less sodium, and obviously smaller portions. Most importantly, it was spicy, crunchy, and tasty tasty tasty! Enjoy :)